Girls Weekend to FWB

Little and I made a plan to go to Fort Walton Beach to visit my family for the weekend and we invited along Lierin and Angie (who has become a roommate at our house). I was so bummed that it rained so much because I wanted the girls to have the opportunity to go out on the boat and jet ski and spend time on the beach but alas, we only got a few hours of that.

Dancing in the rain! Look at Lierin go!

To say it was raining is and understatement

At the top of AJs - a little rain soaked

Jim braved the rain too 

All dressed up

All in all, it was still a super fun weekend. I love my sisters so much and am so grateful to Gamma Phi Beta for giving me such amazing women and friends. They are awesome and can make lemons into the lemonade and laugh until it hurts. Hopefully, this will become an annual trip as we have already talked about going to Lierin's maybe next year.

Clyde and Briana's Wedding

After the funeral in Marianna, I got home in time to attend Clyde and Briana's reception in Orange Park. I knew Briana would be a beautiful bride and I was so happy for her and Clyde. Here are some of my favorite photos.

Their first dance together as Mr. and Mrs. Littleman

Clyde is so in love.

Typical Briana. I met her after her mission and she is just a firecracker. I love her!

Brent is SO awesome!

My favorite of these two!

Precious Brody Crews was my dance partner!!!

She was missing Brother Bennett

4th of July and the Funeral

4th of July was spent in Panama City Beach, FL which like most of 2013 was full of rain so much so there was massive flooding throughout the city. Dickie got a condo on the beach and the below images from the balcony. We got a few chances to run out into the pool and gulf. It was nice having Ben and Drew in one place too.

Look at those whitecaps

You can see the tossed pool chairs

From the car window - a flooded neighborhood

Ben, Anthony, and I did get a game in at Coconut Creek. Bill, Anthony, and I escaped in the flooding for the mall. I got gluten free fried chicken! Homemade by Mark and quite a treat! Annie worked a lot. Drew and Sage went swimming with Dickie, Ben, Anthony, and me. Anthony and Ben worked out a lot. To Mark's sadness, the boat never left the dock. Bruce fell for his tall blonde cousin Tank (don't worry they are dogs and not really cousins). And we all enjoyed the weekend even being stuck indoors because we were all together.

On the way home, we stopped in Marianna so Anthony could see his grandma. We didn't know it would be his last chance to see Jackie mom but it was. I let him go in alone because oftentimes I felt like I dominated the conversation and I knew that if I didn't go, the two of them would be able to talk better one on one. She passed away 2 weeks later and the only picture I took was of Ben and great uncle Hiram (RD's last living sibling). The funeral was beautiful and I was glad Anthony was able to go ahead of me and spend time with his dad and Ben (Drew did not make it as he was attending a concert). I had just started my new job and was only able to go for one night.

It was weird because exactly 5 years ago, I was Anthony's girlfriend having only been dating a few months at his granddaddy RD's funeral. I remember the emotion and meeting these people. At the time, I had no clue how intertwined our lives would become or how happy I would be to share their histories and legacies. When we do have children, names will be pulled from the family tree to pay respects for those that made my husband and me who we are. If we abandon them then we lose the beauty of what makes us who we are.

Ben with Hiram Bennett

Anyway, more about Jackie mom who loved my Anthony and was one of the most interesting women I have ever met. I loved to listen to her talk very whimsically about her love of the beach and the movie Gone with the Wind. One time while I was skyping with Anthony from Spain, she walked up to the computer and stood next to it and chatted. She had no idea about the webcam and thought the whole things was very odd. It was cute and I don't think we realize how much change she (and her whole generation) must have seen in their time.

For Christmas last year, Jackie mom let me paint her nails when we took her home which was fun. She told me of how she met granddaddy after the war and that he paid for their home in cash from the war. She was proud of her home and and grandchildren. Jacckie momwas grateful for all she had. She will be missed. I wish I had a better way with words to explain her. I only wish I had known granddaddy or Judi's parents as well. Their memories live on in the legacy we create.

Father's Day 2013

So I have to post a Father's Day picture! Here are Anthony and the 'kids' on the guest bed doing some reading.

The dogs were not smiling but this was the best one I could get.

Test Results

Celiac Disease (can't you tell?)

You are about to see A LOT of catch up posts... May was a crazy month. I had some career issues and then after the endoscopy on May 31, I was diagnosed with celiac sprue disease with almost fully atrophed villi. Don't worry if you have no idea what that means. The above image is an diagram by Anthony on what that means.

Still don't understand? Check here.

From what I have learned, I have had symptomatic celiac disease for likely a number of years (between 3-5 years or more) but I count myself lucky because a number of the random symptoms I have had can now be traced to something real and legitimately treatable. After 3 months of living my new lifestyle, I have more energy (I was malnourished) and my hair has stopped falling out (weirdest symptom).

How do you treat celiac disease? Simple. Don't ever eat gluten ever again. Gluten is the binding protein in wheat, rye, and barley.

No List
Chocolate Malt Milkshakes
Sacrament Bread
Krispy Kremes - all doughnuts
Bread, Pasta, Pastries
Anything with flour in it
Soy Sauce
Ramen Noodles
Beer, Gin, Whiskey, etc. (I knew those were bad) :)
Some lunch meats
Bleu cheese

Yes List
Fruits, Veggies, Meats (unprocessed), seafood
Rice, Quinoa, Potatoes
Corn Pasta
Plain Ice Cream (with exceptions)
Yogurt, Cheese, Milk (not chocolate milk)

As you can probably tell, I have been VERY busy learning as much as I can. Reading books. Meeting with a dietitian. Joining a support group. Learning how to cook again. Clearing out the pantry (don't worry, everything was given away). Refilling the pantry.

The hardest part is traveling, attending weddings or birthdays (no cake), and going to parties or church events. When you can't participate with what everyone else is doing, you automatically feel left out of somewhat excluded but it isn't that bad. If you have a question, just ask! It will probably be a learning experience for the rest of my life.

Memorial Day Weekend

I needed a break so for Memorial Day, we headed West to enjoy some fun in the sun. It was a relaxing weekend with great conversation and lots of fun.

Bruce tried to escape from the travel kennel before we even left JAX

My brother rode his bike The Breakers

My new whip! (Whip is slang for car or ride)

All in all, it was exactly what the doctor ordered. Some serious R&R! :)

Endoscopy

After dealing with stomach pains and other horrible symptoms for a long time, I finally bit the bullet as they say and scheduled an endoscopy. An endoscopy is where they doctor looks at the contents of your upper GI tracts through a camera at the end of a tube while you are unconscious. It was quick and I didn't feel a thing. 

Unfortunately though, because of the anesthesia I was not allowed to sign legal documents, drive or go to work which was a huge bummer because I felt super well rested after the anesthesia and found myself to be extremely bored...

so after seeing this on my friend Kipin's blog I drew eyebrows on Thelma. It was hilarious to watch her expressions with eyebrows. Don't worry it was non-toxic and came right off but she loved the attention from it. 

Later that night, my good friend Sharline brought me by some treats to lend some support. She is a wonderful Visiting Teacher and a really good friend. I feel so happy to know her and have her in my life. 

Two weeks after the procedure, I got my diagnosis.