Wow, it's been a while! So much has happened since my last blog post. I guess a little update is in order. One of the main things that has happened in our family has been major changes in diet. After a struggle with what we thought was Fibromyalgia I was diagnosed with Celiacs disease which was difficult but such a blessing since it cured me of all my aches, pains, and fatigue that were affecting me daily. Then when Audelia was about 10 months she had her first allergic reaction to Milk. Since then we have found that she is allergic to Milk, Beef, Pork, Wheat, Egg, Soy, and Peanuts. The reactions that she has had are scary and cause her to go into aniphilactic shock. So we cary an Epi Pen everywhere we go and are very causious about any food she touches. Our whole family has been on a mostly Whole Foods Diet for the past couple of months as a way to stay healthy and make it easier to cook so that everyone can eat the same Meals. This has helped with so many other health issues that is has been a real blessing.
Cory graduated with his MBA at the University of Texas at Dallas last May and we are all very proud of the hard work that he put into that great accomplishment. He then crashed his car 3 days later and bought a Mazda 3 as a graduation present to himself. It's his first nice car and is well deserved.
Alyssa is in 4th grade and is really enjoying and blossoming in dance. She performed in the Nutcracker this last December and did an amazing job. The poor thing suffered from Mono and Pneumonia at the same time through November and part of December 2011. She missed about 4 weeks of school and felt pretty crummy and tired for most of that time. We are so glad that she is doing better. We think that we have found the source of the migrains that she has had her whole life. Can you guess... yep, Gluten and Sugar. She feels so much better when she avoids those things and eats a healthy Whole Foods Diet.
Wyatt continues to amaze us as he has been on the Honor role at school the entire year so far. He is very smart and is learning more and more to sit and concemtrate. Wyatt started cub Scouts when he turned 8 and LOVES it. He recently turned 9 and completed his first year of Scouts earning his "Wolf" and moved on to Bears. Wyatt is learning important skills that come more naturally to most kids but that take him a little longer to comprehend due to his Autism. Just today he was learning how to empty the dishwasher. He struggles with things still but has truely come so far thanks in part to amazing teachers that he has had along the way.
Darion turned 5 last month. That sneaky age of 5 snuck up on me as now the countdown has begun to Kindergarden. I can't believe how time has flown! It seems like just yesterday he had me pulling out my hair as the Terrible Two's, Three's, and Four's seemed to never end. Then one day they did and now my sweet boy is going to go off into the world soon and I will miss him so much! For now our rough and tumble yet cuddly boy is enjoying being Wyatt's best friend and Audelia's big brother. He takes such good care of Audelia and they are so cute together. He loves Power Rangers, Buzz lightyear, and pretty much any boy thing you throw in front of him.
Audelia is definitely the baby of the family and she knows it. Cory and I are doing our best to help her to not be spoiled and snotty like youngest kids can be. She is sweet but knows how to manipulate, so we have our work cut out for us. She is all girl and loves to dress like one, yet she gets out a plays along side the big kids. She takes after her Mama and talks a lot! Her voacabualary is great just like Alyssa's was at a young age. She amazed us all when shortly after her 2nd birthday she decided it was time to potty train. I had been sitting her on the potty since she was about 1 year but didn't expect her to get so into it on her ouwn like that. One day she woke up and said "I go Poopoo Mommy" I thought she meant in her diaper, so when I attempted to change her and the diaper was clean she said "No, poopoo on the Potty Mommy!" So on the potty she went, and she has been doing it ever since. She has had her share of accidents and it took a bit to get used to panties and to lose that sense of security she had when she wore them but when all was said and done she was my easiest to Potty Trainer for sure! When people get jealous I tell them that after the boys I deserved a break.
As for me I'm learning that life seems to go something like this... You go through a challenge, get mad, sad, and down about it. Then you learn the lesson that the challenge was meant to teach you and before you know it another challenge is waiting for you to teach you yet another valuable lesson.
I've been enjoying life since my diagnosis of Celiacs Disease. Health and feeling good are not things that I take for granted anymore. I have even been able to serve as the Young Women's president in our ward since August 2011 and have loved the experience and all it has to offer so much! I've been struggling with teeth issues since September which has been painfull hand expensive! I thought that was the challenge but had no idea what was really in store for me. What we thought was just another tooth problem turned out to be something much more. I was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia a couple of weeks ago and had the diagnosis confirmed by another doctor last week. This is a rare and very painful disorder that is more painful than even natural child birth. For now I'm on medication that really helps but has unfortunate side affects and am awaiting a major surgery that will likely happen sometime in the next year. The surgery called MVD, should fix the problem and offer relief without medication. I've been blessed with great doctors that have quickly gotten me a diagnosis and game plan, which when your in as much pain as I have been are very important things to have. I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for me and I know that things like this are all part of life. I do look forward to figuring out the reason and lesson behind this so I can move on though.
I will do my best to keep this updated better. For now I hope that all of our family and friends are doing well.
