Hello 175, I don't remember the last time we saw each other

So as many of you know, John and I have changed our lives in a BIG way and have committed to be healthy and get to a healthy weight and place in our lives. This has been a huge change for our family, not just us. The people around us had to go through our crazy mood swings when our bodies were detoxing from processed foods and while we have a long way to go, we have come so far, I had to share.

This morning was a huge moment for me, I hit my 30lb mark, according to our scale. I was telling John this morning that I am so happy to be here because I cannot remember when I was 175 last. I think it might have been about 7.5 years ago when we got married, but even then I am not sure. I have been "dieting" my WHOLE life that I cannot tie my weight to a time in my life. HOW SAD IS THAT!?!? Well I am not longer dieting and I am living my life, HEALTHY!


I am also proud to say John has lost over 40lbs and we are all so proud of him. This has been a huge struggle for both of us, but I think John has made the biggest changes in his daily life and deserves credit for it! GO JOHN!!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but for me its only two

HOLY COW! Why didn't I do this sooner??????????

God hears the littlest voices

It was a typical Wednesday afternoon in the Duncan house. The kids were playing having a good time. Alexander was eating a bowl of popcorn when he tripped over his sisters foot. When he came crashing to the ground his neck slammed into the Tupperware container his popcorn was in. I didn't think it was that big of a deal until I set him on the counter and asked him what was hurt. He couldn't talk, he pointed to the side of his neck and there was this huge bulge on his neck. It looked like there was this huge mass in his neck and he began to turn blue and was having trouble breathing. We immediately put ice on the bulge and decided he needed to be taken to the hospital. At this point he was talking to us and he was breathing again, but not normal. We explained to Natalia and my Nephew, Sam that Alexander had to go to the hospital to make sure he was ok. Natalia immediately started crying and kept saying it was an accident and she was so scared her brother was going to die. We assured her he was going to be ok, he just needed to be seen by a doctor to make sure they didn't need to give him any "medicine" to make him 100% better.
Once we were all in the car, Maria driving, me in back seat with Xander, we explained to the kids he was going to be fine and everyone needed to stay calm because we were trying to keep Xander from being upset. When he would cry or talk the bulge would raise out more. Maria told the kids to pray, pray that God will keep him safe. I began to pray in my head, but Sam, prayed out loud. He prayed to God to heal his cousin and make him better because he didn't want him to be hurt and he wanted him to be ok. Ok, let me tell you, this was the SWEETEST thing I have ever heard a 4 year old do, Maria and I were welling up with tears because it was just so sweet!
We got to the hospital safely, John had just pulled in right before us. He came and Got Xander out of the car and the three of us went in. Xander was breathing better but not himself. We explained what happened and they put us right into a room. The nurse began talking to us, checking his temp, blood pressure, blah blah blah...you know the drill. About 5 minutes later Xander snapped out of it and was totally fine, the bulge was almost GONE. It was the strangest thing ever. I think the nurse was a little surprised too! She looked him over said he looked great and to bring him back if we had anymore issues.
Besides just being a little sore where he hit, he is doing wonderfully.
THE POWER OF PRAYER is truly amazing.
Neither Maria or myself self Wednesday night. WE were talking yesterday about how we were so energized by the holy spirit and his fast healing, it was amazing and overwhelming. God is great and Sam is a little hero in my book this week!

Exciting week all around

Next week is an exciting week for us and friends.

On Monday our friends found out next Wednesday they leave for China to FINALLY bring home their baby girl and we are so excited for them, I had to blog about it. God is good and he is lining things up nicely for them. What a blessing for our friend, Stacee, she gets to spend mothers day with ALL THREE of her children.

Yesterday we finally heard from Alexander's doctor, they have schedules his surgery for Wednesday as well. What an exciting day all around. Most people wouldn't be excited for their child to have surgery. While I hate having my children go under the knife, it is exciting because Alexander will be able to HEAR again! This is something we look forward to because its such a simple thing we all take advantage of! We feel very blessed the doctors can fix his hearing.

So the plan is for the doctors to go in, remove the tubes and replace them with a brand new pair! YAY! The procedure is SUPER quick and the recovery time is only a few hours.

Prayers for safe travels to the Hurst Family and for a safe surgery for Xander!

Xander's ears

So for those of you who follow this...

Here is an update on our little man.

Mom and I have noticed Alexander was beginning to lose parts of words he once said and with all the troubles of Xander's ears we decided it was time for a trip to the ENT again.

We took him in last week feeling hopeful he would pass his hearing test. However, shortly into his test we realized he wasn't passing with flying colors like the last one. This is what we suspected, but had hoped we were wrong. He is basically where he was before his surgery last year. The only difference this time is even with his hearing loss, he can hear a lot more because he knows what the words sound like. Where as last year he didn't know what any of the sounds were, he had no prior acknowledgment of them. This year they were also able to test his ears individually so we now know he is able to hear in one ear better than the other. This may carry into adult life, but we are hopeful and trust in the grace of God he will grow out of this!

The plan is to go in for surgery once more. This surgery will be just a bit longer than the last since they will be removing his old set of tubes (which are not functioning) and place new tubes in so the drum of the ear will vibrate again. Luckily Xander's hearing loss is only temporary and can be fixed. We see this as a blessing because it could be so much worse.

For now, we sit patiently waiting for the Surgery Schedule to contact the insurance company and give us a call with a time and date.

Again we appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers for Xander!

Check it out...

FOR THE LOVE OF BOB

Alexander or should we say Xander the great

My gosh how a little encouragement goes a long way. We have been really encouraging Alexander, Xander as he calls himself now, to "use his words." This has been a huge step in the right direction for him since for so long now he hasn't talked.

These past few weeks his language has exploded and while we have to remind ourselves not to use his words, wawa aka water, he also reminds us sometimes its better for him if we do. I.e. the Xander thing. The last few days he has been correcting us when we call him by name, Alexander, or nickname, Bubba and says, "NO! Me Xander!" This not only is a reminder to me he is catching up with his lack of speech, but also a reminder my cute little baby is becoming a handsome little man.

So much has changed in the last 3 weeks with his language, we find ourselves trying to forget "Alexander language." Now we just have to simply listen and he tells us as if he has been saying it right form the get go.

I cannot expressed the joy this brings to me because for so long I thought he would always be behind. This worried me greatly with him starting school in the fall, I didn't want him frustrated and hating it. I want it to bring him joy like it brings to Natalia. No parent ever wants their child to struggle, but I'm having a hard time watching both of them sprout up and take off before my eyes!

One day my kids will be independent. They wont need their mommy or daddy to give them a glass of milk, they will get it themselves. They won't need us to carry them to bed because we will be there long before they turn off the lights. So even on the hard days when Natalia is being her tuddy self and Xander just walks behind us whining all day "want you mommy!" or "want you daddy!" we remind ourselves, I will miss this when it is gone.

But I will enjoy every second of their lives!

watching her grow, loving her so. (and having a panic attack!)

Most of you may laugh and find this post silly but for me its life:

Yesterday was a dose of reality for me of just how much my little Natter Bug is growing up. We were running late for school I had playfully mentioned dropping her off at the door like most of the other parents do so she made it into chapel before school started. (I have all three kids right now so just getting them out of the car takes a few minutes) To my surprise Nat thought this was a great idea, "I can do it mom, I am a big girl." Thanks for the reminder kid, but I didn't need it. I know she is getting big, I am just not accepting it!
As I pulled up to the drop off I was thinking to myself "will she go straight to Mrs Thompson or book it else where?" There were no other cars so I thought I could stand there and watch her go in. I let her out of the car explained to her to go straight in to Mrs Thompson and let her know she was there. But again I said, "I can just run you in quick" "No, love you mom!" as Nat bolted into the worship center, straight for our friend Stacee and down the aisle...There was a car behind me now so I couldn't watch to make sure she didn't walk back out of the worship center. For all of you who know me know my anxiety got the best of me so I looped through the drop off one more time to make sure she wasn't out playing in the foyer then drove home. I immediately called John, "Please tell me I have nothing to worry about, she will go straight to Mrs T." He assured me she was a big girl and she would. "But shes only 4! I just dropped a 4 year old off and expected her to go where she needed to!" What was I thinking?!?!?
When I got home, I couldn't stop thinking about how Mrs. T had once said to me, "since I know you walk her in, if I don't see her I assume she is home for the day" So that got me thinking, what IF she DIDN'T see Nat! ARG! I text Stacee: "Good morning! Are you at school by chance this morning" She text me back, she was for a bit but not long asks me if everything is ok. I explain to her about dropping Nat off and I worry about EVERYTHING! THANK God she saw Nat said hello to her and saw her run straight to Mrs. T! Thank you Stacee for relaxing me. (and Mary as I called her in a panic too!) Mrs T told me that afternoon when I picked Nat up she had asked Nat if she came in by herself this morning. Nat had said yes. She told Nat she was a big girl and did some extra praising. Mrs T and I were thinking: This might just be the answer to our issues of her throwing a fit when I drop her off in the morning as she always wants me to stay and hang out with her at school.
So now that you are bored and laughing at me: Yesterday was a pretty big milestone for us. Our little 4 year old is our big 4 year old! It has been nothing but joy, even on the hard days, watching her grow but man it has gone by far more quickly than I ever thought it would!