March

 

March started off with a bang with me getting my results back from a celiac test…with a positive result. To say I was shocked is an understatement. As I pulled up the results on my computer and stared at the screen that read positive just a wave of emotions ran over me. I felt a gut punch and honestly started for the first time really realizing how devastating this whole thing has been for Kemp. If I was struggling to accept it as an adult I could only imagine how his heart and mind has felt. My heart just ached for him. And I shed a lot of tears for myself. I immediately called Toby because he always seems to calm me down and I’m grateful for his kindness, understanding, and empathy for the situation. He allowed me to be sad and supported me with getting lots of food, snacks, and eating a last couple of gluteness meals so I could start on the gluten free journey with Kempers. The one positive was being able to tell Kempers he’s not alone. That sweet little boy cried tears for me but also felt like it was his fault which I assured him it wasn’t and helped him feel better he has a gluten free buddy. Now on to test the rest of the kids… kinda dreading that. 

We also kept up with the testing for Kemp. We still aren’t sure what’s going on with his throat and why he’s struggling to swallow so we referred to an allergist and we found he’s not allergic to dairy but he is allergic to weeds and grass and cats which honestly we already knew how bad his allergies were to the weeds and grass. I guess we’ll just keep trying to figure things out there.

We celebrated both my mother’s birthday and st Patrick’s day as well. We took mom to get açaí bowls and do a little shopping and then of course Leprachaun Steve came for a visit which the kids absolutely love. 

We also celebrated Elle! She went on from Sterling Scholar to compete at the State level and while we were so dang proud of her as she made it through the first round she did not win at state. But if was a fun evening showing her how much we love her and cheering her on. It was so kind of Dallin to make the drive because it was a such a cold and snowy night but it was super sweet he was there to support her. 

And last of all….the kids results came back. I don’t even know how to explain this but they all tested positive. ALL OF THEM. All of them have Celiacs. So that’s 5 out of the 6. Yep. Like what on earth. Even the Dr’s from Primary who got the notes from the kids pediatrician called us personally and were like…um we just saw in our files that 4 out of your 4 children tested positive and we just wanted to ask you some questions. Apparently they don’t see it very often. Incredible. Kemp went through all the emotions again of feeling all this guilt and thinking we were all mad at him, which of course we weren’t but poor Tate couldn’t stop crying. He was so sad. I mean we all are. It’s really going to change the way we do everything. Family dinners, holidays, lunches, parties, just everything. It’s like a a whole new way of life for us. I’m finding courage and energy to really dive in and embrace this and focus on what we can eat and learn to cook and provide food for these kids that will make them happy and that they can still enjoy. It’s emotionally exhausting but I always tell myself it can always be worse and we’ve got this!

At the very end of march we finished off the end of March by heading to St George with the Steven’s and Ashby’s to have some fun for spring break! We went bowling and to fiesta fun, and to eat at Angelica’s, played lots of tennis, and did a little hike up to the D. Always a good time when we’re with our best homies. - On the way home we stopped at BYU for the alumni day and had so much fun reconnecting with old friends and winning BYU gear at the raffle. The kids ate lunch (hot dogs with no buns. Haha) and then we headed on home! Great way to end out the month.