Splish Splash

On the way to the beach Tracie and I had a conversation about how fun it would be to have one of those big blow up boats so we could lay in the ocean and soak up the rays.....

So Matt being the kind guy he is bought us one:)

Lindsay: "We need to try out our new boat."

Tracie: "Sounds good, are you ready?"

Lindsay: "Yeah. Let's take our lunch out there and just relax."

Tracie: "Okay. I am going to put the chips in a ziploc bag just in case."

Lindsay: I said okay but I was thinking to myself, what for??? and I didn't know why in the world she was taking off her shorts and only wearing her bathing suit out there. So, "Are you not going to wear your shorts out there?" (It was cloudy and chilly and the water was cold)

Tracie: "No, we will get wet."

Lindsay: Reluctantly, "Okay, guess I should just wear my suit too then"

We set out on our little adventure.....

But before we know it, we are right back at the shore where we started....

So Matt comes out to help us
Or so we thought....

Um yeah....
Tracie flipped over my head

I was laughing so hard I swallowed a gallon of water

We finally get back in ....heading the right way but very soaked and cold.....

Aaahhh, upright and totally offended that our chips are crushed....
Guess she was right:) Good thing I had dry clothes on land and that our chips were in a ziploc bag:)

Oh and just in case you were wondering, NO we did not get back in that boat again.

Maybe when it's warmer

Sisters

Words really aren't necessary....the pictures speak for themselves.

Piper

Pipey started dance this week! She is taking a class at the church, just like Gracie attempted last year:)

She walked right in and participated the whole class! And she keeps asking when she gets to go back.

Her favorite part was jumping over shoes:) Can't wait till this recital. It will be quite entertaining!

One Month

Our sweet little precious just turned on month old last week. She is such a doll!

Having three kids has been really hard, but we are honestly enjoying her so much. Most of the time, if she is awake she is being snuggled by someone:) and I am okay with that.

She has a really great yawn, a sweet cry, and adorable coo, and a precious smile:)

Oh how we love her! The girls call her Reesee. So I guess that will be her nickname:)

Look Alike

Here are pictures of the three girls. Who do you think she looks like?

These first two are Gracie
This is Piper
And this is Reese
We've heard people say she looks like both of them. Most say she looks like Gracie.

One Month

It's been one month since Baby Reese was born:) And it's been quite a month! Sorry you haven't heard much from me, my internet time has been severely limited. Taking care of three girls is hard work!

There aren't even any new pics for this post:( I will get to that this week.

Life has been full and crazy busy. It's been hard but good. Reese is such a sweet little baby. She is eating like a champ, almost 10 lbs now! She also sleeps really well. I am so grateful for that. She wakes up at 2 and 5 to eat at night. The only downside to her eating is that it takes her an hour to do it! She loves being held.

I have had some serious struggles again with nursing, so we are weaning and switching to a bottle this week. Poor little Reese is having a hard time adjusting, which breaks my heart. I hope to start making her formula soon and I am excited about that. It's super nutritious.

Jeremy is super busy at work and a little stressed with all he has on his plate. Then he comes home to an exhausted wife and three girls who want his attention. He has served us so much.

The girls are adjusting pretty well. Having some issues with obeying and respect which have kept us on our toes. But they sure do love their sister! They hold her every chance they get. Gracie wants to feed her her bottles too. They are so much help. I don't know what I would do without them.

So that's a little about us:) I have lots of posts in my head! Hopefully I will get them done soon.

Thought you might need this info:

Warning: Swine Flu Shot Linked to Killer Nerve Disease

A warning that the swine flu vaccine has been linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the UK Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.

The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, was leaked to The Daily Mail, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.

It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine. GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, causing paralysis and inability to breathe, and can be fatal.

The letter refers to the use of a similar swine flu vaccine in the United States in 1976 when:

• More people died from the vaccination than from swine flu
• The vaccine may have increased the risk of contracting GBS by eight times
• The vaccine was withdrawn after just ten weeks when the link with GBS became clear
• The U.S. Government was forced to pay out millions of dollars to those affected

Concerns have already been raised that the new vaccine has not been sufficiently tested and that the effects, especially on children, are unknown.

Sources:

The Daily Mail August 15, 2009

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

As mentioned in this article, the 1976 swine flu vaccine campaign caused more harm than good, and there are indications that the current campaign may end up being a devastating repeat or worse.

At that time, one person died from the actual swine flu, while 25 people died from adverse reactions to the vaccine, and several hundred people developed crippling Guillain-Barré Syndrome.

According to The Daily Mail, the British Health Protection Agency sent letters to 600 neurologists on July 29^th, warning them to be on the lookout for cases of Guillain- Barré Syndrome once the swine flu vaccine campaign begins.

Why the warning was not sent out to general practitioners, who will be administering the shot, seems an odd choice if public safety is indeed the main concern.

This confidential correspondence between the British public health agency and neurologists in the U.K. is the first clue that all is probably not well with this fast-tracked pandemic vaccine.

Are You Willing to Let Them Experiment on Your Child?

According to a recent report from CNN, the U.S. is set to receive as many as 600 million doses of swine flu vaccine, enough for 300 million Americans.

Based on the recommendations from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) advisory group on immunization matters, thetop priority groups that stand to receive the vaccine first include:

• Pregnant women

• Children over the age of 6 months with chronic health conditions

• Adults with chronic health conditions such as chronic respiratory disease, asthma, or obesity

• Health care workers

However, pregnant women, children, and those whose immune systems are already compromised are also at even greater risk to suffer severe side effects from the vaccine, as the adjuvants in the vaccine are designed to reduce your immune function.

Barbara Loe Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) recently warned about the campaign underway to turn schools into virtual vaccination clinics. In many U.S. states, school has already started, so the decision of whether or not to vaccinate your child may become an issue you’ll have to deal with in the coming weeks.

Swine Flu Drug of Choice Causes Side Effects in Half of All Children

In the U.K. the hysteria over swine flu led to flu drugs being offered online, without a doctor’s prescription. This is incomprehensible, considering their risk. Just a couple of weeks ago I reported on brand new study findings that the swine flu drug of choice, Tamiflu, caused one or more side effects in OVER HALF of all children who received it!

Side effects included:

• Nausea – 29 percent

• Stomach pain or cramps – 20 percent

• Neuropsychiatric side effects including inability to think clearly, nightmares, and “strange behavior” – nearly 20 percent

• Sleep problems – 12 percent

The British Medical Association’s lead expert on swine flu went on the record stating that Tamiflu is now being overused.

Keep in mind that, although the swine flu has spread across the world it appears to have decreased in severity. The vast majority of cases are very mild, requiring only a few days in bed.

In fact, the regular seasonal flu is still far worse, and more deadly, than the swine flu.

How Vaccines Can Cause so Much Harm

The intended effect of a vaccination is to help you build immunity to a potentially harmful organism. However, your body’s immune system is already designed to do this in response to organisms that invade your body naturally.

Most disease-causing organisms enter your body through the mucous membranes of your nose, mouth, pulmonary system or your digestive tract. These mucous membranes have their own immune system, called the IgA immune system, which fights off invading organisms at the point of entry, reducing or even eliminating the need for activation of your body’s immune system.

A vaccination, however, delivers either live or attenuated (dead) viruses directly into your tissues and blood stream through injection, completely bypassing your body’s first line of defense. And when combined with an immune adjuvant, your body’s immune system kicks into high gear in response to the vaccination. If your immune system is too weak to deal with the assault, severe side effects can occur.

Injecting organisms into your body to provoke immunity is contrary to nature, and vaccination carries enormous potential to do serious damage to your health.

To emphasize this point further, when ingested, the vaccine adjuvant squalene is actually recognized by your immune system as an oil molecule native to your body. It has antioxidant properties and is found throughout your nervous system and brain.

The difference between “good” and “bad” squalene is the route by which it enters your body. Injection is an abnormal route of entry which incites your immune system to attack all the squalene in your body, not just the vaccine adjuvant.

As a result, your immune system will attempt to destroy the molecule wherever it finds it, including in places where it occurs naturally, and where it is vital to the health of your nervous system.

For more information about squalene, and the hazards it poses when included in flu shots, please review my recent special report on the topic, if you have not already done so.

Is Silver a Good Choice for the Swine Flu?

While I believe colloidal silver does have some merit, there may be significant problems in using it for swine flu. We were initially going to carry one of the finest silver products in our store, but I recently learned of new information that changed my mind.

While silver will likely work to kill the swine flu virus, in many healthy individuals it is likely to elicit a severe cytokine storm reaction. This is basically a severe allergic inflammatory reaction that can occur in your lungs, and could be fatal.

Additionally, silver is a heavy metal and there is no need for it in your body. So when used acutely it may have benefit, but in the long run you will need to eliminate the silver ions in your body with some type of detoxification process.

I am currently consulting with some of the leading experts on a swine flu product that I hope to have by the end of the year that will use completely natural ingredients that build your immune system, and will not result in a potentially fatal cytokine storm.

In the Meantime Consider Vitamin D as it Prevents Seasonal Flu

Just last week I reported on Canada’s decision to investigate the role of vitamin D in protection against the swine flu. This is great, but there are already overwhelming evidence showing that your vitamin D levels play a significant role in your likelihood of getting the flu.

Vitamin D has been a hot research topic these past few years, and has been shown to have remarkable impact on nearly every single disease studied.

Here is a list of four studies published this year, showing an inverse association between respiratory tract infections and 25(OH)D levels. That is, the higher your vitamin D level, the lower your risk of contracting colds, flu, and other respiratory tract infections:

1. A 2007 study suggests higher vitamin D status enhances your immunity to microbial infections. They found that subjects with vitamin D deficiency had significantly more days of absence from work due to respiratory infection than did control subjects.

2. A 2009 study on vitamin D deficiency in newborns with acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) confirmed a strong, positive correlation between newborns’ and mother’s vitamin D levels. Over 87 percent of all newborns and over 67 percent of all mothers had vitamin D levels lower than 20 ng/ml, which is a severe deficiency state.
   
   Newborns with vitamin D deficiency appear to have an increased risk of developing ALRI, and since the child’s vitamin D level strongly correlates with its mother’s, the researchers recommend that all mothers’ optimize their vitamin D levels during pregnancy, especially in the winter months, to safeguard their baby’s health.

3. A 2009 analysis of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey examined the association between vitamin D levels and recent upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in nearly 19,000 subjects over the age of 12.
   
   Recent URTI was reported by:

   • 17 percent of participants with vitamin D levels of 30 ng/ml or higher

   • 20 percent of participants with vitamin D levels between 10-30 ng/ml.

   • 24 percent of participants with vitamin D levels below 10 ng/ml

The positive correlation between lower vitamin D levels and increased risk of URTI was even stronger in individuals with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

4. Another 2009 report in the journal Pediatric Research stated that infants and children appear more susceptible to viral rather than bacterial infections when deficient in vitamin D. And that, based on the available evidence showing a strong connection between vitamin D, infections, and immune function in children, vitamin D supplementation may be a valuable therapy in pediatric medicine.

Granted, so far none of the research has focused on vitamin D’s impact on pandemic flu. If your body has never been exposed to the antigens there is chance that vitamin D might not be enough.

However, there’s no evidence suggesting that vitamin D supplementation would cause you any harm or make your illness any worse.

On the contrary, if you are coming down with flu-like symptoms and have not supplemented with vitamin D, Dr. Cannell, one of the world’s leading vitamin D experts, recommends taking 50,000 IU’s a day for three days to treat the acute infection.

Some researchers, including Dr. Cannell, believe the dose could even be as high as 1,000 units per pound of body weight for three days.

Ultimately, your best bet is to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D around 60 ng/ml year-round. Please note that this is far higher than most doctors will refer to as “normal.” Rather it is the optimal level you’ll want to maintain for disease prevention.

I strongly recommend you watch my one-hour free vitamin D lecture along with my video on vitamin D’s role in flu prevention for more in-depth information about vitamin D’s role in flu prevention.

Taking care of your health to reduce or eliminate your risk of contracting the flu is always going to be your safest bet. In addition to optimizing your vitamin D levels, this past article details my other recommendations for avoiding the flu naturally, and I strongly urge you to start incorporating these changes into your life today.