I Feel Healthy Today! (SHH!)

:)

After over a week of having an earache and LOTS of pain in my ear/neck gland area, I feel good! Yeah! This week I was also tested for a couple of things including Gluten-intolerance, and should know about that stuff within a couple weeks.

Also, we are getting ready for a lot of family. We are going to a wedding in a couple of days. Two days ago, the girls and I went and found them "party" dresses. It was a lot of fun and I even let Kj pick out L's (choosing from 3 selected dresses). She was very excited to show them to daddy when he got home.

I made some Nut Butter Balls and dairy free hot cocoa mix for our journey. The hot cocoa mix is also for my mom who has possibly not had it for...I don't know...my guess is 10 years...

Hot Cocoa Mix
1 c. dry powdered rice or soy milk (I used DariFree)
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. vanilla sugar (this round I just used sugar...but I got a vanilla bean for the next round)
pinch of sea salt

Then: 1 c. boiling water with 1/4 c. mix will give you the right proportions. I'm waiting to try it with my mom. We'll tell you how it is after that.

Almond Butter Balls (...tried to find a link to the original recipe, but couldn't found some other things of interest though...Nut Butter Cups and Vanilla Almond Butter)

1/2 c. powdered milk (again used DariFree)
1/3 c. honey or agave nectar
3/4 c. almond butter (used Peanut Butter)
(opt) about 1/4 c. chopped dried cranberries (or could use raisins, flaxmeal, chopped seeds or nuts, coconut, chopped oats...)

Mixed together then rounded into balls and rolled in shredded coconut (for gluten free variety). Or can roll in 1/2 c. wheat germ and 1/2 c. crushed graham crackers.

Gluten/Lactose Free Progress

Day -1:

• ate an ice cream parfait on the way to Nana and Bumpa's to pick up the girls from a fun weekend
• drank a medium sized glass of milk
• felt YUCKY!
• talked to Aunt C. about recent lactose problems...she mentioned a friend with a newly found gluten intolerance...
• researched gluten intolerance
  

Day 0:

• researched gluten intolerance
  
• decided that tomorrow was Day 1 of the Gluten and Lactose free me.
  
• put together a supper recipe for tomorrow with lots of yummy things including gluten and lactose...tested it...YUMM!!

Day 1:

• random rice, applesauce, hard-boiled egg breakfast.
• music with the girls.
• grocery store run to get "bread" aka corn tortillas, "milk" aka coconut milk, and snacks...
• Lunch
• naptime
• Aunt A comes and plays with the girls
  
• run to the grocery store to get my own version of the above mentioned yummy supper
• ruin my version of supper by putting corn tortillas and it is so much spicier that I get bad heartburn (I have never cared for corn tortillas...that will have to be an acquired taste for me)
  
• made brownies with brown rice flour! Great dessert!
• went out to get some wedding registry items for our family and Aunt R.
  
• checked the grocery section of that store too
• reminded by Aunt R. that there are lots of cereals (some of which are sitting on our fridge) that are gluten free!
  

Results of Day 1: Still nauseous but no distension of the stomach. Also, started getting an earache and possibly sore throat...that would be sickness #4 in 4 weeks.

Day 2:

• light-headed the past few mornings...need more food! I've been losing weight recently, well, I guess for the past year according to my recent physical
  
• Kix, coconut milk, banana breakfast! This seems normal! (Disclaimer...Kix is not marketed as Gluten-Free...so if you should read the label...I think it is, but there might have been a couple questionable ingredients...so double-check)
  
• found that french dressing is GF
• had a conversation with my doctor's nurse and the receptionist...can't make an appointment until November...but I don't feel good NOW! What to do??
  
• made GF chili (very mild though as I am realizing that currently spicy/peppery things give me heartburn...if I even know what heartburn is)

Results of Day 2: Still nauseous, but maybe getting better. (middle of the night pain in my throat!! trying not to go to the doctor this week!!)

Day 3:

• Corn Chex are GF although the generic brands are not...at least the generic that I looked at...
• feeling like I am eating "normal" meals and really healthy at the same time. More vegetables for sure!
• called a friend to ask who her doctor was, had a good talk with her
• hung up the phone and the phone rang, thought it was her calling back, it was my doctor's office...my doctor is making a "special" appointment time for me on Monday next week!!!!
• YEAH! God answered that quandary!! And I didn't even have to call them again!
• took a nap this afternoon and woke up feeling awful...had a snack...felt better after a bit
  
• have I said yet, no nausea today!!
  

Results of Day 3: No nausea!!! Upon further reflection about the after nap awful...that happens no matter what...naps, especially the longer ones are not always good to wake up from! Pain in my throat is turned into a right earache. Glad that I will be able to see my doctor on Monday. Craved a really good hamburger (w/ bun of course)!! I don't feel too saddened by what I have given up...except the extra money at the grocery store. Hahaha...

I will leave you with a yummy GF recipe!

Banana Bread

1 3/4 c. brown rice flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/3 c. canola oil
2-3 bananas

Mix, place in well-greased loaf pan, bake 350 degrees for about an hour.
or 12 muffins: 20-25 min.
Double recipe and bake in bundt pan!

(Can't believe bundt is not in my "dictionary"...I just added it)

Experiment

My body has been feeling pretty crumby lately and I have decided to do a test on it. Today is Day 1 of a gluten-free/lactose-free diet for me. So far I can feel improvement! My abdominal area feels great, but the nausea remains. Just needed to make that announcement...I'm sure there will be more to come, but now is naptime and I am going to make brownies with some brown rice flour!!

Adventure

Kj is looking forward to a new adventure today. Nana's friend, Miss Mary is going to pick up the girls after a meeting in town and take them to see their Nana for the weekend. All morning Kj has been telling me that she is ready! "I'm ready now." Need to pack. "I'm ready now." But Miss Mary isn't here and we don't have the car and Nana is working... "I'm ready now." Nana sent a picture so Kj could be reminded of who was coming. She is now supplied with questions to ask Miss Mary...she knows that she was her aunt's piano teacher and that she is a nurse like Nana. She might ask for a story about her aunt, or ask if her aunt was a good piano student... Beware Aunty A.!

Another story...

Last night Kj called out for me just after Kevin and I had gone to bed. I couldn't figure out what she was worried about but finally got her calmed down by praying with her and singing Jesus Loves Me to her. Then I told her that I was going back to my bed after a bit longer. She said, "Mama, I'm sad." Why? "I'm sad because you are going to leave me." Oh, but daddy will miss me if I don't come back...just like you would miss teddy if I took him with me, daddy would miss me if I stayed in here with you. "Oh, ok." We kissed and snuggled and I headed back to bed and she was fine. I'm glad that reasoning worked. She's a good thinker. I'm so thankful that she could tell me that she was sad and why!

"Adoption Miscarriage" Part 2

A letter to our social worker:

Hi H~

We've been talking a lot this weekend about "what next" and how to proceed. I think my sickness was a blessing in disguise. We just don't feel like any of our three options (DRC, Phil., or domestic) are right at this time. Without specifically having M. in Sierra Leone, we don't feel like right now is the right time. L is still pretty young, and we have time. :)

A thought that has been recurring in my mind since L was born is that if we are to have an infant again, we might have to wait until L and Kj are in school, so I can sleep during the day with the baby. I really don't do well with waking up a lot in the night. Kevin actually was much better at that. He would actually hear the girls and I would generally sleep through it all...except when nursing that doesn't work so well.

Some questions to consider as we pause for now...How long does our agency registration last? Do we finish our homestudy now and update it when we are ready to continue again? Should we just wait for all of that?

Here are some things I have found about DRC adoptions, if you want to look at them or pass them on or just delete them! ;)

http://congoadoptions.blogspot.com/ --a listing of blogs of families adopting from DRC
http://homewiththedavises.blogspot.com/ --this lady I have been in contact with. She is very willing to share and answer any questions about adoption and One World Adoptions.

Some questions and thoughts about adopting and choosing an international agency:

http://kitumaini.blogspot.com/2011/08/for-all-of-us-adopting-parents-and-for.html
http://kitumaini.blogspot.com/2011/09/babies-families-adoption-reunification.html
http://kitumaini.blogspot.com/2011/10/open-international-adoption-anyone.html

I have also made a stronger connection with someone from my church. She is in the midst of her adoption process and I am so thankful for the chance to get into it alongside her and continue to encourage and support her.

I will let you know when Kevin and I have come to any more conclusions and if you have any questions, answers, comments, advice please feel free to let us know!! Thanks so much! aj

"Adoption Miscarriage" Part 1

We have come across a few roadblocks and we are now putting our adoption plans on hold.

Some of the roadblocks:

• This last week we were supposed to take our adoption education class and I was sick and we had to cancel. (Kevin had the time off of work, and I encouraged him to still stay home. The first day he did a little painting and then took us all to the park. Him and the girls played and I just relaxed and read on the sidelines. The second day we were able to eat lunch with friends and head to Bumpa and Nana's house to spend the night. It was a wonderful blessing!!) So, this big part of our homestudy is put off until at least January.
  
• The Minister of Social Welfare that was going to lift the adoption ban in Sierra Leone was fired...and now we are unsure when the ban may be lifted or how the process will go once the ban has been lifted. We would maybe have to reside in SL for weeks or months and we aren't able to do that at this time.
  
• We came up with a few options of "Where to adopt" from next, but they all have questionable aspects. Meaning, we're not sure if they are quite the right fit for us.
  
• My sicknesses these past two weeks (and L's) included 3 doctor visits, 1 doctor call and 5 prescriptions and lots of laying on the couch for me. I could barely care for my 2 children. How can I add to that right now? They both (especially Kj) need some extra loving, snuggling and reassurance now to recover from my illnesses. It really affected Kj--she's been acting out a lot. I now know what happens to her when she doesn't have as much quality time/loving!!
  

Adoption Miscarriage. That is the term that Kevin used. We have told a lot of people that we are planning on adopting and they all expect to see a new little one in our family soon. They expect to hear our stories of anticipation, progress, and excitement. If we continue now, it would just be for appearances, because now you all know that we are adopting and are looking forward to that day with us. But we can't continue right now. We don't feel at peace about it. We can't make this life long decision with uncertainty.

One thing I have found in all my researching:

A lady who lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for 4 1/2 years started an organization to help fund an orphanage for babies whose mothers died in childbirth. The orphanage takes in the babies until they are 5 years old (school age) and then sends them back to live with their fathers. They also try to sponsor the children through their schooling. Here is her blog and her organizations website. Her blog has a lot of good questions to ask if you are wanting to adopt internationally...and right now I can't find that specific post...