Faithful Friday

Just wanted to share a verse from my Bible reading this afternoon:

I have wandered away like a lost sheep; come and find me, for I have not forgotten your commands. Psalm 119:176

It's never too late to go running back to the Lord!  :)

Photo Card

Family Snowfall Holiday

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Another "Life in Little Hispaniola" Moment

Every year or two, inspectors come through to check the safety of our building. Yesterday was the day they came through.  Daniel and I spent Monday tidying the apartment in preparation for our visitors, and I threw dinner in the crock pot in the morning. The inspections really aren't that stressful for the residents because they're mostly just looking for safety compliance measures. Last time they checked for smoke detectors and things like that. I know our landlord will be installing carbon monoxide detectors in December.

The inspection went well. It was actually the same inspector as last time. Apparently she was trying to pick an apartment at random, because she made some joke about,"So much for picking a random apartment" when she recognized me from last time.  :)

Have you ever lived in an apartment where they conducted yearly inspections?

So, What Do You Eat Anyway? (Part 2 of 3)

Last week I told you a little bit about why we've gone gluten, casein, soy, and corn free, and explained what we eat for breakfast.  Some of you may now be wondering,"If they eat oatmeal or pumpkin bread for breakfast, what do they eat for lunch?".

The simple answer:

Leftovers.

Daniel usually takes leftovers from last night's dinner for lunch the next day.  Two days a week, I'm not home for lunch, and the other three days I am home by myself, I either don't eat lunch because I ate brunch instead, or I eat a more typical breakfast for lunch. Usually I'll fry up a couple eggs, and cook some turkey bacon in the microwave and add a piece of fruit on the side.  If we have lots of leftovers, I might eat those too.

This winter, I think I may experiment more with gluten-free, homemade soups, with a side of potato bread on the side. Oh? I haven't told you about potato bread yet?  Well, that's another recipe from the MTHFR family.  It's pretty simple, it's really just rice flour and potato flour mixed together with some water, and then rolled out and cut into circles.  Because it doesn't have any yeast in it, it doesn't rise. It's pretty much a flat bread, but it's oh so yummy with olive oil and spices on it!

Come back next week to find out what we eat for dinner!  If you eat gluten and casein-free, please leave me a comment and let me know what your favorite, inexpensive, GFCF meal is!

Managing God's Money--Car Maintenance (Part 3)

If you missed Part 1 and Part 2, you can find them here and here.

This seems to be the overarching theme of our lives right now, but guess what we're going to attempt to do today?  Yep, that's right... we're hoping to get our alignment and new tires!  :)  Daniel has the day off work, so in a few minutes we'll call the tire store and make sure they have our tires, and if they do, we'll call the mechanic and let them know we're on our way for an alignment and oil change!

How God provided the money for this is pretty spectacular. Last week, we received a newsletter from our mechanic which included a $15 off coupon for an alignment.  Daniel did some website jobs and Wordpress training earlier in the fall, and we received the checks for those just before Thanksgiving. They were just enough, after tithing, to cover our new tires, with about $5 to spare.  Then, I posted on Facebook about the good news, and mentioned we still needed some money for our alignment, and the next thing I know, one of my friends Paypal'd just enough money to cover our alignment.  We also received a small check from the hospital since our insurance made a mistake that resulted in us overpaying for an appointment. That should cover half of our oil change.  We're just in AWE of the way God has provided for this.

We ARE still praying though, because I've heard that some vehicles need an extra part added to them in order to be able to have the correct alignment. We don't know yet if our car needs that extra piece.  If it does, we won't be able to get our alignment today, and we'll need to save some more moola. But, we know that God knows, and He will take care of His car, on His timeline.

Have you seen God provide for your needs in any extraordinary ways recently?

Welcome ICLW readers!

I know I'm two days late with this, and I should have posted this on Wednesday.  You'll just have to bear with me though!

Anyway, welcome to all my new readers arriving here from ICLW! I'm happy you stopped by!  Do take a minute to read my About Me page, explore our TTC journey, and see why we went gluten-free.  And please take a minute to introduce yourself in the comments!  I'd love to hear from you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2012 has not been a fun year for us, but I'm choosing to be thankful anyway.  Some of the things I'm thankful for this year are:

1) God
2) My husband
3) My parents
4) My in-laws
5) Our siblings
6) Our nieces and nephews
7) Financial provision--As of last night... we have enough to pay for our new tires!
8) Our vehicle
9) Friends
10) Our church family
11) Food
12) Freedom


What are some things that you are thankful for?

Whew... What a Week!

We've had quite the week around here.  Things have been all mixed up this week.  Daniel works Tuesday-Saturday this week, but on Monday, his brother and sister-in-law took us shopping for some new clothes.  I'm super excited that we're going to get some nice pictures of us. We've never had professional pictures taken of us, and although the lady who will be taking our pictures next weekend isn't exactly a professional photographer, she's very talented, and she knows what she's doing.  :)

After our big shopping adventure on Monday, Tuesday continued the fun.  The MTHFR family is playing host to their grandparents this week, so I ran over there on the bus to teach R her piano lesson, and then Daniel's SIL picked me up and we hung out for most of the day, including a new haircut and style for me!  :) SIL's hairdresser will do my hair again Sunday morning before church so I'll be all ready for pictures after church!

Then, last night we went to a holiday open house, wearing our new dress clothes! We had lots of fun hanging out with our friends, as usual!  :)

So, What Do You Eat, Anyway? (Part 1 of 3)

If you haven't already done so, I would encourage you to read my MTHFR posts, as well as my account of Daniel's health issues back in July. This post will make more sense after you read those.

Since Daniel's allergies came to light, we had to switch up what we're eating. We're now pretty much a gluten-free, casein-free household. We also try to avoid corn and soy. That makes things pretty interesting!

I know many people are going gluten-free these days, but so many of the gluten-free products are cost-prohibitive, we've had to get a little inventive with what we choose to eat.  Here's a little snapshot of what we eat:

Breakfasts: Sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) we cheat on this, and we eat oatmeal for breakfast. Oats ARE technically gluten-free, but usually the more common brands have been cross-contaminated with gluten during processing. I'm hoping to switch us over to certified gluten-free oats soon. I'm still looking for someone local who is willing to split a 25-lb bag of certified gluten free oats with us though, since we don't have room to store that much right now.

If we're not eating oatmeal, we're probably eating pumpkin bread, which the MTHFR family is teaching me to make!  Some of the ingredients include: Gluten-Free Pantry Scone and Muffin mix, coconut oil, quinoa flakes, banana, pumpkin, and raisins.  The coconut oil is really good for you, and the quinoa provides some protein.  This bread is great if you pop it in the microwave for about 25 seconds before you eat it. I'll ask "T" (of the MTHFR family) if I can share the recipe with y'all soon.  I'm sure we'll be making it the first week in December.

Come back next Tuesday to find out what we eat for lunch!  :)

MTHFR Monday Round-Up!

Over the past several weeks I have blogged on Mondays about something I have been learning a lot about over the last year or so.  MTHFR will continue to be a big part of what I write about here as we continue to learn about it, how it affects our bodies, and what it means for us as we relate to each other.

Here is a summary of all the posts I wrote on MTHFR over the last several weeks:

What IS MTHFR anyway?

Why Should I Get Tested?

What are Some Symptoms of MTHFR Deficiency?

What Can Be Done?

If you have any questions about MTHFR, please ask!  I'd be happy to help you find the answers!

Faithful Friday

Fridays are a day we can look back and see what God has done in our lives over the previous week.

The verse (or chapter) that meant the most to me this week was Hebrews 11, the "faith chapter". How much more difficult were the trials they faced, than the little trivial things I have faced in my life! If they had such great faith, why can't I trust that God will do what He says He will do in my life?

I think it's because North American Christianity is pretty cushy compared to the situation that those mentioned in Hebrews 11 faced. Now, most of us draw a regular paycheck, we have a roof over our heads and food to eat. Then, they didn't have the assurance of getting paid on a regular schedule, their houses didn't protect them from the elements like ours do, and they didn't have modern conveniences to help keep food longer than a day or so! And those are all material things. What about trusting that God will work in hearts, or that He knows what's best for us? I think North American Christians tend to take for granted the blessings that God has given us, and continue on down the path to worry, stress, and doubt. We just can't see that even though we're the ones spending the money from our paychecks, God is the one who provides those paycheck. What would happen to the average North American Christian if they went into work today and discovered they had been let go from their job?

A Day Full of MTHFR

My schedule changed again this week, so today I'm going to work with the MTHFR family, and then attend a presentation about MTHFR tonight! :D Should be a good day, but I didn't sleep so well last night, and "R" had dance yesterday (cue exposure to perfumes and other icky things), so it could be an interesting day. Prayers would be appreciated.

More Good Things!

1) Remember the awesome tire deal? I thought we'd lost it after our car broke down, so I called on Saturday and talked to the guy at the shop, and he said no, we could just come in whenever we're ready and get the better tires at a cheaper price.

2) I sold another blanket on consignment in October!

3) The yarn I use is on sale at Michael's this week, so I think I'm going to head over there today and stock up!

4) Someone ordered two blankets from me!

5) Daniel has been doing some reading toward his CompTia A+ certification, and he has the opportunity to do some job shadowing on his day off. We weren't sure it was actually going to happen, but he heard this morning that the option is still on the table.

What good things has God been doing in your life lately?

Dental work

Last night I learned another lesson in trusting God. Yesterday Daniel went to a new dentist. Daniel's family has a genetic variation which makes it difficult to process anesthetics. That makes visiting the dentist, after six years of not going, very interesting. They wanted to numb him, and seemed to know about the variation, and what to use instead, even going so far as to grab their local anesthetic go-to book, and show Daniel the list of safe drugs that they use.

They ended up giving him Septocaine, which is on the list of safe drugs. However, when we got home, after spending the afternoon at the in-law's house, because Daniel was too numb to drive home, I googled Septocaine (brand name) and articaine (drug name) and discovered that articaine actually has an additional ester group added to it, and it's the esters that Daniel can't process!

The dentist did tell the first hygienist to make a note in his chart to only give him half the dose of Septocaine, but the hygienist who actually did his cleaning was a different one, and Daniel isn't sure if she gave him half a dose, or the whole dose. We'll definitely need to check on that before his next appointment in December.

Do you like going to the dentist?

MTHFR Monday--What can be done?

We were out all day today, and I forgot to write today's blog post ahead of time, so here is just a quick list of all the supplements and vitamins Daniel takes on a daily basis. :) Of course, if you have, or think you have an MTHFR defect, please work with your physician to figure out what protocol works best for you.

Twin Lab Allergy Multi (2 a day)

Kirkman Labs CoQ10 (2 a day)

Metagenics Folapro (2 a day)

Kirkman Labs Biofilm Defense (still working this schedule out)

Kirkman Labs Grapefruit Seed Extract (taken 30 minutes after the Biofilm Defense)

Kirkman Labs Pro-Bio Gold (1 a day)

The things we still need to add in are:
- Methyl-B12--This is a sublingual liquid.
- Minerals--Because he's been unable to absorb nutrients for so long, he's probably lacking a lot of minerals like zinc, magnesium, selenium, etc.
- An oil to go along with the CoQ10

Faithful Friday

Fridays are a day we can look back and see what God has done in our lives over the previous week.

The verse that came to mind this week was Matthew 10:29,"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care". If God cares so much for the little sparrows that He notices when they fall to the ground, how much more does He care for humans, who are created in His image!

I feel like I've been on a journey this week. As you probably read, if you keep up with my blog, our car died on Monday. Repairs were done on Tuesday, but to an extent that we can't afford new tires or an alignment yet. On Wednesday I discovered that there was a 30% chance of snow in the forecast for this weekend. I woke up this morning and checked... and there's no sign of snow in our forecast now. Praise God. We know He cares about our safety on the road, and He'll notice if we get into an accident, but for now, I'm choosing to claim the promise from Matthew 10:29 that He sees each sparrow that falls, and that He knows exactly what we're going through each day.

What has God taught you this week? If you've written a blog post about it, please link up below. If you'd just like to comment with what God has been teaching you, you can do that too!

Working with the MTHFR Family--Going it alone...

Yesterday was the first day I had all three kids by myself at all ever. It was only for about 10 minutes... but they were the busiest 10 minutes I've ever had! H kept himself entertained pretty well, but F and R require a little more supervision. T had a meeting at F's school, so she had to leave before her mom arrived to take R to dance. H had hockey practice in the evening, so he had to get ready for that, F had to have sweet potato french fries, and could NOT take a bath, and R needed to get ready for dance, and have something to eat and take her evening vitamins.  H and R pretty much took care of themselves, but F and I had a bit of a confrontation when he decided he wanted to take a bath.

Just at that point, Grandma rang the doorbell, but H was outside, and R is too short to unlock the deadbolt, so I had to leave F in the bathroom, run to the front door, let Grandma in, and very quickly get up the stairs back to F. Thankfully, F was dressed again by the time I got back upstairs.  So... crisis averted.

What a Crazy Day!

Yesterday was nuts. Between all the stress about the car in the morning, and all the election insanity in the evening.... I'm struggling.

I just keep reminding myself that God is still in control of both situations, and Matthew 10:29 and 2 Chronicles 7:14 are still true. God still loves me, and He still cares about what I'm going through.

I see a lot of people talking about praying for the president, and they're right. He needs our prayers now more than ever.  So... pray I will.

Will you join me in praying for our leaders?

*UPDATED* 11/6/12 Managing God's Money--Car Maintenance, Take 2!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about looking for new tires.  Well, yesterday morning... our car died.

Daniel left for work but came back almost immediately, reporting that the car wouldn't start. He was positive he didn't leave the lights on, and all our neighbors were already gone to work. He had about two minutes to get back out the door and catch the bus.

We think it may be the battery (hoping!), so we're just going to move the new tires and alignment up to today, and get everything done all in one shot. But, here's where things get really fun.

Once I realized the car would need to go to the mechanic before we could get the new tires put on, I realized that the Discount Tire in Pasco (our original plan) was now further away from the car's location than the Discount Tire in Richland. So, I called the Discount Tire in Richland, to find out if they had the tires we want in stock. The man who answered the phone turned out to be the husband of a friend of mine from church. When I explained the situation, and which tires we want, he said he didn't have them in stock, but he could give us better tires for the same price.  So, instead of 40,000 mile tires for $430, we're getting 65,000 mile tires for $422.04.  Did you catch that?  That's 25,000 more miles, for $8.00 less than what we'd expected to pay.

And shortly after I got all that arranged, a lady who just moved to town from Arizona called to see if Daniel could design her a website. I'm not sure how that's all going to pan out, but I'm choosing to take great solace in the fact that God had that lady call on the very day our car died.  :)

*UPDATE* 11/6/12

We got the car towed to the shop this morning, where we found out it was indeed the battery, and the starter.  $700 later, our emergency fund is empty, and we had just enough miscellaneous cash to cover the rest.  So... no new tires or alignment for us today.  I'll call Discount Tire tomorrow (the guy I talked to wasn't going to be in today) and let them know it may be awhile before we can come in for tires.

We're just amazed that we were able to pay for today's repairs without having to go on a payment plan. We'll just keep being faithful and frugal, and trust that God will provide the funds for the tires and alignment when He decides it's time to do them!

MTHFR Monday--What are some symptoms of MTHFR deficiency?

*UPDATE 1/15/13* If you've found my blog via Google, WELCOME! Thanks for stopping by. If you have more questions about MTHFR after reading this post, and the two linked below, please read this post and leave me a comment there, letting me know what else you'd like to know about MTHFR!

Welcome to another MTHFR Monday!

So far, we've talked about what MTHFR is and why you might want to know if you have it. Today, we're going to discuss some symptoms of MTHFR deficiency.

First, it's important to recognize that not everyone will have the same symptoms. Even people within the same family may exhibit different symptoms. That being said... here's some information about common symptoms of MTHFR deficiency.

Symptoms of MTHFR deficiency can be seen in two body systems, and exposed by one external influence, but they're all caused by a systemic issue. High homocystine levels are often a sign of MTHFR deficiency, and this is due to a lack of methylfolate, which changes homocystine into Methionine, SAMe and Glutathione.

Methionine, SAMe, and Glutathione are needed by two body systems: the central nervous system, and the cardiovascular system. 

When methionine, SAMe, and glutathione are in short supply, the effects on the central nervous system include low levels of Serotonin, Dopamine, and Norepinephrine, which can result in depression, fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, migraines, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), and memory loss with Alzheimer's and dementia

Effects on the cardiovascular system include: Heart attack, Stroke, Blood clots, Peripheral neuropathy, Anemia even Miscarriages and Congenital birth defects.  

Another common symptom area is in the realm of environmental toxins.  When not enough homocysteine gets converted into glutathione, a person will have difficulty detoxing from exposure to heavy metals in our environment. Some symptoms of heavy metal toxicity include nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, liver and kidney disfunction, rashes, hair loss, circulatory issues, and respiratory issues.

Information borrowed heavily from methyl-life.com

Faithful Friday

Fridays are a day we can look back on the previous week and reflect on the things that God has been teaching us this week.

This week has been a bit of a rough one for me. Monday I didn't feel well, Tuesday I worked with the MTHFR family, and discovered I did the wrong week of homework for my weekly Bible Study, Wednesday got off to a rough start when we forgot what day Daniel's dentist appointment was scheduled for, Thursday I worked all day, and today is Friday, the end of a long week.

In the midst of it all, I clearly could see God wanting me to understand that He wants me to find total satisfaction in Him. It's easy to look at circumstances and say,"Oh, if only this was different", or "If only I had that item we really want". But... that's not being satisfied at all. True satisfaction with ourselves, with our lives, and with each other, can only come from looking at our circumstances as God sees them, and trusting that He will provide just what we need, right when we need it.

No, I'm not discounting the difficulties our country (our world?) is facing right now, but if those of us who live in Western cultures took a good, hard look at our lives, would we REALLY be able to say that we would be satisfied with nothing but Christ?  And are those difficulties we're facing really that difficult, or are we just having difficulty with them because we're trying to take care of them on our own strength and not allowing God to be enough for us?

What has God taught you this week? If you've written a blog post about it, please link up below. If you'd just like to comment with what God has been teaching you, you can do that too!

The Anti-To Do List

On Tuesday, I wrote about trying to establish a new routine.  One of the comments I got asked if I had ever heard of the "Anti To-Do List".

I think this sounds like a great idea. No one likes to be bossed around, though having a to-do list, and getting to cross things off that list can be pretty motivating. What if we flipped that philosophy on it's head though, and started writing down the useful things that we actually get done?

Today my day would look something like this:

-  write Thursday's blog post
-  do some online housekeeping for the CFPN

What does your Anti To-Do List look like today?