More Wonderful and Colorful Gains

It just gets better and better!

CKS continues to be the most normal three year old and he is just amazing us everyday. He LOVES to color! Even before his second birthday, he loved to sit in the booster seat at the table and color while we did school with the other kids. Then he reacted to the vaccine and got very sick and he quit coloring.

Recently, he started coloring again. All through the summer he would get color pages from the library and he would bring them home and finish them. We gave him his own "school box" filled with crayons and colored pencils and a small journal. This week he started to color nearly in the lines.

Today, he surprised us by coloring a picture of himself completely in the lines. Not only that, but he colored the clothes to match what he was wearing and he colored his skin orange, the closest color to his darker Asian skin tone. We were floored! He's three and a half.

Our twelve year old son could not color in the lines a year ago and his handwriting was unbelievably awful. I remember getting very excited around Christmas time because he colored a huge color book picture (that in and of itself is amazing) completely in the lines. He has never liked to color, but he actually colored the picture together with CKS, just for fun.

Well, MKS, our 12 year old, is now able to write fairly neatly and remember basic writing rules. I can read his math, which makes it sooooo much easier to grade. He is completing his schoolwork in record time. He says it's easy now. He's not trying, it's just happening. I am so excited!

Our toddler, 17 months, is developing so well. I scared myself by doing intro while he was so little. He had some bad days and he flapped his hands and wouldn't make eye-contact, but now he is right on track. He says so many words I can't even begin to put them all down. He makes beautiful eye-contact and communicates his thoughts and desires quite well. He's a good little boy. He listens well and obeys. He loves to help with chores. He wants to do everything the big kids do. Can we say, "NORMAL"? Oh, so normal. Oh, so wonderful.

These younger two boys have been so easy-going, with the exception of regression and die-off, and now my older kids are able to go with the flow, too. Thank you, God, for GAPS! Even with all of the cooking and laundry, life is so much easier now, so much more happy and manageable. Meltdowns, tantrums, uncontrolled anger, irritability, picky eating, and all of the other "stuff" just don't happen very often anymore.

My girls, 9 and 6, are really coming into their own. They are such good Helpers around the house. KRS, 9 years, is the Queen of the Kitchen in Training. Her apron says so. She is quite capable of doing nearly everything I do in the kitchen, with a few exceptions. She is second in command when it comes to getting food on the table. She's amazing! KES, 6 years, has really come a long way this year. You would be amazed at all of the chores she cheerfully submits to helping with, including looking after her baby brothers and playing with them a lot while the older kids and I do all of the things the younger ones can't help with yet. She's incredible! This is all possible because they are not filled with anger, bitterness, and rage anymore. A year ago, it was such a struggle, but now...ahh!

Did I do it? Did I mention everyone? Oh, me. I rarely get angry anymore either. I am becoming more laid back and easy-going, too. It's refreshing and nice. Ahh!

We all have our days, as I continue to increase the probiotic and add new foods, but it is going so much easier now than when we first started. We are all very forgiving of each other, since we all have our days and we all understand what it's like to lose control and feel sorry for having acted in such ways. What a blessing.

Such a long post. Congratulations if you made it through! I am just so full of happy thoughts and it's so nice to have a place to share them.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for all of these great and wonderful improvements, successes, signs of healing. I thank You that everyone loves to eat the food we cook now. It was so hard in the beginning. I am so appreciative of their pleasure in eating the food I have prepared. Thank you for the clear minds and for making learning fun and easy this year. We are all enjoying school like never before! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!