Year 2, Day 54: Hearts are Changing

My in laws are going to like this post a lot.  I spent the evening with my MOPSnext ladies playing some bored games, eating some snacks, and simply talking.  There was only 7 of us, but that is a perfect size for me to be able to contribute to the conversation.  It was so nice to be out and about again, too.  I was bemoaning the fact last week that I and the younger kids haven't had any social time lately.  Well, God heard my whining, and boom, I had two mom night's out and zumba this week!  I think it's just what my heart needed!  I'm slowly but surely resettling here.

I am grateful for:
- already having a network of friends
- knowing the roads and where businesses are located
- having a church home
- having Grandma nearby so she can babysit
- having so many options for doctors and medical care
- cheaper food and diapers
- not having to change banks
- having places like the Indianapolis Children's Museum, the Indianapolis Art Museum, the State Museum, the Zoo, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indiana State Fairgrounds, etc.  close by to explore and enjoy
- being closer to concerts and events like homeschool conventions
- that my boys can be in Bible Bowl (and can earn money for college!)
- that Keturah can participate in children's choir and has a speaking part!
- Jared having a job close by, that his pay is a salary and not hourly, and he can take time off to watch kids if necessary or go to homeschool events with us
- lots of options for homeschooling and the freedom to do it!
- the Indianapolis Public Library! and being able to order Christian books from there that actually come from some of the Christian schools around town
- yes, the warmer weather, so we can get outside, especially Abishai, who thrives outdoors
- cheaper houses to buy
- cheaper gas!!
- I can order anything I want on Amazon and don't have to wait for the in laws to bring it to me!
- Southside Christian School for Benaiah!
- Homeschool Gathering co op for the middles!

So, yes, I'm feeling grateful, even when my allergy test results require me to make some changes.  I went to my doctor today and we went over the food panel we did a month ago.  And to my surprise, I am very, very sensitive to dairy and eggs!  So I have to totally cut them out of my diet for at least 3 months.  I am NOT sensitive to gluten (except buckwheat and malt) or nuts or any meats.  I do have some sensitivity to a few fruits and vegetables like apples, asparagus, garlic, onion, lettuce, mushrooms, okra, squash, rhubarb, pineapple, papaya, mango, cranberry, and spiceslike dill fennel seed, horseradish, and vanilla bean.  I am also sensitive to coffee (no surprise) and baker's yeast and brewer's yeast.  Fun stuff!  So, after my appointment, I headed over to Aldi's to stock up on breakfast sausage because I won't be eating eggs anymore.  And I got some unsweetened almond milk.  Thankfully, I'm only sensitive to these things and NOT allergic (which is when it's so bad that your body goes into shock and you need an epi pen).  Now, I'm not going to add gluten back into my diet yet.  The test isn't perfect, I'm sure, so I'm going to take things slowly.  And there are things in baked goods that I am sensitive, too, that isn't just gluten.  But just the thought of being able to have a doughnut without pain for several days thrills me!  This allergy test cost $250, but it was SO worth it to see all of this laid out on a piece of paper.  I love my doctor and she was very sympathetic because she is sensitive to a ton of foods, too.  And she's very understanding that it can be very hard to eliminate things in your diet.  I prayed and prayed that this doctor would be the one to help me to figure this out once and for all, and wow, am I blessed!

Ok, just a couple more quick stories and pictures.  First, Justin was super excited to tell me about a "pencil fight" they had at Bible Bowl last night.  Apparently, someone needed a pencil and he had one, so he threw it across the room to her.  And then, somehow, that started a throwing the pencil contest or something, kind of like a food fight.  He thought it was hilarious that it all started with him throwing his pencil to someone else for them to use.  I love how my kids can be so innocent and naive sometimes because they have been so sheltered.  The longer they can keep those little cute things, the better, in my opinion.  Also, the Bible Bowlers are all into playing and trading Pokemon cards.  We didn't play that Pokemon Go phone game, but we have had Pokemon cards off and on.  Justin ordered and received a bunch of Pokemon books from the library recently so he can learn more.  I wish he would do that with real world subjects, but hey, he could be into something way worse than that.  I am grateful it's just a bunch of cards.

Another little cute thing is that at dinner, I was in my room at the end of the hallway and Abishai was eating his muffin.  Well, he comes down the hallway yelling, 'Mom! Mom!" and he when he gets to me, he calmly, and in a matter of fact, quiet manner said, "Nom."  So cute!  When we were outside today, he actually did circle around back to the garage on his own and didn't take off around the corner.  He also stopped when I told him to.  I hope he keeps that up, because it's so hard to keep up with him.

Keturah did her schoolwork well, and had a pretty good attitude all day.  And I think Benaiah had a good time running errands with Grandma and Grandpa.  I heard they went to Goodwill to stop (not just drop off stuff), which I believe they went to a couple of weeks ago, too.  Yes, Gary Johnson goes to Goodwill AND Aldi's! Just because your are doing well financially, doesn't mean you have to go spend big bucks on name brand stuff or shop at the expensive grocery store!  It's always good to be frugal no matter what your budget looks like!

He's so big!  And so fast!

Daddy took Keturah's bike and Abishai's big boy bike (the orange one) to a bike store to get the tires fixed up.  Keturah was so excited to ride her bike again!  Justin was not excited to be outside and huffed and puffed about it.  He would rather read his new Pokemon books from the library I picked up today.

I was trying to put into practice some of the things that I learned during a free photography webinar.  It was part of a promotion of this big bundle of online products on how to improve your photograpy.  $4,000 worth of training for $99.  I WISH I had the money and time to get it and use right now.  But I don't.  Thankfully, they do something similar to this every year.  In fact, there's this company that does all kind of ultimate bundles featuring bloggers and speakers on all kinds of topics.  I have gotten a couple of their homeschool ones.  I just don't go back and read everything once I've donwloaded them.  Whoops!

Faster, faster!

Yeah, Justin helped me!  Then Justin complained he couldn't do anymore rounds with Abishai because his legs hurt.  He's been complaining that they are itchy, too.  I think it's growing pain related.

Cute boys!  Can you tell they are related?

Very serious rider.

Abishai discovered the remaining box of toys in the garage that contains more cars and trucks!  I need Jared to clean off the top of the box and bring it up so I can resort (and possibly get rid of some) the trucks and cars stuff.  This weekend might be a good time to do that, although, I really need to start on the taxes, too.

Gamers.  Abishai seems to be pretty good with the tablet, like not throwing it around or anything.  We do have limits on electronics, and I'm about to move screen time to after dinner.  Abishai's naps are now between 2-5pm and we are using a lot of that time to do school and we seem to be able to get some really good lessons in and read alouds, so we aren't done until at least 4.  Then they have been trying to get their screen time in before Daddy gets home, but I'm busy with dinner prep and other household chores, so I'm not able to keep track of who got on when and for how long.  And then Jared's walking in the door and finding them staring at a screen, which is not a great thing to come home to.  I need to stay flexible with it, but it just might be a better way to handle it if it's after dinner.  The kids tend to want to rush through their afternoon schooling just so they can get to their gaming.  We used to say that after 3pm was screen time, so it's kind of ingrained in our heads that getting on after that time frame is "late."  So, I think adjustments need to be made.

Well, I kind of forget to tell Grandma that I needed her to babysit today, but thankfully, she didn't have much planned.  So, I was able to get to the doctor's office and other errands.  I guess Justin found this recipe somehow on the tablet and they made blueberry muffins together!  I'm glad my cupboards are organized in a way that Leah could find all the ingredients.  But how fun to be able to just zip up here to babysit and impromptu have a cooking lesson.  Ah the joys of living near the grandparents and homeschooling!  Double blessing!

We almost hit 70 degrees F today so the windows were wide open!  It's going to be 37 degrees F on Saturday, so soak it up when you can!

I think we won't see any more flowers because this set of leaves seems different than the flowering stems.  Perhaps I'll get to plant it in my new flowerbed once we find a house.

For those who are curious, these are my test results.  It's on a scale of 1 to 3, with 3 being "never eat it" and 1 being "eat it rarely."

This is the type of test I took.

All of my actual "I'm going to die if I eat it" allergies came back negative.  Sensitivities affect inflammation and your GI tract.  True allergies send you into shock.

If this kid doesn't get a job that needs precision work, I'll be surprised.  He gathered all the cars he could find from every corner of the house to make this line up of cars.

Ta da!

Then he found this one truck and said, "Daddy!" because it looks a lot like Jared's truck.  He then proceeded to drive the truck over the other cars like monster trucks do.  Again, he's learned this from watching all those monster truck videos!  He's a very quick learner!

That's all for today.  Next up: ice skating and movie at church!  Then we just have church service Saturday night and choir/youth group on Sunday night, so our weekend will be very quiet and we can catch up on housework then.  Phew!