Some good signs...

It seems like a long time again since we had some real good days. Starting Friday last week until Monday Isaac was not feeling well. I had ended up taking him off the powdered nutrition drink because it seemed to give him cramps after he took it. It turns out he really needs that so he is back on it. Monday he had a big bowel movement and after that felt much better and in fact didn't feel like going to bed and ended up watching a movie at 11:30 p.m. We are thinking he passed some parasites and once they were gone he felt tons better. He was so alert and happy Tuesday and Wednesday. He woke telling jokes about needing some coffee to wake up and was smiling. He doesn't do that a lot so I was so encouraged. Today, he has had a bit more cramping than I would like but I'm praying it all is part of the healing. The doctor yesterday said like when someone has broke a bone and it starts itching. You can't go and have the itching taken away because it is part of the process of healing. The cramping and tired days are part of the healing process.

Please pray for God to continue giving us signs that Isaac is healing. Pray for continued healing in his body and continued energy. Pray for his body to complete the healing process. Thank you again for checking and praying. The Lord continues to give us strength and show us His love through all of your praying. We were also blessed in a huge way this week with a gift and it is humbling and also Awesome at the same time. God is so very good. He lifts us up when we are down and shows us His love in so many ways. Praise His Holy Name!

Happy Birthday again!

When you have 10 people in your house birthdays seem to pop up all the time! :) This time it is Riah's 5th Birthday. Jordan made this creation from the FamilyFun magazine called the Wonderland Cake. A little bit reminiscent of the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland. She loved it and I thought she was a cutie at supper. As soon as she took her last bite of enchilada she says, "No seconds anyone, let's have the cake."

Will they ever leave her alone?!?

My poor baby girl gets dressed up, hats on her head that she can't get off, kisses 1000 times a day when she was playing just fine, woke up from naps from children eager to see what she is doing, and mustaches stuck on her face. She didn't quite like this, but I'm sure it will be something new tomorrow :)

Carrots and Apples...

Have I ever mentioned that we go through about 40 pounds of carrots and 40 pounds or more of apples a month just juicing for Isaac two times a day? The chickens get the pulp and peels so they benefit too. I hope our eggs are just a little healthier because of it. It's one thing he likes and we continue it because it gives him such instant live food. I used to juice for the whole day at one time but now juice each time he drinks it so that it is fresh as can be. I'm always hoping that every bit helps.

Isaac had a good day! He got up and got his food together again and did school and then we had a fairly hectic afternoon. We ran Jordan to town for drama class. We ran around trying to find this particular item for Riah's birthday on Monday. This is the first year I have not been ready with their birthdays. Most of them have birthdays right after Christmas and by October I usually have it all planned and bought, Christmas and birthdays. Well, this year was not normal so alas, I did not find that perfect gift. I don't like to add a whole bunch of stuff to our already stuff-filled house so usually the gifts are more useful for school or their room and such. Isaac lasted through the in and outs and is still very alert and talkative and happy! He spent money that was burning a hole in his wallet. He loves legos, and he bought some Star Wars legos today. Legos keep all my boys occupied for hours a day, better than video games! I'm kind of rambling tonight but wanted to share that we had another good day.

Keep praying for Isaac's body to keep healing. Pray for the parasites to be eradicated completely. Pray for his body to absorb the food he does eat and pray for his body to digest his food. I've been letting him eat most of it whole now, very soft, but whole. Praise the Lord that he ate supper with us (suppertime is usually the hardest for him) so double praises. Praise the Lord for his energy level. Praise the Lord for giving us another day.

A more positve outlook...

Our day started hectic because we had chiropractic appointments again. Every Wednesday seems the same thing. Some went with, some stayed home. The day seemed like a downer with Isaac. He was so tired, real crabby and just not feeling well. It did a total 180 and he went to bed very happy looking, happy sounding and kind of energetic. I am so thankful. He had a real good attitude. A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit drys up the bones. That is somewhere in the Bible, can't quite place where. Well, the Doctor today told me how we really need to speak positively about Isaac's illness around Isaac. He noticed that in his office Friday both Kev and I were talking about it and Isaac was shrinking away. I hadn't thought much about it. I know I can be pretty positive when talking to him but when I talk about it to others in the family I'm not sure how I sound. He reminded me that Isaac needs to believe he will get better and a lot of negative talk will make him believe it's not going to happen or it's not going to happen for a very long time. I am going to take that to heart and change what I say when I am around him. I need to talk positively about it any old time. He is doing so much better than 5 weeks ago. It feels so hopeful and like recovery is really happening!

Not sure why I'm posting...

There isn't much to report. Isaac was real tired today. He took a couple of naps and even went to bed early. I'm praying it's because his body needs the sleep because it is healing. He's doing well otherwise. I have to say it in case I haven't before, I'm so thankful for Kevin. He really keeps me grounded. I'd be a total basket case if it wasn't for him.

A pretty good day...

I wanted to write again on our day. Isaac ate supper at the table with us. I made him a modified version of the chicken vegetable soup we had. He couldn't have the biscuits and usually that makes him so upset he has to eat somewhere else and usually he cries because of it but not today, he sat with us and talked and was fine the whole time. Praise the Lord! He had one bowl of soup through the blender and one that was whole food (not through the blender). Please pray this is the right thing as we are doing this more and more. I cannot imagine eating only blender foods so I cook things very soft and he can eat it if he promises to chew it very well. Please pray that his body will digest his food properly and for him to absorb the nutrients. Please continue praying for the parasites to be gone!!! Thanks again for checking and praying.

Have I ever said how much I hate bowel movements?!? Well, I HATE BOWEL MOVEMENTS!!!!! He just had one and I just don't like them. They can bring on such anxiety, fear, and depression. I cannot wait for the day when I don't have to go look at it. Praying hard for that day to come.

We do have some other requests. Riah has such bad eczema and tonight she broke out in hives everywhere. She is just miserable. Bekah has a headache and isn't feeling good and a couple other kids aren't either. We must have picked up a bug somewhere. Please pray for God's healing hand upon Riah though. It is so hard to figure out an allergy to something if that is what is going on.

A bit of a praise...

Isaac woke up with quite a bundle of energy. He woke earlier than usual. He wanted to go outside and feed the chickens (his old morning chore which his brother took over when he got sick) and feed the cats. He fed the cats and stayed outside and played with his brother for a few minutes. Isaac has played outside once this winter and so this was so encouraging to me that I wanted to share it with anyone who reads this. He has completed most of his school work and is bright and happy right now. Praise the Lord!

Another step?...

I don't always put this prayer request on here but I am always praying for wisdom to know what to feed Isaac during his illness. I now know some foods that don't react but I'm still not sure what all will affect him. I have had a friend call once in awhile who is interested in what is going on in Isaac and is looking at some problems in her own 11 year old. She called and told me about a specific book that outlines a diet plan for people with gut problems. Also, recommended is the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. These books are both geared toward healing intestinal tract problems. When I was first ordering them I had a heavy heart. I tell you ordering another book, looking at another solution is overwhelming. I have read and researched so much that to do it again is wearying. Then again, I feel such hope that we may have found the missing key to what we are doing here. One website had a ready list of recommended and not recommended foods and usually you have to buy the book to get that kind of information. Isaac follows the list pretty well but there are a few things he was eating that are on the wrong side. I pray this will help us to nourish Isaac's body. He is very alert right now eating green beans and writing a plan for their fort this summer. I like it when he is like this. Everything feels so normal :)

Thanks again for checking in and for praying. Pray for those parasites to be scourged from his body and for his body to be absorbing nutrients.

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Hello...

It has been a long, long week. I've missed a couple nights of sleep again but that is a mother's job; to be concerned about her kids. Isaac was passing a parasite in the last week and it was tough. We went to the doctor today and changed some of what he is taking. He is now on some nutritional support. The one is a powder the doctor said you could live on, it is that nutritious, contains everything your body needs. It is like Ensure but doesn't have the sugar and milk that Isaac seems to have a hard time digesting. It is a powder and we make it in a fruit smoothie. Isaac of course hates it!! So, I am going to pay him a dollar for everyday he will drink the three glasses of it. I would love to pay him a dollar a glass but he is satisfied with the dollar a day. He did drink the first glass down after that without lots of trouble. Please pray for him to get this down without upset because whenever he gets upset it makes his digestive system not work right. He is also taking some electrolyte solution (like pedialyte) but tastier. He likes this very much. He is also on something to bulk up the diarrhea.



Specific prayer requests: Pray for Isaac to drink down the stuff each day.

Pray for these new things to nourish his body.

Pray for healing in his intestines.

Pray for him to pass all the parasites (They keep laying eggs so

you have to keep working on them until they are all gone.)

I am so proud of Isaac and his strength during this time. He has shown incredible endurance. Thank you again for praying for him. We know the Lord is with us and guiding us and loving us. Thank you for loving us too.

Dedication...

Yesterday we dedicated Lena to the Lord at church. It was meaningful in many ways. It is always a time to reflect on what direction our parenting of this child will go, time to share with our church family in the raising of this child, and time to spend with our Pastor and his wife as they make plans to leave our church at the end of this month. They are retiring so we were blessed that they could perform this dedication for us. We are going to miss them so much. We've been going there almost 16 years with them as our leaders.

Lena was an absolute doll. She wore my baptismal gown and all the girls have worn it. She was dedicated with Samuel who was born a few weeks after her.

The day was nice for Lena but bittersweet for Isaac. He was not feeling well for the morning. He has not felt good lately. We believe it is part of his healing crisis (can google that and it gives a lot of info on what that includes). We have seen some very good things happen and even though it is hard to see him ill God's peace is upon us right now and we will keep trusting that God will never leave us and that He is in control. We are doing everything we can possibly do to nourish his body and help him heal. We must be patient and wait. I read recently about this kind of illness and the book said that it takes a long time to get to this point and it can take a long time to heal. Please continue praying for God to renew Isaac's body and for us to clearly see healing. We are praying for a parasite of some sort to pass from his body. This may be the reason he is feeling poorly as the parasite fights to keep its spot in his body. Pray also for a source of goat's milk yogurt. The goats dried up from the place we were receiving it and it would be nice to be able to feed this to Isaac right now. He is not able to tolerate cow's milk right now. Pray also for the foods he does eat to nourish him and for him not to react badly to any of it. Thank you for those who are praying. These are the things going on right now that we see as a need.

He remembered...

Ok, so I asked him when he got home if he knew what day it was and right away he smiled and said it's an anniversary of our engagement. It had just hit him too as I asked him.

20 years...

Lena Mae just rolled over from tummy to back and Jordan commented we needed to write that in her baby book. I said February 4th out loud. It hit me right then. 20 years ago today Kevin asked me to marry him! Praise the Lord for that. It was at a Chinese restaurant that is now closed. Kevin had originally planned to ask me the week before but getting out of the car to go into the restaurant he broke the fortune cookie he planned to use to ask me. I didn't know this of course but he says, "Will you want to eat Chinese next week?" I'm thinking, "Sure, why do you ask?" Plus going out to eat like that wasn't normal for us since we were both in college at the time. He asked me using a new fortune cookie. It was sweet and fun and I have it laminated somewhere along with our engagement picture. I need to find that and frame it. What good memories! He's working tonight so I haven't had the chance to ask him the question, "Do you know what day it is?" Should I act mad if he doesn't? I won't since I hardly remembered it myself besides he finally has my birthday down.

His mercies are new every day...

It's funny how the day can dawn bright with sunshine and everything seems so good and happy and like nothing could go awry. When night comes it can be full of anxiety and darkness and the unknown. This is how I have felt a lot lately. I have mentioned this to a couple of friends and they have known the same feelings. It is a lot like the Lord; bright, shining, hope, promise, goodness and just. The night is dark and fearful, hopeless, opposite of the light. God tells us in His Word in many places to be like the light in this world. I am praying for God to continue to show me how to do that and run from the darkness.

For our journey with a child's illness night brings bad bm's, blood, worry, weakness from the day's activities, upset at not eating more foods and more. Tonight I asked Isaac what he thought if God ordained this to happen to him. He replied he knows God did. I was surprised and asked what he meant. He said he can see God working already in our family. Wow! Wow! It was a challenging mealtime and he's upset because we ate some things he can't right now so I did not expect him to be OK with his illness. Of course he's not OK with it but he accepts it has brought about some good. Praise God for His work.

I have to say how humbled and blessed I have been today. I know that the person reads this blog who I am going to lift up but I just want to tell everyone what a burden was lifted by her incredible gift. I've tried to thank the Lord for this gift but I end up in tears. I didn't realize how much of a burden it lifted until I tried to thank the Lord for it. We had a girl come clean for a couple hours today as a gift from this friend. She plans to come a few times. She did a couple jobs for me today that I wanted to do before the baby was born and not getting to them was really weighing on me and I hated going in those rooms because of it. Thank you!!! Also to another friend for the many food items that helped lift the burden of mealtime. Also to the friend who keeps watching the kids while I take some of us to the chiropractor every week. Also to the person who left money on our counter the other night. God just keeps on saying; " I got it covered just take care of my son."

Where two or three are gathered...

Last night several people from church came to pray with us over everything that is going on. We were able to praise God for the work he has done in our family and pray for wisdom and healing for Isaac and the others in our family.

We started yesterday with Isaac and me crying most of the day. He had a bad night with a bad bm and it really set us all back. He was pretty sick. I was feeling quite overwhelmed by it. He was feeling quite heart sick that he'd have to back off on the "real" food he was eating. Unfortunately, the bm showed he wasn't digesting most of the foods we had been adding last week. Time to reflect on what is going on and why that would be happening. I really felt we needed some help and asked Kevin to invite people out to pray with us. It is hard to ask that of people because you feel you'll get through it just fine eventually and you'll tough it out but I tell you I was at the end of myself. I just couldn't go on another day without some major help. After we discussed what is going with Isaac and the rest of the family we were able to pray about some specific things going on and we were so blessed. It was what I needed. I would love to do that weekly! Isaac spent much of the day angry about his life and wishing he'd not been born so he wouldn't have to go through this. He spent the evening with me and some other kids around the baby laughing and taking pictures of her being so cute. He was a changed child after they all left and he woke up refreshed, sleeping 10 hours without getting up once!!! Praise the Lord for that! So much healing goes on when you are sleeping. He has had a very good day with only a couple of low spots around meal times but otherwise he's smiling and finished most of his school. He's eating mashed sweet potatoes and yogurt with smashed banana right now.

We are so blessed to have this family of believers come to the rescue in our time of need.

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I the midst of them.