The Sweetest Unsweet Life - Dole Whip

Three years ago this May, we learned that Bryleigh was allergic to cane sugar, among 9 other things.  We praised the Lord for answers to what had been causing so many health issues for Bryleigh, but we were devastated as we began to realize exactly what this diagnosis meant for her (and for us).  Every expectation I had of baking in the kitchen with my daughter, every way I knew to celebrate any and all special occasions, and anything my daughter loved to eat were all officially a thing of the past.  The beginning was survival mode for all of us, then we moved into the learning and growing phase, and now we are officially at the point that we want to share with the world all we have learned along the way.

Bryleigh has asked for a while if she could have a YouTube channel, but to be honest, I never thought it was something we would actually do...until I began to get this little vision of the two of us in the kitchen sharing all of our favorite recipes.  And just like that, God pieced my heart back together and showed me just how faithful He is in redeeming what seemed to be complete ash, our very own rainbow in the sky reminding us that He is so good to us.

We decided to start simple and fun with a tasty summer treat in honor of summer officially being here! And the Texas heat is here, right on time.  We had a trip planned to Disney this summer over 4th of July, but thanks to the Coronoa virus, it has officially been postponed.  That will not, however, keep us from bringing a little Disney magic to our entire summer, so it was the perfect way to kick off THE SWEETEST UNSWEET LIFE!

This simple 3 ingredient recipe is super easy to make and will leave your taste buds satisfied in no time, not to mention cooling you down in the 100* Texas heat!!

For all of Bryleigh's ice cream treats, we use Blue Bell's No Sugar Added Vanilla Ice Cream.  It can occasionally be out of stock at our local Kroger, but for the most part, we have no trouble finding a gallon or two.  It is also available in pint size, most of the time.

In addition to your ice cream base, you will also need 4 ounces of pineapple juice and 2 cups of frozen pineapple.  We had trouble finding any, so we just went ahead and bought a fresh pineapple, cut it into cubes, and then froze 2 cups.  (Speaking of fresh pineapple, we may never be the same after visiting Maui, Hawaii last year and getting to tour the MAUI GOLD pineapple farm and eating fresh pineapple straight off the plant.)

This recipe can be easily modified to make various versions, including placing it back in the freezer and serving it more like ice cream or by adding more pineapple juice or milk to it for a creamier, drink type treat.  It would also be fun to pour the mixture into popsicle molds and have on hand for those hot summer afternoons after a morning of playing outside!

Jesus Makes Me Brave - #BryleighSays

One thing I will FOREVER be grateful through our journey is the massive amount of love, support, and encouragement we have received from friends and family (not to mention lots and lots of prayer).  After my last post on Facebook asking for some prayers for Bryleigh, people have been asking how the babes are doing, so I thought I'd take a little time to update on both of them here.

BRYLEIGH GIRL: We've been on this journey for a little over three years - watching as things happened with Bryleigh that we knew weren't normal, but not really putting all the pieces together and knowing how to help her until MUCH later.  We've got a pretty good handle on her diet (praise the Lord!) now that we have had an actual test tell us things that her body just can not tolerate.  After being off of those 10 things for a solid year, any time she gets even the smallest amount, even by accident, she usually ends up throwing up for about 12 hours.  She's extremely sensitive to her allergens now, but we are thankful for how well we know we can manage her diet, and that SHE takes ownership over what she can and can't have. Cleaning up her diet and adding some supplements to help heal her digestive tract have made a HUGE difference on her quality of life.  When she does get a flare up now, we can usually pinpoint what caused it, and we have all the tools we need to help get it taken care of (QUICKLY!).

We are SO very thankful that God led us to Dr. Heather and the answers she has helped us get. We are thankful to be in a completely different place than we were this time last year and that she is not in as much physical pain as she was for so long.  With that being said, she's got some pretty crazy sensory issues that she deals with - like changing clothes between the seasons over the last year - as well as anxiety, leading to night terrors and now panic attacks.  All of these things we are trying to calmly and patiently work through with her, both as a normal 4 year old and as a chiropractic patient with a history of some pretty yucky stuff. Dr. Heather has been so great at answering our questions and continually working with us to find things that work for our B-Girl. Bryleigh tells us almost daily things that she is going to do that we know she is fearful of, but she always finishes with, "But I can do it because Jesus makes me brave." Yes He does, baby girl! Yes He does!!

Wearing shorts and a t-shirt these days is a huge praise!
Even if they don't match, and have a fur vest added!!

WILD MAN WILL: Sometimes it feels like we are watching Will grow up with our breath held just waiting for something to happen...and with good reason as he's showed most every sign that Bryleigh did, and most of the time in more severe ways and at earlier ages.  Just like Bryleigh started to fall off her growth chart at one year, Will has started to slow down on his growth as well.  Foods that Bryleigh had severe reactions to, Will has reacted to in even smaller amounts. Signs of digestive issues that showed up in Bryleigh at 2, showed up in Will at birth.  Will had the added bonus of feeding issues (PTL for his growth in this area!!) and problems stemming from his circumcision that are still not correct.

We get the question all the time, "So does Will have what Bryleigh has?" And what a question that is considering we still don't really know WHAT Bryleigh has.  We have some answers to different things (-we have all the answers we need to truly help her at this time-), but we don't have a NAME for what has gone on and what to look for in Will or in both of them as they get older.  But the easiest answer is: Yes.  Will faces the same difficulties that Bryleigh does in digesting his food, among other things we see in them.  We just introduced green grapes to him this week, as Bryleigh is allergic to red ones and hasn't had a single grape since long before her diagnosis (we KNEW that this was a huge culprit of her issues without a single test).  Almost immediately, Will began to have strong reactions to the grapes, and it brought a lot of flashbacks to what life was like with Bryleigh when we had no answers.

This little "Cheese" face is my favorite thing he does!

WHY TODAY IS DIFFERENT: But we have answers.  We KNOW this time around what is causing reactions in Will as it is happening. We know what to do and how to help him when he does have these flare ups and reactions.  For the longest time I feared more than anything the day that would come that let me know Will is going to fight the same battles his sister did/does, but that day happened on Wednesday of this week (with a few other confirmations along the way) and after a mild pity-party for myself, I realized life is NOTHING like it was when we were at this place with Bryleigh.  In those days, I was full of despair.  I wanted God to fix it, immediately.  I wanted every single answer that I could possibly have regarding my child's body, and I wanted it as fast as I could get it. I felt like I was fighting the battle all (or mostly) alone.  And without knowing it, I didn't fully trust God with my life, or (especially) with my children's lives.

I have learned so much over the past few years.  I have seen the promises of God stand true, and I have seen how faithful He is to our family in every single need.  I have learned to pray for what brings Him glory and to thank Him for every piece of our journey, no matter how difficult it may seem.

PRAYERS MOVING FORWARD: You, our friends and family, have been SO faithful to pray with us and for us, and we are so grateful for that.  People are always asking how they can be praying so I wanted to share that as well.  For Bryleigh - prayers for peaceful sleep each and every night.  Prayers that she would learn to share with us what she is feeling so that we can help her work through those feelings.  Prayers for us to have wisdom to know what is just 4-year-old growing pains and what stems more from her body and how she is made/what she has experienced in her little life.  For William -  our most pressing need is healing for his body from this current flare up.  They're extremely painful and uncomfortable, so the sooner it's over, the better.  Prayers as we decide when to give him the same test Bryleigh had so we can best know what foods he needs to eliminate as well.  Prayers for the issue Will has had from his circumcision to improve with the current medicine and guidance/wisdom on next steps if this round doesn't work. My prayer, above all, is that we would honor and glorify God with each step we take, teaching Bryleigh and Will how much God loves them as His children.

To the allergy momma - One Year Later

One year ago today I got a nice little list of 10 things that had wreaked havoc on my baby girl’s body - some of them daily, some of them from the moment she had been born. You could say it’s been a year of LOTS of learning.  I remember sitting there in the doctor's office thinking, "This isn't THAT big of a deal. It's only ten. It could have been worse." And then reality set in of how BIG some of those 10 are. Every single one has snuck in on us in one way or another over the last year, but as our doctor said yesterday, "Ignorance is not always bliss."

Our little Allergy Warrior has AMAZED us this year!

To the new allergy momma,

Take a deep breath. The days and weeks to come are gonna be rough. But you’re gonna make it. You will survive this and come out stronger. You WILL get the hang of this new life and learn how to be the fiercest advocate your child needs.

But hold on tight, there are tireless days ahead. LONG trips to the grocery store.  Expensive trips to the grocery store. And a lot of wasted “tries” at finding “replacements.” There will be frustrations as you slip up and watch your child have that dreaded reaction because you missed something and the guilt will be almost unbearable. But that overwhelming guilt is because of your fierce love for your child.

I’ll leave you with the top 10 things I’ve learned in the last year:

1. These babes are resilient.
2. Make it all, from scratch. It’s so much easier and will give you complete piece of mind.
3. Look for yourself. Not everyone will “get it” and that’s okay...check the labels for yourself, every time. I’ll repeat that: Check the labels every time.
4. Find your tribe - shout out the Allergy Moms page on FB for being mine.
5. It’s okay to not be okay with all of this, but know it WILL eventually be okay.
6. Forgive yourself. Quickly. You’re going to mess up, so own it, take note, and move on. (I can guarantee you it won’t happen twice.)
7. Be prepared to do a LOT of dishes. (See item 2...which doesn’t even touch cross contamination.)
8. Write it all down. Think there’s a new reaction? Write it down. Have a question for the doc? Write it down. There are going to be a million things going through your head every day, you’ll never remember it all. But your Notes App will. (Which is where I typed this whole post out to begin with.)
9. Don’t look at anything else out there except what your child can eat. Research on “growing out of it,” food challenges, therapies can all wait. Get a grasp on what foods are safe first.
10. Pray. Trust God with ALL of it.  This is all a part of His story He is writing, and He can use it for His glory. #HisStoryHisGlory

Well, I couldn’t stop at 10, so here are a few *bonus* things I’ve learned.

11. Eating out is a thing of the past.
12. When you DO get the hang of things and venture out, enjoy the same restaurant 500 times in a row. 
13. You WILL cry in the middle of the grocery store. And it will take you an hour and a half to find 7 items that total $100. (Only the last part was exaggerated…by like a dollar.)
14. Just because something is “safe” today, doesn’t mean it will be “safe” tomorrow - this includes restaurants AND store bought foods.
15. It is empowering when your child starts to figure it out for themselves. Be ready, your heart might explode.

New allergy momma, I can guarantee you that it will ALL be worth it!

Our pantry before and after removing everything she couldn't eat.
(Some left on the right was for mom and dad to eat!)

One year ago this week - The day before, the day of, and the day after.
Her sweet smile helped us all and lifted our spirits.

And life today with these outside-loving besties. SUCH a joy!

I'll leave you with a quote/dedication I read in one of the new cookbooks we were given in the days following: "To all of the children whose dietary restrictions created division, isolation, or sacrifice.  May these recipes bring you comfort, inclusion, and joy in both your healthful journeys and life's many celebrations." YES! This is how we've chosen to live.