September Prayer Request Follow Up/October Requests

• Justin's food and eating: Maybe this wasn't the month to work on this, as he has added 7 new teeth since the middle of August. He didn't want to eat much of anything except yogurt. (I think the cold helped his teeth.) BUT, in spite of that, this week I made meatloaf and veggies, and I gave Justin a fork with some small pieces on his tray, and he managed to poke them, and get them in his mouth! He did eat one or two pieces this way, and the rest I had to dip in yogurt for him to eat. (Can I just say yuck?!) So, we're still working on this, but there have been some big hopeful flashes!



• Crawling: SO AWESOME! I cannot tell you enough how excited I am! I seriously think that I will be able to report his first solo advances within this month. He is so close! He really wants to move. Yesterday's PT went so great, and I can see new moves every day. I took some pictures. Miss Penny has just one hand under him, and he was moving his hands and knees all by himself. Look how far he went!

• Travis' volume: I kind of forgot about this one, but when I did think about it I realized that I had forgotten about it because Travis was doing so well! Okay, not perfect, but noticeably better. Like instead of having to remind him 10 times a day, it's down to 5 times. That makes me happier!
• My work went so well! The boys had fun with Daddy, and while I was so sad to be gone, I was much better when I came back. I was able to do some reading, exercising, exploring, and best of all, sleeping! I have the same trips this month, so I hope they continue to be good for our family.
• And the schedule is going well also. Some things need refining, but that is to be expected. My meal planning needs to be tweeked, allowing for some nights of leftovers, and not planning several large casseroles for the same week. But the goal has merit, and we are enjoying some of the benefits. I am loving getting to the gym a bit, and Justin has done well in the kid's area. He already has an innocent young woman wrapped around his little finger. :)

I can joyfully and honestly say that I have felt your prayers. Justin is making leaps and bounds of progress. All three of his therapists love him and are very impressed by his successes. I know that I am in debt to all of you. Thank you!

This is what I bring before you for October:

1. Please continue to pray for Justin's eating. We only have one more tooth to go, and I think it's close, so maybe now we can concentrate more on his eating. He was using a spoon this morning, but unless I am willing to scrape food off all 4 walls of the kitchen after every meal, we need more work on that.
2. Travis is going through what I hope to be another phase of separation anxiety. He breaks out in hysterics when I leave for gym at night and leave him with Randy to put him to bed. He has been very clingy. I want to acknowledge his feelings, but he cannot tell me what is so difficult for him.
3. Randy is going to have a tough month at work. He has been putting in late hours and is running on very little sleep. He doesn't get to see Justin for a couple of days at a time sometimes. And he is going out of town for a conference this month as well. Please pray for his strength and perseverance.

That's all! Thank you for your prayers. We are so appreciative!