It's been sooooo nice to be on the east coast and get to spend more
time with my sisters! Rosie is now a mommy too and Jonathan, her and baby
Ian came down the other weekend and we went to the pumpkin patch!

Strike a pose!

So serious...

Kyla, Avery and cousin Ian

I'm feeling and getting better little by little everyone, thanks for praying for me!

Avery update

Avery is doing much better. She is still itching and her eczema is pinkish red, but she no longer has inflamed blisters on her skin. She doesn't cry all the time anymore...she is doing a lot better and we're hoping it will only keep improving.

Her improvement really began 1 day after the Naturopath started her on a homeopathic treatment for eczema. We are so happy that it is working!!

Please do keep praying for her. We know God is healing her but she is still not back to her regular self completely. Also, please continue to pray for her weight gain. She is negative for Celiac Disease! That's great!! Another praise is we have been giving her goat's milk to drink and she is tolerating it very well. So no allergies to goat's milk and it is full of fat and protein, so that's something to be really thankful for!

Avery's Eczema

Just a little update on Avery. She was just tested today for Celiac Disease and the test results will come back in about a week. We have her seeing a pediatritian right now and also an ND (Naturopath). She was put on probiotics and fish oil by the naturopath and her eczema went from very bad to almost completely gone! We were so excited! Then yesterday, all of a sudden her skin broke out in the worst eczema I have ever seen in my life on her little body. She is miserable and itching. She cries 90% of the day. I talked to her ND and she told me she is experiencing a die-off reaction which is a good sign that the probiotics are working. She said her intestines are ridding themselves of the toxins and its being excreted through her skin. So she will get better soon and the eczema will dissappear again. I hope so...I hope that's all it is. Please pray for her and mommy and daddy too as we are very stressed from her almost non-stop crying. Her MD said she will get a referral to see an allergist and a dermatologist.

Such precision!

Happy girls, playing before bed :-)

Battling Avery's Eczema

Some of you may know that Avery has pretty bad eczema that we have been trying to keep under control for many months. It's all over her legs and small splotches on her arms as well. She has known food allergies to dairy, peanuts, almonds, and egg whites that we found out about after a blood test. Even with eliminating those foods, her eczema still has not improved much. We are now experimenting with eliminating wheat. She has only been wheat-free so far for 24 hours, but we are already seeing a marked improvement in her eczema. We are hoping and praying we might have found what is triggering her itchy skin. Please pray with us that we will find out the source of her eczema and she can have normal skin again. Please also pray for Mom's creativity in the kitchen as this is a hard diet to work with! I am thankful that God has given me the dietetics background so I understand what to do in cases like this, but it is still challenging trying to cook for the whole family and an allergic child.

Holding Cousin Ian Mayer for the first time!!



Isn't he so cute!!

"Of course I can walk, Daddy, I'm just waiting
for the perfect audience."

My sister, Rosie with baby Ian, Kyla
and Avery

Happy Harvest Time!!


Walking through our neighborhood, Kyla loves looking at all the decorations...she asked if we could have
some scarecrows in our yard.

Now they are her best friends!

Music Makes You MOVE!!!

Thanks to the grandparents, the girls are taking a Music Together class here in Charlotte once a week. They LOVE it!! Both girls really come alive like I've never really seen at music class. Today, Avery took her very first 6 steps in a row during a dancing time at class. I couldn't believe it! She was soooo proud of herself and I wish I had captured it on camera!

The progression of Avery...
I was scrolling through some pictures of Avery this evening and I was struck by how much she has changed over the past few months. I thought you might like to see. -Pete

Below is an article from Low Impact Living about reducing our use of plastic. Obviously plastic is contributing to global warming, but how is it affecting our personal health? This article, Plastic Ocean , really made us think twice about our use of plastic. It IS still so hard to get away from using it all together, isn't it? One recent change our family made was we bought SIGG (www.SIGG.com) water bottles made of aluminum. My personal favorite thing about these water bottles is that the water ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, tastes like fresh water....not plastic water!!

From www.lowimpactliving.com

I felt this article was worth copying onto our blog. The ideas are great to reduce our use of plastic! Have you noticed how EVERYTHING seems to be made out of plastic? And plastic is made from petroleum which is not a renewable resource!

How to Tuesday: Cut Your Use of Plastic, Plastic, Plastic

Posted by Carey Okrand

You are not new to recycling. You’ve been doing it for years and it’s a big part of your daily routine. You’ve become at an expert at identifying what plastics you can and cannot recycle. Now focus on another important part of eco-friendly living: reduce your use of plastic.

Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year or in landfills. If that’s not enough, almost 3 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year worldwide. Nearly 80 percent of all water bottles are not recycled and wind up in landfills. We are drowning in plastic, people!

That plastic can be bad for us and bad for the environment. Recent studies have shown that there’s more plastic than plankton in some of the remote parts of our oceans. And there are increasing reports on the human health effects of chemicals used in plastic products. Let’s also not forget that plastic is made from petroleum, which is a non-renewable resource and a major contributor to global warming.

So let’s get to it– how to reduce your use of plastics:

1. Don’t use garbage bags—just empty your trash into the garbage bin.

2. If you don’t like that approach, get yourself some recycled or biodegradable, compostable garbage bags.

3. Request that your daily newspaper not be wrapped in plastic when delivered. (Or cancel your newspaper subscription and go totally online for your news fix– you’ll save hundreds of trees as well.)

4. Take your own plastic or metal container to the restaurant to take home your leftovers when you’re eating out. Sure they’ll look at you funny, but remember you’re an eco-trend-setter!

5. Remind your favorite take-out place to leave out the plastic utensils when they pack your food to go. Your drawers are full of them already! And politely decline the bag if you only have one or two items to carry home.

6. Ask you favorite dry-cleaners to eliminate the plastic wrap on your clothes. Don’t forget to choose an eco-friendly, non-toxic dry cleaner too.

7. Take your reusable coffee tumbler with you when get coffee to-go. And skip the lid for your soft drink. Those plastic lids add up! And now you don’t need a plastic straw.

8. You’ve heard it before but it’s critical: The simple most profound solution to reduce plastic consumption is to bring your own bags when you shop at the grocery store, drugstore or mall. There are so many great cotton, canvas, even hemp bags available now in endless sizes and styles. Have you seen the ultra-light compact Chicobags? Throw two in your car or purse so you’re never without a reusable bag and you’ll always have one handy!

9. Another major source of plastic bag waste are the pesky flimsy plastic produce bags that accumulate in your closet. Reusable cotton mesh produce sacks are a simple solution to that problem. Check them out at Ecobags.com. Toss them in your reusable shopping bag and head to the market. Each reusable bag you use has the potential to eliminate thousands of plastic bags over its lifetime.

10. And let’s all remember the problem that is the disposable plastic water bottle. Many alternatives to plastic water bottles are available. Kleen Kanteen and SIIG water bottles are stainless steel safe alternatives to plastic water bottle and are available in many sizes.

11. For water use in the office…Remember the novel concept of a pitcher or a glass of water? You don’t have to drink from a bottle.

12. There are loads of ways to reduce your consumption of plastic when you store leftovers, pack lunches or food to go. Ditch those plastic baggies or foil for containers that come in endless shapes and sizes and you can use them over and over again! Pack them in your reusable lunch sack too.

13. Become an eco-wise consumer whenever you shop. Choose products that contain less packaging. Check every plastic container before you chuck it– it may be recyclable! Purchase products in larger containers—get a huge jug of laundry detergent rather than three smaller ones. Choose glass bottles over plastic whenever possible.

Just as recycling has become second nature, these simple ways to reduce our consumption of plastic make a world of difference! And don’t be afraid to speak up about these ideas. The more that retailers and restaurants hear about alternatives, the better the chance that they’ll make changes in the way they do business. That way we’ll multiply our individual actions.

"Stay Here for a Minute"

I just put Kyla down for a nap. After we sang a song and prayed I gave her a kiss and a hug. She gave me a bunch of kisses back and a big hug. She held me close and then whispered in my ear, "stay here for a minute". So I did. We stayed there for a minute hugging each other and it was such a special minute. A much needed minute. A minute to take a breath and capture the moment in time and smile.

Today we took some pictures while in downtown Matthews. We were enjoying the beautiful cooler weather...it reminded us of California evenings! Avery is showing off her walking skills (well, almost) and Pete is showing off his gray hairs. (I can't tell, but he notices them!)












It was a relaxing Sunday afternoon...then we came back home and Pete grilled salmon and potatoes while Kyla and I went grocery shopping at Trader Joe's!

The sunset from our home this evening.

Today I was having a hard day with feeling homesick. I really was missing California today...the weather...and mostly all of our friends.

I was thinking about Donna while driving to a La Leche League meeting this morning and how her love for natural childbirth and love for others impacted my life. You see, in another month, I will be attending a training conference to become a certified Bradley childbirth teacher. Going to a La Leche League meeting is one of the requirements of the certification process.

At the meeting, we introduced ourselves and then after the meeting was over, several women came up to me and they were so excited that I was going to be teaching Bradley classes...they told me I am the only Bradley teacher in the South Charlotte area. Everyone at LLL only knew of one other lady in North Charlotte that teaches Bradley. I was really surprised by this. There were many Bradley teachers in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. When I came home I looked it up on the computer and it is true. There are only 2 other Bradley teachers in all of Charlotte and the surrounding areas!

I am so happy that the Lord has opened up these doors for me to bring this opportunity to women...an opportunity to learn about natural childbirth and how to trust God and their bodies in the birth process! I keep thinking that if it weren't for Donna and her influence in my life being my Bradley teacher and midwife, I wouldn't be in this position wanting to share this with other women. And who knows, maybe the Lord will use me to inspire someone else...it's so neat to think about it all, how God uses us and our gifts to bring him glory and bless other people.

About 2 weeks ago, Avery had to go to the doctor. While we were there, the doctor told me that she has never seen a 14 month old talk as much as Avery! I knew she was quite a little talker, but I just thought it was "normal" for some to talk early and normal for others to talk a little later (like Kyla). It's been fun keeping a running list of the words (and now phrases!!) Avery says on a regular basis!! Here they are in running order!

12 months old- Mama, Dada, doggie, glasses, yla (for Kyla), cat, duck, light, ballon (boon), ball, uh-oh
13 months old- cow, papa, chicken, hat, duck, quack-quack (cak-cak), moo-moo, apple
14 months old- book, blankie, turkey, earring (eeeng), hair, bottle (bobble), rabbit, baby, hi, yogurt, juice, eye, toe, boo-boo, kitty cat, there's a doggy (es a doggy), GaGa, park

And this morning as we were going to wake Daddy up from sleeping in a little, Avery said on the way upstairs..."see Daddy?"......TOO CUTE!!!!