Ellie Belly: Here's A Story

Here's a story. A story of a family of four. A story of a daddy, and a mommy, and a big sister, and a new baby girl who came home from the hospital sick. That new baby girl got sicker and sicker, and life became more and more complicated. And often frightening. And always stressful.

It became more difficult to attend social events, or church functions, or leave the house, or quite frankly even answer the phone. Those times were reserved for doctors appointments and holding the family together.

In an attempt to keep family and friends updated with how they could be praying for sick baby girl, mommy created a blog. Slowly that blog began to not just send out prayer requests, but to also chronicle the healing journey of Ellie, and all things that effected her Belly.

Baby girl grew and became a very, very sick baby girl, and that mommy became more and more desperate for help. She researched, and she made calls, and she prayed, .... and she wrote about it.

One day that mommy found hope in a diet that had the potential to completely heal her sick baby. Not only could it heal baby girl, but it could open the door to health and healing for the entire family. She made the leap. And she found that there was hope.

Baby girl began to find healing.

That healing journey changed how that mommy viewed God, ...and life. And it caused her to make dramatic changes in how she related to both. She began to cook differently, and shop differently, and relate differently, and teach differently, ...and even pray quite differently. And she told that story in her blog because she wanted so much to show the hope they had found.

Over time the people who read her blog began to grow outside of her immediate family and friends. Some of those readers had sick babies, too. That mommy realized how important connection was while on a healing journey, and she wanted to try and make a place where these families could go and be encouraged She desperately wanted them to know that there is always hope. So she created GAPS Kids.

Day by day, that mommy realized that what she thought was a healing journey for sick baby girl, was actually about the entire family. Baby girl had become thriving and healthy, and there was no longer a very, very sick baby to write about. Instead there was a family of four working together towards healing, and a whole new way of living.

The journey that was started by Ellie's Belly was far from over, but it had changed from the chronicle of one baby girl's illness to the family's journey of hope. And that mommy kept writing.

That mommy now recognized that her home - her place- was one of learning, and growing, and adapting, regardless of the challenges that came along. She consciously determined that she would teach her children to live genuine, and real. And she would use that same principle to provide physical, emotional, and spiritual food for her children, with the ultimate goal of modeling and instilling faith.

One day that mommy realized the journey of her family could no longer be properly told on the blog that began about her sick baby. That journey needed more room to include that mommy, and daddy, and big sister, and chickens, and bunny, and whoever would be added in the future. It needed room to include information for those asking questions, and encouragement for those looking for hope; where she could invite people in, and remember her love of hospitality, and learning, and facilitating conversation.

So that mommy stopped writing solely about Ellie's Belly, and began writing about her new focus of authentic and purposeful living. And she called it her Real Food Place.

It's an open house.

Come on over. Pull up a chair. And get fed.