Life still goes on.

Austin has been on 20 mg. of steroids for almost 2 weeks, and life feels normal again. This week we again start the taper off of them, there are a lot of side effects that make it so it is not possible to stay on them indefinitely. I will keep you updated on how the tapering goes:)

As for other news...it is spring...dance recitals baby!

 They all did a great job. But I have to say I am always a little glad when the dance season is over.

The girls performed at a Theater in Midvale and this sign was on the adjacent building. Every time we passed it the girls would laugh...it was just funny, so we HAD to take a picture :)

  It was my turn for Date Nights with the kids.

I went to Nickelcade with Austin. He loves to play video games. I didn't get a picture...because he spend half of the time in the bathroom :( not cool.
But this is a picture of him being a goof ball at the Dr's appointment we had.

Next I went to the movies with Shawntell. We saw Wrech it Ralph, it was really cute. Sorry no pictures of that either...my bad.
But Shawntell did graduate from the  D.A.R.E program they do in the 6th grade.

 She was chosen to read her report on substance abuse and even received a cool medal for it. I am a proud mama.

Paige and I went to the movies also. We saw Warm Bodies. It was OK...I loved the music in it, a lot of great stuff from the 80's and 90's. Paige LOVED it...she is 14, every guy is "So HOT" and hence we saw a movie with a cute main actor ha ha.
This is us, before heading into the movie theater... a little fish face and matching glasses!

 Then little miss Kambree wanted to go to Arctic Circle. She just wanted a kids meal and to play on the toys. She is easy to please.

I sure do enjoy spending time with these kids...they really are amazing (I might be a little biased, but probably not:)


And I will end on this funny note...Austin found these glasses at the checkout in Walmart. Now who doesn't love Batman!!!

Oh and the famous picture that Austin took of me hula hooping on Sunday...he even got video. I didn't know he even knew how to do that, smart kid.

Well that was my little post to catch you up...hope you enjoyed :)

A song that seems to be hitting home today.

After Austins Dr. appointment yesterday I was reminded that this trial is not going to go away. Somedays, when he is feeling good, I imagine our life as it use to be. Then when he is sick I get pulled back into reality. My sons life, and our families life is forever changed. I get to embrace the new path it has taken and enjoy this ride instead of dreaming about the one I use to imagine. It is always a struggle to know I can't make him better, I can't take away his pain, it is all in the Lord's hands...I just need to remember that a little more often. I hope you enjoy the song...it has beautiful words.

Needing a boost...

This last week in church I got to teach an amazing lesson entitled "Faithfulness in Times of Trial: From the shadows into the glorious Sunshine"...lets just say a lot of Kleenexes were used. In fact, I gave out small packets of them as a little handout at the very beginning of class with a great quote on it. It said "Every man and woman who serves the Lord, no matter how faithful they may be, have their dark hours; but if they have lived faithfully, light will burst upon them and relief will be furnished."

This lesson was a hard one to prepare...it felt too personal, too close to home, and a little too raw for me. But it ended up being just what my soul needed. My soul has felt very depleted lately, almost like my soul was just tired. It needed a boost. General Conference last week was the beginning of that much needed boost. Then to hear the ladies at church talk about how we can help each other through rough times, the love and support they have for those they love, the amount of service they do for others, and the time they spend praying for others encouraged me. The spirit was very strong and I came home from church with a renewed effort to relax more, not stress as much over things I have no control, to let others help, to let the spirit guide me more often, and to spend more time on my knees in prayer.

Not only has my spirit been lacking, but my physical body has too. When you are constantly getting up in the middle of the night to help your child it starts to take its toll. I have 4 children to take care of and I babysit 4 others on and off all week. I haven't been getting in the kind of exercise my body is use to and needs. I haven't been as diligent with eating well either.

 So...here is the beginning of a new week. A perfect time to start over.  I am currently listening to the Ensign magazine on the computer to lift my spirit :) and I had a great workout this morning. When it is cold outside I struggle to get in enough liquids, which I know can lead to me getting headaches. So I found this interesting new drink I am going to try. Just click here ... or go to http://mom2mycrazy2.blogspot.com/2012/06/detox-apple-cinnamon-water-pinned-it.html.

I am doing it more for the energy boost I hope it gives...and hey, can you ever really go wrong with anything that has Cinnamon in it, haha. I am doing the boiled version, my house already smells yummy. I will let you know how it goes.

After 2 years....really?

Just a funny little story for all of my 12 readers haha

So about a month ago I noticed that the Magnolia bush/tree we planted had some roots showing. I figured I would just put a little extra dirt around the bottom to help it grow better. I looked in the garage and found an old planter box. I had used it 2 years ago to try to grow some onions. They never grew, so I just put it in the garage and forgot about it. The dirt was still in the box and I figured it was enough to spread around the Magnolia bush. So I did it.

Yesterday I went outside and saw all these little green things growing around the Magnolia bush, figuring they were weeds I just started pulling them up. I started to smell something familiar...the smell of onions. Guess what, the onions are now growing!!! I guess it is just another form of patience I need to learn. How bad did I want onions...I just needed to wait 2 years :)

No fears, when they get a little bigger I will definitely take pictures to show you :)

Patients...

Up and down, up and down...

The up and down feeling of being on a roller coaster is still here in my life...I can't seem to shake it. The lows are extremely low...and then it starts to head back up. I like the ride up, I enjoy the view and the peace I feel until I hit the crest and we start to race towards the ground again. I need to get use to this and accept it as our new "normal" I guess. 

So lets concentrate on the highs for a minute :)

My oldest two girls had birthdays. I am so blessed that they are good friends.

 

Paige turned 14 and couldn't be more excited to move on to the Mia Maids class in church. She had a birthday party with some friends. They ate pizza, did manicures, and watched a movie. She is an amazing daughter. She is like me in so many ways...sometimes that is a good thing and other times it's not such a good thing :)

Shawntell turned 12 just 9 days after Paiges birthday. She is beyond ready to leave primary and join the Beehive group of young ladies at church. She is so mellow, sweet, kind and understanding, many of the qualities I lack :) She is having her birthday party this weekend. More junk food, giggling girls and movies...it should be a blast.

Other excited news in the Ashby family...Shawn's parents received their mission call to Dejeon, Korea. They are very excited and so are we. My brother and his wife are expecting their third child. My other brother just helped his little girl celebrate her first birthday. Mom and Mike are filling out their papers to also serve an LDS mission later this year.

The lows...I guess there is only one, it just feels HUGE...always in the back of my mind. Austin and his Crohn's :( 

This last week has been a rough one for him. We have learned that some foods will trigger the symptoms more often than other foods. One of them is corn dogs...for me that would not be a big deal, but for Austin it is pretty traumatic. The other day he came home from school and this is the conversation we had.

Austin: "Mom, I am soooo sick"

Mom: "What did you eat for lunch?"

A: "Mini corn dogs"

M: "Um...buddy, you know those make your tummy hurt. Why would you eat them?"

A: "Um...because the only other option was raviolis, those taste horrible. So I would rather eat something that tastes good and feel horrible instead of something that tastes horrible and feel fine."

Yep...that is how a 9 year old mind works.

Crohn's is a very deceptive disease. You can feel fine one minute and balled up in pain 5 minutes later. This picture was taken this morning...and 30 minutes into his school day he had to call me to come get him because he was beyond sick. There are only so many times you can visit the restroom during school without feeling like it might just be better to be at home.

Here is the start of our  "DO NOT EAT" list:

Corn Dogs (too processed, his body just doesn't know how to process it so it flushes it out...quickly)

Grapes (too much fiber...it rips his insides apart and makes him bleed)

Refried Beans (fiber issue)

Pork and beans (ditto)

Ham (not sure why his body can't tolerate this one)

KFC fried chicken (his body hates fried things)

Cucumbers (fiber)

Cheetos (too processed)

Apples (fiber)

Carrots (fiber)

At some point this list will be so long that we will just start a list of "foods I can eat."

Sorry if this is long and boring...or too much information, but when I am stressed, I talk! or write in this case haha. All will be well, I know. I have faith we as a family are strong enough to rise above this challenge. But sometimes I just need to get it out...and then I feel better. So thanks for letting me :)

A quick up date...and some silliness

Austin update = He has gained back 8 of the 12 lbs he lost :) and we started the weaning off of the steroids today yippee. He is back in school and bugging his sisters constantly. Looks like the weekly shots of medication are doing their job.

The silliness part: To relieve some of the stress  of these last few months I took the older girls to a concert. It was at a teeny, tiny place in SLC. There were 5 bands that played. My friend Mindy also came. We had so much fun. Here are some of the pictures.

 They stamped our hands with this huge flower stamp...so we decided to make a star and show you the flowers haha

Funny story...see that girl that photo bombed us? We didn't know her, but she was really friendly. She told us that she was an American Idol, we sort of didn't believe her. Until on the drive home...Mindy decided to look her up on google...yep there she was Maddie Penrose, American Idol Season 11.

Mindy and I...and our new friend, American Idol, Maddie Penrose :) It was a fun night and some much needed girl time.

What is Crohn's

Wikipedia definition:

Crohn's disease, also known as Crohn syndrome and regional enteritis, is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, causing a wide variety of symptoms. It primarily causes abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is at its worst), vomiting (can be continuous), or weight loss, but may also cause complications outside the gastrointestinal tract such as skin rashes, arthritis, inflammation of the eye, tiredness, and lack of concentration. Crohn's disease is caused by interactions between environmental, immunological and bacterial factors in genetically susceptible individuals.^[4][5][6] This results in a chronic inflammatory disorder, in which the body's immune system attacks the gastrointestinal tract possibly directed at microbial antigens.Crohn's disease has wrongly been described as an autoimmune disease in the past; recent investigators have described it as an immune deficiency state.

 Crohn's disease tends to present initially in the teens and twenties, with another peak incidence in the fifties to seventies, although the disease can occur at any age.There is no known pharmaceutical or surgical cure for Crohn's disease. Treatment options are restricted to controlling symptoms, maintaining remission, and preventing relapse. 

Right now Austin's red blood cells are attacking themselves...the immune system is over active in some areas of his body and under active in other areas. They did a blood test to see if the immunizations he was given as an infant and toddler were "accepted" by his body. All of them were NOT :( So that is a little more proof that he has had this in his body since he was born, the flu he got in December just triggered it into a full blown flare. There are many treatments out there, some are pretty crazy, and others are totally worth looking into. Right now we are just trying to get him into remission, then we will worry about maintaining it. Some of the treatments will NOT work with Austin for the fact that they found evidence of crohn's in multiple sites in his GI track. Right now we are trying to slowly wean him off the steroids he is on. We started giving him a shot of Methotrexate once a week (it is a form of Chemo therapy). It is so scary reading the side effects this can have, but we truly felt this was the right path for him at this time. Depending on how he reacts to this medication will determine how long he has to be on it. There are a lot of misconceptions that this disease can be totally controlled by diet...and for some it can, for others it cannot. We are prayerfully considering all of our options and are giving him the treatments that we feel are right for him. We have faith that our Heavenly Father knows exactly how and what we should be doing for our little boy.