{iPhone Rewind} :: June

They have been pulling out this math game on their own...and they think it's fun! I call that a homeschool mom win! ;)

We have a full raspberry harvest!

We're shocked the deer haven't found them yet, and we have been enjoying these sweet treats in our backyard :)

Aiden lost his first tooth! It was an emotional roller coaster of a day {we were excited, and then we were fearful, and then we were sad to lose such a faithful tooth companion, and then we were brave and excited again}, but it finally came out and we geared up for the next one!

Mike ended up with Covid when we got back from Texas, and we did our best to quarantine, but Maddie ended up with a fever and going down for a couple of days. Thankfully it didn't last long, but poor thing was pretty pitiful for a bit...

Eli has really taken an interest in geography recently...I need to brush up on my map skills ;)

Summer is in full swing, and we are loving our time at the pool!

A sweet friend gifted us some Raddish boxes, and we have been enjoying honing our cooking skills

The deer are back! They found the berries in our backyard, and this doe paused long enough for Maddie to wave a "hello!" :)

Watching these two play games is fairly entertaining...the opposite personalities...at least until the frustrations rise ;)

We're doing some math review this summer...can you tell who is the least excited??

We kicked off our Women's Summer Book Club! Love these women and their hearts to stay connected with each other and God's Word :)

{iPhone Rewind} :: April

These are the days...

Listening to Peter and the Wolf...they have absolutely LOVED the orchestra music/story-telling. Aiden asks every day we do preschool if we can listen to it. Who knew this would be the crowd-pleasing winner?

We love playing outside with neighbor friends!

We got to have some friends over for dinner; such a sweet time of fellowship!

We enjoyed a fun train ride at our church's Spring Festival

We did an Easter egg hunt to find and match our upper and lower case letters...we need some extra practice with our lower case letters, so this was a fun way to get the kids more excited about it!

We were so happy on the warmer days :)

National Grilled Cheese Day!

Mike and I opened another Date Night Box, and we ended up making homemade poptarts, talking about our future goals, and having a little friendly competition {how many M&M's can you eat with chopsticks while blindfolded haha}

We headed into D.C. to help with a cousin's Flat Stanley project!

They really can be so sweet

Cutie girl reading her books

Doing a little planning for kindergarten!

Sweet girl has been working really hard to write her name!

Twin love :)

And then there's Aiden...  haha!

April 28th and it's still in the 30s...

We had to do some shuffling for nap time during our week of Covid quarantine, so everyone was out of routine. Maddie decided she was going to protest nap time and sleep on the floor instead of the couch. Sure kid. 

So glad to be out {and running} in the sunshine!

We see a variation of this TP mess almost every day now, courtesy of Aiden. It just makes me laugh because the twins never did this. I had 2 kiddos potty training at the same time, and somehow they managed to leave the toilet paper alone. Not Aiden...

Our Turn for Covid

After 2 years of doing all we can to avoid Covid, it finally found our house. Or at least we know for sure that it hit Mike. Thankfully, his case has been mild, with just some cold symptoms and fatigue. He is on day 4 of quarantine, but we think he's starting to turn a corner.

We decided to isolate him in our bedroom, just in case we could somehow avoid the rest of us getting sick. I have worn a mask when delivering him meals, and God has been gracious to keep us healthy! Now we just need him to get better so we can get back to normal.

I say that the kids and I have been healthy {and we have}, but a couple of weeks ago, the kids and I had what we thought was a cold, though it was the shortest cold ever. Mike got it, but it hit him harder, and his symptoms have stuck around for a lot longer. The kids and I never tested positive for Covid, and Mike finally tested positive a full week after his symptoms showed up, and his symptoms have been consistent from day 1. So either he had our cold and then got Covid on top of that and the two illnesses bled together, or the kids and I had a super mild case and gave it to him. 

• Aiden had a 101 degree fever that lasted 12 hours. That's it. 
• Maddie also had a 101 degree fever that lasted 12 hours, but she had some congestion and a slight {kind-of?} cough that was gone in a few days. 
• Eli had a 99 degree fever that lasted 8 hours. That's it.
• I never had a fever, but had congestion for 2 days. That's it. {The shortest "cold" for me on record!} So maybe allergies?? 
• Mike never had a fever, but has had congestion and a cough, now for 2 weeks. 

So again, who knows whether or not the kids and I had it. But I am incredibly thankful that we have been spared from the severity that Mike has had, and thankful that his case has been mild. I am thankful that I have been feeling better {with a little more energy}, as I have needed it the last week of solo parenting in quarantine! And I am thankful for our church family that has checked on us and extended endless offers of help. We didn't need it this time, thankfully, but it is so comforting to know that we have the help if we need it. A huge blessing living far from our families.

I'm thankful for protection for the past 2.5 years, that we got to see a mild variant this far into the pandemic. I'm thankful for vaccines that have given us an extra level of protection, and I'm thankful for God's continued healing and strengthening of my body, making it a little easier to face a Covid exposure.

Crohn's Chronicles :: Improving Labs

I have been feeling ok since the last time I updated. I was feeling pretty discouraged at the beginning of December, but it really helped to see some more improvement in my symptoms over the holidays. I'm not back to normal or even feeling great yet, but I also wasn't counting down the days until my next Stelara dose, so that is really positive news!

I had that Stelara dose {first time solo, without a nurse!} at the end of 2021, so my doctor had me do some lab work right before it to see where we were. My C-Reactive Protein {which measures acute inflammation} is finally in the normal range! Which is also good news as it relates to my higher cholesterol levels: if you have high LDL but a low CRP, that low CRP reduces the risk from the high LDL. So while I still need to address the high LDL {which is probably mostly attributed to low activity...hello, fatigue!}, my risks are manageable and not worrisome right now. Baby steps :)

My Stool Calprotectin {which measures inflammation in the GI tract} is still high. BUT...it has come down so much from where it was! In May 2021, it was 322 ug/g {normal is 0-120 ug/g}, which was an improvement from May 2020, when it was over 1,000. Now it's down to 166. So still high, and outside the normal range, but we're getting closer!

All of my other numbers {CBC panel} are back to normal, which makes sense, considering I have not had any bleeding in several months. TMI...sorry.

He also checked my medication levels. I had a good amount in my system that day before my next dose, which is good because it means it's working as a maintenance dose. However, my doctor said there's still room to adjust my medication if I start to see symptoms return before my next dose. So we'll see what the next {now} 6 weeks hold, to see if I need to change my dosage from every 8 weeks to every 6 weeks. I won't hesitate to increase that dosage if needed, but of course, I would prefer to put as little as possible in my body to achieve good results. I also don't have any antibodies built up against the medication, so hopefully that holds for a very long time...

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I know that was a lot of detail and clinical-speak, but I want to have a record of my progress. Because I am seeing improvement! It's slow, and the measurement/timing seems to take SUCH a long time before adjustments can be made. But we're getting there. I don't feel great, but I feel ok. Most of my GI symptoms have subsided {hooray!}, so now my main focus is fatigue, achiness, and migraines.

I know I have talked about fatigue before, but this has really been a struggle for me this past year. Fatigue is part of a chronic illness, especially one that has been active for 2 years. But this level of fatigue has been unlike any of the fatigue I have felt in the past. I have very limited energy, and when it's all used up for the day, my body just shuts down. I'm done. And please let me be clear: fatigue is different than being tired. I feel exhausted, even after 10 hours of sleep. I feel like I need a nap after a simple shower or running an errand. And it's not just feeling sleepy; it's the physical feeling of your body being done. It takes so much effort to get up and cook dinner and do normal things because my body just feels heavy from exhaustion. If I do get a burst of energy, I often try to capitalize on it as much as I can {because hello, life with 3 kiddos}...and I pay the price for it. I'm still working on that balance, and I'm thankful for a patient husband and kiddos. Because it's hard when mom needs to "rest" again. 

I still have a journey ahead of me...but I feel like I am finally starting to see a glimmer of light at the end of this tunnel. The prayer is that this improvement continues and holds. For now, I choose to praise God for better labs and fewer GI symptoms. And I also choose to give myself grace when I need to rest, again, knowing that my body is healing, and it's just going to take some more time.

High Five for Friday!

{one} Last weekend, I was able to attend our church's annual women's retreat! I was so thankful to finally be at a larger event with the women in our church, and it was so good to meet more people and deepen relationships. We had a great weekend learning about how to fix our eyes on Jesus, and I am so encouraged by the faith of the women in our church. I love the diversity of age, stage of life, and cultures, and I look forward to further deepening relationships with these amazing women.

{two} While Mommy was away...the kiddos enjoyed fun time with Daddy! They had a pizza and movie night, and then went on a fun hike to Bear's Den Overlook with friends. It stretched them quite a bit, but they still did pretty well!

{three} We are super grateful that COVID cases seem to be decreasing. I did get my 3rd shot {since I am immunosuppressed}, and we are starting to find more ways to get more involved with church and friends here. So while I was able to attend the women's retreat {fully vaccinated and masked}, and we are going to more events than we were even a few months ago, we are still taking precautions. I am still not ready to put the kids in Sunday School, due to their little germ magnet ways haha. And we still require masks and distancing around those who are unvaccinated. But decreasing cases, higher vaccination rates in our particular area, and my own health improvements give me hope to doing even more in-person things soon.

{four} A lot of our decisions regarding COVID have depended on my health. I am still not in remission {it will be 2 years of active disease next month}, and I still don't trust my body to be able to fight off sickness {COVID or otherwise}. Since starting Stelara, I have seen improvement! While I am not out of the woods yet, I am having so many more good days, which is such a huge praise! But I am still dealing with fatigue and those pesky headaches. And I still have actual Crohn's flares, though those are starting to diminish. I have another follow-up with my GI next month, as well as with a Primary Care Physician to check my B-12 levels and hopefully get some help with the headaches. So I think we're finally headed in the right direction...I'm cautiously optimistic :)

{five} We have been making our way through our Pre-K curriculum, and overall, I think it's going pretty well! It's nice to have the structure in our days, though it can also be difficult on days when I am not feeling well, or the kids just aren't feeling it haha. We're still working on a good rhythm, as some days run more smoothly than others. But we're making it through, and I think they're learning :)  They ask almost every morning if we are doing Preschool {and aren't disappointed when I say "yes"}, so I'll take that as a win!

Learning our 10 Commandments

The Belt of Truth!

Building houses on rock and sand...Object Lesson time!

Science: sink or float?

Happy Friday!

Aiden's Garbage Truck Birthday!

Aiden is still 100% Pooh Bear-obsessed, but since we did that theme last year, we decided to celebrate his 3rd birthday with his newest obsession: Garbage Trucks! :)

I know a lot of little boys go through a Garbage Truck-loving phase, and I wasn't quite sure how long this would last. But this little boy STOPS EVERYTHING to run and see the garbage and recycling trucks! He asks every day, "is it trash day?" because he wants to know if he will see his beloved trucks. We had several weeks where there were a lot of tears because he was so desperately sad that the garbage/recycling trucks weren't coming that particular day. And we have neighbors that leave their bins out longer than the designated day, so he is convinced it must be trash day {even if it isn't}, because he sees the bins out. He's OBSESSED.

Hence...a garbage truck-themed birthday celebration fit for a 3 year old! I was able to paint his birthday sign, but otherwise, I got everything else from Amazon, Etsy, or the dollar store. While I missed crafting more of the handmade decorations, I also enjoyed the ease of just having it arrive at my door and then hanging it on the wall :)

We're still being cautious with COVID {especially with the Delta variant right now}, so we didn't plan a big party, but Mike was able to take the day off of work, and we had a fun family day! It was filled with all-things garbage trucks and Aiden. We woke him up and he was SO excited about all of his garbage truck decorations! For most of the morning he would throw his hands up in the air and yell, "it's my birthday!"  :)

After breakfast, we let him open his presents {from us and from family who sent gifts from Texas}. We now have more cars/trucks/Blippi vehicles than we know what to do with! 

We headed to a new park {Owen Park} to play, and we really lucked out- it was such a nice playground! The kids had so much fun, and it was a great way to spend the morning. The birthday boy got too hot and was ready to "go home and go to sleep," but Maddie was in tears because she didn't want to leave the turtle. And we hadn't even given anyone sugar yet :)

After nap, we sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed cupcakes! We were even able to share some cupcakes and play with our new friend C and her family. It's really fun to watch the kiddos make some new friends with our neighbors!

It was a jam-packed day of birthday fun and garbage trucks. It's still hard to believe that our baby is 3 years old, but we are so excited for this coming year. Aiden, we love you very much and hope you had the best 3rd birthday ever!