Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in everyday products such as medicines, vitamins, and lip balms. Undiagnosed Celiac disease can lead to many very damaging disease, including type 1 diabetes, auto-immune diseases, and lymphoma. More than 2 million people in the United States have the disease, or about 1 in 133 people. Those numbers are astounding to me!

My mom was diagnosed with lymphoma about a year and half ago. She had been having problems with her stomach aching when she ate and many other symptoms too. Someone told her, "It sounds like you have Celiac disease. You should try a gluten free diet." So about 6-8 weeks ago, she went on a gluten free diet. She started feeling better almost instantly. When she had a check-up with her oncologist last week, he concluded that her lymphoma is a result of un-diagnosed Celiac Disease. Now that she is on a gluten free diet, she should be in remission the rest of her life! Praise God!!!!

Celiac disease is hereditary, so the oncologist wants the family to be tested. So, today I have a doctor's appointment to talk with her about this disease and then in a week with my kid's pediatrician. I am hoping to find out everything is A-Okay, but if not what a blessing to find out early in my life before other problems develop.

So be praying for us on this journey and check out more information on Celiac disease...I think you will be surprised.

Welcome Baby Lucas

Friday April 24th was my mom's birthday. Now we have a new family member born on April 24th too. My brother, Josh and his wife, Devin welcomed their first baby Lucas Lawrence Wilmot into this world at 4 pm. Lucas weighed in at 6 lb 7 oz and was 20 inches long. Devin did so great. She had horrible back labor and ended up only having 1/4 of a normal dose of Stadol the entire labor! Good job Devin ...you stud!

Aunt Shana was the first to hold him other than Mommy and Daddy....it was so great! He is itty-bitty (I guess any baby is little compared to my 9 pounders. lol). Tobyn was so excited to meet his new cousin. In fact, I think Tobyn had some sort of premonition that Lucas would be born last week because he talked about him constantly and about how he wanted to meet him.
Zoe was introduced to Lucas on Saturday and she is in love. She could not keep her hands away. It was so sweet.

Welcome to this world Lucas Lawrence!

Earth Day (April 22)

Earth Day was April 22nd. One of my friends encouraged me to get out and enjoy the outdoors with my family and praise God for the world He has blessed us with. I am so glad she did.

It was a very nice day, so we decided we would walk to the library. I sprayed the kids down with sunscreen and we were off. I pointed out the flowers to Tobyn and Zoe and by about the 3rd block, Tobyn was pointing out all the flowers that he liked and Zoe was pointing out all the animals. We didn't stay long at the library...my kids forgot how to be quiet in the library, so Mommy was more than ready to leave outta of shear embarrassment. I was so proud of Tobyn, he walked the entire distance to the library (about 7 blocks) and back! What a BIG boy!

By the time we got home, the kids scarfed down lunch and laid down for a nap with Mommy. When we got up, I decided we would explore our own yard and play outside until dinner. We jumped on the trampoline and look at our flowers.

It was such a beautifully, wonderful day! Thank God for the world He provided for us to enjoy!

Curves

My weight-loss journey has been a bit frustrating this last week. I started eating only good carbs and I have been so good about eating them in moderation, yet I am gaining weight back. Brian assures me that it is because muscle weighs more than fat, but I am not completely convinced that is the whole reason. Two great things about my diet, though. One, I have lost 3 inches off my waist and second, I am eating healthy for once in my life.

So after talking with him about my concerns, we decided it would be good for me to join Curves. I have heard so many great weight-loss stories from Curves members (including my babysitter who has lost 45 pounds in the last 3 months!!!). The one thing that I love is a complete and total workout in 30 minutes only 3 times a week. Three of the other days I will be walking/jogging and then I will have one day of rest a week.

I will keep you posted about my weight loss. I am getting pretty excited about it!

Our Easter Activities (only 1 1/2 weeks late!)

We had a wonderful Easter weekend.

My mom was invited to an Easter Egg Hunt at a friend's church in Filer. I am so glad we went. It was not packed with kids and all the parents we so considerate and respectful. They hard boiled eggs and hid those for the little kids, which was so nice not to have TONs of candy to come home with. Brian ended up finding the "prize" egg and winning a prize for the kids. Yay Daddy! At the end of the hunt, they handed out homemade cupcakes to all the kids and Tobyn and Zoe scarfed them down.

We came home from the egg hunt and colored some of our own eggs. Brian was able to rig some of his olf shirts to get them to work for the kids. It was pretty funny. He wrappedThis year was Zoe's first year dyeing eggs and she absolutely loved it. Tobyn was pretty tired and cranky, but I think he still managed to have some fun.

See the lovely duct tape job Daddy did on their shirts?

Can you see the attitude on his face?

On the morning of Easter, I dressed the kids in their new outfits and we headed out for church. After church, we went to my parents house for the afternoon and for dinner. We flew kites, blew bubbles and played Wii. It was so much fun and very relaxing.

Kite Flying

Yesterday was truly the most perfect day. I worked the night before and I was usually HATE trying to stay up all day with the kids. But yesterday was so great!

We went to the park and there was just enough wind to fly Tobyn's kite. The kids enjoyed it for about 30 minutes and then Zoe let go of the kite. I thought for sure it was gone forever, but I ran as fast as I could and stepped on the string at the last minute!
We stayed at the park playing for another hour and a half. The kids played on the slides and swings. We ate lunch there and played a little more.

By the time we left, both Tobyn and Zoe were so tired they fell asleep in the car. They both took 3 hour naps, which was so great for a sleep deprived Mommy!

Something About Spring

Something about warm, sunny days, flowers blooming, and baby animals make me amazed at the majesty of my God. Spring is a time of renewal and rebirth. I just love this time of year. I think it helps me see how much my God really cares about me. I am in awe of His love today.

Hula-Hooping and Ski Jumping

Brian and I decided to buy Wii Fit last Friday while perusing the shelves at Wal-Mart. We went straight home and started setting up our profiles and playing/exercising.

It is so amazing to me how far we have come in the "gaming" world. The Wii Fit board can measure your weight and then has you do a balance test to make sure your center of balance is correct. Once you have done your measurements, it is off to play! There is Yoga, strength training, aerobic, and balance games.

We decided to start with the balance games. I guess I am balance-challenged because I had a hard time with all of them, with the exception of the Ski jumping game. I was killing Brian at ski jumping (until he practiced all night while I slept). But I plan on practicing while he is at work today!!!

We then decided to try the aerobics games. The first one is Hula-hooping. Do you know how long it has been since I hula-hooped...at least 18 years! Let me tell you, if you want a good ab and leg workout, you should Hula-hoop! I feel sore in muscles I have not felt in YEARS! Plus, it is very entertaining to watch others swing their hips as fast as they can. Brian was so horribly funny that I laughed so hard I cried.

I totally recommend this game! It is going to be a great weight-loss tool for me, plus a fun family activity!

South Beach Diet

I decided to start the South Beach diet this week. I have been doing some research on diets and this seemed like the most reasonable diet out there.

The biggest obstacle to this diet is the first 2 week of NO CARBS! I love carbs and this will be quite a stretch for me....especially since I can't even have fruit. Once you get past the first 2 weeks, you can eat some carbs in moderation. I will be able to have whole grains a few times a week and fruit almost daily. The big change will be learning to live without potatoes. The positive side is I can eat until full as long as I am eating the right kinds of foods.

In the first 2 weeks, I should see a drop of 10-15 pounds and then gradual weight loss (1-2 pounds per week) after that.

I think with this diet and my exercise, I should be good to go...IF I can make it past the NO CARB phase!