Grandpa

The other day Sir Ivan the Clifford of Dante (that brave little knight with battles to fight) called Grandpa Cliff. I walked out of my room to find him holding the cell phone and saying "Gran-pa, gran-pa". I told him to put the phone down and he actually obeyed and I though nothing of it. Until later when my mom called and said that Ivan had called that morning. My dad answered the phone and said "Hello?" and Ivan heard his voice and that is why he was talking to Grandpa. Then my dad heard me tell Ivan to put the phone down and then nothing. Oh my funny little boy-o.

Update on Us

Easter was a little rough this year. Only for the fact that I couldn't eat all the yummy (though not good for you) breads and muffins at the brunch at church and I couldn't eat peeps. Peeps are one of my favorite Easter candies, but as I am trying to stay away from too much sugar etc. they were off limits this year, well off limits for now, I did buy a box and stash them away for the day when Clayton is no longer nursing. I am not completely suffering though anymore, I have found a vise. It's called Coconut Bliss. It's very expensive but very yummy "ice cream" made from Coconut milk and organic agave syrup. So far I've tried the dark chocolate and the cappicinno, both are excellent. Also I think eggs are okay for me to eat so I've begun to bake again using "alternative flours". My scones yesterday weren't that bad (and I promptly ate quite a few). We started feeding Clayton soft-boiled egg yolks and he has been doing very well with them. Yeah for eggs!
Ivan has started potty training and Hannah has decided that when she doesn't want to do what you've asked her to do that she "can't walk anymore". Clayton's rash is looking much better and I'm not sure exactly why. The ND did give me a supplement to take that's full of good vitamins for skin and homeopathic drops for Clayton for dust/mold/mildew allergies.
Today Erik and our friend Brian are working on moving sheds and sand around in the backyard to get ready for concrete. Hopefully in the very near future we will be pouring a slab for a new shed, a patio and steps for the back door.
That is all of my news for now. I think.

No More Carpet!

We've officially started ripping up our carpet to put down wood laminate floors. If our digital camera was working I could show you, but as it's not you'll have to wait until I get film developed. It's quite exciting.

Denial

Sometimes I think I want to live in denial. There are no fighting children, they are just having fun. There are no skin rashes, just a gentle flush on the face and 'oh, he's not scratching, he just rubs his face when he's tired'. No, I don't smell a dirty diaper. What's for dinner? Who knows, someone will make it. Bills? What bills? Responsibility, what's that? And besides, I hear the weather is great there. But as always reality slaps me in the face and I find that I cannot dwell in denial for very long. There are things that must get done, things I must do, fights I must stop, diapers I must change, dinners I must make (after washing my hands of course), bills I must pay and the list goes on. So I will not be sending out "change of address" letters postmarked "denial" but I have found that denial real estate can be transported and moved. It's called the bath tub. So please no calling in the next hour as I will be away, soaking in my own little slice of denial, blissfully unaware that anything is happening in the universe and then I will take a direct flight back in time to make dinner.

King-sized Bed

We finally decided to upgrade to a king-size bed. It gets a little crowded some mornings when all three kiddos want to join us in bed and instead of waking up grumpy or trying to keep them all in their own beds we decided to just make room. It meant thought that we must get rid of our really cool log bed frame. Our log frame has found a wonderful new home and while we were in McMinnville this last weekend we found a potentially neat king-size headboard (for really cheap). It is now very cool thanks to fabric, padding, a staple gun and a few hours.
Here are my before and after pictures.
Before:
After:

God the Sovereign Savior

I will love you, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the LORD,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from his temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
He flew upon the wings of the wind.
He made the darkness His secret place;
His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.
From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At your rebuke, O LORD,
At the blast of the breath from your nostrils.
He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the LORD was my support.
He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.

Psalm 18:1-19
(emphasis mine)

I love this Psalm. It paints an amazing picture of our mighty, warrior God. I love the feeling of strength surrounding me as I just read these words and then it says "He delivered me because He delighted in me. "
This amazing, powerful God that rescues me; he loves me, he delights in me. Wow.
I've read this Psalm a few times in the last couple days and today I read it in Erik's study Bible. There was this note at the bottom:
"18:7-9 the earth shook...He bowed the heavens: Underlying these poetic words is the understanding that the Almighty will turn the universe inside out, if necessary, to deliver His servant."
God comes in power, He shakes the earth, turns it inside out, He vanquishes the enemy with just a blast of breath, He delivers and brings you out to a broad place (or a spacious place) and He delights in you. I have no more words, I'm just awed.

Yeah!

Clayton's rash is looking better! And he slept longer than two hours between feedings last night!
I gave up eating rice products also and his rash started improving (go figure). So lately I've been eating meat, veggies and fruit. I sure miss my bread and oatmeal etc. but it's worth it to see his rash improving. Now I'm scared to add foods back in because I don't want him to react again, but I think my cravings for food will boost me over that fear. I'm going to wait a few more days and see if we can clear the rash up all the way. Right now Clayton is having the time of his life jumping in his Johnny Jump-up, he loves that thing and is happy to play in it for an hour or so at a time. (Let's hope our door trim holds up to all this bouncing.)

Our House by Edgar A. Guest

I like to see a lovely lawn
Bediamoned with dew at dawn,
But mine is often trampled bare,
Because the youngsters gather there.

I like a spotless house and clean
Where many a touch of grace is seen,
But mine is often tossed about
By youngsters racing in and out.

I like a quiet house at night
Where I may sit to read and write,
But my peace flies before the tones
Of three brass throated saxophones.

My books to tumult are resigned,
In vain my furniture is shined,
My lawn is bare, my flowers fall,
Youth rides triumphant over all.

I love the grass, I love the rose,
And every living thing that grows.
I love the books I ponder o're,
But oh, I love the children more!

And so unto myself I say:
Be mine the house where youngsters play,
Oh, little girl, oh, healthy boy,
Be mine the house which you enjoy!

Overwhelmed

James 5:13-15a
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is any one happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.

Clayton's rash has sent me to tears more times than I want to admit. The Naturopathic Doctor (ND) thinks it might be a food allergy so I am on a gluten/dairy/nut free and mostly sugar free diet. I'm eating a lot of veggies, fruits and brown rice products. (For those of you asking at this moment.."Then what do you eat?!") The plan is to follow this diet for two weeks and see if the rash improves. If it does I can start adding foods back in one at a time. If it doesn't, I go back to the ND and we take away more of what I am eating and the topical things we are trying on his rash. So far I haven't seen any improvement in Clayton's rash and in fact it looks worse. And I was reminded the other day of James 5:13-15 and wondered...why have I not obeyed sooner? I have been praying almost constantly for my little boy, my mother's heart breaks every time I see him scratching at his face or legs and wondering what it is that I am eating, and not having any answers. Tonight we had the elders of our church pray over Clayton and it was very encouraging. I still don't have any answers but I'm waiting.