Too too cute...

Here's my Lena manina! Cheesy grin and all! She is now officially a walker! She can balance and turn around and move quite fast without falling. Mama is her official main word. Please is the second. She's always wanting to eat! She likes to play Connect 4 and loves her "baby", her next main word. I love her, I love her, I love her. She gives me so much to smile about! Her disobedience is even cute! (Unlike the rest of them :) Although we try not to let her be disobedient. She does understand the word "no" and cries a real soul-wrenching cry when she is told "no".

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a nice day at my mom's yesterday. Just us, my parents and my brother. His family all went up north to his wife's family. Her dad was having heart surgery today. My brother had to work, trying to combine the corn. Isaac did real well even though he couldn't eat everything. He had turkey! He had some things that we brought along. He is going through a bit of a flare right now and we are trying to figure if it is a food that is causing it. It is so challenging to find out exactly what food could be doing it without feeding him nothing and then adding one thing every three days. He does well since we found a cheesecake recipe he can have. Amazing that something so basic tastes so good. It is made from strained goat's milk yogurt. You add some honey, eggs, real vanilla, and 2 cups dry curd cottage cheese. Blend it and bake and it tastes just like cheese cake.

Today, I planted lots of garlic. I can't believe how nice it is on Nov. 27th. I was digging the ground up and planting and it wasn't froze a bit. I got it all nicely covered with straw and we should have some nice varieties of garlic next fall. My friend Tina grows 14 varieties and lots of it so she shared with me the other day. We put Gizmo the male goat in with the three girls. In five months we should have some babies! :) The kids can't wait. They were very excited today, as if they will see the babies real soon.

Kevin's rash turns out to be a fungus trying to get out! He had been taking something for fungus and quit some time ago. He did go to the doctor. Please pray the stuff he is on will work soon. He is in pain with the itching. At least it's not contagious. I kept my distance until I knew what it was. I am officially done with my fast. 12 days total. 8 only on liquid. I chose the wrong foods to eat to come off of the fast and suffered with stomach pains the last three nights. I promised myself to be better today but once you eat solid food it's hard to have any will power. On liquid I can go on and on for days and never think about cheating but once you eat a bit of food, bam, I'm eating chips and salsa! I lost about 8 pounds and they're coming back on. I weighed what I did when I gained my Freshman 15 my first year in college before I got married. I bet I could fit in my wedding dress! I am having a small clothing crisis. I don't mind right now because I wear a lot of sweatshirts everywhere.

Isaac is counting down to Christmas. Every day he tells me how many days it is! Please pray for continued improvement, drastic improvement soon would be great! I sincerely pray his Christmas is much different than last year's. He has been through enough. Pray still for a complete, miraculous, shout it from the heavens healing that we can proclaim God's power throughout the land. He's dancing and singing to Lena right now, a Sesame Street song! Love it!

I've got a new plan...

Jordan and I love to plan something. When we lay it all out it feels all neat and tidy. We can conquer with a plan. Saturday we cleaned the kitchen top to bottom and it was so hectic at first because we were going back and forth to different projects and then Kev called saying he was coming home in 20 and we thought "Oh, we wanted this done before he got home!!" Then we developed a plan and it got done, well, except I had wanted to empty every cupboard and wipe it out, maybe next time. I like looking at my vacuumed ceiling, clean light fixtures and no stuff on the counters. It feels neat and tidy.

I wish my life were neat and tidy. I develop a plan with Isaac's diet or supplements or dr. appt.s and hope they will follow the schedule, but they don't ever seem to. I read and research and read and ask people who ask people about everything I can and it seems it should follow this certain way and wah lah, he'll be as good as new. Then I develop a new plan, another one and another one and as I watch each one fail or at least not bring the desired results, I lose a little heart in it with each failure. I still determine I'll figure it out and this time might be the "magic" key to take us there. I don't believe in "magic" though and instead pray Lord, show me if this is the way. I question why wasn't it "the way" a few times ago but He is Sovereign and knows what's best for me (this is hard to accept but what can I do, I haven't figured how to go back in time and redo it). Well, all this to say we have another plan and I'm happy again to have a laid out plan; do this for 3 days, do this for 3 more, do this for 3 more and call me, the doctor said. Please pray God's hand upon this plan and for healing to be seen immediately. I do not "plan" to give any man glory for Isaac's healing so come what may it will be all God's doing.

Well wishes to all who spend time with our family this way.

Again life goes on...

We wake up everyday and must keep going! I am determined to get this child well so I need to put aside my fears again! I have been having a bad weekend. Plain old discouraged and worn out by the efforts it takes to look and try solutions to getting Isaac well. I feel like we have exhausted every avenue and we just can't get him on a steady uphill climb. We woke up with a new plan and a new attitude (actually new strength from the Lord). Keep on praying and reading God's word, my only advice to those who are falling on hard times. And confiding in good friends. I didn't expect to fall apart yesterday when two of the very best of friends asked about Isaac but I sure appreciate them and praise God for their good friendship and constant prayers for us. (pretty sure they read this) I am doing much better today. My hubby and I got together last night and prayed and read the Bible together. We again prayed a very specific prayer and God answered it this morning! This is the second time we prayed that and He answered the very next morning. It cannot be anything but from the Lord. I need to keep trusting in the Lord to get us through. He has not left us!

It's not shingles... here's the Ball

Last night we went to a Ball with the oldest girls and the doctor of the house was able to say that Kevin definitely does not have shingles. For one, the doctor has had them and these are not it and then the lady sitting there had them and confirmed it. I kept waiting for Kevin to be in pain and for it to be unbearable and it wasn't getting like that. You usually have pain before you even break out and he didn't. He is still breaking out with something but after they break out they crust, and heal within a day or two and now his head is mostly clear of them. He must have gotten into something at work that irritated his skin or it's coming from the inside out. I'm just so happy for him. These itch but not near the discomfort of shingles.

The girls had a really good time dancing the Virginia Reel, Posty dance, Patty-Cake Polka, etc. They are worn out today. Em actually got up early and went to help Kevin at work with the two boys. They are up for it as they are looking for money for buying Christmas presents :)

The top picture is a picture of a dance where you do a few steps with your partner and get whirled away to the next person and on and on. Here is Jordan with her friend Havi and the bottom one is Jordan and Emily.

Thursday...

Don't know what to call it today. Kevin continues breaking out with blisters and won't go in to get this anti-viral shot I read about. He said next week he'll think about it but he's too busy. If you get the shot soon after a break-out you can minimize the pain and itching!!! Stubborn men! My dad has always been the same way. My Grandpa Ed also would be admitted to the hospital for a necessary surgery and check himself right out before the surgery. He finally had the surgery the week before he died. Stubborn!

I continue on with the fast although yesterday I considered cutting it short as in quitting. I do have to cut it from a 10 day to an 8 day because of Thanksgiving. I feel really good this morning. Yesterday morning I felt horrible and ill and I did get a whopper of a chest cold. Today I still have the chest cold but don't feel so yucky and juicing and all is going well. Tuesday I was trying to read school with the kids and I felt so sluggish. I don't have that now. Lena slept all night!!! Praise the Lord! Before bed Kevin and I prayed specifically for that! She gets up 2-4 times every single night so this was a huge answer.

We continue to see good things in Isaac. There are a couple nuisance things hanging on. When they are gone he will be well on his way to showing us perfect healing. Pray for wisdom for us in this and for these things to completely disappear. Praise for the good things in life; kids learning to read, Moriah's kisses, Lena walking, this long Fall weather, my friend Tina who calls everyday:), 6 squashes all cooked up today, Caleb's desire to read really big books, lunch is already planned, my husband's loving text messages, etc. etc.

Ahhh!

I am not sure I can do a 10 day fast. I did three days only liquid now and it is getting hard. Lena is not sleeping at night and that doesn't help. I'm too tired to wash, peel and juice anything so I think that made me a little weak and yucky feeling but also the toxins should be leaving me about now. I will persevere because all my stomach pains have gone away and so have the ones I had in my colon area. I need to let it continue to heal before I put food on it. I'll be pushing to get this done by Thanksgiving but plan to actually do 8 day juice fast followed by a 2 day fruit/veggie so that I can a little bit to eat on Thanksgiving. If any of you have done this before you can't just go back to your regular eating or you'll feel sick. I've done this twice so I have some experience but always "cheat" before the end. The kids are eating up our peanut butter so that's a plus (they are having mostly peanut butter sandwiches :) ) Not actually, but they are eating more. Last night I made spaghetti sauce with hamburger on spaghetti squash again and they just eat it up. Isaac can have it so we like to do that with home canned green beans and homemade applesauce. I also am getting my squash cooked up and frozen! It's going bad in my garage and oh, is it hard to watch that rot away. I paid almost $8/squash in the store this last winter and spring to make Isaac's special pancakes so I see every rotten squash as money out of our pocket. I'm up to about 10 thrown away ($80!!!!) If I cook up 5 a day I'll have it done in 10 days.

My hubby has shingles, well, I am pretty sure that's what all those blisters are that itch him and are cropping up new in different places each day. He's been stressed although he doesn't feel he's overly worried about anything in particular, just really busy and lots on his mind. It doesn't help that Lena isn't sleeping. She is going downstairs tonight and maybe staying there! We both need some real sleep.

Isaac is starting to have some side-effects of the prednisone. He is weaning off of it but it is causing muscle pain and itchy eyes. Please continue praying for him to heal up inside as he weans off of it. He has a chest cold. Pray for that to pass quickly as the prednisone wreaks havoc with his immune system and his body can't fight these kind of things as well as normal. It is hard to never go anywhere but maybe we should have until he was off the prednisone?!? The other kids would not go for that. We've tried to be smart and washing hands and all but you can't stop every germ.

Maybe I was wrong...

The next day Isaac had blood again and the next so I don't know what to think. I'm still (trying) to claim healing. Isaac is doing great still and was in trouble Saturday for fighting with Caleb! (Life feels more normal when they act like that). It doesn't feel like I have a "sick" child.

I am on day 4 of a fast. I started having some concerning symptoms a week ago and I read what I could about how to overcome it and a fast seemed the best move. A three day fast will remove toxins, a five day will begin the healing process but a 10 day will actually reverse things. It is actually a 14 day process as you start two days before and two days after eating only raw fruits and veggies. So, I'm on day 2 of the juice/tea/lemon water/water part of it. 8 1/2 to go!!! Can I do it? I'm not sure yet. I feel fine so far. Tired because Lena's not feeling good and kept me up most of the night. Hungry! I want to give over the cooking to other people. I like to eat as I'm cooking so it's a nightmare. My concerning symptoms all but disappeared when I changed to a soft-food diet last week! Praise for that!

The girls and I went to a Ball practice yesterday. Friends have a Ball every year with line dances; Virginia Reel, Posty Jig, Patty-Cake Polka. It is so much fun. Jordan says she needs to jog everyday until the ball to get in shape. You move constantly and it wears you out! It's Emily's first year that she is old enough to go.

Have a good week. We have the usual busy week.

Friends of ours had a new baby. Check them out at www.ourfamilystabletalk.blogspot.com

Premature praise?!?

Can you have premature praise? I'm learning that we are to "count it all joy my brethren when you fall into various trials" and we are to praise God in all things. I have trouble doing that most days (finding joy in my trials) but today Isaac showed absolutely no blood in two of his bm's!!!! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! I pray it continues to show improvement and I will try to continue praising the Lord even when it doesn't turn out the way I want every single time. I'm reading a devotional booklet by Joseph Stowell about how good we are to look for ways God is working in our life and how quick we are to expect Him to continually show Himself to us but we don't want to give God what is required of us, worship and glory and obedience and love, etc. He told an example of a baseball player who was a hero one day and the next not based on his pitching. He learned fans live by the motto "What have you done for me today?" That's all that counts. We as Christians tend to ask "What had God done for me lately?" I tell you this walking by faith is such a continual process. I keep thinking I'm almost where God wants me to be and then I learn and grow some more. I'm aiming for not asking God what can He do for me now to show He's there but what can I do to show Him I'm trusting in Him. :) I'm a work in progress.

We went to a concert "The Rochesters" tonight as a family. It was wonderful music. Most of the kids thought so. We met a nice couple having their first baby in two weeks. How exciting! Having a baby is about the most exciting thing in the whole world, especially your first. My first baby is almost 17. I really don't feel like that's possible. Her first concert is Dec. 6th for the Symphony Orchestra. Call or email for details if you want to attend. I'm real excited. I don't actually know any details yet but I'll post them when I get them. She's playing her fingers off on the violin.

It is back...

Our computer came home without much wrong. The hard drive had gone out on it but the nice computer guy was able to save ALL of our information and put it back on!!! It is slower though.

We had a good day for Isaac yesterday so you can all join us in praising the Lord for only 1 bm. He'd been having some increase in that and we've been working with a doctor trying to figure out how to get that to change and it worked! Isaac actually has a good day everyday. I didn't mean to make it sound like he's sitting around some days sick. I'm the only one really looking at those physical signs and judge good day/bad day based on them. He's got energy! He cut down almost a whole row of raspberry branches and helped load up the rest of the leaves after doing all of his school and now is building castles with his brother Caleb. I've been playing catch-up on the computer. I checked emails but they were mostly newsletters to this or that. Two weeks of no computer and I didn't get one personal email :( It would make me think I have no friends but I know that's not true. I have some of the very best friends.

Kevin is enjoying his "new" job. It's not so new in that he was already doing it part-time. I'm enjoying seeing him more. He comes home! He used to go to work after he got off work if you know what I mean. Sunday, was pretty much the only day we saw him. Now, we see him every night and most nights around 6 p.m. We have even been eating supper before 6:30 some nights. When he's not here I don't jump on getting it on the table until way too late. It is more complete when he is at the table.

Thanks again for the prayers. Please keep Isaac on your list for improvement, no blood at all and complete healing.

Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Trying to think "happy thoughts" and keep on praising the Lord for His goodness.

Happy Birthday Mom!

I'm at my mom's checking my email on her birthday.  I haven't even gone in to say hi yet.  They are having fun with Lena Mae :)  

Pray that Isaac would continue to show improvement.  Pray for continued healing for Isaac and for the rest of our family.  We seem to be continually challenged with something and we cherish your prayers for healing and peace upon all of us.    

Lots of things...

My computer crashed two weeks ago now and it looks like it has to be wiped clean and redone so I have not had time to get to a friend's to do any updates. In a nutshell, our computer crashed, the dog killed the rest of the chickens (something else got about 30 of them a while back), we have the lice thing under control (praise!!!), Isaac's follow-up in the Cities went well, kids had blast at Mall of America doing the rides, Kevin quit his job to go full-time on his own business as an electrician (they are very busy (praise!!!)), and just general stuff that goes on.

Please keep praying for complete healing in Isaac. My motto comes from several verses in the Bible that tell us with man things are impossible but with God all things are possible and also that we are to put our confidence in God and not man. 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land. Claiming it. Life seems hard again but we are claiming this!