Pre-K Easter Party, April 1

I got to host Alex's Pre-K Easter party this year! Alex's class is truly a special group of amazingly gifted kids. They are all very respectful and kind and play well together. I was so excited to host the party! I was the photographer too, so not many pictures-- we were too busy crafting and playing. I felt honored to be a part of the Easter experience. 5 year olds are really able to grasp the sacrifice and miracle of the resurrection. As Alex would say, "He is noooot here. He is not here. He is risen indeed!"

Alex with her boyfriend, Mau

Jackson and Jia
Ben and Alex (so cute!)

My girl is working away on her crafts

Olivia hiding behind her accomplishments

Jackson is so proud!

Alex loved the cross project

The craft

Alex made 6 crosses! She loved it.

We had such a great day. Alex loved having mommy at class without Carson...and I had fun being there!

Disney on Ice

Disney on Ice = heaven on Earth for Alex Darby.
For her birthday, we surprised her with tickets. She still thinks it was Disney world :)
Alex dressed up as Snow White for the big event and was just the cutest ever. She was so happy and precious and animated (shocking, I know) through the show. She got up and sang the songs and it was a perfect experience for our family. The Worley family was there as well and we were sitting close, so Kaitlyn & Alex got to share some of the fun together. Here are pics:

Alex shows off her freshly painted nails. She was decked.
How cute is this? They were both Snow White!

Beautiful girls

Alex with Mommy

Alex with Daddy

Belle & The Beast

Trey had his lap full of cuteness

Alex dancing to "Under the Sea"

She is hysterical!

It's safe to say she had a blast! What a fun day for our fam.

YEAH!

Awesome, awesome news!
I called United Healthcare and spoke to them about the HLA DQ 2 testing (Celiac genetic testing)....the testing that costs $750.

Or not!

100% covered. Really. Thank you, God!
We are set up for testing at 10:00 on Monday. Boo for blood work but praise God for the opportunity. I have no doubt that I just got a hug from the big man upstairs.

Have a blessed day!

Carson update

We've had two big meetings for Carson this week (whew, and it's only Tuesday).
1. ECI came for the formal evaluation. There were two therapists: a speech therapist and a developmental therapist. Based on the evaluation (3.5 hours!) they've decided that Carson will receive developmental therapy once a week and speech therapy twice a month. Additionally, they have requested for an occupational therapist to come and do an evaluation because they believe he has Sensory Integration Disorder (Alex had this as well). As a mom, I have very mixed feelings. I am so incredibly thankful and blessed to have an agency that is willing to come and help us! They are coming to our home (so I don't have to expose Carson in childcare environments) and for the first six months, we will not pay for anything. WOW! The hard part for me was answering 350 questions about my son, and not liking my answers. Ultimately, the fact that he is receiving so much help shows just how much help he needs. Of course, that is a hard pill to swallow. It's scary to hear "delays and disorders"...but again, I am just grateful for the help. Bring it on!

2. Carson went back to the Gonino clinic today to review the test results from four weeks ago. An exciting report: he is absorbing almost all of the essential vitamins needed for proper development! The first time we tested him (prior to the diet change and adding the supplements), he was not absorbing ANY vitamins at all. This time his scores were outstanding. There were only two vitamin deficiencies and we are able to add those to our regime (after giving eight rounds of meds in the morning...what is two more, really?!) So that is good news!
The frustrating news....his IgE tests results left us with more questions and no answers. Basically, we learned that Carson doesn't have TRUE food allergies (he reacts poorly to so many foods b/c he has leaky gut-- which is a food intolerance) but his overall allergy score was "reactive." So the doctor said we know he is allergic to something, but just don't know what that is or why he is yet. So that means more testing. AHHH! They want to do a full environmental blood test on him next. That's fine, I just wanted an answer today. Grr.
He also wants to run a blood test to see if he has the gene that is linked to Celiac disease. It is $750 and not covered by insurance! I really want to have this test done because it would tell us a lot for his future....if he does have the gene, we know that we can never expose him to gluten. We aren't doing that now, and will continue to keep him off gluten. But, we are healing his gut, and the hope is that he will "outgrow" the food intolerance. If he has Celiac and it goes undiagnosed, it will undo all of the healing we are working so hard to achieve. He also said it is highly genetic and we could assume Alex has it too and we would know to eliminate gluten for all of us. Easier said than done :)
Just say a prayer that we are able to have this test conducted at some point. It would give me peace to know either way.

He said Carson's pancreas and A1C levels (indicators of diabetes) look great. Yeah! So not a whole lot is changing. This is the current plan:
1. Kill the fungus and mold (check)
2. Cleanse (we are starting him on a vitamin C cleanse)
3. Starve the bacteria (we've done this by cleaning out his diet entirely)
4. Recede (using probiotics)
5. Restore (using digestive enzymes to heal the gut)

We are on track to healing our little guy...it's just going to take longer and more blood tests than I had hoped. But again, my PLAN has nothing to do with God's big picture. I do hope and believe that between the therapy sessions and diet change and supplements, we will have a "healthy and normal" child....someday!
Thank you to all who are reading this, praying for us and care so much about our family. I love you all!

Spring Break 2010 - March 15-19

Wow, I'm verrrrrrry behind. Spring Break was AWESOME! Deb came in from Little Rock to spend time with me & the kiddos. It was so wonderful to have Alex home for the entire week-- no schedules (except for C's nap). Just fun! We stayed very busy...the way we like it!

Here are pics from Deb's first visit to Fossil Rim (record breaking attendance day...took over 4 hours to drive through the park):

The Darby girls are ready for an adventure!

The famous giraffe. There were 9 (several new babies).

Deb catching a moment on film.

We could hear the boys making gun shot noises in our heads :)

My beauty

Look at the pure joy on her face!

Alex feeding an Aoudad.

And feeding a "beautiful Bambi"

Mel braving the aggressive Ostrich so the family could get a laugh. He was actually much more gentle than several of the past encounters. IT'S A BIG BURD :)
--
Next stop: The Butterfly House at Fair Park. Heaven for a little girl that adores butterflies. She even wore her butterfly dress for the occasion. It was amazing. The Butterfly House hosts species of butterflies from all over the world. Alex asked great questions and loved every minute. They keep the inside temperate similar to "rain forest climate"-- so it was very, very warm and humid. We were soaked by the time we left. It was so worth it though. Carson tracked a butterfly or two...as usual, he was along for the ride. Alex's favorites: the Adonis Blue Butterfly and the Zebra Butterfly. Here are a few pics:

The fam out front

Sweet girl so excited to go inside

Andonis Blue Butterfly (gorgeous turquoise wings when they open)

Amazing

Carson hangin' in there...

DeDe and Carson catch their breath

Beautiful girls

Can you see the joy? I can!

The Zebra butterfly

Thousands of chrysalis - each marked with species type, origin and life span.

I adore this photo. She is so grown up!

--

Finally, we go from 78 degrees to 5 inches of snow in less than 24 hours. Only in Texas, right? Here is a picture of a brave DeDe trying to make Alex happy before she had to go back home. You are awesome, DeDe!

Good times!

ECI - Carson update

Today, Carson was evaluated by ECI (Early Childhood Intervention). ECI is a state agency focused on helping children (birth to age 3) that are experiencing delays or developmental issues. I wasn't sure if Carson would qualify for help, but I thought it was worth checking out.

ECI is amazing. I just wish I had known to call them ages ago. We had a therapist come to our home today to learn more about Carson and to assess him to see how he is doing.

I'll just get to it...she said he has a large speech delay :( She said he is at a 10-12 month old level...and he is 19 months old. Needless to say, that was very hard for me to hear. I went and found Alex's newsletter and she was using around 50 words at this age. He's using less than 10 words. He is still not clapping or pointing, and behind in social interaction, etc. The best way I can describe it is that I feel like he is developing in slow motion. It's hard to hear about all of the kids his age and what they are doing right now...he's just not there.

I am still holding on to the idea that Carson has been dealing with serious stomach issues and has high levels of toxins in his blood that are creating a "less than ideal" environment for his growth and development. Just in the past 10 weeks, we've hit the ground running with a new diet and supplements. I am hoping and PRAYING that it will just take some time for his body to clear up and catch up.

The Gonino clinic called today and they have Carson's blood work results. I will take him next Tuesday to hear the results and hopefully get some direction.

Just trying to stay encouraged. Sigh. Some days are much easier than others. Today...it's been a harder day. Hearing your child has a "massive speech delay" is crushing. I am thankful we will be getting some help though. Thank goodness for capable professionals that are dedicated to helping him (and me). It's felt a bit lonely on this journey at times...so I am thrilled to take any help offered.

Keep our little man in your prayers.

"As you go through this day, trust Me to provide strength that you need moment by moment. Don't waste energy wondering whether you are adequate for today's journey. My Spirit within you is more than sufficient to handle whatever this day may bring."

Funny, funny girl

Alex and my mom (YaYa) have a Monday tradition-- dollar movie Monday! Almost every week they go to the movies and have a blast. I just love these moments Sherree & Alex are spending together...precious and priceless. As usual, my mom comes back announcing she has Alex stories to share. This one was worth posting, I thought.

Today, the girls went and saw Tooth Fairy, starring Dwayne Johnson aka, "The Rock." Apparently, he was walking out the shower and they could just see him wrapping a towel around his waist and he was shirtless. My mom said, "um, wow." And Alex says, "No YaYa, we can't watch this, he is showing us his privacy!"

HAAAA!

Way to go, Alex! :)