We thought we had answers......

Boy, were we wrong!

Sorry that I have been MIA. You can find the whole story here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kyleighmae

Or here is the abbreivated version: Kyleigh has something more than just food allergies going on. They sent us to the hospital for testing. We were there 7 hours.....7 LONG hours. They did an upper GI and sweat test. Both came back normal.

We are now set to see a pediatric GI doctor so they can try to figure out what is wrong with Kyleigh. Jamie and I are very nervous. We just want our sweet girl better!

Please pray for her and for us as we wait for the appointment.

We have answers.....

We have some answers, a few pieces to the puzzle.

The pediatric allergist test Kyleigh for 10 things. Out of those 10, she had reactions to 3. They were: milk, tree nuts and brewers yeast.

We had an A HA moment while we were there. MILK!!! Anytime that I have supplemented with formula, Kyleigh's ecezma and reflux got worse. She was also a lot fussier. Well, no wonder! She is allergic to it!

Long story short, Kyleigh now has a new doctor that we will see on a regular basis. They will have to test her from time to time. And as the doctor put it, we are not out of the woods with her.


New foods will come slowly. We have to be diligent about this. Now that we have answers, we can move forward and do what we need to do. :)

Here are a few pictures from that day......

Please pray for Kyleigh and for me as we adjust to our new challenge. :)

Love,

Leah and Kyeigh

Answers coming....

Saturday morning when Kyleigh woke up she had a rash on her arms and a little on her legs. I am guessing that it was from the allergen (whatever it is) that she had on Friday. I have done some research on the whole food allergy thing and it is quite scary!

I talked with Kyleigh's doctor and was not satisfied with the answers that I got. They said to go ahead and resume feeding solids. Even the ones that she had a reaction to. Excuse me?!?!? I need answers thank you very much!

We have answers coming! I have talked with a friend who is a pediatrician. She advised me, as a friend ;) not as as doctor, to go ahead and call a pediatric allergist. I called today and explained our situation. Kyleigh is being seen by one of the best pediatric allergist in the city THIS Friday. Wooooo hoooo!!!! The nurse did say plan on being there about 3 hours. They will probably go ahead with the skin test.

I am so nervous yet so grateful that we are getting somewhere.
~Leah

This STINKS!

Well, this just stinks.

I fed Kyleigh solids again today and she vomited about an hour later. Long story short, the doctor thinks that it is a food allergy. We have taken her off of all solids until we can figure this all out. Man this just stinks! Poor baby. I have to call the doctor on Monday and see where we go from here.
Please just remember her in your prayers. Thanks.

Whew!

Miss Kyleigh is much better. :) Yay!!! It is so hard to see your little one sick. She gave me quite a scare.
On Monday, she woke from her nap and started vomiting. She was, well let's just put it this way, violently ill. :(((( After the 2nd time, she was vomiting bile. I called the doctor and had Jamie come home from work. We took her into the pediatrician. They did blood work. Everything came back good with the labs. The exam was good too. We were told just to watch her and if she started again, I was to call and take her in to the ER. She never vomited any more. Never ran a fever or nothing. It was like it never happened. So we are not quite sure what happened or why.

On a lighter note, Caleb hit homerun number 5 on Wednesday! He was uncontrolable! LOL This is number 5 in a row for him. We were all laughing. He is loving softball this year. I am so glad that he decided to play again. Where oh where has the time gone???? Wasn't it just yesterday that he was sitting in his stroller??? Now he is 13 years old, 6 foot tall and has girls after him! Oh wow........

9 months old

Now, 13 years old

My littlest girl a few weeks ago......

She kind of looks like her big brother! She is crazy about her Bubby. And her big brother is sure crazy about her. It is a very, very sweet bond that they have. Caleb calls her his peanut. I am going to love watching this relationship grow and blossom.

Hug them tight, before you know it they are grown!

~Leah

Fly by post....

Just a quick fly by post......Kyleigh has been sick today. She started vomiting about 2 PM today. :((( My poor sweet girl is pitiful.

Here is a quick picture for everyone......

A, B, C ~ Just for fun!

A is for age
33

B is for burger of choice
Any burger from Logan's Steakhouse

C is for what car you drive
Ford Windstar

D is for Dog's name
Bailey, a black lab

E is for essential item you use every day
My computer :)

F is for favorite tv show at the moment
Hmmm.....Deadliest Catch

G is for Favorite game
Life

H is for Hometown
Louisville, KY

I is for instruments you play
Don't play any instruments

J is for favorite juice
Grape ~ yummo!

K is for who you'd like to kiss
Baby Kyleigh

L is for last restaurant you ate at
Taco Bell

M is for your favorite Muppet
Kermit

N is for number of piercings
2, ears

O is for overnight hospital stays
6, all for the births of my kiddos

P is for people you were with today
I was with my immediate family, hubby and kids and I was also with my Dad.

Q is for what you do with your quiet time
Read, blog, try to catch my breath.

R is for biggest regret
Not spending more time with my Mom before she died.

S is for status
Married for 13.5 years!

T is for time you woke up today
8 AM

U is for what you consider unique
For us, it is our large family. Hee heee.

V is for vegetable you love
Potatoes, any way!

W is for worst habit
Biting my nails

X is for number of x-rays you've had
Tons! I just had one 2 weeks ago from where I fell down the steps with Kyleigh. She laughed all the way. I cried! LOL

Y is for yummy food you ate today
Tacos! Yummy!

Z is for zodiac sign
Scorpio

Be Still

Be Still and Know That I Am God

My child, what I mean is:
Though the earth be removed,
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with swelling,
Though the wind blow,
Though the storm rage;
IN OTHER WORDS
Though your bills are due,
Though they give you a hard time on your job,
Though your husband won't act right,
Though your wife won't act right,
Though your children are disobedient,
Though there's sickness in your body,
Though your enemies get on your nerves;
Stop your WORRIES!
Stop your COMPLAINING!
Stop your DOUBTING!
Stop your FROWNING!
Cease your fears, and dry up those tears!
For I'm right there to comfort you,
I'm right there to guide you,
I'm right there to hold you up,
I'm right there to heal you,
I'm right there to deliver you.
So cast your cares upon me for I careth for you.
My child this is what I mean by being still and knowing
I AM GOD.

~Author Unknown~




We went and spent the day with my Daddy today. I left feeling so down. We were able to get a lot done for him. I trimmed all of the rose bushes and sprayed them for bugs and disease. Jamie got the gutter fixed that the storm damaged. We pulled some weeds and took down a bush that needed to go. We came in and visited for awhile and I washed his dishes for him.

I feel so bad when I leave him. Lord, please bless my Dad tonight. Give him peace and let him rest.

~L

PS I will explain this post later. I am so tired tonight. I just need to rest. :(

A sorta fix......

I think that I have figured out where everything went wrong....I was playing around yesterday with some new templates. I think that some of the changes messed up the header picture. So, I have set the picture off to the side until I can really fix it. :P

Grrr.........

I am having issues with Blogger right now. GRRRRR......... My header photo keeps disappearing. Humpf.........off to pout now.

Happy Independence Day!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy 4th of July!


Be sure to check out Star-Spangled Crafts, Recipes, and Games (from Family Fun Magazine) for lots more ideas and hints for a great 4th of July.



Don't forget......Flag Ideas and Etiquette from Martha Stewart

Have a great day everyone!
~Leah

A treat for you....

WHITE CHOCOLATE AND CRANBERRY COOKIES

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of butter (softened)
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups self rising flour
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup of dried cranberries

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheet.

In a large bowl, cream butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth.
Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Stir the flour into the sugar mixture.

Mix in the white chocolate chips and cranberries. Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes in preheated oven. For the best results, take them out while they are still a little doughy.

Allow cookies to cool for approximately 1 minute on the cookie sheet prior to transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Freedom & Faith......

What does it mean to you?



I encourage you to watch the short video at http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/shortmovie.php. Did you ever stop to thank a soldier for their service to our county? Did you ever stop to think about the sacrifices that they make on a daily basis to keep our country free?


Here is a very moving and touching YouTube video. It is called "Cardboard Testimony".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ

Ta da!

Miss Kyleigh Mae now has 2 teeth! She got ahold of my finger and OUCH! Them little things are sharp!

And just like that, Kyleigh is now sitting by herself! She did it for the first time on Tuesday. :) She is really liking this sitting up and playing. Victoria sat with her today and played patty cake. She loved it! Kyleigh can sit alone for about 10 -15 minutes by herself.

I can't believe how big she is getting!!!!

A little about me....

1) What is your favorite day of the week? I love Saturdays!

2) How do you usually do your hair? I usually just leave it down and wavy. I also pull it back with a headband. Kyleigh loves to pull hair these days. Currently my hair is a little on the long side.

3) What is your favorite item of clothing? My March of Dimes t-shirt, totally a new Mom thing. LOL

4) Where would your dream vacation be? Walt Disney World! I am still such a kid at heart!

5) Who is your favorite author? book? This is a hard one! I love so many it is hard to pick just one!

6) How often do you log on? Often :)

7) What is one of your favorite internet sites to visit? All Recipes ~ a great recipe site!

8) Coke or Pepsi? I am a Pepsi girl.

9) Healthy snacks or junk food? Both for me: chips, string cheese, cookies

10) Are you a morning person or a night owl? I am a morning person now that I am a Mom.

Teeth & Toes

Guess who has a tooth????

Miss Kyleigh Mae has her first tooth!!!!! Yesterday there was nothing there. And today, BAM there it is. Sniff sniff.......she really is growing up. Glad to know that is why she has been SO fussy the past week.

This evening, Olivia had folded up the dish towels and was going to put them in the drawer. The drawer fell out and landed on her big toe. It immedately started turning all sorts of pretty shades of red, black and blue. She was not a happy camper. Jamie took a drill bit and drilled a small hole in the toe nail to relieve the pressure. It was so gross!!! It almost made me sick. LOL Yeah, yeah, yeah, I used to be an EMT. LOL I'm telling ya, when it is your own kid it is a whole new ballgame. Olivia did say that it felt better.

So, it was an interesting day at our house. :)

Have a blessed week everyone!
Leah

Frugal Mommy

With the rising gas and food prices, I am trying to find ways to raise my family more frugally. :)

I love magazines. BUT, I hate paying so much for them. So, that is one of the things that has been cut out of my budget. I have found a way to earn magazines for free though!


Earn Free Subscriptions to Your Favorite Magazines!

Adperk allows you to earn a full subscription to many of your favorite magazines! Magazines include Good Housekeeping, Redbook and Parenting just to name a few. You'll earn subscriptions by watching videos they think you'll be interested in. The videos are not bad at all. :)

How it works: Select the offer you wish to participate in and you’ll be taken to a library of relevant branded videos. Each video represents credit(s) that can be applied toward the corresponding reward offer. Watch videos that interest you the most and once completed, simply enter a word-verification so the credits can be applied to your account. You’ll be automatically directed to the checkout page after you’ve earned the required number of credits and your reward will be mailed to you.

Adperk costs you nothing! The magazines are currently paid for by AdPerk advertisers. What a GREAT deal! :)

Adventures in babyfood.....

Kyleigh started baby food this past Sunday. We started with applesauce and organic oatmeal cereal. She loved it!!!! I was a little surprised that she took to it so well. I was expecting at least a little resistance. We tried the applesauce for 3 days. No problems! So, we moved on to organic sweet peas. Hubby HATES peas. I like them. So, I was curious to see what Kyleigh did with them.

I think that she wore a little more than she ate. But, she did like them! She kept making these little noises while she was eating. So sweet! Luckily, she has not learned how to blow rasberries while eating. But I am sure that it is just a matter of time. Hee hee.....

Stay tuned for more Adventures in Babyfood!

Love,

Kyleigh

A new day.......

(I took this picture after a storm on Thursday evening. It just reminded me that God is ever present. I don't tell God how big the storm is. I tell the storm how big my God is!)

A New Day by Celine Dion

A new day has...come

I was waiting for so long
For a miracle to come
Everyone told me to be strong
Hold on and don't shed a tear

Through the darkness and good times
I knew I'd make it through
And the world thought I had it all
But I was waiting for you

Hush, love

I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun

A new day has...come
Where it was dark now there's light
Where there was pain now there's joy
Where there was weakness, I found my strength
All in the eyes of a boy

Hush, love

I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun

A new day has...come
A new day has...come
Ohhh, a light... OOh


This song has so much meaning for me. I truly believe that my Mom has sent Kyleigh to me and my family. Since losing her in September of 2006, life has a whole new meaning for me. I never knew that you could miss someone so much. Kyleigh has brought so much joy into our lives.



Mama, thanks for sending Kyleigh to us! She is such a blessing and such a joy! We love and miss you so much! Can't wait to see you again!

Praising Him always,


Leah

Quiz.......What does your name mean???

What Leah Means

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Your 1950s Name is:

Thelma Holly

What's" Your 1950s Name?

My how she has grown....WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

What do I love???

What do I love???

I love Kyleigh sleeping on my chest. I can hear and feel her breathing.
I love my wonderful husband. He is a wonderful father.
I love my children. They are each so unique and different.
I love Kyleigh's eyes! That is one of the first things that people notice about her.

I love the Lord! He has blessed me beyond imagination!
I love our Friday family "Taco Bell" night.
I love spending time with my family.
I love that I got to spend 52 years with my Mom until she was called home.
I love the courage and strength that my Mom had until the day she died.
I love knowing that one day I WILL see her again!
I love Starbucks!
I love shopping!


What do you love?
~Leah

PS I am almost done with the changes to the blog. :) I am really liking the way that it is turning out.

New blog, new layout......take two!

New blog, new name, new layout! :) I am working on a new graphic for the top of the page.

To catch up take a peek at my old blog.......http://lovenotesoftheheart.blogspot.com/