Shoeboxes!

It's one of my favorite things to do during the Holiday season, It's Shoebox collection time!

This week Samaritan's Purse begins the awesome process of collecting, sorting, and shipping millions of shoeboxes to little boys and girls all over the world.

While I have always loved doing this, this year it takes on even more meaning. Because I've seen, held and kissed the cheeks of the children who are impacted by this ministry.

Here are their faces

This is where they live

And this is where they go to school. Well, probably not the kids that live in the slums above because you have to pay for school here.

Since seeing them and loving on them, I have some suggestions for you as you pack your shoeboxes.

See this little girl? I held her like this for a long, long time. She was so happy to just be in my arms. Look at her smile!

Her shirt was absolutely filthy. I mean insanely filthy. So I am packing shirts in my shoeboxes this year. Most of the children in the slums have a shirt that's falling off of them because it's so worn out. It's dirty, has holes all in it, you get the picture. Many of the babies walk around naked.

Also, the basics really are important. A toothbrush, toothpaste and soap are definitely necessities.

Whatever else you put in there, well it's likely that's all these kids will have. I mean, the toys you give them are the only things they will own. So think about that when you give it to them. Make sure it's durable. Make sure it's going to last them. Make it fun:)

Pencils are great but they need a sharpener. Crayons are good too. Notepads. Balls. Do I even need to mention how much they like candy? Goodness they gobbled that up!

Here's a link to help you pack http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/Pack_A_Shoe_Box/

And when you are doing it. Picture their faces. Picture your Lord delighting in you doing something "for the least of these."

I sure won't be the same as I pack mine this year.

Reese

Reese and I were letting Reilly out this afternoon and she really wanted to go out.

She was excited just to be able to crawl around on the porch.








Can't believe she's almost 15 months old.

Patterson Farm

We did some serious pumpkin picking this year. Gracie's class went to Patterson on the Friday before Halloween

The girls loooove this place. They have a great playground, petting zoo, hayride, and they added even more this year!
I traded Reese for Ellie:)
The girls spent most of their time in the corn pit.



This is Gracie's class and her sweet teacher, Ms. Inpyn
Feeding the animals is always a hit
They added a Bee house! You can actually see the bees making honey...
See?
Hayride!
Moriah and Gracie



And they added face painting!



And pumpkin painting. Woohoo, we didn't have to do it at home:)

Halloween

On Halloween we had a neighborhood outreach. Each family from our care group took a section in Cedarfield and handed out invitations. We dressed up and headed down to the Lucases to set up. We had several games, hot dogs, and candy of course!

Samuel, the knight
Madison wanted to wear my cowgirl hat:)
Madison loves for Gracie to hold her

This is my favorite picture of the night:)

Ninja/Hulk/Army man...who knows...it's Jeremy.....
Sweet girls....Piper, Sydney, and Gracie
The kids playing games



Even Doug the Pug came by for a visit:)
It was great to meet our neighbors! It's hard for us to see them unless we do something purposeful like this since they aren't out in their yards up here at the front of the neighborhood. Hopefully we can do more of this.

GFDF

Our little Piper has been labeled this. It stands for Gluten Free and Dairy Free.

Since she was a baby she has struggled with bad eczema. For years we have tried the creams but I knew that was just a band-aid and I had to figure out what was causing her skin to react this way. We had her blood tested for allergies and it came back that she is highly, highly allergic to cats and to a mold that manifests in the fall. But I knew those weren't causing this terrible skin problem. This girl has scars from itching so hard. Many nights she would cry because it itched so much. Finally, I had her tested through Enterolab.

Sure enough, she came back gluten and dairy intolerant. They recommended a permanent removal of all gluten and dairy from her diet immediately to avoid further damage.

It seems like every time we turn around someone else is going GF at least, doesn't it??? It seems like it's a fad. But let me reassure you, nothing about this is fun. But it is necessary. I've read lots of research on gluten and how toxic it is to our bodies. Some studies say up to 80% of the population cannot tolerate it! It seems to be the culprit in numerous diseases, especially autoimmune ones. And people who take themselves off of it see dramatic results.

We have seen Piper's skin completely clear up! Did you hear me??? Completely. Praise the Lord for that!

I will be honest. Going GF is hard, but no dairy or gluten....it feels impossible. There are so many things she can't have because it contains gluten but no dairy or vice versa. BUT compared to a few years ago, there's a lot out there that she can have. And I am so grateful for that. It could be worse.

There's definitely major lifestyle changes that we have to make to ensure Pipes gets proper nutrition. I am cooking from scratch which means a lot more time in the kitchen. (Read, the girl who does not like to be in the kitchen is in there lots.) She needs supplements because often people who are gf are deficient in iron, Vit D, and Vit B. There are places we used to eat that are just too hard to go to anymore. Like Chick-fil-A. When we are going somewhere, I have to make sure there is something Piper can eat. If not, I make her the same thing they are having, just safe for her.

Piper does great with it. She has been so willing to adapt. Often she has to remind me that she can't eat something I am getting ready to poison her with! And if she gets offered something, she will tell them she can't have it, or ask me before just eating it. She is almost always happy with an alternative I have for her. Sweet girl.

We have had a lot of help on this journey. Many of my friends are gf and one is df too. We learn lots from each other and it makes it so much easier to have them to walk it out with. And our friends bend over backwards to help us if we are eating at their house or coming to a party with them. Thank you!

If Piper has gluten or dairy, she gets bad stomach aches and they often last for a few days.

So, I highly recommend Enterolab. They do stool testing instead of blood. It's much more accurate.

If you ever have any questions about GF and DF things, let me know. If I can't answer it, I know someone who can:)