The Elimination Diet Begins

I'd like to think that we eat fairly healthy meals here in our home. We do eat at home around the table most of the time. We tend to avoid prepackaged meals as much as possible. More than anything, this has to do with cost. I've learned that it's not as hard as it seems to make something from scratch. There is a lot of cost that goes into those grocery store packages, preservatives and transportation costs. But, nonetheless, even though I assemble our meals, most of our foods are well processed, especially our snacks.

Over time it's become more apparent that not all foods are agreeing with all the people in this house. Three of the kids have regular bloating and stomach aches. Two have eczema. The youngest two have extremely dry skin and the beginnings of what will be much worse eczema if allowed to continue. Two have recurrent fluid in the ears and infections. I have a crazy thyroid cyst and Sean teeters on the edge of high cholesterol. I've also noticed some of the kids really struggling some days with retention and concentration in school. They say it feels like they are in a fog or that their brain feels "fuzzy".

As this whole scene has unfolded in the past few months, it has sent me on a reading frenzy. Some of the books I've read have been:

Understanding Childhood Eczema

Discover your hidden food allergies and lose weight

Food Allergies and Food Intolerance

Allergy Exclusion Diet

The End of Overeating

When I learned that my friends from church, Heidi and Michelle, had done the elimination diet with great results, we began to consider if this would be a viable option for our family. (Let me know if you want the specific information and I'll send it your way.)

In short, we will be eliminating 11 groups of food completely from our diet for three weeks. These groups are: gluten grains, dairy, soy, corn, peanuts, eggs, nightshades, red meats, caffeine, alcohol and sugar.

This process should clear out the system of any current food sensitivities. Then it will be a systematic introduction of each group with a tracking of any allergic/sensitive responses such as increased pulse, temperature, hives, upset stomach, irritability.....

We've been anticipating this now for over a month and for the most part everyone is on board. Today we cleaned out the pantry, fridge and freezer making those foods inaccessible. We stocked the shelves with our new staples so that all is ready for Monday morning. I'll be updating this blog on our progress, recipes, price/product comparisons and results.

As one would imagine, we've thoroughly enjoyed Thanksgiving. For our last day of "normal" eating, calzones and omelets have been unanimously requested.

Before.

After

Saying good bye for now.

50% Safe

I've been on a cleaning spree lately. The kids keep reminding me that it's Fall, not Spring. "All the more reason to move the furniture and get rid of stuff", I say.

Today I was working diligently upstairs and after about an hour wondered what the children might be doing so quietly and independently. They were happily playing in the garage.

Later, Besty came and asked if I would like to see the "game" they made up. "It's 100% safe, Mom." Joseph interrupted, "Well, it's about 50% safe."

In case you can't tell, this is John and Rebekah on a sled on top of the chest freezer being pulled down onto a pile of winter coats and snowsuits. No worries, though, because Joseph is the "lifeguard." Besides, Rebekah tells John, "Trust God."

Thanksgiving thoughts

This is by far my favorite time of year. Perhaps it is because I'm introspective, but I truly enjoy contemplating and remembering in thankfulness the past year. There is something beautiful about coming around the same table again with the same loved ones and realizing how much we have experienced, grown and changed. Sometimes it's in the face of hardship. Other times it is the result of pure joy.


One of my favorite verses is found in 1 Timothy 6:6, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." It comes to my mind often, especially when I'm grumbling in my heart or uncertain about what the future holds. It reminds me that true contentment is directly from the heart of God. I can't "make" myself satisfied by pretending it or thinking it or filling myself up with the stuff of this world.

And when contentment like this is realized, then the gratitude abounds. To me that is a picture of what Thanksgiving is about. It's recognizing that all is from the hand of God and ,therefore, we must give thanks. It's declaring, "Lord, in you I need nothing else."

Coming of Age

Wow, has this past week been about the most fun ever! Hannah turned 13 on Wednesday, the day that Sean and I were scheduled to leave town. He was speaking in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday and I had purchased my ticket months ago in anticipation of joining.

Secretly, we planned to take Hannah along with us as a surprise birthday present. It's been hard knowing for months and not sharing the excitement. We even had her pack her bags for her friend's house. Once all of the other kids were dropped off, we pulled the van over and got out so that she could open her gift. It was her plane ticket and letters from Sean and I. She was shocked, to say the least. We made it to the airport just in time to board. So fun!!

Hannah's first flight. Playing Pass the Pigs.

While Sean was working at the Conference, Hannah and I worked through Passport to Purity. We giggled a lot, as well as had some deep, honest conversations. The Lord was good to provide us with such a special get-away to have these conversations. No pressures, no interruptions, no time constraints. It was perfect.

Florida sunset.

More than anything, we wanted Hannah to know how much we love and trust her. It's been our privilege to see her growing into the young woman that God has called her to be. We talked a lot about what life was like when it was just the three of us in our little apartment. Her daddy couldn't wait to get home to see her every afternoon. And I could not have asked for a better companion to pass the days.

At the completion of Passport to Purity, we met up with Sean for dinner at an Italian restaurant where he presented her with a pearl ring. *sniff*

The last two days we spent sightseeing around Fort Lauderdale and enjoying the incredible weather. I kept having to pinch myself.

The largest cruise ship in the world came to dock while we were there. We could see it from our hotel balcony.


This was the hotel pool. This is the kind of hotel that corporations pay to have people stay in- a far cry from our usual Residence Inn.


Hannah and I took this water taxi around and saw some insanely large yahts and homes owned by famous people.

At the beach.



Our last lunch by the ocean.

I could not have asked for a better way to celebrate coming into the teenage years. It's new territory for all of us. I don't doubt that we will have some bumps along the way, but I'm certain that God's Word will guide us through as well as a mutual respect and love for one another.

I walked away from this weekend more in love with Hannah than ever. She is a beautiful, determined, independent and Godly young woman. I'm truly blessed to be her mom.

Catching Up

Time is just ticking along. It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just two weeks away. Here's just a snapshot of what's going on in our house these days:

- We are in the process of celebrating Hannah's 13th birthday- a sleepover with friends last Friday, a dessert open house on Saturday, and an open house with the Indianapolis Fever tomorrow night. But, the best is still yet to come! That's all I can say about that:) Stay tuned.

- God is doing amazing things in our childrens' hearts! It seems each day lately has been filled with a new realization of God's forgiveness and new questions about what it means to be a Christian. I'm in awe at the Lord's individual work in their lives. He's calling out to them one by one. They are responding and growing.

- Our homeschool group has ended for the semester. It will be nice to have some more concentrated time at home, yet the friends will be missed.

- I'm loving the local library which offers homeschool classes on a regular basis. It helps that one of the librarians is a homeschool mom herself. The oldest three just took a class on giving a powerpoint presentation. I was impressed with what the produced and presented.

- I have been going to the chiropractor and rehab since the beginning of the semester. Thankfully, I've gotten much relief and now have moved on to the final phase. Apart from my ice skating mishap on Friday, it's wonderful to not be in continual discomfort.

- I'm doing a few projects around the house. My favorite is repainting the baseboard and doors which currently have flat paint that just smears the dirt when being washed. I'm trying to do a bit each night after the kids are in bed. It's rewarding to finally fix what has been annoying me for a long time.

-I'm preparing our pantry for the Elimination Diet that we will all be starting after Thanksgiving. This has entailed making a lot of unsweetened applesauce, as well as creatively using what's in the pantry. We are hoping to get to the bottom of some consistent reactions the kids have been having with eczema and digestive problems.

So, what's been going on in your world?

Frugal living these days

Many people have been asking me recently if I'm still bargain shopping and freezer cooking. I have to admit that I did get a bit burnt out after months and months of buckling down. Now that the debt is gone, the pressure isn't quite the same. That doesn't meant that I like spending our hard earned money on retail priced items when it could be put to better use.

So, I'm back at these days, but am looking for more balance. I simply can't keep up with the individual deals that I read on blogs here and there or run into the store at a moment's notice. And I refuse to clip every coupon that crosses my path. There's just no way.

I've found a some new-to-me websites that are quite helpful to this end. I like these because they are simple, give me the bottom line (how much am I actually saving) and then allow me to print off a list of only the deals that I actually want. I can even get a total for what I will spend.

Coupon Mom and Inexpensively are now on my list of favorite sites.

What's working for me is printing my lists from these two sites and sifting through my coupons twice a week while I'm waiting in the car during speech therapy. I keep my coupons in their original inserts with the date boldly written on the front. These are then placed in chronological order so they are easy to navigate. I keep these on a clipboard in the van. Then sometime during the week I'll steal away by myself and run into each store just for the items I have planned. That usually entails a stop by CVS, Walgreens, Kroger and Meijer. If an item is 80% off or less and I can stock up, it's worth the trip to me. I total, I'd say I'm spending about 30-40 minutes planning and an hours driving/shopping. I'm saving around 60-70% in the end or about $50 a week.

I'm also doing my best to stock up on seasonal produce when it hits its lowest price of the season. Of course, buying that much produce requires some diligence in preserving it for the future, but it beats paying a premium price later. Pumpkins and apples seem to be the theme. This week it was 3lb bags of apples for $.99. Needless to say, I'm up to my eyeballs in applesauce right now!!

When restaurant.com ran their 9/9/09 special, we decided to purchase a few certificates at 90% and give them a try. I was a bit skeptical at first. But amazingly, it worked wonderfully. We were able to enjoy a delicious Cajun meal which totaled for $35 for about $18 (tip included) as well as treat my in-laws to a big barbecue meal for their birthdays. I'm looking forward to using this site particularly when we are traveling and tend to eat out a lot. Most of these restaurants are local fare instead of chains. Bonus.

Finally, I'm planning on taking the last week of the month off from shopping altogether. This will require some planning ahead, but more than that it will force us to be content with what we have, which is always a good thing.

Within a few weeks all this grocery shopping/stocking won't be relevant as we are going a different direction in our diet for a while. After Thanksgiving, we (yes, all nine of us) are going on a little adventure of our own in the world of cuisine. But, I'll save that for another day.

At the end of the week....

I've not been neglecting my blog, but rather trying to catch life as it speeds by. It seems as though my feet hit the floor in the morning (which has been normally around 6am due to chiropractor visits) and I seriously don't sit down to rest until 8pm or so.

Honestly, I'm feeling a bit drained these days. And discouraged.

I was thinking today in the van (choking back tears) about how I viewed life ten years ago. I had two babies, lived in a small apartment waiting for the moment that Sean would walk through the door each evening. I was drained from lack of regular sleep, constant physical care and a good dose of isolation since we only had one car. A blog probably would have been therapeutic back then. The clock ticked so slowly in those days. Some days I really thought might never end.

I never imagined then that my life would be where it is today. There is never enough time to answer all the questions and concerns. I have such willing, helping hands for all the physical tasks which never ceases to bless me. The days of simply kissing away the tears or putting a whiny baby to bed are largely gone. Now it's long discussions with lots of emotions and opinions involved. It's giving attention to ideas and conflicts before the moment passes. It's the nitty gritty work of sanding down the rough edges that become evident in a family.

It's been made clear to me these past few weeks that in all these interactions, I have some rough edges myself. At times it's painful for me to not lash out or become hurtful to those I love. I can feel it just well up inside me. I'm constantly having to seek wisdom to know how to properly respond and react. I want to be the right one. I want them just to follow my marching orders. I want to be just a bit sarcastic to get a word in. I want them to understand me, where I'm coming from and trust that my way is best. That would be so much easier, right?

No. I know the answer is no. Yet, I feel a part of me dying each time I push back what I want. I know that these trials are not really about clothes or insecurities or a argument between siblings. It's about sanctification- for all of us. By God's grace I will do my best to continue to draw the lines carefully and enforce the consequences consistently. I'm so not good at this, but I want to be. I want to please the Lord. I want His Love to be poured out on my children through me. I want them to know that there is no problem too small or too big that He does not care about. I want them to be blessed in their obedience and repentant in their disobedience.


I feel so far from that place myself right now. And discouraged. I'm thankful for the coming Lord's Day- a time to rest, rejoice, reflect and know again what is True.