Potty trained!

Easton is FINALLY potty trained!!! Those of you that know me, know that I have been working with him for over a year on this...well, I mean--I started over a year ago thinking that he was ready and then he was adament that he was NOT ready by refusing to go in the potty and pretty much laughing at me everytime I sat him on it....SO...I kept trying all of the things I was reading about little boys (because my first born daughter was potty trained before her 2nd birthday!) and nothing seemed to phase him! We also had the added excuse to use for him that everytime he was exposed to an allergen --his ulcers would bleed and he would have nasty stools--so he appeared scared to go to the restroom for that reason as well...

It became difficult to know when I was making excuses for him or he was really not ready...but I knew that I was not going to send my child to kindergarten with a pull-up on!! So, we finally mastered the standing up to go pee a while back and that was huge! But, still he would not go poo and would say, "when I get bigger, I will poo poo on the potty"! How frustrating!! Then he would poo at home, but not in public on the potty... Finally, he did it and we have been good to go...he has had an accident or two, but he does notice it now and will be remorseful--where before, he would just walk around in it...NASTY!!!

SO--PRAISE the LORD-no more Pull Ups in this house!! God is so fantastic that He cares enough to walk us through all the stages of our lives...even pee and poo!! :)

Elle is all grown up

I was standing in my parent's bathroom fixing Elle's hair for church on Sunday and we were just visiting when I was just overwhelmed with emotions...my little baby is all grown up. I mean, she is only 7--but she is going into 2nd grade...she is talking about a boyfriend!...and things she wants to be saving up for...she was talking to me like we were peers--not my little girl...I had to leave the room I was so emotional. She came after me and asked what was wrong--she was that intuned with my emotions--(Jason doesn't even catch on to that sometimes!! ) But, we later talked about how proud we are of her and that I was just overwhelmed with that when I was talking to her. She just smiled and said, "Mommy, I am proud of y'all, too!" It was so precious.

I talked to God about it later and was saying that I get it..."don't let another second go by without recognizing what you have...don't miss any of it"

Summer time fun

I cannot tell you how fantastic summertime is for the kids and I. After going full-time this school year, being able to be home with my kids, to just hang out with them at the pool or read books, color, or just sit in the backyard...is such a blessing! Our summer schedule this year has consisted of sleeping late, going every other day to Easton's doctors appointments and then come home to eat lunch before heading to the pool for the bulk of the afternoon. Both of the kids are strong swimmers this year, so I have been able to play with them and then sit by the pool and enjoy an audiobook or two. SO AWESOME!! Then we come home and just hang out. By that time, Jason is home and we are ready to start getting ready for dinner. We have spent a few extra long weekends in Waco instead of coming home early on Saturday--just to be able to take it easy and not rush all the time--which has been nice. I just love that there is some flexibility in our schedule and thank the Lord for this time with my children!! They are growing up so fast.

Seriously AMAZING!

We have recently been going to Dr. Darr for allergy therapy for Easton. It is like he is a new kid now. He is now eating just about everything! He is eating things with milk, wheat, eggs, and yeast--all of which just a few months ago would have either broken him out horribly or caused his ulcers to bleed. It is like we are getting to experience his "firsts" all over again! It is amazing! We are in awe of God's total and complete love for Easton through all of his medical issues all the way up to this time of healing...We just hope that he will never forget all of this that the Lord has brought him through. It has been a long road--but the end result is so awesome to watch!

What's up with Easton...

I recently went to a workshop with the author of the book, "The Maker's Diet"--and it was amazing! There was a question and answer session where I was able to just sit and ask some questions about what I could do to help Easton to grow without exposing him to all of the foods that he is allergic to... Since then, we have added a few supplements to Easton's diet along with talking to some local farms that have these certain cows that produce a different protein based milk that he might be able to tolerate! We are going to try some organic eggs and some raw organic goats milk...This is a whole new thing for us--but we know that God can work through all things--so we sure don't want to turn anything down--just in case it the "life raft" God has sent to save Easton from his allergies. We also have an appointment with a chiropractor on May 19th to do some new evaluation and testing--so we will see what happens with that as well...

Easter

We had such a wonderful Easter this year. My dad came to get the kids on Thursday afternoon and Jason and I were able to spend a night out together with some good friends and sleep late the next day!! On Friday, we got up and took our time heading to Waco to hang out with my parents for the afternoon, as well as my niece that was in town for all of the festivities. It is always great to see Elle, Easton and Addyson play together--they are all so precious. We spent most of the day just relaxing, as it was pretty nasty outside, but it was still enjoyable to not have to rush around. The kids went fishing that evening with Jason and my dad and had a great time. Saturday was jampacked with two Easter egg hunts--one with Jason's family, complete with all the cousins and the other with my extended family, as well as pony rides. We also cooked out and ended up bringing my parents back with us about 11:30 that night to go to church with us the next morning to celebrate our Risen King!! Sunday we enjoyed a fantastic worship service, a great lunch with friends and my parents, and a good-long nap!!

Our little midge

So, Easton's well visit this month did not go as well as I had planned in my head...the thing is, he hasn't had a well visit in almost 9 months...he had one really late for his 2 year and then it took 3 months past his 3 year to get in for this one...The kid is always got something going! :) But, thankfully, he has been doing good and we made it to the well visit.

His doctor was so excited that he is currently off of most of his allergy medication and all of his breathing treatment medication, as well as his steroids for his ulcers. She was very encouraged that he was doing so well AND unmedicated! Hey--chalk another one up for Jesus Christ, man! We went through the whole physical and he is really developing well in all areas, mentally, developmentally--weight gain (which is AMAZING, considering what he cannot eat and that the things he does eat contain next to nothing!!)...but then we got to the area of height.

Last year, he was in the 1st percentile. This year, he is not. He is not on the chart at all. Dr. Munda was very concerned about the fact that he did not make any progress and seemed to "fall off the chart". She brought up monitoring it for another six months or so and then maybe needing to look into growth hormones. This sounds really scary to Jason and I. We are just praying right now and seeking God's guidance in what to do. We know that in the next 6 months, God can grow Easton to the 100%th percentile--no problem...We also know that this may not be His plan for Easton. With or without the growth hormones. I sure don't want to get in the way of God's plan--and make things more complicated than they need to be...but I also want my baby to be happy and for his life to not be difficult for undue reasons...things are hard enough in today's world...

So, we continue to rely on God. He has never pointed us in the wrong direction before!