Spring Fun

Last week we spent a morning at Frederik Meijer Gardens butterfly exhibit with friends. It was fun to see the array of beautiful moths and butterflies that our Creator designed. It's impossible not to marvel at His creativity and attention to detail. It was a fun morning and Bryan's first time at the exhibit. It was fun to see his reaction to them. He wasn't quite sure if he should run or try to get one to land on him.

Elizabeth is trying out a new skill; one that is dear to her mother's heart - Cross-stitching. She has really picked up on it and is doing great. It brings back memories of my aunt teaching me when I was probably about her age. I used to bike over to her house for a couple of hours in the afternoon and we would just sit and cross-stitch. I have a lot of hobbies that have stuck around for a time and then phased out, but that one has only advanced. Thanks, Aunt Barb!

Ashlynn has also picked up a new and exciting skill - READING!!! What I tried to capture in the picture was her sitting on the couch, reading to Bryan which is what I found when I entered the room, but Bryan refused to be in the picture. Both girls got great reports from their teachers last week at conferences. It looks like we will be spending a lot of time at the library this summer. With two recreational readers as parents, they do come by it honestly.

Swimming Lessons

Our little boy is just finishing up his first session of swimming lessons. He started off ready to go. Then we did a little bit of back-pedaling for a few weeks and are now making some great progress. Eric and I have taken turns going with him and today the girls were gone on an outing with Grandma and Grandpa so we both went to try to capture the lesson in pictures.

This is the smile that we have hoped that being able to swim would trigger.

Working on his kick.




Two weeks ago, he wouldn't even jump off the side of the pool, so we've made remarkable progress.

When first asked, Bryan decided that he was brave enough to go off the diving board and was excited to be able to tell his sisters that he did it. Not surprisingly, as he started making his way out on the board, it seemed like a long way down and his feet started to stick.

"No thanks, Daddy," he said. That didn't work so he resorted to the Bryan scream.

Once in the water, he decided it wasn't sooo bad, but neither was it fun enough to want to repeat the process twice more. We'll spare you the rest of the pictures, but he did it! Three times off the diving board.

Daddy and I are still good friends.

Bryan's favorite part of swimming lessons is getting to play with the toy shark at the end.

Good job, Bryan, we're so proud of you!

Changes and Fun

It's been a week of changes for our family. After talking to the doctor on Tuesday, we decided that it is best to remove milk/dairy completely from Elizabeth's diet once again. This was incredible disappointing news after considering ourselves free from that allergy for the past two years. We are readjusting to the new diet and pulling out all of the old tricks that we used for so long. I'm thankful for a strong little girl, sometimes stronger than her mother, who goes with the flow and is open to adjusting her eating habits.

Our other big change that won't actually take place until this summer will be Eric's switch to an insulin pump to better control his diabetes. The hope is that it will help his blood sugar levels to be more consistant without so many highs and lows. It will also mean a few less pokes with a needle which is always a good thing. We're thankful for a good report from the specialist as he said other than one minor thing, it would be difficult for him to tell that Eric is diabetic. After 12 years of diabetes, that is a huge blessing.

Last week, Ashlynn's class had the opportunity to go to the G. R. Children's Museum. Because the afternoon class is a couple minutes shorter than the morning class, the principal escorted the afternoon class to the museum in the morning to make up for the lost minutes. I was able to accompany the class, which I considered a real treat.

Ashlynn taking care of delivering the mail.

Ashlynn and her friends playing with the bubbles.

Last night, the girls had their school music program at a local church. They both did a fabulous job participating and we were so proud of both of them.

Elizabeth's class

Ashlynn's class beating their sticks.

Grandma and Grandpa were our guests for the evening.

Grandma Tower was also our guest and all three of them helped corral Bryan so I could take pictures and Eric could video the program. It's so nice to have our families close to be involved in things like this.

Scope Report

Elizabeth's scope went really well yesterday and we were rejoicing that her esophagus and stomach looked disease free. Things flip-flopped a bit when we got a phone message today from the specialists' office saying that the biopsies showed a slightly elevated amount of inflammation and that they would like us to once again remove milk completely from Elizabeth's diet. This is a difficult decision for me as a mom as it involves once again transforming our meal plans and being stricter about food that she receives at school and other places. Next week, I will hopefully be able to talk to the doctor and determine whether such a drastic action is necessary. While we have the utmost concern for our daughter's health and would do whatever is necessary to help her to continue to thrive, we also do not want to subject her to a plan because it "might" be a solution. She's been back on milk for 2 years, so if that is really the problem I would expect the damage to be more than "slightly elevated." We would appreciate your prayers as we wait to sort this out with the doctors and decide the best plan of action for all of us.

Winter continues

I know it's been a while since I last posted. We've been cooped up for too long and are anxious to get outside and enjoy some warm weather. The last couple of weeks have been spend fighting off cold after cold after cough and we're all ready to be healthy again. It's this part of winter that always seems to last forever.

My scrapbooking weekend was a wonderful getaway. I'm all caught up through January of this year and Brooke (my sister-in-law) made great progress on her books as well. It was nice to be able to focus an extended period of time on something without all of the little interruptions that tend to just become part of any mother's day. We spent the weekend at my parents' home as they were away on a cruise. Free lodging made it even more fun!!

The pictures this week show our efforts to make being stuck in the house more fun. Enjoy!

Bryan trying an ice cream sandwich with cookies fresh out of the oven. Did he like it??

The verdict is in. This is the best dessert ever!



Bryan's other favorite dessert is a freeze pop. This is the way he always makes sure he gets the last drop. It is the best one, you know!



Ashlynn is showing off her ability to go cross-eyed without any props.

Ashlynn is learning a new dance step with Daddy.

We'll have to get Elizabeth in next week. She has an eventful week this week as we head to the gastrointestinal specialist on Thursday for an EGD. We haven't had to do this in about two years but over the last month my suspicions that her Eusinophilic Esophagitis is back has become the big question in our minds. The only way to tell is by putting her out and inserting a camera into her esophagus and stomach to see if the evidence is present. The last two we had looked great so we're praying that this one will be more of the same but know that God is in control of this and he loves her even more that we do.

Have a great week!