The Amazing Angels

Dylan had such a great baseball season this year. This was Dylan's first year of kid pitch, which was so much different and more challenging than machine pitch. Dylan loved his team and his coaches, they were the best!
Coach Ray Duncan had such a great ability to push the boys and demand hard work while being supportive and positive with them. They knew that he believed in them and thought they were the best.
The team did great and had an undefeated season this year, with their hard work being rewarded by a trip to the championship game.

Dylan is a great 2nd baseman and has made some crucial plays in the games.
Last year with machine pitch, Dylan was used to getting good hits every game. This year with kid pitch it has been much harder, since they rarely can pitch the ball into Dylan's small strike zone. This has been frustrating for him and he has mostly been walked onto base, but once he's on the base, he is able to steal each base..even home!


Grandma and Grandpa Hunsaker, luckily caught the flu yesterday and were able to come and watch the semi-finals and the championship games. We so appreciated their support. It meant so much to Dylan to have them drive all the way from Idaho to watch a double header. (They even had to drive home the same day so they could get to work this morning...now that deserves the Grandparents of the year award!)
The Angels' season came to a close yesterday at the end of a double header. They played the Cubs in the semi-finals, and after winning that game, they played the Giants in the Championship game. The Giants were a tough team and we wished that we had a couple more innings to battle it out. The Angels just didn't have enough time to pull it out and lost 5-3. This was the only defeat that they had all season! Although they were bummed, the coach took them over to the pavilion and honored each player. Afterwards we celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa and went out to eat.

Boy do I love this amazing boy right here! He works so hard, has the most amazing attitude and is the sweetest boy that you could imagine. I love you Dylan!

Diet and Developmental Delays

If you have, or know someone who has, a child with special restrictive dietary needs, then you know how difficult mealtimes can be. When Trey was only 2 weeks old, we found out that he was allergic to milk, so I took milk out of my diet and still breastfed. As time went on, Trey didn't gain weight like he should. We got very familiar with Primary Children's gastroenterology department, and went there frequently to try to figure out why Trey wasn't absorbing any of the nutrients that he was eating. A regular day for Trey was throwing up (not just spitting up) about 2 to 4 times and having anywhere from 8-10 diarrhea diapers. I was scared to put anything in his mouth. When he turned about 18 months old, we were counseled to put him on a soy protein shake to help him gain weight. Not good....Trey had an anaphalaxic response. I fed him a shake and watched in horror as his faced swelled up, he had trouble breathing and he promptly threw up all that he had just drank. That is when we realized that we were dealing with some intense food allergies and not just an underdeveloped stomach. Because of this, I took Trey to the allergist and had him tested. This is not a fun thing to do with a toddler, their backs are pricked with common allergins to see if any test positive. So then you wait to see how many swell up, all the while trying to sooth your miserable child. We were lucky, Trey only had a moderate allergy to milk and an allergy to egg.

This was good news, but basically this didn't tell me any new imformation, it didn't explain why he was still having trouble with food and was not gaining any weight after we had taken him off of these things. We weren't worried about Trey having trouble breathing anymore, because we stopped all milk and took him off of the soy protein shakes. Thankfully he stopped the choking episodes, but still I had a child who was constantly miserable. The doctors counseled me to start a food journal. It was one of the most frustrating times for me. Trey was officially given the label of "failure to thrive", and I felt like a "failed parent". After taking Trey off of milk and the soy shakes, he stopped throwing up multiple times a day, and after many prayers and a lot of research I came across a blog about MSPI. (Milk Soy Protein Intolerance) Once again I felt that they Lord was speaking to me and knew that this was something that could be a great fit for Trey.

Kids with MSPI are allergic to the proteins in milk and soy products, so it explains why Trey would be fine with some foods with milk and soy and not others. For example, if there is soy vegetable oil in the food, and you have MSPI, you are fine because vegetable oil is a fat and not a protein. Some of the symptoms that Trey had were extreme fussiness (colic symptoms) after feeding, a reddish sandpaper rash over his body, exessive spitting, and diarrhea. Since we didn't catch this early, the symptoms got progressively worse. There were so many things that were red flags with Trey, that a simple diagnosis was overlooked. If your child has any of these symptoms, ask your doctor about MSPI.


Trey went on a special restrictive diet following guidelines for MSPI kids. At 3 Trey FINALLY had a solid bowel movement! Up to that point, my life and my family all revolved around Trey's bowel movements. The first thing my husband would ask me as he got home from work was: "How was Trey's diapers today." I was up to my neck in sh@#! I told my husband that he had to ask me about something besides Trey's diapers or I was going to lose my mind.

Now that Trey was having a couple solid bowel movements, I started to focus on other things that were concerning me. Trey was develolpmentally behind, I had known this before, but we were just trying to keep him alive. Now these delays were glaringly apparent. We had Trey evaluated with the early learning program in our area when he was 3 and he qualified for the early learning program. Trey was mentally delayed, his fine motor skills were delayed and he was disabled in the language department. I knew that the whole time that I was answering questions about him, that the specialists were trying to decide whether he was autistic or not. Trey was on the scale enough, that we didn't finish the questionnairre, I couldn't answer the question of whether or not he engaged in pretend play. I didn't know, he was so quiet and didn't engage much with other kids. The specialist told me that she would call me the next day, and to observe him carefully. I did just that, and realized that it was hard to tell if he did or not. We didn't have a play kitchen and he didn't speak, so I couldn't tell what he was doing with the toys that he did play with. Finally I got my answer while I was watching Trey play with his brothers. My boys were playing with their light sabers and Trey pretended to die...happy day!!

We stuck with the MSPI diet pretty good and life took on a new normal. Trey started the preschool program and seemed to be doing good. A couple months ago I had the end of the year meeting with his SLP and preschool teachers. We had worked so hard at home the whole year and I was excited to hear if Trey had shown the SLP any of the sounds that we'd worked on. I had bought an Apraxia Program and we had worked hard, he could say 'p' 'b' 'e' and 'o'. So I went to the meeting with high expectations, during the meeting I was told that he had made many significant improvements. He had just barely, the day before, finally participated in circle time with the actions. This, after 7 months in preschool.....he participated once that whole time, and he was tolerating other kids in his space. Not playing with them, but tolerating them, and he had not made any sounds for the SLP. This was all told to me excitedly, while I sat there thinking "This is not right, the other kids are engaging and talking and all Trey is doing is tolerating kids in his space." I was deflated. So I was back to looking at the big "A". I have known that he was firmly on the autistic scale. There are three areas to look at when looking at the autistism spectrum. Social, behavioral, and language. Behaviorally, Trey had many markers, they are getting less and less pronounced as he gets older, but they were still there. The language area is hard to tell since there is no language, but simply because of that fact he is on the spectrum. However, socially it didn't fit. Trey makes connections, he looks into my eyes and plays with me. He doesn't do this with everyone, he has to be very familiar with them and has to have prolonged exposure to people first, but he does make those connections. So I've been back to pondering on this and studying this aspect of my sweet boy. I have been wondering if it might still come down to diet.

About a week ago I noticed that Trey had a sandpaper rash over his entire body, even his face. He has very ezematic skin, but it was noticable, so I have researched the GFCF diet that so many autistic kids go on. This diet is good for autistic kids, but also for those with allergies, ADHD, and other developmental delays. I already know that Trey has trouble with milk (caisen is the milk protein) and soy, so its not that big of a stretch to think that gluten could be a problem as well. What do I have to lose? So I've put Trey on the GFCF diet with no soy added to it....all I can say is that I can see a HUGE difference in just this short time. NO more rash, better behavior, he is actually interested in potty training, and he is trying to mimick language. I'm a believer!
In a nut shell, there are small spaces in the lining of the gut, tiny particles of proteins migrate from the gut into the bloodstream through these spaces. If the gut becomes damaged, its lining may develop larger openings and become too permeable. This is called "leaky gut", and this "leaky"gut may allow chains of amino acids to pass throught the gut into the bloodstream. Incompletely digested foods and toxic funal waste products can also pass through.
This makes sense for Trey, maybe why he is 3 and a half and still only weighs 25 pounds, though he eats like a truck driver.
Basically, the whole first 3 years of Trey's life, his body has been in survival mode. The nutrients that he eats have been partially lost and so the brain has not been able to properly develop. He has had to use all of his energy to live, so now we will try to see if this new diet will be the answer to our prayers. I am not satisfied with just survival for Trey, I want him to thrive and excel... I know that there is a special mission for him, and it is my mission to help him fulfill his.
Now starts the next phase of our journey....bring it on!

Happy Father's Day!

This is my Dad, and this is the picture that comes to my mind when I think of him now. Constant is his nature, when all the women around him are running (usually to Wal-Mart), Dad can be found on a couch holding the newest baby in the family, keeping them happy and quite. With 17 grandchildren and counting, his spot on that couch is secure! When not holding a baby, Dad can also occasionally be found on the golf course with one or all of the son-in-laws and some grandsons.
When I was growing up however, Dad was busy helping to shape us 6 kids into the productive, faithful, successful adults we are today. Dad's motto: Prior proper planning prevents pitiful poor performance. Dad and 'Mr. Covey' have helped to keep us on track. And with 4 daughters, and two sons, that is no small task.
When I was growing up, I used to think that my Dad missed his calling. He really should have gone into the marines. His work ethic and attention to routine and detail were unparalleled. He managed to get us all out of bed at 5:30a.m., without any bloodshed. (Now that I am a mother of 4, I appreciate that that was no small task.) He would flip on our lights and help my mom make us breakfast before he went to work. I look back now and am grateful for him waking me up and giving me memories of green pancakes. He could have chosen to get up later and barely get ready in time to rush off to work, like so many others do, with barely a good morning to us. But that was not my Dad. When he woke me up and I went to breakfast, Dad was already showered and ready for work. Dad made a conscious choice to leave for work early so that he could get home early. Family was, is , and will always be his number one priority.

I remember him always being present and supportive. He involved himself with us kids, coaching many football and soccer games, and coming to innumerable dance performances.
Helping with the sports was second nature (not surprising) but what is truly impressive, is that my Dad could finish watching me dance and tell me that I did a great double pirouette. Now how many Dad's can you say even know what a pirouette is. He values education and self discipline, and has always practiced what he preached. If he didn't know the answer to something, he wouldn't rest until he did. I wouldn't even be surprised if he had 'The Dad's Guide to Ballet Technique' stashed somewhere that he researched so that he could support me in my dance. Because by the time I was in college and still dancing, he knew the in's and out's of chaines, grand jettes, develope leaps and was well versed in lyrical, jazz, ballet and hip hop forms of dance. And this was the stuff he learned just for me. For my sisters and brothers he also supported and appreciated theater, band, and sports to name just a few.

Dad would be described as the strong silent type, quietly leading our family with his strong example. (Maybe he just couldn't get a word in edgewise with all of us girls:) I cherish the memories of his support and faith in me. I knew that he believed in me and I knew that he put his trust in the Lord and obeyed without hesitation when he new it was right.
During my ninth grade year, my grandpa Hunsaker was in an accident and became a quadriplegic. Grandpa lived in Idaho, and was a farmer. With all of my Dad's sisters being tied into the farm, this was devastating not only emotionally for everyone, but economically as well. There was the concern about losing the farm. We lived in Kaysville, Utah at the time and my Dad worked for the State of Utah. He had moved away from the farm at 18 to go to college, finishing a bachelors, masters and law degree. There were NO plans on moving back to Idaho, or to farm life. However, my Grandpa asked my Dad to come home and run the farm so that he could take care of his mom and sisters.
I am amazed at his strength of character sometimes. When you are young everyone thinks of their dad as superman, but then as we get older we usually have that view dispelled. Not me, the older that I get the more that I am sure that my Dad must be superman. He is the man of steel. His character is unwavering, is loyalty in unparalleled and his faith and love are breathtaking.
Dad moved us to Idaho and had faith that the Lord would provide. He taught us duty...duty to God...and duty to family.
One of my most favorite memories of my teen years and one that I have told often, depicts that dry humor and sensitivity of my Dad.
We had just moved to Idaho and I was just 15, I wanted nothing more than to fit in. I became involved in a dance studio among other things. One of my first performances up there was at The Festival of Trees at the Burley Inn. I was so nervous. I was a seasoned performer in Utah, but this was my first year in High School and my first performance in Idaho. Not to mention that the WHOLE Mini Cassia Area goes to the festival of Trees. It was PACKED. My Dad and Mom found a spot so that I could see them as I performed and....I did horrible. The pressure got to me, it was like I was in the worst nightmare I could imagine. I was leaping in the air when everyone else was rolling on the ground, then I was rolling on the ground when everyone else was leaping. The dance couldn't get over fast enough for me. I was humiliated and was sure that I could never show my face in public again. Maybe I would have to live with one of my aunts in Utah for the rest of my high school career. When I finally came out of the dressing room my emotions where hanging by a thread. I knew that if anyone so much as said hi to me that I was going to burst into tears. The first person I saw was my Dad, with a proud smile on his face(or maybe it was a mischievous smirk). I put my most teenage angst ridden expression on and stomped toward him. He saw the tears in my eyes and with utter sincerity said.."Hollie, I don't know what dance those other girls were doing, but your dance was awesome!" I was so taken back that I laughed and the crisis was over. Though I was laughing, I also knew without question at that moment that my Dad loved me. That was a defining moment for me, Dad taught me to how to handle a potentially devastating moment with humor and grace.

As I continued in High School and Dad continued with the farm, we both became very busy with our respective activities. Anyone who knows about farming, knows that you don't just clock in and out like a State job. Dad must have always been consumed with worry and stress over the farm. But that is not my predominate memory during that time. I remember dad making it to my games and performances. And when I went through a particularly hard year, Dad made time once a week to drive with just me to Twin Falls and back, giving me his support and love. I will always cherish that time that we had together before I left home, Dad made sure that I knew that his love was unconditional. I think that time that we had where Dad was constantly putting credits into my bank account, helped strengthen me and prepare me to be on my own at college, and to make the most important decision of my life, who to marry. I had an amazing example of what a husband and father could and should be.

Now that I am married and have kids of my own, I look back on the lessons that I learned from my Dad and it helps me to make better choices and to always keep God and Family first, no matter what. I could go on and on about why My Dad the Greatest Dad, but any of you who know him, already know that.

I love you so much Dad! Thank you for loving me and for guiding me through all the peaks and pitfalls of my life. Thank you for strengthening me and supporting me through my trials, it has given me the confidence in myself that I have needed to be able to meet my challenges head on. Thank you for providing an unwavering example of faith and fatherhood that sets the bar high for all of the fathers that you have helped to shape. You ARE superman!

I love you,

Hollie

Trey

Trey was born on November 13, 2007. He was a happy and healthy boy. When we were expecting him I was worried that since he was the youngest of four children that he wouldn't get enough attention....well he has made sure that he gets lots of attention!
When Trey was only a day old, he stopped breathing in the hospital and had to be suctioned out. He produced a lot of extra phlegm. When we took him home, I became an expert in suctioning and CPR. He continued to have times were he would look like he was choking and would stop breathing. We were so worried that Trey didn't even sleep in his bassinet, instead, he slept in his car seat in between Jason and I.

One night when Trey was 2 weeks old, I woke up with a start. There hadn't been much sleeping in our house.....there really hadn't been any sleeping for me for the two weeks that he had been alive. I was too scared that if I went to sleep that I wouldn't be able to hear him having one of his choking spells. This night I had finally succumbed to sleep, so when I woke up it was almost as though someone had called my name and I almost jumped out of bed. I looked down at my sweet baby and he was sound asleep, looking peaceful and angelic, like only new babies can. After what was just a moment of this serene scene, Treys' eyes and mouth popped open in a silent attempt to gasp for air.I was paralyzed for a moment and was struck by how silent he was. I knew at that moment that the Spirit was watching over us and had woken me up so that I might be able to help this precious baby live. Picking him up I yelled for Jason to wake up and get me one of the many blue suction bulbs that we had stashed around the house. I turned Trey over and gave him some blows to the back and to my horror he was still not breathing and his skin was purple. It was terrifying to watch this small new baby fight for air. Jason was in shock and asked if he should call 911, giving him an affirmative nod, he ran off to do that.
It was a moment like in a dream where you are trying to run but your feet feel like they are being sucked into mud. I remember it feeling like each moment was stretched to feel like eternity. I put my finger in his tiny mouth to make sure there was no obstruction and flipped him over again to give blows to his back with the palm of my hand. Finally after searching the whole house to find one of our 10 suction bulbs, Jason finally found one and brought it to me. I was aggressive and put the bulb all the way down Treys' throat and suctioned up an amazing amount of phlegm. Finally a blessed scream came out of my baby's mouth. Just second later, 1st responders came to the door of our house. We rushed Trey to the hospital, but everything would be o.k.



We started visiting many doctors to find out why he had this choking problem and felt like we hit brick walls each time. At the same time, I was worried about the rash on his skin. I was told that it was the newborn rash/baby acne. I had already had 3 other kids and had never seen baby acne like this before. We were told that if he persisted with the choking that we could take him to Primary Childrens' Hospital for testing.
That is exactly what we did, and spent a week there. Trey had every test under the sun done on him and at the end of the week we were no closer to an answer. I can't tell you who many times I was asked if he was my first baby. Usually when you are asked that you are gushing with the pride of motherhood, but I just wanted to scream..."No, he isn't my first, I have three other kids and I am not just imagining this!"
I began to notice that along with the rash, that Trey seemed swollen all the time. Thankfully, the Lord was mindful of us and sent us an angel in disguise. While I was shopping, more for the sake of getting out of the house than for any need, a saw an old neighbor of mine. She asked about my baby and came to look at him. Most people say "Oh, what a beautiful baby," but Trey was covered with a horrible rash and was swollen. He was still beautiful to me, but I was worried about what my neighbor would say. She looked at him and said, "Wow, that is the worst allergy rash that I have seen." It was like the Heavens had opened and the Lord was speaking directly to me. I knew that I had found a key to our puzzle.
Trial and error experiments followed. We are still trying to get a handle on his alleries today and he is 3 1/2 now. But I had found a blog about MSPI (milk soy protein intolerance) and we tried that and symptoms did get marginally better.


Things from this point leveled out to our own version of normal. We still had a lot of throw ups and incessant diarrhea, no more choking and I was grateful for that. When Trey hit 2 and I wasn't worried about him choking on his own phlegm anymore, I started to be aware of the fact that he didn't speak, he didn't even babble. He had been an almost silent child, save when he was crying. I consulted physicians about this, but we were still worried that his body weight was significantly low and he had been termed 'failure to thrive'. So speech went on the back burner and we continued to battle allergies and eczema. I read to him just like with my other children but he didn't really respond. I noticed obsessive behavior like opening and closing doors over and over. My family dubbed him 'the doorman', when we all got together. He didn't play with the kids, but if there was a door that he could open and close, then he was happy. Having my degree in education, I think that I knew at this point that he was at least slightly on the autism scale, but I was still more worried about him being able to eat and keep it down.
As every mother with a 2 year old knows, they begin to get their own ideas about things. Trey was no different, however, he just couldn't express to me what he wanted. Because of this, his tantrums were really something to behold. He would lose all touch with reality, and I would think, "This is definitely not normal". When he was in control he would make eye contact and connect with me, but I would question myself every time he had one of his tantrums.
I decided that no matter what, I would figure out what he wanted and do whatever it took to communicate with my silent boy.

(No I didn't lock him up, he did that himself...not that it hadn't crossed my mind:)

All I can say is "Thank Heaven for Rachel!" Signing time has been amazing for Trey. I made it a rule that everyone in my family had to learn to do at least simple signs. My other children rose to the task and Trey changed and wasn't the tantrum throwing, door obsessed boy that I
knew anymore. He would seek out his siblings and try to sign to them what he wanted, and when we encouraged this behavior and celebrated his little victories, he beamed with pride. That is one thing that has been a tremendous blessing, the ability that we have gained to appreciate the little victories in life and to celebrate them to the fullest. As an example, when Trey had just turned 3 and we had been taking everything (except hot dogs) out of his diet, he had his first solid bowel movement since being born. (I know that's gross, but it was a huge milestone for my family) We went out to eat as a family and had a party for the rest of the day!


So here we are, ready to tackle the next challenge in Trey's life, that of speech. I don't know all of what needs to happen, but I am going to tackle each trial as best I can with the help of God and my family. I am sure that the Lord will continue to place people in my life that will aid in my efforts. Trey is perfect in my eyes, but I certainly don't want to close those eyes to his challenges. I want to help him through them.
So now I am on to tackle the problem of how to help him develop his language. Just for the record, I am not trying to do this on my own, however, after all that we have been through I believe that mother's are given the gift of the Spirit to help them be the best expert and advocate that their children have. We still go to the SLP and early childhood educators to help all of the time, but I know that their is something else that the Lord would have me do to help Trey. I just need to search and pray for what that is. Trey is so smart and talented, you have never seen a kids so technologically savvy at such a young age. He has an engineers mind, which is almost impossible for me to understand since my husband and I think so different from that.
I imagine that there is a lock inside of Trey's brain that is preventing him from displaying all of the knowledge and gifts that I KNOW that God has blessed him with, and my job is to figure out how to unlock it.

I will post things that I try, my attempts, successes and failures in the hopes that it will help myself and others.

Welcome to my blog! I thought that I would start by telling you a little about me and my family. I have 4 kids that are amazing. My oldest is 12.












Taylor is my only girl and is an awesome big sister to her 3 younger brothers. I honestly can say that she is a big reason that my sanity is still intact. Taylor loves to dance and is a talented runner. (Which I am sure comes from her dad, since I couldn't run if my life depended on it) Taylor is also a veracious reader. Someday I am sure that you will see her name on the cover of her own book.



Dylan is 9 and love sports. He is equally talented in soccer, baseball, and basketball and golf. If I could take a sample of his attitude and self-confidence and bottle it, I would. He has an amazing ability to be o.k. with himself and to be supportive and non-judgmental with all those around him. When Dylan was a baby, he was very sick, but thankfully, tubes and a tonsillectomy helped that. He is a big help to his younger brothers:)





Devin is 6 and has a very dynamic personality. Anyone he meets is his friend. Devin was sick as a baby, he was a little slow to walk, but once he decided to walk, he only would run! Devin had water behind his ears, but no ear infections. So I didn't even know about it, until his speech was noticeably delayed. We took him to an audiologist and found out about the fluid behind his ears and got him tubes. Finally there was some words!! Before there was just what the speech therapist called "Hawaiian language" all vowels and no consonants. After tubes he started speaking, but really struggled with it. He substituted "w" for everything. It was like having a little Elmer Fudd in the house. "Say hewo to my widdo fwends!" We worked so hard each day and if we broke each word do to individual sounds he could get it. I can't tell you how much we worked to say Idaho. His Grandma and Grandpa live in Idaho and we visit frequently so this word comes up a lot. He would say I want to go to Iaho. That D was a killer for us. It took about a year, but he got it. Learning letters was very hard. We worked every day on them and he had a hard time making the information stick. So I started to research language development. I had thought that I already new a lot about development since my degree is in education...but boy was I wrong.
I by chance found some information about Apraxia. When I read it, I thought "That's it!" The speech therapist that was working with Devin when he got to kindergarten didn't think that could be it, but I convinced her to test him. Sure enough he was and it just wasn't as apparent since we had worked so hard for the 2 years prior to kindergarten. Devin still has to think about everything before he says it, but he is doing amazing with his speech. Reading is VERY difficult for him and he tends to flip the letters when he write and reads, but he is working on it.
Devin loves to play soccer and baseball and golf, and he has an amazingly positive attitude.

In my next post I will introduce you to Trey, the reason for this blog, his history and some things that I've already learned that has helped me to help him.