What I Gained When I Finished the Book of Mormon in 24 Days

On Sunday, January 31, 2016, we had our ward conference and as is the typical lineup for the meeting, our Stake President spoke to the congregation. He gave a wonderful talk that was full of inspiring messages. He shared some personal experiences to illustrate certain points, and one in particular stood out to me. He said that on January 1^st, he decided to start listening to The Book of Mormon in the hopes of finishing it in 30 days. He listened to it in his car on the way to work, while shoveling snow and other times during his days. He spoke about how much it meant to him, how it helped his days and that he was cutting it close, but still able to finish in 30 days. It was great message about making time for the scriptures and being inspired throughout the day.

February is always a hard month for me because, let’s be honest, February isn’t the funnest month. We’re done with the holidays, the New Year excitement has worn off, it’s the shortest month of the year and the weather is never consistently great. February is just ‘blah’ for me.So I wanted something new to help my month go a little better and not be such a drag. After hearing what the stake president said, I decided to try something. I was going to listen to The Book of Mormon every time I was in the car to see how fast I could finish the book. Now, I realize that reading and finishing The Book of Mormon should not be a race and it’s not about how fast we are able to do it. But I’ll get to that in a minute.

I began my quest on the morning of February 1, 2016 (a Monday) while I drove the kids to school. Throughout the month, I listened while driving to and from school, while driving to the gym, shoveling snow (hehehe), while making lots of copies for Primary Teacher Training, to and from the grocery store…..you get the idea. And I finished at 2:50 pm on Wednesday February 24^th. I didn’t have any idea or expectation about what I would experience, but I can say that in a few ways, it changed my life. I’m not being dramatic, I promise! It was wonderful! I gained a lot and I want to share how it made my life better. What I gained was not what I expected, but it was awesome nonetheless. I might even share a few things that I didn’t gain, but that were still meaningful and chances for growth.

A Change in Entertainment Choices

            I’ll be honest, I had totally fallen into a rut when it comes to what I was listening to in the car. I wasn’t listening to anything bad, but it was a constant radio channel surfing (I had like 6 favorites that I would jump between) and in the mornings I would listen to lame morning radio talk shows. What I listened to on the way to and from school was nothing awful, but it wasn’t enhancing my life at all. It wasn’t making me better. It wasn’t helping me become the type of person that I want to be. It reminds of a great talk by Elder Dallin H Oaks from General Conference in October 2007. In his talk he said the following:

“…. just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives.” (Good Better, Best Oct 2007)

            Listening to the radio is fine, but listening to the scriptures is definitely better! I felt like my time in the car, which, as it turns out, is a lot, felt like it was almost consecrated. My mundane trips to and from school came to have more meaning rather than just a means to an end. My trips to the grocery store became a time for instruction rather than a drive that I could do with my eyes closed.

Decrease in Road Rage

            I consider myself to be a happy person and while I have my moments of anger and frustration (I have 5 kids, its inevitable), I try to stay positive and upbeat. But every now and then, I get really mad at other drivers who cut me off and my kids acting squirrelly in the backseat. It becomes distracting and I don’t feel like I’m the on my game as a driver. But when listening to The Book of Mormon, my ‘in the car’ mood swings definitely decreased. It’s kind of hard to get mad at someone who cuts you off when you’re listening to the story of Nephi getting tied up by his brothers on a boat to the Promised Land (1 Nephi 18). It puts things in perspective!

            Now with my kids in the early morning, they just never seem to be in a great mood. I’m not sure any of them are really morning people. When they would start to fight in the car, I would say, ‘Please quiet down and listen to the scriptures’ and it would instantly calm them down (most of the time). And listening to the parenting experiences of Lehi and Alma the Older and some of the other parents in The Book of Mormon helped me deal with those moments of frustration with a lot more patience, grace and love as I would try to follow their examples.

Increase in Understanding with my Other Study

            I mentioned before that I would talk more about the speed in which we read The Book of Mormon. I want to note that my listening to The Book of Mormon did not replace my personal study of it. I still made an effort to read a chapter or two out of my hard copy every morning (some days I did better than others). Those were the times that I would actually ‘study’ and mark my scriptures. This offered my two very different opportunities for learning and growth. When listening to the scriptures, I was able to hear the large ideas and be exposed to the themes found in The Book of Mormon, when reading in the mornings that was when I could focus in on specific topics and read the details. Details like the frequency that Christ is mentioned. You might be surprised!

Alma 32

            I knew that Alma 32 existed because I knew that there was an Alma 31 and an Alma 33. I know that throughout my life in the church I have read passages in the Alma 32 and I’ve actually read The Book of Mormon cover to cover a few times in my life. So I’ve read Alma 32. A few times. But you know that thing of how every time you read The Book of Mormon you get something new out of it? Well this was one of those ‘new things’ that I got out of it this time. Alma 32 is an amazing illustration of the power faith and the impact that faith has on our lives. And what happens when we live the gospel. Take a look at Alma 32:28

Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

Doesn’t that sound amazing! Such wonderful blessings comes into our lives just be allowing ‘the word’ to be planted in our hearts.

Families

           

            I have a very strong testimony of eternal families and I’m so grateful for the knowledge that I have that I will be with my kids and husband and love ones throughout eternity. But until now, I never truly understood how much The Book of Mormon testifies of families. Not sure why it never dawned on me until now, but it really is a saga of families and how our influence impacts our children for good or bad. We read about Lehi who wants nothing more than to see his family together on the right path. We learn about Alma and his desire for his son to stop rebelling and come back to the Lord. Brothers who pass the records to one another. Mothers who taught their sons to rely on the Lord and have faith. Parents who brought their children to meet the resurrected Savior. So what does this all mean? Family is important! A lot of the stories in The Book of Mormon are simply families who are trying to make it through this life together. Of course some of the parents and brother are prophets, but prophets are parts of families too. They all have their own struggles. It was actually nice to see the human aspect of prophets which is sometimes hard to see.

The Pride Cycle and Revelation for Our Day

            If you’re a member of the church, you’ve probably read President Benson’s talk about Pride (Beware of Pride). It’s a punch to the gut if there ever was one. It’s an amazing contemporary description of the harmful effects of pride on not only the individual but on society. But if you want a historical depiction of just how harmful pride is, this book has it. Pride is one of those themes that stuck out to me in my listening rather than my reading. Cities are built up and blessed by the Lord, the people get excited and proud of themselves, they get weak, they fall….then it starts all over again. Sounds familiar. It’s a fantastic reminder that even though the Lord will bless you (you, me, us) we have to keep ourselves humble and show honest, sincere gratitude to the one who gave it all to us. If the Lord will bless us with prosperity, it is our responsibility to give the gratitude where it should go.

            And by the way, Amalakiah is the Vladamir Putin of The Book of Mormon, am I right? He’s awful! In listening to the corrupt governments throughout The Book of Mormon and seeing how more often than not that would bring the downfall of an entire people, it’s not hard to see that playing out in our day. It’s a little scary to think about but one thing that I learned is that if you are strong in your faith and hold fast to what you know, the Lord will bless you, strengthen you and uphold you. He will bless you in your efforts to live righteously.

What I Didn’t Gain

            I did not become a scriptorian! Dang it! I still don’t know all of my Nephis and the lineage of most of The Book of Mormon is still shaky for me. But that’s OK! It’s a process. We are supposed to learn line upon, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. I gained a lot in the last 24 days, but I have much more to go and I’m excited for that! I still don’t understand 2 Nephi. And I’m okay with that too! I will eventually! And I still don’t understand what the deal was with Laman and Lemuel. Those dudes had problems!

            When I was a few days into this Book of Mormon adventure, my husband asked me an important but meaningful question. He said, ‘Are you actually getting anything out of this?’ As you can see from the above, I totally did. Was my experience always amazing and spiritual and full of learning? No. I can admit that. But I remember telling my husband that the Lord has asked us to the study his doctrine and adopt it into our lives. The scriptures are a gift to use that our Savior and our Father in Heaven want us to use. So I had faith going into it that because I was doing they were asking of me, I would be blessed. I can testify that I was blessed. My kids were blessed. And scriptures became a little bit more important in our lives. Is listening to The Book of Mormon the best way for everyone to experience it? No. We all learn differently and spirit touches us in different ways. But what I do know for sure is that our Father in Heaven blesses us in our efforts to live the gospel and learn his words. He loves us and he wants us to draw nearer unto him.

Next up, the Doctrine and Covenants (link)!

All picture credits, lds.org

          

Waiting and Longing....

I don't blog anymore. I don't really think that blogging is a 'thing' and hasn't been for a while. But it's a good place to come by every now and then to get some thoughts out and hang out with 'friends'. But I'm sitting here waiting for a baby to come which is the worst kind of waiting. And I wish that I could say that all of us Mommy's understand, but we don't because not only does pregnancy affect everyone differently, it also affects our families differently because each family has it's own unique set of challenges that come into play. I'm sure someone could be found who is pregnant with their fifth and has two girls who are 8 and almost 7 followed up by two boys who are 5 and 3. But I don't think that you'll find one with that identical age make up but where the 8 year old has a chronic illness, the 5 year old has learning/developmental issues, the almost 7 year old is starting to find her independence in not so pleasant ways and you constantly worry that the 3 year old is going to succumb to a parasite picked up from one of the hundreds of snails that he constantly is handling. Nope, we're unique just like every other family therefore, this pregnancy is unique.

But I'm sitting here waiting. I know 37 1/2 weeks pregnant still leaves a lot of time left for when the baby could come. I get that. But here's the problem that I'm finding myself in. I carry my babies crazy low. I have a feeling that this is due to a few different reasons. 1) I have an amazing ability to have children fairly easily that I never knew I had until i started having them. 2) I had my first four babies really quickly-like we're talking four babies in less than 6 years. That's a lot to put your body through and I'm positive that my muscles are damaged from that. So when you're 37 1/2 weeks pregnant and you carry super low, guess what? Literally everything hurts! And I'm embarrassed everywhere I go. Not in a, 'Yeah this is my fifth baby and you must think I'm crazy and I'm pulling my hair out because my hands are so full' type of embarrassed. No it's more like, 'I waddle like a duck, my feet are swollen, if I sneeze too hard I'll wet my pants, and I haven't don't my hair in days so I effectively look like the unfortunate love child of Quazimoto and Daisy Duck' type of embarrassed. Yeah, that kind. It does wonders for the self esteem-I recommend it everyone!

I've nested and re-nested and invented new nesting projects to get me through this time. In fact, with all of my other kiddos, I never would have even said that I nested. Things were just the way they were when we had the baby-messy house and all. No, this time, her room is not only set up and ready to go, but so is the carseat, so are my hospital bags, so are the music playlists for suring labor (2 of them-one upbeat, one mellow-like you do) along with my own snacks to take to the hospital because I'm not confident that they will have what I'm craving as soon as I'm done with delivery (cheese cubes and fresh berries and grapes-natch). I've made the prep list, checked it twice and in the mean time crocheted two more hats for Penelope to go along with the two blankets that I've already crocheted since February when we found out we were having a girl. to say that I'm ready is the understatement of the century.

When I went to the doctor 2 weeks ago, I was very excited because at 35 1/2 weeks I was 2 1/2 centimeters and 75%. I knew it was going to go fast. The doctor even predicted that I would go somewhere around 37-38 weeks! So when I went in a week later, I was prepared for news that things were progressing rapidly. Nope, at 36 1/2 weeks, I was only at a 3+ and still 75%. But he told me that as soon as I hit 37 weeks, I was welcome to go into labor at any time. Tuesday night of this week, Carson and I went to dinner and walked around Target picking up some odds and ends. I had tons of contractions to the point where I was timing them on my phone app. I thought for sure I wouldn't need to go to the appointment that I had the next morning....nope. Still made it. At 37 1/2 weeks, I was at a 4+ and still 75%. What??? I had almost nothing to show for all of those contractions that night before. So here I sit, waiting.....I wish that I could play with my kids more, but if i mover in certain ways, my hips dislocate (you know that whole carrying low things?). So, fortunately or unfortunately, my kids are having the kind of summer that they probably don't know they want-one where they are not scheduled and they get to watch TV or play outside literally all day every day. However, that means that I spend most of my day hollering 'Close the door' or 'turn down the TV' or 'It's your brother's turn to pick the show.'  It's super exciting around the Mitchell household these days. I tried to have this week be our 'Mommy and Kids Week of Fun'. I made it two days. I hope they understand.

I had a friend come over and walk the neighborhood with me hoping it would start something. It didn't. I scrubbed the bathroom top to bottom hoping it would help. It didn't. I scrubbed the kitchen (again) hoping it would  move things along. It didn't. All that resulted is me feeling crummy. The doctor did say that he doesn't expect me to pregnant next week, so there's that. But seriously, I'm so done with my ribs aching, my back hurting, my hips locking and dislocating, feeling her hiccups, waking up every hour. I'm just done!!!!

Because You Can Can Can...

See what I did there...reference to the song in Moulin Rouge....hahaha....word play, puns! Always exciting!


Anyway, last week I bought a box of peaches that ended up being about 22 pounds. And I did it with the intent that I would learn how to can. I would learn to preserve. I would become, in some small way, the type of old timey wife who 'puts up fruit' for the winter. And learn I did. And I'm actually really proud of myself! I've always wanted to know how to do it, and now I do.

So last Monday, September 23rd, I decided that would be the day. But I didn't know what I was doing. So I enlisted the help of a friend in the ward named Roxsan. She's a pro and offered to come over and help me. Carson was out of town so it was nice to have the company as well. She taught me everything and I yielded 12 quarts of peaches and two quart sized zip lock bags that went straight to the freezer. Not bad, right???

Then I realized that my tomatoes needed to be harvested out of our garden. On an unrelated note, I spent a bunch of time in the spring preparing and planting our garden....all I could get out of it was tomatoes. Oh well, say lave. The boys and I harvested the ripening tomatoes and some that were not so ripe and did a quick ripening where you put them in a box with a banana. It worked sort of. But it wasn't nearly enough to warrant the work for canning. But then I found out about a house in our ward where both the husband and wife had passed away within the last few months. They had a large garden that had mostly tomato plants. So I was able to take all of those and ended up with a quite a lot of tomatoes. That became my job on Tuesday. I was able to do 12 pints of tomatoes! Yay! Then I had some extra tomatoes left over that were already blanched so I needed to use them. I made a quart of homemade marinara sauce.

On Monday of this week, I was able to buy half a box of pears at the grocery store for what I would consider a good price. It ended up being about 22 pounds of pears and they were just itching to be canned. So Carson and I got to work last night. Him doing the pealing, me doing the coring, slicing, soaking in water and lemon juice, making the syrup, stuffing the jars and processing. It may sound like a lopsided division of labor, but the pealing was hard and tedious and I didn't want to do it.

After a lot of issues, mainly having to do with the brand of jars that I bought, I was able to can 14 quarts of pears and that one jar of marinara sauce. It was all great fun. And I'm excited to tackle the bucket of apples that Roxsan gave me tomorrow during the priesthood session of conference. Yeah, I know that I can now watch that session, but I probably won't....for old times sake. Don't want to mess with tradition. But I digress.

I really enjoy learning new skills. It helps me get out of my head a little bit. I read something once regarding Sherlock Holmes playing the violin. It said that the reason he plays the violin is because it's the only thing that has ever been difficult for him so it's actually quite soothing for him when he's all anxious and going crazy. Whether that is true to the Arthur Conan Doyle cannon I can't say but I can see the logic. Now I'm not saying that I am a Sherlock level genius...that would just be crazy. But I do have a LOT going on in my life so doing and learning something new has become very calming and relaxing....even though I was up until 1 am finishing those darn pears.

Back Again

I don't blog a lot anymore. Its hard. I'm weird. I'm boring. I'm busy. To quote that internet meme, 'Ain't Nobody Got fo' Dat!' Anyway, I'm not going to promise, but I might start blogging more. I'm sitting on my couch watching Sherlock on netflix. Carson is out of town and has been since Sunday. He won't be back until tomorrow. He's in the sprawling metropolis of Indianapolis learning how to do air audits on air compressors. Don't worry, it's way less exciting than it sounds. So to sum up, I'm super board without him here. I may or may not have become super lax in the house cleaning since he's been gone. I should remedy that and spend the last 1/2 hour that I'm awake doing dishes and vacuuming. But I'm not. I'm messing around on the computer and now watching New Girl on netflix. That's how I roll. Sometimes I don't like being domestic. It sucks a little bit. But I canned 22 pounds of peaches last night so while you're sitting there judging me for my non-domesticness, shut up.

Can't get enough of this dude. He's kind of awesome.

Anyway, I do most of my social networking on facebook because it's fast and easy and I've become kind of lazy-don't judge. But I might be slightly over it (yeah right). So I think I'm going to start posting my random thoughts on the blog. Don't get overzealous and think that I'm going to update things about the kids and life and stuff. I might here and there but I make no promises. But to make up for that, here is a collage of pictures of the crazy people who live with me.

Just kidding, I'll give some quick kid updates and see where that goes. Here it is:

Siobhan: Age 7, is awesome. She's in 2nd grade at American Preparatory Academy. She is well above grade level in every subject. Her arthritis is flared up and she back on meds-whateves...She is also starting to learn to play the cello. She got a sassy haircut a while back which she rocks with the best of them. She's so smart it scares me.

Audrey: Age 6, So creative. She is in 1st grade at APA and loves it! She is probably the hardest worker I've ever met-my most favorite quality about her. She's going to do a community children's theater again this year. They are doing a production based on Epic, Peter Pan and Jake and the Neverland Pirates (all of those). She also got a sassy haircut that's adorable. She's the sweetest person on the whole planet. You can quote me on that and I know that you won't find anyone who is a bigger ball of sweetness than her! Also, imagination thought the rough!

Mr. Will: Age 4, ball of energy and dirt. Love this kid to bits! He is still in the same preschool program but at a different school. He seriously loves riding the bus. I wouldn't say he's given up trains in favor of dinosaurs but I will say that we watch a lot of  'Dinosaur Train' and he sleeps with a T-Rex. He's going to do the same play as Audrey. In fact, his bucket list consists of the following, 'Go to the dinosaur museum, do the Jake play, Visit Africa, go to city hall.' He's funny!

Sir Ethan: Age 2, Big kid! Ethan and I get to spend a lot of one on one time together and it's awesome! A few weeks ago, he decided that he wants to be potty trained and he's pretty much done that all on his own. He has the biggest smile and he's so funny. You should see him sing the Phineas and Ferb theme song, Probably the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. He loves cereal, eggs, and two toasts with butter and cinnamon.

In conclusion, I'm not going to make a big deal about posting on the blog. I'm most interested in seeing who notices that I've updated. It will be a fun game. Also, I think that I'm going to put my domestic hat on and clean our bedroom before bed while watching 'Call the Midwife' on netflix. Are you sensing a theme here?

Book of Mormon Challenge-Baptism Edition

I wanted to share some sweet experiences that I've had with Siobhan the last two mornings. But it actually all started on Sunday during conference. General Conference was particularly personal for me this year. I don't remember a conference teaching me so much. I felt like prayers were answered for me that I hadn't even put before the Lord yet. It was s testament to me of the tender mercies of the Lord and how mindful He is of our needs.

Like all parents, we have struggles with our kids and they each offer their own set of challenges to our family dynamic. Siobhan, in particular, is having trouble with boundaries and understanding right from wrong. This is a very important concept that we want her learn as this is the year that she is getting baptized. In thinking about her baptism, there's so much that I want her know and teach her. I've come up with different schemes to teach her those lessons but nothing seemed like the right plan. Then I got my answer during the Sunday afternoon session of conference while Siobhan was sleeping on Carson's shoulder.

During a talk given by Elder Enrique R Falabella. He was talking about home and family and he shared a story about his granddaughter who had recently learned to read. He suggested that she make a goal to read the entire Book of Mormon. Of course, being so young, she was very daunted by the task. Then he timed her. It only took her 3 minutes to read one page in the Spanish Book of Mormon. They came up with a plan and figured out how long it would take her to finish the entire book. And lets nor forget that it's a long book for an adult to read, let alone a child. Well, she finished the book and grew to love it.

So I thought to myself, Siobhan is a really strong reader and absorbs any book that is put in front of her. I realized that i had a received an answer to my question. If I want Siobhan to gain a testimony of the gospel, I first need to have her gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon.It is the cornerstone of our faith and by learning from it, she will learn of The Savior and the restoration of the gospel. Is there any better way for her to learn those important lessons? I don't think so. When missionaries are teaching new converts, they first ask them to read the Book of Mormon, so how is it different with a child whom we are trying to teach the gospel to and bring them unto Christ?

We talked it over with Siobhan, and we decided, (Carson, Me and Siobhan) that challenging her to read the entire Book of Mormon before her baptism (Nov. 30th, 2013) was a reasonable goal. We figured that she only needs to read about 3 pages a day. When you think of it in those terms, it seems totally doable!

We started yesterday and her and I have had two of the best mornings that I can remember. That's one of the issues that we've been dealing with-she hates getting up for school and it just seems to lead to a lot of contention and frustration. But yesterday and today have been the complete opposite. I've adjusted my time frame so that I wake up earlier to get her going so nobody is rushed. She gets dressed, comes up stairs and eats her breakfast. That leaves plenty of time for her to read. So far, she has read the first two chapters of 1st Nephi. We've had a great time discussing what the tender mercies of the Lord are, talking about the knuckleheads that are Laman and Lemuel and we are blessed and prosper when we are faithful and obedient.

I can already feel her little testimony beginning to grow. We've talked about how she can liken the scriptures to her own life and find peace and comfort reading the words of the prophets. There is a sweet spirit that has filled our home these last two mornings and I'm so grateful to Lord for giving me this inspirationI know it's only been two days and we have a long way to go, but we all are committed. Even Audrey has enjoyed hearing it when she comes up while Siobhan is reading. I know that this will bless her life and also our entire family. I will continue to blog our experiences and progress!

Joint Injections Part Deux

Today Siobhan and I headed up to Primary Children's Medical Center for her joint injection. I hate this part. Carson was supposed to come up with us but he spiked a fever last night and it was still hanging on this morning, so this being flu season, we thought it was better for everyone involved if he stayed home with the kiddos. So it was just mommy and Siobhan for a little girl time. We had to leave really early in the morning because she was the first one on the schedule. As early of a morning as it was, it worked out for the best and I think that i want to it that early every time. Because she had to go completely under, Siobhan wasn't allowed to have anything to eat after midnight and nothing to drink after 6 am. So getting it all over with early was nice so Siobhan could eat while it was still breakfast time.

After getting all checked in, they took us back to pre-op were all of Siobhan's vitals were taken and she was declared to be in good health. That was relief since Siobhan spent almost all of last week really sick (she missed four days of school!). We also met with the childlife specialist who walked Siobhan through the whole process and let her pick a flavor for the anesthesia. I was just reading my last post about that (you can read it here). Last time, Siobhan loved every flavor last time and couldn't decided. This time around, with all of the same flavors at her disposal, she only liked three of them! Strawberry, watermelon and one that I can't remember. For the record, they have yet to take our suggestion from last time to add a bacon flavor! They also had a ipad for her play Angry Birds on while she waited. It was awesome!

They even held the ipad up for her to play on while she was falling asleep!

 She looks so much bigger than last time!

Fast asleep!

Dr. I was very happy with how everything went! Side bar, we love Dr. I, she's awesome! Siobhan had a harder time coming out the anesthesia than last time. She was very dizzy and it took a while to get over that.

When she's older, she's going to be really mad at me for posting some of these pictures. Oh well. She was also very excited to have a bag of cheetos when all was said and done. I don't let cheetos in the house because I hate them with passion that very people will understand. So it was a big treat along with her own can of root beer and a root beer slurpee.

All in all, I think the injection was successful. We'll know more over the course of the next few weeks if they actually did what they need to do. Fingers crossed that we've bought ourselves of few months of no meds and no worries!

 Joint injections part 2-January 2013

 

 Joint injections part 1 August 2011

 

I don't know if you can really tell, but this girl has grown up a lot in the last year and a half!

P.S. She's my hero!

JIA Update

Last we checked in with Siobhan and her friend JIA, she was in remission with medication. Back in August, the methotrexate, that she gets by shot, was causing come damage to her liver so the Doctor had us take her off the meds completely!! That was happy! So we began life with no medication at all and just managing her Arthritis with a gluten free diet and lots of positive vibes.

Siobhan had her regular check up with Dr. Inman on November 15 and was declared in full clinical remission with no meds! That's huge and exciting!

Then her birthday and Thanksgiving hit. I don't know if it's related or not, but we let her have regular gluten filled cake for her birthday and a Thanksgiving dinner that was bursting with gluten (gasp!! Mother of the year!). The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Siobhan came up in the morning with a very swollen, painful and stiff right knee. :( Such a bummer!!! Back on meds. Not the methotraxate but a daily anti-inflammatory called meloxicam. Through discussion with her pediatrician (who Siobhan coincidentally had a well check with) and emails with D. Inman the decision was made to go for several weeks on the meloxicam and see where that got us.

By Monday of this week there was no improvement! So six weeks of pain, stiffness and swelling....great. So we got into see Dr. Inman yesterday and we were told that we basically had two options. 1) back on weekly methotrexate injections which could possibly not work (at least not very quickley) and damage her liver again. And by the way, do you like getting shots once a week??? 2) Go for the big time and do the joint injection which she's had once before in August 2011. You can read about it here and here. Through discussion with the Dr. and Siobhan, we decided to go with option 2. It's a more drastic option but I don't want to spend months and months giving her shots every week and then end up doing the injection anyway-who wants that?? So on Monday Jan 14th, we will head up Primary Children's Hospital for another round of injections in her right knee.

Oddly enough, her right knee has never been the one we were worried about. Her left knee was the one that first clued us into the fact that something might be wrong back in 2011 and by all accounts, her right knee was never as bad as the left. She didn't even need the injection in her right knee the first time around. That's all changed now. Oh well. Siobhan is very happy though that she gets to take two days off of school and that she'll be asleep through the whole thing. The little things, right?