the results are in...

Finally! The bloodwork tests for food sensitivities came back... and out of 96 tested foods, it showed reactions to 28 foods! (oh my goodness...can you believe it?!) Fortunately, many of those were the foods we had already been eliminating (gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, and some citrus foods), but other sensitivities included:

peanuts
garlic (!!!?!)
cantelope

tomatoes (tomatoes, people... that means no spaghetti sauce)
cashews
bananas, oranges, pineapple
watermelon (oh no...not in this family & not in the summer!)
safflower
coconut (oops! So I guess the coconut oil I was using to keep her eczema breakouts moisturized wasn't helping the problem but contributing to it!)

Okay, my head is still whirling from all of this news, but here's the deal...

We'll meet with our doctor in a week or so to discuss the results & she'll tell us how/if/when we can start adding these foods back IN to Caroline's diet. These tests don't mean it's a life-long problem-- just that her gut isn't handling those particular foods well right now. And so long story short-- boosting her immune system isn't going to happen until we get her intestines healed. And for Caroline right now, it means being very careful to avoid those foods.

So what CAN she eat? All meats, seafood, & vegetables turned out fine (except for asparagus... well, that'll be no problem! ha!) along with some of her favorite fruits: apples, blueberries, & pears. Rice, potatoes, & corn were also fine, so we can make it. OH, to be gluten-free again!!! That was SOOOOOO easy!! (can you believe what a joke it is that I'm saying that?? But I'm serious-- you gluten-free people have it SO easy. he he)

Most people would probably feel devastated with this news, but we've actually felt SO relieved! It's so nice to finally know that we were on to something (a leaky gut due to a weakened immune system) and to have some ANSWERS on what foods are hurting her gut! I mean, in all the elimination diets in the world, I would have NEVER picked that combination of 28 foods! And like I said, hopefully this is all just for a season as she heals and is then able to handle more foods. And praise God that at least for now, her favorite foods are still in the line-up!

One item of prayer if you guys don't mind: on Sunday, we are headed to Florida with some of our RUF students to go to RUF's national summer conference. Thankfully we'll have a mini-kitchen in our room so I will be able to prepare all of Caroline's meals myself, but besides praying for the 13-hour-straight car trip with her (!!!), pray that we'll make it through the toughest week yet of this restrictive diet while also being in a strange, new place. Pray that little Caroline will be "understanding" when everyone else around her is eating meal after meal in the conference's cafeteria with foods that she cannot have. (and doesn't comprehend why she can't have) Pray for me as each meal will be a challenge, especially since we'll be away. Thank you, sweet friends!

theology for toddlers...

It's amazing how much we kids can soak up, even from the time we begin talking! I've now learned the first 25 questions of the First Catechism for kids! (here was what I knew back in October & if any of you parents are interested in getting a copy, they're only $1.50 here )

Wanna hear? Well, if you can get past my apple crunching and all the "let's see Caroline's," then here ya go! :)

little lady...

Notice anything different about me? Nope, it's not the pearls. (remember? I wore those on my last post "Girls Wear Pearls"...) I'm such a girlie girl this week! I got my nails painted for the first time today! :)


It was a rainy day outside so Mommy had to get a little creative. :) I stayed nice and still while she painted my fingers and toes! It was fun!


Mommy thinks I look like a little lady. (I sure talk like one! You should HEAR the sentences I'm saying now!)

And my favorite part of my new nails?

... showing them off to Daddy. :)

girls wear pearls...

Mother's Day.

For a woman who struggled with years of infertility, it was literally the most dreaded day of the year for me. And THEN, for a woman who was given the BEAUTIFUL gift of a baby through adoption, it became a sweet day to remember God's goodness and faithfulness to me.

This year, for a woman who is in the midst of a daily struggle to figure out & improve my daughter's health, Mother's Day is a little bit of a mixed bag.

On one hand, these are the BEST days of my entire life! Oh, I couldn't imagine my life without this sweet little GIRL holding my hand, calling me "mama," and squeeeeezing me so tight I can't breathe sometimes! God has bestowed me with the most amazing & joyful little daughter, and I am SO proud to call sweet Caroline my own. Being her MOM is the best thing that ever happened to me.

On the other hand, the past 6 months have been some of the HARDEST of my life, too. I look at the pictures of last Mother's Day and weep. I miss that girl. Honestly, as irrational as it is, I struggle with feeling responsible for what has happened to her, and for not being able to "fix" it. As I am consumed with doctor's visits, elimination diets, and just wondering what else I can DO, being a MOM is just plain tough. I feel like I am giving everything I have, but still failing.


But I have a gal who convinces me otherwise every day as she looks up to me as her everything.

Various friends have reminded me that in God's plan, He already knew what was going to happen to Caroline before she was ever born. And He wanted ME(!?) to be the one to walk her through it. In His good providence, He wanted ME(!?) to be the one to care for her in this. Megan, it was good to hear you say that all of this has confirmed your decision to place Caroline with us, not questioned it. God knew what He was doing all along. I am humbled and full of awe when I remember that He has called ME(!?) to love, serve, teach, and protect HER, both in the fun times and the hard ones, too.


And this Mother's Day, I couldn't be more grateful to have that privilege.

eat the rainbow...

(this is post #750!)

Another thing I’ve (Amy) noticed since we began all of our dietary changes 9 weeks ago is the variety of COLOR in Caroline’s meals! Just walk into any produce section and you’ll see a rainbow of beautiful colors. (what a gift from God! Just think about it—He could’ve just designed us to only eat 1 color of food, but wouldn’t that have been so boring?) And as I see my refrigerator now filled with lots more fresh food than ever before, it’s become obvious that the more you EAT the rainbow, the healthier you’ll be.

What CAN you eat when you’re on a diet with no breads, no cheeses, no dairy, & no soy? I thought it’d be fun to make a list of what Caroline eats regularly according to color. (she puts ME to shame! If only we ALL ate like this 2 year old!) J

Pink/Red- strawberries, red pepper, tomato, salmon, red kidney beans, apples, pasta sauce, bacon

Orange- oranges, carrots, pumpkin seeds, cantaloupe, orange juice, peanut butter, almond butter

Yellow- squash, bananas, local honey, cereal, corn tortillas, pineapple, olive oil

Green- zucchini, cucumber, lettuce, broccoli, asparagus, grapes, green apples, kiwi, peas, green beans

Blue/Purple- blueberries, red onion, purple grapes

Brown/Black- blackberries, beef, brown rice, raisins, almonds, cashews, black beans, potatoes, sausage, chocolate ice cream (non-dairy),

White- cauliflower, chicken, tilapia, gluten-free pasta noodles, onion, rice milk, hemp milk, hummus, fresh garlic

week 9: how it works...

I (Amy) have NEVER been a meal planner before all of this. Once the hunger started kicking in around 5:00pm, I'd start perusing our cabinets & refrigerator to see what I could pull together for the evening meal.

But leave it to having a daughter whose body needs to get every good nutrient possible and stay away from so many particular foods in order to heal, it's forced quite the lifestyle change for ALL 3 of us! And as tough as it's been, it's definitely been for the better for all of our health, I'm sure.

And now that we're past the 2 month mark, things are feeling more "normal" with the diet. It doesn't feel quite as restrictive or stressful as it did the first month. Perhaps the question people ask me the most after "how is the diet going" is "are you and Marc also going gluten-free?" To which I usually scrunch up my nose and give a big resounding "NO!" But as I've thought about it, the real answer is somewhere in between a yes and a no. Since we're a family who places alot of value on eating our evening meals together around a table, it would be cruel for us to be pigging out on warm & wonderful dinner rolls while our 2 year old begs and pleads for one she doesn't understand she can't have. So while Marc & I aren't totally gluten, dairy, & soy free, the menus for all of us are definitely changing.

So here's how it typically works around our house at dinners now in any given week: (I don't know if this will be remotely interesting to you guys or not)

Monday: (is what we call "Family Night" where our RUF intern, Elizabeth, joins our family each Mon. night for a home-cooked dinner. Thankfully she's been fabulously accepting of all of our dietary changes!)

We ALL eat something like baked or grilled salmon, brown rice, fresh steamed broccoli, a salad with chopped fresh vegetables in it and fresh fruit for dessert

Tuesday: (is typically my "crockpot" day since I have music practice for church to lead on Tues. evenings)

We ALL eat something like a roast/potatoes/carrots in the crockpot OR chili (except we doctor ours up with cheese, sour cream, etc. & she eats it plain) OR a pork tenderloin, etc. You get the idea...

Wednesday: (is our only free weeknight as a family together)

We ALL eat something like chicken stir-fry with lots of fresh chopped vegetables & more fresh fruit for dessert. I make Caroline's food first & set aside before I add the sauce/seasoning to our food.

Thursday: (is RUF night during the semester, so we're usually somewhat pushed for time)

We may eat something simple like a salad & spaghetti (Prego's italian Sauce is gluten-free so we can all eat that, but I'll boil some gluten-free spaghetti noodles for Caroline & regular ones for us). I also found some gluten-free breadsticks that she LOVES, so we can all enjoy breadsticks with our meal-- ours just happen to be FULL of gluten. :)

Friday & Saturday & Sunday: (weekends are always different.)

If we're visiting friends, we'll just pack a separate dinner for Caroline. (either leftovers from a previous meal or something easy like a rice cake with peanut butter on it-- she LOVES her "crunchy rice cakes!")
If we want to order a pizza, I'll make Caroline her own mini-pizza on a gluten-free crust without cheese. That way, we're all eating pizza together & there are no complaints!
If we go out to eat, we are learning where we can go & what we can get for her there. (but it's definitely toughest to go out.)
If we want to eat ice cream as a family, Marc & I will eat the regular stuff & Caroline will eat her own chocolate Purely Decadent ice cream. (it's made with coconut milk)

And when you have those times where you've just GOTTA let your kid be a kid, check out the allergen-free french fries in the shapes of letters that we just got! I know, I know... it's silly how excited I got when I saw those! :)

Here's where I could use some more brainstorming from you guys--- any ideas or recipes for some healthy snacks or b-fast foods that really pack in the nutrition that she'll also love, too? (besides the obvious fresh fruits & veggies) For instance, is there something I can cook a big batch of at once & then just pull individual servings of it out of the freezer? Other ideas for super healthy homemade snacks (without dairy or gluten or soy)?? Throw 'em my way. Thanks!!!

old toys, new loves...

It's amazing how wonderful and "new" old toys become when they're gone for a little while & then brought back! It's like Christmas all over again! I'm especially enjoying BUILDING and putting things together.

Right now I can't get enough of my...


Legos...


My train set...


And my Tickle-Me Elmo...

being bald has it's privileges...

As you guys know, in recent months, I've gotten really accustomed to wearing things on my head. My hats are great and all, but well, my latest trick is to see what OTHER types of things will balance on top of my head (and then when it falls off, I say "boing!"). And if any of you out there see anything you like, hey- we could start some kind of retail line of head coverings, don't ya think?! :) Here's a peek at my collection...


Here's my a-la chicken headwear. (oooo... it's also edible!)


I call this my "George Washington Wore Diapers, too" hat. (this one's sure to be a top seller for its versatility.)


And nothing beats a paper napkin hat. (It's even disposable!)


Well, I don't know... in today's economy, who knows if they'd even make it, so I guess for now I'll stick with something a little more "mainstream" like my bike helmet.

Catch you guys later! Zoooooooooom......

stinky diapers and a millimeter of hair...

(how's that for a title, eh? ha ha!)

Gluten-free for 7 weeks today, folks! (I don't know why I feel the need to celebrate every Wednesday that we hit another week of this...)

Forgive me for bragging a bit, but I must admit I'm still pretty stinking proud of myself for this accomplishment! As someone who previously knew (and honestly, cared...) extremely little about cooking and nutrition, you wouldn't BELIEVE some of the things I'm doing now! I mean, really FAR-OUT things like chopping REAL garlic... :) And using REAL lemons for lemon juice... And eating RAW fresh veggies for snacks... And buying more fresh produce at each grocery store run than any other type of food... And cooking meal after meal after meal... (I know. I know. Many of you ladies are simply amazing in the kitchen and I feel embarrassed for even admitting all of that, but cooking just ain't, well, it wasn't my thing.)

But you better believe when your kid gets sick and her health is dependent upon you getting her the nutrition that she needs, it's AMAZING the lengths you'll go to. And in less than 2 months, I honestly look back and can't BELIEVE all the major lifestyle changes that we've made! (And we're still living to tell the tale...) :)

So enough of my bragging & here's a brief update on things for any of you who are interested:

Tomorrow our new pediatrician's office will be doing some bloodwork on Caroline to test for delayed food sensitivities. We are hoping that it might show us if there is another particular food that could be aggravating her system & keeping her gut from healing. (the thought is that if we can get her intestines healed, she will then be able to absorb all the nutrients & vitamins that she's being given in her diet and it will help with her gastro issues, eczema issues, hairloss issues, and strengthen/calm down her immune system overall. Wierd how all those things are related, huh? But we are hoping that once everything in her gut is healed, in the long-term we might be able to begin re-introducing foods that we have had to otherwise forego right now when her digestive system is strong enough to handle them again.)

And as you can probably guess from the title of this post, her digestive system ain't doing so well right now...

But we are also seeing some TEENY TINY beginning of scalp regrowth. Just like when her eyelashes started coming back in before we went gluten-free, these little 1-millimeter-long hairs are white in color and to see them, you've gotta look at 'em at just the right angle in the light, but hey- we'll take it. Since her eyelashes seem to be slightly darkening over the weeks (they are still extremely light colored, but at least they're there!), hopefully the scalp hair will continue to grow in and also darken in time as well. We'll see...

I know this is going to be a long-term healing process, (especially if you're waiting on hair to grow...) and that's hard. The sacrifice to make all of these gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free meals at home day after day (and also figure out what WE'RE going to eat, too!) does not come without grumbling. (from me, not from her) The dying-to-self of not being able to do simple things that we used to enjoy together-- going out for ice cream or pizza & putting her hair in bows and ponytails are just to name a few-- makes me so, so sad at times. As a "performer"-type personality, it just isn't all that glorious to spend an entire DAY when all you can say at the end of it was, "well, I kept my family fed." (I know that it IS glorious and not-to-mention my God-given calling right now, but you understand...)

In the past 7 weeks, there have been some GREAT weeks and there have been some heartbreaking ones. And of the MANY MANY things God is teaching me through all of this, one of them is that we all just want a quick fix to our problems, and He simply doesn't work that way. But amidst all of my tears, I'm praising Him along the way for all the things He's teaching me, both about things in the kitchen and things in my heart. He is mysteriously working this for our good and His glory, and on my good days I'm able to rest in that promise. Regardless of my feelings which are ever so fickle, He remains faithful to us, whether my child has a head FULL of hair or a beautiful shining bald one. And with a child Himself who suffered FAR more than mine is, I'm thankful He knows exactly what I'm going through.

gone fishing...

It was the first time Daddy took me fishing. (down at a little pond in the park by our neighborhood)


And guess what?! We caught a fish!


That fish totally cracked me up!


It was my job to take him and throw him back into the water where he belonged.


Whew... it's a rough life for a fisherman sometimes, ya know? :)

at 26 months...

(We're almost a week late on this one, but hey- better late than never, right?)

It's probably easy for folks to begin defining me only by what's going on with me health-wise these days, but lest you begin thinking of me more like a science experiment, here's what the REAL me is up to! :)

• As you'll see from these pictures, I am an OUTDOORS gal. I want to be outside as much as possible, and my sand/water table is a PERFECT activity for me to learn.
• I am 100% personality! Words that people would describe me might be: strong, polite, silly, joyful, sweet, and super smart.
• Speaking of smart, my cousin Lala did a grad-school project in speech pathology on my language ability, and it said that at the time of my 2nd birthday in Feb, I was talking at the level of a 3 YEAR OLD!
• I now wake up from naps and sleeping by exclaiming loudly in my crib, "See? I wake up from nap, Mommy!"
  

• I'm a ball of energy! Dancing, running, going up and down stairs, playing at a playground, you name it...
• I love saying all kinds of nursery rhymes and songs now such as "Ring around the Rosies," "Mary Had a Little Lamb," and "Rock a Bye Baby."
• My favorite hymns to sing are "Holy Holy Holy," "Come Thou Fount," (I can sing 2 full verses!) "Jesus Lover of My Soul," and "Amazing Grace."
  
• I know all 26 letters, all numbers up to 10, and did I ever tell you I finally figured out my colors? (that was probably a month or so ago, but nonetheless...)
• I think I have reached what people probably refer to as the "terrible twos." I like to shout "NO!" and disobey Mommy & Daddy. This leads to lots of frustrating time-outs but also sweet, heart-to-heart talks about how God wants us to obey Mommy & Daddy. Lots of opportunities to talk about the Gospel: how much we need Jesus every day, and how thankful we are for His goodness and grace to us.
  

• Still not a fan of swings, guys. I'll tolerate them for a minute, but oh, I'll slide down the TALLEST slide you can find! I can't tell you enough-- slides are my FAVORITE!! (which has Mommy & Daddy on the lookout for a nice wooden swingset for the back yard...)
  
• I am not the world's greatest bubble blower by far. When I blow, I make the sound like this: "fffffffff..." so needless to say, the bubbles aren't flying out by the dozens. ha! We'll keep working on it. :)
• I am finally doing GREAT with going into the nursery at church, and when "Mommy and Daddy go on DATE, they come back and getchu." (at least that's what I have to tell myself out loud repeatedly when they're away... Good coping skill, I guess.) :)
  

• I've figured out how to take a few rotations on my tricycle! In no time, I'll be pedaling all over the place.
  
• Mommy is thankful I am still a good sleeper. I sleep from 8:00pm-6:45am and take a three hour afternoon nap.
• Bald or not, I am Mommy & Daddy's dream come true.
  

all baby dolls wear hats...

6 weeks...

Don't they say that when you do something for 6 weeks, it becomes a habit? That's certainly been the case for us. Today marks 6 weeks of gluten free, baby!! Oh, it was a good reminder to go back and read my post from gluten-free, day 1 and praise God for how far I've come since then! 6 weeks later, GLUTEN-free is a piece of cake! ('though you can't HAVE a piece of cake... cake? what's cake?) :) However... the no soy & dairy part? Not quite so much yet... but we'll get there. (and now, to top it off, we're gonna get rid of eggs for a couple of weeks & see if that helps... I know- we must be crazy by this point.) :)

This morning we took Caroline to a pediatrician in town that is an MD but is also well-known and beloved for being more wholistic and seeing the BIG picture in health. She was fabulous. It's like she knew our child even before she met her!?! (she had obviously studied over Caroline's entire chart of medical records closely because we hardly even had to explain a THING!) She took all of our findings from this doctor and that doctor, and she was able to help put the pieces of the puzzle together for us and give us confidence that we are on the right track. She knew ALOT about the immune system, and how all of Caroline's issues-- the hairloss, the eczema, the gastro stuff, and her bloodwork findings related together.

Without going into too much detail & risk boring or confusing you guys, it seems like this is probably not full-blown celiac, but an overall immune system that has been attacked and needs healing and repairing. I've done so much reading on the immune system, & I NEVER knew the kinds of stuff I know now! But to keep things simple, no doctor until today told me that Caroline's iron had shown itself on the low side (Megan, does that surprise you? he he) and no doctor until today seemed to have the time or ability to look at her body as a whole and help figure out what steps will help. So PRAISE GOD for directing us and guiding us to her!

After meeting with this doctor, I'm thankful we were already on the right path with the gluten, dairy, & soy free diet. (though she said we're just now in the beginning stages of this diet and the healing process so we'll check back with her in 3 more weeks to see how things are looking.) And hopefully as her intestines heal over the next several months, we'll start to see other changes as well in her skin & hair. (fingers crossed!)

So I think after today we feel more optimistic and hopeful for the long-term! Praise Jesus! We know we've probably got a long road ahead of us in the upcoming months, but at least today we're more committed than ever to stick with this crazy, sacrificial, expensive, restrictive, pizza-lacking diet. :)

And as I watched my sweet girl gobble up EVERY LAST LITTLE BIT of fresh zucchini, squash, & red peppers tonight, I couldn't help but feel my heart swelling with love.

green thumb...

Yes!! It's that time of year and our family has been eagerly awaiting our chance to try a garden! Even though we've got plenty of space to do it in the backyard, the deer around here are notorious for munching away on your crops, so this year, Mommy & Daddy decided to do a small, simple container garden on our upstairs deck.


And it's my job to help with the watering each day!


I'm a woman on a mission and I love it!


Yeah, as you can see, we didn't go with the nice & pretty planters... 5 gallon paint buckets will work just fine, right? (and you know what? My guess is that the tomatoes will taste just as good...) :)


And waalah! Not the um, classiest presentation for a container garden, but hey, it's ours... and hopefully this summer we'll be enjoying lots of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, herbs, & strawberries!


More water, please!

egg-cellent getaway...

This past weekend Marc & I (Amy) were fortunate to get a quick, but much-needed, overnight getaway by ourselves! Caroline had a wonderful time at our house with a young married couple whom she ADORES while we zipped over the mountains to the beautiful Shenandoah Valley for the night. We stayed with some friends of ours who live on an amazing property with a river in their backyard!, so we were able to take a canoe ride on the river and enjoy some quiet togetherness.

I DIDN'T take my camera (I know, that's shocking... but what's the point when my favorite subject to photograph wasn't even with us? he he!), so the following pictures are blurry since they were taken on Marc's cell phone.

I don't know how many of you have seen the new documentary, Food Inc., but we loved it and we'd highly recommend it. There's a farmer that's featured in the movie that to us, seemed to have a biblical world view as he spoke about his profession, and we were really impressed. (people travel hundreds of miles to visit this farm- it's crazy!) Well, long story short, his farm was within minutes of where we stayed, so we decided to take a visit of the farm and pick up some good food while we were there!

So to our surprise, the worker selling the food at the farm told us that we could go gather our OWN fresh eggs. "Like, FROM THE CHICKENS!?!" I thought. (that's when you know you were raised in the city...)

Turned out to be the highlight of our weekend. :) Hence, the only camera we had was on the cell phone to capture this hilarious, and strangely somewhat romantic moment. :)


See, we had to walk around the bend and THROUGH a cow pasture, crossing over the fences, until we got to this free-range chicken house-thingy. (whatever you call them! Don't make fun of me-- I'm from the city.) Then we climbed up the little ladder and as we got inside, you wouldn't BELIEVE the cacophony of noise that started coming out of these chickens!!! (kinda freaked us out a little...)


And inside, there were chickens laying eggs in these little nesting places.


Literally, when the chicken flew off out of the nest, we would snatch up the eggs, still warm!


I don't know if this is as amazing to any of you as it was to us... again, if it isn't, just remember... we're from the city. :)


Aren't all the colors beautiful?


Wow. Here's our dozen! Next time we go, I know a certain little someone who'd LOVE to go along with us on a REAL Easter-egg hunt...


...and there was something else about our hunt that she LOVED as well!

songs about jesus...

...and probably the fastest, most furious rendition of the Lord's Prayer you've ever heard! ha!

These songs have taken on deeper meaning for us in recent days. He is so good, He's so good to me.

oh boy, no soy...

Today marks 5 weeks of our gluten-free lifestyle for Caroline. (And oh, if we could only go back to ONLY being gluten free! Now that seems soooo easy! Can ya believe it?) I (Amy) told y'all we made the switch off of milk products and onto soy about two weeks ago, and we have not seen any improvements since the switch. (to be somewhat graphic, her diapers took a turn for the worse with the soy plus her eczema/skin issues are as flared up as ever.) SO, as of two days ago, we're now gluten-free, dairy-free, AND soy-free.

That pretty much leaves nothing left to eat!! :) (except applesauce and carrot sticks...)

Dinners still feel somewhat "easy"-- bake a fresh meat (fish, chicken, beef, etc. with basically no seasoning), rice, a vegetable, and some fresh fruit. (Shouldn't we all eat like that?) But it's the convenience foods-- the animal crackers, the snacks, the salad dressings, the mac-n-cheese that every kid wants, the things you pack to give them when you're out & about, & all the packaged things that almost ALWAYS have some kind of trace of wheat, milk, or soy.

Everyone seems to mention Trader Joe's or Whole Foods to me. What I wouldn't GIVE to have one nearby! But of course we live in a small town that has neither. (Whole Foods is over an hour away in Charlottesville, Trader Joe's is almost 2 hours away in Richmond. I know that doesn't seem too far away, but with our schedule & with a two year old, that feels like a physical impossibility.) Plus it seems like every time I stock up on convenience foods she CAN have, the next week she CAN'T! Oh, I do NOT want to see our grocery bills...

Granted some of this is somewhat self-inflicted. No doctor is following us around saying "you HAVE to get off of milk!" "You have to get off of soy!" But through this elimination process we are trying to see what might be triggering some of her skin & tummy issues, not to mention help strengthen her immune system to grow some hair!

No time or energy to write more. I've got meals to figure out. I know I'm doing everything I possibly can for my baby girl and all of this will take TIME, but at the end of the day, it's just hard. Thanks for praying, friends.

simple pleasures...