blood-sugar, diets, what is up with me?

I am trying to figure out the cause of why sometimes I feel dizzy and/or nauseated and/or shaky. Most of the time is all three together. My #1 suspect is that I'm somehow not taking in enough callories/sugar or am hypo-glycemic (did I even spell that right?). But... just to rule out whatever I can... I am going for TWO whole weeks with absolutly NO DAIRY at all. Then I'll eat cheese and ice cream again and see if there is much change in how I feel. I will repeat the same experiment only with wheat/gluten. I think that will be very hard to do as well. I love my dairy and wheat! I don't even have very much - it's amazing how that little teaspoon of ranch or those two tiny scoops of ice cream - that one little square of chocolate I break off once a week - can be missed so much. It's only been three days and I am 'surviving' just fine actually. At any rate - today I got the "dizzy" spell again (not on dairy, mind you - and while very hungry). I got a GREAT drink from Juice-it-up with some berry from Africa in it (which is supposedly better for you than blueberries even) - it was so amazing! No dairy in it, mind you. Plenty of sugar and I felt so much better after drinking it. The shaking stopped nearly 10 minutes after. I'm really starting to think it has something to do with blood-sugar levels or something. I need one of those little devices that pricks your finger and measures your glucose levels. Thanks for your prayers. I don't think this is a big life-threatening deal but it certainly is frustrating and a little scary when you're standing in the smoothie line and you think you are seriously going to pass-out.

summer fun!

So far this summer we have had a lot of really fun adventures. Whether it's indoors or out in the fun sun we try to be otters (fun people) at least once or twice daily. I try to let my son ejoy this time before school when he is free to explore and play all day long. It is such a sweet time in his life and in mine as well. Scott is working so hard. We seldom get a chance to play along with Hubbie (AKA: Daddy). Once in awhile he'll have a day off and boy is it exciting for Nathan to rough play with his daddy - the best guy in the world! Hope you like the pictures of some of our little adventures!

Feeling better today

Well, I am feeling better recently. Those pepcid pills do seem to help. I just wish I knew what exactly was the cause for the yuckyness. I have been walking A LOT this week. I actually went to both of my pilates classes - one Wednesday and one this morning - killer!! I think my legs are going to fall off but it feels great! My tummy is slowly getting smaller and my abs stronger. That feels great too. I am determined for this year to be a time where I am in the best shape I've ever been in - and I'd like to keep up on it and live a healthy life as long as God gives it to me.

Feeling "blah" lately.

Well, actually - I feel like I'm nauseated and have too much acid in my tummy or something. Last time I felt like this I ended up in extreme pain (felt like child labor!) and on Morphine with no explanation despite the many tests that were done. After a night in the ER and then a few nights at home on serious pain killers (the kind that actually MAKE you nausious so you also have to take anti-nausea pills which knock you out - um.... why don't they just knock you out in the first place?) - anyways - I finally went to another doctor who simply prescribed prescription strength "Pepcid" (anit-acid, helps the stomach heal from things such as ulcers). After a few days on that I was better...... now a few months later it seems I'm running into some trouble again.

It may have to do with the fact that I ate a rootbeer float yesterday followed by half of an insanely greasy burger - and a ceasar salad. I thought only "old" people had problems like this.... turns out maybe people in our generation have the same amount of damage that it took our "old" parents and grandparents to accumulate - only we've done it in much smaller amount of time. That's my theory. I think I'm going to try to cut back on dairy again too.

Well, I know this was such and "exciting" post for you!

A day out with the boys....

My brother and I took our boy/s to the playground at our church last Saturday for a day out with the boys. Erica was out with Layla and a friend for a girls day out.

Here are some pictures of us when we went to visit my
Aunt in Sacramento and Scott's Aunt in Oregon at the
end of May through early June.












Isn't my hubbie cute?



How Nathan traveled

We went to a place called "Indian Mary".
Nathan got to play in the River a little bit.

5th Anniversary: Swing Dancing

Here's what we did to celebrate our 5th Wedding Anniversary. Scott took me swing dancing. It was so much fun!!

First Post

Hi everyone! This is our Family..... Scott & Rachel and our son Nathanael. I (Rachel) am starting this blog simiply to keep my close friends and family updated on our daily (and not so daily) happenings. I hope I will be able to keep up on this blog - life is so fast these days!

How To Help

Keep Zephaniah and our family in prayer, if you would be so kind. It's a new journey for us to be adoptive parents and Zeph has so much to get used to, so much change in his little life to acclimate to.

We'll be running some fundraisers to help offset the costs of the adoption and will post them on our blog. You can click on the "Fundraisers" at the top of our page to see the current fund-raisers.

Our Estimated Adoption Costs:

$2,250 Homestudy Agency Fee

$125 Classes for homestudy

$120 fingerprints for homestudy

$400 notaries

$936 Apostilles!!! (California charges $24 per document! We have aprox. 39!)

$65 certification of license letters from medical boards of our doctors

$70 - state clearance certificates for (dossier) documents

$150 Medical fees for our child(ren) in-country (estimated $150 per child)

$475 Car Transportation in-country (? not sure about this est. yet)

$3,500 -estimated house/food/living in Eastern Europe 5 weeks

$404 Visa Application in-country ($404 per child)

$890 USCIS fees

$1500 Passport for the child in-country (in our child's region it's $1200 plus a $300 fee)

$1,000 initial RR fees (goes towards facilitation fees)

$7,000 Airfare

$8,000 facilitation fees, in-country

$500 postage fees

$600 Train Transportation in-country (est. - not sure about yet)

Total of estimated costs to adopt 1 child: $27,985 (approximate)

ACTUAL Adoption Expenses PAID:

· Homestudy fee $2,250

· Fingerprints @ PD $152

· Fingerprints/livescan State DOJ clearances $70

· US Postal Service, Passports $302

· Secretary of State Apostilles $926

· Notary $620

· Shipping $241.26

· USCIS $980

· Airplane tickets for travel home: $1175.72

· US Embassy for adopted child’s VISA $404

· Internal Organization for Migration, child’s medical exam in-country required for passport: $110

· Facilitation Fees: $9,000

· Food in-country $819.63 ($6,557.02 at the exchange rate of 8.0248) - and for the record - we ate out TWICE - once during travel and once right before court with facilitator.

· Food in travel/airport: $41.21

Tr$200 (aprox) in travel supplies.

· $180 rent in Kiev In Sept. for 3 days at $60 per day

· $160 train tickets from Kiev to Kramatorsk

$2,589.70 (plane tickets for our family to Kiev, Ukraine)

$1700 (rent, in-region, in-country)

$1,000 (expedited passport for adopted child)

$160 (train tickets from Kramatorsk to Kiev)

$56.40 (child plane ticket home, taxes only – flight miles donated)

$25 - Medical Board to certify Dr.'s license is valid to go with medical form

$710 – car transportation/courier expenses in Ukraine

$300 – rent in Kiev 5 days at $60 per day Oct. 8-12, 2011

$109.80 – infant plane ticket home (Evie)

$519.66 – child plane ticket home (Nathanael)

$116 - gas $ to DRIVE up to Sacramento to get the re-done DOJ clearance (in my married name instead of maiden - they goofed) apostilled ASAP so we could get everything turned in on time before shut down of SDA in Ukraine.

= $24,918.17 Total Adoption-related expenses

Total Donations: $7,185.89 (plus two tickets home paid for with frequent flyer miles donated)

Adoption

Adoption is such a special subject to our family. In the first place WE have been adopted into God's family! How AMAZING that the God of all creation has adopted us! How awesome is the heart of our heavenly Father! And we want to have a heart like Him!



Scott is no stranger to adoption as his younger sister was adopted and he feels it is a wonderful way to gain a sibling. :)

Rachel always wanted to be a mommy - really - always! Well, at least since she could carry a doll around! Even before getting married she and Scott had discussed adoption as one way to allow God to build their family once they were wed. They are so blessed to have their three biological children and are looking forward to the blessing of another little boy through their first adoption!

This journey is long and filled with lumps and bumps and even mountains! Mountains of paperwork, mountains of finances, mountains of risk and emotion - I think you get the idea. But God is mighty enough to move those mountains and that is what we are asking everyone to pray - for God to clear the way for us to bring our child home. We are not ignorant that this is a very real spiritual battle and a child's life is on the line. Children with special needs most often than not have little to no future to look forward to in life if they remain orphaned. It is our prayer that through our family Wallace will have a "future and a hope" and be an orphan no longer, instead surrounded by family - a big brother and sister and even a little sister! A mommy, a daddy, grandparents, cousins, .... !