And if our God is with us, then what can stand against...

Back at the end of the summer, I took Hudson to have blood drawn to check his allergies. There is something called a RAST test. They take blood and then test the blood against the allergens. Hudson and I have had quite a few bad experiences with having blood drawn, so needless to say, I was dreading this test! Thankfully, my mama came with me, so I had some moral support. I didn't tell Hudson exactly what was going to happen, because I didn't want to scare him. We walked into LabCorp and they took us right back to a room. I was glad my mama was with me, because he needed to sit in someone's lap to have his blood drawn, and my midsection has been bulging a bit lately and a bit unavailable. As the lady left the room to go get something, I realized the song that was playing is that great Chris Tomlin song that has the lines...and if our God if for us, then what could ever stop us and if our God is with us, then what can stand against. I pointed it out to Hudson and we sang along for a few minutes. The lady came back in to draw the blood and explained everything she was doing. I had made Hudson drink tons and tons of water that day because I wanted to make sure they could find a good vein. Hudson watched everything she did and as the song played that our God is for us, I watched my boy sit like a champ in his grandmama's lap and have his blood drawn like it was no big deal. There wasn't even any crying, well except for me! I was so proud of that boy! Tony and I have been praying for him to outgrow these food allergies, grandparents have been praying for him to outgrow them, and we just knew he had. A few weeks later, we got the results in the mail. It didn't look so good. All of his numbers had gone up since his last RAST test, some more than others. The allergist suggested that we could try a wheat challenge where you go to the allergists office and they give the child the food that they have previously been allergic to...in small doses...building up to a bigger dose and they watch for any allergic reactions. It takes about 2 hours and it was quite boring. Hudson and I didn't know what to expect, so it seemed like we were there forever! They begin by doing a skin test. Then, he got to eat the tiniest piece of a Wheat Thin I have ever seen! Every 10 minutes, they came back, checked him and gave him a little more cracker. These pictures are of the skin test and then his first time trying the Wheat Thin.

Our 2 hours were well spent, b/c my boy had no reaction and he can now eat wheat! Praise our Lord! I really can't say how life changing this has been for our family! We have had sandwiches as a family meal...BIG deal for us! Hudson got to eat his first hamburger in a BUN! This boy is a hamburger fanatic, but has always just eaten the meat, with no bread, and he got to have a bun! I discovered that Oreos don't have milk, and that was one of the first wheat things we all ate together. They(all the kiddies) LOVED them! A month later, we tried an egg challenge and he was pretty allergic to the raw egg on the skin test, but he had no reaction to it baked in the muffins we took. So, my boy can now eat wheat and eggs cooked in things. Wheat has to be the biggest deal because it is in EVERYTHING! My next big prayer is that he will outgrow the milk allergy...that's in a lot of things too! However, we have had a serious life change over here at the Dudish house! We are thrilled beyond words and thankful to our God for allowing our boy to eat wheat! (The night after the test, when we were having macaroni, I think, Hudson came in the kitchen and very seriously said to me..."Mommy, are you sure Finley and Walker can eat the wheat?" and I said of course they can, why..."Because, Mommy, they didn't go to the doctor and have the wheat challenge!" Such a sweet boy, thinking about his brother and sister, and I love that they all just think they have the same allergies!)