This week's simple pleasures

We've had a good week around here.  Both kids had the flu, though Jacob's version was incredibly mild.  Mattie, however is stuck with bronchitis still.  This is how things typically go with these two!

Here are the sweet things I've enjoyed this week:

*Having Jacob help me out by reading to Mattie during her breathing treatments.  He asks comprehension questions and everything!

*Getting my van back from the shop with a beautiful new paint repair, wax and buff job!  No more scratches from the sheep or messed up front end form a recent fender bender! 

*Getting a GREAT deal on the extra work we had done while it was in the shop already.

*Driving a VW minivan for the week as a rental and knowing I love my Honda more!

*Watching Jacob's love for reading develop as he always wants to read "one more chapter before I turn out the light."

*Having lots of imaginary cowgirl princesses over to play with my princess.  :D  Mattie has had a very fun week!

*A good day to visit with friends from Joni and Friends camp!

*Being thankful we own a nebulizer (breathing machine) so we can conveniently do the best thing for bronchitis.

*Hand me down Gameboy Advances (thanks, cousins!!) to entertain Jacob while we wait for Robert in a boot store.

*Robert buying boots, then coming home and finding them online for $53 less!!  (Always a good thing to save on his work boots!)

*Hearing a sweet report about two someones I love very much having a good weekend together, hopefully the beginning of a new life. 

*Jacob asking to have jobs so he can make money to buy a blanket for kids in Asia who don't have one and planning what he's going to put in his shoeboxes this year!  (I love that he assumes we're going to do this!)

I have to say, there has been one sweet part of asking the Lord to show me the simple things in life that used to bring me joy.  I'm noticing and appreciating things about Jacob that used to get overlooked among the frustration with his boisterous personality.  And that is a priceless gift!

Christmas Gifts that Help Others

As I make my Christmas list this year I'm asking the Lord to help me be a good steward in my plans, be reasonable about what I write on the list for my kids, and seriously rethink the way I'm going to do things.

This is a really important post.  There are two ideas I wanted to share with you all as we all plan our lists of things to buy:

 Joni and Friends Catalog

They have books for all ages, calendars, note cards with Joni's artwork, music, and a lot more.  All of the local Joni and Friends offices are self supported, meaning they have to raise their own support.  One way I can help them do that is to purchase some of their catalog items directly from a local office and they get a portion of the cost directly in their pocket.  (They are a dollar or two more than CBD, but it's worth it to me.)  I'm trying to make my list based on what they have to offer so I can support them this way.  I have my eye on several of the children's products!

IMPORTANT NOTE:  When you look online, please don't order directly from that link!  No harm in doing that, but if you did it that way, the California office will get that profit, and the Knoxville office could really use your help!  If you make a list of the items you'd like to order, call the Knoxville Office to place your order and you will be helping my local office and the missionary my Sunday School class has adopted!  (The number is at the bottom of the screen.  Tell them I told you about them!) 

Gospel for Asia

Gospel for Asia is a ministry that trains and sends native missionaries to share the good news of Christ with those who have never heard.  Many of their gifts are funded by way of their Christmas Gift Catalog.  But it's a very different kind of catalog!  Instead of ordering an inanimate object that will arrive in your mailbox in a few days, you can order a goat or a pig for a needy family or missionary in Asia!  (The true meaning of a gift that keeps on giving!)

You could purchase a rickshaw for a man so he can support his family.

For five dollars you could buy a blanket for a child who has none.

For forty dollars you could purchase a winter clothing packet for a missionary who has a need.

For three dollars you can purchase a Bible.

For eleven dollars you can purchase a chicken.

The list goes on and on.

I must warn you, if you're like me, by the end of the catalog you'll be utterly finished with Christmas as we know it here in America.  So don't be offended if I send you a card that says I bought a goat in your name for a family who has a much greater need than anything we will ever know here in America.  And I sure won't be offended if that's what you do for me.  PLEASE go look at what you can do for a very small amount of money.  There is a short video there to watch or show your kids too.

If you choose to purchase a gift in another's honor, Gospel For Asia will even send a Christmas card explaining your gift directly to them or to you so you can personally send it!  As we're focusing our studies on chidlren's around the world and praying for all to know Jesus, this has been a neat way to give Jacob an opportunity to make a difference too.

Please join me in helping others this way this year!

Daytrana is a friend of mine.

Daytrana has revolutionized our school day.  Daytrana is this little 1 1/2" square patch we put on Jacob every day from morning until 2:00.  It's sometimes called the "ritalin patch" and is for ADHD, and boy, do I like it.

After struggling to focus for quite some time, Jacob is finally focusing really well!  We contemplated different medication options for a long time and finally decided it was time to do something.  He just. can't. focus.  To go brush his teeth, get dressed, eat his lunch, write the next word, look at what I'm doing, keep his hands off his sister, just. calm. down.

So it was time to see if we had any other options.  By 7 1/2 we saw a pretty clear difference between "boy" and "ADHD," and it didn't seem fair to him anymore to not try the medicines after exhausting all of our other options.  (We are limited with herbal supplements because of the corn allergy, he's already on all of the special diets, and we have implemented as much sensory and environmental things as we can.)

Jacob has a very sweet heart, he wants to do the right thing.  He wants to be pleasing.  He wants people to enjoy being around him.  And he knew some of that wasn't happening.  I had done all of the restructuring of our day that was possible, but there is a point where one must be able to focus to just do the next thing.

So, he started Daytrana about 6 weeks ago and it's been great for him!  We can now do about 3 or more hours of school in a row!  He can complete workbook tasks in a room where other activity is going on.  He can complete tasks on his own without me constantly reminding him.  He can play nicely with his sister without
having his hands on her or in her face.  He notices what is going on around him.  Mostly, he just seems calmer... and it's not because I don't remember correctly.  We get a reminder every night at about 5:30 when the medicine wears off!

I know many parents are afraid to try stimulant meds for a whole slew of reasons.  I was there too.  But I had a revalation one day:  If they didn't work, we could stop them!  Imagine that!  Once I realized it wasn't an all-or-nothing deal, I had an appointment the next day.  And I am so glad we went!

Without meds:
1~no more than 1 1/2 hours per day, had to be involved every minute
2~had to be reminded - literally - every minute to stay on task
3~sometimes needed several reminders before he actually picked up the pencil
4~struggled to complete any written task b/c of the focusing issue (so little of his school could be done that way)
5~I had to be leading everything so there was little independent thought involved
6~could not challenge him academically because we did the minimu we needed to do so we could get by
7~was regularly "getting in" people's faces and not noticing social cues
8~was frustrated at being corrected constantly (usually for antagonizing Mattie)

With Daytrana:
1-school up to 3 or more hours, much of it can be independent now
2~can work for ten minutes (or an hour sometimes!) without any intervention
3~usually one reminder now is sufficient
4~has done more written work in the past 6 weeks than in the previous 3 years combined, and it's been GOOD work!
5~can have a research assignment, find the right page, find the answer, and answer a question about a subject
6~is being challenged in many areas now and seems to be enjoying it!
7~plays appropriately with Mattie, isn't getting in her face all day or antagonizing
8~is happier all around because the constant correction is diminished remarkably

Jacob is happier, learning more, and growing by leaps and bounds... all because he can focus!  The really nice part is that he is still Jacob.  He's still happy, fun, loud, and full of energy, just in a different way.  He's definitely not overmedicated, something I was pretty afraid of.  We have had the negative side effect of him not being hungry, but he eats a smaller lunch just because he has to and makes up for the rest of it as the meds wear off in the evenings.  Overall, I feel really good about our decision.

Baby steps in the kitchen.

All of a sudden over the past few days I've gotten this very strange wave of energy to tackle some baking challenges I've had since we moved into this house.  I've not really gotten a handle on our kitchen (meaning baking/cooking consistently) and have been feeling guilty about it.  But blissfully, a new energy and motivation to conquer a few things has replaced the guilt!  That's always exciting, isn't it??

I've spent a couple of days researching quite a bit as to the whys of gluten free baking.  I just can't remember things if I don't understand why they work the way they do.  If I understand why, it sticks and I remember to choose the right starch the next time the opportunity arises.

And I've been researching some ways to really bake safely for all 4 of us... just ONE batch of muffins, ONE batch of cupcakes, ONE cookie recipe, etc.  (If I make a wheat one and a rice one, we inevitably run out of one first... then Mattie has yummy muffins left and Jacob doesn't, then Jacob gets pancakes and Mattie gets muffins... Why can't I have pancakes?... Just eat what I fixed for you!  But I want pancakes like Jacob!  But you said you wanted muffins.  But I didn't know we had pancakes!   Any mother out there hear me????)    You can appreciate why I'd like to make just one recipe.  Lol!  I can get myself all worked up just typing that out!  I need to take a deep breath and count to 10.

So today I took the kids to the health food store when we were out picking up a prescription of compounded ibuprofen for Jacob.  (They are both still nursing the flu, so we're trying to stay away from people but are pretty sick of being house bound.)  Anyway, I got the ingredients I needed and came home to be productive.  Here's what I made successfully today:

Almond Milk in my SoyaJoy soy milk maker.  The kids actually both asked for glasses of it plain and drank it!

Strawberry banana creamy smoothies with the almond milk.

Thickened up extra smoothie and froze it to have "ice cream" for dessert!

Wheat free flour mix that is safe for all four of us (meaning free of wheat, egg, dairy, and corn).

Yummy banana muffins with that mix!

Mattie's bread, tweaked a bit with some of what I learned and it's great!  She hugged me and jumped up and down when she knew I was making her bread! :)

They loved everything I made.  I know that sounds weird to say that, but there are MANY, many times I have stood on my head to adapt a recipe, it has turned out really well, and they complain about it (because they are so used to eating the same old kid-friendly things, which isn't their fault).  So, I often lose my steam before I even find a recipe.

But tonight Mattie thanked Jesus for "our new almond milk that's like Grampa Harvey drinks and our yummy smoothie ice cream."

 

And Jacob and I even engaged in a conversation in which he showed sympathy!!

Jacob, after tasting the almond milk: Um, I think it's yummy.
Me: Okay.  (Thinking, better than many responses I get from him about new things!)  I'd like it if I can make it so it's really yummy for you.  Maybe I can figure that out.
Jacob: I know you try hard and it's hard for us to like things and be thankful for them.
Me:  I know you want to have new things like everyone else can eat, and I'm doing the best I can for you.  But when you ask for new things, I try and then you complain about things because they're different than you're used to, it makes me not want to try anymore. 
Jacob:  Yeah.  I can understand how you feel frustrated about it.  I would feel that way too.

I just thought that was a sweet way to end our day.  :)

Baby steps in the kitchen.

"When I grow up"

Mattie: "You know, Mom, when I grow up, I want to be a mommy."

Me: "Why do you want to be a mommy? What so fun about it?"

Mattie: "Because when you're a mommy you get to drive places, make your own food, run errands, cook cool things and all that!"