Allergic Avery

It looks like we have some answers on sweet Avery.  Her allergy results are in and she is allergic to milk, soy and beef.  The poor girl was not absorbing the proteins we were giving her.  We now have her on a special hypo-allergenic drink called EO 28 Splash.  It has a really high caloric content that hopefully will help her weight catch up.  It’s funny, after 2 weeks she is already looking much rounder.  She feels heavier too.  She has her 15 month appointment and I think we’ll find that she has really gained.  Thank you Jesus.  I’m not thrilled about the allergies… but it certainly is a less severe answer than we could have had so I will count my blessings.

Weight wise Jeff is rocking the diet.  He has lost 15 lbl.  I have lost 8.  I already feel better but have a ways to go.  My goal is 25 lbs to get back into all my old jeans.

In a few weeks I would really like to start the P90X workout with Jeff in the mornings.  Any of you have experience with that.  I hear it is really kick butt.  I’m so ready to get cut again.

I have also nixed Diet Coke from my diet.  It kills me.  I love diet coke and practically took it in my bottle as a baby.  BUT the whole thing about Diet Coke turning to formaldehyde in the body really freaks me out.  I know that aspartame is so horrible for you.  I have known I needed to make this choice for a long time… I think I’m finally ready.  I have to do it for my kids.  I want to live long and be healthy and vibrant for their children and possibly my great grand children someday.

Today I am ill.  I think it is either a bad cold or the flu.  Fun huh?  I think this long week worked one on my immune system.

Airplane Epiphany

I’ll never forget the time that I was flying somewhere and was studying something for a church leadership school I was in.  I was going through the verses of the Bible that were in the lesson and it hit me.  I welled up with tears of joy.  I can’t quite put to words how I felt at that moment.  Thankfulness was pouring out of me.  At that minute I was just so grateful to have been brought up in the Lord.  Which basically means I was brought up knowing about Jesus from a young age.

I can’t tell you I am overcome like that every time I read the Bible.  I have read the Bible most of the days of my adult years (and even before then), yet rarely do I have a moment of revelation like that.  It is like numbness was taken away.  Apathy was gone from me.  My eyes were open to a glimpse of the unbelievable spiritually rich inheritance I had received and been living on.  To this day I can’t tell you where I was flying, what I was doing, or anything.  But I will never forget how overcome I was with gratefulness at that moment.  Had I had a bottle of perfume and Jesus sitting physically beside me I could have easily been the woman washing the feet of her Lord with her hair and perfume as Mary had.  This moment impacted me forever.

Why am I telling you this?  Not in anyway to rub something in your face that I think I have that you may not.  But I tell you because of the back story.  You see my parents had a time in their lives that was pretty dark.  Before they found Jesus they were into drugs and we-gee boards, had “spirit guides” etc.  They almost lost their marriage at one point.  They were desperate, empty, and searching for something to fill them up.  Then my mom enrolled my brother in a local christian preschool.  The teachers (bless those teachers!) reached out to her and invited her to church.  It was there she found Jesus and she was forever changed.  My father followed soon after.  This was all before I was born.  My parents weren’t perfect from that point on.  They had things in their lives they struggled with.  But they had Jesus.  They had my brother, and soon had me and were determined that we grew up always knowing this great peace that only Jesus can bring.  

No matter where you are at as a person or a parent.  There is hope.  No matter what you have come from your children can still recieve a rich inheritance and never have to deal with the things that you may think have branded your life as irrepairable.  All you have to do is bring your crap to his feet.  Give your life to Jesus and know that all the things in life that were done to you, all the things you did, all were nailed on the cross with him and you are made new.  Can you imagine having that to pass on to your children.  As a child of that same inheritance I can tell you that it is amazing.

I now sit here with my children.  I still have things that I really struggle, no war, with.  Its a journey not a destination.  But everyday (that I let him) God is growing me and refining me.  I hope to pass on to my children not the things that entangle me, but freedom, peace, grace, love, zeal,and every other perfect gift that comes only from Jesus.  I pray that I won’t pass on the things that trip me up.  I pray that I will deal with them at this generation so that it won’t go on to the next.  May their futures be written by God alone and not by my failings.  May they always have the peace and hope that I had that moment on the plane.  May they never know a moment without Jesus.

PS- If you have any questons about how to know Jesus please feel free to email me at eejackson (at) mac (dot) com.

Peek-A-SKU

I found this new site courtesy of a Janie and Jack employee and I had to share it with you.  Upon my shirt for the perfect outfits for our family pictures, I was curious what some of the major stores holiday lines were going to look like.  Peekasku.com is the perfect place to find out.  Right now they just have a few stores on there, but a great little hint for those of us that realize these things sell out early!  I’m excited about my kids’ outfits (I know total dork) So I have to share them with you!

For Avery: (from chasing fireflies)

For The Boys: (from Crewcuts)

The inspiration for our shoot can be found here.  And the lovely blonde, Anna Crane, in those photos will be our photographer.  Her work here.

Can you tell I’m excited? To earn $ toward the shoot I’m doing a photo party!!!  There are 3 slots left if you are interested facebook or email me.  It is Saturday the 26th.

September 5, 09- How is that for a creative title?

Aside from the political state right now, things have been pretty great (for us).  Owen is absolutely loving kindergarten which has me that much more relieved that he was ready.  I think we made the right decision in not holding him back.  Lukas loves his school.  His only disappointment is that it is only 2 days a week.  Avery is going to a nanny for 10 hours a week while Lukie is in preschool which has been giving me time to concentrate on work…. and concentrate on them more when they are around.  I am loving being back on a routine…  I function so much better on a schedule.  The wide open time of the summer really gets me down for some reason.  I get confused and don’t know what to do with the day!  I think next summer I’ll have to plan more structured time.  

Jeff and I are going on the HCG diet starting tomorrow so I’ll let you know how that goes.  I’m glad to have support this time around.  I’m also excited to get back into my cute designer jeans :) 

I have been in the middle of some switching of my medication and I feel SO much better.  The actual switch was really tough.  But my energy level now is so much improved.  I stayed up till 10 the other night, which these days has been like staying up all night for me.  I know that sounds nuts, but I really didn’t feel refreshed unless I had 10 hours of sleep- and that is just such a waste of time in life.  I’m glad to be back to feeling more normal. 

On the country….  Seriuosly I won’t go deep into it.  BUT SERIOUSLY!  Propaganda videos in the classroom?  Appointing czars that have claimed that 911 was an inside job? I could go on for awhile.  But I won’t.  And truthfully I don’t want to spar a huge conversation on this.  But really.  Really?  Gosh I can’t wait for 2012.

Jeff’s mom has really been feeling sick for several months now.  No one can quite figure out what is wrong.  She could use the prayer so please be praying for her.  Jeff is going to see her the end of next week.  It’s hard being so far away and feeling like we can’t help very much.  

I started by this post saying things have been pretty great.  And that is true… for our little family things have been good.  However I do feel like so many people I’m surrounded by are in so much pain right now.  So many people are going through such terrible things.  I don’t want to get into the horror of the situations around me.  But it does feel like something is in the air or something.  Many people are heavy on my heart and heavy in my prayers.  It’s seasons like this I just pray I can be of some help to my friends.  Lord knows there have been seasons where I have depended on a  lot of help.  This is one of those seasons I can pay it forward.  God please touch my friends.  Comfort their hearts.  Grant them peace in the midst of their chaos and heartbreak.

Chaotic Mess

My house has been really cluttered and awful lately.  I feel like I can’t get on top of it.  Once I get it all picked up it just gets incredibly messy again.  I know my busy-ness doesn’t help.  I hate that when my house is like this, it causes me to have this general sense of anxiety.  With 3 little ones who are very active it is only normal that my house would be this way… so I wish I could just accept it as fact and not let it stress me out so much.  I’m sure it doesn’t help that I’m in the process of switching my meds.  That has to make me more vulnerable to anxiety considering without them I’m a panicky mess.

On a side note-  You know you are in trouble when you wear a top you hate because it is clean and it fits.  Is that the definition of being that women that “lets it go”?  Gosh- I hope not.  It is a reality check though.  I have to get back to fitting in my cute clothes.  I haven’t stopped being fashion conscious, I’m just not near as fashion concerned… Which professionally just won’t work for me.  So here is to trying harder!  The HCG diet starts in about a week… so that should help.  Cute jeans, please fit again.

Cure International helping Afghan Mothers

Cure International is helping mothers in Afghanistan by providing care for them while they are pregnant.  Did you know that a woman’s life expectancy in Afghanistan is 44 years?  I was shocked to find a woman dies in childbirth every 30 minutes.  There are so many amazing charities out there but this one really struck my heart.  I have a heart for mothers and their babies.  This is such a simple problem that we have simple solutions too… but it is a devastating one.  You can either send a card and Cure will donate $3 for a pre-natal visit for one mother… or you can look at their online catalog and provide simple needs for the mothers and babies in afghanistan with not a whole lot of money.  Think of it, just your Starbucks latte in the morning could help save a child.  

Life in General

Nothing much new and exciting to write. I have been doing a lot of getting ready to leave for Market in ATL for The Bomb Mom on Wednesday night. I’m praying hard to have lots of needed energy. Also praying people “get it”, what The Bomb Mom is about. I hope we are in the right place, where we need to be at Market. I have never done this before so I’m thankful to be going with someone that seems to know the Market ropes. We need lots of favor to get this thing off the ground.

Rodan+Fields is going good so far. I’m really excited about the brand and LOVING how my face feels. Jeff is starting his regimen today. I also have a neighbor doing an experiment on the Unblemish for me and another friend using the Soothe for her sensitivity. I will have both before and after pictures for those in the next month or so.

The kids… are just so fun. That is when the boys aren’t killing each other. Yesterday Owen was just wailing on Lukas because apparently Lukas pinched him. Owen was on top of him just punching. As a mom I was horrified. I wish I knew how nip that in the bud. I guess we just have to be consistent in disciplining for them. Too bad it doesn’t work overnight.

Jeff is doing great. He has one of his bands, Seabird, in town recording now. As always the guys are sweet house guests.

Update on Aiden- he has his follow up Neurology appointment tomorrow. He looks great! He seems great! But he has had some headaches. Tomorrow they should find out whether or not that is something to be concerned with.

I really have no Avery update except that to me it seems that she is growing. She seems to need a larger diaper too, which I take as proof I’m waiting for a good window of time between her vaccinations and her blood test so that they don’t throw off the results.

That’s it for now!

4th of July Festivities

We started out the 4th with our usual coffee.  Soon after my neighbor texted me that they were outside decorating bikes of the annual Westhaven parade.  Of course I forgot to buy decoration so we scrounged for some red curling ribbon I had  The parade was fun… although my kids always seem to be the only complaining about the length of it.  We ended up at the end of the line because they were hot, sweaty, and tired :) My friend Nicole grabbed some shots (below).

After the parade we spent the day at the pool.  Our friends Craig and Jodi were sweet enough to snag us spots.  What they didn’t know is that we were right in front of where the DJ would set up his PA system.  Lunch took an hour but the owner was sweet enough to give us free sodas all day and ice cream sandwiches for our wait.  THEN the grille caught on fire.  That was sort of funny and scary at the same time.  Everyone was in a frenzy with the fire hydrant trying to put it out.  Some kids got ahold of the macbook running the playlist and graced us with “I kissed a girl” by Katie Perry and the very unedited version of “Gold-digger” by Kanye West.  SO being that there are littles everywhere one of the parents finally disconnected it.  

After the pool we grabbed some showers, thawed some meat and took it over to our friends Peggy and Ians.  They are pretty house stuck as Aiden is recovering from surgery so we figured we would hang with them.  We lit fireworks then it rained.  

All an all it was a really fun holiday not short at all on excitement.  The kids had a blast and that is important.  I’m so thankful to be born in this country.  I hope we can maintain our freedom.  The current administration make me more urgently thankful for every freedom I have… after all we don’t know how much longer we will have them with government growing exponentially ever month. 

Some Pictures and Yet Another Update

I figured I would post a couple recent photos.  I haven’t uploaded all our trip photos yet so those are still to come.  But here is a sampling of what I took on my phone.  

As far as Avery- The Doctor called me the other day and wants to test her for 2 more things.  Cystic Fibrosis and a parasite.  No one really thinks she has CF.  She doesn’t have any of the breathing issues that come with it.  But it is something that we would like to cross off the list now instead of later.  The other, I just have to bring a gross sample in  One of these days she is either going to be completely healed or we will figure out what is going on.  For now I just have peace and I’m thankful for that.  She looks so well that I’m pretty confident she has nothing terrible and untreatable.  But we could of course still use any prayers for her.  

I have been pretty busy with work because I just found out we are going to go to market in a couple weeks  (In ATL).  While I’m excited, it will be 6 days away from the kids.  I have never been away from Avery that long.   Luckily my days will be packed so it will hopefully pass quickly.  It’s funny to have your heart feel 2 opposing ways at the same time.  Such excitement to go mixed with such sadness to leave the kids.  ALSO I had a tripped planned with a good friend to go see No Doubt and am no way missing that.  So in the middle of being in ATL I will be flying to Chicago for a day to see Gwen Stephani.   So excited.  I hate that the trips had to overlap, (means I will miss the busiest day at market- and my Chicago trip is cut shorter).  But I’m excited that I still get to go.  

I feel like I haven’t talked about my Amazing Husband in awhile on here.  He is doing great.  I’m constantly amazed at what a great father he is.  I couldn’t do all I do with out his help and understanding.  I couldn’t have a better partner in life.  I’m so thankful for him.

Avery Mystery

So we are still trying to figure out why Avery is pretty much the same size as she was when she was 6 mos.  Our plan right now is for her to see the Endocrinologist (although her appt isn’t till end of August.) And that Gastro dr.  We have also switched her to soy forumula from Milk protein based formula.  It does appear she has milk sensitivity because this is causing her eczema to go away… however we have yet to see if it will help her gain weight.  

Aside from her size she is developing normally.  She is a little bit of a late bloomer but still within the averages.  She is crawling and pulling up, her hair is growing, her teeth are coming in, and she interacts so much with us.   

One thing that I’m slightly concerned about (though it is a VERY RARE disease and therefore unlikely that she has it…) It is called Abetalipoproteinemia (aka Bassen-Kornzweig syndrome).  Big words huh.  The two main symptoms for it in infants is Failure to Thrive (which Avery has been labeled) and spiculated red blood cells (which she has).  I have a call into her hematologist and am waiting for a call back.  She has a second blood test in a couple of weeks.  I’m praying hard that she doesn’t have this rare disease.  I’m not even going to go into what it is on here unless they tell me she has it.  Jeff is rather positive she doesn’t have it and I know the chances are very rare.  Still I want to know for sure so that I can have peace of mind.

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