True Confessions of a Food Reformer: First Course

This blog is about my family, and I've realized that there is one big part of our family that I haven't posted about here. It's food. Ever since our oldest daughter was born with food allergies, what we're going to eat is what I think about when I wake up every morning and what keeps me up at night. As we've added more kids and more allergies to the clan that responsibility has grown as fast as my kids do - most days I can hardly keep up! Since it's such a factor in my everyday, it's about time I start sharing some of what I'm learning.

Though we've dealt with food allergies for the better part of the last 14 years,  it was about three years ago that my concern for my family's health really skyrocketed. Among the 5 of us we struggled with everything from food intolerances, chronic stomach aches, and hypoglycemia, to ADHD, eczema and skin irritations, and my high-risk pregnancy, just for starters. I was thoroughly overwhelmed. Trying to sort through the "ifs" and "whats"of each situation had my head spinning and while I was appreciative of the medications available to help alleviate some of our symptoms, I felt uneasy relying solely on them when I wasn't clear about the roots of our problems.

I waded through websites, appointments, specialists, conversations, and trial-and-error phases and I didn't seem to be getting anything but more overwhelmed. Finally one morning, after yet another visit to the corner pharmacy, I came to a breaking point. Weighed down with discouragement and fraught with good old genuine worry, I sat in the parking lot and cried. Hey, I was pregnant, remember? Even so, I simply did not know what to do. I didn't know all the answers and I didn't know how to find them. I sat there asking, "How am I supposed to fix all these problems when I don't really even understand them?"Then it came to me. Maybe I didn't understand all the medical ins and outs of our needs, but I did understand food. I understood that wholesome, simple, healthy food is better than processed food, and that the more nutrients a body receives from food, the more equipped that body is to grow and heal.

As soon as I considered that concept the more obvious the solution became to me - we needed to change the way we were eating. The time had come for an honest evaluation of our family diet and I didn't like what I saw. When my oldest was at the height of her food allergy reactions I made nearly everything we ate from scratch and monitored every ingredient. She later outgrew most of those allergies, coincidentally the same time I began struggling with an autoimmune condition. I considered it a huge relief to be able to rely on frozen foods, boxed foods, and take-out to keep my family full when my inflammation and fatigue had me down for the count. Later, even though my condition improved, carpool, homework, and after-school activities swallowed up my time and quick-fix meals continued to dominate my menus. Sitting in that pharmacy parking lot that day I realized I had drifted too far from our home cooked "allergy" diet and it was time to correct course. Maybe I couldn't fix every health problem we had but I could fix healthy, wholesome meals and start from there.

Although I was absolutely convinced we needed to make some changes, I wasn't ready to wage a full-scaled food revolution overnight. Let's face it, my kids were not going to go from frozen pizza to fresh peas without a fight. I had to decide what my goals were and how to break them down into a series of gradual changes. My objective would be to rid our meals of processed foods and replace them with homemade meals made from whole grains, natural meats, and organic produce. We also needed a serious reduction in our sugar consumption.

The first thing I did was talk the whole plan over with my husband. Change like this had to be a combined effort and I needed a co-captian to help me ward off mutiny from the crew. He was fully on board, so I charted course and set sail. My plan included re-introducing fruits and vegetables to our meals, learning more about food sources, transitioning pre-made foods out of our diet, adding new, whole grains to menu, and cutting down sugar.

I'll elaborate more on each phase of the plan in detail later, but I can tell you right now the common theme for me in this endeavor has been learn, learn, learn. When we started down this road I felt like it was me against the world. It seemed like everywhere I looked there was food within reach, but not the wholesome meals I was grasping for. I considered one meal, or one item in one meal a success if it met the criteria of our new diet and my family ate it willingly. I've since built up a repertoire of recipes, one by one, and I'm more efficient in preparing them. There are still busy days, sick days, lazy days, and fun days where we find ourselves in the drive-thru line or at the mercy of the pizza delivery man, but those days are the exception, not the norm. Our "new diet" is no longer a novelty, but is simply "the way we eat."

Two years after our food reform began our allergy sufferers were suffering less, our eczema and skin irritations decreased,  and we started sleeping better. My husband combined his food choices with consistent exercise and lost nearly 40 pounds. We've made more changes since then, and we're still working to improve. Improving our meals also improved our mealtime. We spend more time in the kitchen together, and my children are learning to really cook. More importantly they are learning to choose foods that will give their bodies a better shot at being healthy. I'm not claiming to know all the answers but I've come a long way from that teary eyed day in the parking lot. Now instead of feeling helpless I feel that I'm helping; helping our family become stronger, healthier, and fuller in more ways than one.

I really appreciate all the recipes and information I've collected from other people along the way, so I'm going to start using this blog as my shout out to the other allergy moms out there, and anyone else who needs some food strategy reinforcement now and then. Recipes will follow soon, and in the meantime, carry on warriors!

Traditions

When I was growing up we had a tradition where my mom helped us each make gifts for our grandparents and family. It was a lot of work for her to come up with something for each of us to do and then help us make them but she stuck it out. I still remember some of the gifts that I made; yarn angels, stenciled doilies, cross-stitched ornaments, and woven letter holders. Even more I remember that I felt important when we visited my grandparents and some of the things I made were on display.

Now I try to help my kids make small gifts for my grandparents and my parents. Thanks to the internet it's not too hard coming up with ideas, but it's a little bit of a job to try and get them done. We enjoy it though, and it's one of the many times when I ask myself, "How did my mom do this with so many of us??" In past years we've done snowflake sun-catchers, tissue paper candle holders, chocolate covered pretzels, different kinds of felt ornaments, and cinnamon sachets to name a few. This year I worked our gift making tradition into one of our Sunday afternoon activities. Each child received a gift bag and in it was a kit with all the supplies to make a gift for their great-grandmother.

Madeleine etched an original design onto a glass cup and added sparkles to make a candle holder. Beth pieced together a hot pad made from Christmas fabric. Mary stitched a heart shaped ornament with yarn on plastic canvas, and Gabe glued red, white, and green pompoms to a paper candy cane. I was so intent on finishing and wrapping the gifts I forgot to take a picture of the completed items, but they turned out cute. Madeleine was especially gracious when, after she spent hours working on a custom design for her candle holder, I dropped it in the driveway while I was carrying the gifts into the house and it shattered before anyone opened it. I felt so bad but she forgave me and said she didn't want everyone to see it anyway:)

Some time in the 80's the Dollar Store came to be and a new tradition was born for us kids. My mom took us there to do our Christmas shopping for each other and we would all run around with our coats covering our baskets and trying to avoid each other in the aisles. You may not think it, but some of the most appropriate gifts only cost 100 pennies. For example, one year my brother gave me a bottle of hairspray - if you were around in the 80's you know why I appreciated that. Another brother gave me a paperback cookbook that I still have and in it is the recipe for one of my husband's favorite desserts. When I was in college my brother gave me a pizza pan and I still cook pizza on one just like it. Then there was the pair of zebra striped leggings that didn't quite fit me but somehow managed to make an appearance in a high school skit...and I wasn't the one wearing them.

Now I take my kids to the Dollar store every December and they scurry around with coat-covered baskets, whispering to each other and then avoiding each other while they pick out presents for everybody. One year they gave me a photo album, "because you take so many pictures," and a notebook because, "you're always saying, 'I need to write that down'." Last year I got a calendar of lighthouse photos to remind me of my favorite places on the east coast. This year I got a collection of angel figurines and the one from Beth is playing the violin since she started violin lessons this year. The kids pass out their dollar store and homemade gifts for us all on Christmas Eve.  It's my favorite part of Christmas.

Every year December gets busier and busier and sometimes some of our traditions get put aside for next year, and sometimes new traditions evolve as our family grows and changes. There are some I won't let go of though because they mean something to me beyond finding a fun way to celebrate.

When speaking of family traditions Elder Donald L. Hallstrom said:

"Traditions, established patterns of behavior transmitted from generation to generation, are an inherent part of culture. Our culture and its related traditions help establish our sense of identity and fill the vital human need to belong.

Of traditions which are complementary to the gospel of Jesus Christ, Paul admonished the Thessalonians, “Therefore, … stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught” (2 Thes. 2:15). ... traditions remind us of the strength and sacrifice of our ancestors and inspire our efforts."

( Cultivate Righteous Traditions, General Conference, Oct. 2000)

I feel very blessed to have fond memories of positive family traditions and I'm grateful for the continuity and unity that they brought into our family growing up. It's truly a pleasure to pass them on to my own children and to create memories with traditions of our own. I think the opportunity to do so during Christmas is one of the many gifts this season brings. What are your favorite traditions? I'd love to hear.

The Man Who Saved Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas for our family crew,
and we were all on the couch, sick with the flu.
Our fevers were raging and we were coughing real bad. 
The only ones still standing were Madeleine and Dad. 

Mom tried to make dinner like she'd planned in her head,
But Dad intervened and sent her to bed.
He called for Madeleine and they went to the store. 
They got everyone's favorite foods and a little bit more.

They laid out a picnic and turned a great movie on.
The kids started smiling and so did their mom.
After the show we gave gifts to each other.
We sang Christmas carols one after another.

We read of the star and how angels sang,
Of the wise men that traveled, and the shepherds that came.
We read of the Savior and how through His birth
Came salvation and joy to all people on earth. 

We may have been sick and been feeling real bad,
But Christmas was saved, thanks to our Dad. 
He came our rescue, he made everything right.
Christmas was merry for all and we all had a good night. 

It's a true story. The kids and I were too sick to do anything but move from the couch to our beds and back again on Christmas Eve, but Luke and Madeleine took care of everything and we had a nice cozy evening at home together. It's the only Christmas morning that I insisted on taking everyone's temperatures before we went downstairs but, aside from the fevers, the morning went off without a hitch. After we all "Advilled up" we pulled ourselves together enough to enjoy the afternoon with Luke's family.

Opening their gifts to each other

 Christmas Eve pajamas

 Reading with Dad

 Christmas morning before...

 During...

 and after

 Mary made sure Santa got his cookies, and it looks like he enjoyed them!

I hope you all had a great Christmas and wish you a happy, healthy New Year.

It Wouldn't Be Christmas...

Without kids wearing tinsel and towels on their heads.

 Our church held a nice Christmas dinner and all the kids participated in a nativity complete with costumes, props, and singing. Gabe was a star but insisted he was a shepherd so that's what we had to call him to get him into his costume. Beth and Mary were angels and they sang like it.

After the dinner and program a special visitor showed up to surprise the kids. Mary was too shy to sit on his lap but was still willing to whisper what she wanted for Christmas.

 Gabe wasn't shy at all and told Santa he wanted a Spider Man toy, an iron man costume, a Superman and an airplane.

When he hopped down he looked at his candy cane and then said bewildered, "He didn't give it to me mom. I told him what I wanted but he didn't give it to me." A friend standing with me knealt down and explained that the way it works is we tell Santa what we want, he brings it when we're asleep on Christmas Eve, and when we wake up Christmas morning, there it is! Gabe listened wide-eyed and then said, "Awwwwesoooome!" He was content with his candy cane after that.

It was a really nice event and a lot of people did a lot of work to make it happen. We're lucky to be able to celebrate with great friends and neighbors.

A Month of Sundays

Each Sunday this month we've opened a present after church - something for all of us to do together to make our day a little more special and bring some Christmas spirit to our Sunday afternoons.

Week 1

Our special gift for the day was this movie:

It was cute, clean, and very Christmasy. I didn't know it when I bought it, but it was filmed at Heritage Park where we volunteer during the summer. We all sat up and shouted at once when we recognized the house where we give tours and the places that the kids play. The film was inspired by a true story and I would say I found it inspiring. 

Week 2

What's in these bags? If I told you now it would ruin someone else's Christmas surprise so you'll have to wait and see...

But when we were finished with what was inside we made "Christmas Pizza" shaped like gingerbread men and candy canes.

While we ate, we watched the  Christmas Devotional presented by the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This annual broadcast is one of my favorite Christmas events. Messages of Christ and His gospel are shared and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs. It sets the tone for the whole season. If you missed it you can watch it by clicking the link above.

Week 3
Did you have an advent calendar like this when you were little? I did, and me and my siblings took turns taking the little felt ornament out of it's pocket and snapping it onto the tree to count down for Christmas. So...

when I saw this kit to make something similar I snatched it up to be our special gift of the week.

 The kids put together all 25 ornaments and I started stitching the main piece.

Too bad I didn't see this the for the first week of December or we might've finished it in time to really use it. For now we're hanging the ornaments on our Christmas tree until until the rest of the sewing is finished, and then we'll have this advent calendar to keep and be a count-down tradition for us every year from now on.


Week 4
And here we are on the last Sunday before Christmas. After a beautiful church service full of music and testimony this morning, we snuggled down at home and opened our last Sunday gift;  a Gingerbread Village kit. We like to do gingerbread houses every year and this kit gave them each their own little house to decorate. There were five in the box, but Gabe broke his into pieces and ate it while he decorated the extra one. (A word of advice; these kits tend to run a little short on frosting and candy. We use some of our own Christmas candy and make up a batch of Royal icing to add to it.)

 The girls worked intently on the details of their houses. Madeleine did some fondant work, Beth made a little penguin to live in hers and Mary hung icicles from her roof. It's our own little North pole.

Then we popped popcorn and watched "A Christmas Carol" and now we're headed off to bed. I'm grateful for special days like these to share with my children in anticipation of Christmas. I hope this month is something they'll remember all year long.

Christmas Garden

I love to Garden. Love it. Sometimes when I can't sleep at night I imagine I'm planting a garden and plan out everything I would plant and where I would put it.  Then I can't sleep because I'm too excited  about gardening. Herbs, vegetables, fruit, flowers, it doesn't matter - I like them all. If  there was enough time in the day or enough dirt in my yard I would plant them all.

It will be months before I can grow vegetables to bring to the dinner table, but thanks to some great gifts from thoughtful friends I have a Christmas garden growing right on my table. These pretty plants are keeping me company while the world outside is frozen white.  Thanks to them I'm growing some Christmas cheer!

Shoe Day

The Army took my family to Germany twice; once before I was born and again when I was in High School. In Germany Christmas is a really big deal and it is beautiful! Christmas markets, Christmas decorations, Christmas foods... Because of the opportunity we had to live there, I grew up celebrating some German traditions at Christmas time, even though we have no German heritage, and I've passed them on to my kids.

One of our favorite traditions is "Shoe Day,"other wise known as St. Nicholas Day. Every year on the night of December 5 we leave our shoes in front of the door and when we wake up they are filled with treats and small gifts.

This year instead of filling our shoes, St. Nicholas opted to swap them for some cozy slippers and filled them with candy and cocoa mix.  It was perfect timing since it has been snowy with freezing temperatures lately, but thanks to St. Nicholas our feet have been warm and snug in our slippers while we sip cocoa by the fire.

Another element of German Christmas that I love is our wooden German pyramid. Some people say these wooden pyramids are the predecessor to the Christmas tree. It has a few different levels and on each level stand little figurines that depict the nativity. It spins, powered by the heat of several candles. Tonight we set it up and sang Christmas carols as we watched it go around and, as my daughter said, "it was quite a lovely evening."

I love the different traditions that bring us closer as a family while we celebrate Christ's birth. What are some of the traditions that your family shares, and where do they come from? All the many different traditions from many different places  can remind us of the same truth; that Christ is the Savior of us all. Spending time together and showing love for each other helps us feel His love and brings His spirit into our hearts and homes. What a wonderful reason to celebrate!

Frohe Weihnachten!

I Am Grateful for Doing Dishes

Being Thanksgiving everybody is talking about things they are grateful for. Today after lunch it occurred to me that one of the things I am grateful for is something I don't even like very much. Doing dishes. Dishes and I have never gotten along very well.  Repeitive, messy, and NEVER ENDING, I can think of any number of other things I would rather do, even in the realm of housework, than wash dishes. So why be grateful for it? Well, for one thing having a sink full of dirty dishes means you just had a full meal and that is truly something to be grateful for. But that's not it. Another reason might be a sink full of dirty dishes means you HAVE dishes - and a sink to put them in - and running water to wash them with. All things to to be grateful for, and I am, but that's not it either. Nope, this gratitude comes from a lesson that was long in the learning but hopefully not short in forgetting. 

About eight years ago my body started breaking down and I didn't know why. Small things became hard things and hard things kept getting harder. The harder things got, the less worthwhile doing them seemed to be. I left the grocery cart full of groceries in the aisle and went home empty handed because I was too tired to finish the shopping. I put my wet hair in a pony tail because the hair dryer was too heavy to hold up that long. I avoided leaving the house because the car seats seemed too hard to buckle and the diaper bag felt too heavy to carry. I remember standing at the sink trying to do dishes and stopping every few minutes to lay down because it hurt too much to stand that long. So I stopped cooking, and I stopped cleaning up. Somewhere in there I stopped smiling. I stopped playing with my children and started lying to them, pretending that giving them extra minutes of TV time was a "treat" when really it was a ruse so I could go lay in bed with the lights off and the blinds closed. Extra minutes turned to hours and while I lay there, leaving them unattended, I started lying to myself, telling myself that they didn't notice, that they didn't miss me, that they didn't need me anyway. Inflammation, fatigue, dizziness, blurred vision, left-sided weakness, and muscle spasms crept in and made themselves at home while my home went unkept and my children unattended and left me in the middle of it feeling frustrated, embarrassed, confused, and very, very sad. 

I don't know what I would've done without my husband. The thought of him helped me rally every day and the sight of him coming home in the evening lifted my heavy heart. I am inexpressibly grateful for him. With his help and support, I sought medical attention in all kinds of places which led to tests for brain tumors and Multiple Sclerosis and lots of late nights wondering "why?" and "what if?" Those tests came back negative (thank goodness) and then life became a carousel of physical therapy appointments and a roller coaster of health practioners for the next seven years. During that time we were blessed to find wonderful nannies who helped me do what I couldn't on my own and had a positive impact in my children's lives. I am grateful for their support and influence. Meanwhile my children were angels who walked beside me and helped me bring my smile back. I am grateful for their examples of forgiveness and unconditional love. 

Now here I am, in my kitchen, standing at the sink, washing the dishes. Earlier I shopped for our groceries and cooked our meal. Later I'll pick the kids up from school and help them with their homework. I am stronger. I am healthier. I am happier. I have seen miracles that brought me to this point.  And I. Am. Grateful. I am grateful that I didn't have a brain tumor. I am grateful that I don't have MS. I am grateful that I have a husband who saw me through heavy hearted times and loves me more for it. I am grateful for beautiful children that fill my soul with pervading love at the sound of their laugh and the sight of them sleeping. I am grateful that I can take care of them. I am grateful that my life is full of everyday normal things and that I am here to embrace it. I am grateful for doing dishes.

In the Morning - 12/14/12

In the morning I groan when I hear the alarm go off - I'm not a morning person. We gather the kids, say family prayer, and send them still bleary to brush their teeth and get ready for school. I make breakfast, they pack their lunches, we drive the 25 minute commute to school.

Our Friday morning was a carbon copy of our every other normal school day morning, but across the country the school day morning at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut was shattered by gun fire, violence, and terror. A school shooting, 28 dead. Children, families, communities devastated in minutes.  Our everyday morning became an afternoon of mourning.

In considering this tragedy I found comfort in these words:
"When Christ rose from the grave, becoming the firstfruits of the Resurrection, He made that gift available to all. And with that sublime act, He softened the devastating, consuming sorrow that gnaws at the souls of those who have lost precious loved ones.

I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross.  It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow that gnawed at the souls of those who loved and honored the Son of God.

But the doom of that day did not endure.

The despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind. And in an instant the eyes that had been filled with ever-flowing tears dried. The lips that had whispered prayers of distress and grief now filled the air with wondrous praise... 

Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come. No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come." Joseph B. Wirthlin: Sunday Will Come

I celebrate Christmas because I believe that Christ was born on earth and lived as the Son of God. I believe He gave His life on the cross and became the Savior of all mankind. I believe that on Easter morning He was resurrected and because of that all of us will also be resurrected and reunited with our loved ones. And in that day, like on the morning of Christ's resurrection, there will be joy where there was sorrow. 

I ache for those who will spend nights of anguish and emptiness as they mourn this tragedy.  I pray they will remember when they face Christmas without their children, that because of Christmas, they will have their children again, and that because of Christ, "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."Psalms 30:5

Memory Lane

We were driving a long distance home from a Christmas party and saw an impressive display of Christmas lights. When I pointed them out to the kids Mary replied, "I can't look now because I'll mess up on my game." The girls had their heads down playing games on my phone and the following conversation ensued:

Beth: "Mom, did they have Pac-Man when you were little?"

Mom: "Sure. I remember when Pac-Man first came out. Dad and I were little when video games were invented."

Beth: " You WERE?"

Luke: "Yeah, and we had to play them on the TV."

Mom: (Playing up the drama) And when we watched TV, there was NO REMOTE. If you wanted to change the channel or turn up the volume, you had to get up, walk over, and do. it. yourself."

Girls: "Ugggghhhhh!"

Luke: "You know, when we were your age personal computers were a new thing. People were just starting to get them."

Girls: "Really??"

Mom: "And NO ONE had cell phones."

Mary: "WHAT?!?!?"

Mom: "We were born before the internet was invented."

Luke: "Way before!"

Girls: "WHOA!!!"

(Momentary pause while they processed what absolute relics their parents are)

Beth: "You must've played outside a lot more than we do."

Mom: "Very true Beth. Very true..."

Say What?

Things I never quite imagined I'd say as a parent:

When they were toddlers: "it is not ok to lick a toilet"

When they were pre-schoolers: "Please get the baby's feet out of your mouth. Now get your feet out of your mouth.

Now that they are school-age: "The next person to sing a Selena Gomez song owes me 15 minutes of extra chores..."

And today pulling in the driveway: "Did someone stick a wad of cheese wax on my rose bushes?"

Lose and Win

Today is one of those days when I am sitting here buried under the proverbial mountain of things to be done and feeling like a total loser because I haven't managed to do them (and seeing as how I'm still sitting here that situation isn't likely to change soon). I'm wondering why my house is a mess when I'm pretty sure I've already cleaned it abut 4,235 times and how come my children can't seem to remember to brush their teeth or clear their plates even though I've told them to at least as many times as I've cleaned the house. Then there's my dear old blog that has been sitting deserted for the past ten months, while all the photos snapped during that same time period are still on the camera, and the camera is - somewhere around here. Never mind the stack of other hobbies and home improvement projects lurking in the corners. What happened to that woman who used to willingly put her best foot forward, devise and execute a plan for the day, and accomplish something?

Oh wait. She had a baby. Yup. An absolutely adorable, heart-stoppingly cute, charm-your-socks-off-with-sweetness, realign the center of my universe, baby boy. He stole our hearts last October and nothing has been the same day or night since. (I will gladly show you lots of pictures of him, as soon as I find my camera, remember to charge the battery, get around to downloading them to computer, and eventually upload them to the blog) Add that to the three energetic, creative, expressive, clever, growing girls home all day and it adds up to a semi-supressed whirlwind that we happily call "this time of life." I wouldn't trade it, not for a clean house or a finished project or a quiet moment. Ok, maybe for a quiet moment, but not very many because I don't want to miss out.

It occurred to me this morning that while four children keep me reaching with both hands and both feet in opposite directions at the same time I have never wished for fewer children, only for more hands. It is true that I lose my keys, my patience, and the better part of my mind on daily basis, but with one look of their bright eyes my children completely win me over.

For Grandma and Grandpa: two weeks

We went for his two week check-up and he measured in at 8 lbs 13 oz and 20."

I let Aunt Lynn, Super Nurse, be the bad guy who held him down for shots and I did the cuddling afterwards. He had his first bath before we left and he and I slept a lot after we got home. Lynn is taking good care of us and we are all doing well.

One Week and Wide-Eyed

One week already. The days went by so fast and yet life before Gabe was here already seems far away. He has been all the joy we thought he would be, and then some. His sisters are completely smitten and never miss an opportunity to hold him, kiss him, or help care for him. It is delightful to watch them surround their brother with such enthusiastic love. Luke hasn't left my side all week. He has done EVERYTHING involving the girls and the house so that I didn't have to lift a finger and I am recovering well because of it, but just having him home has been a strength and a comfort in itself. I've been living in a bliss-filled bubble and though "real life" is bound to catch up with me soon, I expect to keep floating. There's not much that could bring me down with these eyes looking up at me!

Too Blessed For Words