Friday, January 29, 2010

Against Logic

(Reposted 11-12-2011, not edited at all)

If you have bad vision, do you cut out the eyes of someone with great vision and consume them?

If someone is really smart, do you cut out their brain and make a meal of it?

Of course not, these are ludicrous examples of things that actually happened in ages past. Or are they?

If you have aging skin, would you use a skin care product made with fetal skin cells to improve your appearance?

January 2010's issue of World magazine reports that Neocutis anti-aging cream does just that (p.58).

We humans really are a bunch of barbarians.

A Telling Quote

There is a video series that we highly recommend, and it is available through Netflix.

Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution is a wonderful series of videos that looks at various animals and questions how such an animal could have "evolved." Our whole family has really enjoyed watching these movies! There is an element of silliness for the kids, but there is plenty of seriousness for adults! I am wowed by every episode! I wanted to share a quote that we saw on the video last night... I think it is very telling.

"Often a cold shudder has run through me, and I have asked myself whether I may have not devoted myself to a phantasy". (Charles Darwin, Life and Letters, 1887, Vol. 2, p. 229).

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Gluten Free Crock Pot

My real-life friend, RoseAnn, sent me a link a great website for slow cooking. This is the link to the gluten free recipes at A Year of Slow Cooking. Some of the recipes look really yummy!

Humor

What would an instruction manual for a new baby look like? I have taken the liberty of assembling a "trouble shooting" section for such a manual. (Please do not take this too seriously, it is all in fun.)

My Baby will not stop crying

Check his diaper.

Check his diaper again. In the two minutes it took you to go to the bathroom, he might have messed his pants.

After you have checked the diaper - Is he hungry? Try to feed him.

Did he just eat? He may need to burp. Caution: When burping your baby, it is unwise to wear dry clean only garments

If he is well-fed, burped, and has a clean diaper - Is he sleepy? Lay him in his bed.

If he is well-fed, burped, has a clean diaper and does not want to sleep – maybe he just wants to be held

If he is well-fed, burped, has a clean diaper, and does not want to sleep – maybe he is just tired of being held, try putting him on the floor for “tummy time”

If the baby is still crying – is it possible that an older sibling gave him a kiss that was too sloppy on his cheek? If so. Wipe off slobber.

If the baby is still crying, I suggest returning to the top of this list, because by now he has surely messed his diaper again.


Sweetness and Sadness

Yesterday, as a rare treat, Paul took us out to lunch at Pizza Hut. (They had a great deal, any large for $10! Hey, I haven't gone gluten free yet!) While we were there the kids had these fun little placemats with "deep" questions on them. I thought some of their answers were cute, so I wrote them down.

What would you do with one million dollars?
Rebecca - "Pay off the van"
Nelson - "Buy whatever Dad and Mom need"
Lydia - "ice cream cones for Mama and Dada"

If you are stranded on a desert island and you could have one thing, what would it be?
Rebecca - At first, she said a house. A few moments later she decided that she would rather have a ship (to leave the island).
Nelson - "A pet dinosaur to protect me"

If you could go anywhere in history, where would you go?
Rebecca - "a time when ladies all wore skirts/dresses and all people rode horses without being afraid of being hit by a car"
Nelson - "Home", he said without a moment's delay. Paul said, "I don't think you understand the question. It means you can go anywhere at any time. Nelson again said, "I understand, I want to go home." Paul said, "You mean our home at _____ (and named our address)?" Nelson said, "No. Home. Our home that was next to the church." Nelson wanted to go back to IL, where we lived in the parsonage. We left that church/house/state in August of 2008, but Nelson still calls it "home."

So, that was a little bit of sweetness and a little bit of sadness...

Monday, January 25, 2010

Miraculous

This is nothing short of miraculous!

You all know how Paul and I are serious about getting out of debt? Well, God canceled out another bill! It was a hospital bill from a few years ago. I had been paying $70/month. A few months ago, I called the hospital and asked for them to send me an application for a charity discount. We got the answer in the mail today... paid in full! Not only that, they refunded the amount I had already paid! The check is nothing short of a miraculous answer to prayer! I cannot find enough words to say how desperately we needed that money just now! Only tears suffice to offer up thanksgiving to the Lord.

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:26-28 (NASB)

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Taking the Plunge

I have decided to take the plunge and experiment with a gluten-free diet. I have not started yet, as I need a little time to find some more recipes and make a menu. (By the way, have you seen that the Frugal Abundance site is now gluten free?)

Many of you know that I have had joint pain (off and on) for a few years. And, I have been struggling with fatigue for years as well. (And, no, I do not think it is merely the stress of having so many kids so close together in age... if I hear that one more time...)

Anyway, here is what I have been thinking:
1- It can't hurt to try!
2- My first spell of joint pain and muscle weakness began right after I read Dr. Sears' family nutrition book. I was challenged by the book to use more whole grain wheat products. That is when we switched to whole wheat bread and whole wheat flour.
3- Last winter/spring we were mostly doing a whole foods diet. During that time my pain and fatigue never completely went away. And, at times it flared up badly. And, when it was at its worst was right after my friend taught me to bake real bread. (And, during their 10 day visit at our house we ate a LOT of homemade bread).
4- A few of my blogger friends are gluten intolerant, and they have repeatedly encouraged me to try it.

So, as soon as I can get a menu made, we will begin. But, here is what I want to know from my readers.
1- How many weeks should my experiment last? Is one month enough? Six weeks?
2- Are there any sneaky foods that contain gluten? Something I would not at all expect? (I already found wheat flour in the Campbell's tomato soup... that surprised me.)

Paul and I have talked this over, and he is very encouraging about this experiment. I will be forcing the whole family to eat my food (and I am almost hoping to see a change in one of my children's behavior). However, Paul has decided that he and the children will not be obligated to stay gluten-free at church meals (weekly) and eating out (when Grandparents come).

Honestly, I have mixed emotions about this whole gluten business. For one thing, I am already overwhelmed putting together a diet that is whole foods only. Secondly, I LOVE breads! I do not want to have to give up breads - not for 6 weeks, certainly not forever. However, if being gluten free gives me a new lease on life (as I have read from other bloggers) then I cannot afford NOT to try.

This experiment will take A LOT of patience and endurance. But, I trust that it will give us some answers.

One month old

Baby Josiah turned one month old today. As a present to me, he slept "through the night!" He slept from 8:45ish to 2:45ish!
This is unprecedentedly early. (Is "unprecedentedly" a word?) My other babies slept 6 hours around 6-9 weeks of age.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Cloth Diaper Options

If you have not ever looked into cloth diapers, beware, there are a lot of options! There are so many styles and fabrics that your head will spin. So, I thought I would assemble a short post of basic cloth diaper (CD) options.

Before you go looking at websites, you have to know the lingo.
Nappy = cloth diaper to those in Europe and Australia
sposie = disposable diaper
PUL = polyurethene laminate - a water proof covering

The easiest, but most expensive option is the all-in-one (AIO). These have the simplicity of a disposable diaper. These take longer to dry, and usually do better when air-dried.
Here is a very cute AIO from BumGenius.

The most basic cloth diaper for frugal folks is a "prefold." Cloth that is shaped and ready to be folded into thirds and laid in a water proof cover. You will need to use pins or snappis for these. And, you will need a waterproof cover to keep the moisture off of baby's cute clothes. Prefolds are thick and take a long time to dry on a line, but dry well in a drier.

Waterproof covers are wonderful! There are two major brands, I like them both.
Bummies - These covers are thick and VERY durable. They also have velcro tabs that pull together and overlap for skinny babies. The only down-side, perhaps, is the elastic around the legs. It will allow for some occasional poosplosions. It is always best to air dry covers.

Prowraps - These covers are thinner and less durable. These do not have overlapping tabs for skinny babies. What I like most about these are the gussets around the legs that give extra protection against poosplosions.

That is a good starting place for someone who is just starting to look into the world of cloth diapers. While the companies I listed offer name brand products, I also recommend etsy. You can find many home-made diapers of good quality. Don't let the prices scare you. Remember how much it costs to buy sposies for baby! An investment in cloth diapers is money well-spent! And, if you are decent at sewing (and have "free time") there are a lot of patterns on line to choose from!

I hope this post has been practical and helpful. I know that some of you had asked me for info on cloth diapering. In the near future, I will write a post on washing cloth diapers.

No results yet

I know you are all anxious to hear about all my results (from the CT scan and the blood work). I do not know anything yet. The radiologist told me that he would call me this afternoon "if it is anything serious." And, I do not know when my lab results will be in (the doctor said they would be in y-day).

Meanwhile, my memory loss is laughable, frightful, and annoying all at the same time! This morning my father in law (who was here watching the kids, while I was getting the scan) found some ham on the back porch. I got it out of the deep freezer days ago and left it on the porch. This kind of "oops" moment is happening all too often!

A bit of good news: I weigh 20 pounds less than my pre-pregnancy weight! No wonder my skirts don't fit!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Doctor Appointment

This post-partum recovery time has been like no other. I am always tired and weak. I am still having headaches. I was encouraged by a friend to go see a doctor, so I made an appointment. (I go tomorrow afternoon) I had to wait a few weeks to get in to see him, but now I am starting to think that is a good thing.
Because, this past week my finger joints have started hurting. It is getting harder to hold a spoon, or cut fruit with a knife. And, yesterday after church I was hardly able to unbutton my shirt to change it. And, when I was trying to put up my hair my arms were VERY weak, and it took several attempts to complete the job. These are usually the first signs in the downward spiral of my unnamed disability (though it seems to be vitamin D deficiency). I am thinking that my Vit D3 levels have plummeted after delivery, and I need to have them re-checked.

Please pray for my doctor that he will wisely order whatever lab work I need to identify the source of the problem. And, pray for me, as I continue to research Vit D deficiency on my own, that I would get the bottom of the problem - what causes my body to be deficient. Sure, I can buy supplements for the rest of my life, but I would rather know what I can do to prevent the problem.

I have read in Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon that vit D cannot be absorbed without plenty of animal proteins being consumed. So, I have tried to drink more milk, eat more eggs, use more real butter, and eat more meat... but I do not think this is helping. (But, who knows, maybe I would have been worse by now without taking that step.)

Saturday, January 16, 2010

School Resumes

We resumed our official home schooling y-day. We did a lot of learning activities while we were on break, but now we will be sitting in our room, at the table, more often.

While on break:
- Rebecca amazed all of us, including Grandpa and Grandma S, with her reading ability!
- Rebecca read to the little ones
- Rebecca finally started reading to herself

- Nelson loves listening to us read out loud from Narnia
- Nelson looked at science books, magazines, and more on his own

- Lydia enjoyed being read to

- they all watched educational videos on creationism, telling time, science, history, and more
- they all played board games and card games with each other and grown ups

The kids did fantastic in school yesterday! Nelson was WONDERFUL! He was really well behaved and seemed to want to learn! I had some trouble with Becca wanting to be the teacher, rather than submit to the teacher... But, the hardest part was my memory! Seriously, I am having some REAL trouble with my mind!

For example:
- I wrote the date on the board "January, Friday 15, 2010" I thought it looked a little funny
- I wanted to find James 5:6, for Becca to copy, but I could not for anything remember where to find James! So, when I started trying to recall the order of the books I thought "James, starts with J, after H and I." Hmmm, since when is the Bible in alphabetical order?!
- I played the Memory card game with Becca and she teased me terrible! She had at least 4 matches to my one. She thought it was hysterical that I kept flipping the same cards over and over. And, Nelson actually came along and told me where the matches were! Though, I told him I wanted lose "fair and square."

Well, maybe today will be better. Yes, we typically do school on Saturdays... we do that so that we do not have to feel as guilty when I am sick, or we want to go out of town, etc. (And, because Daddy never has Saturday off. His day off from Sears will always be Tuesday.)

Here is a picture of Josiah's first ever day at school! Isn't he huge?!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Lentils and Dumplings

We ate this meal last night. It was FABULOUS!

Lentil and Vegetable Soup with Dumplings

The only change I made was to substitute butter in place of vegetable oil.

On a scale of five stars, we give this meal a six!

Recipes

Last week I tried two new recipes, both from this blog post by April.

I think we will like the enchiladas... but I messed up when doubling the recipe (for a 9x13 casserole dish). And, I ended up not having all the ingredients and had to "wing it," but we ate it all. I will warn you that this recipe was very hard to follow... and it leaves out the chicken. (I used about 4 cups of chicken.)

As for the chili... we ate it, but none of us really liked it. But, I think I didn't like the Great Northern Beans. Next time I will try a different white bean. Maybe it just needs more chiles.

Achievements

I am very excited about my achievements in the kitchen these past two weeks!

*Drum Roll*

We are eating a diet that is at least 80% whole grains, traditional, no refined sugars and flours!!!

Those of you who used to follow me on Grace in Bloom know that this traditional/whole foods diet is nothing new to our family. BUT, we have been off of it for at least 6 months. I was too tired with pregnancy to cook healthy foods. I am still tired now! BUT I know that without proper nutrition I will never get any stronger!

I have been trying out a lot of new recipes, and making over some old ones... it is not an easy task. BUT, it sure is rewarding! I LOVE the feeling of instant gratification and satisfaction from making a meal from scratch - no boxed foods, no cans!

We want this blog to be practical and helpful to our readers. And, I feel that healthy recipes make for a healthy family! So, over time, I will try to put on links to the internet recipes I use. I will also try to mention some nutrition books that have influenced me. Lastly, I will try to post about converting recipes to whole foods... but this is a learning process (mostly through trial and error!)

OH - and I am completely off of caffeine (for some time now)! AND, I have not been drinking soda! Yippie!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Over the Top

Mama in Uganda at Transformed from Glory to Glory nominated me for an award. The idea is that I have to answer all these questions with a one-word answer... can I do it?!

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your hair? brown
3. Your mother? learner
4. Your father? Integrity!
5. Your favorite food? granola
6. Your dream last night? silly
7. Your favorite drink? juice
8. Your dream/goal? authenticity
9. What room are you in? bedroom
10. Your hobby? writing
11. Your fear? failure
12. Where do you want to be in six years? debt-free
13. Where were you last night? sleeping
14. Something that you aren’t? energetic
15. Muffins? yummy!
16. Wish list item? energy
17. Where did you grow up? Illinois
18. Last thing you did? type
19. What are you wearing? skirt
20. Your TV?
21. Your pets? annoying!
22. Friends? few
23. Your life? busy
24. Your mood? variable!
25. Missing someone? nope
26. Vehicle? Windstar
27. Something you’re not wearing? hat
28. Your favorite store? Amish
29. Your favorite color? yellow
30. When was the last time you laughed? Monday?
31. Last time you cried? daily
32. Your best friend? husband
33. One place that I could go over and over? ocean
34. One person who emails you regularly? Ruby
35. Favorite place to eat? home

I am encouraged to pass this on to six people that I want to get to know better. I am only going to nominate Kimberly and Mama Hen, because I do not really have time to read 6 blogs to find the answers. No pressure, ladies, I know you are busy too!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Boiling Pot

By way of analogy...

I do not care for Red Delicious apples. I think they are beautiful but bland. We recently had two bags of these apples given to us. No one wanted to eat them... so I made them into apple sauce. What is it about cooking an apple, simmering it for hours, that makes it more palatable?

Sometimes I think I am a Red Delicious Christian... I look really good on the outside, but if you knew my inner thoughts you would gag! I think that sometimes God puts me in a boiling pot, to draw out any potential there is in me... do you know that feeling?

Well, this week the kettle is being turned to high heat! Paul starts back at work, at Sears Auto Center, tomorrow afternoon. He will leave for UPS at 3:10AM and work on pre-load until 8:30ish. Then, he will change into his brown uniform and drive a UPS truck until about noon. Then, he goes to Sears to change tires and such until 5PM. When he comes home, I will feed him and put him to bed... And, did I mention that Paul is sick this week?

We are very grateful for Paul's job at Sears... but we are all going to be living in a pressure cooker for a while. And, I am wandering, will this trial bring out my potential... my sweetness? Or, will I become scorched and ruined? And, what about Paul? Will this trial of little sleep and constant work produce sweet fruit in him?

We appreciate your prayers!

Snow Play - Take 3



Wrestling in the snow!

Snow Play - Take 2

Snow Play - Take 1



Paul played in the snow with the kids. I got some fun videos. Since it takes forever to load them, I will post each separately.

Friday, January 8, 2010

No Vaccines for Baby

This thought is a bit out of order in the sequence of my birth stories, but it will be quicker to write than the after-birth stories... and I am tired. (Yep, it's not even 9am, and I am exhausted.)

The moment Baby Josiah and I arrived in our recovery room, we put a sign on his bed - "No vaccines for Baby W____, please." I wrote it at home in cute blue font, and brought my own tape. We made our wishes VERY plain about vaccination... pretty much from the moment of our arrival at the hospital. We had all the doctors and nurses take note of it... write it in the charts... we informed the pediatrician, and he told us what to do. At that specific hospital there is a form (an "order") for the Hep B vaccine. It has to be signed by both the pediatrician and the mother. I did not sign it... I hid it away.

Also, we "room in" with our newborn babies. *Steps on soapbox* With my first baby, Rebecca, I took the advice of the caring nurses. I sent her to the hospital nursery. They only brought her in to my room to eat. (And, if she had been bottle fed, they likely would have done that too!) I saw very little of Rebecca in the hospital. And, when we got home - I cried - A LOT! I had NO idea how to begin caring for a newborn. I kept thinking, "Why did they let me bring this thing home?! What am I going to do with it?!" (Please, do not judge my attitude too harshly. I am just being honest. I had NO previous experience with newborns... all I had was false expectations. I was a very immature, ignorant young girl.) On these grounds alone, I would advise ANY new mom to keep her Baby in her room with her! *Steps off soapbox*
In addition to that reason, we "room in" so that we know what they are doing to Baby! I knew that Baby did not get vaccines, because he was not out of my sight!

So, no vaccine(s) for Baby Josiah! And, guess what, my theory panned out... this baby does not have eczema. My guess is that he never will.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Left Out

I thought of two parts of the birth story that I left out...

1) Real conversation I had with a young medical student.
Young man - Enters the room, greets me, and sees my birthing ball. He says, "You are the one with the ball. I had never seen one of these before."
Me- "Really?"
Young man - "Yeah. I saw the nurse in the hallway with the ball, and I asked her if they were going to do Pilates in the break room."

I had to work very hard to keep my composure! I did tell him a little about the virtues of the birthing ball... hopefully that young doctor-to-be learned something that day!

2) State law in MO mandates that Baby has to receive antibiotic on his eyes after birth! We asked to speak with the pediatrician, because our desire was that Baby not receive un-needed antibiotics. (The cream is to be used to protect the newborn's eyes from any STDs the mother has.) We told the pediatrician that he could see on my chart that I am free from disease, but he said that is does not matter. He told me that it is a misdemeanor for the attending pediatrician, if the Baby is not treated with the cream. He told me that he could lose his license. So, Baby Josiah had to get antibiotic cream.
I will say this to mothers in MO... if you do not want your baby to have the eye cream, have a home birth! And, whatever state you live in, ask in advance what your state law is... I mistakenly assumed that it would be my choice. I was wrong.

I will try to get to the after-birth stories soon...

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Josiah's Birth Story

6 AM - 7AM - Arrived at hospital to register. Blood drawn, etc.

7-8 - Met a doctor, answered a lot of questions. Not yet induced, because the attending OB was in surgery. Answered all the same questions a second time for the nurse. By this point, I was hooked up to the monitors and blood pressure machine... but still nothing had been done.

8AM - Permission was given by supervising OB to start my Pitossin. (I might have spelt that wrong, from now on, I will just say "Pit"). They started at the lowest dose and raised the dose every half hour.

By 9AM - I was having contractions. The monitors showed that they were consistent and hard, but I did not hardly even feel them. Paul put in classical music CDs and we read our books. We were both happy and content, no fear, no worries. The doctors and nurses were talking like the Baby would be born before noon!

By 10 AM, the contractions shown on the monitor were "off the chart." The doctors and nurses looked at me with unbelieving eyes, as I talked to them without difficulty during contractions. I was not in any pain. I felt only mild discomfort. By this time I was at 5cm dilated. They had hoped to break my water, but Baby's head was too high up. So, they gave me more Pit.

This state of things continued till about noon. No pain, only mild discomfort.

At 12 (noon) - The doctor came to tell us the bad news. She was afraid that since I had so much fluid and since Baby's head was not coming down, that we were in danger. She went on to tell us that too much fluid greatly increases the likelihood of cord prolapse (the cord comes down and out first, before Baby's head... thus strangling Baby). She told us that her job, as the doctor, was to be prepared for the worst possible scenario. She told us our options were: 1) Have an epidural put in, to be ready for an emergency C-section; or 2) Take our chances without being prepared... and have a general anestethetic for an emergency C-section. She told us how long Baby's life would be stable, and how long it takes for anesthesia to work.

We told her that we needed to think about it, and she left for a few minutes. Paul prayed about it... I was a wreck. I was terrified. I did not at all like the options before me. And, I was beating myself up asking, "Lord, is this all my fault for agreeing to an induction, when I had a conviction to be all natural. Is this my fault for not doing a homebirth? Or, Lord, are you saving my Baby's life, which would have been lost if my water had broken at home?" I was really, really emotional... though I think I did a good job keeping my external appearance in check. I held in all my tears until later, except for a few that slipped out when we were in the room alone.

After praying, and considering our options, we decided to go with the epidural. I was heart-broken, because I have never had an epidural, and I certainly did not want one. BUT, general anesthesia makes me terribly, terribly ill. We did not think that I would be able to care for my newborn under such conditions.

(Insert: Our natural childbirth philosophy is all about the health and life of unborn Baby! We want to take as few risks as possible! But, when the option before us made it seem that Baby's life would be safer WITH the epidural, we chose that option.)

12:30 - we let the doctor know of our decision to go with the epidural. I was still fighting back tears. But, before the procedure could be done, the anesthesiologist was called away (as was our doctor and our nurse), they had another emergency C-section to attend to. They shut off my Pit, in hopes that my labor would NOT progress while they were busy. During that time Paul and I sat and read. We prayed for the woman in the operating room, and her doctors and nurses. We prayed for our own situation. We called our parents and asked them to pray. And, we waited.

We waited a long time... I was still at 5cm dilated, but the contractions were becoming more uncomfortable. We kept waiting... hoping and praying that my water would not break while they were in the O.R. with another mom! (Did I mention, there is only one O.R. in the maternity wing...)

We waited while there was another C-section, after the first. We did not see much of any doctor or nurse until about 4PM!

4PM - The doctor was out of the operation, and came to check me. I was still at 5cm, BUT, the baby's head had dropped lower!!! Praise the Lord! I still did not cry... though it took great fortitude! I was so happy that I would not have to have an epidural or a C-section, that I did not even feel the pain of them breaking my water. Let me re-phrase that. It does not hurt for them to break the bag of waters. BUT, in consideration of so much excess fluid, they had to push down on my stomach and hold Baby down, while draining the water! So, my nurse applied great pressure to Baby to hold him in place. The water was broken, it was clear - praise the Lord again, no meconium in the water!

The doctor was considering turning the Pit back on, but I asked her to wait. I wanted to see if my body would "take over", now that my water was broken. She agreed, though she said she would have to check back in an hour.

By 5PM, I was getting very uncomfortable. By this point, my nurse had my room set up for delivery. And, she stayed with me every moment after they broke my water. My nurse was WONDERFUL! She just knew I would have a fast labor, and she did not want to miss it! I started getting much more uncomfortable.

5:15 - A new doctor came in. She wanted to check me. She said that I was moving along well enough to stay off the Pit... since I fairly insisted on that. She said, with great reluctance, that she would return in an hour and a half to check me again! I wanted to cry... I really wanted to cry. "Lord, is this really going to continue for another hour?!"

5:20 - I sat on the birthing ball again... I LOVE the birthing ball. Not only does it speed along labor, but it relieves the pain in your back! I sat on the ball only a few minutes before my contractions before fierce enough to called "painful." I told my nurse that I was ready to push, and she believed me. She called in the doctors.

5:30 - The doctor that had last checked me (and said it would be another hour or more) came in the room... looking skeptical. The nurse was quick to tell her that I used the word "pain," for the first time the whole day! When they checked me, I was fully dilated and "stretchy." They got their special clothes on... I waited out a few hard contractions.

5:50 - They were finally ready. (This was partly my fault... I should have called them sooner. My nurse warned me that it would take about 15 minutes after I called them...) Anyway, I pushed the Baby out in ONE contraction. Josiah was born at 5:55 PM.

I will save the afterbirth stories for another day... there is still much to be told... and I have left out so many details... I will try to write more tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

I love free stuff!

We got some free furniture today! Yippie! A lady in my homeschool association wanted to get rid of some things. So, we scored a nice, big dresser with mirror and a great kitchen table!!! I am so excited, because we really needed both of these items. Our two youngest children have their clothes in plastic Rubbermaid drawers. (We are withholding the mirror, until we think the children are responsible enough not to break it.)


And, as for the table... well, our old table was breaking. And the chairs... oh, the chairs were worse. We actually had a guest sit in a chair and fall to the floor! (Since then we had another chair break!)


So, I now have a nice, big, sturdy table with nice, sturdy chairs (the table has a leaf too)! And, I have another dresser to keep the kids clothes off the floor. Well, maybe the dresser won't help the kids put their clothes away... but we can always hope.

P.S. - If I feel well enough tomorrow, I will write my birth story.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

More Pictures

Sorry that I am so slow to getting around to pictures.
To enlarge a picture click on it, then use your back arrow to navigate back to this page.

 
Rebecca meets Josiah for the first time. She is examining his toes!

  
Paul kisses the Baby.


Rebecca dresses Josiah to leave the hospital.


Tiny hands!


Lydia holds Josiah


Joshua kisses Josiah... awww


Mommy is home!
(That's Grandma S on the right end of the couch)


Grandpa S gets acquainted with Baby Josiah.


Nelson and Josiah.


Grandma W meets Baby


Grandpa and Grandma W


I LOVE cloth diapers! These were made by a friend!
(I left the water proof cover off just for the cute pictures)



Friday, January 1, 2010

Feeling Better

Thank you all for your prayers. I cannot believe how much better I am feeling! I am still resting! I am still sitting on the couch all day. But, I feel stronger! I can stand up without dizziness, and the un-ending headache has gone! I even got dressed in real clothes this morning (rather than wearing pajamas all day).


Thank you all for praying! Y-day was a l-o-n-g day with Paul away driving a UPS package car. But, God gave me strength to get through. Yes, the house was an absolute wreck when Paul came home, but I was able to keep the kids fed and happy. (Thank God for leftovers!)

On a completely unrelated note: my non-maternity clothes are fitting so loosely on me that my skirts are literally falling down! I knew I had lost a lot of weight, but I didn't know I had slimmed down that much. Looks like I will be using my personal Christmas money/giftcards to buy some smaller clothes. Yippie! (Don't worry, I will wait till I am well to go shopping. And, I will wait till my tummy has shrunk down to whatever size it will be.)