Busy, busy, busy...

It seems I have not had much time to sit down and write. I have been busy working, working and working. When I am not working, I am trying to spend every moment with Tobyn and Zoe. We had a blast over the weekend. We went swimming and picnicking one day. Then on Saturday, we went to the movie Up. It was so cute and I highly recommend it to everyone. The kids had a ball, but they were definitely cranky and ready for bed by the time we got home!

The newest development for me is my decision to start college. I had previously attended college for 2 years right out of high school, but I had stopped going once I married Brian. I decided it was time for me to finish what I started. So in July, I will be starting my journey to complete my teaching certificate. I am pretty excited and I cannot think of a better career for a mommy than being a teacher. I am super nervous too. I pray that I have to the time and energy to get this done. So wish me luck.....

Picnic and Swim

Brian and I decided it would be fun to get out of the house yesterday. So we went to Miracle Hot Springs for a picnic and swimming.

We ate our picnic lunch first. We has fried chicken, potato salad, chips, and rolls. Lunch was yummy, but it got interrupted when the sprinklers came on to water the grass around our table. It soaked me, the kids and some of the food. It was a mad rush to get all of the food and kids packed up before we got even more wet!

At Miracle, they have 3 alligators. I have been telling Tobyn about them for about 2 months now. He was so excited to get to see them. Two of the alligators were right up near the fence, so we were able to get a good look at them. I think Tobyn would have been content watching the alligators all day.

It wasn't hot yesterday, which made the hot spring water perfect-o! The kids played and played for about 2 hours. We had planned to stay for about 4 hours of swim time, but after 2 hours, Tobyn said, "OK Mommy I am getting tired. Can we go home now?" It wasn't even 5 minutes in the car and both Tobyn and Zoe were crashed. Zoe finished her nap at home by sleeping another 2 hours!

It was a great, relaxing day and so nice to get out of the house!

Update on Celiac Disease

Ya'll know I was tested for Celiac Disease a couple weeks ago. The doctor called back with my results.....




I do NOT have Celiac Disease!



Praise God! I think my honey was more excited than me because he was so scared about changing his diet! I just have to ask the Pediatrician next week if we need to go ahead and test the kiddos, but other than that what a stress relief.

Gardening

Brian and I decided to help my parents with their huge garden this year, so we can have fresh food throughout the summer.

Tobyn got to help Nana and Papa get the soil ready and plant seeds on Saturday. While pulling up the black plastic from last years gardening, they saw 3 snakes. It was great to hear Tobyn telling me the story later. He said, "Mommy I saw a black snake and I said AHHH! I like snakes, Mommy."

We are hoping the seeds actually grow, because after about 10 minutes of planting them, Tobyn was tired of the tedious work. So he thought it would be a great idea to toss them around. (Maybe this will be a good time to teach the Parable of the Sower.) So needless to say, Brian and I may be buying more seeds this week.

Now all that is left to do is to plant the live plants. Papa, Mommy, Tobyn and Zoe will be doing this on Wednesday. If all goes as planned we will have fresh lettuce, spinach, corn, peas, green beans, tomatoes, various peppers, cucumber, squash, zucchini, and melons.

I can't wait!!!

My parents tried to kill my baby!

Ok...I am exaggerating just a bit. They didn't do this on purpose...here's the story.


Zoe stayed the night with my parents on Friday night. On Saturday morning she was playing in their living room and decided she would like to take a ride in the infant swing. The swing could not hold her weight and broke under the pressure flipping her backwards onto her head. She let out a big cry and then tried to catch her breath.

Nana ran to Zoe and kissed her all better, but nothing is better than Mommy's love. So at 9 am they called me to talk about the big "ouwie" over the phone. As my mom and Zoe told me the story, I could her my dad in the background saying, "Don't exaggerate it. It is not as bad as you are saying." But as soon as I got the house to pick her up, I saw my mom was NOT exaggerating. Zoe has a huge, black and blue goose egg on her forehead, a bruise on her cheek and a bruise on her leg. I think a little bit harder hit on Zoe's head, we would have had some blood and an ER visit. Thank God for "just a bruise" even if my baby's face is all banged up.

We went out to dinner on Saturday night and Brian kept saying, "I think people will think we are child abusers." He almost didn't want to go out of fear of being turned into Social Services. I am sure many moms understood. Silly Daddies!

Here are some pictures I got of Zoe...they are not as great as I hoped for because she is such a wiggle worm. Keep in mind these are 3 days out....it looked so much worse on Saturday and Sunday.

Happy Second Birthday Zoe Belle

Today my little princess turns 2! Wow how the time flies by. She is turning into quite the little girly girl. She loves makeup, painted nails, clothes, and shoes. She is very particular about what she wears and will tell me if she doesn't like the outfit I picked. She can be a bit of tom-boy at times. I think that comes with having an older brother to play cars and guns with. She talks like crazy and she loves to sing. She will sing along to the music in the car. I love you so much Zoe....you make our family complete!

Happy Birthday! I can't wait to see what this year has in store for you!

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.