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| Sasha loves the Little's and spends most days at their side! They spoil her to! Here she is begging for whatever Javon had on the end of his fork!...:) |
Our Summer break is moving right along... We have been enjoying the picture perfect days day after day. The ones we had last week with the true blue skies, puffy white clouds and perfect temps. The ones we wait the whole LONG WINTER for!!...:)
We are outside most of the time here. Swimming, riding bikes and four wheelers, working the garden or flowerbeds. We are enjoying the fish pond up and running again after setting for a few weeks, it was getting green from setting still and it was attracting bellowing bullfrogs that kept me awake at night! The pump needed some maintenance. The bullfrogs don't like it so much when the waterfall is working so they croak much less now... ~whew~ :)
This will probably be a longer post with me jumping off and on all day. I have housework to do after our relaxing weekend and Dave and Justin plan to come home from the shop for lunch. Today is Pentecost Monday so the shop workers are off today. It still has the office crew there but with less demands they can make it home for lunch...:)
Austin turned four yesterday! We were there to celebrate with him on Friday night... This was the start to our eventful weekend...
Happy Birthday Austin!!!
This boy is absolutely darling!! Just hearing him talk melts my heart, he is so affectionate never failing to give me hugs upon my arrival! He is his Momma's challenge right now but Aunt Suz don't see to much of that so I just love on him a ton, even if he is naughty sometimes!!... He loves baseball! He will play ball with anybody that has a minute to spare! He loves Justin!! He got new batting gloves for his birthday and didn't even part with them to eat his cupcake...:)
I Love You Austin!!
Saturday morning Dave and I ran a 5K at Paradise Park...
It was a perfect morning and since we like to do a run on Saturday mornings anyway we decided to slip this one in. I tend to be a maniac sometimes on these shorter races. We didn't scope out the route or anything before we ran this. It had some hills. I like to run a "slow" first mile but with these 5K's I tend to start out fast. I kept up a "to fast" pace for my liking but I kept thinking it's just three miles I can do it fast!...:) It took me twenty four minutes with my app speed showing an in the seven minutes pace... which is to fast for me...:} I ended up with a second place metal for women but I think I'll start out a bit slower next time. I didn't think the pain the last mile was worth it.
It was an all day cancer fundraiser geared towards children, it had a bouncy house, crafts, clowns, wild animals show, candy drop and more so after a few hours at home I took the kids back for the day! They loved it! Justin enjoyed watching the ballgames and Jordan made some new friends.
My dad was the umpire in the ballgames and mom was there to. She was watching the Little's while Dave and I went to get some replacement bushes for around here. After hanging out at the park for awhile I brought the very tired, very warm kiddo's home and Dave and I enjoyed a meal at Olive Garden with my cousin Linda and her husband. It was a great time of sharing how God is working in our lives! The kiddo's were all bathed and in bed when we arrived home!...:) My big boys really are amazing sitters!...:)
Yesterday after church service we were invited to host lunch at Todd and Susie. Since Jordan has food restrictions and Javon is not a people person we brought the boys home first before we went for lunch and fellowship at Todd's. Jenika of course loves it at Todd's since they have every animal you can name to love on so she went along and hung with the animals most of the time! The donkey is her favorite here!...:)
We hung out with the kids in the yard last evening before our evening church service... We let them stay home from evening service since they were so involved with swimming and enjoying the lovely evening. Anthony was sharing on his mission in Mexico. ~Blessings Anthony~
Javon enjoying being Justin's "Workout Material" some days...:)
This big guy is growing in every way! I can hardly believe it some days that I'm old enough to have this big of a kid!! Love him!!
Jordan doing his thing on the grill for supper...:) (he does it best!) Sausage, Steaks and Pork Chops. Yes we have some left for today!! Jordan loves his meat!!
This is Jordan's job every morning these days...
He is up at six and out in the garage soon after. Some mornings Ashley meets him out there and he would much rather have her company and help for his few hours of cranking out plates...:)
His machine thingy puts a bend in each plate. They then get boxed and shipped off for pole barn uplift plates and I'm not sure what else?...:) All he does is stand there and push them through the machine and he has to step on a pedal thing to give the plate the bend. Sasha has her own bed out there to and she is right at his side the whole time on her bed!...:)
Jordan is so motivated to make money with these things...:) He pays Ashley so much per plate and she has gotten paid a few times already even though Jordan is still waiting on his pay, once the first shipment goes out he gets paid...:) It is so good for him!
Okay I'm back after a lunch break with Dave and Justin...:)
Jordan made smoothies for dessert with strawberries from our strawberry patch... He came in with this bowl of berries for smoothies and they were so good!! Nothing like those fresh SUMMER berries picked fresh!
I will take time to share more of Jordan's food journey here like I promised... I have a muffin recipe to share and also some notes of mine that we used when we shared at church last week.
I will be honest... I thought only children have meltdowns but I guess we all have our days because last week one day had me on the kitchen floor in tears! (lots of them) Some days I just think I can not do this anymore!
My Jenika misses school so much and she was being a challenge on this particular busy day. She seemed to think I had all day to help her figure out new ways to make loom bracelets. The day was perfect outside but she didn't want to play outside with her siblings! I did help her figure out a new bracelet style but she just wasn't able to quit get it figured out on her own! My time clock of course was ticking as we were doing this loom thing!...:) after she just didn't get it I tried to get her started with something else but she kept going back to her loom and getting more and more frustrated every time she tried it on her own!...:) I'm sure children can sense when we have busy demanding days all laid out on a list before us! :)
We have a routine but when the groceries get low and I have so many other things going on demanding my time I can meltdown to I guess...:) Rare but it happened...
Jordan does great! He helps so much with the food around here! He got Javon to help him put all my stacks of laundry away that day because he could sense I was not able to do all the things that were demanding my time that day! (reunion on my mind, why do we do this to ourselves!!??) He has a true servants heart and it has been so helpful on this food journey of his!
I decided after last weeks busyness that I was going to take a breath and just be okay with not everything getting done at once. I relaxed a bit this week even though my list of "To Do's" is still really long, I realized that it really is not worth stressing over! We are way to blessed to be stressed!!
I want to enjoy my children during the summer "no school" months! If I'm not careful my whole June will "whoosh" by with doing nothing but stressing over a reunion that will last only a few hours!...:) I even have a beach trip planned with my church lady friends for a few days, one being the reunion day, but it's in the evening so I should be good!...:) It's all good and I really have no need to stress! I could miss the beach trip but it's an annual thing and I can hardly miss out!...:)
Here is a new muffin recipe Jordan likes... We have been out of sweets for awhile now since he gets his share of summer berries! He is begging me to make more muffins soon...:)
The ingredients don't sound like they mix well but I decided to try them and they were a huge hit for him!! Just don't over bake them!
Carrot-Pineapple Muffins...
1 cup GF flour (I use Silvana's on earlier post)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 large eggs (room temp) We use duck eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil (coconut works great)
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup loosely packed carrot (about 1 large carrot)
1/2 cup chopped fresh or canned pineapple drained (we use fresh)
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
Preheat oven to 350'. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, oil and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the carrot, pineapple and walnuts. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan until each cup is two-thirds full. Bake until the muffins are springy to the touch and toothpick comes out clean. About twenty five minutes.
Let them cool and enjoy!
Jordan has gotten used to taking a treat of his own when we go out... I don't even remind him. Here he is enjoying his own muffin dessert at Austin's birthday party while everybody else enjoys cake and ice cream...:)
He really knows he would not feel well if he ate normal birthday cake so he has come to be okay with this new normal!...:)
Here are some of my notes from last Sunday...
I shared his journey of sicknesses through his childhood like I shared on the "Jordan's Health Journey" post. On into the antibody infusions and what they have done for Jordan. Then I shared a bit on his "Leaky Gut". His skin issues and all that led us to this new lifestyle we have been adjusting to.
Looking back now we believe Jordan had food allergies from day one and because of the food he was eating despite the allergy his body responded by attacking his immune system to the point of not having one at all.
Since I have been sharing on here all along the way I will jump right into the "Leaky Gut" notes that I have since I think many people struggle silently with this, thinking "this is just normal" for me or for my child.
"OUR GREATEST WEALTH IS HEALTH"
Our Gut is a "gateway" to health, if your gut is healthy chances are you are in pretty good health. Food is information to our bodies... It is there to fuel and heal us.
What is a "Leaky Gut"?
Leaky Gut is a condition that occurs due to the development of gaps between the cells that make up the membrane, lining the intestinal wall.
These tiny gaps allow substance such as undigested food, bacteria, and metabolic wastes that should be confined to the digestive track to escape into your bloodstream.
Once the integrity of your intestinal lining is compromised and there is a flow of toxic substances "Leaking Out" into the bloodstream, your body then experiences significant increases in inflammation.
Your immune system becomes confused and begins to attack your own body as if it were the enemy.
"What are the signs of Leaky Gut?"
Gas and bloating, Fatigue, joint pain, congestion, Auto immune disorders, skin disorders, mood disorders, allergies, autism, learning disability, ADD, Depression, Anxiety,, Headaches, Can't think straight, can't lose weight. These are all classic signs of "Leaky Gut"
When food tests are done many times the same foods show up as intolerant... Gluten at number one! Dairy, eggs, soy, corn, peanuts, sugar, GMO's and toxins are the worst for "Leaky Gut".
Toxins enter the body in the form of medications, Motrin, Advil, Steroids, Antibiotics and more. Jordan was on tons of these over his young years!
Doctor's often can't make sense of the symptoms which brings feelings of hopelessness and despair because the symptoms seem so unrelated.
A "Leaky Gut" is the pathway for how toxins enter the body through the GI tract and create "Havoc" once inside. (sort of like the party crashers that slip through security and proceed to raise havoc.
Things like Bread, Sugar, Dairy and Gluten are like drugs to our bodies. They have addictive affects on the brain so it's important to do "swaps". Replace them with something else in order to make it "Lifestyle" without these addictive foods. Example... Trade almond or coconut milk for regular cows milk.
"Leaky Gut" symptoms can be so low grade that people are taught to believe they are normal. It could be as simple as pulling these foods out of the diet for a matter of days to see the difference!
In the US we are told that grains (especially whole grains) are an important part of a balanced diet, necessary for obtaining our daily requirement of healthy nutrients and fiber. However according to growing experts we humans are not designed to eat grains and doing so may actually be damaging to your gut.
Grains are a poor sorce of vitamins and minerals compared to "Whole Foods" like fruits, vegetables, meat and fish.
As knowledge grows the theory behind "Leaky Gut" will become the foundation for lots of diseases that are widely prevalent in our society (especially the younger generation) and people will be in better position to find relief from there suffering.
Blessings in This??
Yes, the list is actually longer then I thought it would be. It forces us to eat healthier as a family, we can now taste the difference in "real whole foods" and "fake processed ones"
Clear skin for Jordan. Even though it still is not 100% normal yet.
No more bloated belly. Most of which was inflammation.
No more food cravings at any and every hour!
Jordan has way more energy and his school grades got better to.
The reality is that our culture is centered around food. Having food sensitivities can be a challenge but the more we see the blessings it brings the more fun we can have with it.
We always try to focus on the things Jordan can have and not the things he cannot have.
I could go on all day about "Leaky Gut" but I'm going to stop now. I just wish somebody had made us aware before things got this bad with Jordan. Maybe we can help educate others. We do believe God will heal Jordan's body where it can again make it's own antibodies. "According to his Doctor's this would take a miracle" but they were impressed at his last CHOP appointment. This past winter was the first in ages that Jordan did not develop a cough. His allergies are much better this season to.
Diet change really is a big step towards healing!!
We truly do feel BLESSED!
Am I seeing right??? Is this really my kids outside having a blast in the pouring down rain!??
Isn't summer the greatest??!! The rain shower was just what our corner of the earth needed!! Thank You Lord for BLESSING us once again!!
Have a Blessed Monday!
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