Double Whammy!

Poor Jedidiah! Not only has he been suffering this week from allergies, he now has strep throat. We think he may have picked it up at the clinic when we were having him treated for allergies. Seems like every time we take him in, he comes back with something more. I carry hand wash with me and try to hold him the entire time we are there but he still manages to pick up nasty germs! =(

He has been doing a lot of this!

He has been very irritable (who wouldn't be..he can't breath well and it hurts to swallow) so there are very few things he likes to do right now. Thankfully, he still likes finger painting at bath time and the warm water seems to help his nose unclog.

Bless his little heart! He looks so pitiful here on the couch watching Max and Ruby.

Since the girls were on spring break this week, I had several projects lined up. While Jed watched tv and napped, we managed to completely organize all their closets/clothes/shoes/dressers, moving out their winter clothes and making way for their summer clothes. The project didn't take as long as I thought. First, we took every-single-thing out of their closets and dressers and dumped it in the living room. It looked like a HUGE mountain of clothes and shoes and belts and purses.....tons of stuff!! Then we vacuumed the closets, wiped out the dressers and started sorting and organizing. Josh hauled three large bags of stuff to the local salvation army store and I sorted and boxed the rest for yard sales or next year. Reagon and I drug this old dresser we no longer use to the living room. It was part of Kendall's old Jenny Lind nursery set I bought 8+ years ago. It was white so of course, I had to paint it black! LOL I am working on it now and as soon as it is finished, I'll post pics.

Jed is so tired of taking medicine. He heard me getting his allergy medicine ready...look where I found him. He really thought he was hiding from me. I just had to snap a picture! LOL

I already have these little tags for Jed's diaper bags. Looks like I may have to start carrying even MORE allergy medicine. Sure hope the pollen goes away soon so Jed can play outside again.

Sick baby

I have several things I want to post about but with a sick baby at home, everything is on hold.

Jed has been miserable this week. MISERABLE. Josh took him to the dr on Monday and Dr Heinemann said he is highly allergic to pollen. He lost his voice, coughs nonstop and has such an awful wheezing sound. Josh and I take turns sitting up at night with him because we can't possible sleep with him wheezing and coughing and gagging. He is a little better today (thankfully no fever today) so hopefully he will be breathing better soon.

His allergist told me that most children with food allergies have other allergies as well. Looks like pollen is going to be bad for Jed.

How in the world do you live in Arkansas among hundreds of trees and keep away from pollen?

Hope everyone has a good weekend. Back soon with some posts about our Third Day concert, spring break and some projects I'm working on.

What $15 will get you at a book fair.....

Not a whole lot, I'll tell you that.

Every year when the book fair rolls into town, I give the girls $5 each to pick out something. Usually they come home with a poster or a set of glitter pencils or some other over-priced item. This year, Kendall came home begging and pleading with all she had in her for $15. I told her that we always give $5 and I was sure she could find something. She WOULD NOT quit asking for $15. She was so desperate that she broke open her piggy bank and counted out $3 in pennies. That left her begging and bargaining for the remaining $12. She raked leaves, folded clothes, cleaned out my car, and numerous other odd jobs for the money. I couldn't wait to see what $15 would buy.

Should have known it would have something to do with a monkey! LOL I'm almost certain you can buy this monkey and book at the Dollar Tree....oh well. She is happy and she earned the money to buy it. I'm really glad the book fair doesn't come around that often.

Ball season is over

Reagon's basketball season is over. She had a great time this year and did a really good job.
Now we are preparing for several ball camps this summer.

Here are some pics from her last game....

I never did manage to bring myself to yell "Go Lions"......maybe next year.

Triple the Fun

Last weekend while Misti and Jerry attended a funeral, I kept Sophie at Nanny and Poppi's house. We picked up Taylor to join in on the fun. I can honestly say, we had a blast. It was nice to have the three of them all to myself. They were so much fun and I enjoyed listening to them interact with each other.
At snack time I filled up coffee filters with cheerios and fruit pieces. Below they are saying their "pwayer".

I love this picture! Sophie is smiling while holding Jed's face toward the camera!!! So cute!

Craft time! No, I am not the worlds worst aunt for letting Taylor Ann cut her bangs except for one small piece down the center. She did that a few weeks before at her house! LOL I only let them play with one pair of scissors at a time so I could keep a close watch on them. You can tell Jed is tired of waiting for his turn! LOL

Watching Nanny and Poppi's red birds and the neighbors cat play on the tree in the front yard.

What a fun toy room!

Cooking time! I picked up these adorable aprons at the Dollar Tree. They looked so sweet.

This actually kept them entertained for over an hour.

I was afraid I wouldn't get my camera out in time when I saw them sitting like this in the floor.

Finally Nap time...they didn't actually sleep but they did stay still for a while during ICarly.

So much fun! I can't wait to keep them again.

What touching a peanut can do to Jed.....

These pictures were taken SEVEN HOURS after he was released from the hospital.

Peanut Allergy Test Results

Before leaving on Tuesday morning for Jed's allergy appt, I heard Josh saying "NO, Jed...that is RayRays....boys don't do that". I walked into her room to find Jed trying to use her Chi iron. Josh begged me not to take a picture but it was just too cute!

What a big boy! 34 lbs

Dressed in his St Pattys Day green..not excited about being at the dr

His favorite peanut-free place to eat...Mc Donalds. When we left the dr appt he started saying "chicken peas" (Chicken, please).

His Happy Meal toy kept him entertained on the way home (clinging to the sunroof in the car)

Thankfully, we didn't have to do the needle stick test this time around. Instead, they did a scratch test. All levels were the same...off the chart on peanut/tree nuts and mild soy. The doctor said he thinks he is not allergic to soy at all but that the peanut allergy is so high, it spills over to the soy area of the test. VERY high allergy.

After going over all the test results, I asked Dr France about all the new medical info concerning peanut allergies in the news from Duke Univ. He smiled and said "I knew you were going to ask". He said that Dr Wesley Burk, the chief allergist at Duke heading up this study, is from Little Rock....a good friend and former coworker of his. He said the testing was done at Duke and at Arkansas Childrens Hospital. I didn't realize that when I heard it on the news. Anyway, he said they had received hundreds of calls/letters/emails (especially in the last few days) from parents all over the US wanting their child to participate in this study. He said it would take 3-4 years for this new treatment to be available to the general public. Then he looked at me and said "want some good news?". He then told me that he had placed Jed on the list for the next round of testing!!!! He said because Jed is his youngest allergy patient and with the highest levels and because Jed is already a patient, he should be picked to participate. We went over everything involved and Dr France (40+years in allergy at Childrens) was very positive about this testing, saying that he couldn't think of a single reason not to do this other than the drive to LRock. I then had to give my permission for Jed to be eligible. Dr France said the children in the first study had the same levels as Jed (not able to even touch a peanut to their tongue) and now 2 years later they are able to eat 15 peanuts at a time without a reaction. The testing starts in the fall and if Jed is chosen to participate, this could make his first years of school much less stressful. I panic thinking about someone sharing food with him on the bus or in the lunch room. With these new findings, he could accidentally get a hold of peanuts and be ok. Wow..that would be wonderful!!

Please be in prayer for us that Jed is chosen to do this study.

To read more about this study:::::

http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20090315/NEWS/903151986?Title=Duke-doctors-developing-peanut-allergy-treatment

Yearly Allergy Appt

Does this look like a child who wants 18 tiny allergy needles stuck in his back today??? Bless his heart...I hope it goes as quick as it did last time.
He is smiling because he knows Momma will go to Walmart after his appt to pick out a new toy!

Today is Jed's yearly allergy appt. Perfect timing since peanut allergy info has been on the news and in the paper the last couple of days. I clipped an article to take with me to the allergist. They are finding that tiny tiny bits of peanut flower given to the children daily (by the doctors or with their direction) can help build the tolerance for peanuts...up to 15 peanuts at a time in some kids before a reaction. This would be soooo wonderful since even smelling peanuts cooking (baking pbutter cookies for example) can cause a reaction in Jed. He will (probably) never be able to eat peanut butter sandwiches but if he accidentally got a piece in his mouth without us knowing, this could be a real life saver...literally! We do everything possible to keep him away from peanuts/peanut products. We label everything, have tags on diaper bags, have clothing badges with "SEVERE FOOD ALLERGIES" noted on them, carry epipens in purses/bags/vehicles, know what restaurants cook in peanut oil (no Chick-fil-A or Coltons for us), monitor everything that we bring into the house and make sure everyone around him is aware of his allergy. Thankfully, we have never had to use his emergency epipens and pray that we never have to. But accidents do happen. We watch him like a hawk but on Sunday morning Josh noticed him walking around church with candy in his mouth. When we finally tracked down the giver, a sweet old man had given him some Werthers candy. We know 99% of items with peanuts/peanut oil but I had no idea about Werthers so Jed spit it out and we watched him very close for the next hour...no reaction but that was scary! Takes only one second to give a child something that could stop his breathing.

Please say a prayer for us today that we will get a good report from the allergist. Hoping his allergy has weakened a bit or better yet, that the Lord has taken the allergy away completely.

Girls Night Out

Friday night was girls night out! Reagon invited Casey to go with us to Hot Springs for a night of shopping and fun. We let Reagon pick the restaurant since her birthday was last week. She first chose Rod's Pizza Cellar but we were all a little tired of pizza, them Outback but the line was horrible so we ended up going to Chilis. She loves their baby back ribs but she usually eats so many she makes herself sick. lol After Chili's we went to the mall for a full night of shopping. She had her birthday money with her and I *tried* to let them shop without me but I always stayed close enough to keep my eyes on them. Thankfully, they didn't seem to mind hanging out with me. I know that won't last much longer the older they get but for now I'm loving it. After the mall we stopped by Walmart to pick up a few groceries and a couple snacks for the drive home. Josh and the two little ones stayed the night at Memaw Vicie's house so we ended up having the house to ourselves. The girls stayed up very late playing Wii and I crashed from a long night of shopping...next time remind me to wear Nikes, not heels! We slept till 10am the next morning and I woke up just in time to snap a picture of the girls in their new shirts before Casey left to go home. I'm already looking forward to another girls night out.

(((( in case you don't speak text talk...BFFL is best friends for life! LOL ))))

Watch out for the queen ant!

Oh my goodness. Kendall Elizabeth has been saying and doing some of the funniest things lately. I can't even remember all of them but I wanted to get at least a couple wrote down so I wouldn't forget.

A couple weeks or so ago when we were looking outside at the snow flakes falling, I said "WOW...the groundhog was right. He said we would get more winter". As serious as she could be, she looked over at Josh and said "Why would anyone talk to a groundhog?" I thought I would die laughing!

I think we have watched Napoleon Dynamite way too many times in this house. A couple weeks ago I asked Kendall to take some food scraps out to Caramel (choc lab) while she was out on the back deck. Kendall took the bowl, opened the back door and yelled "Come here Tina you fat lard...get some supper". I swear I was laughing so hard I was crying. (If you've never watched Napoleon Dynamite this will make absolutely no sense, but if you have it's hilarious!!)

Last night after taking a bath, Kendall came into my room and said "Mom, I have been bit by an ant and I'm pretty sure it was the queen ant." I tried so hard to not laugh at her because she was so serious.

Today Kendall came home with her work from last week. They are working on "word families". One sheet asked for two words in the "oat" family.....she wrote goat and float.
The other sheet asked for two words in the "end" family......she wrote bookend and rearend! LOL

Silly Kids!

I think I have figured out where Jedidiah gets his love for running around in the buff. As soon as I saw him outside on his fourwheeler with nothing but boots on, I immediately remembered Kendall doing this so I had to get a snapshot.

at least she had a diaper on in her pic...this was her 3rd birthday gift so she was a little older than Jed in this shot...look at those cute curls!

Beautiful weekend

We had a super busy weekend. Friday night we had a change of plans due to a horrible pinched nerve in my back. Thankfully, it is almost 100% better now. On Saturday, Reagon played a great ballgame at Mt Ida vs Oden. She felt so much better than the weekend before. She & Kendall also enjoyed a fun weekend at Newhope celebrating Reagon's 12th birthday. She came home with a bag full of gifts.

After the game, Jed and I visited my grandparents and then made our way to Nanny and Poppi's house for the afternoon. Misti and Alissa came over with Sophie and Taylor and all the little ones played together. I didn't have my camera with me so no cute pics. I wish I would have because they all look so cute together. Most of the time they play well together too except for a few minor spats. At one point, we heard Taylor Ann screaming and crying from the playroom. When we made it to her, she was red faced with tears streaming down her little cheeks and holding her finger. Sophie Lauren looked at Jed and said "Brother...u need to kiss it".....talking about Taylor's finger!! LOL We are not sure what happened but it looked like "brother" bit her finger although he walked around saying "No I not"! LOL My parents watched Jed for a couple hours on Saturday so I could visit with some of my high school friends. My friend Misty recently had a baby girl so some of us met at her house for some visiting and baby rocking. Misty, Cindy and I were all pregnant at the same time with our first girls so now we all have 12 year old daughters (who are friends). We had several laughs while looking at old pictures of us. Where does the time go?

Speaking of time, the time change this weekend really threw me off. I feel like I missed 5 hours of sleep instead of just one. I do love the change though. We like to walk in the evenings after work and let the kids ride bikes so I'm looking forward to more daylight hours.

No, this is not a picture of my husband cooking something special for breakfast. It's actually a picture of him killing a copperhead in our oven. On Sunday morning, I opened the oven to pop in some muffins for the kids breakfast before church and I woke up a sleeping copperhead. Yes, I did scream bloody murder and run out of the kitchen like a crazy woman. Now, we are all walking a little more careful through the house!

Sunday after church we drove over to Walnut Grove for Janis and Lexi's baptism. We ate lunch with them and spent most of the afternoon visiting on Memaw Vicie's front porch while the kids played in the yard and we enjoyed the beautiful spring weather.

Jed was too busy playing outside with Papa's traps but I did manage to snap this one pic before he stripped down to his diaper. I told him while I was dressing him before church on Sunday morning that when I found out I was having a baby boy, I dreamed of dressing him in jonjons and saddle oxfords! So cute!!

The weather was so gorgeous this weekend. Josh and Jed spent some time Sunday between church services trying to catch fish out of Memaw Vicie's pond. We are already looking forward to camping on spring break. I hope the weather is as beautiful as it was this weekend.

Happy 12th Birthday Reagon!!!

How did the last 12 years go by so fast???

We love you Reagon!!!