Wheat Free cooking!

Tanya (my amazing chiropractor) suggested to me that I go off of all wheat and white sugar in order to help my body heal. Wheat is a pain trigger, and just not that great for your body (well to the extent that we North Americans consume it that is!) and could help leaps and bounds with my healing process. So immediately I went through our cupboards and got rid of everything that has wheat in it. This was no small job. Do you realize that EVERYTHING has wheat, or a wheat product in it? Well now you know. It does! I became a tad overwhelmed, so I do what I always do when I'm overwhelmed by something - I do as much research as possible, and inform myself on what I need to know! I talked to a friend who is allergic to Gluten, and she was able to give me tons of tips. I also did extensive research on the internet (including printing off a huge list of what I "can" and "can't" have - such as Smarties. They have wheat flour in them, so they are on the bad list. That was a low blow! So sad) and read a couple books. I also went out and bought a wheat free cookbook, as well as borrowed some from the library! So armed with information, Jon and I set out on our very first wheat-free shopping trip. It was a pretty funny trip for the most part (Gorilla munch is all I need to say to that eh Jon?!). But at a few different points I could feel myself getting worked up, and Jon just gently took my arm and cracked some jokes, and led me through. We came home with our arms loaded with all sorts of things we have never heard of before, but that our new recipe books called for! This started the wheat-free eating. Since then, in the past month, I have become quite the little cook! I still don't overly enjoy cooking, but it has been fun trying out new recipes! We even bought a breadmaker, so that I could homemake wheat-free bread (yes, yes it is possible). Our meals have actually been better than ever, experimenting with new tastes, and all sorts of delicious foods! I have been so proud that I was eager to show off what I have done!

I made homemade tortilla shells, and with those, I made these taco bowls! They were sooo good (right Sharon!) and they looked so cute! If only we looked so cute eating them... they were a tad difficult!

Banana Chocolate Chip muffins - no wheat or white sugar in them! They stayed moist for days, and I took great delight in feeding them to people without telling them about the no wheat/butter/sugar part! Everyone who ate one thought they were delicious! This will probably become a staple in our house, seeing as how Jon thinks banana bread/muffins are the best thing ever. Yay!

Overall, I thought going wheat-free would be much harder than it actually is. I mean, I need to be careful, and read the ingredients on EVERYTHING, which is a tad annoying! But everything (for the most part) has tasted really good, and not that much different. And we are getting used to what are good substitutes and what we can/can't have. I say "we" because even though I am the only one not supposed to be eating wheat, my always loving and supportive husband has given it up to! He said if I have to do it, so will he. He still eats wheat products when we are around other people, or out for dinner, but at home he just eats what I eat and does it happily, without any sort of complaint. Once again, I look at him and wonder "how the heck did I get so lucky?!!"

Long time, no blog!

Usually when it's been a long time since I posted anything on here is because life is crazy busy. But for the first time, that is not the case! March has been a month of crazy, but not busy. I haven't spent much time blogging, because I haven't felt as though I had much to say (weird, I know!!). Or maybe that I was just at a loss of words? I'm not too sure. All I know is that I needed a few weeks to really process what has been going on, and spend time searching my heart, before I was ready to share it. My back pain is driving me nuts! I am tired of being in pain all the time, and Jon is tired of seeing me hurt! The chiropractor is helping me, and I am soooo grateful for her!! But I still walk around, feeling like an old woman. Kind of like this: We are moving ahead with the knowledge that I more than likely have a condition called Fibromyalgia. When I first heard this, it hit me like a ton of bricks. A chronic pain condition that I will ALWAYS have? A constant and horrible daily reminder of things I only want to forget? Nice. But after giving myself an attitude check, and realizing that chiro is really helping me immensely, it no longer seems so bad. I also have recently read the book "Choosing to See" by Mary Beth Chapman, and oh boy did that book ever help with perspective! The Chapman's lost their 5 year daughter in a horrific accident, and this is Mary Beth's story of Choosing to See God even through incredible darkness and suffering. The Chapman's never-ending courage and faith was so encouraging to read about, despite being a heartbreaking story. The book gave me a new outlook, and some new insights. The Lord is faithful, and He has all of our days numbered, before we even lived one of them. He has "entrusted" me with the life I have, and I am blessed beyond all measure. I was created to worship the King, and I plan on doing that to the best of my ability. Jon and I are making our way through this crazy path called life, and we are doing it together. To say the least, although the above picture may show I look to the world, this picture best shows how I feel on the inside:

Life has been bumpy, but it is also incredible. It is also the "dress rehearsal" to what comes after (I recently read that in an article and thought it was a brilliant analogy!). That's our March in a nutshell.

Camp Night

March 4th was Imadene's big Camp Night down in Victoria. We got about 150 people out for it, and it was a really fun night. It was full of games, music, a birthday party (Imadene's 85th!), singing and food. Jon, Chris and I spent weeks before hand planning and getting it all ready, so it was really exciting to finally have the night arrive!

Jon and I MC'ed the night together - the very first time we have ever done something like this together! Everytime one of us is involved in something, it is either me upfront, or Jon upfront, with the other being a sideline player! It has been so long since I have done anything like that, and it was really fun. We laughed a lot on stage, and had a great time doing it together. It was a nice reminder that we work well together and are equal players.

Our final thing of the night - giving away a free week of camp! Chris came up front to pick the names of the kids who would participate and win the big prize!

Jon is spinning the wheel to see which color it landed one, and who would be the lucky winner! It ended being a girl who has been to camp before (Teen Camp) and actually just registered for her free week last night!
The ending of the night: a balloon drop! Look at all the kids scrambling for a balloon. I love knowing that something so simple is still awesome and gets them all excited.

This crowd had all those balloon popped so fast, I was amazed! But they had fun, and that was the whole point. Nights like this fill my heart so full, and is such a good reminder of why we love what we do. How amazing that the Lord is allowing us to be a part of nights like this, and to be actively involved in so many kids' lives. Overwhelming.