TRYING to Leave for Gatlinburg..

It really amazes me how long it takes you to catch up even after a small trip away!! To be honest, I'm still not caught up, but I did want to begin to share just a couple of blessings that I was able to enjoy on our trip to Gatlinburg last week.

I must begin with what happened the night before.

Packed and ready to go, we all settled into bed for a good night's sleep....well, DH and I settled into bed. DD was still doing a bit of packing and DS was on the phone with his girlfriend. Since they're older, we don't enforce a strict bedtime, but we do insist they get up on time with a smile on their face each morning. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 1:15 AM, I hear a noise from the kids end of the house. It was one of those noises that any Mom can recognize and causes her feet to hit the floor running and she finds herself in action before she finds herself awake.

I found DS on the toilet hugging a trash can, violently giving back everything he'd eaten a few hours earlier. He wasn't sick at all when we laid down, so I just figured he'd had a few too many spicy Cheetos.

Twenty minutes later, he was lying back down and I was praying that this was the only event for the night.

Not to be.

A little over an hour later, I found myself doing the Sleepy Mom Run again through the house. I found DS in the same position, only this time he wasn't as able to refund as much as before.

Wipe his face. Hand him some tissue. Give him a sip of water---"NO! Don't guzzle, just a sip!!"--and go with him back to bed.

By now, I'm thinking we've invited a stomach bug to visit.

It's now about 2:30 in the morning and all I can do is fight with the fact that in 3½ hours I'm suppose to be leaving on a girl's trip and the fact that my baby is throwing up his toenails. I tell DH that I don't think I can leave and he informs me that he will shove me in the car in my pj's.

He tells me he'll call into work (which is TERRIBLY difficult for him to do since he's in a supervisory position) and stay home with DS. Now I feel guilty that he's got to call in and that I'm leaving a sick child......

6 AM, time to leave and Mom still hasn't arrived. DS hasn't thrown up anymore, but right at that moment, I'm feeling pretty nauseous myself. Oh no.......

Mom gets to my house but there is no way we can leave. DS has just thrown up again and the fog is so heavy that you literally can't see the hood of the car from the windshield.

Ohhhhh satan.....I AM NOT IMPRESSED!!!!

7 AM and we are finally on the road...and yes, DH did practically have to shove me out the door.

The fog was still terrible and the first hour of driving didn't involve much laughter and conversation as I was still feeling nauseous and trying to keep the car in the road!!

Finally we decide to stop and get some breakfast. I'm thinking that maybe I just need to get some food in my tummy. I manage to keep a biscuit down and we're off again.

We are blessed with a beautiful drive after the fog lifted. DH kept me updated that DS only threw up one more time and was feeling better as the day went on.

By the time we got into Gatlinburg, I was feeling better and was glad that I hadn't allowed satan to ruin this wonderful gift my DH had given me.

Since this is pretty long already and I don't want to keep you tied to your computer, I'll share more tomorrow.......