An American Girl in a Chinese World

Why the whole family? There was a lot behind that decision. My main reason was because I knew from reading the book, that the bacteria that Luke had was from me. Whatever bacteria I had I was passing onto my kids. I also struggled with anxiety, fatigue and dealing with postpartum depression from Lanie. I knew I could benefit from it.  Lucy struggled with gross motor delays as a baby and vestibular integration issues. Lucy was also still dealing with sensory issues when getting overwhelmed. She would benefit from the diet. Lanie was breastfeeding and already showing signs of gross motor delays. Jeremy was dealing with fatigue, not sleeping well, stomach pains, acid reflux and frequent migraines. He was the wild card. I wasn't sure how he would feel about changing his diet. He is typically not a fan of diets. However, I knew that I couldn't do it without him and his support. Then there is just the obvious, it was easier. I didn't want to be making

meal prep   We set a date. We prepped. We even made a trip to Shanghai, to indulge in Taco Bell. It was go time. Two days before the start day we talked with the kids and explained that things were going to change. Not only was their diet going to change, but our routines had to as well. No eating out, no Chinese food, and no school snack for Lucy. I gave Lucy some verses to help her when she was discouraged and we prayed that the Father would give us strength.  We started documenting each day, but then stopped. After day two, we didn't want to remember what we were going through.  Day One: I am not sure if you have heard of the term "Die-off", but its no joke! Our bodies were starting to detox. With absolutely no sugar, no grains, no gluten there was nothing for the bad bacteria to feed off. We were only drinking chicken stock and eating boil chicken. Our bodies ached. The kids were crying, because I mean... who really wants to drink soup for breakfast? I

chicken feet A Whole chicken?!  I prefer the chicken neatly packaged. When the farmer delivered the chickens to my house, you can imagine my surprise! It was a legit chicken! Thankfully, the farmer was nice enough to boil the feathers off, because I am pretty sure I would have given up right then and there! With two whole chickens stiffening up from rigor mortis in my hand, I did what any mom would do. "Lucy, wanna help Mama?" We looked on youtube. Watched a few videos and felt confident that we could prepare our chickens. Lucy was game. She was all about pulling out the organs and she learned about anatomy!  Me- "Alright, now we need to take out the lungs."  Lucy- "Yeah, that lady said the lungs were hard to get off. Come on out little stinkers. Mama, what is a lung?" Not sure what I would have done had Lucy not been there to pull out the organs. Thankfully, I have grown up some since and can now gut a chicken all by myself. ;)

some of the essentials Mixed emotions swirled in my head. This makes so much sense. This is going to help. This is insane! Who in their right mind would ever willingly do this?! To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement. Even if I did manage the will power and the self-control to attempt this venture, how could I actually find everything needed? organic eggs and ghee The GAPS diet.  The book describes how our gut is designed and goes into detail about the bacteria that lives inside it. There are many chapters explaining how the imbalance of bad bacteria and not enough good bacteria can cause inflammation in the gut lining. The gut lining plays an essential part, therefore if it is leaking or weakened, can cause many other problems, including inflammation of the brain. The book mentions how autism, ADHD, and depression can actually be related to this gut originating problem. The big picture about the diet is this: take out anything that may attack or be difficult

I just knew something was off. It wasn't like there was an obvious something wrong. It was the little things. - He cried a lot more and emotionally unstable - His poops weren't normal - His stomach hurt a lot - He whined and wasn't happy - He quit eating most meals - He was becoming less coordinated and struggled with balance - He couldn't stand being wet or dirty - He drooled a TON - He didn't seem to be the same boy he once was - His speech wasn't clear it was getting worse I first focused on his stool. It seemed odd to me that he had never had a solid stool. But, the tests came back that he didn't have a parasite and that he didn't seem to have an infection. I then looked into milk and gluten allergies. After cutting them out for almost 2 months, I didn't see any difference. It didn't seem to be a food allergy. During this time I kept having this feeling that it was urgent. I then decided to go have his hearing and vision ch

You would have thought Lucy had won the lottery with the excitement she had while dancing and shaking with joy last night. After mentioning that we would be going to the play place with a friend in the morning she couldn’t handle the anticipation. We put her to bed at her usual 7:00 and she didn’t go to bed until 10:00. I remember that feeling as a kid. Too excited to sleep. Now a day , even if I am very excited, I am so exhausted, that I have no trouble sleeping.   Do you remember the last time you experienced that kind of joy or excitement?   I love watching Lucy’s pure joy! She holds nothing back; she has a full body reaction and doesn’t care what others are thinking about, she is just super excited. She even includes those around her. “ Momma! “Thank you” *jumps* “Love you” *Hug*…*Kiss* “Daddy too! Love you…miss you…come too…yay! “Baby Yuke”*squeezes his hand* “ so fun!” This reminded me of the time king David was dancing in 2 Samuel 6.        “   Weari