Die off and Wheat

This die off is about over. I have relatively happy kids again.

I have learned that my body no longer tolerates wheat. If I do eat it I break out under my nose. This is the same thing that Connor does, so I now can tell when I have gotten even a little bit.

Oh well! It does make me wonder what was going on inside my body when I was eating it in vast amounts.

Day 12 of the Shred is done. I hate Jillian. Work out 2 is so much harder than 1. The only reason I am still doing this is because Darrin is doing it with me and the pain brings us closer. :)

What was I thinking?

Really, by this time you would think that I would start to think things through. Nope! Decided to do a Costco run with all of the kids the day after I gave them tons of coconut oil peanut butter fudge. Can we say not so smart.

It did not go too bad, but yesterday was so very much better. The house was very peaceful yesterday. Today we are on an emotional roller coaster. Taylor goes from really giddy to yelling and hitting. Addi is screaming again.

This die off is not as bad as the last one. This is a good thing. The next one will not be as bad as this one. I will know that we have taken care of the yeast when the behavior does not change after eating the fudge.

Fortunately tonight is date night. So sorry Esther!

This will give me a bit of a break.

In other news...We are on day 11 of The Shred! We made it to workout 2. It is really hard, but we are going to keep going. It helps to have Darrin doing it with me.

I am starting to see results so this also keeps me going. Only 19 days to go then we will have to see what we are going to do next.

Since starting this workout, I have so much more energy. The house is cleaned up and I am able to implement the chore charts for the kids. I also find myself much calmer. That will make some of you smile.

Day Two

I completed day 2 of The Shred. I hurt all over, but I am determined to continue.

In other news, Spencer has decided that he wants to be a fireman when he grows up. He plays in a plastic fireman's hat and his snow pants, boots and jacket. He gets very hot, but isn't that what firemen do? It is fun to see him play with thoughts of the future.

Taylor is turning into a jester. He loves to laugh and always says "mom, isn't that funny?" He loves to tickle and chase. He loves to make others laugh. It is really fun to see this side of him developing. His eyes are clearer and he is using longer sentences to communicate. We are seeing so much progress.

Addi is also improving. We still have a scream every once and a while, but nothing like we used to. I will miss her in the mornings next year when she goes to the 1st grade.
Her comprehension is getting better and she has passed Taylor in many areas.
It just proves how important early intervention is with these kids.

Edy is so very pleasant and has decided that she would like to stay home next year. I am happy for this. I would miss her not being here.

Connor starts speech therapy soon. He is not speaking as he should so I called First Steps. It was determined that he does not have the Autism ( big relief here), but he has weak jaw muscles because he got his back teeth late. I can see improvement in his speech even now.

We do need to be a bit more strict with the diet these next few weeks. I really want to push the pro-biotic when they are off of school. I think we will have even more improvement if we do that.

The Lord is doing wonderful things in our lives right now and I am truly thankful.

THE SHRED!!!

I started today!
Day one DONE!!!!

I might do the elliptical this afternoon. I have 30 days and I want to lose 20 lbs.
Here is hoping.

I have also given up Agave nectar for the next 30 days. No desserts. :(

I have Monica Bird and Anne Judd joining me for the 30 days. Feel free to sign in here and join us. It is only 30 days and you will feel fabulous when we are done.

You can get the DVD Jillian Michaels The Shred at any store that sells DVD. It is not expensive and it will change you if you do it.

Come join the fun!

Thanks

Thank you all so very much for your kind words. We have had an eventful week, but as always God has been merciful. There was no pain and I am back to my normal.

I have learned that even through loss, life continues on.
I am continuing on.
I start Jillian's The Shred in hopes of losing my last 20 lbs.
School is out in a week, and we go to CA at the end of June.

We will miss welcoming this little one into the family, but we all know that only God can see the big picture and one day we will all understand. Until then I am at peace to leave the future in His loving hands.

A Time to Learn...and a Time to cry

So many time the Lord gives us precious times to teach our children about him. Today was no exception.
It seems as if the Lord has decided to take our baby home to him. It has been hard for many of us, but it has been a time for us to comfort Edy through loss and draw closer as a family.

I must say that one benefit of Autism is that they do not understand what has happened. They accept that things have changed and move on. Not so easy for the rest of us.

I would appreciate prayer as the miscarriage progresses. I have not had any pain as of yet, but my numbers are at 18 when they should be around 1000. My midwife says that she is pretty sure that we will lose this pregnancy. I am hopeful that it will be without pain, but having experienced this in the past, I am sure there will be some.

We will keep you posted if things change. Thank you.

Improvements and change

Addi has been having wonderful days at school. It has been a very long time since I have received a bad report. She has not had any fruit or juice for a few weeks. She seems to do fine with the Agave nectar, so we will continue the way we are going.

The kids have taken to tea. It is very cute. They like to have "syrup" and "milk" in their tea. I use agave and coconut milk. They then stir it and sing a little chant that they heard on Dora. It is quite amusing.

Other news: Edy announced to me today that she would like to try out public school next year. I have mixed emotions about that. Part of me is selfish and thinks it is a great idea :) the other part of me is very sad and really wants her to remain home. I am trying to set up a date for her to visit the school so she can at least experience it before she would start next year.

I must admit that I am a bit afraid that I have not done my job and she will be behind the other 4th graders. Such a pride issue.

It does not help that I want to burst into tears at most anything that is happening.

So much is changing. I guess I was getting a bit too comfy in my little box.

The Best laid plans...

I have not been much of a planner in the past. As things have progressed with our Autism journey, I have learned to plan. In some ways I like it. I have not become obsessed with my plans, because invariably the Lord changes them.

I am ok with this, because I know that His plan will be much better than the one I had to begin with.

Darrin and I have never "planned" our children. We wanted them from the beginning, but we never said ok, this is when we want them. The Lord just sent them our way. I always thought it would be fun to plan one of them, but after Addi we decided to not have any more and focus on getting the ones we had recovered.

Then 5 years later the Lord sent Connor. He was unplanned, but exactly what this family needed. I have loved having him around and so has everyone else. He is so much fun! I love watching his little brain work. I missed this with the last three and was so tired when Edy was going through this stage that I don't remember it too well. I am so very thankful for this chance.

So the Lord has decided that I get to experience this for a second time. Our family is expanding. This also was not planned. I wanted an April or May baby, but once again the Lord has other plans for us. We will be welcoming our new little one sometime in early to mid January.

I am excited to see what this new little one will add to our family. He/She has already brought a great amount of rejoicing as the children bounced around in jubilation when we told them.
And so our journey adds another.