Around the house

There's not much going on with us that ISN'T around the house.  I've been quite sick for the last two weeks, so we've been sticking close to home.  I am SO very thankful for some friends who have come over and brought us food and even taken the kids for play-days or overnighters so that I can get extra rest.  Praise God for how he provides!

In the meantime, I have a few pictures to post of life around here.  Nothing exciting.  Just what's been going on around the house...



We may have had donuts around here a few times lately.



Ready for church



They've been dying for snow.  Elsa was determined to go play in the 1/2" that we got.



Somebody "painted" her own fingernails with a red marker (washable, thankfully!).



We love Edible Arrangements (courtesy of Stephen's co-workers).



Cade and Elsa helped make homemade salsa for Dad during his recovery.





He's got my vote

I said this nearly four years ago, and I'm saying it again...

Ron Paul's got my vote!

We have been watching the debates, reading the news articles, and following the process leading up to the primaries for some time.  And it's clear to me that there is no one else qualified to lead this country in the direction that it needs to go (I do realize that you and I may disagree about which direction our country needs to go).

But Ron Paul is the only candidate who is committed to abiding by the Constitution of the United States.  This entails many things including leaving to the states what authority is not specifically assigned to the federal government as well as going to war only when Congress votes to go to war.  These seem like simple ideas - and they are, really - but we have been so indoctrinated into the Big Government era that we hardly give any thought to what the Constitution actually says anymore.

Paul is also an obstetrician by occupation and has delivered more than 4,000 babies in his career.  He is inequivocally pro-life.  He recently stated in the CNN debate that when he was trained in medical school, he was taught that a doctor treating a pregnant woman had two patients, not one.  Remember?  "A person's a person no matter how small."  Thanks, Horton.

It's quite evident that Ron Paul has a deeper understanding of economics than any of the other contenders.  My understanding of economics is poor.  I recall that I did well in my econ classes in college, but I realize now that most all of what I was taught was based on Keynesian economics which is inherently a false system of economics.  There's plenty of info out there on the Austrian school of economics - which is what Paul believes and would practice - and I'm sure I should go and brush up on what it's all about (free market economics - I do remember that much!!).

And then there's foreign policy.  There is so much misinformation floating around about Paul's thinking on foreign policy.  Folks are calling him isolationist when that is far from the truth - read here.  His foreign policy is truly the only one among that of the presidential contenders that makes sense.  Why are we sending billions of dollars in "aid" to foreign countries when we don't have a balanced budget and we continue to raise our national debt?  Why do we have thousands of troops abroad - 130 different countries! - but we're not caring properly for the ones who are coming home scarred and damaged from the wars they've fought abroad?  Why are we interfering in the affairs of other sovereign nations?  

I don't pretend that Ron Paul has all the answers.  He is certainly not a savior for our country.  No, indeed.  But he understands his own, personal need for a Savior from sin and professes to have put his trust in Jesus Christ.  

I'm pleased to vote for him, and I hope you'll also consider him as your candidate of choice.

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Here is an article by Voddie Baucham on why he intends to vote for Ron Paul.  I don't know much about Mr. Baucham except that he's a Southern Baptist evangelical pastor, and he is outspoken regarding homeschooling.  I just happen to think he makes a great argument for voting for Paul. 

What's new around here...and more allergy stuff

Well, Stephen had rotator cuff surgery a week ago today and has been home recovering since then.  No surgery is fun, and this recovery is definitely easier than recovery from the craniotomies that he had 8 years ago.  But it's still a recovery, and he's pretty limited in his activities.

On the same day that he had surgery, I reacted strongly to an antibiotic I was taking for a sinus infection.  Even though I stopped taking the meds, I've been feeling poorly ever since (I'll spare you the details) and have even been losing a bit of weight.  Not good during a pregnancy.  Hoping and praying to feel back to normal quickly!!  Running a household and getting school done is pretty tough at the moment.

Back to the allergy-talk... Yesterday I took Luke for his appointment and had him tested for environmental allergies as well as re-tested for his food allergies.  He's still allergic to milk and peanuts.  We'll have a blood test done to check his numbers and see just how allergic he is. 

But in the meantime, the doctor and I agreed that we want to start a regimen of introducing small amounts of baked milk into his diet.  This means that I will regularly make muffins for him that contain a certain amount of dry milk powder, and he will eat one each day.  The idea is to de-sensitize his body to the milk over time, gradually working up to milk that is not baked and on to other milk products.  We have a few friends who have done or are doing this, and it seems to be quite successful.

In regards to the peanut allergy, the doctor said that the only program he's aware of to de-sensitize kids to peanuts is going on at Johns Hopkins.  And they're finding that it may not be as successful as they hoped.  Kids can become de-sensitized and are able to tolerate peanuts, but all too often the parent gets out of the habit of offering peanut products to the child after his or her tests come back negative for a peanut allergy.  And then when the child does have peanuts, they find that the allery has returned, possibly in an even more severe fashion with frightening consequences.

Hmmm.  I was already convinced that we didn't need to address the peanut allergy other than by avoidance.  I didn't need to hear anymore on the issue.

As far as the environmental allergies go, we learned that Luke is allergic to dust mites, several types of mold, and cats.  Yes, we have a cat.  Thankfully, the doctor didn't recommend getting rid of the cat because none of us could stand that.  His allergy medication (Claritin) does the trick, and the cat doesn't sleep in his room or anything like that. 

It will require a bit more work to address the dust mite allergy...from getting special mattress/pillow covers to getting rid of stuffed animals in his room to putting hardwood floors in the basement during our basement finishing project. Not a cost we were planning on, but something we'll have to consider. 

All in all, it was a good, informative visit with the doctor, and I'm feeling encouraged that we can start working on helping him to tolerate milk products.  I'm actually very excited at the prospect of being able to cook with butter again (although, not for a while). I've found coconut oil to be a great substitute, but for some dishes, you just need butter to make the real thing.    

So sad

This post on the Food Allergy Mama blog about the death of a seven year old girl makes me so sad.  Apparently, there are a lot of questions about the circumstances and what was done to help her when she had a reaction at school, whether or not medication was given to her, etc.  

But it is so, so sad that her family is now grieving for their little girl when her death could have been prevented by an adrenaline shot. 

I am so thankful that Luke's food allergies are not (or have not been in the past) severe ones.  And the fact is that we homeschool for reasons other than food allergy safety.  But I sure am glad that we are homeschooling and that I don't have to rely on someone else everyday to care for him in an emergency.  Someone who may be distracted by two dozen other children in the classroom.  Someone who may not be familiar with the reaction of an allergic child.  Someone who doesn't love my son as much as I do.

As I mentioned last night when I posted (not having heard this story yet), I am praying that our trip to the allergist soon will put us on the path to helping his body tolerate the allergens, especially cow's milk.  And praying we'll never need to use his Epi-pen. 

Old things and new things...

It's that time of year, I guess.  The old year is gone; the new year has come.  Lots of old toys are shoved into the back of the closet or the bottom of the toy box and have been replaced with new ones from Christmas.  Old clothes have been replaced with new ones for us grown-ups.

I decided to start a new New Years' tradition last week: scones for breakfast on New Years' day.  Why do all of our traditions tie in with food, you ask?  Because I'm pregnant - enough said.

But that new tradition reminds me of something old.  Our oldest son Luke has food allergies.  He's allergic to peanuts and milk, so he couldn't have the scones because one of the primary ingredients is, of course, butter.  I haven't tried making scones without butter.  I'm just not sure it would still be a scone.

In the eight years since we learned of his allergies, I have substituted butter and milk in all kinds of recipes.  But I'm just not sure scones would be worth eating if they weren't made with butter.

The good news is that his allergy seems to be lessening because he's able to tolerate milk that is baked into things like breads and muffins.  But without getting doctor approval, I've not tried butter baked into anything. 

We see the allergist in two weeks, and, frankly, I can't wait.  I'm praying that they will want to do a food challenge and see if we can help his body begin to tolerate milk products (honestly, the peanut allergy doesn't bother me as it doesn't seem to be a severe allergy, and it's much easier to avoid peanuts).

So, here's hoping that we can usher in a new era in our son's life with no more food allergies and hoping he can have the scones next New Year's!

Oh, and here are a few other pictures of "new" things:

Elsa's new Christmas dress...



And our newly-six-years-old boy!  Cade's birthday is today, and here he's enjoying his apple dumpling!  Happy six years, Cade!

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A super-silly girl!!  Ok, it was pretty cold out there...