No More Food

I thought that my food restrictions for a little while are bad, Audrey's tops the cake. Lets just say that she is getting back to Bible times, she will be eating like Adam and Eve. Fruit, vegetables and some meat with no trimmings.  Her test came back today, she is highly allergic to dairy , so no more ice cream, Oreos, Don Juan cheese dip, cheese balls, mac and cheese (I need to stop with the cheese), or coffee creamer. She  is also highly allergic to malt, so no more vinegars, other that rice, or alcoholic drinks, not that she drinks that many, no more Worchester sauce, ole my I could drink the stuff. She is allergic to bakers yeast, so no more bread unless she can find something the Jewish families eat that is dairy free. She will be looking into their breads.  No more yeast rolls, no more deep dish pizza, no more beer battered onion rings, I think I would just cry. She is also allergic to turmeric, so no more mustard, that is a staple that is used regularly at our house. Ginger, so no more Kyotos.   She is allergic to basil, I have never heard of anyone allergic to basil, I love basil, I eat it all year long. She is allergic to grapefruit I wouldn't miss that. She is allergic to crab, she just started eating it in the last two month and she noticed this weekend at a wedding where they served stuffed mushrooms that her throat got itchy and she had to take Benadryl. She was high on other seafood's and some fish, I told her the best bet is to leave it all alone. She is allergic to squash but not zucchini , red pepper but not green, go figure. She is allergic to teff, never heard of it till today, grown in foreign countries, sometimes used in gluten free products, so now she even has to check that out. So when you think its bad that you can't eat chocolate for a few week, or pintos, or peanut butter. Be thankful that is all you can't eat. That is  what I am telling myself.
As a parent of this grown woman I do feel somewhat guilty that I let her eat chip sandwiches, ice cream and Oreos all of her years living with me.  I never in my wildest dreams thought that she was that allergic to all that she is allergic to. I guess we all think that when you are allergic to things you break out and your throat closes. Not always I have learned, for years we thought she was fighting kidney stones, she has had them, but the severe pain she had  we are realizing was food related pain.  That her chronic mono probably is a result of food allergies.  Joey and I are very hopeful that Audrey will one day soon feel the best she has ever felt and say I never knew that this is what it would feel like to be healthy.

Dr. update

I had my biopsy and Praise the Lord no thyroid cancer, so that is done. I went to the headache neurologist and she was great, she really thinks that my stroke came from taking estrogen, I was only on it for a month but then that crazy eye thing happened and I took myself off it.  She said that was a blessing in disguise, because more than likely I could have had a worse incident had I stayed on the medicine, so another Praise the Lord. She is now trying to get the migraines under control, she put me on medicine that is powerful, I took the first dose at bedtime and it took me until 12 the next day to see straight. I will be cutting the dose in half. I also have to keep a diary of my daily headaches for a month, along with once again giving up certain foods that I love to see if these are the problems.  I laughed a year ago and told friends, God has seen fit to allow me to be allergic to shellfish, my most favorite thing to eat, and I hope he doesn't take away chocolate, peanut butter and cokes.  Well you guessed right, those are only 3 of the things that can be trigger foods, also avocados, pintos, peas, onions, soy, MSG, bananas, raspberries, plums, fancy breads, cheese, pork of any kind, and my favorite meat of all bacon, I know its a pork product but I think of it as steak. I love all these foods I usually every morning eat a banana and peanut butter for breakfast with a coke. Now you see why my world is turned up-side down.  I am having to rethink everything.
Now on to rest of family, Audrey had a 200 food blood test done this week to see what all she is allergic to, her body is so out of whack, and she has also been pretty sick , but you have to understand Audrey has always been sick, all her life, she saw a specialist this week and she told her that most of her problems her whole life she will bet comes from her being allergic to foods that she has been eating. She knows she is allergic to wheat now, she stopped eating that about a month ago and saw a tremendous change in her skin and stomach issues. However now they definitely want her to go off dairy and if you ever knew Audrey she lives off cheese so she is trying to figure out what to eat now.
She is a very OCD eater so this is going to be a challenge. We are very curious to what all she is allergic to and can't wait to see how getting off all this stuff will make her feel. She has never, ever really felt good since birth and I don't think she will know what it will feel like to wake up pain free, I have been thankful for her high pain tolerance, but I think it has somewhat messed her up because until she feels pass the point bad will she do anything about her pain.
Wesley is set up to see a new neurologist for a second opinion, to make sure that they didn't over look the MS with the first doctor.  His family Dr. says that sometimes a MS doctor is so confident that they overlook some patients at first. So he is hopefully going in the next couple weeks.
Praise the Lord that Joey, Josh, Abby & Harper are happy and healthy.  They can take care of all of us....Yeah right!!!!

Whats happening in my life

I decided that I was sick of looking at my cherry wood bedroom furniture that I have had for 30 years so with a little sweet talking Joey said he didn't care if I painted it.  This is the first piece it is black with taupe undertones.  It shows up gray here but he actually loves it, so now on to the rest. I will show before and after on the next pieces.

Grandmother turned 79 last week and she wanted a picture of her and her "blood" grandchildren.

I didn't know she said that and we couldn't figure out why Abby and Wesley wouldn't be in the picture, but they heard her say that.  Thanks goodness they both know how wacky she can be.

Our first snow and hopefully not our last, I had to take a picture of Josh, he and his father I think are by far the most snow minded people I know.  They called each other and talked about the weather radar and tried to predict how much there would be on the ground before it started. I will go on record today and say that Joey was so excited this morning on something he saw on the radar his exact words were this next system next weekend is so impressive and all three radars are showing alot of snow, so next week we will be on the computer again. 

another day in the life of "Harpo"

Loves Blue Suckers

Trampoline Fun


Harper is one of the greatest joys of my life, but there are days  that she works me hard.
I thought Audrey was one of the strongest willed children I had ever came across until now.
Harper loves life and hates to let it go and this is where our battle lies.
Nap time with me has become a battle ground, she doesn't fight naps usually except at my house.
We have decided she gets over stimulated there with so much going on and people in and out all the time and she can't shut down her little brain and relax. I will say she makes me laugh, she was jumping at my sisters on the trampoline and just laid down and said "we-anne it sure is a beautiful day today".  We go to bank and she sang a solo (Miss Sharon asked)  for a stranger there "smiling ear to ear and doing hand jesters to Chris Tomlin , There's no one like you".  I had to spank her for being disobedient and I have started using a wooden spoon on her hand, because you could spank her bottom and she laughs. So she can see the spoon doing the punishment, she said I will hide my other hand so you can't pop it and I'm going to tell my Daddy. Her new thing is to run through the house and turn on my bathtub and flush all the toilets and see if I can catch her and she laughs saying I'm going to play a trick on you.  Her new saying is I'm just upset, when she is pitching a fit to get her way, and I say why are you upset and she says Harpo don't know I just upset. Life with a 2 1/2 year is up and down in a split second, you have to roll with it or you are in trouble.  Thanks goodness I'm older now and somethings just don't bother me anymore like they did when I was young, I can laugh at the scenes that play out.
 

Changes

Websters definition of change says "to make different, to under go transformation". Life is always changing we either go with it or we fight it. Changes can be fun or  they can be very difficult. I have always said that I like change, I move my furniture around at least once a year usually twice. I use to paint rooms about every other year.  I get bored with things pretty quick, so I don't spend alot of money on material things because I probably won't keep it forever. Changes in life are a little different, Joey said yesterday, its been a week since Robert died and its real weird not to have him call at 9:30 everyday like he use to. I told him, I totally understood, I talked with my mom everyday and its been 9 months and I still think about calling her. Change is a everyday occurrence, weather, health, my hair, sleep, if I will fit in my jeans today or not, but one thing I do know that will not change.  That God above never changes, Psalm 121 I memorized in a Sunday school class  20 years ago with my friend Myra who is now gone to be with the Lord .  I still think of this verse often and it tells us who God is.
I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth! 
 He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.

The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.

The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.