an update on Vance

It's been too long since I've reported on Vance's health: that's left those of you who are so faithfully praying with us hanging. I'm sorry about that. Here's a bit of an update.

About 6 weeks ago we put Vance on the GAPS diet to try and relieve some symptoms of his chronic fatigue. We also kicked up his "exercise" regimen into a no-matter-how-I-feel priority, and worked harder on the insomnia front. Within four or five days we saw noticeable improvement, and since mid-June he has been working pretty much full time. Praise God! For about a month, he had enough energy to play with the kids after work, was increasing the intensity of his exercise, and even started mowing the lawn again. As he described it, some of the low points in his illness have brought him to about 30% of normal. Lately he's been more like 85%. That's a pretty huge change.

At least it was, up until a week and a half ago. He had been feeling well for several weeks, and was feeling well enough to do some yard work. He was encouraged at how energetic he felt, and he did more than he should have. The bummer with CFS is that the recovery period from one afternoon of overdoing it is brutally long. Weeks, even. It's so discouraging, especially because I think we were both feeling that maybe he was done with the worst of it, and on the way to recovery. Chronic fatigue just doesn't give you much room for error when it comes to limits.

Our friends Yesupadam and Monika came over yesterday for lunch (so grateful for overseas friends who travel to us!), and they took the opportunity to pray with us for Vance's healing. Obviously we've been praying daily for healing, but as we prayed together Vance and I both felt a new level of faith that God would bring restoration to his body soon. We were also both impressed that this is an issue of spiritual warfare. I think in the spiritual culture I'm in, we pay more attention to the tempations of sin and self than to external foes like the devil. Generally speaking, that is probably fine...but Satan is still our adversary, and one we are commanded to actively resist.

After we laid hands on him, Vance felt significantly better, and has continued to. He's not completely healed yet, but I am waiting in expectation, even as I am so thankful for all the healing that God has thus far granted. Please pray with us!

Did we in our own strength confide
Our striving would be losing
Were not the right man on our side
The man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he
Lord Sabaoth his name,
From age to age the same
And he shall win the battle.
~ M. Luther

Evie at 10 months

Look how I found Eve when I came to get her from her morning nap! All smiles and getting herself into a sitting position by herself for the first time.

At 10 months, Evie has finally hit the, "Hello, trouble" stage. She started crawling a week ago (3 months later than the other two), but she was a quick study after her delayed start. Within a day she was moving from room to room. I did enjoy having her stationary for so long, and I wasn't really encouraging her to crawl, but I think mobility is making her a happier baby. She's able to get what she wants now.

She hasn't really added any new words to her vocabulary, but she has waving down to a science now. She is sleeping better, which is wonderful. She and Claire like having a room together, and just like with the Isaac/Claire combo, having two kids in one room just hasn't been the Armageddon I dreaded.

This girl has pretty much given up baby foods for good, and I think she's going to be a foodie. She likes all the cheeses she's tried so far (even blue!), and cries when she runs out. She demands to receive the same food that we do, which made for some emotional drama when I denied her a chocolate chip cookie (It was my first time with this recipe, and it was pretty awesome). I am already thinking about how fun it is going to be to watch her eat cake, just two short months from now...

Sunday Lovin

We had such a lovely Sunday. It was one of those days where both Vance and I just really enjoyed being with the kids all day long. (That sounds bad, but if you're a parent, I think you know what I mean). Evie has started waving and saying "Dada" over the last couple of days. She also made up for her cutting-teeth fussiness by being a perfect angel all day today.

Just look at those pudgy little arms.

I need to get a better picture of Isaac and Eve together...I think they look so much alike.

Claire wanted to be in a picture, but was making crazy faces the whole time, so this is what I have.

Evie at 9 Months

In the midst of all the busyness that life is right now, it's been a bit hard to find the time to blog. Mostly it seems I'm spending my "free time" culturing yogurt, simmering broth, and figuring out what Vance can eat when. I should have spent more time catching up when the kids were away. But more on all that later... :)

Evie is 9 months old! Her checkup at the doctor yielded these stats--she weighs in at 18lbs (48%), and is 71% for length and 98% in head circumference. This girl was built for brains, not speed, apparently. That is proving true in real life as well. The other two kids were crawling at 7 months. Eve has had no interest in such things until the last couple days...only recently have I seen her really going anywhere. She doesn't really like being on her hands and knees, so she does a lot of scooching. But she's crossed the line from immobile to slowly somewhat mobile, and it's only a matter of weeks before she's on her way.

Moving isn't really her forte, but talking is! She is an incessant babbler, and last week she debuted her first word: "Mama"! I was beyond proud. Isaac's first word was "duck", and Claire said "Dada", so I was really pulling for my place in the lineup. And I scored! She says "Mama" all the time now, when I walk into the room, or when she's looking at me. She says "Dada" too, but never when he asks her to. Hmm...

I think she has also become my Most Complimented Baby. I don't know what's average, but I assume that all mothers get bombarded with the usual, "Your children are so adorable!" stuff. Almost all kids are cute, and people want something to say, so it's pretty natural. But I think Eve takes the cake! I have had 5-7 people stop me per store to tell me how beautiful she is at times, an older lady told me that Eve was as cute as her grandkids (!!), and a mom at the gym said that Evie was the most beautiful baby she had ever seen. Of course I agree! I think her blond hair really gets people going.

Eve is showing a little more "personality" these days, as they say. Some of that is due to the two teeth she is cutting in right now, poor thing. She is a die-hard cheese fiend, and will spit other food out if she gets cheese first, throwing a little hissy fit for more. She loves food of all kinds, and eats a ton. She can be very violent, and I have been pinched, bitten, and generally torn to shreds by her exuberant curiosity lately. But even with a little bit more spunk lately, she's still my sweet, easy-going girl.