Update!!

So I've been getting prodded to do an update, and I admit - it's been way too long.  Life gets as life does.  I've been busy, the kids have been busy, and I let myself get lazy as far as the blog is concerned. So here are a few lines about what the Izadis have been up to lately - and how we've been feeling...

Bella, Luca and Mia on a Sunday in Advent

Last year, I added another full time job to my list of commitments.  It's called building a house.  I knew that when we decided to buy some farmland and build our "dream home" it was going to be a task - and I was right.  I remember how I would stress out just thinking about breaking ground for the house - to the point where Dr. Jowdy actually had to "treat" those emotions at one of my appointments with him last year!  But as much as a challenge as it has been (making hundreds of decisions on an entirely custom home), it's not been as horrible as I had anticipated.  I have literally considered this as my job as of late, because Keith, as an oral surgeon, really does not have the time to be on site, or hear about and make most of the tedious small decisions that need to be made on a daily basis.  Things are moving along, and we anticipate the home being completed at the beginning of May.

My three beauties this fall on the farm

Our home at this point in construction

The children will finish this school year at their beloved FCS Stafford Campus, and then move to the FCS Fredericksburg campus in the fall.
Speaking of school, I have lost count of the number of snow days the kids have had so far this year, but they are home again today due to a dusting of snow overnight and frigid temperatures.  They did manage to go two days in a row this week, and it should warm up here a bit over the next few days, so it looks like they should be able to finish out the week!
Bella and Luca made us proud by qualifying for the ACSI Spelling Bee this year.  They came home yesterday with the good news, and we are excited for them to represent FCS next month.  This will be Luca's second year, and Bella's first time in the Bee.  Their little brains have been working just fine, as they brought home excellent report cards again this month with straight A's for both of them.
In other news, Bella and Luca also earned rank promotions this week in karate at Champion Martial Arts where they study Chun Kuk Do!

Bella earned her 5th Green, and Luca his 6th Green at their rank promotion last night.

They also continue to study piano - progressing wonderfully as reported by their amazing teacher, Miss Rachael.  Although Bella and Luca both faced health challenges with Lyme, they have burst through the fog of behavioral issues (Luca) and times of not making it through the school day because of fatigue, body aches and headaches (Bella), to come out on the other side and the soar on the wings of blessed good health.

So let's talk about the LYME.  Actually, we rarely even utter the word anymore.  Our lives and health have been completely transformed by the amazing doctors at the Hansa Center.  We had a breakthrough trip last November, and we haven't looked back since.  I didn't blog the last time I had treatment, because I decided that I was going to focus only on the full restoration of my health.  On our second trip, both Bella and Luca were having treatment.  Keith was accompanying us, and I was blogging every night after we came back from the clinic to chronicle updates on the progress of all three of us.  And truth be told, I really don't think I got as much out of that trip as I could have.  Bella and Luca did great.  Actually Luca has been completely restored - after just that one trip.  But when I left after that week, I felt like I wanted to stay for one more - for just me!  But that wasn't in the plan, so we came back home and I managed to be productive and pretty much functioned at about 75% of what I consider myself as totally healthy.
Then in October, Bella had a minor setback.  She had begun having night sweats and terrors - visions, as she described it.  They made her heart race, and then she couldn't sleep after it would happen.  This happened every day for about 2 weeks before I decided to email Dr. Jernigan about it, as I though that the Babesia could be possibly rearing its ugly head again.  He told us to get her there as soon as we could.  So we planned an impromptu trip to Wichita the second week of November so that Bella could be treated at The Hansa Center. (By the way, if you click through that link, you'll see a picture of Bella and Dr. Jernigan during her first trip there!)  Since we were already making the trip, I decided to schedule a week of treatment for myself as well with Dr. Jowdy.  It was an amazing week, as my uncle was actually also being treated during the same time.
You know, we never really comprehend the real meaning of why things happen, or the plan behind the timing of it all.  But I do know that the trip we took in November was designed by the hand of God.  Bella did great, and has not had an issue since.  But I actually consider that treatment week MY breakthrough.  I even rang the "Well Bell" upon checking out on our last day.  Bella and I walked out of the clinic on both knowing that we were fully restored, and that Lyme could now be safely put in our past.  When we came home I was refreshed and confident in the knowledge that my healing had finally come to fruition.  I will never forget the joy I felt as I filled out a "Hopes Fulfilled" card in church the following Sunday.  It would be the reciprocal of the "Hopes Expressed" card I had filled out 2 years before.  This one expressed my thanksgiving to God for the fact that my family had been loosed from the chains of chronic illness.

The kids and their cousins on Christmas Eve

Since I have been home, I have been able to recover from the repair of two tears in my right rotator cuff, and get back into a physical fitness routine, which my body craves in order to feel well!  We are all diligent about what foods we put into our bodies.  I still take some supplements that the doc put me on when we were there.  I am adamant about NOT using chemicals like antibiotics to cure illnesses that we may encounter.  We also make an effort to detox in addition to exercise by using an infrared sauna 1-2 times/week.  Staying healthy is something that we still work for - there are just too many insults in our environment to become lax at it.    I have begun to learn about and use essential oils to treat illnesses, pains, and issues that come up day to day.  I have also incorporated Bach Flower Remedies into our arsenal to encourage our emotional well being.   It is a constant learning process, but it is something that I enjoy doing, and I am quite passionate about it.
That being said, I am very excited that I will be traveling to the Hansa Center in April for a Bioresonance Scanning workshop so that I can learn further how to help my friends and family live in optimal health.
So that's that!  I would be happy to entertain any questions you may have about us and our journey to wellness in the comments section. Thanks for checking in :).

My wonderful husband on his birthday in December