Peanut

Ironically we call baby Jace "peanut" at times. On the fourth of July we came home from church and sat down for lunch. Adam, Bear, and I were eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Jace had not tried peanut butter yet. It is on the list of forbiddens if you will. When Barrett was a baby I think we were told to wait til 18 months or 2 years to try it do to the risk of allergy. I had not heard so much of the warning this time around and no one in the family really has food allergies, so even after Adam asked about it, I decided we would try it. I gave Jace a few small cuts of sandwich. He ate them and seemed to enjoy the first few bites. Then he started getting really fussy and crying. He threw his food off his tray and we sternly told him no. The crying escalates now. We put him down in the floor as we cleaned up. I prepared to put him to bed, thinking all the fussiness was due to being overtired. Adam picked him up and I looked at his face. It was covered in hives. His eyes were swelling more by the minute. We headed to the ER. By the time we got there, his bottom lip was fat and his left eye was nearly swelled shut. The hives still present. Fortunately, his breathing was never effected. His oxygen saturation remained 100%. Such a blessing! The Lord was watching out for Jace. A dose of steroids and Benadryl, and a bit of observation and we were on our way home with orders to follow-up with his pediatrician.

We continued Benadryl for 48 hours and steroids for five days. The following Wednesday we followed up with our pediatrician. He ordered a blood test to check for allergens to specific foods. The test came back with allergens to milk, eggs, and peanuts. We were instructed to follow-up with an allergist. We found a pediatric allergist in the Birmingham area. We followed up last Thursday. The performed more allergy testing. Thankfully, the milk didn't really show a reaction under the prick test. The eggs and peanuts were both quite reactive, but the peanut was definitely the most severe. Fortunately, he did not react to any other substances such as tree nuts or shellfish. He tolerated the whole thing very well--such a tough little guy! We have an epi-pen now and feel better equipped to care for him. We follow-up again in 6 months unless necessary to do so sooner.

All in all this was a very scary ordeal, but it could have been SO much worse. We could have lost our sweet baby. It really makes you think. I am certain he will have a reaction again at some point. And it may be worse than before, but fortunately we are better prepared. We trust the Lord that he cares for our sweet child even more than we do and that he will take care of him and us as we walk through this trial. In the grand scheme of things a peanut allergy is a grain of sand.

Mr. Independent

Jace is now walking as of Wed. July 7th. He is up to about 10-12 steps consistently. So proud of himself. He just beams and claps. Too cute. According to big brother, Barrett, that is when you officially lose the baby status and begin to morph into big boy status. "But he's not as big as me yet," he says. Jace is becoming more and more independent by the day and into all sorts of things now. He loves the Tupperware cabinet, pulling books off of bookshelves, dumping out the toy baskets and getting into them--in short, he has already perfected the art of making a mess :) Today, he discovered how much fun it is to unroll the toilet paper.

Just look at that grin.

Even in mischief, I could eat him with a spoon!

Barrettism

A funny Barrettism from today:

As we were driving home from Mother's Day Out...

Me: Barrett, you and Jace can stay up until Mommy is through doing the dishes. Then it is time to take a nap.

SILENCE for a few seconds, then...

Barrett: Mommy, I put my watch on (a kids' meal toy that he plays with in the car).

Me: [Glancing quickly] Good job, Barrett. What time is it?

Barrett: It's a...a...It says it's not time to go to bed yet. That's what time it is.

Can't blame a kid for trying. Love that little booger.

Boot Camp

This week it became even more evident that my eldest child can be stronger than I at times. I have to focus on being stronger. Yesterday, I carried him kicking and screaming out of the McDonald's--quite a scene--because he hit a child. I had reprimanded him and put him in time out and then let him go play again with the warning if I so much as saw him act like he was going to strike someone we were leaving. Well, he played nicely for a bit and then acted as if he was going to hit again and I said "Barrett Alan Tipps, that's it. We do not hit. Let's go." He ran from me screaming "no" at the top of his lungs and I had to pull him down the slide, tuck him under my arm, and gather our things and go. It was humiliating and mortifying. I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment and the penetrating stares of a full playroom. But he had to know that I meant what I said. We are now officially in boot camp. Both of us. He misbehaves. He gets a warning. If (or WHEN) he misbehaves again it leads to an immediate consequence. It is difficult, but I am already seeing the fruit. He didn't want to take a nap today, but after a gentle warning he said "yes, ma'am" and crawled right in. Thank you, Lord for small miracles.

It is a daunting task--motherhood. To train a child up in the way they should go can be very difficult. It hurts to not give them what they want. To see them cry. But it hurts even worse to see them be completely self-serving and unkind at times. It makes me feel like a failure when I witness those behaviors in my children.

I am blessed to be involved in a wonderful Bible study with some amazing women, all mothers, whom share in this learn as you go journey of parenting. We are going through The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian. One of the things we learned in scripture is the power of prayer. There is a passage in Deuteronomy that talks about the power of one with the Lord behind them being able to chase away a thousand and the power of two can chase away ten thousand and we have all heard the passage that says when two or three are gathered in His name, He is there. What has struck us so strongly is not only the power we have in prayer, but that there is such an abundance of powers or evil out there vying for our child's attention--not just a thousand, but ten thousand or more. Also, there is the passage in 1 Peter (5:8) that warns us that "your great enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." That someone is our children and us as parents. May we arm ourselves mightily with prayer and join together in prayer for the souls and lives of our children. I consider myself truly blessed to know such great women who join me in this quest. I am praying for a joyful attitude and a spirit of obedience for Barrett. For me I am praying for the strength to be consistent in discipline among other things.

Our church had a very patriotic service for the 4th. We stood together singing songs of our country and pledged our allegiance to our country's flag and it made me tear up as I recited "One nation under God." That seems to be becoming less and less true in our society. I mourn the fading of this principle and stronghold on which our country was founded. Then when driving home I passed a good old southern church sign that stated something to the effect of the way to make our country a better country is to make you a better you. This is what I commit now, that no matter how far this country as a whole may turn away from Him, "as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord(Joshua 24:15)." I am NOT perfect and I fail miserably each day. I am certain I will serve as a hypocrite more times that I will be able to count. But I have been convicted (with the assistance of a few disappointments in attempts at career advancement or shut doors, the shared wisdom of those who embarked on this journey before me, the trials of others and the strength of their faith during affliction, and the gift of guidance from above--I'm a slow study sometimes) that the greatest role I can serve is to serve as a godly mother to my children. That is my purpose for this season of my life.