My four-year old grandson Isaac has had a rough couple of months. We already knew that he was allergic to beef and pork, so we try to work around that when we have our weekly Family Dinner Nights, whether by making a portion of our meal without the elements he can't have, or by making him a chicken sandwich or veggie burger which Aubrey brings along.

And yet still he's had digestive problems. After a whole lot of tests (the really unpleasant kind!), one of the conclusions is that he is severely lactose intolerant. So this means that in addition to the meat restrictions, he can't have any milk products or any prepared foods containing whey. This is harder than it sounds--it's surprising how many cereals, crackers, desserts, condiments, etc. have small amounts of dairy products. Life now gets even more complicated for Aubrey and Dirk as they try to structure their family diet to accommodate the new restrictions.

Isaac is a trooper. He understands enough to know that some foods make him sick and are dangerous for him, so for the most part he deals with it pretty well. But Granny feels so sorry for him when he's here and can't eat what the hordes are eating for meals or snacks or desserts. So today while at the grocery store I started what will be a little stockpile of special things just for Isaac to eat when he's here and can't have what the rest of us are having. It will go in a bag with his name on it so that the goodies don't disappear from the pantry without my knowing...which does, from time to time, happen around Granny's House!