Hello from the Detox Unit

We are still alive after 3 days of no sugar and no carbohydrates. Alive but not happy! I never thought I would see my kids weep over waffles, PB&Js, bacon and Mexican food. Their hollow eyes stare back at me from gaunt little faces. But I am NOT giving up! I think they expect me to cave, because honestly, I have several times in the past, threatened them with" food boot camp" when they whined about vegetables. After a couple of days I would get busy and give in to PB&Js.

But this time it's different! I am a woman on a mission! I am going to get my baby well from autism! Hip-hip-hooray!

Where are those cheerleaders when you need them?

In case you think they are being weenies, I can say that detox is not pretty. I have been quite irritable, achy, no energy, stomach ache, and this little ache on the back side fo my eyeballs. But I have not cried. Thank the Lord I have little sympathy for them now or I couldn't hold out. I can't leave them with Sheila or Dad because they ( admittedly) cave in easily. Which is a problem - because we are out of bananas. We have eaten 3 bunches of bananas in 24 hours! That might be a record!

BLESS THIS FOOD

"Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies..."

How many times have I said or heard this phrase and given it no thought? For the past several days it has resonated with me.

Today is D Day - diet day. Last night I purged the house of contraband - 3 lawn-sized garbage bags in the trash and 14 grocery bags to give away! At the time of this writing I have not had any coffee. My oldest is determined that I suffer just as much as they do, so she is watching me closely. Oooo - I just realized I didn't throw away the coffee!!

But for the safety of the children I might need some!!!

The kids have already started detoxing a little - as we would run out of things I would n't replace them. So no Sprite, so syrup, no ice cream. Suffice it to say there has been bitter weeping.

Burke even tried to talk his dad into taking him for a haircut. Burke HATES haircuts! BUT at the barber shop they are very generous with the lollipops! What a smart kid. It took us a few minutes to figure out his angle.

TTFN - I have to go make banana pancakes. Don't ask what's in them!

Cottage Industry

Julia has a nice little side business selling eggs. She feeds the chickens, gathers the eggs, puts them in cartons and sells them at our food co-op. This week we are going to kick it up a notch. In order to look more professional, we are going to print labels and stick them on the recycled egg cartons. This is a daunting task for the computer-illiterate like myself. In honor of our rooster Cookie who had to find a new home due to bah-ah-ahd behavior, I think we'll put his picture on the labels. I miss that stupid rooster!

10 ... 9 ... 8 ......

Eight days and counting down till we start the Specific Carbohydrate Diet! I have ordered my yogurt maker and found a source for fresh local goat milk.

Truth is stranger than fiction. Who ever thought I would be making my own goat yogurt?! This week I'll be making flour from almonds. I have been assured it's not that hard. Compared to giving up coffee and chocolate, what is hard?

We have gotten good results with the gluten-free, casein-free diet, but we are going a step further to clear up Alec's GI problems and poor eating habits. We are ALL carb addicts , so for everyone's health and to minimize Alec's access to unauthorized food, we are ALL doing the diet.

I hope I live to blog about it!

Our Little Professor

This is Soar-y, Burke's latest addition to his dino collection. He prefers the assembly-required species - the more parts, the better! Special thanks to Ms. Sheila for technical support during the construction. Burke has decided on a career path. "I will be a scientist so I can teach people and make things and talk about animals." It's a perfect fit because that's what he does now. Hopefully today I can get his blog up. He tried to set it up himself yesterday! When I caught him he was already on the Kodak EasyShare choosing pictures!

WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY

http://www.walknowforautism.org/site/c.dfLJJTOqHkE/b.3908527/k.BEAC/Home.htm

This has been a week of highs and lows!

Easter Sunday I walked home from the egg hunt, hand-in-hand with my two sons, tears streaming down my face. Another year had come and gone, and Alec had still not found a single egg and put it in his basket. Same empty basket, same Alec. Only this year all the other kids his age had graduated from the safety of the back yard to the wide-open spaces of the front yard; they were BIG kids now. He sat in the grass of the backyard while everyone around him shouted and ran and rejoiced with each egg discovery. He didn't notice. He was playing in the dirt.

Monday wasn't much better; I was cried out . I asked the Lord for a word of comfort. My Bible fell open to Acts 14; my eyes fell on verse 22: "...putting muscle and sinew in the lives of the disciples, urging them to stick with what they had begun to believe and not quit,making it clear to them that it would not be easy."

"Whoa," I said. "I wanted warm and fuzzy. You can't put that on a motivational poster."

"Buck up!" came the reply. "Easter was just yesterday. Remember Good Friday? Keep your eye on the ending. Borrow joy from the ending to get you through the tough times."

"Ohhh."

So re-focused, awed that the God of the Universe speaks to a mere mortal like me, and humbled flat to the ground that He loves and cares for me in such an intimate,personalized way, I plunged in again to the routine of fish oil, gluten-free chicken nuggets, ABA therapy, and detox baths.

I had begun to believe.... that there was a cure for autism. He had led me to the pieces of the puzzle. I had begun to believe....that one day Alec would be normal. He had put that hope in my heart, and confirms it daily.

Then several days later, it happened. We were sitting on the porch swing, Alec and I. Alec said to me,

"Come on, Mommy. Let's go swing on the horse swing. It's made from a tire."

What beautiful words! That was my son's longest spontaneous utterance of his life!

And you know what? We did!