Faith is believing & relying upon him alone

Addison doing what she loves......

2011-09-11T17:48:00.000-07:00

Addison has been horse back riding for a year now and she has been doing a great job at building her skills and confidence in riding as well....she has already fallen off a horse this year and has experienced a horse running with her on it as she kicked it and made it up and go....she didnt like either of these happenings and was very upset....but her horse trainer who is very great with children rebuilt her confidence in riding even though it set her back 2 months and her trainer started back on the horse she first started on at day one and worked her back up to the horse she left off on.....she has been learning to groom the horse and take care of her horse before riding and she has the basics of rididng she is now learning to trout with the horse and very much enjoys it.....I love watching her ride and her horse trainer told us she loves watching addison ride horses because she is in a diffrent world.....I cant agree more...from day 1 she has this "WAY" when she gets on a horse and it priceless every time.....

MY KIDDIES PLAYING T-BALL

2011-05-18T22:15:00.000-07:00

This year was Addison and Anthonys first year playing t-ball and was Addisons first year playing a sport besides horse back riding. They really enjoyed themselves and cant wait to play another sport.

First Time Having Bread.....

2011-04-11T17:41:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to find bread for Lillie...I found it at Trader Joe's in the bread section....It has been great because I can give her toast in the morning and make her sandwiches for lunch of coarse without mayo or mustard...Lillie was so excited to have bread for the first time ever and so was I.

Happy Birthday Jesus.......

2011-01-07T00:06:00.000-08:00

Christmas was a beautiful day for our family....There is just something about celebrating our Savior being born....My mother had her home all decorated beautiful for this special day.....She has always made Christmas extra special for her family and I was so blessed at all she did:) ....she made us home made clam chowder and shrimp and crab crasants and if you had her yummy food you would know its a super big treat:) she even made special food for our kids to eat:)

Our day was filled with blessings after blessings of gifts...Its always so fun to watch my kids open gifts....it reminds me so much of the excitement of being little and not being able to sleep the night of Christmas eve.....my kids were up at 3:30am and woke us up and said "mom get up..we are ready to open gifts" We were like " No...kids its actually not time go back to bed...its in the middle of the night" Thank God they fell back to sleep until 5:30am lol

my aunt Flo was able to make it down to celebrate opening gift...what a treat it was to have her...Lillie was just loving her to pieces and Addison as well
kalani and uncle
I love this picture of my hubby...he looks so dorky but so cute
papa and Anthony

Handsome boy with his foot ball pads
Jeremiah just handsome as can be
little doll is what she looked like on Christmas
Addison was so excited on this day

Lillie girl

So I think dad thought he was going to help Jeremiah take a nap lol...who put who to nappy poo lol
sweet time watching movies together
Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma Reid was a sweet blessing as well...We enjoyed a yummy casserole that my grandma made....and it was a recipe that my great grandma made I believe when she was young...I received a little glass figure that was in my great grandmothers kitchen and that was special as well as a frame of me when I was a baby...my grandma made the frame...when I was just a baby....We had a nice time together

Lillie decided it was a great idea to pour powder all over her head

2010-12-30T18:03:00.000-08:00

She made a nice mess for mommy to clean up and I was laughing at myself because as Iam telling her it is not okay... and then Iam taking a picture as its a good thing and she thinks its funny....but I have to get a picture of these types of things.....so when they are older I can show them lol

Thanksgiving With Family.....

2010-11-25T22:15:00.000-08:00

So this year we had Thanksgiving at our home and what fun we had....I love being with my family and enjoying eachothers company....I love having the fun we have and just laughing and talking.....
Although this Thanksgiving was not like all the rest....We were celebrating this Thanksgiving without my Grandpa (my moms dad) and grandmother who lived in minnisota all my life....and whom I didnt get to see as much as I would have loved to......there lives touched so many of us in diffrent ways and Iam so Thankful for the time I had with them......alot of us were greiving the lost of there presence on this special day....
My mom said a beautiful prayer for all of us and it blessed my heart as Iam sure it did everyone else...
The kids were a blast and we couldnt have Thanksgiving without some boys play fighting and boy was that a show to watch:)ohhh and papa barry playing fighting to with all the granbabies and neices and nephews:)I think it helps him be a kid again
Yummy:)

Uncle Barry and Anthony(my cousin)

(Rik....he is presious:)

Cousins:)

Kory and Alisha(one of tonys sisters)and there baby girl Trinity

my Aunt Jackie and cousin Amber

Dad and grandpa Larry

My Aunt Lynn and cousins Ashley and Anthony

Awww...Lillie with Uncle Kory Girls :)

Great Nana with Lillie Girl
Grandma and I

Kawika totally smiling lol and Tony
The Grammys makin them mash potatos :)
Addison and Neaveh

Wow.. Lina Bean beautiful teeth

Grandma and Grandpa Reid

Anthonys First Soccer Game

2010-09-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

Anthony had his very first soccer game last Saterday....he was stoked to be playing a real game. He loves playing and at first we were wondering if he would play in front of a crowed and it was one of the reasons for putting him in soccer was to get him out of being shy around a audience or having attention on him...So Iam hoping this will help...by the looks of it on Saterday he didnt care who was watching..he was just excited playing soccer and made the first goal of the game..that got him all fired up lol... It was such a joy to watch him out there happy and being himself....
Anthonys coachs are mellisa and I....ya I was told I was asst coach lol I wasnt to excited cause i wasnt sure what I was to do and I wasnt comfortable doing it ..but I have to say Iam happy she made me because it has been alot of fun for me to be with all the little kids...and reminds me off when I taught pre school back before my own babies came along. Ya I was crackin up because I thought I was putting my son in to teach him to come out of his comfort lol and didnt realize I would be to hehehe....

one of the moms on his team made this adorable team sign and the kids named there own team "The Sharks" cute ha?
This was game day and as you can clearly see in the picture Anthonys after that ball lol...Daddy has been practicing with him on his days off and I have to say..his daddy taught him the game so he clearly understand what he is suppose to do lol...
Anthony after he made a goal...so happy was this little boy
Practice time

New Doctor.....

2010-09-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

Tony and I decided it was time to change Lillies GI doctor...due to her ability to treat lillie the way she needed to be treated as a patient with Eosinophic Esophagitis..This doctor has said to me herself that she doesnt know much about EE(short for what she has) So it was time to ask her ped if he new any good doctors that know about lillie girl...and sure enough he new one in walnut creek.....

We had our first appointment on Friday with him Dr. Hudad and he actually seen Lillie once in the hospital when lillie was a year old.....before I had went to this appt I made sure to have all the questions I had for him written down on paper...well this guy answered them all before even asking and that in its self was a huge blessing...to know this doctor was on the same page I was on was great...his nurses said he has many patients with EE that he treats daily...I was so excited to know that and as we left they gave us all kinds of stuff for lillie to try and if she likes any of it The doctor said he would call in a perscripton for her to Apria health care...AWSOME because some of the stuff they gave I didnt even know they had it as a option for her to have........

I think to myself "geeze why couldnt we have had this doctor a long time ago" but then I remember because God has a perfect plan for lillie and it was in his timing that we had found this great doctor....Iam thankful to God for this doctor and it is great to know your child is in good care of someone who knows what they are dealing with when my child comes into there office.

Oh and another thing was this doctor got lillie in for a scope for this monday when before we would have to wait 2-3 months before getting in ......Thank You Lord

In case you dont know what scopes are..they are suppose to be done every 3-6 months and its to check for eosinophils in her esophagus..it says if lillie is still allergic and how allergic she is to foods and if she has a lot then they retest her foods to see if new ones appeared over they months ext...they put her under for this because its considered surgery and at least thats wear they do it is in surgery......The hard part will be when she wakes up on monday and cant have anything to eat until after the process is all done....What we will do is hook her up to her feeding tube and give her milk the night before until 12 am so her belly feels some what full when she wakes up.....We will see how she does....she is so much older and is aware of whats going on and it makes me sad because she is not a little baby anymore where she will forget what happens.....so please be praying for her and for tony and I because the hard part for me is when they put the sleep meds on her to breath in....she looks so life less and it makes me emotional.....then again It makes me so thankful to God for her little life...

If you would like to learn more about Eosinophilic Esophagis you can go to www.apfed.org it will tell you more about it.

More Variety for Lillie Girl

2010-08-26T23:01:00.000-07:00

I must say with a daughter with Eosinophic Esophagitis Iam always on the look out for more variety of foods for her...I always try to look for foods that will bring happiness to her because Iam always telling her she cant have this or she cant have that...The joy that comes when you are able to say "YES" you can have this food...is the best feeling a mom can have....Lillie is amost 4 years old and understands she cant have all foods and that in its self is a blessing because she is starting to understand it will make her sick and throw up....The only hard part now is when she ask" mommy that make me sick? can Lillie have that? I love it?" and me saying " No Sweetie " it will make Lillie sick...You would think I would get use to saying no but the truth is that....It hurts every single time...I know I can replace certain things like her at birthday parties...giving her gum or candy instead of cake and ice cream but it still hurts to say she cant have it and I dont know why because she does not know what its like to even have certain foods because she has never had them I think its just a mom thing....I know she can have more then some EE kids and Iam truly blessed she can still eat foods and is not on a strict amino based formula only diet like some eos kids and if there comes a day where she does have to then I know God will supplie all of Lillies and our familes needs...He has been faithful time and time again through this journey with lillie girl.

All this to say I was out of town food shopping and went to the dollar store and next door to the dollar store was a store called "Nutrition Shoppe" so I of corse thought " hmmm maybe lillie can have some foods in there" I went in and was feeling dicouraged as I couldnt find anything she could have because everything had at least one ingreident she couldnt have....so as I went to check out with some lolly pops for lil I asked the lady do you have anything for my daughter who cant have beef,Lamb, wheat, soy, sunflower, Garlic, all dairy, all fish, all nuts and she said "yes" I honestly was thinking she just wanted me to buy something and just said yes to try and look or something..but my thoughts were not true lol because she had handed me corn pasta,and brownie mix and pancake mix...."WHAT"I had past them all up before because I had thought there was no reason to even look because of what is normally in these things...I was suprised and was overwhelmed with joy when I seen none of the foods she is allergic to on the ingredients...and so far the first week we have made the pancakes and I made the whole bag and food saved them in packs of 2 for the mornings and I even put blue berries in them...just to have her pull them all out each morning:) Lillie loved them and never left any not eaten and week 2 we made the corn pasta and I cooked turkey meat and mixed it up and she did great and had no allergic reaction and loved it.We are going to try the brownies this week and I forgot to mention why this is so exciting and its because Lillie has never had pancakes,brownies or pasta :~)

I took pictures of the foods just incase someone else who has allergies or Eos disease can possibly have them as well... Even though it says to make with eggs we just put applesause in for the eggs and it work just fine

Addison wanted to help make Lillies pancakes..We tried a bit of one and both decided they tasted totally diffrent then the ones we eat lol and are thankful for the ones we eat....:)

Things Are In Full Swing

2010-08-24T17:19:00.000-07:00

div>I am so glad Iam actually sitting down to blog....So we started school last week on monday and going on our second week...Addison is in 1st grade and we actually switched her work books to "Rod and Staff"and she seriously loves them and is confident about the work she does..infact a couple days ago she said to me "mommy Iam so proud of my self because I did all my work" in fact I was very happy for her because last year was a lot diffrent and I think the work books overwhelmed her.

Anthony is in kindergarden and he is learning that "We do school" He would like to play more then work and he is getting the idea of what we do everyday now.... Addison I think has got it down really well.....we do work -dont play-get it all done before 3pm so I can play with 2 of my best friends(she daily plays with these girls and they are just presious and find Addison just as special as she finds them.

Anthony is very great with his work and when he does his work he does a good job and catches on very well.....They are very eager in the morning to start school and I just pray it will last the year through.

Lillie is going to pre-school 5 days a week and at first I was a bit nervious to stick her in school like that everyday...but as the occupational - speeach- physical thearapist had tested her for this IEP program I learned that she was still in need of all three and would see them weekly....so going to pre-school would help her in all the areas she is behind in....Lillie loves school and is so tired when she gets home and not to mention she is the only student so far....so she is getting alot of one on one attention.

My Little Cow Girl Addison.......

2010-08-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

Addison started horse back riding today and its as though she was made to ride...Addison has loved horses from the age of 2 years old and has collected horses over the years from Christmas and birthdays ext...So her room has horses here and there and everywhere. Last year she wanted to ride but we wanted to wait a year to see if it was just a thing and would go away....but we sit here at age 6 and will be 7 in Oct with still wanting to ride and so as I said today was her first day of riding at Lemann Stables in Brentwood....Elaine is her instructor and has 40 years of horse experience and is great with kids.Addison groomed her horse named "wendy" she was taught and will be taught every week the same thing.... brushing and cleaning the poo poo out of there hoofs and tons more of ground work before riding . she was able to take the horse out of the pen and walk it to the ring where she was to ride. Tony and I were so proud of her and more so because she was lisening so close to what Elaine was telling her to do. It truly blessed our hearts to see our daughter doing something we know she finds deep joy and that is( 1) being around a animal and (2) riding her favorite animal a "horse". Elaine said Addison has great balance which is good for riding horses and she said she has great confidece in riding a horse...It was such a true blessing to us to see our Addison so happy.

Checking out other horses before riding

Learning how to brush her horse

Get that poo poo girl :)

Addison walking her horse to get brushed and ready to ride

How exciting Addisons first time on a horse

Addison standing and balancing on "wendy" and Elaine with lead rope connected

I love this picture of her she looks so big riding without a lead rope (Elaine doesnt have the rope that connects her to the horse and addison....addison is riding the horse by herself :) yeah!!!!

Addison without the lead rope...riding all by herself

Addison said the funnest thing when she was riding her horse....well the horse was getting mixed signals from addsion who didnt quite have her direction down and using her rains so the horse was going to the fence where we were standing watching and addsion goes" is this horse trained" and Elaine said "yes"
and addsion said "I think it needs better training " lol I said "no sweetie you need the training not the horse" lol it was cute and made us all laugh.

A Fun Day At Sandy Beach

2010-06-24T01:55:00.001-07:00

Mama and Lillie
Tonys younger sisters Alisha and Danielle and me
Tonys cousins son Owen:) isnt he presious
Auntie Alisha (one of tonys younger sisters)and Addison
Lillie and Trinity playing in the sand (Alishas daughter)
Some of the little kiddies
Dylan tonys cousins son with kawika jr
aww I love this picture
Me and Trin
Addison loves the water
Anthony
Lillie girl actually sitting in the sand :) her auntie got her warmed up to it and now she loves it.
Kawika with his handsome mow hawk

My Heart Broke............

2010-06-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

As I sat in the ER waiting room at Childrens Hospital in Oakland with my mom and Anthony I thought I was only there for my son. As a young teenage girl walked in with what I thought was her mother,I watched as a nurse came out to do some interesting paper work with the lady with this little girl.This young teenage girl and I made eye contact 3-4 times while in the waiting room and then she was called back to be seen about 10 minutes went by and anthony was called back.We were placed in a room with another person and it was with the young teenage girl and this lady.....the doctor came in shut the certain and started to talk to this young lady and it was then I heard a life story was not prepared to here this was what I heard.....as I sat next to her on the other side of the curtain no more then 3 feet away telling the doctor she ran away and ran into 3 guys and started to drink alcohol and took 3 ecctasy pills and smoked weed the night before and was found by someone who called 911 by a bush on a street she didnt know...Then the doctor asked "how long have you been in foster care"? my mom and I started to cry at the fact that we felt her pain when she said "since 1999" 12 years this young girl has went from foster care home to foster care home for her whole life.Then she was asked how come you were taken from your mom and this was here reply"because my moms boyfriend abused me when I was 2 years old" The doctor looked to the lady who was a social worker and said "does she have placement to go home to tonight?" and the answer was " no she does not..but will in the morning".As the doctor left and the social worker asked her how her sister was and she replied with"she is back in jail for braking into a home and stealing and she is pregnant" the social worker replied with"wait I just wrote the judge to get her out a month ago after getting in trouble for prostituting!she is back in?" long story short this young girl has 5 other siblings all in foster care but 2 who were adopted by a family and her sister that I was writing about is only 15 yrs old and alot more was said between the social worker and her and it just broke my heart in a way I can't even explain. As the night went on my mom and I talked to this preious 14 year old we had the oppurtunity to encourage her with Christ and she shared with us that she has never felt wanted in any foster home and that her foster parents bio children were treated and are treated so much better:( she shared that she hates being without a family to love and care for her and she told us that she doesn't want to be adopted unless she knows for sure that the family truly wanted her and was going to love her the way she know she wants and knows should be loved.
As it was time to leave for us, we gave her a hug and 1 hug turned into 2 and 2 into 3 from each of us and the hugs were the kind of hugs where you are going to leave someone for along time...she hugged us back as though she has knew us for years! she was presious and I wanted to take her home with me so bad and I just wanted to tell her God sees her life and treasures her and wants her to have a new life through his saving grace.That is why I thank God for allowing me to keep seeing the beauty of adoption and how this young teenag girls life is sad and as there is no hope but it could be so diffrent like God choosing to save us and us choosing to saving these presious children from there sad stories they have to tell and showing them the life of loving familys like the loving family we have into Gods family and that they can have a life story to tell like we all do about how we were hopeless in our sin until God saved us.
My husband and I have persued adoption as far as going to our first introduction class to getting our finger prints done to filing a exemption and God made it very clear that Adoption is not for us at this time and possilbly never will be.We dont know what Gods plan is for our family but what we do know is that Gods ways are perfect and like the bible says his ways are not our ways and although it might have seemed like it was right, well it was not for us.The reason I say all this is because I know the Lord is going to use us to do something He knows is best for us and meeting this young lady in the ER made me desire to possibly mentor these kids in foster care they need mentors as well as adoptive families.I want to be praying about this because I want what God wants for my life. The Lord has also opened doors even though he has closed some.
This young lady was given our phone numbers by us so that hopefully she will call as she said she promised she would. Its amazing what God puts in your life to see and hear and we may not know why at the time but we just know to trust God because its not in vain.I felt that this was reality for all these foster children and it was reality that we dont even know or see because we have no clue at all and I honestly didnt even know until I actually heard it out of this young girls own mouth it was heart breaking. It was like a good slap in my face and not in a bad way I just was thankful to God for allowing me to be in the same room as this young girl and for allowing me to talk to her so that my heart can grow to be tender for these sweet children longing to belong and to be loved.

Anthony's Hospital Stay At Childrens Hospital

2010-06-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

This picture was when we were driving down to oakland on friday he didnt feel good at all.

I took Anthony into the doctor on friday because he had a rash on his face and swelling(found out it was staph infection) under his chin and the doctor who is not his normal ped said he has impetigo and was not sure about the swelling under his chin. he didnt like the look of the swelling and redness and gave Anthony a shot of antibiotics and asked me to take him to the ER at Childrens Hospital in Oakland.So my mom and I did and headed to Oakland when we got there they took a look at him and gave me 2 different meds one for his face and the other for his swelling!They sent us home and told us to come back in the morning for a re-evaluation or if it got worse in the middle of the night to come back.That night I gave him his 2nd dose of meds and in the morning gave him his 3rd dose of meds and he was worse then the night before and he was still not playing or eating and all he was doing was laying around like the day before which is not normal for Anthony at all.Tony and I drove back to Oakland and had one doctor that we didnt feel comfortable with and felt she was was not looking to the best interest of our son so we asked for another doctor to come look at our son and this doctor felt Anthony needed to be admitted into the hospital.So they admitted him and put a IV in and started antibiotics because the meds he was on at home where not working at all.

We were there from the 12th - 15th (3 nights 4 days) It was not until yesterday morning that the swelling showed some improvement thats after 11 IV antibiotic doses and then today he was totally my Anthony again.I am so thankful to God he is okay and that they didnt have to cut it to drain or anything like that and Iam thankful for the comfort He gives our family when we have enexpected hospital stays.God shows his greatness and his through our friends and family who are there to encourage us and pray for our family and show they care and sometimes thats a call to see how we are doing or a delious meal or coming to see us in the hospital or watching our kiddies so that tony can go to work while Iam with one of my children in the hospital.So thank you to all of the special people who care

Talk about trying to keep a getting better boy busy in a little hospital area

One of Anthonys nurses coloring with him while I had went and got lunch.

Anthony was playing play station! Yes they have play stations at the hospital lol

Wow after being there for 4 days he actually became a doctor lol

NEW POST UNDER "SPRING TIME FUN POST"

2010-06-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

Spring Fun

2010-06-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

Well I think its gunna be a fun summer with all the neighbor kiddies!They really are a joy to have over.

Lillie girl eating a popcycle

The first day with our pool up and the kiddies are all so excited including a little guy that lives across the street from us he is a year older than anthony and is a real sweetie pie .

WE MOVED.....

2010-06-03T17:10:00.000-07:00

In February we moved to this home!We wanted to find a home that was bigger with more space incase Gods will for our family was to adopt.We wanted to be prepared for what God was going to do in our family,This home has came as a huge blessing to our family and I do believe it was Gods will for us to rent this home.

I had seen this home in the paper and mentioned it to my husband that this home was twice the size of the home we were living in that was 1,300sq and that this home was 2,400sq and it was only 25 dollars more a month.Yeah......crazy well he didnt seem interested as he figured someone proably already is renting it for the price. So 2 weeks had went by and it was still in the paper and so i had called and got a application and we went to look at this home.well long story short we were more then out of the list of people with the manager and well he called 2 days later and asked if we wanted the house and lets just say we were blown away at the fact that we new without a shadow of a doubt we were not going to get this home......lets just say God had other plans for us and that was to rent this home that we now find so peaceful to live in.Some fun extras that we find to be a HUGE blessing is we have 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms , a play room, and a office where we do schooling. God is so good to us when we dont even deserve it at all and he is so awsome to let us rent this home.

We were able to have Easter with my moms side of family shortly after my grandpa passed away and it was such a blessing to gather together to celebrate Jesus Christ and comfort eachother at the same time.

ALINA AND JERIMIAH (PART 1)

2010-05-31T12:49:00.000-07:00

These are pictures of alina and jerimiah the first year they came into wendy and kawikas home and they are also pictures we couldnt post until the adoption was final.I have wanted to do this for so long so here it is enjoy.

First trip to Lake shasta

FIRST TRIP TO MOUNTAINS

Jerimiah getting into Aunties make up

FIRST OR SECOND TIME MEETING ALINA AND JERIMIAH

VISITING GREAT PAPA AND NANA

first Thanksgiving

I DIDNT REALIZE HOW MANY PICTURES I HAD OF THEM SO I WILL POST MORE AT A LATER TIME.

ALINA AND JERIMIAH (PART 2)

2010-05-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

Alina and Jerimiah came into my sister and kawikas home in May of last year and we fell in love with them from the begining.I remember when I first met Alina and she was scared and looked at wendy and started to cry and wendy had to reassure her that it was okay. Jerimaiah just looked at me when we first met he probly was not sure of me lol:)I Have seen these sweet babies grow leaps and bounds and now when I come to the door its them all excited and screaming "Auntie" or "Uncle" it just amazes me at how much the Lord knew these children would all be ours from the begining of time.It overwhelms me to put in words what my sister and kawikas Adoption of these 2 little ones has ment to me.Through there adoption I have seen a change in my heart I have come to understand and see a example of what our adoption looks like into Gods family.
When they first came into there new family they were sad and broken and a year later they are full of life and sure of the love we all have for them.not to say they probly have little issues here and there and wendy and kawika work through it with them .Its what we look like before when we didnt have Christ and then after Christ and how He had to help us to understand and get through issues and it doesnt stop there God is always showing us new things to grow our hearts and it will be the same for Alina and Jerimiah.
I LOVE YOU ALINA AND JERIMIAH AND I THANK GOD DAILY FOR YOUR LIVES AND THE HUGE BLESSING YOU ARE.YOUR SO SMALL AND DONT REALIZE HOW MUCH YOU HAVE CHANGED MY HEART AND OTHERS AROUND YOU.

A BLESSED DAY

2010-05-25T22:46:00.000-07:00

Iam so excited my computer is fixed and Iam back to blogging yay!So today was my 28th birthday and my mom and dad had a party at their house for me!My grandparents came down to celebrate as well I had alot of fun spending it with my family. I love them so much and with kids everywhere is the best ! Thank you mom and dad and winnie and gramps n grams for blessing me this day and making it special I really enjoyed myself alot.

virus !!!

2010-02-09T19:23:00.000-08:00

So Iam at the library because 2 weeks ago my computer got a virus and I now cant get on line because of the viris so I cant do much blogging until we get it fixed and that's when we can afford to get it fixed and hopefully that will be soon!!I hope to get back to blogging because alot has been going on and we have alot to share so hang tight and I cant wait to start commenting as well on all my favorite blogs!

ALISHA AND KORYS WEDDING!!

2010-01-18T08:02:00.000-08:00

Kory and Alisha celebrated the start of a new life together on January 16Th!For those who don't know Alisha is one of Tony's sisters!The wedding was very nice and our family had the blessing of being a big part in her wedding Tony walked Alisha down the aisle and Lillie was a flower girl and Anthony was the ring barrier! Addison was a brides made and I was her maid of honor and this is something special to me because I have a responsibly now to hold Alisha accountable in her marriage and to be there when she needs me to encourage her in the ways of God and what ever it may be she needs!Alisha looked very beautiful and we enjoyed seeing and being part of such a special day created by our God (Marriage)

Trinity Alisha and Kory's little baby girl

Tony with his sisters Alisha and Danielle

Kalani,Addison and Anthony

Kalani and Addison

DEAR SISTER YOU ARE NOT ALONE !!!

2010-01-04T13:48:00.000-08:00

If you have read my sisters blog post for today then you know the meaning behind the title!2 of my older kids watered my plants last night for me!Well today while schooling one of my kids decides it would be lots of fun to pull dirt out of my flower pots to put into there glove!So as you can see we have wet potting dirt all over my new couches of a couple months old!and all over my off white carpet!WHY????CHILD!! I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THIS WAS A NICE HAND PICK FROM GOD TO ME :~)

Special Christmas!!

2009-12-30T20:32:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was extra special to our family!We were able to celebrate our first Christmas with my new niece and nephew!I remember last year just waiting and thinking they would be here for Christmas it wasn't Gods timing.I had collected so much stuff for these sweet little children! I had no idea what they looked like let alone if they would be boys or girls or one of each I just new I loved them and couldn't wait for the day they would come into there new forever family and here we were this year with the sweet little pumpkins!YEAH.....to me its like with any new born child and there first Christmas there is just something special about that Christmas!I loved seeing them on this beautiful day:)opening gifts and there sweet smiles and the excitement in them and simply just seeing them!and knowing they were finally here and celebrating with there family!
What I find so neat is that when my sister and her hubby first started the adoption process I seen God changing there hearts and softening them to and I would think to myself wow God sure is working in there hearts and I thought the change was just for them!God has not only been working in my sister and her hubby's and there kids hearts he has been working in my family's hearts as well through there adoption!God has showed us the importance of what adoption truly is and the fact that we were adopted into his family!When you understand the beauty of adoption through His adopting us then you cant help but to know you are called to adopt his orphans weather its through supporting and encouraging a mother who just adopted and needs encouragement,giving money or like our dear sister in Christ at church making quits or adopting children!
How ever God is calling us we are open to what he wants from us in helping serve him!I just feel blessed to be part of my sister and brother in laws adoption and the blessings in fact the many blessings that God has Gaven our whole family through this adoption!
I saying all this we had a blessed day! My mother loves serving and so this is what she did all day long was served her family.My sister and her cozy self made all of us really yummy peppermint lattes and she even showed me how to make them(later to find out she gave me a gift of all the things needed to make theses yummy things)I love family and I love being with them they bless my heart!The kids had alot of fun and its always a joy to see the kids running up and down Nana and papas stairs playing in there nice Christmas outfits!they are making memories that will always be there when they grow up and I think that's always so much fun to look back on.

I want to be like you daddy!!

2009-12-10T21:59:00.000-08:00

So Tony has been off on Sundays lately and has been able to attend church with us!On Sundays Tony always gets Anthony ready for church(Its a man thing I guess) I guess I only know how to get him ready everyday but Sundays when Tony is off(one of the 4 days he is off) !I have no idea whats going on there hee hee!So anyway Anthony is always watching his daddy get ready when he is off and for the last week while Tony has been at work Anthony has been getting ready the way daddy gets ready!Anthony has been getting daddy's gel out and has been what Anthony calls it "spicing" his hair like daddy does (spike) would be adult language for this process of doing hair :~) like daddy he gets the blow dryer out and dries the spiked gel hair!Then Anthony has been putting on his daddy's deodorant and after shave as well.I think its so precious it is to see him looking up to his daddy and wanting to be just like him!Anthony wants to be with his daddy every second of the day when he knows his daddy is off ! We have this thing between tony and I because when Tony is off Anthony always says"Iam daddy's baby boy" but when Tony's at work Anthony says " mommy Iam your baby boy" Yeah...... little stinker !

Something I pray is that God will give him the same desire to seek the Lord the same way he seeks his earthly daddy some day!and more so that God will continue to work in our family so that we can be a Godly example for our children to see each and everyday!

I wanted to share this song that is so precious and my sister was the one who had told me about it.I thought it was so precious!Its called " I want to be just like you" by Phillips Craig and Dean.

He climbs in my lap for a goodnight hug
He calls me Dad and I call him Bub
With his faded old pillow and a bear named Pooh
He snuggles up close and says, "I want to be like you"
I tuck him in bed and I kiss him goodnight
Trippin' over the toys as I turn out the light
And I whisper a prayer that someday he'll see
He's got a father in God 'cause he's seen Jesus in me
Lord, I want to be just like You'Cause he wants to be just like me
I want to be a holy example
For his innocent eyes to see
Help me be a living Bible, Lord
That my little boy can read
I want to be just like You 'Cause he wants to be like me
Got to admit I've got so far to go
Make so many mistakes and I'm sure that You know
Sometimes it seems no matter how hard I try
With all the pressures in life I just can't get it all right
But I'm trying so hard to learn from the best
Being patient and kind, filled with Your tenderness'Cause I know that he'll learn from the things that he sees
And the Jesus he finds will be the Jesus in me
Right now from where he stands I may seem mighty tall
But it's only 'cause I'm learning from the best Father of them all

"Fathers,do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4

ADDISON AND HIPPY THE RAT

2009-12-03T10:25:00.000-08:00

I think Hippy likes Addison's orange juice lol ! My daughter loves animals with a passion!I do love animals to and totally loved them at Addisons age!My parents always had animal for us when me and my sister were young and I enjoyed having them to play with.I had a rat when I was little and loved him!I do believe we will be putting Addison in 4H in a couple of years!This girl had owned 2 lab mixes and a rabbit and 3 baby chickens and fish that she put in my garbage disposal when she was 2 I never new they were in there until later that day when I had turned it on 3 or 4 times lol and she told me "fishy mama" and pointed to the sink!Ya...... I found where they were after looking everywhere :~) I remember her always getting a chair and if I was in the other room she was in the kitchen putting her snacks in the tank along with pennies or what ever she could find lol! Oh and the best was when she stuck her chicken in a KFC box and wanted it shut!I was very tempted to send the picture of her into KFC.

So now we have 1 doggy(we think she is prego) 1 Guinea pig, 1 fish that killed 10 others, and 2 rats The other animals that I had mentioned had to be given away and well the chickens got ate by our next door neighbors dog.

I thought these pictures were cute and I wanted to share them with you just for fun:)

Luggage For Foster Children!!

2009-11-30T15:51:00.000-08:00

So after a sweet women from our church made and gave my sister over 65 handmade quilts from several women to be taken to our local CPS for foster children when they are taken from the home in the social service cars to be put in foster care!My sister's family delivered them today and I know she will be posting so that's all Ican say:) well I couldn't help but to think to myself "Lord how can I do more to help these precious foster children waiting for forever families"This is so close to home for me and after seeing Marilyn give those sweet and precious quilts to my sister I had to come home today from Lillie's therapy and look up the needs for children in the foster system and I came across another post on the same adoption site I has posted about"Should you Adopt?" and I read it and I want to start collecting luggage! and what this women had to say really touched my heart because when my niece and nephew came into there new home well several days later Wendy had picked up there belongings from the foster home they had been living and in one black trash bag was there clothing and in another black bag was there toys! I was thinking it doesnt have to be luggage Iam thinking even just hand bags that are like overnight bags or even duffel bags!Just something other then grocery bags or trash bags!

Foster children have to move fairly frequently. Some are lucky and don’t have to move often, but that’s not normally the case.
Many foster kids move with their things packed in garage bags, grocery bags, or whatever happens to be handy. I hate this, and I know many other people do as well. What a horrid message to send a child. Your life is garbage. You are garbage. You’re not worthy.
Sammy came with some of his things in suitcases, but most of it was in garbage bags, some things not packed and at all and so on. When Kory came, everything that he owned fit into a bag about the size of a garbage bag, but came from a retail chain around here called Fleet Farm. If you live in the Midwest you know that big orange back that I’m talking about. Hannah was a different story. She came with her life nicely packed. Love was put into this move. She helped to pack her things so it was done nicely.
When Kory and Mackenzie moved from our home, I very lovingly packed all their things into luggage. They were not going to move with their things in trash bags. They were worth more than that to me. I became very angry when I learned that my cousin’s wife dumped all their things into trash bags because it was “easier to pack into the car” and kept the luggage for herself. (Yes, I have blogged about my dysfunctional family before).
I’m not the only one who feels this way. details of how you can organize a collection for foster children just by A quick internet search will tell you where you can donate luggage, how to organize a drive, or what types of things you can donate. I love this headline from a commentary in Kentucky:
“Kids have baggage, they need luggage.”
Whether you call them bags, suitcases, luggage, or anything else, donate them to a foster child.

Sammy still has a hard side suitcase that was used when he moved here. I would never throw it out or donate it. It means a lot to him. He can’t verbalize why, but the fact that I know it’s important is what matters. It will be his whenever he moves out on his own as an adult.
Many social service agencies will accept donations of luggage or suitcases to help kids have appropriate things for packing their clothes and toys. If you have luggage that you do not need but it is still in good condition, consider donating it to a foster child or agency.
If you don’t know how or where to donate luggage, call your local social services agency. Do not just show up with a car load of bags. Most agencies do not have enough room to store what you might show up with. Be sure to ask first.
If you want to take things one step further, you can take a key from this article from Capital University. They took the luggage and hand painted it. They did the same thing in Decatur, Alabama.
Help a child move with dignity by organizing a drive, or making your own donation.

Thanksgiving at my grandparents cabin !!!

2009-11-29T22:17:00.000-08:00

Were all about to eat some very yummy food :)We enjoyed being with eachother!
I love this picture of the clouds and the snow!

This is my grandparents cabin

Daddy and Anthony riding the dirt bike in the snow while it was snowing and boy were they all wet when they were done!

Lillie also wanted to ride with her daddy and it was so funny cause she got off and her little nose was so red from the cold!

Snow fight with uncle Tony

Kawika and Tony blessed us all by making us breakfast and they even did the dishes to!or should I say they didnt let me in the kitchen lol so I thought I would just take a picture of them doing what I wanted to help do but it was a blessing to relax!

Some of the kiddies eating there Thanksgiving dinner!

Dad and mom playing cribage together and Kawika enjoying the snow falling!oh and so was the little one in the back!

Can Tabs For Sick Kids !!!!!

2009-11-23T14:36:00.000-08:00

So I wanted to share something with you that is one of the things Iam very passionate about!To me its like with anything really!If God has allowed you to have gone through something that affects your family It has a big impression in you life and heart!whether its Adoption,family member with cancer, A loved one dieing,losing a job and so on!One thing I Thank God for is that had we not gone through something like our child being sick how could we encourage or even understand what one has gone through? Before I had Lillie I never thought twice when I seen a child in a wheel chair or a parent walking with a child with physical problems ext !I would just think too myself "Awe" and would avoid because I felt uncomfortable because I had no idea what to say thinking I wouldn't have the right words to say!I cared but just didn't grasp the whole understanding of a medically special child! but now that I have Lillie and have gone through alot with her I actually love to start a conversation with parents when I see that there child is medically special! I want to be able to possibly share Christ if I have the opportunity and plus it is nice to relate with others .I find myself feeling what that parent may be feeling:)All the stress of a sick child and all the effort it takes to care for a sick child defiantly something our family have all made it through with Christ and him alone!God taught us so much and gave us everything we needed to make it through and to still make it through each day!He is always faithful when we for a moment take our eyes off him and thank God We where surrounded by great family and friends that had been so encouraging to our family He is so very faithful to us :) So here is a little info on what my title of the post is all about:)

Many families travel far from home to get treatment for their seriously ill or injured children. The treatment may last a day, a month, or even longer. It's a long time to be away from home, or to divide a family.
Ronald McDonald Houses around the world offer families a way to stay together, in proximity to the treatment hospital, and be comfortable and cared for during their stay.
Allow Families are stronger when they are together, which helps in the healing process. By staying at a Ronald McDonald House, parents can also can better communicate with their child’s medical team and keep up with complicated treatment plans when needed.
Allow Children to Get the Best Care
When your child is sick, you want the best care possible - even if it is hundreds or thousands of miles away. The Ronald McDonald House allows families to access specialized medical treatment by providing a place to stay at little or sometimes no cost.

Can tabs for kids and there family!

Why?
Ronald McDonald Houses collect pop tabs instead of entire aluminum cans because the tabs are pure high-quality aluminum, unlike cans, which consist of aluminum and other alloys. Tabs are also easier to store than whole cans.
Where?
If your local Ronald McDonald House participates in the program, it’s likely cardboard collection containers in the shape of a house have been distributed to schools, community and civic groups and other organizations in your area. Collect pop tabs to drop off at one of these areas, or contact your local House about getting a collection container that you can be responsible for filling through one of your own groups.
How much?
After the tabs are collected, the local RMHC Chapter brings the collection to local recycling centers, where they are weighed to determine their value (values can vary significantly). The recycling center then sends the local RMHC Chapter a check for the total value.
RMHC at Work
Twelve new Ronald McDonald Houses opened in 2007. Thirty-four more are undergoing expansion.
Here is the site link
http://rmhc.org/

SHOULD YOU ADOPT

2009-11-21T08:29:00.000-08:00

Tony and I have been very encouraged seeing my sister and our brother in law adopting the two little ones and just watching the whole process from the day we found out they would be adopting has been one of the biggest blessings I have seen in my life!The day these little ones came into there new family was one of the best days of our lives!For me it was no different then the excitement when Kalani and Kawika were first born.These babies are precious to us and we have seen the blessing of adoption and we have seen the reality of adoption as well!It has been so neat to walk the adoption journey with my brother in law and sister and I couldn't imagine my life without all my nieces and nephews!So in saying this tony and I have been talking alot about adopting lately and we have been praying about it and we are are waiting on the Lord to see if this is his will for our family!I did come across a adoption site a while back and came across this women talking about ''Should you adopt" when we were first wondering if this was something the Lord wanted for our family and I really liked what she had said !!

Throughout our journey to adopt our sons from the foster care system we have encountered many people who, in conversation, volunteer their lists of reasons why they cannot adopt. I am often surprised at how many of these people are Christian. They will tell us how wonderful they think we are because we “saved” our kids. They tell us that we are special, that it takes a special person to adopt. They tell us that they don’t have enough money, enough space, enough time to adopt. They even tell us that they don’t feel “called” to help, to adopt these kids. I cringe at the mere suggestion that one could be excluded from the call to help the orphans.

James 1:27 says “Pure and undefiled Religion before God and the Father is this:to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” I think this verse is often overlooked by the Christian community. To me, there are very few ways to interpret this statement. There are over 100 million children in the world who are orphans. In the US there are more than 150,000 children at any given moment who have been waiting some time to have a forever family. Our oldest son waited ten years. I look at him and at the pain he endured and ask myself where we as Christians are in all of this. What is our role? Does this passage in James tell us to look away? Does Jesus ever ask us to focus on our own comfort?

So often our desire for children is centered around our own wants, our own needs, our own ideas of what family should be. We focus on what it is we want and discard what it is that God wants. I really, really want the baby growing inside of me to be a girl. It is a bit ridiculous how badly I want this baby to be a girl. But no matter how hard I wish for a girl and no matter how much pink I buy, this baby will be whomever God wants it to be. I cannot request a healthy child with beautiful blue eyes. I cannot request a child who is easy to get along with, one who brings joy and peace wherever she goes. I can’t request that she be slender and tall. The only option I have is to trust that the Lord is leading our family and that He will bring us the child He means for us to have. In the same way, I cannot ask that He rearrange His word to suit my desires. Caring for the orphan is hard, hard work. Adoption will never be easy for any of us. It is an amazing blessing but at the root, there is heartache for someone, often most of all for our child. I cannot run from the call to care for the orphan because it is hard. I cannot run from it because it isn’t convenient. I cannot accept the excuses that my mind creates and allow them to turn me from pushing forward toward the call my Father has laid out for me. I must read this verse and make it my mantra. I must know in my heart that a call from God is never put forth lightly. He doesn’t mince His words. We are all called to care for the kids who hearts ache with the loneliness of waiting to be loved. Don’t ask yourself IF you are called to these kids, ask HOW you can fulfill the calling God our Father has set forth. Then pursue your calling to help the orphans in their distress. It is true that not all of us can adopt for a variety of very valid reasons. So help the orphan in another way. Find your state’s photolisting of children who are waiting for a family. Print out a picture of a child or children who wait. Hang them on your fridge and pray for them daily. Pray for the family who will be matched with that child. Find a reputable Christian organization that offers child sponsorship and add a child to your family in that way. Find an adoptive family that could use some childcare and step up to the plate. So often, so many of us are tired and weary and don’t want to ask someone to take on the task of watching our difficult children. Go to your local Children’s Home and volunteer your time to read to children who have been brought in from abusive situations. Go to the store and buy a pile of diapers and deliver them to the mom who just brought her beautiful bundle of joy home from China. Send a note to a child in your church who was just adopted welcoming him or her into your church family. There are a million and one ways to care for the orphan. There are just as many ways to care for adoptive parents. Decide HOW you can be a part of God’s call to the orphan, and then pursue that task with your heart invested. We are ALL called.

Big Changes For Our Lillie Girl :)

2009-11-20T15:37:00.001-08:00

Well in case some of you may not know Little miss Lillie has attended speech and physical and occupational therapy since the age of 4 1/2 months old!We drive twice a week to these therapies and it is there that Lillie started out learning to eat Kelly is who has been with her since the beginning this precious lady has been such a sweet blessing in our lives!She loves Lillie like her very own and I mean that!In fact we actually have built a friendship with her through the 2 1/2 years we have been going to therapy with Lillie girl.Kelly has worked with Lillie and has helped her in alot of ways!She has taught her how to eat better and that took probably a good year and a half of training her mouth and strengthening the muscles in her mouth and has taught her to talk to the best of her ability in bribing her with food lol ! Kelly knows Lillie well and knows how to get her to do what is asked of her Kelly has been stern but gentle and that's what I love about Kelly.

Therapy has been our life in a sense that it was 4 times a week as of 3 months ago and it got put to 3 days a week!It is the first thing my older children ask me when they wake up"mommy do we have therapy today?" We do school there and Kelly put toys out in the waiting room for my kids:) Our kids are the only ones that come there because they turned the children's north bay rehab into a adult therapy place.Actually it was a children's place and they had shut it down because of the economy and they had to let all the kids go and I mean all the kids parents had to find new places for there children to go.It was really sad to see all the parents you related with and could talk to and encourage go away. Kelly actually couldn't let 8 of her kids go and told her boss that she wanted to please keep these kids and so Lillie was one of them she had chose to keep!and actually Lillie is her last child of the 8 she wanted to keep the others have been discharged from therapy.

So we actually have a place called Regional center that took over paying for Lillie's therapies1Its a government benefit to parents with children with disabilities and it doesn't matter what your income is its because of the disabilities the child has that qualifies the child.well after 3 years old they don't cover any more because the school district takes over and well November 30th is our very last day with Kelly!Lillie turns 3 on the 27Th of this month and I cant tell you how hard it has been for me the last 2 weeks to say good by to Kelly and seeing her 2 times a week and its just weird to me to think that going to fairfeild to therapy is not going to be part of our life any more!When we first brought Lillie in she was 4 1/2 months and 7 pounds and had a NG tube in her nose and was so tiny and sick looking.She is now 3 and weights 21 pounds and is still small but is full of life and Iam so thankful to be able to go back to that time when she was sick and then to today.

I know that change is good for Lillie it means she is moving on and going forward and I know it is good.It means that she doesn't qualify in disabilities and that's great!this means development is doing better and that physically getting a little stronger so I thank God for that.

December 2nd we meet with her regional worker to have a transition meeting because they feel it would be good if Lillie went to the preschool for children with development delays at the public school in our town!They feel that it will challenge her to be around other children and that being around other kids her age would encourage her to do things she may not know how to do in her development!So this little squirt might just be going to preschool starting in January! So we will see what happens.

Iam very iam very excited to see what God has planned for this baby girl!Its exciting to see her moving on and sad at the same time.I cant think of dropping off Lillie at school then picking her up.So I think God is doing something in all these new changes and Iam thankful for that.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and hope.

Jeremiah 29:11-12

NORMAL YET ?

2009-11-17T08:52:00.000-08:00

So our family of 5 was sick for a total of two weeks with every symptom you can think of !I have never been so sick in my whole life it was not fun at all and I hope I never ever get it again! Iam sure we had swine flu at least that's what the doctor told Tony we all had.We went through 2 bottles of fever reducer for the kids 1 bottle of extra strength Tylenol and 1 bottle of NyQuil:)Oh and 4 boxes of tissue nuts ha!!!We also went through a total of 5 gallons of apple juice and 2 litters of 7up!I think we checked our temps over a hundred times lol:)I do thank God though for allowing us to get better in our comfort of home and that none of us ended up in the hospital.We were blessed enough that we could hook Lillie up each night with pedialyte to keep her hydrated and that in fact was a huge blessing in its self because we were able to put her meds through her tube as well and Lillie and Anthony were actually the ones that were least sick out of us 5.
Although we were sick we were so encouraged by family and friends that took care of us the best way they could without putting there own family at risk of getting sick. We had meals made for us for most of the time we were sick!
I actually had a sister in Christ call me a week into being sick and she is the one who organizes meals for others with our church when families are in need and well she ask if we needed any meals and you know what I had the nerve to say to her " No we are actually feeling alot better" I know she must have thought I was crazy as all heck to say that and the thing was YES I was crazy and what is really funny is that this lovely women is a family doctor so Iam sure she was seriously thinking CRAZY WOMEN. I actually thinking that I didn't want people driving all the way from vacaville to drop off a meal to us!What I was not thinking of was the fact that I was robbing others of blessing our family in a time of need and I was infact being prideful:( YUCK!!!!! I was feeling better then what I had been feeling but I was far from feeling better lol.
So knowing what I had said God quickly humbled me and I called her back and told her "I was sorry and that our family in deed could use meals. looking back I was not feeling great at all.
We were so blessed and I can not explain how much we needed meals!It allowed us to heal and get rest without stressing about food for ourselves and the kids!It was so encouraging to our hearts because everyone was taking care of us when we really couldn't and everyone really helped us to get better! SO WE SAY THANK YOU AND WE LOVE YOU!!!!

We do feel normal again and I actually forgot what it felt like feel normal again.The Lord has allowed me to have the energy to get the whole house back to standing lol I mean I must have done 13 loads of clothes,blankets,sheets ext from being sick and all that good stuff.My hubby is back to work and he actually missed 4 days of work!Someone from his work signed up for over time and actually called my hubby and told him he could have his over time day if he would like since he missed 4 days of work and so my hubby took it. I tell you what talk about trusting God in the mist of the "not knowing" God always provides no matter what and Iam so thankful to Him for that. My hubby was also able to cash in 2 pch's (personal choice holiday) and thankfully he had them to cash in.

We are also trying to get caught up on Addison's schooling since she was out for 2 weeks!So my sis reminded me that our charter school has a week off for thanksgiving so we are going to just work right through that week and then there is time off in December to so we are going to work through that week as well:)Iam telling you God is faithful to see us through everthing even when we dont see our way through something like being sick for 2 weeks.I cant help but thank God that we can see God and his blessings in them even in times of trials!

I just had to post the picture of Addison because it kinda reminded me of myself and how I felt when I was sick :)

The blessings of being sick !!!

2009-11-05T14:58:00.001-08:00

So along with my last post "FEAR" my Little Lillie girl is sick along with her mommy!She has the fever, cough, and you got it .... the poopy to:)Today Anthony woke up from his nap with a fever as well and now we are just waiting to see if Addison and Daddy will be joining us this week as we celebrate being sick with all our meds and tissues lol!!Addison has informed me that " she is so glad she is not sick"I told her " Don't be surprised if you get sick sweet heart" she just smiled and said "okay mommy" I know she doesn't want to get sick and she really feels bad for us she has been drawing pictures for all of us and wanted to have a surprise party to make Anthony feel better:)Anthony is her side kick and its interesting to see one of them down because they are two peas in a pod.

It never fails though that when I get sick like this I always have to thank God for my health and that my sickness is only for a time!I have to think of those people who's sickness is not just for a short time.

My husband started his 4 days off to taking care of his sick family:)Iam so thankful to the Lord he allowed my hubby to be off and not needing to take days off to take care of us.

As you can see in the picture my husband has been hard at cleaning and taking care of his sick family!He has been taking our temps,giving us meds and making sure we have been getting the rest we need to get all better.So I very much appreciate him loving and caring for our family.

We also have been blessed with my mom and sister making us dinner these last 2 nights and it has been very yummy:)Thank you for your thoughtfulness !!!!So I would have to say that there are blessings in being sick:)

Yes my hubby has been doing our laundry as well while I have been sick.Iam so thankful for him!

And this is my hubby crashed out after working hard although he is recharging to finish the huge loads of laundry on the couch lol:) He has been getting the kids dressed, and feed everyday not to mention putting them to bed at night baths and all.In times like these his cleaning obsession does come in handy and doesn't bother me as much when Iam sick compared to when Iam feeling well :)

FEAR ! ! !

2009-10-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

There are things that people fear for some it may be spiders , pitbulls:), or heights ext for me mine is driving under certain conditions like in the dark driving makes me nervous but lately my hugest fear has been highway 12 for the last 6 or 7 months they have been fixing the road and decided it would be great to put up a white block wall!for what reason I don't know but it just scares me lol!My fear in driving by this wall is that I will hit it and then crash and hurt my kids or worse that I may cause my child to die by crashing into the wall!For most you probably are thinking "O my goodness girl" but this fear is so real to me! I go through Vacaville to get to Fairfeild when taking Lille to her therapy twice a week so I don't have to drive the highway 12.

I started this post on the 31st of Oct and after starting it I have since then have had 2 things come up that I have had fear (1)I don't like confronting people when I know I should and I have let many times go by because of it ,and I know it was wrong and the reason I know it is because Iam being selfish and only thinking of me and how it makes me feel to have to go and talk to another person instead of thinking of the other person and loving them to the point of putting ME aside!

(2)So as you know the SWINE FLU is out and about all over the news and people wearing masks at all the store!Yes this is another fear of mine because all my children have medical conditions that make them at higher risk for being hospitalized if they in deed get this flu!

Well I started getting getting sick this Sunday and I was thinking it was just hay fever!but as it started getting worse and my fever was at 102.5 I looked on line about the swine flu and started fearing I would be the cause of my children getting hospitalized or possibly the worse death!After being encouraged by my family I stopped the fleshly thoughts and went to the doctors yesterday to find out that I have a virus and the starting of pneumonia on the left side in return causes my asthma to hit a high of out of control breathing!The doctor was not convinced I had the swine flu.

I also had the opportunity to call another sister in Christ today (Nov 4Th) and the Lord brought me through the phone call and this other person took it so well and was very thankful and in return I was blessed that I was able to encourage another sister in the lord.

In the last month God has shown me alot that I didn't even see in myself but it was collecting in my heart this ugly thing of "FEAR" and worst all of it is sin to fear because I am not in anyway TRUSTING my lord that has my life in his hands and my family as well.I have no control over saving my children from death Iam called to be wise as a mother but I still have no control over my life or any one Else's life at that.It does not matter if I go through vacaville to avoid highway 12 because the Lord can allow us to get in a car crash going to vacaville!I know you get what Iam saying:)same with my kids Yes Iam getting them there flu shot and the swine flu shot as well but does that stop them from getting out of the lords timing of death where He says our days are numbered NO it doesn't!I get so frustrated at myself at times and my way of thinking!I am just so thankful to the lord that he is so faithful to show us our short comings and in that it allows me to change my heart and keep running this race toward the finish line!

I have to say Iam proud of what the Lord has done in my heart with driving to Fairfeild on highway 12 because Iam so happy to say I have been driving highway 12 for about 2 weeks now:)YEAH!!!!! Iam still working on it though lol its not all the way easy lol:)

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.In all thine ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy path.

Proverbs 3:5

"Do You Find Me Lovely?"

2009-10-21T20:29:00.000-07:00

There is a little boy in a foster home and it is the home where A and J (My precious niece and nephew)had lived!before being welcomed into there family!My sister had posted on him and her experience with him and what he had asked her!In case you missed it it was something he had said to her as she was leaving with A & J for a home visit and his words were "can I come with you?" My sisters heart hurt for this little boy as she didn't even know the words to say to him she said to him"Oh sweet heart you cant" and he said back to her with his head down " why? why cant I come with you?" Iam not sure what my sister had said to him but Iam sure this little boy didn't understand all the legal stuff of Adopting and I know for sure if my sister could have she would have just token him home to have a "forever family"to love him and care for him despite all his issues he might have had in that moment!I just cant imagine the pain of the questions that run through his little mind!
In saying all of this well.... he had came to my mind when I heard this song by Shawn McDonald " Lovely?'! in fact it reminds me of all the children in foster homes waiting for "A mommy and Daddy" wondering in there own little minds "does anyone care?" or "Do you find me lovely?" I tried to put the video on here and I just cant figure it out so here are the words to the song but the song is much better then being read!If you would like go to u-tube and watch it:)So here it is!!!

Let me tell you a story

Of a little boy who had lost his way

In search for something to make it a better day,

But all he seemed to find

Was a world of hurt and pain

And a place that didn't seem to care that he'd lost his way.

So the boy began to cry.

Yes, the boy began to cry.

Does anyone love?

Does anyone care?

Is anyone out there?

That finds me lovely

That finds me lovely

That finds me lovely?

Just when the little boy had lost all hope

Well, along came a man that ushered him in.

He held him to his chest

And He said "Little boy, it's time that you rest"

He opened up His arms

And said, "I've been searching for you for some time.

Now, Little Boy, you have found a home

And now longer shall you roam"

Then the man began to cry.

Yes, the man began to cry.

Don't you know I love you?

Don't you know I care?

And I will always be here,

And I find you lovely.

Yes, I find you lovely.

Yes I find you so so lovely.

I find you lovely...

Yes, I find you lovely

"I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a" stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord when was it that we did these things for you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.
Matthew 25: 35-45

Phillip's Farm Trip !!

2009-10-21T16:14:00.000-07:00

Today Tony and I took the kids to Phillip's Farm to pick out some pumpkins:)The kids enjoyed seeing floppy ear bunnies and some roosters and some geese that were honking very loud at us and even bit Tony but he asked for it :)We went through tunnels made of hay and picked out pumpkins!We came home and the kids cleaned out there pumpkins and painted them!It was very fun to watch them enjoy themselves.I did take pictures at the farm but had to use a bought throw away because we found our batteries to be dead so I will post more pictures later.

Hi Everyone!!

2009-10-20T20:47:00.000-07:00

Okay So for 3 days I have had a post and a video I want to post but my cute little computer is having issues!So in the next couple of days you will find a very over due post!Have a blessed night:)

Happy 6th Birthday Addison !!!!

2009-10-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

October 3rd was Addi sons 6Th birthday and we celebrated it by inviting her cousins to a party at build a bear!It was alot of fun and Addison had a blast!It was very fun to see all the kids picking out there animal to stuffing it to putting a little heart in there animals!Addison loves stuffed animals and had never been to build a bear so we though it would a great day of fun for everyone!After build a bear we went to Chucky cheese to have Luch and played fun games!Then we came home too open gifts and have cup cakes hmmm yummy!!!
Addison opening gifts

mom relaxing and enjoying her grand babies

Addison opening a gift!
Kory and Trinity

washing her Kitty cat Anthony giving his cat a bath!

Mr K and Tony and Kory

hoping around the store!!

Addison has also lost her first front tooth 2 days ago and she had been working on it for a week before she decided she would listen to daddy and eat a apple and it sure did work because it made it lose enough for her to pull it out!Addison does not mess around its funny to me because she has riped out all 3 of her teeth!She get so excited about her teeth falling out maybe because she gets a treat from us when she loses them!

Back on the road again:)

2009-09-30T16:35:00.000-07:00

So today I finally got my Expedition back from Sacramento where the poor thing was there for 10 days getting a 3rd transmission put in it:)and I'am so thankful from the bottom of my heart to have it back!the reason is because we have been driving in a little 2 door Honda for the last 10 days and when you have 3 children that close together driving anywhere is not the funnest thing that ever did happen:)You here the sound of children saying things like this"he/she is touching me"and "mommy Iam hot turn the ac on please" or "mom Lillie keeps touching me with sticky hands" or "mommy I don't like daddy's work car! wheres our other car this one I don't like" the last one was the best all though I didn't let them know I felt the same way to hee hee!!but we all learned including me to give thanks always RIGHT? well I tried my best to be thankful only because when I was driving my little Honda It came more to my attention of the certain people who always walk and its because they are people who don't have a car and they have to walk everywhere and that means in the heat,cold ext sssooo at those times I seriously said thank you God for this Honda that we are able to drive while my car is away and the fact it fit all 3 kids and my hubby and I on Sunday was awesome lol I laugh because I felt like sardines in a Honda can :)

So we are so happy to know that the problem with our car was nothing we did but was a defect in the transmission which would be the last 2 reason we needed a new transmission and so we are hoping this transmission will last longer then 3 years this time!

This is our very cool Honda and I thought you might just want to see this cute little blue car that I probly will not miss till another car goes out:)I know..... I am thankful:)

Living to God's Glory

2009-09-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

I just started reading a great book called "Right Thinking In a World Gone Wrong" By John MacArthur and the book is on biblical response to today's most controversial issues.I really liked the first chapter!He gave 7 Principles For Living To God's Glory!I don't know about you but for me I need the fresh reminder of how to glorify God more!For me its so easy to get use to the worlds way because its all over everywhere on the Internet,TV,bill boards ext!We live in this word so for me it makes things that much more clear as to why I need to be feeding myself everyday with Gods living word so I don't become desensitised to the things around me.So I thought I would share what I read in the first chapter I thought it was a great reminder of when we are not sure if the choices we want to make is pleasing to God.

1.The Edification principle:Will this activity produce spiritual benefit?
"Will doing this activity enhance my spiritual life and the spiritual lives of others?Will it cultivate godliness in me and in them?Will it build us up spiritually?"If not, then is it really a wise choice?
1 Corinthians 10:23(2 Peter 3:18)Acts 20:32(Colossians 3:16)2 Timothy 3:16-17(1 Corinthians 8:1)Hebrew 10:24(Ephesians 4:12)
2.The Enslavement principle:Will this activity lead to spiritual bondage
1 Corinthians 6:12(Ephesians 5:18)
3.The Exposure Principle:Will this activity expose my mind or body to defilement?
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you,whom you have from God,and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price:Therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Ephesians 5:12(Philippians 4:8)Romans12:1-2(Romans 6:12-13)
4.The Esteem Principle:Will this activity benefit others,or cause them to stumble?
"Food will not commend us to God;we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat.But take care lest this liberty of your somehow become a stumbling block to the weak"
1 Corinthians 8:8-9
(Philippians 2:1-5)Romans13:10(1 Corinthians 8:12-13)
5. The Evangelism Principle:Will this activity further the cause of the Gospel?
"Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, that they may be saved "(1 Corinthians 10:32-33)
(1 Corinthians 9:19-23)
6. The Ethics Principle:Will this activity violate my conscience?
" He who doubts is condemned if he eats,because his eating is not from faith;and whatever is not from faith is sin"(Romans 14:23)
(Corinthians 10:25-29)Psalm 66:18(Ephesians 5:8,10)
7.The Exaltation Principle:Will this activity bring Glory to God?
"Whether, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God"
1 Corinthians 10:31
(2 Corinthians 5:9)

I have wondered sometimes if the choices I want to make are okay to make or in a sense what would the lord my God want me to do This outline helps in certain areas where I can ask myself these questions!!My desire is to want what God wants for my life and at time my good o me wants what I want!But its nothing about me and its all about Him!

Planting seeds of daily growth

2009-09-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

We planted pine tree seeds about 2 weeks ago and for those of you who don't know Target has really cool planting kits in the dollar section!The kits come with all you Will need to grow a plant or veggie or what ever they have in stock that week or month!We learned how trees live and how you can tell the age of a tree by the rings on the trunk when it is cut down!we learned how you have to water your plant to help it grow!I was able to share with the kids about how the pine tree seeds we planted is like us needing to read Gods word daily to stay alive in our walk with Christ and how the tree will grow with water and then I explained how we begin to grow in our faith and how we get to know God more when we read Gods word and I explained to them eating Gods word is like the seeds needing water to grow and live!I love how God gives you opportunities to share with our children about Gods word through something simple as planting a few seeds for a school science project!He is good all the time and I really enjoyed telling the kids about God and his word!I just hope and pray that they understand and if they don't that when they do get a little bigger that it will come back to there remembrance of what I taught them.Of course I wonder if they do but I have to remember to be faithful in being a mom and teaching them about God and God will do the rest:)

So as the days went on went by the kids watered there seeds and they have been able to see the result of faithfully watering there seeds!Oh they were so excited and look forward daily to looking at there little bitty pine trees grow:)The kids have been really enjoying school and learning!I enjoy it as well and look forward to the rest of the year:)

I know God will supply all our needs!!

2009-09-09T19:24:00.000-07:00

Hmm where do I start well I will say this last month has been very trying as you all know Tony and I have payed off our expedition! we are very happy and excited at the fact that we have no more monthly payments however our the transmission in our expedition has went out!! YUP IT DID !!! now this is not the first time we will be putting a transmission in our SUV but it will be our 2nd time and the 3RD transmission in this SUV!! We are totally bumed for sure! we cant afford to pay anywhere from 1,500.00 to 3,000 dollars that it is going to take to put into our expedition! It has been 1 week with a broken SUV :( About two years ago a 1993 mercy villager van was thoughtfully given to us from my aunt and uncle who own a towing yard !We have tried to smog this van twice so we can get our registration current and drive it on the road but the van will not pass smog!I personally like driving a van its so much easier for me with my kids and I actually thought I would just drive the van till we could get the expedition up and running again but I have a feeling we are out on the option of driving the van anymore!! So tony and I for the last week have been feeling a bit stressed out due to the fact that we have doctor apts and Lillie's therapy we attend twice a week and church and all the other many places I love to go heehee! Its amazing how much you use your vehicle and how important they are to your daily living :)

So in saying all of this Tony and I have been trying to decide what would be best for us!Would buying a new van be the best idea since we have put a new transmission in our car every 3 years?With much praying and much thought We decided NOPE NOT A GREAT IDEA!! I think its silly putting a 3rd transmission in a car but what I think may be silly is not silly to God !! I don't understand why God would allow us to pay a car off just for it to have problems!I don't understand alot of what Gods plan is for us!Honestly I know that is not for me to understand and me not knowing is not for me to figure out!I know that what God call me to do is to TRUST HIM COMPLETELY and boy is that not always easy because my flesh wants to say"What in the world do you think your doing???!! I know God has our family close in his arms so why?do I become anxious and fearful of how we will come up with money we do not have for a car! I know God will never leave us without our needs meet!Our family has alot and more then some times I think we need!!I loved it when our pastor had said a few weeks back in church that" There are others countries praying for America because we have so many things in our lives that take our eyes off of our creator God"!This is so true!!!Really all of this not having a working car comes down to keeping my eyes fixed on Christ and seeking him not "how will our car get fixed" God is so faithful especially when Iam not and Iam so thankful that he knows me and understands me and finds me of some worth to show me how yucky my heart can be when things dont always go as Iam use to and iam so thankful he shows me where my face needs to fixed and its on Him and how I can best serve him in my attitude during a another trial !!God was gracious to our family and and our needs have been meet by God and we will be getting our expedition fixed sometime in the next 2-3 weeks and we have been blessed with Lillie's physical therapist coming to our home to do therapy!!This to me is huge because lately I have just wanted to be home and with my kids!I feel as though Iam never just at home where I can enjoy the morning with my kids!So this is a blessing for the time that my Car is down:)We also don't have to pay the gas going back and forth!!although we are putting out some serious chunk of money we are saving on gas hee hee!!Iam not sure that made sense :)So now Iam going to be praying for wisdom for my hubby because he is trying to decide if he should just put it in the shop or if he should put the transmission in himself and save money???hmmm that I don't know:)All I do know is Gods in control and sees what I don't!I have a good feeling there is going to be another post on this post :)
Ya I was talking to my sister on the phone the other day and was telling her that God allowed us to be just comfortable enough to buy some comfy couches lol.My sister said" literally no punt intended"I think God has a sense of humor although my flesh would like to say its not that funny heehee!!

"Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile" way of life inherited from your forefather, but with presious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.
1 Peter 1:18-19

Busy Days~Sick days~Fun Days~Sad Days!!!!

2009-08-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

So I know it has been a while since I posted!I thought I better post and let you know what we have been up lately !! since you are probably thinking where are the post!Well here it goes !!!!
After 6 weeks of waiting we finally got Lillie's new feeding machine that weights alot less then her other one she had!The back pack is even smaller for her!!It was funny because the first one she had weighed her back ward when it was on her back!She likes it and actually ask to put it on!On another note we took Lillie on Sunday to urgent care because her eye was watering and was red on the outside!The doctor said it look like she had a slight scratch on it and sent us home with a prescription to heal her eye!I was actually excited because I had found a medical bracelet for Lillie at the pharmacy where I got her med!!I wanted her to have one so that when we are at functions like b-day parties,ext people will see the bracelet and not be so out to give her foods!!Lillie wears the bracelet just fine and does not complain about it being on her hand!I do believe Lillie is so use to change that Iam thankful to God that she does do grest with new things that are changes for her!!
~~~~~~~~Sick days~~~~~~~~~~~
On another note I have not been feeling all that well!!part of the reason I have not blogged As soon as the weather changes in our town I have asthma issues!That means no sleep at night~totally tired from lack of night sleep~coughing~and not breathing well !!!Thankfully God has been my strength to keep going as I should!!Some how He gives me the joy I need to make it through my daily task of wife and mom!!
~~~~~The passing of a dear Lady~~~~~

Alisha's(Tony's sister) fiance Kory and his family lost a dear Lady Linda Olgesby on the 26Th of augest!This women is Kory's Nana!Nana held dinner every single night at her house for the whole family!This was after a 8 hour day at work that she would come home to make dinner for her family.Every single holiday was at Nana's and papa's home !Nana loved the lord and it showed in all different ways through her life!Close to 9 months ago Nana had the sweet blessing of seeing her only great grand baby be born that she would ever see before she would pass away Trinity Hope Bowers Alisha's and Kory's baby girl!Kory was very close to his Nana and this is a huge sorrow for the family as they will miss her dearly!But we can celebrate her presence with her king in heaven.Tony and I had the blessing of going to her funeral yesterday!We enjoyed hearing about her and how she greatly affected those around her!!They played beautiful songs that sang of the lord!They read bible verses that were Nana's very favorite.We were so glad to be there for the family and show we love them and will there for them through this very sad time.

~~~~~~by to the old couches and in with the new ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So my sister and brother gave tony and I there old couches about 3 or 4 years ago and they had them for about 7-9 years before giving them to us!They had went through 5 kids and we all know how many body fluids can come from one child lol not to mention food and drinks :)The couch cushions have been washed so many times lol !!!So my husband said it was time to purchase some new couches for the family!So we saved money that I was making off of e-bay and Tony worked 3 days over time and after a month we went and got some new couches!!I actually came home with different couches then what we saved up for!WHY?? Because the ones we saved for looked as though They wouldn't be good for us because I could just see them getting thrashed after a couple of drips of juice or hand oil ext!I just knew something stronger and more colors would hide stains ext:)Tony loved the ones I switched to so we were all good :)We love them and are soo excited because the couches are our first store furniture purchase ever in 7 years together!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~School Days~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The kids are loving school and we enjoy the time spent together that we are learning together!Addison can now write her own name without looking at her name written down for her and she finally learned how to make a S after 1 week!Anthony knows how to write his name as well and struggled to write the letter Y but now can write it all by himself!!!

First Day of Kindergarten !!!

2009-08-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

Well today was Addison and Anthony's first day of Kindergarten!I honestly never seen the day where I would be home schooling my children!Last year I had planned that Addison needed to go to public school because I was taking Lillie to therapy 4 different days of the week!We were also going to the doctors it seemed none stop as well. That was before I started praying about what the Lord wanted me to do!My heart wanted to home school really bad but I didn't see how I would home school my kids with Lillie and all her issues she was having!So I wanted to know what the Lord wanted for our children not what I thought It looked like I should do!The lord did answer my prayer and with time Lillie's therapy went to 2 days a week and 2 therapies on each of those days!Then her occupational therapist said Lillie was only 3 or 4 months behind and didn't think regional would pay for her therapy since she was not to far behind(government funded for children with disabilities) so we are not seeing her as of now and we are still waiting for some answers!Since last year Lillie has a diagnoses and so basically It cuts doctors apts because we have a pin point of what doctors now and how often!
I cant begin to say that last year I would have said there was no way to homeschooling but as of 4-5 months ago God made It clear as to what he wanted me to do and that was my hearts desire to Home school my children as long as the lord allows me to!He made everything calm down with Lillie so I could:)Praise God !!! I have such a great feeling homeschooling is going to teach me alot and I mean a lot of things!Oh Iam teaching my children but you see God is teaching me at the very same time:)through my precious children and schooling them:)I already know which child I will be on all the time because I was the same way as a child and I can remember having more important things to do then school work lol and I already know who I can give work to and can trust that they want to and will get it done lol !!!

"therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as" a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.You shall teach them to your children,speaking of them when you sit in your house,when you walk by the way,when you lie down,and when you rise up.And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.
Deuteronomy 11:18-21

Happy Birthday Dad !!!

2009-08-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my dads birthday and I couldn't be more thankful to God for my Dad!He means so much to me and I love him very much :)Iam so thankful for who he is and all he does for our family!He is a great papa to his gran babies and loves to play with them!He always brings jelly beans in his pocket to give the grand kids and boy do they love that!!We celebrated my dads birthday at my grandpa and grandmas house!We all went swimming and played fun games!My grandparents made a great dinner and we had yummy cake and ice cream:)My aunt Linda and my cousin Cara surprised us and stoped to say hello!! They are from Washington and were down visiting other family members!!I was able to see Cara's new baby girl who is 6 months old I believe and her son I have not seen in a year!(It was so nice to see you girls love you)It was alot of fun!Tony had to work over time so he was not able to go!He was able to enjoy being with his friends after work though because we got home late!

Addisons First Tea Party With Nana !!!!

2009-08-16T20:06:00.000-07:00

Addison and Kalani and there American girl dolls were invited by Nana to come to her house for a tea party!Addison Got all dressed up and I curled her hair!Nana had this planed for about 3 weeks and worked hard at making the tea party meaningful and memorable as well!!Nana fixed a table all up and made the girls such a special lunch with there names by there plates!Nana had a special time talking to the girls about "Seeking God with all your heart " and she did a special hunt to help them understand what seek means by hiding different things and the Addison and Kalani had to seek for them.They played dress up together,and they did each others make up,they danced to music and laughed and had such a special time!Thank you mom for making that day so special for Addison and Thank you for making memories that will seriously last a life time with my daughter and soon Lillie will be joining in on the fun memories of Nana's Special tea parties. I love you!!

NorthHills Family Camp :)

2009-08-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

So we went to our first family camp with our church for the weekend!We had alot of fun!We learned about "our Stuff" and how really is it important in our lives!We were blessed to hear my brother in law give a beautiful testimony of his life and how Jesus saved his life.We had awesome worship each day and boy did the girl like the boys leading it!The kids had such a blast and it was such a blessed time getting closer to our church family!They are such special individuals and were such a joy to spend time with this last weekend.We also enjoyed doing skits,watched movies,played chubby bunny with marshmallows as well!"Oh and WE GOT DIRTY FOR SURE LOL"We cant wait to go next year!!Thank you to everyone who put the camping trip together so we could enjoy a great time together as a church family!

Lillie girl!!

Addison and her friend Sarah!

Amy and her hubby

Becky boo!!

Susan doing them good o dishes!!

Amber with her daughter Jenesis and Laura

Addison and k and Lillie worshiping to the music!
Hanging out!!!

pre-teens in front row!!!Hmmm I wonder why:)THE BAND LOL!!

FOOD IDEAS.......

2009-08-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

About a month ago our family was invited to go to Tony's cousins son birthday party and I had started talking to this girl Lizzy! We went to highschool together.She had asked me about Lillie and we started talking and she had asked me if I had heard about the Vegan food and I had no clue about it but heard a couple of times of it on a support group for parents with EE children . So she told me a little about it and how they have stores in several places and one being in Sacramento (45 mins from our home). So after the party we said by and that was that.

So over the last 4 weeks I have been trying to think of foods to feed Lillie!I have been so focused on what she cant have because she will get sick! That I found myself feeding her the same things weekly and feeling as though my mind was stuck on ideas!So I started praying that God would help me with different ideas of food to feed her! So the other night I made caned re fried beans and I had took out a nice size bowl for Lillie and put cheese in the pot!Well Lillie loved them so much she ate the whole bowl and wanted more of them!So as I went to get her more I realized she could not have more because cheese was in them!I always give Lillie food any time she wants it only because Its such a issue in her life So I felt really bad that I couldn't give her more! So the next day I went to the store to get the pinto beans and googled how to make them in my crock pot because I wanted to make sure she could have all the pinto beans she wanted without being told" NO" I made them and gave her them and she loved them just like the caned ones "YEAH" I froze the rest in daily portions so I could just pull her food out for the day!I actually Iam working on making her food 1 day out of the month to make a months supply of her own foods!Okay so 2 days ago Tony's cousin Jessica calls me and says Lizzy the one I had been talking to at the party had sent me a book to her house (The one at the top of my post what she had been talking to me about!Its 130 ideas for making foods free of animal,no dairy,no fish,wheat,gluten,peanuts,tree nuts:)basically its a vegetarian book but it still gives me so many ideas and really Lillie is living like a vegetarian besides the fact she can have turkey,chicken and pork!I cant explain how happy I was that the lord had heard my prayer and answered it in a person who I really wasn't close to!The fact that Lizzy cared that much to take the time to buy a 20.00 book and to send it to Jess to give to me was such a blessing and made my day! What a huge hug from God!Oh and that lunch box on the front is called "Lap Top lunch box and you can find it at http://www.laptoplunches.com/ They have all kinds of neat things on there!I know many of you like to feed your children healthy things and this is why these 2 women are the founders for these boxes!You can feed them healthy foods away from home in a neat box that comes with a insulated cover and ice pack!It can get pricey but to me its a one time buy and worth it. PS I think I will look on e-bay first :)

BIG O SPIDER !!!

2009-08-04T14:22:00.001-07:00

I thought I would share with you our big visitor the other night !Addison had to go potty in the middle of the night and almost steps on it in the hall way!She screamed for daddy and I didn't hear her but Daddy sure did ! It was so funny because at 2am I woke up to what sounded like my husband playing with the kids in the hall:)they were laughing and just having a blast!If you know my husband he really gets into these kinds of things!or its a big deal lol:)Tony sprayed it with some type of bug killer and he shrunk!He was bigger then this picture for sure!needless to say Addison liked sleeping on the floor but now she is liking her bed a whole lot more since the spiders cant get her up there:)We wont tell her that they climb hee hee!!They were talking about this spider last night at dinner and it has been 2 nights ago!I thought it deserved a post for the sake of it was a huge deal for the brazil home.

After 6 Years......

2009-07-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

After 6 years we finally paid off our Ford Expedition!I don't tell you to brag but to say alot of the time we had this SUV we didn't deserve to have it because we couldn't afford it when we bought it!After having it we learned that on our appt for a loan for it!One of the workers that got the loan had said I had a job on the application!I didn't have a job because I was about to have our first child in a month!This car has been a burden for 6 years and I actually went against my dads wise advice when he told me not to buy things on loans or credit . I learned because every month for 6 years we were faced with a pmt of $407.26 and $156.00 for full coverage insurance for it as well.For some this may not be alot but for us it was. We also decided to buy a house at the age of 21 for $350,000!then after we bought our house with a adjustable rate we had got to a morage payment of $2,200.00 that had went up to $3,500.00 within close to 2years of owning it. Tony and I never seen each other because he worked 3 to 4 days over time (he worked a 4 on 4 off schedule)So lets just say his wife and 2 children at the time never seen him!We had put the house up for sale 3 times and sold it during a short sell after losing our SUV to Repo due to not paying them there payments we were so behind on everything and I would have to say by Gods mercy Tony's mom had came into some money and payed $ 1,700.00 to get our car out of repo and put $800.00 worth of tires on our car as well!We opened credit cards to pay for Christmas gifts for our family that we ended up paying double for in the end because of interest. We were trying to live the American dream!We didn't think we had to work up for the things we wanted or thought we needed!I bought a Kirby vacuum and a alarm system for the house that we could not afford either.
My husband Came to God through our struggles of owning a home and a nice car and all the rest we couldn't afford.My husband realized his family was suffering from not having him around because of all the working he was doing to keep our " THINGS"he realized he had no control and God did. I can honestly say the Lord knew what we would be faced with in a couple of months when we would have Lillie.My husband and I knew we couldn't afford our home we lived in and that we needed to find a home we could afford!so we rented a 2 bedroom 1 bath home for $850.00 a month.Then after 3 months of living there we moved right next door to the house we were renting! its was a 3 bedroom 2 bath at $1.154.60.With having Lillie one of the things God has taught us is being wise and not careless with the money he has allowed Tony to work for!He taught us by not having alot of money for extra things because Lilllie had so many doctor appts we were afraid to spend anything because we might need it for gas, co-pays ,ext. I cant explain his Grace and Mercy in showing us what we did wrong by allowing us to struggle and then to take us back through and teach us through having self control in our spending by having no control with medical bills and the fact it was with something/someone such as our daughter that means so much to us that we had no choice but to be wise with what we spent because she came first and her health.God's plans for our family has always been perfect for us!I thank God he allowed us to sell our house and I thank God he allowed us to get our car back because we didn't deserve it! I thank God He helped us make it through our house selling and what was a huge lesson from God it was!Tony and us both have learned that 'THINGS" fade away and that it doesn't matter what we have!what matters is if our God is being glorified in our lives and the way we are living each day!What matters is if we are feeding our hearts,soul, and minds with Gods word daily!What matters is that our only idol is God! Iam not saying I don't ever still struggle with idols because little things can become my idol over God at times it can be me cleaning or my computer but its still a idol that at times can take my time away from Christ.For the most part Money and things have not been a priority to the point of wanting things all the time. we would like to have nice things but only if we can afford to have them!At the time we were so concerned on having things that pleased us that our hearts were not pleasing God in our hearts. I thank God that this Ford Expedition is paid off in full and that we can start paying medical bills off and other bills and at the same time being able to do fun things together as a family!For the first time in 3 or 4 years this summer we were able to enjoy going to Lake Shasta for 4 days and we were able to go to my dad and moms property for the 4Th of July!We have not been able to go for a while because we couldn't afford to do go on small vacations!So we are so happy to know that what we went through was not just in vain but a well learned lesson that God took us through and it took 6 years to really truly learn and change :) Come on God bring on the next lesson of heart changing lol !! never a dull moment serving a King:)

" Put off your old self, which is being corrupted by it's deceitful desires".
Ephesians 4:22

SUMMER FUN !!!

2009-07-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

These kids have done so much stuff this summer so far! As they are getting bigger it seems to be alot of fun for mom to!For the most part the kids I feel are to the age where it's not so overwhelming to take them places!I have been having lots of fun with them and I know they are to. Although Little miss Lillie always wants to EAT !!!So a regular thing we do now days is we always have a special bag for Lillie packed with tons of FOOD !I don't dare leave town with that bag :)Other then the bag Oh!!and our new Potette Plus I bought from Baby's R Us ! I bought one for Wendy to for the kids to since baby girl is potty training ! We are both finding that these portable potties are so great to have! When we are at the park or even public bathrooms!They are so nice and convenient to have! It just makes being a mommy to little ones that always say " mommy I have to go poop" out loud in public lol:)that much easier and usually its when we feel its not the time to say "I have to go pee or poop"! Okay enough about the potty lol I just love it!and its made things a bit easier for all of us involved:)

I hope you are all having a blessed summer and I pray your summer is full of lots of fun for you all.

ADDISON'S ALLERGY APPOINTMENT !

2009-07-20T18:00:00.001-07:00

So after 2 reschuldes of Addisons appt with the allergist we made it today to walnut creek!As most of you know Addison has had eczema on her body since birth and she is going on 6 years old!This eczema that she has had since birth has caused her to sleep bad at night and she is almost always scrathing during the day or when ever she is hot or its winter and the air is cold!She gets mulitple staph infections due to her open sores from scratching and her sores being exposed to the enviormennt and all the germs that it carries!She is normally put on Keflex to help her with getting rid of the staphs!Other then that she takes a med at night to help her stop iching and a med for the day to help her through the day as well.Now in this last year as most know Addison had a asthma attack and was put in the hospital for 3 days!When Addison was born The allergist then said" dont be suprised if this little girl has asthma when she gets a bit bigger if she doesnt out grow the eczema" and here we are a bit bigger and sure enough that doctor was correct:)

They did testing on Addison in fact the tested for 30 things that she would or could mostly be allergic to!Her ped wanted to test her because of the asthma and the eczema!there has to be a reason right?Well yes there has to be :) I just wish this test was done sooner then later!because Addisons body responded to 29 of the 30 things!YES 29 OUT OF 30!!!!Crazy!!!her back Looked horrible with whelts and she was ichy so I faned her back with a book for 30 mins!as I watched her back get red and huge with welts!Thank God there were some that were lower in fact 14 were lower and the other 16 was high:) so they are going to test her blood to see if the lows are positive through blood and if so we will go from there!Its mostly foods and 3 animals that they are re testing.

I have to say Adddison did a great job while the nurse scratched her back with different things!She watched a movie while waiting for the doctor to come back in to look at her back!

After the test was done and the doctor went out Addison asked me"mommy did they find out why I always ich?" I told her "Yes baby they did" I dont want her to worry about it!scratching is enough for her!Iam so tthankful that we can help her to avoid certain things that will allow her body to heal!or stay under control!This girl is very allergic to our maple tree in the front yard and Addison LOVES CLIMING ON!!her severe eczema and allergies and astma have been the resultof the things she is allergic to and now we will try our best to do the best to help this spunky girl of ours!I dont think I could ask for anything more then for her to not be highly allergic to animals!Addison lives it seems to be around animals!Iam suppose to sign her up for horse lessons in a week and I actually forgot to have the doctor test for horses!We are going to call tomarrow too add it to her blood work testing!:(
I actually was suprised at Addisons test results but knowing God made Addison I trust in his plan for her life and what it holds.

LILLIE'S SCOPE RESULTS !

2009-07-16T21:55:00.000-07:00

Dr.Gleghorn called yesterday and said that Lillie's scope showed less eosinophils in her biopsy and that she is not completely clear of the eosinophils and said that the plan of action we are taking is working for Lillie and its helping her to feel better in the sense of if we keep her off the foods she is allergic to and if we keep her on the same meds and the night feeds then it will keep her weight on!Lillies blood work showed inflammation in her blood.Lillie has another scope in about 2-3 months to get re scoped!There will never be a time any time soon where we can say she is all better!So we will just continue to share our daughters journey with you and how God continues to give us peace, joy , and the strength to keep moving along this long road!I honestly was thinking about all that we have gone through and all that our family goes through with each ones medical conditions and Iam so thankful to be saved by Gods grace and that he has held us through it all and continues to!Without him I thought to myself "I couldn't make it through ".
I wanted to share something I read its by James Dobson and he talks about trials and tribulations that we face.

One of the most difficult parts of the Christian life is the fact that becoming a disciple of Christ does not make us immune to life’s trials and tribulations. Why would a good and loving God allow us to go through such things as the death of a child, disease and injury to ourselves and our loved ones, financial hardships, worry and fear? Surely, if He loved us, He would take all these things away from us. After all, doesn’t loving us mean He wants our lives to be easy and comfortable? Well, no, it doesn’t. The Bible clearly teaches that God loves those who are His children and He “works all things together for good” for us (Romans 8:28). So that must mean that the trials and tribulations He allows in our lives are part of the working together of all things for good. Therefore, for the believer, all trials and tribulations must have a divine purpose.

As in all things, God’s ultimate purpose for us is to grow more and more into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). This is the goal of the Christian, and everything in life, including the trials and tribulations, is designed to enable us to reach that goal. It is part of the process of sanctification; that is, being set apart for God’s purposes and fitted to live for His glory. The way the trials accomplish this is explained in 1 Peter 1:6-7: "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." The true believer’s faith will be made sure by the trials we experience so that we can rest in the knowledge that it is real and will last forever.

Trials develop godly character, and that enables us to "rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:3-5). Jesus Christ set the perfect example. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). These verses point out aspects of His divine purpose for both Jesus Christ's trials and tribulations and ours. Persevering proves our faith. "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).

At the same time, we must be careful never to make excuses for our "trials and tribulations" if they are a result of our own wrongdoing. "By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler" (1 Peter 4:15). God will forgive our sins because the eternal punishment for them has been paid by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. However, we still have to suffer the natural consequences in this life for our sins and bad choices. But God uses even those sufferings to mold and shape us for His purposes and our ultimate good.

Trials and tribulations come with both a purpose and a reward. "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" (James 1:2-4,12).

Through all of life’s trials and tribulations, we have the victory. "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ." These verses encourage us to see that although we are in a spiritual battle, Satan has no authority over the believer in Christ. God has given us His Word to guide us, His Holy Spirit to enable us, and the privilege of coming to Him anywhere, at any time, to pray about anything. He has also assured us that no trial will test us beyond our ability to bear it, and “he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

FINALLY I FOUND A BOOK ON EE !!!

I have been looking for a book on Eosinophilic Esophagitis so I can understand more about it and so that I have something to go to if I have a question!I have checked book stores for months and couldn't find anything on EE until 4 days ago when I looked up books on Amazon and I actually found 1 book and I ordered it in hopes that it was what I wanted!I am so happy to say that this book is complete in explaining everything that is known about EE.I love it!! It is edited by 2 doctors and is a doctor book I believe but is easy for me to understand. I believe that one of the doctors is one that is doing research on EE and is looking for a cure for EE.

Lillie's Scope at Children's Hospital !!!

2009-07-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

Today Lillie had her Scope/Biopsy at Children's!This test will be done every 3-4 months to check for eosinophils in her esophagus and stomach!The reason for doing this for those of you who don't know it tells the doctors and me that if she has them in her body that there are still foods or enviormental that is causing them to still be present!so usually a child with EE has to go on formula only diet for so many months and wait for a clean scope then introduce 1 food for 3-4 months then scope to see if clear or f its not clear basically that tells you that foods not okay because it caused the eosinophils to be there!now if its clear you can introduce another food and so on !The reason for doing this is so that these children don't have to be in constant multiple pains and so they can have a chance to thrive without there body's attacking it self from the foods there body thinks is a bad invader .This is a very long process!!

This is Lillie's GI doctor and she is the one who does all the scopes/biopsy!!

So When Lillie woke up she couldn't have anything to drink or eat till after her scope!So needless to say we made some minor adjustments and ate our breakfast in our garage before she woke up so she wouldn't smell food and we didn't bring our drinks with us!We put her lunch in a totally different bag so she wouldn't think food would be in there!we also didn't use her diaper bag because she knew we keep all her yummy snacks and drinks so we used a totally different bag and then we put it in the very back of our car.Iam so glad we did because she didn't get into her scope/biopsy till 11:30 and we left at 7am from where we live to be there by 9am.

Tony worked on keeping her mind off the FOOD THING!!it was really actually cute!We had about 7 fits for food before the scope!

This is Lillie in the waiting room wanting her baabaa!!!!!!
Daddy keeping Lillie's mind off wanting to eat food!!! I see you!boo

Lillie went in and we had the choice to watch her get put under:(So we did and I honestly get sad to see her get put under!Iam not sure why but I would say that has been the hardest thing for me to see then anything else:)I think the fact that she looks lifeless and its scary!I also think to see her life in some strangers hands I know its a doctor but its someone I met 10 mins prior to her getting put under.I ultimately know God has Lillie's life in his hand before the doctors do and that He is in Complete control of where the doctors hands go and I know I have nothing to fear because this is the truth.

Daddy and Lillie going for the 50th walk :) down the hall!I love this picture:)

Lillie's doctor came and let us know when she was done!she said Lillie's esophagus looked good and that there was no scar tissue and it was not inflamed!So this is good !She took blood as well to check her blood for why she is cramping in her feet and hands!She tested for several other things as well.I Had asked her prior to her scope to look at her tube because it looked like a rash and She did say she had yeast around her g-tube and it looked like she was developing a couple staph's around her tube as well so she prescribed 2 meds to clear it up.She will have the results by friday of next week from the blood work and the biopsy and she said if there are no eosinophils that we could trial one food!and she said if it comes back with them in her esophagus then we will talk about what we should do! I will be sure to keep you posted.

The nurse giving Lillie stickers !!!

Lillie woke up crabby as always and was trying to rip her iv out and she wanted the pulse ox off to.She was cracking me up:)She got a little stuff piggy from the nurse and then we headed on home.

Lillie still kinda out of it after her scope!!

God is good and continues to be faithful to see us through each and everyday!!Lillie also gained weight with the night feeds we have been doing!we will continue to keep her on the night feeds.Thank you Lord!

PS. My sister blessed Tony and I by watching our 2 children while we took Lillie today!Thank you Wendy.

GARLIC~GARLIC~GARLIC !!!!

2009-07-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

So as you know Lillie had her test today to see if she was allergic to fruits and veggies and Garlic because we put it on everything for Lillie for taste on meat and veggies:)here is the list of what she was tested for ..........

~FRUIT~

Apple

Apricot

Avocado

Banana

Cantaloupe

grape

Orange

Peach

Pear

Strawberry

tomato

Watermelon

~VEGGIES~

Broccoli

Carrot

Cauliflower

Garlic

Onion

Potato(white)

Sweet potato

I couldn't believe it GARLIC was the only thing that showed up that she was allergic to YEAH!!!at least for now!!Kids with EE always change with allergies! one year they can have turkey and the next year they cant!Sometimes they are fine with eating a couple foods for there whole life and some change its really unpredictable really! So Lillie basically cant have garlic in any form!Iam so thankful to God though that I can give her the fruits and veggies they tested her for YEAH! YEAH! AND YEAH!!Iam so happy for her that she can eat orally still.I didn't want to take anymore foods from her!My heart would have broke really!!I Guess I will have to take the yummy taste of garlic away from her I know she enjoys having it on her foods!I hope she does not notice:(I literally put it on the foods she didn't want to eat and now she eats them and now I don't know if she will eat them STINK !!!! I have a great feeling I will need to do some creative thinking with this little squirt and eating!Anyway we will see what God has in store for our family!He always sees us through!!Next is the 1oth when she goes under for testing/biopsy!I will keep you all updated.Till then NO GARLIC added to the list :)

JULY 4TH :)

2009-07-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

Piggy back ride with Kalani!!

Very cute picture I thought!!

ps. I couldn't post all the picture due to my sisters little ones being in all the pictures:)that's okay because I will have a big O post just for them with lots of pictures of over the 6 months that we couldn't post them lol :)

HAPPY 5TH ANNIVERSARY HUBBY!!

2009-07-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

Today Tony and I celebrate 5 years of being married together!When I think about 5 years of marriage with my hubby I think of the growth of knowing Christ together!I know that with out that growth we would not be getting through all the trials of having a husband with a medical disease (ulcerated colitis) to having Addison who had severe acid reflux(projectile vomiting)after every feeding and severe eczema at birth and to this day most of you know Addison still struggles with the eczema and the itching it causes her.I know without the Lord in our lives we would feel hopeless together because we would not be able to carry such a heavy load by ourselves and surly we couldn't do it in our own strength!especially when Lillie was in and out of the hospital the first year and a half of her life!We cant thank God enough for the peace,patience,and everything we have needed to make it through constant medical issues in our life together!God has been faithful time and time again to carry us us through all that he has placed in our lives!Our marriage I can honestly say would look scary without Christ in our lives together and that's not to say we don't have our ups and downs and we can sin when things get stressful and we forget to remind ourselves to seek Christ together in the stressful parts of having a sick family!we try to remind ourselves God is in control and we need to trust and wait on God who is control of everything!

Tony is a great husband and I honestly can say he is such a great best friend with out a doubt we make a great team when it comes to alot whether its tackling cleaning the house or getting the kids ready for bed!I love him very much and yes he drives me nuts with how clean he likes things but I think we even each other out :)I thank God for blessing me with a husband that is such a great friend and a husband that treasures his family by taking great care of them!I cant wait to grow old with him I know he will be bald but I will still love him lol.(his grandpa was bald and he seriously looks like his gramps and even has the receding hair line lol).I love to see God growing us through the trials God continues to keep us dependent on him as a couple and I honestly like looking back and seeing how far God has brought us and how much more we still have to be brought through!Iam blessed he has chosen Tony to be the one to be with me through it all.
Tony and I read through a book called "A love that last" by Gary & Betsy Ricucci and it is a great book!We actually should read it again because we read it a couple of years ago.There was a quote in there by john piper and I thought it was neat because I thought it goes with being married and Christ in the center when we put him first before anything else even our spouse!

"The longer I'm a Christian,the more aware I become that I cannot live the christian life on my own.My individual and direct relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the greatest privilege and he is truly all I need-and yet God in his wisdom has created all of us to need others,too.Is this a contradiction?not at all-for God has ordained that much of his grace flows to us through others.

I thought this was neat because all we do need is Christ and that is it but he gave us our spouse to be with us! I couldnt be more thankful for the blessing of a hubby!

This is a picture after we got married!

Trip To The Mountains !!!

2009-07-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

Nana and Kalani and Kawika jr

My sister Wendy and her husband Kawika!!

Me and my Hubby!!

The kids had a paddle boat that auntie rented for them!!

Anthony playing in the water!!

Kalani and Lillie in the water!!

Kalani and Addison!!

Mom and Aunt Jackie!!

Kawika in the loft!!

Kalani and Addison!

Lillie watching Papa fix the bird feeder that a bear got into!!!

Papa and Addison

Daddy taking kids for a ride :)

Papa and Lillie!!I love this picture!!

Nana and Kawika jr

The girls!!

We went up to my dad and moms property for 4 days and we had alot of fun I do believe the kids had a blast!We enjoyed going to mill pond where all the kids played for hours!Papa took the kids for jeep rides,the kids shoot guns,The kids found lots of bugs and even a baby squirrel and Addison and Anthony even pet the little guy.We seen a bear that was trying to get to our food!That made me not sleep good at all that night lol:)Tony and Kawika seen a buck and a baby deer that couldn't walk good because he was so little!We enjoyed Gods creation and the beauty of it all.
It was so hard to keep the kids clean besides myself it is crazy how fast you get dirty especially the kids lol !!!I must say it is a lot of work to go camping with little ones!It was nice because not only were we up there with my dad and mom!We were up there with my sister and her family as well as my Aunt and my uncle!In fact they made all of us dinner every night we were up there.It was such a blessing to be with my family I so enjoy being with them.

More Nutrition For Lillie Through Her G-Tube !!!

2009-06-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

I am not sure if I had mentioned in past posts that Lillie has lost 1 1/2 pounds in the last month since we took her off certain foods and switched her formula.Iam not sure why but Lillie does not drink her new formula like she did when she was on Pregestimil. I have been feeding Lillie anything she can at this point.I let her eat when she wants to due to the fact she is so limited to so little and may be limited to less in about a week when she gets tested for her fruits and veggys!

It takes Lillie 3-4 months to gain what she lost in a month!So as you can see its not good at all for her to lose when it is already hard for her to gain in the first place!Lillie hit 20 pounds in the begining of march and went up to 21 1/2 lbs within 4 months and she is now at 20lbs as of today Lillie is 2 years 8 months and will be 3 in November :)I think she might be getting taller Iam not sure though!As long as she is happy and not in much pain:)Iam happy for her!!

She is still getting pains in her hands and feet and I will be talking to her Dr about what can be done to help her with the cramping.
div>I called her Dr at Children's and She said Lillie needs to be taking in 35-45 oz of formula a day!and Lillie doesn't want to drink that much!I actually thought about it and I asked myself if I was allowing her to be a stinker by not drinking her formula and I thought about it and asked myself "would you want to drink milk all day long and nothing else"NOPE I WOULDN'T!! Lilllie only drinks about 4-6 oz per drink so really that's all I would or could give her by mouth if I wanted her to get all the nutrients she has to get to thrive a day!So she will be getting feedings through her G-tube.Her doctor said to do night feeds but we switched it and I will be giving her as much I can during the day and at nap time then the rest at night!We have a back pack that is especially made for her machine so she can wear it and be getting feedings at the same time.The reason I want to get half during the day is because the machine will beep any time it gets clogged or the tube gets pinched and usually that means getting up 3-4 times a night to make it stop beeping!Lillie usually wakes up every time it goes off and Lord knows she needs all her sleep and so does mama:)The doctor said her formula is her source of all nutrients because the limited foods she is on as of now is not enough for her body to thrive the way it needs to.So we will be adjusting to the new change of being on the feeding tube once again and I don't have any idea how long but something tells be it will be a long time from now because I had seen her being on her feeding tube as soon as her doctor changed her diet!
I thank God for the new unexpected changes because every time he changes things with Lillie he does something new in my heart as well :)his plan is perfect always!!

FIRST NIGHT IN AWHILE ON G-TUBE!!!!

So I thought I would tell you how Lillies first night back on the g-tube last night! When she woke up this morning we heard Lillie at her door!let me remind you Lillie is in a crib due to her being on the tube and us not wanting Lillie to move around and get out with her tube attached to the machine!I guess we couldnt stop that this morning!So when I went in her room not only was she out of her crib she was not hooked up as well YIKES!!!When I went to look at her tube in her belly....IT WAS OUT OF HER TUMMY!!!YIKES!!She pulled it out when she climed out of her crib and it must have pulled it out then :(.So we put a new one in and she did really good while Tony and I put it back in.It was a blessing though that the machine didnt go off one time last night and that is not normal! but her climing out of her crib and pulling her tube out in the process is not normal either lol.God is very funny sometimes in the ways he blesses us!I was able to sleep and being able to rest and then he let the crazyness happen when I woke up lol:)Iam thankful for my rest!So needless to say Lillie got some great intake last night through her tube.

LAKE SHASTA TRIP !!!

2009-06-24T19:01:00.001-07:00

We went to Lake Shasta for 4 days on my grandparents houseboat with my Mom and Dad and Wendy and Kawika and there kiddies!We had alot of fun and enjoyed our time away from our normal :) On our trip we saved a baby bird from drowning and we caught a snake that Addison wanted to hold :) but daddy said no !! we seen a deer and all the kids loved that alot! We did lots of swimming and playing games together and just plain relaxed as much as we could with 7 kids running around all with life jackets on at all times !!(except kalani and kawika)We celebrated Fathers day and we made a special hand print shirt for daddy and he was very proud of it. we celebrated Wendy's birthday with strawberry angel food cake!We had alot of fun and look forward to going up to my parents property in 3-4 days!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG SIS !!!!!

2009-06-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

Wendy Happy Birthday!!
Today is my sisters birthday and for those who do not know my sister,she is very loving and kind She loves Jesus and she daily strives to glorify him daily through being a wife to her husband and a mommy.My sister is a great mommy to her 4 children and loves them deeply and takes her job as a mom very seriously because of the gift they are from God! :) Iam very partial of her as you can tell lol!!

Wendy,
I love you and Iam so blessed to call you my sister! Thank you for all you do for me! Thank you for always being there when ever I need you!Thank you for always encouraging me! I admire you and I pray you have a blessed day! I cant wait to go on vacation together and spend time together!I think we will have alot of crazy fun with everyone on one house boat with 7 kids and 8 adults lol!!hee hee!! I love you winnie!

Wendy likes having fun lol She went down after sending her little ones down!!It made me laugh!

"MaMa I Eat"

2009-06-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

This post title is a very normal sentence in Lillie's daily vocabulary of sentences and since we have took out all dairy, all nuts, all fish, soy, beef, Lamb , sunflower, wheat, it has token alot out of her choice of foods we give her! we hear "I eat mama" awhole lot more and its almost as though she has become obsessive with foods and asking for food every 20 minutes and when I give her food she wants more then what I gave her! :)
So when we went to her speech therapy this week her therapist Kelly noticed Lille doing the same thing as I was experiencing at home and she asked me about it and I told her what was going on with Lillie since we took the foods out of her daily life!I told her I was not sure what to do for her! Kelly came up with this great idea to make a box and put all her snacks in baggys and put them in the box so she has full accsess to her snacks!So I went home and took her idea and changed it around a bit as you can see in the picture:)I bought 2 99 cent key holders and put stickers on them and Lets just say as long as her hooks have snacks she does great and is very happy and so is mama. Lillie knows that she doesn't have to worry about food being token away from her as long as its hanging on the wall for her.it has really helped her out alot with how she was feeling about her food! please just be praying that her July6th apt goes well and she can still have fruits and veggies!because Lord knows I seriously wont know what to do:( if I have to take those away from her!I know God knows and if it turns out she is allergic I will have to trust in his plan for Lillie and I know it will not be easy as it is not easy right now to take certain foods away from her!Its like as a mom you are suppose to feed your children not take foods away but in this EE life you do the opposite to keep your children healthy and well!Its taking some time to get use to changing my mind frame when it comes to Lillie.

I have a blog friend and her husband and daughter has EE and she has a precious verse on her blog and I wanted to share it.

Jesus said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."John 11:4

I so believe this verse is so true!!and its such a great reminder of why we face sickness in ways we cant explain.This verse is almost all you need when you question why? WHY?do I have to face being sick or why I have to watch my family face sickness!It is to Glorifie The lord our God in the trial of being sick or being the one watching them be sick:)I LOVE IT!!!

A Day At Daddy's Work !!

2009-06-14T07:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Tony's work picnic at his work place!For those who do not know where my husband works~ Tony works at Ball Metal a can plant!where they make the cans we drink soda out of and he is a maintainer on the machines that make the cans!My grandpa (my dads dad) had worked in a can plant for 30 something years and My dad has worked at ball metal for 30 years and counting!My uncle (my dads brother) works at ball as well and Iam not sure how many years he has been there!So now my brother in law Kawika has been at Ball for 10 years and Tony has been there for 5 years!In this small town we live in Kawika has 2 cousins who are brothers who work at ball to lol !!!

At work the guys all have nicknames for each other Tony's nickname is "corn dog" he got this name due to the fact he use to eat corn dogs all the time at work!We had to cut those out of his lunch due to his Ulcerative colitis!Kawika is "pineapple"I think he got this name because he is Hawaiian.

Daddy's tool box

They work with some people who are very kind and thoughtful and then there are people that keep us praying for our husbands at work!I will never forget the Christmas before this last Christmas tony and I had been in and out of the hospital with Lillie and Tony's crew gave him a card and all signed it with words of encouragement and $1,200.00 dollars that they had all put into the card!What a true blessing it was to our hearts (we were both crying when we opened the card:)They told my husband that it was for our family to spend on something fun not bills or gas to doctors,or prescriptions but that it was for us to have a good time together!God is so good and God could not have blessed us more!Those kind things leave a impression on your heart for ever!Besides that the people on his crew are always asking how we are doing and Its a blessing to my heart to know that they care about our family!Iam also thankful to God for the job my husband has and Iam thankful to my husband for all the hard work he does each day so that he can provide for his family!He takes good care of us and Iam thankful for what he does because God knows I could not do what he does and be on my feet for 12 hours a day and be in a plant that is always 15 to 20 degrees hoter inside theen it is outside(especially summer time) .

So back to the picnic lol ~They had a rock climbing wall for the kids a jumpy slide,ice cream truck,clowns and games!The kids had a blast and so did I :)We also got to go on the floor where tony works and the kids got to go as well except Lillie she was to little!We had to wear ear plugs and safety glasses!

Addison and auntie Wendy walking through the plant!

We were in the wear house and Those are all cans behind us! crazy ha?

Lillie and Nana going down the slide!

On our way home after a fun day with Daddy at work!!

A little info on appointments for the girls!!!

2009-06-07T18:51:00.000-07:00

We finally have appointments set up for Addison and Lillie! If you remembered me saying due to Addison having issues with asthma,well her ped said it would be a good idea for her to see a allergist to get tested for all foods to see if food could be contributing to her severe eczema and the asthma as well.So she has a consultation appt for the doctor to meet with her and discuss what has been going on with her body!Then the next appt will be for her to get the food pick test where they prick her back with various foods to see if her skin reacts!then they will take blood as well to see if it shows up in the blood work if we find her to be allergic to any foods we will be removing them or giving them in moderation what ever the doctor says is best for Addioson!The first appt for Addison is July 1st @8am.

Lillie is getting her food allergy test on July 6 @4pm!This test will show if she is allergic to fruits,veggies,and spices!If we find anything that she is allergic to we will be taking those out of her diet as well as the others we have taken out of her diet!due to the fact that it will cause her to get worse with the Eosinophilic esophagitis symptoms and will cause her to not heal!This autoimmune disease is not curable but is treatable!So we want to do our best in helping to subside the symptoms the best we can as parents!I don't like that she cant eat what wee as a family eat and Iam slowly learning how to make things for her seem not as bad as it seems for me as I feel as though she cant eat alot!I accept her illness as this is what God has chosen for Lillie and us as a family!Iam learning so much more as God reveals to me more and more each day!Lillie has develpoed cramping in her feet during the day and says "owie mommy"!I must say she has done this before we found out her main diagnoses but I never knew what was going on with her besides the fact her body was sick and I had to kinda just figure it out!I never did know why she was saying that her feet hurt until I read it was one of the symptoms that goes with EE along with fatigue and body aces throughout the body!So I was so thankful to God for showing me all the things that have allowed Tony and I to care for our little Girl!
Lillie also has a appt on July 10 @10am at Childrens Hospital in Oakland to get put under anesthesia for her esaphagus and stomach to be scoped with a camera and biopsied to see how everything looks and to count her eosinophils!Basically the eosinophils tells us how bad or good she is doing since they are what is causing her problems!Since Lillie was not being treated for the EE before 2 weeks ago(she has had no treatment since she was diagnosed when she was 1 1/2 yrs.)! As I explained in my other blog post!
I pray and hope all goes well during the first week or so in July as we will be busy with taking care of these little girls of ours that God in trusted to us!We trust in his perfect plan for our family and rest in knowing this.

KIDS AND LEMONS:)

2009-06-01T23:17:00.000-07:00

We have a lemon tree in our back yard and the kids wanted to eat them... not knowing they were so sour and I was laughing!I gave them lemons with sugar to dip them in and they ate them but it took a while too eat!!lol I thought the faces were great while eating them!So here they are!!!

New Formula for Lillie

2009-05-29T21:57:00.001-07:00

Lillie's new formula came yesterday and the other formula is not here yet!We were suppose to trial them both to see how Lillie would do!I must say I was a bit nervous to try the Neocate because when she was a year old the doctor put her on it and she literally threw up every ounce she would drink for 3-4 days thinking her body just needed to get use to it and she would be fine but it turned out she couldn't handle it so we put her back on her Pregestimil just to find out a year and a half later she is now allergic to 3-4 of the ingredients in it:(. The great news is that Lillie has been on it for 2 days now and has not thrown up or been fussy!Thank you God!!!!Although she is not drinking it like she would her Pregestimil I do think she is acquiring a taste for it lol !! We will see what happens in the next couple days!!Lillie also started her new medicine for her difficulty swallowing (Pulmicort Respule)mixed with 5 packs of Splenda!Our pharmacist has been a pharmicist for 25-30 years at least and he said he has never seen it used in the way Lillie is using it and he has never seen it mix that way either :) I thought it was funny because his face expression when I picked it up!He said he even called the children's hospital to make sure he read it right:)So Lillie seems to be doing good on it Iam not sure if its helping or if it will but we will see when she goes in for her scope/biopsy in June or July.Lillie still does not have a date yet for her fruit and veggy allergy testing!We should have a date some time in the next week or two and the same thing for Addison..no date yet for her food allergy testing.

A Special Day With My Hubby!!

2009-05-25T21:57:00.000-07:00

My Husband and I had the blessing of having our children watched by my Mom and Sister and Alisha for my birthday today!We have not gotten out together in quite some time and what a fun filled blessed day we had with each other!We dropped the kids off at 8am and drove to Sacramento "oh by the the way my husband was suppose to work today but surprised me and took a PCH so that he could be with me on my birthday"what a sweet heart:)So anyway we ate at Denny's then went to the Sacramento county fair!boy was it fun we rode all kinds of rides, looked at FFA & 4h animals and I had to go into the petting zoo and pay to fed the animals lol ! I seriously had 2 deer and a lama trying to eat my clothing and the food in my hands:)I would so live on a farm if I could so would Addison!We also watched a horse show with little girls riding and that was fun to watch because this year we are putting Addison in horse riding lessons for her P.E for school this coming year. After the fair we went to Starbucks with a gift card from my family and we were able to just sit with each other and visit and talk with no interruptions!then went to the movies and to Out Back Steak House for dinner that was also payed for from my family as well It was so good we loved it and actually it was our first time eating there.On our way home we stopped to take pictures before the sun went down on a country road we took from vacaville to Rio vista and that was funny because it was so windy out !we got some cute pictures I thought:)all in all I loved hanging out with my hubby and being able to give him my divided attention without my little love bugs interrupting! It was nice doing something together it was something we were able to to do without tending to our children's needs all day!I must say we did miss them and its really funny how it doesnt feel normal unless you have kids telling on each other or yelling to loud while little sissy is sleeping or asking for juice or food lol!It was so fun and I must say my 27th birthday was a blessing from my family. Thank you very much for watching the kids and allowing us to get out to do something fun together and thank you for my gift certificates! I LOVE YOU GUYS !

Lillie Girls EE update!!

2009-05-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

After a week or 2 of calling doctors and making allergy apts and getting procedures scheduled for Lillie to check her EE I must say a squeaky wheel does get oiled(a mommy being a advocate for her baby) things start to happen lol:)So hear is whats been going on at the Doctors office at the Brazils home :)Lille has a apt to get tested for more food allergies and if we find her to be allergic to any of the foods we test her for well we will have to remove those as well out of her diet. :( she also has a apt to be put under and have her esophagus scoped for the level of eosinophils and of the stomach! they both will be biopsied! This is something that will have to be done every 2-3 months to help manage her EE.
I talked to Lillies Gastro doctor yesterday for 45 min!I expressed to her my thoughts of this eosinophilc esaphagitis being her diagnoses and that I believe this is what has caused her failure to thrive since birth! Lillies gastro doc agreed completely!She had also shared that Lillie is one of several patients of hers with EE and Lillie is in fact the worst of all her patients with EE and that Lillie has a high level of white blood cells(eosiniphils)attacking the good stuff for her body in her foods she is allergic to!Lillies diet is limited do to allergies of these foods ! all dairy, all nuts, all fish, soy, sunflower, wheat, beef, lamb we will find out if there are more in the next week or two:( The foods she is allergic to cannot be any of the foods she eats and that's not easy because really they are in alot of foods we eat everyday!I have been feeding her fruits and veggys and I found some others she could eat like beans:) without those ingredients!Lillies GI doctor changed her formula to amino based formula due to her formula now that she has been on since 3 months has soy,milk,sunflower in it:( I actually looked a week ago and called asking what to do about this formula!Lillie is also being put on a med that will coat her throat so she is not in as much pain when swallowing.If her swallowing does not improve after a month or so ,Lillie will need to see a feeding specialist to help her out with swallowing her foods!I think she has developed a complex for swallowing this way and doesn't know any other way to swallow due to pain!Other then all of the new updates I pray all have a blessed weekend!we will see what God has in store for us:)I will keep you posted the best I can!

Bring On The Rain !!

2009-05-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

I must say I have been so busy being advocate for Lillie girl thses past 2 weeks!Iam so Happy and joyful and I give all my thanks I have to God for showing me all that he has been showing me with Lillie from the begining to now!Iam in aww of him and who he is in every part of this journey with Lillie girl!I have to say I thank God for Lillie I thank God for this sick child of mine!I know through Lillies journey that had I not been given her I would not find myself seeking him as much as I have in the last 2 1/2 years!I wouldnt have learned in my heart to trust him the way he calls me to!I wouldnt know how to find joy in all circumstances in trusting Gods will and knowing that he is in complete control no matter what may be going on in my life! I have also learned that though doctors didnt know why my daughter was not thriving on her own even after hundreds of testing done on her that God is the altimate Doctor who knows all things and that I have nothing to fear because he knows! that is where I have learned to trust Him in all things!This is not to say I didnt have to learn what God was doing through my daughter was going to be changing my hubby and I in so many ways:)We struggled when we were in the hospital with Lillie! when there were no answered prayers!I know God didnt answer when I wanted him to but he answered when he knew his child of his(Crystal)was ready in her heart to know!I dont know the reason really he waited as long as he did I just know I would not have wanted to know then what was wrong with Lille girl! looking back and then knowing how much this journey has changed my heart I see Gods mercy,grace, and love for his child to love me so much to want to show me more of him and to want to help me in all he has done through my child!I am not saying that Iam stoked my daughter is sick of course as a mom you dont want to see your child to be sick and not thriving!but Iam content and I accept what God has gaven me because really I deserve NOTHING so anything extra like my family and children, friends ext are all such a blessing from him and if it involves being given a sick child then Thank you God . see its in his perfect timing not mine not the doctors His:)!The way I look at it is I thank God for trials because it is through our trials that we see our heavenly father so much more and we see more of ourselves and how unable we are to face anything alone!I couldnt trust my feelings and I still cant trust them but Gods word I know and trust and it can and has gotton me through some of my hardest days with lillie being sick!I know its easy to say why?how could you God?I dont understand?but its not for me to ask those questions because I have understood its for my good and It truly is!I know this is crazy but I almost want to say "bring on the rain God"I dont ever want to be comfortable with myself I like knowing constantly I need you God!! oh and its so easy to fall into my flesh and think I can go a while without God or reading his word!!The truth is no I cannot make it one day without him not even a minute:)

Follow Up With Dr.Garcia !!

2009-05-15T13:30:00.000-07:00

I wanted to give you all a update on Lillie and for those who have been praying thank you so much!your e -mails asking how she is doing is greatly appreciated!For you to take the time to say "hey I care and Iam praying means so much to our family!Iam happy to say Lillie's fever has come down completely to 98.5 and I have not had to give her Tylenol since early this morning at 6am and even then it was down to 100.0! because for the last 3 mornings she has woken up with 103.0 to 104.6!So praise God!I have never experienced that high of a fever with any of my kids until now!She is still fussy but I think her body just needs rest now!Lillie is doing just that as I blog!SSSHHHHH!!!:)I don't dare wake her up lol!!!Lets just say she may be little but boy is she a pistol even when she is not sick!!Lets just say Iam so happy to see her feeling back to herself! She is back to drinking,not so much eating but she is getting there!

One thing I did notice was you know how we were giving her everything through her feeding tube? Well today we have not needed to! So you know how I had said she has difficulty swallowing? from her EE? Okay! well when I went to give her medicine she took a little and held it in her mouth and was taking forever to swallow it!Then I asked her "Lillie you want me to give you medicine in your tummy tube?" I wanted to see what she would do in hopes it would tell me something!! and she yelled "YA" and ran into the living room and layed down and waiting for me to give the rest of her meds! what this tells me is that it hurts her bad to swallow because she did not like the fact that we had to hook her up in the first place 3 days ago and now its like she understands that this tube is helping her because of not having to swallow anything!!:( I feel really bad that my daughter has been struggling to eat and it has taken me so long to find this out!I do understand that this was Gods perfect timing and I truly trust his reason for it taking as long as it did to reveal it to tony and I!It just breaks my heart as a mommy to know that she has had issues with swallowing for 2 1/2 years and I didn't understand why!Iam also so thankful to God for answering my prayers!when I asked God if we should remove her tube or not!I know now we are not suppose to any time soon because honestly I have a feeling this tube is going to help her in a huge way!Iam going to try my hardest to put alot of things through the tube so that she does not have to deal with the pain of swallowing!I love how God shows himself in times of trial!its a huge hug and I cant help but to have joy in the fact that He is showing Tony and I things about Lillie in the last 2 weeks!He is amazing and Iam so thankful!

So we went to the doctors today for Addisons follow up from Mondays appt and Lillies Wed appt! He said Addison sounded great and we need to keep her on the meds!Her skin(eczema) on the other hand is infected and he said she was starting to develop staph in several areas on her legs!So lets just say 4 more meds to the collection:)I really should open a pharmacy:)
He said Lillie looks alot better and her fever down and he didnt get the results back yet for the flu! praise God!Although she is getting better he said Lillie has a yeast infection internally meaning from her mouth to her bottom:(she was prescribed a med as well :) Iam sure this doesnt help her swallowing!

God is good and Iam so happy and thankful for what he has been doing in the last 2 weeks!I cant explain the joy after 2 1/2 years of wondering??????what was causing Lillie to be so little and not thriving! Thank you GOD!!

PS.The post picture was of Auntie and Lillie at Childrens hospital about 6 months ago!She was getting upper GI scope and biopsy that day!didnt want you to think it was recent!!

A Doctors Office At Home !!

2009-05-13T19:41:00.000-07:00

This picture is all the meds I give my family daily 2-3 times a day and there are others not pictured only because we don't take them daily and they are the ones we take when needed.I want you to know it helps me as a mom of a family of 5 with medical issues to share what I am going through !! I have not been that good with sharing my feelings or the extent of medical issues on my blog because at first I thought I don't want people to feel bad or like "poor thing" :) I have read other blogs from friends and I realize its okay to be going through hard things and its okay to share that! I am okay with what the Lord God has Gaven me in fact He never said" Crystal its going to be easy"! If everything was easy how would I be able to glorifie him in my trials? The Lord God has done so much in our family's hearts and we have a peace that comes only from him!that's not to say that as a mom I don't get scared and start forgetting that the very same God that created my family knows what he is doing when one of my children gets a temp of 104.8 or one of my children has a asthma attack and I have to call 911 and the other gets admitted into the hospital because of a asthma attack as well :) This is Gods perfect plan though I may not see the outcome in the end but I do know God knows!!

I really love these verses and they encourage me alot!!

"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure,
children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe..." Philippians 2:14-15

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:18

" LORD you have assigned me my portion and my cup."
Psalms 16:5

'' I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand . I will not be shaken."
Psalms 16:8

'' Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6:34

I took Addison who has had a cold/fever/flu to the doctor on Monday because Addison's Asthma was acting up again and she informed me that she could not breath like last time!The doctor put her on prednisolone and back on breathing treatments every 2-4 hours along with her Qvar inhaler, 2 allergy meds and 2 eczema meds! Dr Garcia also referred Addison to a allergy specialist funny enough it ended up being the same place Lille goes!Just different doctors.My thoughts are I would like to see what doctor I feel is going to be the best for our whole family.
Lillie now started having a fever Monday but it was not to high then yesterday it went up to 102.3 I gave her fever meds and it went down then back up to 102.0 within 1-2 hours!last night we put her to sleep and she woke up at 12am and she had a fever of 104.0 so we gave her more meds and gave her juice and waited for her fever to go back down too 100.00 then called the advice nurse to see what we should do for Lillie!I usually know what to do when its my other two children but when it comes to Lillie I get concerned because she has other medical problems!So the nurse told me to call Lillie's ped in the morning.Lillie woke up around 8am and again we were faced with her fever of 104.0.I and made a apt at 1:45PM during the day I tried to keep the fever down without overdosing my little girl but her fever was not going down!By the time we got to her apt in bentwood her temp had reached 104.8!Dr Garcia took swabs of her mouth and nose for swine flu and for strep!The strep was negative and the flu we will find out on Friday for Addison and Lillie's follow up with Dr.Garcia!One of the good things was that since Lillie has a feeding tube in her tummy is that Dr Garcia said as of now he wont admit her into the hospital because we will be able to put meds that she refuses to take by mouth,her formula(all her nutrients),and Pedialyte,in her feeding bag and run her feeding machine all night!something they would have to do in the hospital to keep children hydrated while being ill.So really this is a true blessing to be home and not in the hospital and if we do end up going we will trust God with his will for our family! Lillie has also lost 1 1/2 pounds in the last month and for those people who do not know it takes Lillie about 3-4 months to gain that kind of weight back!so where Lillie was almost 22lbs she is 20lbs!Dr Garcia put Lillie on a antibiotic for her virse and a med Incas she has the flu along with her EE med and Acid reflux med and eczema med!Lillie just woke up from her nap at 6pm and her fever has came down for now.

I also wanted to share that I have been doing some more research on Lillies diagnoses of Eosinophilic Esophagitis and what caused me to do some more serious looking was for the last 2-3 months Lillie's speech therapist Kelly was asking about Lillie's swallowing !let me inform you that Lillie has had feeding issues since birth! Kelly has been showing great concern because she has been working with Lille twice a week since Lillie was 5 months old.I had remembered reading that children with EE have difficulty swallowing!so I had mentioned that to Kelly,and she told me she wanted to know more about this EE and so I went home to look up some information for her over the last week I believe that God could be revealing that This is Lillie's whole Diagnoses the whole thing from the beginning!Lillie being hospitalized 6 times in the first year of life and why she has not been thriving!I know that EE has only been around for 20 years or so and that doctors are not completely aware of the seriousness of this disease (at least Lillie's doctors right now) So my job as a mom is to be Lillies advocate and start telling the doctors what I know and That there are questions that need to be answered through more invasive testing and biopsies from the GI department at children's hospital in Oakland!I will be asking Lillie's allergist to test for fruits and veggy as well !I have so many things I want to say but honestly my mind is so consumed with our family and all the medical issues we face everyday!I know that Gods grace is sufficient to get me through each day and I have hope knowing and trusting his will for our family is the best and its for our good! Iam asking please that you will keep our family in your prayers as we face challenges as we all do!Its just everyone challenges look different! Please pray that we will find out more on Lillie's EE and that we will get the test done that need to be done to find more out for Lillie girl and that God would lead us to find the perfect doctor that knows how to better treat a child with EE.I thank you for continuing to pray for our family and the comfort to know we have a church family and friends that care helps to get through! I thank God for all he has given to us as a family and we will trust that his will and plan is perfect I have hope in knowing it is true.

PS. I have a U- tube video on EE at the top of my blog your welcome to watch it as it gives a little insight to What Lillie has.

Lillie had Temp of 103.0 and still took the time to check froggy's temp! I thought this was cute!!

This picture is the kids meds before bed time!I wanted to share with you little bit into our daily lives!

This picture was of tonight getting all her meds in her tummy and getting her tube ready to be hooked up for the night.

Happy Mother's day !!

2009-05-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day Mom!! I LOVE YOU AND THANK GOD FOR YOU!I thank God for the ways you raised Wendy and I to know who God was and is!I thank God for your continued encouragement each day!!Love you xoxo

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY !! I PRAY YOU HAVE A TRULY BLESSED DAY WITH YOUR FAMILY!WHAT A BLESSING IT IS TO BE CALLED "MOMMY" BOY O BOY THAT NAME HOLDS ALOT BEHIND IT!

DEAR GOD THANK YOU FOR SUCH A GREAT BLESSING AS MY CHILDREN!! ALTHOUGH THIS JOB CALLED" MOMMY" CAN BE ALOT TO BEAR AT TIMES I KNOW YOU GOD GIVE ME STRENGTH TO CARRY ON! NO MATTER WHAT IT MAY BE I CAN LOOK TO YOUR WORD FOR ALL I NEED TO MAKE IT THROUGH ON THOSE BUSY,CRAZY DAYS.THANK YOU GOD FOR THE MOMMYS THAT HAVE BLESSED MY HEART IN MANY WAYS AND HAVE ENCORAGED MY HEART VERY MUCH IN THE WAY THAT THEY ARE A GREAT EXAMPLE OF YOU WITH THERE CHILDREN!MAY I DESIRE EACH AND EVERYDAY TO BE MORE LIKE YOU SO THAT OUR CHILDREN WILL KNOW YOU THROUGH THE EXAMPLE OF MY LIFE AND MORE THEN MY EXAMPLE BUT THAT THEY WOULD KNOW YOUR WORD AND THAT I HELP THEM TO DESIRE YOU ABOVE ANYTHING ELSE IN THERE LIFE.
AMEN

I THOUGHT THIS POEM WAS CUTE!!!

MORE THAN A MOTHER

When God set the world in place,
when He hung the stars up in space,
when He made the land and the sea,
then He made you and me.

He sat back and saw all that was good,
He saw things to be as they should.
Just one more blessing He had in store;
He created a mother, but whatever for?

He knew a mother would have a special place
to shine His reflection on her child's face.
A mother will walk the extra mile
just to see her children smile.
She'll work her fingers to the bone
to make a house into a home.

A mother is there to teach and guide,
a mother will stay right by your side.
She'll be there through your pain and strife,
she'll stay constant in your life.

A mother will lend a helping hand
until you have the strength to stand.
She'll pick you up when you are down,
when you need a friend she'll stick around.

A mother is one who listens well,
will keep her word; will never tell.

A mother never pokes or pries
but stands quietly by your side,
giving you the strength you need,
encouraging you to succeed.

A mother is one who can be strong
when you need someone to lean on.

You're more than a mother to me;
a reflection of Him in your face I see,
a love that knows no boundaries.

I'm glad that you chose to be
all this and more to me.
You share a love that knows no end,
you're more than my mother,
you are my friend.

~By Kari Keshmiry~

What is Eosinophilic Esophagitis?

2009-05-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

I had found this information on EE and wanted to share it with you so that you can maybe understand what Lillie has a bit when I talk about it!Its crazy because when I was reading it I was thinking WOW!!they should just have put Lillies name at the top of the article!Lillie is allergic to all of the foods they listed and she is on the meds for acid reflux and the Flovent for the(EE).All the test they mention have been done on her as well ext.I actually was excited because reading this article answered a few of the questions I had in my mind.

What is Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EE)?Eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) is a disease characterized by swelling of the esophagus (the part of the body connecting the throat and the stomach) caused by an allergic white blood cell, the eosinophil. Symptoms of EE can range from severe heartburn, difficulty swallowing, food impaction in the esophagus, nausea, vomiting and weight loss. There appears to be some age-related differences in symptoms, with younger children having more symptoms of weight loss, and older children and adults having food impaction and difficulty swallowing.
It is not exactly clear what causes EE, although this disease may be related to other allergic diseases, particularly asthma. People with EE frequently have a personal or family history of other allergic diseases such as hay fever, food allergy and asthma. Recently, there have been studies showing an association between food and environmental allergies and EE.
What Allergic Triggers Commonly Cause EE?Various studies have shown that patients with EE have positive allergy tests to various foods, and that avoidance of these foods led to the resolution of EE symptoms. Foods reported to be the cause of EE have included milk, eggs, peanuts, shellfish, peas, beef, chicken, fish, rye, corn, soy, potatoes, oats, tomatoes and wheat. Of these, the most common food triggers are milk, egg, wheat, rye and beef.
Environmental allergens, such as pollens, molds, cat, dog and dust mite allergens may also be involved in the development of EE.
How is EE Diagnosed?The diagnosis of EE is generally made by performing a biopsy of the esophagus, with evidence of eosinophils infiltrating the esophageal tissue. A biopsy is performed via endoscopy (a camera inserted into the esophagus), usually by a gastroenterologist. There are many other diseases that can cause eosinophils in the tissue of the esophagus, including gastroesopheal reflux disease (GERD), parasitic infections, fungal infections, inflammatory bowel disease, certain cancers, recurrent vomiting, and others. These diseases need to be ruled out before EE can be diagnosed.
Once EE is diagnosed, an allergist will typically perform extensive allergy testing, including looking for food allergies and environmental allergies, such as those listed above.
How is EE Treated?A trial of avoidance of the foods to which the person has positive allergy tests is the initial form of treatment for EE. If a person has numerous positive allergy tests, however, it may be important to change to a diet consisting only of an elemental formula (proteins broken down into the most basic building blocks, called amino acids).
Corticosteroids are frequently used to treat EE when avoidance of allergic triggers unsuccessfully relieves symptoms. Steroids may be used as pills, such as prednisone, or as a topical therapy, such as using inhaled steroids (Flovent, for example) typically used for asthma, except that the medication is swallowed, not inhaled. This results in the delivery of the medication directly to the esophagus. Typically, medications for GERD are also given to patients with EE.

A call from Lillies allergy doctor !

2009-05-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

Lillie's allergy doctor called to let me know that the blood work results that were taken 3 weeks ago showed that Lillie is still allergic to all 14 of the same foods that came up positive when she was 13 months old!Lillie's doctor also looked at the test results from when she got the upper GI biopsy(took tissue from her esophagus)to see if her eosinophils have went down from her Eosinophilic esophagitis and it showed that nothing has changed from the first time she was tested for the EE her eosinophils have not gone down and are the same as they were when she was 12 months.Lillie's doctor said that if her EE is not treated with medicine then she will start developing scar tissue in her esaphagus which is not good for Lillie.So the doctor put her on a steroid medicine along with prevacid for her acid reflux.
I'am confused because the doctor said that the EE we have to treat separate from her food allergies!I always thought they went together!I will have to look up on both the food allergies and the EE a bit more so I can understand.I guess everyone I have talk to said that doctors don't know much about it because they are still learning about it because its new?

So for Lillie this means She still can not have milk or soy which I was hoping she would have lost one of the allergy for one of the milks so we can take her off the pregestimil formula and take her G-tube out!If you remember I was telling you that our insurance will not cover Lillie's formula if the G-tube comes out and so we cant take her tube out as of now!The doctor said it will not hurt her to keep it in. So we just have to trust in Gods plan for Lillie and if that is to be still where he has her then we will be joyful in happy in knowing we trust Gods plan.Although I never have a clear answer!At least that's what it seems alot of the time!I sometimes wounder if Gods going to make it all clear one day here on earth?I do know if I don't have a clear answer here on earth I will get a clear answer when I get to heaven :)lol :)

I do look back at Lillie's journey and all the hospital stays and all the test they took and how small she was and although we didn't get many answers to why Lillie was not growing and even though we still have no answers!I thank God for allowing her to come off the night feeds I thank God she has grown and that she looks a little chunky!I thank God that her speech and walking have improved and she is able to communicate with me and everyone around her!Even though we don't have a exact diagnoses God has shown himself to be great all the time no matter what we are going through.Its like the post before this one!you may not see the good and the outcome of what the Lord is doing when you are in the middle of a trial but its amazing when you can see it a little and how thankful you become to the Lord.

This picture is of Lillie's back at the doctors after she was tested for allergy to foods! Some were mod. and some were high.

Corn, peanut, chicken, lamb, turkey, beef, milk, soy, oat , rice ,sunflower, egg, wheat, sesame

Surgery !!

2009-05-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

I wanted to say I love you all and I know that alot of us have been going through some trials and God had put it on my heart to encourage you with something a mother had written after her daughter had died 2 days prior to her writting what she had wrote!It was given to me when I was in the hospital with Lillie!So I wanted to share it back to encourage any of you who need to be encouraged!
P.S= Sorry dad its not the greatest picture but since your heart surgery The Lord has Changed my heart in a way that Iam thankful to God for!Its amazing how God does use what we may think or feel is not Good for us to change our hearts in way that only can be done by Him!I praise him for all he has done in my life and those around me through trials!

Thoughts from mom,

My dear sweet Destiny died 2 days ago.It's amazing how much you could love someone who did so little so much.I marveled in anything that she could do.We were excited every time she went "poopoo'' on her own or turned her eyes to look at something. Her body was perfect. I marveled at her little toes and fingers and beautiful hair.She was mine,especially designed by God for me for a time such as this, and I loved her.
Destiny was a lot of work.She required medicine to make each part of her work-A medicine to sleep-A medicine not to seize- a medicine to move her bowels, A medicine to help keep food in her stomach....I cried many nights since she was born-saddened by what her future held and fearful of when her last day would come.The doctors and hospital visits were getting exhausting. I felt like I was in the 3rd watch (as it says in the bible).I was weary-yet at the same time, I was confident that the Lord would not give me more then I could handle.

I would have never chosen this trial or any trial at that matter. The pain of losing a child is at times unbearable.Yet, by Gods grace, I was able to press into God and try to see what purpose He had in bringing Destiny into my life-because I have no doubt that God doesn't allow anything without a specific purpose. He had everything calculated down to the minutest detail including the perfect number of her days to accomplish the purpose that He had in mind for us. He knew the exact amount of pain and emotional energy that I could handle to keep me pressing into Him-that it wouldn't be to much that I would grow weary or bitter.I always knew and still continue to rest on the fact that He is good all the time and not only is He -but all things that He allows into our lives are for our good.We can't always see how a circumstance like this could be good-yet our confidence is not in how we feel or how we see things-but in who God is.

We often think that all pain is bad and that it's our goal to avoid it at all costs.It all hurts right now in an emotional way as a surgery to remove a large cancerous tumor would hurt physically.If we didn't know what we were being saved from, surgery would feel like trouble upon trouble...the incision,the bills,the recovery process... yet, what benefit the surgery would be: it would keep one from death;it would remove future pain;it would allow one to live life to the fullest. What's going on in our lives at this time could be God's way of doing surgery on our souls- we just can't see what the pain is sparing us from or preparing us to do or how it will be used for the future. It's all a matter of faith in a God who is faithful. A God who doesn't allow pain for sake of pain- but has a plan even for the pain that seems unnecssary.We just can't see the work that He is inevitably doing beneath the surface. He's allowing circumstances that if we could see the outcome of his plan-we would say, "Cut deeper." May we not miss what he intends!

I pray that what ever you may be going through this week,that you will be encouraged in knowing you can trust God with your life and what it holds!!

A Update On Addison,Anthony And Lillie !!

2009-04-27T22:30:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone I have Had a lot of people ask how Addison and Lillie are doing so I thought I would just give a quick update!Addison and Anthony have been doing good with the Asthma department!For those of you who do not know both Anthony and Addison have both had asthma attacks!Anthony had one last year in May and Addison this year in April (must I remind you we never knew theses children had asthma until they had these attacks and they were put in the hospital for 3 days each.! We are so thankful to the Lord for our new pediatrician Dr. Garcia who has put both of them on a action plan before allergy season came (well for Anthony and now Addison is on one as well)they still have been having allergies but We have 3 meds we give them each day to keep there Asthma and allergies under control.
Lillie on the other hand has been diagnosed with eczema along with the other diagnoses given to her!we thank God because Addison has had eczema since birth and still has it at age 5 1/2! SO basically we know how to treat it!it is tuff to control though!We have a good feeling this is from Lillie's eosiniphilic esophagus (allergies to food & enviorment ) we have no idea why the eczema decided to show up out of now where!we are wondering if she has NEW allergies to foods along with the others!hmm.........The Lord knows:)So we are waiting on Lillie's test results to come back from the allergist.The results will let us know all these questions to what she is allergic to and will let us know if her feeding tube can be removed from her tummy and also if we can take her off the formula she is still on and give her regular milk!So until then we will WAIT ON THE LORD!!to reveal what is going on with this little mystery child:)

Addisons 1st lost tooth !!

2009-04-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

Addison lost her first tooth today!O boy was she excited in fact she pulled it out her self! We went to show auntie,papa and Nana!In fact we lost her tooth it flew out of the car when we went to show Auntie! so we had to call to ask her to look for it in the baggy and sure enough the little tooth had got thrown into the trash by Kory's brother who was cleaning out his truck in front of the house!!So this little tooth has been on a journey as well :) in fact I don't know if I was more excited about this lost tooth or what but its so much fun to see my children grow in each new stage of there growing!God sure does have a way of blessing my heart ! I know it sounds silly to be blessed my a lost tooth but to me it is so much fun to watch her grow up. Both Addison and Anthony will be starting kindergarten next year!Its so amazing to see them Grow so fast and I just thank God for there little lives!!all 3 of them!God is good. I thought I would share her little video of pulling her tooth out!Anthony was not to sure about it!

Spring Fun With Friends!!

2009-04-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

So our family was invited to go boating after church and how could we say no to that much fun! so we packed a cooler and some snacks,slapped on Sun screen and we were off to the river for some fun with friends! We went tubing,boarding, and swimming and played in the sand!we were blessed and were very thankful for inviting us to have fun with there family.

Addison on the tube for the very first time with daddy and she kept saying "Faster"
We stopped to see this seal who was sun bathin! he was cute!

Lillie and Daddy!

Addison and Anthony havin fun on the boards