Skip to main content

Homemaker

I've been working on my role as a home-maker. Josh and I got married after my first year of medical school and I just finished residency last year, so this year has really been my first year to REALLY be the wife that I feel brings the most glory to God. My house is still a mess... but better than a year ago!

Now, I progressively clean out our house with three thoughts in mind, "will I use it this year? Will I need it in Uganda? if not - get rid of it!!!" And I'm busy with the kids, especially Gracie. We're trying to get as much done for Gracie this year as possible since she may not have good insurance after a year from now. New wheelchairs, new braces, new specialists... now she's aspirating thin liquids (likely because of the Vagal Nerve Stimulator which is BEAUTIFULLY controlling her seizures) so I'm experimenting with thickening all her liquids and puree-ing all her solid foods. Today I bought a ton of fruit from the day old cart in the store and pureed it all so that she has juice/sauce to get more fruit intake besides her enormous amount of applesauce that she eats daily. (we single-handedly support the Applesauce Industry!)

Then I pureed summer squash so that I have an easy option for improving her veggie options. All the while, I'm pondering... "how will I do this in Uganda? How will I thicken her foods?"

Any ideas? Let me know! And I'll let you know as I discover how to care for Gracie's special needs overseas.

Comments

Gina said…
Could you take a hand-cranked applesauce maker? I imagine you could cook almost any fruit/veggie and put it through. I've seen several kinds - my mother-in-law has one that is a bowl with holes in it and a crank that pushes the stuff through into a second bowl. Or there's the trusty potato masher - or would that be too chunky?

I love hearing about your homemaking :)
Amanda said…
You cant really do this with drinks but you can add bread to soups and stuff like that to make it easier to eat =) I will ask around for other options from my OT and speech friends!
Amanda said…
Oh, adding flour to liquids might help? What about JELLO of that knox stuff.

Popular posts from this blog

Check out this progress!

A year ago, my friend Rachel http://josiecomehome.blogspot.com/ emailed a photo of her beautiful son standing on his own... I've since dreamed of having a photo to post of Gracie doing the same thing. It was always one of those wild-don't-think-it'll-ever-happen kind of dreams, a romantic, fairy tale type of dream. But this week, Gracie made another leap in development and muscle tone. It started when I leaned her up against the wall and planted her feet a shoulder-width apart. For the first time, she didn't lunge for the safety of my arms or hands, but rather, she allowed herself to stand steadily on her own two feet and she kept her center of gravity centered over her feet instead of wildly in front of her or to one side or the other. She even quickly figured out that she couldn't lurch around in excitement while standing on her own two feet with no support but a wall behind her back, but rather had to express her excitement over this new development with a gentl...

Family of Three!

We are in Liberia - the electricity goes in and out because the generator is having trouble keeping up these days! So hopefully it will stay on long enough to post and the internet connection will allow me this luxury! We were united with precious Gracie on Thanksgiving day - I will write more about this later. But, oh! is Gracie a joy! She is so beautiful, so joyfilled, and a bit mischievious. Her physical limitations do not permit her to accomplish much mischief, but we can tell that she is trying to push some limits already. If we were not in love with her already, she is irresitable and such a treasure and blessing from God. In our two days together, she has not cried once. She spends most of her days smiling, she loves to snuggle (good match for us!), and has the most contagious laugh! Life takes more effort for her - her cerebral palsy is moderate and every activity is a challenge and is clearly tiring for her. Meal times (which she loves) take a long time and much patience and d...

Ana Gail Rattin

Ana Gail Rattin (pronounced Ah-nah) Born December 5th, 2007 at 5:35pm at 42 weeks weighing 7lb 8oz, 21 3/4 inches long Some adventures at birth, but everyone's doing great now! Read Luke 2:36-38!