Wednesday, March 30, 2011

article about diet as treatment for autism/ADHD

http://www.nourishinghope.com/page.php?f=u

taking the Amtrak to Lincoln

Waiting at the station with Nana



Looking intently down the tracks...



"All aboard!!"  They really said it!!



Getting settled in for the 30 minute ride...



The best seat was the one beside Daddy.


Last week was spring break, and many families spent hundreds of dollars to go south.

We spent $10.

It wasn't any warmer there, but I think he was just as happy as if we'd been to Disney!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

FDA hearing on food dyes

Starting this Wednesday, the FDA will hold a hearing on the safety of food dyes, reviewing research on the behavioral effects in children.  This article to be published in tomorrow's Washington Post does an excellent job of presenting the issue.  Please read it and pray for the outcome of this week's hearing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-rainbow-of-food-dyes-in-our-grocery-aisles-has-a-dark-side/2011/03/21/AFyIwaYB_story.html?hpid=z3

Friday, March 25, 2011

Meeting the True God of the Bible

I was the mom of a toddler when a friend asked me repeatedly to join her at a community Bible study.  I put her off for a couple of months, thinking that being 6 months pregnant was a pretty good excuse not to start anything new.  However, since she was a good friend and I trusted her taste, I finally attended an introduction class.

How well I remember the haughty attitude I had as I filled out my enrollment card--though I certainly didn't recognize the haughtiness at the time.  The lady who taught the introduction class left me sure she was talking mostly to people who didn't take the Bible seriously.  I knew that couldn't be me.  I'd read through the Bible, memorized verses, attended church all my life, and had even led a Bible study in college.  I was the serious student in youth group, church camp, and had so many other notches in my Bible-wielding belt.  But the lecture intrigued me, and I couldn't wait for my call to know if I was able to join a group.

I did get that call, and then I had my second child.  Having two very young children humbled me.  I wasn't as patient as I wanted to be, often meeting my husband at the door when he came home from work, wanting to bolt out of the house and away from the turmoil parenting two young children brought.  What I didn't know then was that the turmoil was in my heart, not my house.

I continued to study the Bible.  The first year we went through Matthew, and that was good and pretty familiar, although the teaching was more in depth than anything I'd ever heard before.  The next year we studied the life of Moses.  I struggled.  The study was exciting, the questions were insightful, the teaching was solid, but I saw on the pages of Scripture a God I hadn't known very well.  He was holy, He was fearful, and He dealt severely with the sin of His people.  What kind of God wiped out thousands of His people at a time due to disobedience?

"What is it I've been taught to believe?" became my heart's cry.  Due to circumstances beyond my control, this was an incredibly lonely time.  It seemed I had no friends to turn to, no place to take the questions that seared my heart.  If I did have a place to go, pride kept me from seeking help.  I thought about other major religions and wondered if they had better answers, but had enough Bible knowledge to know there was no real truth in them.  The truth of John 6:65 was already at work in my heart, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  So I turned to the place that caused the conflict in my heart to rage the most: the pages of scripture.

I will never forget the day the words of Ps. 103 leapt from the pages of my Bible to still the war in my heart. "He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel..."  Those words caught my attention because I had seen firsthand how God had dealt with His people, and it didn't seem very good to me!

I continued to read, "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.  He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

Looking back, I believe this was the moment I truly understood firsthand what it means to believe the gospel.  I had been so burdened by motherhood because it had finally taught me what I had not yet comprehended: I was a sinner through and through.  Although I had "accepted Christ as Savior" at age 5, I didn't understand what it was to have my sins removed by Him until I was 29 years old.  In the life of Moses, I had seen the holiness of God and His wrath for sin--that is what had rocked my soul to the core.  Yet even in that story, there were glimpses of God's compassion and kindness that pointed to the mercy of the cross.  The passover (Ex. 13-14), the water from the rock (Ex. 17 and Nu. 20), the bronze snake (Nu. 21),  and other events foreshadowed the work of Christ.  My love for the Lord and His word was forever changed.

It has been my privilege over the years to open the pages of scripture with other women to study what it says.  Yet I always do so with fear and trembling, lest they too, like I once did, meet the God of the Bible and desire to run the other way.  The promise of John 10:27 is my sure hope as I lead others: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, no one can snatch them out of my hand."

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

internet safety

Last week I attended the MOMS group at our church to hear our youth pastor speak about internet safety.  He is putting that information as a series on his blog.  I'd highly recommend it!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

history really is fun!!!



Our family has really enjoyed these Drive Thru History videos produced by Coldwater Media in conjunction with Focus on the Family. We borrowed one from a friend and found more in our church library.  I guess we'll have to put the rest on our Christmas list.

Host Dave Stotts goes on site and back in time to Greece, Rome, early America, and more.  The Christian tie-in is great, and his antics keep us all laughing.  It makes me want to pick up a few library books and try to remember what I learned in junior high and high school history class.  (I had a couple of teachers that remind me of Dave Stotts!)

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

still can't believe how far we have come


With spring quickly approaching, my thoughts have often returned to last summer.  I remember long days that often ended in tears, constantly battling the behavior of a certain little boy.  No more!!!  With the help of some digestive enzymes which have lessened the affects of Josiah's numerous food sensitivities, I can count on normal 4-year-old behavior almost every day.  Yes, we still have behavior issues--the same ones all 4-year-olds have.  


Four is a marvelous age!!!  There is so much still to be learned, and children this age soak everything up like a sponge.  Josiah is no exception.  We continue to do preschool together 3 days a week.  I've loved using our curriculum to teach him about the world God made, and he loves it, too.  Last week we planted seeds and he had to run and check on them every 5 minutes to see if they were growing yet!!  Josiah was incredibly excited about Sunday School this week where they taught about the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit...something we had learned together the first weeks of preschool. 


One of our favorite activities is above: using Wikki Stiks to form letters.  Fine motor skills seem to come later for my kids so we enjoy any extra practice we can get in this area.  Josiah also loves to sound out 3-letter words.  He seems to think this is a game!! 


Some of the best moments these days are the ones I least expect.  I'll look up, and my little guy is on the floor, playing with toys.  I still shake my head and remember the days when he would rarely play by himself.  Other times, he'll be on the couch looking at a story.  He loves to listen to me read but has rarely sat still by himself with a book.  Then there are the times he spends playing with the older kids. 


We are enjoying and thanking God for these precious days!

finally!!

All of the pages on this blog are up and running.  It's what happens when you are still having trouble with daylight savings time!!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

it's coming...

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/12/134456594/study-diet-may-help-adhd-kids-more-than-drugs

Hyperactivity. Fidgeting. Inattention. Impulsivity. If your child has one or more of these qualities on a regular basis, you may be told that he or she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. If so, they'd be among about 10 percent of children in the United States.

Kids with ADHD can be restless and difficult to handle. Many of them are treated with drugs, but a new study says food may be the key. Published in The Lancet journal, the study suggests that with a very restrictive diet, kids with ADHD could experience a significant reduction in symptoms.

The study's lead author, Dr. Lidy Pelsser of the ADHD Research Centre in the Netherlands, writes in The Lancet that the disorder is triggered in many cases by external factors — and those can be treated through changes to one's environment.

"ADHD, it's just a couple of symptoms — it's not a disease," the Dutch researcher tells All Things Considered weekend host Guy Raz.

The way we think about — and treat — these behaviors is wrong, Pelsser says. "There is a paradigm shift needed. If a child is diagnosed ADHD, we should say, 'OK, we have got those symptoms, now let's start looking for a cause.' "

Pelsser compares ADHD to eczema. "The skin is affected, but a lot of people get eczema because of a latex allergy or because they are eating a pineapple or strawberries."

According to Pelsser, 64 percent of children diagnosed with ADHD are actually experiencing a hypersensitivity to food. Researchers determined that by starting kids on a very elaborate diet, then restricting it over a few weeks' time.

"It's only five weeks," Pelsser says. "If it is the diet, then we start to find out which foods are causing the problems."

Teachers and doctors who worked with children in the study reported marked changes in behavior. "In fact, they were flabbergasted," Pelsser says.

"After the diet, they were just normal children with normal behavior," she says. No longer were they easily distracted or forgetful, and the temper tantrums subsided.

Some teachers said they never thought it would work, Pelsser says. "It was so strange," she says, "that a diet would change the behavior of a child as thoroughly as they saw it. It was a miracle, a teacher said."

But diet is not the solution for all children with ADHD, Pelsser cautions.

"In all children, we should start with diet research," she says. If a child's behavior doesn't change, then drugs may still be necessary. "But now we are giving them all drugs, and I think that's a huge mistake," she says.

Also, Pelsser warns, altering your child's diet without a doctor's supervision is inadvisable.

"We have got good news — that food is the main cause of ADHD," she says. "We've got bad news — that we have to train physicians to monitor this procedure because it cannot be done by a physician who is not trained."

Thursday, March 10, 2011

sparkles optional

Recently, Rachel insisted that we really need to jazz up our Sundays.  Considering the fact her dad and I think this is a great day for a nap, she just might be right.  So this past Sunday, she declared a craft day, complete with pajamas (for Rachel, anyway!)



"Craft" doesn't sit well with a 12-year-old boy, but drawing does.  He's really getting quite good at dragons.



I am not at all artistic, but it was still good for me to slow down, look at detail, and make an attempt.  The 1, 2, 3 Paint book we checked out from the library helped with some inspiration, too.  What I painted did not turn out that great, but the kids were impressed.  Maybe they'll try some new things as well!  I noted that if we're going to take this seriously we need some real paints and better paper, but watercolors are still fun.



Time to get out the glitter and beads, too!


Next up: Nature Day.  Boy, I can't wait for that one!!  Please come, spring!

all I have to do is blink...

I have been very successfully enjoying denial regarding having a junior high student this year.  It's now over.



Wait a minute here.  Katy, you beat him to it, and you're not in Jr. High yet.  Back to my happy denial!!  When he starts shaving though, I'm done for.


 


 


*Ahem....if you've gotten this far and still don't know what I'm talking about, look at his mouth.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

GF granola bars

Today I received my first ever shipment of gluten free rolled oats.  It's been months since Rachel has had a granola bar, and our favorite recipe has peanut butter which Micah most certainly will not eat.  So I searched the web and found this recipe, and adapted it to our GF needs.  While I would have preferred to add chocolate chips, we were out, so golden raisins took their place.  Delicious!!!

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups GF rolled oats

1 cup all purpose GF flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp GF vanilla

1 cup butter or margarine, softened*

1 cup honey

Add-ins: 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 cup chopped walnuts, 1-2 c. dried fruit such as raisins, cherries, etc.  

Lightly butter a 9×13-inch pan.  In a large mixing bowl combine butter and honey first.  Then add all ingredients except add-ins.  Beat hard until combined.  Stir in add-ins.  Press mixture into pan — really jam it in there so your bars don’t fall apart.  (You can use your hands!)  Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into bars.  Let bars cool completely in pan before removing and serving.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

these are the moments to hold on to...

Josiah, kissing me before naptime, just had to add with a heart full of love, "Mommy, I want to marry you."

He seemed to take it well that I'm already spoken for.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

GF restaurants

This is a great website if you are looking for a GF restaurant!

http://www.theceliacscene.com/North_American_Chains.html

need help here

There are a few things I am trying to remember this week:

1. People do not get in the way of my goals.  People ARE my goal. 

2. God does not promise to save us from difficulty, although He may.  He does promise to save us from sin. (Bible, especially meditating on Isaiah)

3. My reason for getting up in the morning: God has not treated me as my sins deserve, and His love for me is higher than the heavens are above the earth.  (Ps. 103:10-11, compared with Ps. 118:24)

4. I am ready to cheerfully serve the Lord however He requires, at any moment. (Ps. 123:2)

5. God did not leave us as orphans but has given us His Spirit.  (John 14:18..and that's my help!)

Thursday, March 3, 2011

GF snacks that won't break the budget

I was able to shave quite a bit off our last grocery bill...hooray!!  Now we'll see if that continues.  It always helps when I have a week I don't have to buy meat.

Specialty snacks for a gluten free diet are not cheap, but there are a quite a few naturally gluten free foods or homemade snacks that help keep us within budget.  Here are a few ideas:

Fresh fruits and vegetables, especially those that are in season.  I just discovered my youngest will eat carrots if I cut them in circles--we call them carrot coins.  He even tried peanut butter and celery when I chopped the celery into smallish pieces.  My daughter loves to make a baked potato for herself in the microwave.  And of course, pears, bananas, and other fruit are always a hit.

Homemade treats like granola bars, cereal bars, cookies, etc.  Gluten free flours and oats are more expensive, but making my own snacks with these is still less than buying something premade.

Popcorn and Nuts--really, what's cheaper than popcorn?  Nuts are more expensive...grr!!

Canned fruit, applesauce, we even buy baby pear sauce for FG stage 1.

Potato chips:  We can do Lays, Kettle Chips, Fritos, Tostitos, and there are many others as well.

If you do have to buy something pre-made, Envirokidz and Enjoy Life have a nice line of products that are a little more reasonable than most.

Finally, these aren't exactly inexpensive, but the snacks on this website are a special treat: www.allergygrocer.com.   You do have to mix these up and make them yourself.  I spent our savings last week at this website, so we'll see if it was a worthwhile splurge.  We are so hungry for things like pretzels, donuts, bagels, graham crackers, and biscuits!  Hopefully in time I will even learn how to make these on my own.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

my favorite gluten free flour mix

6 c. rice flour (I use 3 c. white rice and 3 c. brown rice)

2 c. potato starch flour

1 c. tapioca flour

Mix in tall container and store in freezer.  (Gluten free flours have a shorter shelf life than regular flour.)  Add 1 t. xanthan gum or guar gum for every cup of flour used.  I wait and add the xanthan gum when I'm mixing a recipe.  You can use this flour to replace regular flour in any recipe, and it tastes great!

Check websites like Amazon and Vitacost for some good prices on gluten-free flours.

now for my oldest

Micah was supposed to be the easy one.  He doesn't react to artificials.  He thinks they are kind of a yucky idea, and after he studied the ingredients of Cool Ranch Doritoes with me online one night, he stopped wanting to eat them.  But really, he wasn't supposed to have any restrictions.

Yet this fall and winter, he's been sick with diarrhea at least 5 times, and it generally lasts 5-10 days.  Do the math, and you can guess how much school he's missed this year.  And now, he's been sick three times in the past 5 weeks alone.

My pediatrician and I are getting to know each other very well...and she knows about our diet changes and the things we've discovered about Rachel and gluten.  So when we went to see her today, she ordered bloodwork to check Micah for celiac and told me to go ahead and put him on a diary free, gluten free diet for now.

We're starting to think Josiah and I have issues with gluten, too, so maybe it's time to become a gluten free family!

I'm going to buy a new waffle maker tomorrow to celebrate.