Praying for my Husband

I wanted to just update everyone on what is happening in Walt’s life and body.

Walt is undergoing 15 days (on weekdays) of IV Therapy at his Doctor’s offices during this month. On the weekends he will be taking extra supplements along with all the others he already swallows, and this will enable the activity begun through the IV’s to continue. He is taking Salicinium/Orasal which is a medicine that targets fermenting cells.(usually cancer cells).  It also deprives the cancer cells of the sugars they so desperately want to grow and spread. Here is a link for anyone who wants to read more about it. The non-cancerous cells also adapt to using ketones for energy on Walt’s Ketogenic diet. Cancer cells are unable to use fat to make energy for themselves to grow, only sugars and carbs.  His diet is very, very high in fat and extremely low in carbs and no sugars.

(http://www.naturodoc.com/orasal.htm )

People with cancer should not be eating sugars or carbohydrates if they want to get better (IMO). I am learning more and more about this through this journey with Walt.

Please pray for him to succeed with working and doing this therapy in the mornings before going out into the heat to deliver mail.  Some side effects can be lethargy and tiredness, which he already experiences just being on a continual detoxification diet. It takes the body a long time sometimes to get sick and so it may be a while before we see positive changes on a scan for example.

Pray for our family to adapt to him being so very tired, and for the boys to be more considerate, for Walt to be able to continue to eat and still have energy to have fun with us. Pray for me to be patient in the middle of a continually changing situation.  As most of you know we have been down this road before. We are challenged once again.  Pray for the medicine or muti (African word) to work and boost his immune system whilst it is cleaning up the blood.  We believe for blood tests to give us good results next time we have them done.

Thank you for praying for us. He is Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Creator of Heaven and Earth.  Pray for us to walk in His peace.

Julie, Walt and the boys Daniel, Andrew and ‘Angel Brendon.’

Happy "10th" Birthday in heaven Brendon Richard Knight.

Dearest Brendon,

We miss you. We love you. We are so glad God chose to place you in our family for 5 years and a few months.

Happy Birthday to you sweetheart.

lots of love Mommy, Daddy,
                 Daniel and Andrew.

Summer Days are Here Again

How did summer get here so fast, and we are almost mid-way through June. I have not had much time to relish these warm days. I continue to spring clean this little abode we have, trying to rid us of books we no longer use, or read, and toys that have been outgrown. Of course some of these are precious and have been used by 3 different boys and some belong to our Angel boy so we have a tendency to hold on to them longer.

How are we doing? Well that is hard to say. As I listen to Ann Voskamp's blog music play in the background I would say we are okay. We are surviving in the middle of the storm. We do not know how my husband's cancer is slowing down or growing as it will be a few months before we can test again. Blood tests for markers were done today but it will be a few weeks before we have results.  Our family life is continually adjusted or disrupted due to new eating routines  and diets being changed almost on a daily basis here. I have to monitor how many carbs, fats and proteins he inputs in to his body and how much liquid goes down each day. To take supplements without being able to swallow them is a feat in itself. We may have found the answers in a protein shake which has low carbs. Praying this works on a continual basis and the patient does not become bored with it.

We celebrated 6 years of life with our youngest son who is so full of energy it is hard to keep pace with him. He has a smile and giggle that will melt your heart. It is hard to imagine that the days he came in to this world were so filled with turmoil. Car accidents, stem cell transplants and giving birth don't all go together but the Knights seem to do things like this.

We are trying to stay away from a summer full of unnecessary activities to remain focused on being a family without the constant pressure of school every day too. Visits to friends and celebrating friendship with other families is perhaps something on our agenda. My hubby will be doing some treatments towards the end of the summer and we are praying the Lord uses these medicines and others he is currently taking to continue to heal his body.

As a mom and wife I am struggling internally with many things. Each day is a gift I know that I should not take for granted but some days I can barely focus on me for all the 'stuff;' and things that need to be accomplished.  Spending time in prayer at the feet of my Saviour should be first but often is not, and often comes in the middle of the night when I can't sleep. My Bible seems to call me so much and then I am called away and it never gets completed. I need you Jesus to come to my rescue, and to satisfy my soul and spirit more than anything else. We in this world of crazies need Him to be Lord of all. Pray for me to focus on His will for our family, and to welcome interruption or crisis and not to wiggle and squirm when life is hard. Pray for my husband to want to eat exactly right so that he can remain cancer free. Thank you.

I am so longing for more of Him each day. I'm thanking Him He has provided a way for us to pay our bills, and to survive for right now. All glory,  blessing and honor and power and praise be unto Him. He is Creator, King of Kings, Lord of Lords and our Saviour. He is....

Life is not fair but our God is good. Goodnight.

Sweet Birthday wishes!

Happy 6th Birthday precious child! Dearest Andy so sweet and so tenderly born into the world after a hit and run accident the day before! Here he is then:

Tomorrow/Today 5th May, on Cinco De Mayo he turns 6 already. He is a healthy and strong boy and we are so thankful and grateful for that. He talks non-stop from the time he wakes to the time he falls asleep. Thank you Lord for reminding me each day through him to enjoy each day for itself. He truly is a blessing and has been a healing balm in our lives on many days. Here is today's pic:

Hug your young boys, little ones, and big boys if you can, and your girls too if you have them! 

Have a blessed weekend.

Contemplating Cancer Treatment - Why is it There?

Husband , Best Friend, Daddy, Son and Brother. 

Cancer. Recurrence. Metastasis  This can be a scary time for a man, a family, especially one with small children already scarred by this disease. We took time out today to go over numerous tests with W's integrative health physician,  and still more to peruse later this week. God has a plan for this family whether it be for many years ahead or a shorter space of time. We do not know how long he has for each of our lives but He knows. He assures us we are in the palm of His hand.

Yes He sends His angels to watch over us, the Holy Spirit to guide us. We need to be still long enough to listen and to wait for that direction.  Brendon saw angels in our home so we know they are still around. 

We have so much information to learn in a short space of time so we are asking Him for wisdom and direction. To change our ways of eating is so hard for most people in this country. To start off right from birth would be so much better for everyone. To encourage others to eat better is good too but not to force them. I have never had issues with eating healthy as in a Third World Nation where I grew up,  it was easy. I did not have too many choices for boxed and canned 'delicacies' - if you could call them that. Those were our 'treat' foods.  Thank you Lord for that teaching my parents instilled in  me to eat that way. 

Choose wisely what you eat yourself and for your children as much as you can. 

Pray for my husband and children that they will be willing to adapt to our new way of life whatever that may be and whatever change that may involve for the dynamics of our home. Thank you so very much.  Pray for many years of family life and many places to witness of God's blessing in our lives. 

We will continue to update you when we know more.  Pray for W to find some other kind of work in the Postal Service he can do to keep him occupied. 

Thank you and thank you

Walking Wounded.

Are you one of the walking wounded? I am. I have been, and some days I still think I am.  There are many times I think about my decision to move to the United States. It was a hard thing to give up so many family and friends. I missed out on many happy and sad occasions to leave and make a new life for myself. I know the Lord wanted me to be here as He was confirming so many different things a whole year before I moved.

However there are numerous times I look around me at my family here and at times do not understand why this particular family has to be so affected by disease and illness. I think some days it is a choice, and others it is just genetics. I had chosen to move here and be a part of this family so in essences I choose to live with all of this. Yes I am pouring my heart out a little.

Yesterday my dear husband of 15 1/2 years had surgery to remove more melanoma cancer cells. The unknown sits behind us and in front of us. We know in some way what lies ahead. We are trusting God to guide and guard us in the years ahead. We believe He is the "Jehovah Rapha" - the God who heals and the "Jehovah Jireh" - the God who provides. There are so many options open to us and people think we are crazy if he does nothing. Change is a way of life and there has been a lot of that going on the last year. It is always hard to try to change someone else unless they realize themselves this is for their own benefit.

I know that the Lord has used my life in the USA for myself and others. Of course we will only see the clear picture at the end of our lives when we look back and see the quilt or tapestry He has painted of our lives and where the suffering has made the colours brighter and others blended in. In my life I walk with a limp but know I hold on to Jesus more because of that.

See my heart is really out there today. God is good, and He is still on the throne. He is still my Lord and Saviour. Some days I just wish things were more defined. Ann Voskamp talks about in her two latest blog posts the scars of our lives. I have linked these posts to this post of mine. I love the way she writes and she expresses so much of what my heart feels. Have a read and make sure you have a tissue too.
Love always in Him
Juls

" I know He stands before me, I know He stands behind.
The God of Angel Armies is always by my side. "  (I declare no matter what)

Links to Ann Voskamp's posts here below:

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/03/letters-to-the-wounded-1/

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/03/letters-to-the-wounded-2/

Goodnight again!  ;)

January Journey of Life.

On a cold dark wintry night - here is the promise I found waiting for me on the way out to a basketball practice. This is one of the things in which the Lord reminds me over and over of how BIG and AMAZING and how precious and colourful His love for me is.

January has brought some interesting out and about activities. We began with visiting the Model Train Expo and staying as long as we could. We saw all kinds of tracks and train sizes and including in that was an amazing Lego display with model trains on it too. See below:

This is a bullet train I think. The mountains behind are all built out of lego too. Last one of the Lego day I promise! Thomas the Tank Engine is sneaking into this one! Incredible patience to build this scene every year!

Our "Heart of Dakota"  homeschooling days are somewhat crazy every day. Getting a pre-teen out of bed is such hard work, whilst the Kindergartener is ready by 8 am all the time. Chores, breakfast and no playtime before school are a hard and fast rule in our home but seem to be broken constantly. Anyone else have this issue or just me? Schedules are kept loosely in our home due to interruptions currently from Doctor's phone calls and Granny Skype 'dates'. I'm so blessed to have Skype and to 'see' my Mum on a regular basis and have our boys read stories to her and get to know her even though they only see her in person every 3 years.


Our Heart of Dakota Kindergarten Bible lesson a few weeks ago was to build a replica of the paralyzed man being put down through the roof to be healed by the Lord - Here is a peak of how excited our boys were to re-enact this!  Oh for just plain old boxes, string and a recycled shoebox! (which served as a fantastic motorcar just a few hours later.

D's final feat for January was a 4D puzzle of London. It involved 2 puzzles one on top of the other, a flat one and then the 4D on top. The puzzle underneath was London in the 1800's before the Fire of London and the one on top is built with buildings and includes the Olympic stadium on far right and one building (not sure what) to be completed this year in London. I would not have the patience to do this stuff. It took 3 weeks and monopolized my living room for that period of time.  Ok it looks crazy as I took the picture upside down! Maybe you can find the London Bridge ! :)

This week we study Chocolate through a Lapbook from In the Hands of a Child. We are learning where cacao is grown and how it has been used since 4000 years ago, to today's world and uses of it. I guess the Lord may/may not have got to taste this wonderful luxury drink! This study is for Pre-K through 2nd grade but fun for older ones to try out and they have a seperate study for older grades on their website. Here is the link for the one we are working on: http://www.handsofachild.com/sweet-chocolate-curriculum.html.

Sure makes you hungry after a day studying all about Chocolate.
Thats it for now folks - have a good rest of your week.
Juls