five minute Challenge

This is one of the blogs I like to read
http://thegypsymama.com/2011/02/five-minute-friday-prompt-five-years-ago/
Today on her blog she was having a challenge so I am going to give it a try :)
Here is my challenge:
On Fridays around these parts we have a little tradition. We throw caution (editing, revising, and worrying) to the winds and just write.
For five minutes flat.
You’re welcome to play along. The rules are easy.
1. Write your heart out for five minutes and then show us what you’ve got.
2. Tell your readers you’re linking up here and invite them to play along.
3. And most importantly, go visit, read, and encourage the fellow five-minuter who linked up right before you. 

This time 5 years ago, my family and I were living in  a small town in No. california, where my hubby was working as a youth pastor. I actually had just had a our 2nd son about 6 or 7 weeks prior :) I have to say that time in my life was a bit of a blur, I was still recovering from a c- section and adjusting to being a mommy to 2 little boys. Our oldest son was 2 years and 8 months old. At that time I was feeling some concern over E's development, we were going through some steps at that time to figure out reasons for his speech and development delays. Thinking back I was actually pretty stressed out and I think and  I cried a lot. It is amazing to think that sitting here 5 years onward that E who was later diagnosed with Autism, is doing amazingly well and M just celebrated his 5th birthday.  My days were full of taking care of my 2 boys and also supporting my hubby in his ministry at that time too. I wish I had more exciting things to share with you, but that is pretty much what I remember right now along with remembering I watched American Idol as the new season had just started and that was something that brightened my day.........ooops times up :)

Lighthouses

During the storm
or in the darkness…
follow me…
to a safe harbor.
~~~
From far away…
A friendly light.
~~~
Lighthouses:  Guides to friendly harbors.
~~~
Lighting up the night so bright…
For all those who sail by night.
~~~
Lighthouses blow no horns;
they only shine.
(D.L. Moody)

Our fun, crazy day at the beach

The beach has to be one of our boys favorite places to go. We packed up our van this morning with a picnic,  rubber boots, coats and a change of clothing for the boys as we know our boys well and we never go to a beach without a spare change of clothing. We  headed over to the coast, it was windy & misty, but the fresh cool air felt refreshing, we certainly got the cobwebs blown out today :) 

 

The boys had fun exploring with dad on the beach 

but for some reason the water seemed more appealing, at first they were pretty cautious. But as time went on they became more adventurous

Much more adventurous!!!  Boy was I glad I had packed extra clothing. As you can see we have 2 boys who are very full of life.

 

We had a great day, but it wasn't without it's excitement, either! E lost one of his rubber boots, it got washed out to sea :( He was very sad, he was crying in the car and he said "I am not super cute, I lost my boot!"  I guess we need to find a new set of rainboots for him!

After getting some fresh clean, dry  clothing on  and some welcome food in their belly it was time to go home. Just another day of memories in the making for the G family.

Peanut Butter Cookies- a new recipe which we loved

At Christmas a dear friend of mine bought me a cook book called "The Cake mix doctor bakes Gluten Free" by Anne Byrn.
Today I decided to try out a recipe and we were very pleasantly surprised, they had good flavor, texture and looked like a peanut butter cookie.


Here is the recipe

• 1 package (15 ounces) yellow gluten-free cake mix
• 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, at room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Set aside 2 ungreased baking sheets.
2. Place the cake mix, peanut butter, butter, egg, milk, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients just come together and the cookie dough is smooth, 45 seconds. The dough will be stiff. Place the sugar in a shallow bowl. Form the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball of dough in the sugar and arrange 12 balls on each baking sheet 2 to 3 inches apart. If desired, press down on the balls of dough twice with a fork to make the classic cross-hatch pattern.
3. Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake the cookies until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Using a metal spatula, immediately transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely, 15 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough. 

http://www.cakemixdoctor.com/recipe/gluten-free-peanut-butter-cookies/

I made some adjustments to the recipe to make sure it was Gluten and casein free

This is what E thought of the cookies, we will definitely be baking these again. Dad didn't even notice that they were GF. 

Our Gluten free journey

So our Gluten free journey started almost 4 years ago. A preschool teacher of E's gave me a bunch of information on how the GF diet can help children who are on the Autism spectrum. As we started to eliminate gluten from E's diet, I was totally overwhelmed. It was a whole new world of learning for me.  I would stand in the grocery store reading labels and trying to figure out what to feed my dear child.  I wanted to give in so many times and let him eat whatever he wanted, but my dear husband kept cheering me on and encouraging us to not give up. About 3 weeks after eliminating Gluten we were amazed at the changes in our little boy! His once glazed over eyes cleared up, he became less puffy and red faced, he also became much more aware of the world around him. His sleep pattern was much better, he started waking up less through the night! It was amazing, I feel that it also helped him to learn and make the progress he has made. We also eventually eliminated Casein, which is the milk protein in dairy products. Again seeing amazing results in our little guy! He started to be interested in communicating, he had more regular bowel movements and became potty trained :)

At the beginning the variety of products was much less than there is now. It has been hit and miss with some foods, but he never complains and is happy if he has an alternative to what others are eating around him. It means planning ahead sometimes, taking food with us everywhere but again it has just become part of our life.

God Gave Me You :)

In December my husband and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary :) We were married on Dec. 28th 2000 on a very cold, snowy but beautiful day in Northern Ireland!

As I thought about our last 10 years this song that I have heard played on the radio sums up a lot of our marriage :)
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7M7cJ4DydQ&feature=related

We have been through a few bumpy times, but through it all we both know that we could never have got through those times without each other and more importantly without God! Together we have accomplished much :)  We were blessed with 2 special boys, we built our own house, we served together for 6 years of youth ministry, we also survived an Autism diagnosis for our son. Through all of our good and bad times we learned to love, understand and appreciate each other and also to see God's hand in it all, guiding us each step of the way!

 

We are excited to see what He has for us and our family over the next 10, 20, 30, 40 years :) The picture above was taken in Seattle. We spent a weekend there to celebrate our 10th anniversary!

Dave Barnes - God Gave Me You (Official Video)