Sad News- Local Child Dies from Food Allergies

In the Gazette on Saturday there was an article about a local Cedar Rapids boy who died while in the care of a daycare provider. It happened earlier this year and it was recently discovered he died due to allergies to wheat. We are sending out special prayers for this family and a warning for those that have children with food allergies to be diligent. Never think you are being over protective. In this case the daycare provider was working with the parents and it sounds like the wheat was undisclosed on some food she fed him. He was only 18 months old. God Bless this little soul and remember if this happens once it has happened too many times.


Hope you all have a great week! Pray for the family as they deal with their loss.

The Taylor's

You can sure tell it is Pollen Season

This week has been a rough one. Callie has the hardest time during this time of year if you can believe it. She has been a continuing flow of snot (gross) due to her allergies. We have been doing her nose washes and that has helped a ton. Lynda is a bit red but nothing compared to last year at this time.
Matt seems to be suffering a bit this year too. There is so much rain here that we have had to resort to rain boots and rain coats. Dad has to goto Salt Lake City next weekend for a conference. Matt has to get his hand worked on, he has a bump the doctor has to fix. We really can't wait for the farmers markets to start up again so we can get fresh produce every week. We also like getting balloon animals from the guy there too.
Last weekend Mommy taught another little girl and her mom how to wet wrap her eczema. She is from a near by town as well. There are several kids around here that are like me with either food allergies or eczema. Last week we also had an earthquake in the midwest and some felt it here. I thought that territory was reserved for California where my aunt, uncle and cousins live. Matt went to prom and his pictures came back great! Keep an eye out for future updates. The scooters were a present from the easter bunny (since we don't get candy and all).

Lynda Dee

It's Sunday- Weekly Recap

Hope all are doing well. Lynda had a bout with Walking Pneumonia that was diagnosed on Thursday. So home we stayed and got some antibiotics to help us get better. She still has red spot where she broke out around her eyes. It kind of makes her look like she is wearing a racoon costume. So by Friday afternoon she was back to bouncing off the walls and driving mom crazy! Callie as been doing well and getting ready to goto preschool next year. In the last 2 weeks we have had kindergarten roundup and preschool roundup. We are pretty roundup at this point. Callie & I went to the PTO spring carnival and found out on the way home that tornado sirens are pretty loud. Ya got to love Iowa spring weather. In the last couple weeks we have had 2" of snow and tornado touch downs (south of here about 30 mi), high winds, rain and more rain. We are excited about the coming we as we are supposed to have a dry out period and reach 70 degrees. :) Matt had to have his toe worked on for an ingrown toenail this week and it hurt to have it dug out. He has had to have this process done several times, but this time was the most painful (and he has a high tolerance of pain). He is at Chrystalsys this weekend for church. We will see how he does with 3 strait days with no cell phones, no TV, no video games or computers. I hope he does not come back in a catatonic state (ha). Lynda sent in her annual request to the governor for a proclamation for National Food Allergy Awareness in May and we got it back in the mail Thursday! Thanks Gov. Culver for your support!

Hope all is well with you and yours
The Taylor's

Food Allergy Awareness Week: Living and Learning Together

FAAN has announced the dates for this years Food Allergy Awareness Week (FAAW) for the week of May 11th to the 17th. If you need ideas on how to celebrate this week or help on ideas on how to bring awareness to your community, visit FAAN's website for more details (Or click here).

I am sure we will be cooking up some fun for Lynda's weekly activities. Post a comment and let us know if you have activities planned!

Have a great week!

The Taylor's

New FAAN Poster

Download your copy of the poster here!

Gage is in the hospital

Our friend Gage is currently admitted to the Mayo Clinic for a skin infection. His mom is hoping that they will do some allergy testing or refer her to National Jewish.

She mentioned some hospital in Wisconsin that has a similiar program as National Jewish. Once she has more information she will pass it on to me and I will pass it on to others.

This family needs our thoughts and prayers right now.

Sometimes Second Place is great!

Tonight was the season finale of the Celebrity Apprentice. Unfortunately Trace did not win, but he did make parents and family members of kids with food allergies proud. He brought this important issue to the forefront of national attention. If you missed the great video talking about FAAN last night check it out here. It sounded like things I have said or Laurie has said a million times. It also gives us hope that we should not give up this fight. Trace is also donating all the proceed of the iTunes downloads of his #1 country hit You're Gonna Miss This to FAAN, so if you are a country music FAAN (pun on purpose) then please consider downloading this track and supporting kids with food allergies. Even if you are not, download it as a gift to someone else. Laurie and I are supporting a move to get Sabrina's Law passed in Iowa, we are going to need a lot of help and support. I am warning you now I am going to be asking for letters and calls to our leaders and I may be looking for help to raise money as we have a couple kids here in Iowa that need help with their trip to National Jewish. Does anyone know Donald Trump, I would like to ask him for a couple donations.....

Have a great Friday-
Pray it Forward :)

All our love,

The Taylor's

Bravo Bravo!!!! The leg is broken

Matt's theatrical debut was wonderful. He is a great job in his part at Peter and did his dramatic monologue flawlessly.  Considering how much he has been working lately at his new job I am surprised he was able to stand up there in the dark without falling asleep.  It was a great night and a Good Friday service like I have never participated in. It was very cool and moving.  Ask me about it, I will fill you in.  Lynda and Callie did a great job watching Matt without screaming and shrilling at the top of their lungs that he was on stage.  We had a great Easter morning and we went to church and had a great time (except for Matt, he had to work again this morning at 6 am, new guy and low on the totem pole).  Grandma and Grandpa Meyer were supposed to come up today, but Grandpa has the flu, so they stayed home.  We delivered some food down there for them and I think they were glad to have an Easter dinner even if it was not together.  Well it is time for me to go up and heat up the leftovers from lunch for dinner.  I hope all had a great day.

All our love,

The Taylor's

Mommy Day

Well the girls were not feeling well today so they stayed home with Mom. They are feeling better now, it is the end of the winter everyone at school is in some stage of sick. We have a friend named Jesse that needs your prayers right now. He is at National Jewish (in the same room I was in) and he is also having to be in isolation due to MRSA. He has a site like ours and I want everyone who reads this to visit his site and leave him and his mom words of encouragement and prayers like you did for me. They are having a tough time and Tammy is mom is doing it on her own, no breaks. We were very happy to see that he got to goto the zoo this weekend.
Jesse's site:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jessehepker

Send him and his mom notes of encouragement and prayers!

Pray it forward!

Lynda Dee, Callie, Matt, Laurie and Sean

Would you like Fries with that ???

Yep Matt has landed his very first job. He starts orientation at McDonald's tomorrow night. He will be making food and working up front etc. He is extremely excited about the potential to make money and maybe even get a car! He is doing GREAT in school. His grades are good and he has been participating in Track and the church play on Good Friday. So it you happen to be in center point, you may want to check out the McDonald's and maybe a familiar face will be serving you or preparing that Big Mac!


Callie and I are excited about the fact we may get some Happy Meal toys.

Have a great week!

Lynda Dee

Mommy is Home!

Mommy got back from a Trade Show in Arizona, she was gone all last week. She must be good at trading because she brought Callie and I back a whole bunch of cool stuff. We got bags, balls, big money and my favorite a pen. Our friend Jesse from a town close to Center Point is heading to National Jewish next week with his Mom. I am so excited for him to meet Beth Ann and all the staff there. Pray for him and his mom for safe travel and that the doctors will be able to help him like they did me. Jesse if you are reading this, make sure you tell them to show you where the prize closet is. :) Enjoy your time in Denver it is soo cool. I also got to meet my grandpa and grandma's new Shih Tzu puppies. There are 2 and they are both black and nameless at this time. I could only see them from a distance, but I know there is a boy and a girl. Suggestions welcome for names. Callie and I have been practicing our best Hanna Montana impressions. Our new favorite song is the best of both worlds. Matt spent part of his day at drivers ed learning how to drive. Matt has a new hair due that he has been working on, we can not always see his eyes, dad says he looks like the shaggy da. Have a great week, we will catch up with you again soon!!

Lynda Dee XOXOXO

Miracle Flights

A friend of ours is also going to National Jewish in March. They found a website assisted them in their air travel to Denver. Please take a moment to review their website. Children that have food allergies have an extreme risk of having an allergic reaction while in flight since the airlines can not control the food or drink that the passengers bring on board with them. Miracle Flights allows families a safer way to travel with their children to National Jewish.
I have created a link on the right hand side of this page for Miracle Flights.
God Bless

FAAN-tastic

Hi all, I don't know how many of you are Apprentice fans, but on this season's celebrity version country singer Trace Adkins has designated his charity as FAAN (the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network). We use FAAN every day and their Be a PAL program is what I am using to hand out wrist bands and pencils at our valentines party at school to help bring education to our classroom and hopefully the kids in my class will show their parents and tell them about what they learned at the party. Please root for Trace as he does the project leader role and wins money and awareness for FAAN. Trace has a daughter with food allergies just like me! Have a happy and safe valentine's day and keep warm!

Hugs & Kisses

Lynda Dee

14.5" of SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well Tuesday was a big day here in Iowa. We got 14.5" of snow in one day. We are pretty close to our winter total record and Friday night we are supposed to get some more. We will be at Grandma & Grandpa's house that night. Callie, Matt & I are getting ready for Valentine's day! Daddy found some conversation hearts from Brach that are safe for me. It's my new favorite treat. I gave mommy & daddy one that says "I LUV U". The picture is of me eating snow out of the back yard and Callie is trying to swing. Matt was out trying to shovel and snow blow the driveway for about the 5th time that day. Mommy & Daddy ended up having to work from home that day due to the weather.

Enjoy your weather and remember that it is way better than ICE and no power like last year.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lynda Dee

XO XO XO XO

Craft Mainia

Well Tuesday night became craft night. When it's cold outside, you can't run around and there is nothing else to do then glue stuff. So that is exactly what Callie and I decided to do. We glued paper to Popsicles sticks and other useful household items... or we just made a really huge mess with creativity! It has been really cold here in Iowa. Negative temps are the norm, we even had a little bit of a blizzard. It took a long time for dad to get home that night. My skin is doing really well, my eyes are a little red. I think everyone's skin is a bit dry due to the cold and lack of moisture in the air. Callie and I have been practicing our cheers for the next CPU basketball game, taking baths and impatiently waiting for the day we can play outside and swing again. Monday we got a warm day (45) and we played outside for a bit, now we are wanting winter OVER! Matt has started drivers ed, but due to the weather he has not been able to drive yet. bummer. Have a great week and keep warm and safe...

Lynda Dee

It's a cold day in........IOWA!

Well we call woke up today to EXTREME frigid temps. -19 degrees out this morning. I am coming off a cold that is already causing my skin to flare (mostly in my face) but now it is important more than ever to keep my skin moisturized (YOUR TOO!). Callie has been missing me at daycare because I had to stay with grandma while I had a temperature (100+ by the way). But now I am back to being energized and ready to go. Going back to school today and trying to keep warm as most Iowans are trying to do today. Keep your cards and letters coming, we love to hear from you.

All my love
Lynda Dee

I'm on an island and I feel like I am all alone......

I will tell you I have heard this statement from parents of children that suffer from food allergies. It was very ironic, Laurie and I had a very rare opportunity to go out for dinner just us last sat. night and we happen to be talking to a family with 4 kids. The mother was holding a adorable little boy and she stated they were out celebrating his 1st birthday. He smiled at me and I said boy are you going to have fun smashing cake all over you! Not so his mother informed me, he is allergic to milk, rice, wheat & eggs.... WOW did we ever strike up a conversation, come to fine out the poor little guy has eczema as well. We talked about our trip to National Jewish and all we learned and gave her our number to contact us with questions. At that moment I realized that I have uttered and heard those 12 words so many times over the last 5 yrs. From the mother from Kenya we met in Denver to our friends in Vinton to the folks heading to National Jewish in March from New Jersey. The lord does work in mysterious ways. I am so glad we decided to go to Red Lobster and spoil ourselves a bit, and we had the opportunity to meet this family with their new challenges just presenting themselves. Happy Birthday big guy, I hope you grow out of all those allergies.


Well I say the island has been discovered and we are starting to put up condo's. We will figure this out and give our children a voice. Anyone wanting to help us pass Sabrina's law, let us know, we could use the help.

Sean

January Thaw

This weekend was pretty crazy! We had 3-4" of snow on the ground, then pow 45 degrees out side and mud puddles everywhere. Callie, Nicole and I played outside as much as we could. Matt & Dad spent a bunch of time breaking up the huge ice chunks that were still on the driveway and not melting so fast. Then it started to snow yesterday so the spring time weather is now gone. The driveway was so soft that dad's car sunk into the driveway and Matt had to help him push it out. Just fair warning Matt starts drivers ed here shortly so watch it when you are driving in Center Point (ha ha). Hope all of you are enjoying your winter. We got exciting news that one of our food allergy friends is going to National Jewish in March. Keep an eye out, we will be posting info to write your congressman to support Sabrina's Law! We want to get it passed in Iowa, if you want to help, let us know and send us your e-mail address so we can add you to the list.

Hugs & Kisses

Lynda Dee

Happy New Year!

I am really looking forward to 2008. We had fun ringing in the new year with our friends. The neibhors came over to "party" and we made it until about 11:30. Happy new years anyway. As the new year comes I am making the following resolutions:

• Stay out of the hospital as much as possible
• Continue to help other kids with food allergies and eczema
• look fabulous in my new ear rings (me and Callie got our ears pierced)
• finish up preschool and go to kindergarten next fall
• to turn 6
• be normal

Well that is all I can think of now, I hope you all have a great 2008 and thank you to everyone who helped me with my adventurous year in 2007, it sure ended better than it started.

Hugs and kisses
Lynda Dee

Merry Christmas 2008

Good morning all, well it is 5:05 am and we are ready to open our presents. We were a little worried, but noticed that Santa did stop by. Even Matt got a Santa gift this year. Dad got up last at 5:15 and we opened presents, Matt got a electric guitar, Callie & I got new book cases for our books and I got some Derma Smart clothes (they are special for people that have eczema). We got about 6-8 inches of snow a couple of days ago so we had a white Christmas! Dad made pork loin for me last night and today he is making me honey ham. Grandma & Grandpa Meyer stayed over night so they would be ready to help us open presents. Callie and I got new Kid Yoga DVD's so we can stay healthy. Uncle Jed got us a electronic Piano so we can jam with Matt. Dad says we can be the next partridge family. We are very thankful this Christmas and happy I am doing better. I hope everyone has a fun and safe Christmas and everyone travels safe. All our love.

Hugs & Kisses
Lynda Dee

XOXOXOXOXO & Ho Ho Ho