Wow. It's been a really long time since my last post! Like, maybe 4 months or something. I know that because I don't think I've posted the whole time we have been in America and we have been in America for 4 months. My deduction skills are amazing, are they not?
In some ways I cannot believe that we have been in the States for 4 months. That's 1/3 of a year! We've been in 3 different states, taken one family road trip, seen tons of friends and family, enjoyed a snow in Colorado, freeze in Texas, rain in Idaho, and now some warmer weather to get us ready to head back to the UAE (which I saw was the hottest place in the world the other day). I've also made some progress with my health and I can confidently say that I am more aware of what positively and negatively affects my body than I have ever been in my life.
Ultimately, the Auto Immune Protocol has been great for me. I arrived in February in Colorado with a lot of pain in my hands and back and some bad psoriasis. Within a few days of being on the diet, I was feeling significantly better. I have also seen that stress and sleep are a huge deal breaker. When I get one night of bad sleep, I can feel the pain in my back. After a night of good sleep, the pain is almost non-existent. My psoriasis is almost completely gone as well, although I am using a small amount of steroid cream every long once in awhile to keep it in check as well as a product called "Psoriaflora" that my friend sent me that's natural and seems to help it as well. When I was doing the diet full force, by myself, the cooking was a lot of work and added to my stress level, which took away from the healing a bit. But in Idaho, my family has been doing a lot of the cooking, I've ventured into eating out a little more, and the stress level is down, but so is the adherence to the diet and I seem to be about the same.
We were scheduled to fly back to the UAE yesterday (the 2nd), but Abram has been sick for about 3 weeks and still had a fever despite being on antibiotics for 3 days for an ear infection and mild bronchitis. After a visit to the ER, we found out he had strep and were switched to another antibiotic. He is on day 3 of that one and his cough is still bad, but his fever seems to be down. Quinn and I decided to try and see if we could change our plane tickets to give him a little more time to heal before a 24 hour overseas journey. We were able to postpone a week for $300. Then, right when we would have been flying yesterday, Selah spiked a fever and got hives with a cough she's had for a few days. That's just the way Abram's three weeks of illness started. After one day her hives seem to be gone and she doesn't have a fever at the moment, so we are hoping that her's will be short lived and we will all be a lot healthier next week.
I think that we are all ready to get back to our life in Fujairah. We aren't sure what it will look like or how long we will be there, but it will be nice to just be back in our own space with some semblance of a routine and with our sweet UAE friends we miss so much. Abram really needs to start school there this Fall (for his sake and mine), but the one school option we have is telling us that there is no room for him at all. We also haven't been able to get enough funds together to send him anyway, so it's possible I will need to make it through this year doing home school preschool and trying to keep up this labor intensive diet and then possibly get him back to America for Kindergarten next year or move somewhere else in the country with better school options.
So that's a basic run down of the last 4 months! Kinda. Sorta. I mean, there was a lot of great stuff that happened and a lot of hard stuff we went through, but overall I think we all feel that it's been exactly where the Lord wanted us and there is a definitely peace in that. But now we feel a peace about heading back to the UAE to see what He has in store for us there! I don't imagine that I'll be blogging anytime in the very near future, but (as usual) I will leave you with a hopeful attempt to be better than I have been.
See you on the other side (of the world)!
And now for a few select pictures from our 4 months...
In some ways I cannot believe that we have been in the States for 4 months. That's 1/3 of a year! We've been in 3 different states, taken one family road trip, seen tons of friends and family, enjoyed a snow in Colorado, freeze in Texas, rain in Idaho, and now some warmer weather to get us ready to head back to the UAE (which I saw was the hottest place in the world the other day). I've also made some progress with my health and I can confidently say that I am more aware of what positively and negatively affects my body than I have ever been in my life.
Ultimately, the Auto Immune Protocol has been great for me. I arrived in February in Colorado with a lot of pain in my hands and back and some bad psoriasis. Within a few days of being on the diet, I was feeling significantly better. I have also seen that stress and sleep are a huge deal breaker. When I get one night of bad sleep, I can feel the pain in my back. After a night of good sleep, the pain is almost non-existent. My psoriasis is almost completely gone as well, although I am using a small amount of steroid cream every long once in awhile to keep it in check as well as a product called "Psoriaflora" that my friend sent me that's natural and seems to help it as well. When I was doing the diet full force, by myself, the cooking was a lot of work and added to my stress level, which took away from the healing a bit. But in Idaho, my family has been doing a lot of the cooking, I've ventured into eating out a little more, and the stress level is down, but so is the adherence to the diet and I seem to be about the same.
We were scheduled to fly back to the UAE yesterday (the 2nd), but Abram has been sick for about 3 weeks and still had a fever despite being on antibiotics for 3 days for an ear infection and mild bronchitis. After a visit to the ER, we found out he had strep and were switched to another antibiotic. He is on day 3 of that one and his cough is still bad, but his fever seems to be down. Quinn and I decided to try and see if we could change our plane tickets to give him a little more time to heal before a 24 hour overseas journey. We were able to postpone a week for $300. Then, right when we would have been flying yesterday, Selah spiked a fever and got hives with a cough she's had for a few days. That's just the way Abram's three weeks of illness started. After one day her hives seem to be gone and she doesn't have a fever at the moment, so we are hoping that her's will be short lived and we will all be a lot healthier next week.
I think that we are all ready to get back to our life in Fujairah. We aren't sure what it will look like or how long we will be there, but it will be nice to just be back in our own space with some semblance of a routine and with our sweet UAE friends we miss so much. Abram really needs to start school there this Fall (for his sake and mine), but the one school option we have is telling us that there is no room for him at all. We also haven't been able to get enough funds together to send him anyway, so it's possible I will need to make it through this year doing home school preschool and trying to keep up this labor intensive diet and then possibly get him back to America for Kindergarten next year or move somewhere else in the country with better school options.
So that's a basic run down of the last 4 months! Kinda. Sorta. I mean, there was a lot of great stuff that happened and a lot of hard stuff we went through, but overall I think we all feel that it's been exactly where the Lord wanted us and there is a definitely peace in that. But now we feel a peace about heading back to the UAE to see what He has in store for us there! I don't imagine that I'll be blogging anytime in the very near future, but (as usual) I will leave you with a hopeful attempt to be better than I have been.
See you on the other side (of the world)!
And now for a few select pictures from our 4 months...
Their first moment in America. From fast asleep on a plane to being wheeled through the Denver airport by a stranger. Not a happy duo.
Simon at 10.5 months when we first got here.
Sick Simon on his 1st birthday at In'n'Out in Austin. The milkshake made him happier.
These kids have been on a ton of walks with their daddy in this stroller in the last few months. And he finally figured out how to get all three of them in there!
At a birthday party. Thankful this won't be happening again for another 12 years or so...
Easter blue bonnet sibling picture. A fave.
Sweet brothers.
Fields of blue bonnets.
Abram took the best picture of us we've gotten in awhile.
Our expert travelers.
Selah's 3rd birthday. Anna braids and all.
Trying to capture Simon's first steps in the grass at 13.5 months. Unfortunately we just got my excited afterward face.
Watching soccer.
Date night on a scooter.
Daddy and his sweet girl.
Modeling Elsa braids.
My mother's day picture.
Pajama parade around the neighborhood with an official toddler.
Best daddy in the world.
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