I just have to take a moment. Marriage is not for the faint of heart. Marriage with children requires a bit more. Marriage with a special needs child...just a bit more. And then there is marriage with a home schooling, college finishing, crazy wife who insists on learning to knit, sew, and garden at the age of 32! Well...where exactly does that leave the husband?
I can only tell you where it leaves my husband...right smack dab in the center of our hearts.
There is something about this tenth year we are nearing...I am finally "getting" it...love that is.
What did he do that was so darn special to warrant his own blog entry...the very first blog entry in a week...what was so earth rocking special that in lieu of indulging upon the much needed-illusive sleep has me choosing instead to peck away at my pc?
He did the dishes...
He did them "just because".
Just because I was coming home after the third "double play date" as J-Bob fondly refers to them...a third play date that was preceded by J-Bob's autism moment the day before of waking me at 4:30 am head banging my pillow because his beloved transformer toy would not TWANSFORWM!!! Preceded to me staying up until 1:00 AM trying to figure out my stupid anatomy and physiology and protein synthesis and stages of mitosis...ARGH...preceded to me re-vamping our school schedule and changing it all up...one gets the picture.
I was exhausted...my kiddos were exhausted...our third double playdate ended in me having a full blown mommy meltdown and leaving with the kiddos...ordering all of us to the table for immediate consumption of much needed food...and then placing everyone into a respective bed for much needed REST...but the brilliant light in this story was the reflection from not only having the dishwasher unloaded and re-loaded...but the counters were...SHINING!
He does this often...and he also keeps up with the laundry...and he also gives me insisted upon time alone...and he also works so hard for us so that we can live out my heart's desire: raising out of the box God loving kiddos...while falling in love with the man of my dreams all over again!!
Oh...and I almost never ever have to pump my own gas!! This my darlings...is how a crazy-hippie- chic ended up (happily) with a down-to-earth-jock!!
My Quivers
Friday, September 18, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
checking in!
hello all!
it was my dream to blog about the incredible home schooling events that are taking place daily in this house...BUT...i am sooooooooooooooo freaking busy!
i am doing school for kids, diet changes, school for me, Bible studies, family time, friend time...one gets the picture! my life is SCHEDULED to the max...and i LOVE IT!
i have never been so happy...i need to schedule a weekly blog in the mix...hmmm..note to self!
j-bob's rash is MUCH better. figured out it was a combination of too many sugar/starches in his diet, gluten cross contamination, and needing to be back on probiotics. i can say that the first week or so of fighting that yeast was very unpleasant, but my darling boy is rocking it out again! and a side benefit of no sugar/starches in this house is a reduction of 4 inches from my waist AND an even happier mermaid!
home schooling is...the biggest blessing since my husband and birth of my babies. i am enjoying every minute of it...even the tough ones. the character training and Godly hearts that are being cultivated (in the WHOLE family) is worth every less minute of alone time i could possibly dream of! it's even worth the running void that said less alone time has left in my schedule!
the kiddos, just last night, were voluntarily lying on an outstretched map trying to locate flags and countries from a prayer journal we are studying (brings awareness of other children's struggles in different countries). quite thrilling to see such genuine interest. if i do nothing right...it is my heart felt desire that these kiddos fall in love with knowledge, wisdom, and develop a deep, living relationship with our incredible Lord.
due to natural flow of the conversation, i did break it to the kiddos that there is in fact no REAL santa...mermaid grinned really big after the information set in and said: well...we still have JESUS!! j-bob wasn't sad at all, but he wondered how the presents were in the house on Christmas morning. i explained the details and his only complaint was that WE ate the COOKIES! i laughed so hard.
it is quite funny the productions we go through for the "sake of our children"...when all they care about is found in the most simplistic ways of living.
it was my dream to blog about the incredible home schooling events that are taking place daily in this house...BUT...i am sooooooooooooooo freaking busy!
i am doing school for kids, diet changes, school for me, Bible studies, family time, friend time...one gets the picture! my life is SCHEDULED to the max...and i LOVE IT!
i have never been so happy...i need to schedule a weekly blog in the mix...hmmm..note to self!
j-bob's rash is MUCH better. figured out it was a combination of too many sugar/starches in his diet, gluten cross contamination, and needing to be back on probiotics. i can say that the first week or so of fighting that yeast was very unpleasant, but my darling boy is rocking it out again! and a side benefit of no sugar/starches in this house is a reduction of 4 inches from my waist AND an even happier mermaid!
home schooling is...the biggest blessing since my husband and birth of my babies. i am enjoying every minute of it...even the tough ones. the character training and Godly hearts that are being cultivated (in the WHOLE family) is worth every less minute of alone time i could possibly dream of! it's even worth the running void that said less alone time has left in my schedule!
the kiddos, just last night, were voluntarily lying on an outstretched map trying to locate flags and countries from a prayer journal we are studying (brings awareness of other children's struggles in different countries). quite thrilling to see such genuine interest. if i do nothing right...it is my heart felt desire that these kiddos fall in love with knowledge, wisdom, and develop a deep, living relationship with our incredible Lord.
due to natural flow of the conversation, i did break it to the kiddos that there is in fact no REAL santa...mermaid grinned really big after the information set in and said: well...we still have JESUS!! j-bob wasn't sad at all, but he wondered how the presents were in the house on Christmas morning. i explained the details and his only complaint was that WE ate the COOKIES! i laughed so hard.
it is quite funny the productions we go through for the "sake of our children"...when all they care about is found in the most simplistic ways of living.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
research research research
well...this seems so simple, but i have finally put my mind around what i need to do in regard to j-bob's diet.
first we have eliminated all sugar and white starches and most grains (keeping quinao flour in back pocket as needed as i have such a sensory sensitive child). i tried to do some home made fruit and juice popsicles but they caused j-bob's rash to flare up (at least i think...he also dipped into his daddy's toothpaste, but at least it is gluten free). so we are back to the basics.
i am going to try coconut flour, but if i need to will use quinoa flour in small amounts to cover his chicken. also, i am going to make various meat "puffs" aka meat balls that have veggies grated into them. i have made a ketchup he can tolerate, and it has a small amount of honey. he also will be getting green apple, celery, carrot sticks, and tahini with a tad of honey as snack. one time a day he is allowed air popped pop corn. we shall see. this drastically reduces his starches. after 2 weeks i will slowly add other food or take away as needed. from what i am reading pear juice doesn't seem to hurt. i am going to try "popsicles" with pear juice, avocados, and coconut milk...may or may not succeed.
supplements...ahhhh...the biggie. i have started back kirkman's pro bio gold...it's a hefty probiotic. we are on 2 capsules a day (for a few weeks) to try to crowd out the bad stuff. i am going to add digestive enzymes, a butter oil/CLO oil capsule, and his daily vitamin and companion powder over the next month. these are the basics...according to all i have put together. there is literally dozens of other things he may need, but i am hoping and praying that God will let this list do most of the work. it's really quite amazing what i have been ignoring this last year. i am thankful his skin is so reactive as skin reactions are so tangible.
i am happy to go into detail or link research as needed...esp if you are interested in name brands. i will let you know some successful recipes as we find them. just know this...every single person should drastically reduce if not piratically eliminate all sugar...at least in the white form. honey, agave nectar, and raw are healthier choices, but i am learning that stevia and xylitol are even better.
first we have eliminated all sugar and white starches and most grains (keeping quinao flour in back pocket as needed as i have such a sensory sensitive child). i tried to do some home made fruit and juice popsicles but they caused j-bob's rash to flare up (at least i think...he also dipped into his daddy's toothpaste, but at least it is gluten free). so we are back to the basics.
i am going to try coconut flour, but if i need to will use quinoa flour in small amounts to cover his chicken. also, i am going to make various meat "puffs" aka meat balls that have veggies grated into them. i have made a ketchup he can tolerate, and it has a small amount of honey. he also will be getting green apple, celery, carrot sticks, and tahini with a tad of honey as snack. one time a day he is allowed air popped pop corn. we shall see. this drastically reduces his starches. after 2 weeks i will slowly add other food or take away as needed. from what i am reading pear juice doesn't seem to hurt. i am going to try "popsicles" with pear juice, avocados, and coconut milk...may or may not succeed.
supplements...ahhhh...the biggie. i have started back kirkman's pro bio gold...it's a hefty probiotic. we are on 2 capsules a day (for a few weeks) to try to crowd out the bad stuff. i am going to add digestive enzymes, a butter oil/CLO oil capsule, and his daily vitamin and companion powder over the next month. these are the basics...according to all i have put together. there is literally dozens of other things he may need, but i am hoping and praying that God will let this list do most of the work. it's really quite amazing what i have been ignoring this last year. i am thankful his skin is so reactive as skin reactions are so tangible.
i am happy to go into detail or link research as needed...esp if you are interested in name brands. i will let you know some successful recipes as we find them. just know this...every single person should drastically reduce if not piratically eliminate all sugar...at least in the white form. honey, agave nectar, and raw are healthier choices, but i am learning that stevia and xylitol are even better.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Some Good Books
i have read 10 or more books this summer.
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller was a fantastic memoir. i have fallen in love with the way she writes! her memoir not only exposes her life but also exposes the beauty of africa yet the ugliness of war.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver was another incredible novel about africa...well...a family in africa...it was beyond good...i also fell in love with kingsolver's ability to tell a tale!
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill was so good that i could barely put it down. something about this book gripped me immediately and spoke to my soul. it's about a little girl being ripped away from her family in africa and being brought back to US as a slave. i was even able to convince OA to read it!
i have read so many good books that i can barely express the goodness of each one, let alone remember what they were, without locating my list! i think that each summer i am going to challenge myself to complete my own summer reading program! maybe i can inspire my kiddos...mermaid already sits at the book shelf lovingly...and she is never far from a huge stack of books!
celiac disease
so i posted about jaden's rash. a dear blog reader took the time to post a comment back which has led me to really dig deep into some research again. i have run across the term dermatitis herpetiformis before when looking into jaden's rashes. i don't know why i have been so lax about his celiac genetic marker from our DAN! visit...just because his blood test came back negative (and when have i EVER needed a blood test to confirm something for me??)...which...his blood tests from the DAN! did confirm the deficiencies that are so typical for celiac disease!! sigh...we have been using all kinds of toothpastes, soaps...well...he gets special soap but we use other in the same tub without proper cleaning, hair gels from my husand's head, play dough, etc. bottom line...i have been more focused on his brain reaction to foods and less focused on his gut reaction...which...is the foundation of all the other problems.
on the same note...i have gone back and forth on my diet...allowing other's comments to allow me to believe that i am simply crazy and without a proper diagnosis i could never be celiac myself...well...all i can say is: PHOOEY on that!!
j-bob has the genetic marker from someone. i have nearly every symptom to include the most recent blood in stool (sorry, too much information) which had gone away for the first time once i started the kiddos diet! it may not be celiac disease...but there is a DEF gluten sensitivity in this house...SO...i will be combing this house for ALL THINGS SAID GLUTEN!! if nothing else, if nothing else i am hoping j-bob's skin will continue to improve AND if my monthly visitor can become more of a friend and less of a crippling painful ghost that haunts...OH BABY!!
please see kat's blog for a great introduction on celiac.
on the same note...i have gone back and forth on my diet...allowing other's comments to allow me to believe that i am simply crazy and without a proper diagnosis i could never be celiac myself...well...all i can say is: PHOOEY on that!!
j-bob has the genetic marker from someone. i have nearly every symptom to include the most recent blood in stool (sorry, too much information) which had gone away for the first time once i started the kiddos diet! it may not be celiac disease...but there is a DEF gluten sensitivity in this house...SO...i will be combing this house for ALL THINGS SAID GLUTEN!! if nothing else, if nothing else i am hoping j-bob's skin will continue to improve AND if my monthly visitor can become more of a friend and less of a crippling painful ghost that haunts...OH BABY!!
please see kat's blog for a great introduction on celiac.
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