Today is the first day of the OKC homeschool convention. It's a place full of books, wonderful fellow homeschoolers and lots and lots of knowledge I would love to glean. But not me. I don't go to convention as wonderful as it sounds and as much I would like to.
Seven years ago, I packed up a car with my friend and we came down from Tulsa for a weekend of girl talk, eating out, and books...lots of books. The convention sounded like heaven on earth to us and we were ready to experience it all. We had a fun drive down here and I rushed to the bathroom as soon as we got parked. My 9 month pregnant body had held it's bladder long enough. I remember laughing with my friend as we ran up the stairs that my baby boy was bouncing up and down on my bladder.
Saturday morning I woke up at the hotel and we hopped out of bed fairly quickly to get ready for the seminars and the perusing of the books. Halfway through the day I all of a sudden felt terrible. I apparently looked terrible too because my friend took me and we sat down for awhile while I tried to get my feet back under me. We did end up finishing up the convention and headed home.
Sunday morning I woke up and realized immediately that I hadn't felt Jacob move since the trip up the stairs on Friday. Usually I "played" with him every morning...poking and prodding my tummy while he poked and prodded back. Saturday morning we had been so busy, I hadn't taken the time to play with him. Now, Sunday morning, he wasn't playing with me. I poked, prodded, shook my stomach, drank orange juice, laid on my side and called the doctor. He told me to come into the hospital so they could do a quick check on Jacob and make me feel better.
Most of you know, I never "felt better."
I don't go to convention. It is too wrapped up in Jacob and his last days.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Life
In the beginning
It is dark.
I'm stripped empty
No life
hovering in winter, even as spring is
Budding, blooming, pollinating
Growing.
Am I crippled by an early freeze?
Frost glittering on my bare branches
Sparkling beautiful but dead?
Or will I be warmed?
And then there was light
The Son warming me
Coaxing life
thawing my brilliance
stripping me of all but Him
Drawing from my roots
And the sky above
I reach for Him
Seeking the living water
To quench my parched limbs
Once tasted
the water now a necessity
Growing, blooming, budding
but needing more
the ground: unforgiving
until His blood
finally satisfies all
And then there is life
luminous from within
from Him
I am bearing seed
according to my kind
His kind
And God saw that it was good.
-Kahri Lynn 4/28/10
It is dark.
I'm stripped empty
No life
hovering in winter, even as spring is
Budding, blooming, pollinating
Growing.
Am I crippled by an early freeze?
Frost glittering on my bare branches
Sparkling beautiful but dead?
Or will I be warmed?
And then there was light
The Son warming me
Coaxing life
thawing my brilliance
stripping me of all but Him
Drawing from my roots
And the sky above
I reach for Him
Seeking the living water
To quench my parched limbs
Once tasted
the water now a necessity
Growing, blooming, budding
but needing more
the ground: unforgiving
until His blood
finally satisfies all
And then there is life
luminous from within
from Him
I am bearing seed
according to my kind
His kind
And God saw that it was good.
-Kahri Lynn 4/28/10
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
So long Gluten, I won't miss ya
I have a story to tell you. It's kind of long... but then, I am long-winded. I like to tell stories from the beginning.
In the beginning, God... (oops, you probably know that part) let me skip ahead a little...
About 7 months after having Brittany, I started experiencing excruciating pain in my hips and extreme weakness in my hands and ankles. After some testing, the doctor diagnosed me with Rheumatoid Arthritis and put me on medicine to help me. After the medicine ate a hole in my stomach, doctors determined I shouldn't be on it anymore and were trying to figure out how to help me. Somewhere around this time, my mom said I should look into food allergies. I researched and decided to do an elimination diet to see if that was the issue. Soon I was able to figure out that wheat was the culprit. I had a test for celiac disease and came up with what they considered a borderline case of celiac. I stopped having gluten for a while and my symptoms all disappeared, including some bonus symptoms like eczema and acne.
At some point, my doctor thought it was okay to try gluten again so I added it back in and didn't experience symptoms. I thought I was home-free.
Fast forward a few years. Once again, I was having the same symptoms so I, again, cut out gluten. After a few months I started eating regularly again. I repeated this pattern one or two more times. I wasn't seeing the same doctor anymore because I had moved to a different state. I was not consulting with a new doctor about it because, honestly, I thought I had it all under control. I didn't do much research into it (which is unusual for me) but, as far as I could tell, my system was working....there wasn't anything to fix.
That is, besides a persistent pain in my left side. (I have a funny story about that. I will have to tell you later.) Anyway, I have been tested for thing after thing after thing and they even took my gall bladder out but the pain never went away.
Now we are up to the present. Since my fall off a ladder in June, I haven't quite been the same. I have had a whole myriad of lovely things happening: everything from horrendous headaches to muscle spasms to stomach problems. My doctor said it would take "quite a while" for my body to get back to "normal." Recently things having been going even more awry! Terrible acne, pain in my stomach so bad I haven't wanted to eat, problems with elimination (won't gross you out with THAT story), and I gained about 20 pounds in a month, all round my belly. Craziness. Couldn't figure out what was going wrong. Then, my darling husband said a magic word...."celiac?"
DUH!!! (Sorry for the "bad word" as my kids call it, but really...where WAS my brain??)
I went gluten free about 3 weeks ago. What an improvement! ALL of my symptoms have gotten better! ALL OF THEM! The headaches, muscles aches, stomach problems, acne, eczema, etc etc. Now I am not 100% cured. I understand it will take awhile. However, I am doing SO much better. And researching. Researching like crazy.
I WILL NOT add gluten back in. I can't even tell you how much I WANT to stay away from it now. I DO NOT want the pain and the symptoms. My darling oldest daughter made Michael a beautiful Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake for his birthday yesterday and I was NOT EVEN TEMPTED to taste it! instead I had the (naturally gluten free) frosting over some sliced bananas and was happy as a lark. :-)
So I am beginning an old/new journey. Old because I have been on it before. New because I am not thinking about it as a small vacation from gluten but a "So long, goodbye, don't let the door hit you in the butt" absolute break-up.
And my tummy agrees. I have gotten trace elements of gluten a few times in the last 3 weeks and my tummy has IMMEDIATELY let me know. Brittany says I am now a human radar for gluten. I think my body finally had enough. It has gone into full out rebellion and I am finally listening.
I am sorry body.
Please forgive me.
I will treat you better.
I will feed you things like this:
Brownies
Polenta Vegetable Lasagna
Crepes
And we will be very happy.
In the beginning, God... (oops, you probably know that part) let me skip ahead a little...
About 7 months after having Brittany, I started experiencing excruciating pain in my hips and extreme weakness in my hands and ankles. After some testing, the doctor diagnosed me with Rheumatoid Arthritis and put me on medicine to help me. After the medicine ate a hole in my stomach, doctors determined I shouldn't be on it anymore and were trying to figure out how to help me. Somewhere around this time, my mom said I should look into food allergies. I researched and decided to do an elimination diet to see if that was the issue. Soon I was able to figure out that wheat was the culprit. I had a test for celiac disease and came up with what they considered a borderline case of celiac. I stopped having gluten for a while and my symptoms all disappeared, including some bonus symptoms like eczema and acne.
At some point, my doctor thought it was okay to try gluten again so I added it back in and didn't experience symptoms. I thought I was home-free.
Fast forward a few years. Once again, I was having the same symptoms so I, again, cut out gluten. After a few months I started eating regularly again. I repeated this pattern one or two more times. I wasn't seeing the same doctor anymore because I had moved to a different state. I was not consulting with a new doctor about it because, honestly, I thought I had it all under control. I didn't do much research into it (which is unusual for me) but, as far as I could tell, my system was working....there wasn't anything to fix.
That is, besides a persistent pain in my left side. (I have a funny story about that. I will have to tell you later.) Anyway, I have been tested for thing after thing after thing and they even took my gall bladder out but the pain never went away.
Now we are up to the present. Since my fall off a ladder in June, I haven't quite been the same. I have had a whole myriad of lovely things happening: everything from horrendous headaches to muscle spasms to stomach problems. My doctor said it would take "quite a while" for my body to get back to "normal." Recently things having been going even more awry! Terrible acne, pain in my stomach so bad I haven't wanted to eat, problems with elimination (won't gross you out with THAT story), and I gained about 20 pounds in a month, all round my belly. Craziness. Couldn't figure out what was going wrong. Then, my darling husband said a magic word...."celiac?"
DUH!!! (Sorry for the "bad word" as my kids call it, but really...where WAS my brain??)
I went gluten free about 3 weeks ago. What an improvement! ALL of my symptoms have gotten better! ALL OF THEM! The headaches, muscles aches, stomach problems, acne, eczema, etc etc. Now I am not 100% cured. I understand it will take awhile. However, I am doing SO much better. And researching. Researching like crazy.
I WILL NOT add gluten back in. I can't even tell you how much I WANT to stay away from it now. I DO NOT want the pain and the symptoms. My darling oldest daughter made Michael a beautiful Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake for his birthday yesterday and I was NOT EVEN TEMPTED to taste it! instead I had the (naturally gluten free) frosting over some sliced bananas and was happy as a lark. :-)
So I am beginning an old/new journey. Old because I have been on it before. New because I am not thinking about it as a small vacation from gluten but a "So long, goodbye, don't let the door hit you in the butt" absolute break-up.
And my tummy agrees. I have gotten trace elements of gluten a few times in the last 3 weeks and my tummy has IMMEDIATELY let me know. Brittany says I am now a human radar for gluten. I think my body finally had enough. It has gone into full out rebellion and I am finally listening.
I am sorry body.
Please forgive me.
I will treat you better.
I will feed you things like this:
Brownies
Polenta Vegetable Lasagna
Crepes
And we will be very happy.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Friendship Award!
I got an award!! I am so honored and blessed by it because it is from a Susan, wonderful woman who is a wonderful friend! :-)
Here are the rules for the award: - List 6 things you are a master in. - Pass it on to 6 bloggers you think are masters at friendship and make blogging awesome. Since I would never qualify in the karate, physical fitness category :o) I am going to focus on the aspects of friendship that I am good at.
However, as much as I love the award, I am not a master at friendship. I am still learning, as I go: making mistakes, making amends and hopefully growing in friendship. My heroes in this category are David and Johnathan.
Here are the rules for the award: - List 6 things you are a master in. - Pass it on to 6 bloggers you think are masters at friendship and make blogging awesome. Since I would never qualify in the karate, physical fitness category :o) I am going to focus on the aspects of friendship that I am good at.
However, as much as I love the award, I am not a master at friendship. I am still learning, as I go: making mistakes, making amends and hopefully growing in friendship. My heroes in this category are David and Johnathan.
1. I am quick to ask for forgiveness if I have done something wrong. Friendship is important to me. I am always eager to resolve and eager to mend bridges. Similarly, I am quick to forgive.
2. I have a great sense of humor. I love to laugh and love to make people laugh. It comes in handy in all sorts of situations -- everything from boredom to crises that need some levity.
3. I don't "kiss and tell.". What you tell me, stays with me. However, like Susan, I don't keep secrets from my hubby. If I know something, he probably knows it too. Now whether he will remember it or not is a different story....lol (Actually these days he is so busy, he probably doesn't know anything....but still...this is a disclaimer. :-)
4. I am the kind of friend you can call every day or once every three years and I will still be there for you. Once a friend, always a friend.
5. I don't play games. Don't like games either. I wouldn't say I am blunt, I definitely try to be tactful, but I won't lie either.
6. I am a great person to call in case of emergency or problems. I am very calm and ready to click into action.
5. I don't play games. Don't like games either. I wouldn't say I am blunt, I definitely try to be tactful, but I won't lie either.
6. I am a great person to call in case of emergency or problems. I am very calm and ready to click into action.
Okay, I am tagging these 6 blogging friends who are masters at friendship and make blogging awesome (when they actually blog! haha):
Brandi (who I just realized was blogging again! YAY!),
Shirley,
Denise,
Melanie,
Heather, and
Sammi.
And thanks so much to Susan, who truly deserves it for her wonderful blog AND wonderful friendship! (even if she's not a karate master!!)
Brandi (who I just realized was blogging again! YAY!),
Shirley,
Denise,
Melanie,
Heather, and
Sammi.
And thanks so much to Susan, who truly deserves it for her wonderful blog AND wonderful friendship! (even if she's not a karate master!!)
Friday, April 23, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Thunder
Sometime last year, I found a book of poetry at Goodwill that immediately called out to me. I love poetry, but don't often read it (or write it) anymore. This book, though, was by Maggie Aldridge Smith who spent her life in Oklahoma and Arkansas. She was born in 1913 and there are many pictures of Oklahoma and Arkansas throughout the book, as well as many of her family photos. The back had Psalm 16:11 quoted and I immediately loved the book.
I haven't read the whole thing yet....
I am savoring it.
I don't want it to end.
I wanted to share the poem I read today:
I haven't read the whole thing yet....
I am savoring it.
I don't want it to end.
I wanted to share the poem I read today:
Arkansas Pleasure -
Thunder
When Thunder happens
I feel this is God's pleasure,
To let me know
He is still in full control.
Though I cave in fear
And trembling, feel the earth move!
This is God's assurance
He is always, ever near.
So Lord, I pray
You will let me be
Likes James and John
Sons of Zebedee,
LOUD AS THUNDER
Of your love for me!
by Maggie Aldridge Smith
Sunday, April 18, 2010
April 18
use chalk on today, since it was raining and they couldn't go outside!
Decided I am going to refinish it with chalkboard paint soon. :-)
sent from my Project 365 app
http://bit.ly/5G0JwQ
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Saturday, April 03, 2010
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