Appetite for Awareness

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness held the 5th Annual Appetite for Awareness in Philadelphia this week. Ed and I attended and had a great time. There were representatives from 35 restaurants and I could eat anything I wanted! It was fun to walk around and try lots of things and realize just how many GF menus are available in this area. We also received a Wegman's bag as we walked in the door to fill with all the free goodies from GF vendors. Many local doctors also joined the chefs in an Iron Chef competition for the best GF meal. It was a lot of fun and we hope to attend next year.

(The picture isn't very good because BOTH of my cameras broke in the same week and we had to use Ed's Blackberry)

Missionary Activity

We had a great activity for our youth last week about Missionary work. Almost all young men in our church serve a two year mission at age 19. Many young women also serve missions at age 21. They leave home and live by strict rules during this time. The experience is life-changing and remembered as some of the best years of their lives. Ed served a mission and Dallin is already planning to serve as well.

We had several members of our congregation come and talk about experiences they had on their missions. Our Young Women's president also interviewed a bunch of people and a current missionary dad in our ward put it all together in a video. The video is so great that I just had to share it. Ed was one of the people interviewed and there are clips of him throughout the video. It's long (two parts - about 20 min) but worth watching. You get to see some great pictures of our youth having fun, receiving awards, and working at service projects. All the missionary pictures are of people either currently serving or recently returned from missions from our congregation.

The Pianist

I'm just now beginning to understand what it means to play the piano in our church. Taylor played for the whole service at Courtney's baptism. I got a little emotional thinking about how many hours of service she will perform throughout her life. She will come early and play beautiful music to set the mood for the meeting. She will sit by herself over in the corner by the piano so that she can play all the hymns. She will remain at the piano after the service while everyone else socializes so that the mood can again be inviting to the spirit. Those of us who don't play the piano probably don't even give it a second thought, but how different would our meetings be without people who have sacrificed so many hours of their life in order to serve in this way? Watching Taylor play at Courtney's baptism may seem like a little thing, but I gained a whole new respect for my daughter that day and look forward to the blessings she will receive as she blesses us with music for years to come. I'm proud of you Taylor. You have a gift and you work hard to develop it. Thanks for bringing music into our home.

Courtney's Baptism

We were able to spend the weekend in Charlotte with Dan and Tricia's family for Courtney's baptism. It was a great day and we are all so proud of Courtney! Thanks for letting us be a part of this special occasion!

First Day of School

We started school a few weeks ago. I'm a little slow getting things posted lately due to a combination of computer problems and DSL issues. Everything seems to be fixed now and I'll try to get caught up soon.

Cami started 2nd grade with Mrs. Scott and is so glad to have her good friend Matthew in her class again. He lives across the street and they even sit across from each other in class.



Taylor is the oldest at her elementary this year. She has Ms. Salon and is enjoying the privileges that go along with being a 6th grader. Sitting in the back of the bus, working as a safety, and other little things are helping the year start off great.



Dallin began 8th grade at Holicong Middle School. He is enjoying his classes and especially his texting time after school.


I'm trying to catch up on all the things I let slide in the house while we were having a fun summer! Happy school!

Family Pictures

We had some family pictures taken. Click here to take a look. You can also click on group selection at the top and look at just "my favorites". Tell me what you think and if you have a favorite.

The Nielson Family

This is a story that I feel compelled to share.

Stephanie and Christian Nielson became friends of my sister-in-law Tricia when they lived in New Jersey a few years ago. Stephanie has been a blogger for a long time (click here to see her blog) and was the one who got Tricia started. Tricia, in turn, got me hooked. I do not know Stephanie personally, but have gotten to know her family a little as I checked her blog once or twice a month.

Stephanie loves being a mom. She has four beautiful, young children. I love to read her blog just to be inspired about how I can make everyday things special and memorable. She has a creative gift.

Stephanie and her husband were in a small plane crash last month in Arizona. They survived, but were badly burned (Christian 30% of his body, Stephanie 80% of her body). They have been heavily sedated (because waking up would be unbearable in their condition) and gone through multiple surgeries thus far. They are in for many months more before they will be able to wake up and years of rehabilitation. They will never be the same on the outside. We can all pray that they will heal more completely on the inside. Their children have been taken in by siblings. They both come from large, Mormon families.

The story of the accident is tragic, but the story I really want to share is that of hope, caring, and love. Thousands upon thousands of bloggers who felt connected to Stephanie have poured out their support in countless ways. It was shocking for the family to realize just how many people were touched by Stephanie's love for motherhood. Prayers were offered for them across the world, balloons were launched in synchronization, and donations have poured in to help with what will be millions in medical bills. I was hesitant to write anything about this, because I don't actually know them, but then I realized that this is precisely why I should. Stephanie impacted my life because she was passionate about being a mom. I felt connected to her and I want to share her story, because someone else might feel connected to her too. She can use all the prayers she can get, so if you feel like remembering her family, please do.

Her story has been featured in the NY Times and on the Today show. You can also check on how things are going by reading her sister Courtney's blog.

Campbell

Thank you for starting each day with a sense of promise.
Thank you for always understanding when plans change and then looking for the positive.
Thank you for thinking of every new person you meet as a possible friend.
Thank you for letting dad kiss your cheeks every day.
Thank you for telling me "you never know Mom, today might be your lucky day!"
Thank you for filling a very important spot in our family.
I love you.

No More Tests!

We've had a summer full of tests and doctor appointments. We are officially DONE!

Taylor has been on a regular diet since last spring in order to do additional testing for Celiac. We found out that she does carry the gene, does not have any patch-test food allergies, does not have ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, and does not show GI features associated with typical Celiac disease. She has, however, continued to have stomach pain and has lost several pounds over the summer. At one appointment she lost a pound and fell completely off the growth chart. We were immediately taken to see the dietician where she began using diagnoses like "malnutrition" and "wasting". Boy, that makes you feel like a good mom.

After the testing was over, we put her back on the Gluten-Free diet and she immediately stopped having any GI symptoms and has been eating everything (GF) in sight. It's like flipping a switch with her. So, I'm feeling calmer and look forward to her filling out her size 8 reg jeans (we really went crazy and didn't buy slims in hope of her gaining a few pounds:).

Here's a picture of her waiting to have her last endoscopy done.

Our family knew that as soon as the biopsies were taken she was going back on a strict GF diet. Being the amazing brother that he is, Dallin had a fresh batch of GF Chocolate Chip Cookies waiting for her when she returned from the hospital. I love cookies, but they don't generally make me misty-eyed. These did.

Dallin and Cami also had to have blood tests to check for antibodies and the Celiac gene. (No antibodies at this time and we won't have the genetic results for a few more weeks). All you have to do is say "blood" and Cami starts to cry. She tried to be brave. She didn't fight against the nurses, but did get louder and louder as the needle got closer. In the end, she decided it wasn't so bad and felt proud she had survived. She wanted her brother to keep his bandage on until we got home to take a picture and he kindly obliged.

The Loaves and The Bass

Cami has a new Primary Teacher at Church. She has a fabulous sense of humor and appreciates Cami's unique perspective on life. She often stops me in the hallway to tell me something funny. This one was classic. Let me summarize:

Sis. Hansen: Today we are going to learn about when Jesus fed the multitude with only a few loaves and fishes.
Cami: (raising her hand high) I know, I know. They were Bass. I'm sure Jesus would use bass because they are the largest fish. That's how He did it.
Sis. Hansen: Well Cami, that is an interesting idea, but it was actually a miracle. (She continues with the explanation)
Cami: Oh, I get it now. But I still think that maybe they were Bass.

This wonderful teacher brought Cami a gift the next week. A custom-made pillow case covered in fish. She wanted her to remember the lesson and their wonderful discussion. She also gave Ed and I a reason to smile every time we see her pillow.

Goodbye Lola... Hello Giselle

We must bid farewell to Ed's Infinity, Lola. She has been great, but her lease is up and Ed has found a new car. We'll get to that in a minute.

Just for the record, I don't love cars (sorry Dad). They get me from point A to point B. Kids spill things in them and leave trash and muddy cleats in the back. They require far too much attention and eventually let you down when you least expect it on the side of the road. I love my Honda (Hank - yes, we've always named our cars. After all, they are part of the family). It's almost 5 years old and well broken in. I'll drive it until it's not reliable anymore, or Ed can't stand to be seen in it :)

Ed, on the other hand, LOVES cars. He loves to read about them, build them on the websites, and go and walk around car lots looking at them. He talks to other car lovers about them and enjoys every little detail about the interior design. He really loves his new car, Giselle. She's an Audi S5 and was meant to be his.

He recently got to live out a life-long dream of driving on a race track in New Jersey. (As he started to tell me how safe it was going to be I stopped him and said, "I don't want to know anything - you can tell me all about it when you return alive.") He went with some people from work and they spent the whole day driving actual racecars on the lightning track. After proving himself to the instructors, they let him take his car onto the track. He got up to speeds of 120+ mph and was thrilled he could keep pace with the racecars - he even called (hands free) Dallin so that he could talk to him while he drove a lap. (No, I'm not thrilled about any of that but Ed was absolutely giddy and is still alive, so I agreed to record it for him to look back on with joy:)

Here's a video he had someone take while driving a lap. It's kind of loud, but if you think driving fast is cool, you might enjoy it as much as Ed.