Our Day Out

We haven't been able to go out and do much as a family so we went to the aquarium/botanic garden yesterday.

Megan wanted to touch anything that moved. Kendra kept holding her hand out for a butterfly to land on, but none did.

Mark was elated that he got to hold a whip scorpion and wants the world to know of this accomplishment. Guess we should put this picture on facebook.

Mark and his cockroach.


The man with the bugs showed Megan the cockroach and she immediately grabbed it and began pulling its legs. So I had to give it back to the man.

What cute sisters. They have a children's place in the botanic garden.

Kendra pointing to the garden spider webbed between two bushes.

Megan loves fish!

Thus Is Life

So a month or two ago as I drove on the freeway a semi truck threw a rock at my windshield and not only chipped it but it immediately cracked up to the top and around towards the middle. About two weeks ago I finally replaced it. Not that it was so bad that it had to be replaced, but when the sun hit the crack it was blinding. So we replaced it before we went to Utah. So yesterday as I drove around town a large diesel big rig sent a rock flying that hit my windshield and cracked it too!! Are you kidding me!?!?

We took a trip to Utah for the Labor Day weekend. We saw my family (mom and dad, brother Aaron and his son Alec who flew in from Portland, and sister Shoni) and some of Mark's family (his brother, wife and two kids and sister, husband and seven kids).

We went to see BYU play Washington.

Kendra brought her cougar to hold up during the game.

Yes, that is Elder Holland attending the game. He came in just as we were passing. Mark got this shot.

This is Mark's niece Emily who ran a cross country meet the weekend we were there. That girl just behind her tried to beat her at the end but Emily pushed herself to stay ahead.

Here we are at the Wilke waiting for the bookstore to open. Kendra helped Megan walk.

Mark's family that lives in Utah.

Mark's sister Denise has cats and both girls couldn't get enough of them.

The bean museum has a children's play area.



Megan enjoying the animals at the Bean.

NAET

There comes a point when you will do anything, no matter how insane, for help. I reached that point in May, maybe April. I knew something was wrong with Megan. She never got over croup. It flipped a switch in her and no matter what I did, how many antibiotics she took, or how many doctors we visited could fix it. There was only one doctor left and there was good reason why I hadn't gone to her yet. She is a naturopathic doctor and doesn't take insurance. But I was now desperate and willing to do whatever I had to.

We made our first appointment in May but couldn't be seen until June. I just kept telling myself, "I can make it until June." I was wrong. The sleep deprivation was too intense by this time. Not only had I gotten up about every two hours for almost a year, but I had a child that had, at that time, been sick for 3 months which meant I was up all night, not just every 2 hours. I was beyond exhaustion. I felt I was losing it. I couldn't think straight and often would find items that belonged in the fridge in the cupboard. I wanted to be sent to an insane asylum where they would give me narcotics and I could sleep for a week. Heaven on earth right there. But for some reason I couldn't quite fall off the edge; my kids, although the cause of the sleep deprivation, kept me going.

On our first appointment Mark met me at the office. He wanted to know exactly what we were doing with Megan. I hadn't researched it at all because, frankly, I didn't care. I would have done anything at that point. Dr. Chernoff uses Nambudripads Allergy Elimination Technique (NAET) to free interferences in the bodie's meridians. Yeah, I still don't know exactly how it works. I was very skeptical because all over the office there are testimonials and I didn't believe that it could have possibly done all those things people said. But inside I hoped I would have a testimonial too.

Megan was pretty much allergic to everything. Her body was basically fighting against itself. She could only eat bananas and rice for about 7 weeks until we could get through some of the treatments. It was a long road. Megan had a tendency to cough and vomit (what else?) when her body released the toxins. At one point Megan was so sick I thought, "if this is what NAET does I don't want any part of it!!" And debated whether to even return. But at the same time, if it made Megan sick, then it was working! So I was even upset that it worked.

This is when I first began to love NAET. Megan was coughing and vomiting. Her lungs sounded like she had a ton of fluid in them. I went to her pediatrician who said, "her lungs sound fine...hmmm...try a humidifier and see if that helps." Then, a few days later we saw the GI specialist for her acid reflux. He said," let's give her two doses of prevacid a day - and see if that will help her." That weekend she had horrible puking and diarrhea. The poor thing was miserable. When I saw Dr. Chernoff a couple days later I told her about our awful weekend. She checked Megan and said, "Oh, she's allergic to soy." That was her formula at the time. We switched her to goats milk and treated her for soy and she began to show improvement. Amazing.

Now the really amazing part is that 2 1/2 months after beginning NAET, Megan, who was suppose to be on 2 doses of prevacid a day until January, is no longer taking it!!! She doesn't need it!!! Isn't that incredible?!?! And she sleeps at least 8 hours at night (most of the time). She no longer has a cough or a snotty nose or vomit or constipation. It has been the most incredible transformation. And the best part is that I feel so much better. We all do. It's crazy, I don't know how it works, but the result has been remarkable.

Happenings

On Monday morning Mark woke the kids and I up to take him to the bus station. His car wouldn't start. On the way home Kendra said, "mommy, Megan and I are still tired." Funny because they are up at 6 am anyway, and Mark woke us at 5:50am - well, actually we were all awake. And when we picked him up Kendra said, "daddy, don't wake us up tomorrow morning okay?" Mark's car battery was dead and he was impressed that I took the old one out, bought a new one, and attempted to hook the new battery up. I wasn't able to finish because his car alarm went off and I didn't know how to shut it off! Mark eventually figured it out that night.

On Saturday Kendra went bowling with a couple friends. She bowled a whopping 14. I think she enjoyed running and chasing her friends more than the actual bowling.

We have a little coup little tikes car. Megan loves to sit in it and be pushed around. Even Kendra will push her little sister in it. Megan only protests when we stop.

Megan has learned to fold her arms and will do so when we say, "let's say a prayer."

Ever since we saw the rodeo in Nyssa Kendra plays rodeo queen where she runs around the slide waving to me and Megan.

Kendra enjoys coloring - especially with markers. We use to let Megan play with the markers, but then she learned how to open them and color herself. She looked like she had a black eye. Luckily they are washable.

Where To Begin...

It's been a long month. I'm happy to see August. Megan is always sick. She's not contagious or anything, she's like a bubble kid. Everything around her makes her ill. We are trying to figure her out but it's a long process. Once we get to a good place and we think things will get better there is always another illness. Like yesterday, we thought she was finally doing better...light at the end of the tunnel, and then she woke up and the puking began. I'm really looking forward to her only puking twice a year. But as for now we just trek through hoping for a better tomorrow...and that tomorrow will come quickly.

Good-Things-to-Come

This is my favorite Mormon Message and when I have a bad or hard day with the kids I watch this...and cry a little...

Good-Things-to-Come

(click on the link above)

Mark's Day Off

Mark had Monday off in honor of the 4th of July so we spent some time at the zoo.

They have a splash/kids area. Kendra made a friend (the fearless little girl in the yellow tank top) and had a great time getting wet.

We packed a lunch and sat on the lawn full of duck poop (I forgot a blanket!) to eat.

This is the duck that Megan desperately wanted to pet. He was very friendly but would stay just far enough away.


It was a special occasion to have daddy at the zoo with us so we bought 2 leaves to feed the giraffe. Look how close we are! So cool.

Kendra's Horsey

Now that Megan doesn't like to eat baby food and only wants to eat what she can feed herself, Kendra wants to feed her too. She calls Megan her little horsey. I love Kendra's laugh in the video.

Farm Friends

It was cold when we were home. Now that I live in the southwest cold = less than 80 degrees. I like it hot and was happy to walk into 95 degree weather when we arrived home.

We made smores on the grill one evening. Look at Shoni's face! It just cracks me up. I should post this one on facebook.

Kendra and her cousin played in the dirt and sut on the dirt road. Then Kendra rubbed her face not realizing the natural makeup she put on.


We went out in the country to this little corner store. They built a restaurant in it and this old couple runs it. The food is actually pretty good.

Here is the picture of the store - no parking spaces, the parking is kind of a free for all.

We were chasing Kendra one night. As she approached us we'd turn as if to chase her and she would take off running. That kid is so fun.

This is my first potato bug I found in the garden. Now, to most people you probably don't care about these critters, but I didn't get an allowance growing up. BUT I did get money when I picked these little beauties off the potato plants. I earned 1 cent for each bug and 5 cents for a leaf full of eggs. While at home I found some other potato bugs and placed them all in a cup with a lid that had holes in it...and some potato leaves. And do you know what happened? A couple of days later there were eggs! Bonus! My parents still owe me by the way....

Here is my snake. He was wrapped up in the potato plants so I had my dad grab him. I can't believe I actually played with snakes when I was younger.

Nyssa Nite Rodeo & Cherry Festival

On Saturday we headed to Emmett, Idaho to go to the cherry festival. It was basically a carnival.

We parked a couple of blocks away from the carnival and there was a memorial to the Veterans, so I just had to take a pic of my dad with it.

This is Kendra and Grandpa riding the roller coaster. You have to magnify the picture to see Kendra's face. She was loving it and still talks about the roller coaster ride.

Mark and Kendra on the berry ride. I was nervous because those two other girls wanted to spin the berry really fast, but like the tea cup ride at Disneyland, the faster the better for Kendra.

The family just chillin'. My brother and his family live near my parents so we got to hang out with them too. My lips are blue because I'm enjoying a blue raspberry snow cone.

Kendra won a snake and kept teasing Grandpa with it.

The Nyssa Nite Rodeo! Aren't we lucky that we planned our trip around this yearly event? Mark thought so! Not sure why because he wasn't fond of the cowboys from his home town. This is a picture of the muttin bustin. The little kids ride the sheep.

Grandma, Kendra, and Aunt Shoni enjoying the rodeo.

This was Kendra's favorite part of the rodeo...the rodeo princesses and queens had "crowns on their hats."

Bucking Bronco

A new event this year was riding buffalos! Mark was disappointed that the buffalo were so small. Still enjoyable to watch though.

Fun on the Farm

We went to my house in Oregon to visit my parents. I have realized that I am more of a country girl than city. I think I belong in the country setting. It's too bad that all the country down here are reservations.

Check out all that grass!! Kendra running around enjoying all the open land.

These leaves were low enough for Kendra to jump and catch. I caught her doing this several times, so I think it was one of her more favorite things.

Kendra by the fish pond. I'm realizing that Megan doesn't get nearly the camera attention that Kendra gets!

Look at us farm girls. See, the girls go home and work.

These are giant spools that my dad use to bring home from the factory. This is one way we played with them - you jump up and see how far you can walk on it without falling.

I'm a pro at it.

Shoni giving me a ride in the wheelbarrow - wee!

Happy Birthday!

Megan at Birth

Yea for Megan!!

Megan at 1 year.

Happy Birthday! Megan has made so many strides this past month. It's so fun to see her so lively. We're so glad to have her part of our family and that she's feeling better.