A Hard Patient

I had another appointment with my GI doctor. He said I was a hard patient in 2 ways. The first being that I have a very hard, difficult case of colitis that does not respond well to treatment. The second being that I was a very tough lady who just keeps rolling with the punches.

I am actually feeling pretty good, but we can't get me off steroids without intestinal bleeding. My diet has helped a lot. I think it's the only thing keeping me functioning. But it doesn't seem to be enough.

The discouraging news is that we are running out of treatment options. Now we're trying a dual-therapy of immune suppressant drugs. And my insurance just approved the use of Entyvio, which is a newer IV infusion drug for colitis. My doctor has also referred me to a surgeon to "establish a relationship" in case it gets to the point they have to remove my colon. Yay!

My doctor was surprised by how well I took in everything. He said he was having a hard time getting a reading on me. I know that it helped that I had gone to the temple that morning, and it definitely gave me strength and peace. But it was still discouraging to hear how close we are getting to surgery.

But, I'm going to do everything possible to not let that happen. I restarted the SCD diet, this time actually doing the Intro Diet. For 4 days, all I ate was hamburger patties, fish, eggs, homemade yogurt, chicken soup, and grape juice (100% juice). I honestly don't think I could have done that when I first changed my diet. Especially since homemade yogurt is an acquired taste. But the 4 days went by pretty fast. Then there are 5 Stages to add food. The first stage you can add ripe bananas, applesauce, and baked squash. Then each stage you add foods that are a little harder to digest. Raw fruits and veggies are in Stage 4 & 5. Whole nuts are in Stage 5, etc.

I'm adding new food one at a time so I can see if there are specific foods giving me grief. I've decided to try 2 days for each new food. I figure it will take at least 2 months before I get to Stage 5, which is basically how I was eating before. So far, all I've added are ripe bananas.

It's also sad because I just discovered Larabars, which are a SCD legal fruit/nut bar! I have a whole box sitting in my cupboard, that now I can't touch for while. I'm pretty sure they are a Stage 5 food.

But whenever I see food I want to eat, I think "Is it worth it to have surgery" and the answer is always "No!". It is funny though, because now instead of talking myself out of eating cookies, I have to talk myself out of eating fresh fruit and veggies.

Liberty in Law

The second verse of America the Beautiful really stuck out to me when we sang it last Sunday.

America! America! God mend thine every flaw.  

Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law.

Sometimes we mistakenly think that liberty and agency mean no laws. But the truth is that laws make it possible to have freedom.

Laws of the road make it possible to freely travel on the roads. Without those laws, chaos would reign and we would not have the same ability to safely travel. Also, it is important to note that speed limits are not just arbitrary numbers picked by someone to restrict your "freedom". If you go faster than the speed limit on the freeway, you are physically not capable of stopping your vehicle in time if you go around a bend and see traffic stopped.

God did give us agency, the freedom to act for ourselves. But that agency only works if there are laws (2 Nephi 2:16). The scriptures also teach us that if there is no law, there is no God (2 Nephi 2:13, Alma 42:17-23). Satan's plan, as I understand it, was to take away the law which would take away our agency. If there is no law, there is no punishment, and we would all make it back to heaven. Sounds good, right? But the purpose of God's plan was not just to make it back to heaven, but to actually become like our Father in Heaven. This could only be done through agency and laws.

King Mosiah established the law according to the laws of God (Mosiah 29:11-14). He also believed in doing things by the voice of the people (Mosiah 29:25-27), desiring "this land to be a land of liberty" (Mosiah 29:32).

One of the major themes of the Book of Mormon is the promise that if we keep the commandments we will prosper in the land, and if we do not, we will be cut off from His presence. The Book of Mormon teaches this specifically at least 36 times. And the entire Book of Mormon is a history of 2 nations (the Nephites, and the Jaredites) who prospered in the land when they kept the commandments, but who were eventually destroyed because they ceased to remember God.

For me, I believe the Book of Mormon teaches that we should strive to uphold the law of God as the law of the land. I do believe that in order for us to prosper as a nation, we must keep the commandments of God. I believe that God has all knowledge, and His commandments are not arbitrary, but are the very things that will allow us to prosper and keep our freedom. Just as the engineer who designs the freeway knows the correct speed for safe travel, God knows the correct way to live that will bring peace and prosperity.

These are things I believe. And the Constitution grants me the right to act on these beliefs. And yes, I have the right to act politically on these beliefs.

First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

I keep hearing that religion has no business with regards to the law. People keep yelling "Separation of church and state." But that's actually a phrase coined by Thomas Jefferson, and does not actually appear in the Constitution. And here's the thing. Everybody has a religion. Your religion is your set of beliefs. It's not just about organized religion. The First Amendment gives you the right to believe anything you want and to act in accordance with those beliefs.

Now we obviously have laws in place to keep our society safe. You can't just go around killing people because you believe it is right. But who gets to decide the laws?

We are supposed to be governed by the voice of the people. We have the responsibility to vote on laws and to elect public officials to represent us. And our Constitution grants us the freedom to make those decisions based on our beliefs.

As citizens of the United States of America, we each have the responsibility to politically act in the way we honestly believe will "promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity." We are a nation of many people from many different backgrounds. We will obviously disagree on many things. But there should be love and respect for all people who are trying to do what they believe is best for our country. We should not act like children who resort to name-calling.

I believe King Mosiah summed it up nicely:

"Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people. And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land." (Mosiah 29:26-27)

May we each have the courage to raise our voice according to our beliefs, whatever they may be. And may we each show love and respect for those with different beliefs.

Potty Training Attempt #1

We attempted potty training the other week. I had found some Minions and Jake underwear, and P1 was excited to wear them. So I thought we would give it a try.

We tried it for 2 days. We made a sticker chart for him, and he can tell you all about it. He loves wearing his underwear. He doesn't mind sitting on the toilet. But he just doesn't understand when he has to go. We tried using a timer so that we would go sit on the toilet every 10 minutes. But he would always go right after. One time we even sat in the bathroom for 2 hours (P2 was napping) in hopes of catching it so that he could recognize it. We sang songs and read stories, but he never did go. The only success we've had so far is that he tooted in the toilet. He was so excited about it, that I let him put a sticker on the chart.

Yay for potty training! I guess we'll try again later!

4th of July

We had a fun 3rd and 4th of July! On the 3rd, we had PE's side of the family over for a BBQ and fireworks. We had a good turnout, and there were lot's of little kids running around. We made the traditional homemade rootbeer, and P1 hated it while P2 loved it! P1 enjoyed playing with all the kids, but P2 didn't like having her home invaded. She was glued to my hip the whole time.

 

PE took P1 up the hill to go see the fireworks at the golf course. I stayed home and put P2 to bed, then watched from the front yard. As soon as the fireworks started, P1 buried his face into his dad, covered his eyes and cried for Dad to cover his ears. So he didn't actually see any fireworks, but when they got back, he wanted to watch fireworks on the computer. Surprisingly, P1 liked holding sparklers and thought that was fun.

On the Fourth, we went over to Grandma's house for a BBQ and swimming. P1 had fun jumping into the pool. He's doing really well swimming by himself, and doesn't need a lot of help anymore. All in all, it was a fun weekend!

One Year Facts

We had P2's one year check-up yesterday! She did great for the doctor. She was bashful, but warmed up to him. She only cried for 30 seconds when she had her shots, and then she was okay again.

Weight: 20 lbs 14 oz (67th percentile)

Height: 29.5 inches (61st percentile)

P2 is walking (when she wants to). She'll only do up to 8 steps herself, but hey, it's walking! I transitioned her to cow's milk already, and it was much easier with her than it was with her brother. Maybe it's easier to go from formula to milk than breast-milk to milk.

She has 2 molars coming in on top, and 2 more teeth on bottom coming through. That is a grand total of 6 on top, and 4 on bottom. She still loves to brush her tooth, and likes to run away with her toothbrush.

Hair color is light brown at this point, and she has adorable curls in the back. She also likes to try and comb her hair.

P2 likes to push things around: this bike, chairs, stools, anything that will move.

She got a little table and chairs for her birthday. She and her brother think they are pretty cool.

P2 is usually getting into some kind of mischief. She's fast too. I was trying to blog on Sunday, and I turned around and saw this:

P2 likes to climb up things, but she doesn't know how to get back down, so then she will just cry until someone helps her. I guess that's better than her falling down.

She loves the water. We like to go swimming at Grandma's, and also in our little pool. We also went to a splash pad, and she kept trying to drag me into the water with her (and P1 was the only one dressed to get wet).

P2 is a pretty good eater. But once she is full, she just throws all her food on the floor. And daddy has already taught her that in order to get a treat, she has to eat her dinner. I didn't think she was getting it, but now if she points to a treat and you don't give it to her, she will look and eat something off of her plate and then point to the treat again. Her favorite food is fruit, berries in particular.

Eating breakfast at their little table:

P2 isn't talking a whole lot, but she is pretty good at communicating what she wants.She can say "bye-bye", "this", and "baby". Mostly she just points to what she wants and says "this." Oh, and she really likes to give kisses.

Birthday Celebration

Opening presents! P2 got a lot of cute clothes for her birthday. She also got The Little Engine that Could from her uncle, a little table and chairs from grandparents, and a Tiger pillow pet from grandparents. P1 thought it was his birthday.

Grandma and grandpa were nice and sent a present for P1 to open too. I think he opened it before P2 finished opening her first present. His other grandparents gave him a card to open, and it was "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" card that plays the theme song. He loves it! And mom and dad hide it a lot so we don't go crazy. Especially when it sounds like a broken record because the kids keep opening and shutting it.

 The kids helped me bake the cupcakes for her birthday. They enjoyed licking the beaters!

Birthday cupcakes! These were a mistake for me to make. I "accidentally" ate too much frosting while decorating them. Also, having oreos in the house was not the best idea. But to my credit, I didn't eat a single oreo (well, not a whole one anyway!).

P2 liked the oreo, but not the cupcake.

  

We had family over on Saturday to help us eat the rest of the cupcakes since I can't eat them, and the kids don't really like them.

Happy First Birthday P2!

My sweet little girl,

Has it really been a year? I can't believe it. You were such a tiny helpless little thing the other day, and now you're busy terrorizing your older brother. I love your little personality. I see so much of me in you. You have a strong will and fierce determination. You are adventurous and love a new thrill, yet are extremely bashful. Only mom, dad, and grandma are allowed to hold you. I do love the extra snuggles I get when we are around other people. You are such a tease, and love to run away with stuff so that we will chase you. You definitely make life exciting!

We love having you in our family! Happy Birthday!

Love,

Mom

And now, a year in review!

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