Ordinary

I mentioned in my post yesterday that I read through my first blog (what is left of it). The posts I enjoyed most were not deep and theological. I liked reading about my family - how the children were growing, what we did in school, etc. I think I will write more of that everyday, ordinary stuff and leave the deep thinking and writing to people who are better equipped for it.

Health update: This has been, by comparison, my best winter in years. I still have more fatigue that I wish to have, but I am not in any pain. I am able to function fairly well. Compared to this time last year I am doing amazingly well! When I ponder the comparison between this winter and last winter I just shake my head. I thank God that I can walk, move, and clothe myself this year. I can even use my hands enough to write short notes and play piano. I will admit that sometimes I am unhappy with my present state. I wish I had more energy and less exhaustion. But, I am working to be continually grateful for the health I have! 

Kid update:

Rebecca (almost age 13) is greatly interested in quilting right now. She is currently working on a baby quilt for a cousin. She enjoys hard work and sits down only to read. She loves reading great novels like Pride and Prejudice. 

Nelson (11) is quite gifted with engineering. His mind makes quick work of anything mechanical. He doesn't care for math paper work, but the gears in his brain are clearly designed for mathematics.

Lydia (9) does not really seem to have any grand interests. She likes to play with all the children and she helps some with chores too. She is probably not the child that would most stand out when you meet my family, but she is a jewel nonetheless. I expect that in the coming years her interests and tastes will blossom and she will become more of an individual and less just one of the family. But, for now, I am completely okay with her being a part of all of us!

Joshua (7) is having some trouble with reading and writing, but he is a bright boy. He likes to build towers and play with the other children. Like Lydia, he doesn't really stand apart from the family right now. He seems to be happy just to belong with the rest of us.

Josiah (5) is smart... and that makes him trouble. I think he has always had a little bit of spark that set him apart from all the other children. From the time he became mobile he has kept me on my toes! He likes to play with the other children, but can also be very independent. 

Jeremiah (3) is still my baby, but he is quite a big little man. He is a sweet and sensitive little guy. 

School:

We are still homeschooling. Most days I expect more of myself and the children. And, Paul tells me that my expectations are unrealistic. But, I sure wish I could pat myself on the back at the end of the day and really feel like I completed a task well. But, home educating is not really an instant gratification activity. Some days I wish I could go out and mow the yard (too bad it's winter) just to feel like I started and ended a project. Home educating can be both maddening and rewarding. I am in a season of great fatigue and fault-finding, so I won't discuss this topic any more this evening.

Diet:

We went gluten free on January 1st of this year (...again!). This is yet another experiment for my chronic illness. Some days I think going gluten free is a great help yet other days I am not sure it is worth the time and expense. But, in the end, our lab work and food diaries show sensitivities to grains. In short, we are trying to eat more veggies.

That's all for now. I need to go to bed.

Health Update - Bethany's Brain

Last week I went to a new doctor to see if I might get a new perspective on some of my health issues. My hypothyroid condition has been particularly out of control lately, and we are trying to put all the pieces of my health puzzle together. Also, we recently found out through blood work that not only was my thyroid score literally off-the-charts hypothyroid, but I am still terribly vitamin D deficient as well. (My end of Summer vitamin D score was far worse than my January mid-winter score last year!). So, I had some concerns about my health. Also, I am no longer taking NatureThroid as it turns out I am "sensitive" to pork and I felt better after discontinuing the medicine than I felt the nine months I was on it.

Meanwhile, I was seeing many of my health symptoms spiraling out of control. Paul said that I am in the worst health he has ever seen in me... this includes my bouts of disability... so, that says a lot... I am  NOT currently disabled. But, I see some patterns that, if not nipped in the bud, could potentially go that direction. My hands are not able to hold a pen most days. (I am able to type easily.) But, it hurts to play piano. I cannot comfortably lift up my arms to comb or arrange my hair... etc.

So, I went to a new doctor. And, she picked up on a number of symptoms that she thought correlated and took a blood test (among others) to check my prolactin level. I asked her what she was checking for and she said "pituitary gland tumor." I did not freak out. I actually thought, "yeah... that would certainly explain some things..."

Then, Monday we got the results of the blood work. My prolactin is quite elevated and I need to have an MRI done tomorrow to check for a tumor in my pituitary gland. I spoke to my naturopath today as well. And, he also now suspects to see a prolactinoma on the imagining tomorrow. My naturopath was very encouraging, telling me that he has treated this condition successfully before. In fact, he said that he has seen great results simply from eliminating gluten from the diet. (Yes, I was gluten free for a while, but we recently reintroduced grains in abundance as an attempt to cut back grocery expenses.) My doctor did not say that prolactinoma is caused by gluten sensitivity, but he did strongly state that gluten can/does exacerbate the condition. So, it looks like I will be going GF again. (At the very least)

Neither of my doctors expects that this tumor (which we expect to find) will be malignant. Pituitary gland tumors are generally benign. Neither does either doctor expect this health concern to be at all life threatening. And, to be honest, I never feared that. My anxieties were always more along the line of, "IF I have to ... THEN who would watch the kids/homeschool the kids/cook/clean/etc..." Rebecca is amazing! She is the momentum that keeps this family in motion right now (humanly speaking). She is stepping up as little mama in a big way! And, she is feeling the physical strain. She is quite tired.

I will let you know the results of the MRI as soon as I am able. I think at this point we would all be surprised if it is NOT a tumor... but you just never know. Last week a brain tumor was not even in my foggiest ideas for my future. Now, I am talking about it like it is a certainty. But, we do not know anything for sure yet, except that my prolactin score was high.

Now, knowing that these types of posts (on my blog) get more hits than anything else, I feel obligated to say that I HAVE PEACE, Friends! And, you can too! I can trust in the Lord no matter what is going on with my thyroid health, my vitamin D level, my pituitary gland tumor etc. I am clinging to several verses of Scripture throughout this ordeal and all the others of this past year. With my health and Paul's health. With Paul's job loss and everything else we have faced - we CAN and we DO have peace. We have moments of weakness, but we CAN have peace!

Here is a small sampling:

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:29 
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Psalms 57:1-2 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
    for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
    till the storms of destruction pass by.
² I cry out to God Most High,
    to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

Isaiah 26:3 You keep him in perfect peace
    whose mind is stayed on you,
    because he trusts in you.

God is fulfilling his purposes for my life. And one of His ultimate purposes is to conform me to the image of His Son. Whether you believe that God "allows" bad things to happen or whether He has "ordained" bad things to happen-- God WILL use all circumstances in my life for my good and for His glory. We can have peace.   

To God be the Glory. 

Hyperactive Son

(Edited 5-7-2013: We now know that diet DRAMATICALLY effects Nelsons' attitude. I recommend food allergy testing, but more than that, KEEP A FOOD DIARY and watch for patterns. Write all food, drinks, condiments, everything.)

I have an eight year old son who is by far the most active (hyperactive) among my brood. He is always moving. He seems to have a built in re-chargeable generator which produces more and more energy.

One time a friend told me that when her boy gets a bit too active during school that she sends him out to run a few laps around the house. Well, I tried that. It does not work. He came in more energetic than he was when he left! It would take hours of running around the house to wear out my boy! 

Another line of thought says to discipline the child more. Nope. That does not work. The Bible tells me not to exasperate my children (Eph. 6:4), and disciplining an eight year old bundle of energy might have that effect! (With Nelson it sure does!) Just learning to sit still can be discipline enough for a high energy child.


I was fairly certain that it was our diet that was causing Nelson's hyperactivity.

BUT, now we have cut out all refined sugars, high fructose corn syrup, and fast food, and the boy is still a walking power generator. Yes, all of this energy would be great if I could steer it somehow. But, generally he cannot sit still more than a few minutes at a time. And, yes, I would like to get him some outdoor chores to keep him occupied. But, that still does not help him sit down long enough to read a book or do his math.

So, what next? I am thinking that there might be a food allergy? Food allergies certainly do weird things to a person's body!

Or, is there some natural supplement to calm a boy down? I have read that more omega 3s can help.

I especially want to hear from moms/dads of "hyperactive" children. Please tell me what has/has not worked for you. I would prefer comments from people who have been there. It is all too easy to say that "there is no such things as ADHD" when you don't have any children at all. (I think I used to be one of those know-it-alls... oops).

(Added 5-7-2013: Nelson's allergy testing showed sensitivities to wheat, eggs, and peanuts. When we cut out wheat and other grains he is a new boy. Eggs do not seem to affect his mood, but they might correlate to his eczema.)

What's For Breakfast?

"Raw" porridge for breakfast? Yep!

Buckwheat is gluten free. It is high in fiber and protein. It has the second highest amount of protein among grains.  (3.5 ounces of whole buckwheat, almost a half cup, has four grams of protein). Be sure to use whole buckwheat!

This was my first attempt at soaking buckwheat. I soaked 1 cup over night. Here is what I wish someone would have told me in advance...
1 - When a recipe calls for 1/2 cup soaked buckwheat, I think they mean measure it after it has been soaked! Silly me, I measured it then soaked it... so my recipe was very heavy in buckwheat.
2 - When rinsing and straining buckwheat it looks similar to dividing and egg... with egg white oozing out the bottom. I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed...


So, here is what I did, which is not quite what the recipe called for.
1 - I soaked 1 cup of  whole buckwheat over night and rinsed it. Then, I put it in the blender with a little water until it looked like smooth oatmeal.
2 - I added one apple and one pear, cut into small chunks.
3 - Added two fresh dates to the blender. (Remember, dates have a pit!)
4 - I added cinnamon to taste.

How does it taste? Well, as I said, I think I was supposed to measure out 1 cup of pre-soaked buckwheat. So, it was very strong on the buckwheat flavor. The texture was kind of like a smooth, gritty oatmeal. I ate one bowl without complaining. And, I will make it again measuring buckwheat the right way! The three youngest children (who have had the least amount of processed foods in their lifetime) all enjoyed it - eating mutliple bowls. Nelson forced it down, but did not like it. Rebecca (who was introduced to fast food from breast milk on...) could not eat it. I would like to try it with a frozen banana added to it to make it colder and sweeter. I think soaking is supposed to be done at room temperature (correct me if I am wrong?). That makes for tepid food if you eat it right away.


If you plan to try this at home it makes one large serving:
1/2 cup pre-soaked whole buckwheat
1 apple, cut up
1 fresh date (not a vacuum sealed date that you have since you made Grandma's fruitcake for Christmas 2009...)
cinnamon to taste


Let me know how you like it!