Water Slides

I didn't get the chance to take many action shots of how much fun the kids had at the waterslides. My mom came with us to lend an extra set of hands which we needed! The baby needed her own adult as did Ellie, so Jeromy had fun with the big kids. Bennett went down the big slide by himself and Rachel and Ellie both went down with Jeromy. There was a lazy river that the kids went around for an hour, and they all had a really good time. Bennett got so comfortable in the water that day that now he is swimming under water without his life jacket on in our pool. I was hoping that having a pool of our own would allow them to get comfortable in the water and it has!

Water Slides

I didn't get the chance to take many action shots of how much fun the kids had at the waterslides. My mom came with us to lend an extra set of hands which we needed! The baby needed her own adult as did Ellie, so Jeromy had fun with the big kids. Bennett went down the big slide by himself and Rachel and Ellie both went down with Jeromy. There was a lazy river that the kids went around for an hour, and they all had a really good time. Bennett got so comfortable in the water that day that now he is swimming under water without his life jacket on in our pool. I was hoping that having a pool of our own would allow them to get comfortable in the water and it has!

Newest Addition

Nope, not a new baby :) We are the proud owners of a new to us 99 GMC Suburban. It is older and has alot more miles on it than our van, but we needed the room. It is so much bigger than our van and now when we go to Costco, it won't take us 15 minutes to figure out how to get it all home! We are cleaning out our van and hopefully it will sell soon. Mazda MPV van anyone?

Facebook

Against my better judgment, I decided to join Facebook. While yes, it is very interesting to catch up with people you haven't seen for 15 years, man it is a time killer. Rohnda assured me that it wears off after a while and you don't check it 101 times a day, but I was right to have not joined for so long. I am going to try to employ some self-control, but come on over and say HI if you get a chance!

Rachel's 4th Birthday Part 3- The Party

My mom throws a birthday party for the kids every year. They get to pick the theme and then she buys balloons and decorations, makes their favorite meal, and I make the dessert. This year Rachel chose a Strawberry Shortcake party, BBQ chicken and hot dogs, corn, beans, and chips, chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting (it was supposed to be pink, but I forgot), and strawberry ice cream. This year was special because I took Bennett shopping to pick out his own gift for Rachel. He was so proud of himself, and Rachel loved the gift.

Rachel's 4th Birthday Part 2- Chuck E Cheese

After nap time, Rachel put on her new party dress that was a gift from Pop and Popgrandma, and we all headed over to Chuck E Cheese to have a little pre-birthday party fun. Rachel had a great time which was the most important thing. Ellie was weirded out by the whole place and had to be held by Pop the whole time, and Bennett is officially too big for the little kid area. He had more fun in the big kid area. Emma was a bit fussy because of all the noise but eventually went to sleep. After gathering our "treasures" from the prize counter (man do I hate taking that stuff home!) we headed over to my parents house for Rachel's party.

Rachel's 4th Birthday Part 1

Rachel turned 4 while her grandparents were visiting, so it was a very fun celebration. I will post those pictures later, but I have to do her pictures from birth until now first. She is such a special little girl. She has such a happy disposition and is so easy going, just like she was as a baby. She is always smiling and singing and in her own little world. She is our girly girl who likes to dress up like a ballerina or a princess in jewelry and fancy shoes. She has always been so tall for her age and people have thought she was five since she was three. She is very coordinated and has always been able to keep up with Bennett because of it. They are thick as thieves and so lucky to have each other as playmates. She has the silliest giggle and the highest pitched voice imaginable. We are always saying, "Rachel, use your LOW voice." We love you Miss Rachie and are so blessed to have you as our daughter.

The CREHST Museum

We visited The Columbia River Exhibition of History, Science, and Technology (CREHST) Museum during the Markwort's visit. Jeromy has always wanted to visit, but has never had the chance. It has exhibits about the Columbia River and also the Hanford Nuclear Site.


Ellie didn't think it was all that much fun! She played with her shoes the whole time, taking them on and off, dropping them on the floor, and screaming about it when she did. Oh, the temper tantrum stage is so not my favorite!


Here is Bennett scanning for radioactive material which he found in an old watch, Fiestaware dishes, and some other things I can't remember because of my loss of brain cells due to being a mommy!


Rachie with her Popgrandma


Mark, using the mechanical arm to pick up things. It was really neat how the arm was so moveable and easy to control.


Here is Bennett longing to be old enough to use the mechanical arm. The sign said you had to be 12 years or older.


Me and my little Emma. I think I have a picture of me carrying her in the wrap everywhere we went. She sleeps so well in there, I carried her all the time.

Our New Pool

Our weather has cooled down quite a bit the last week or so, and with that, less pool time. Little Ellie gets so cold so fast because she is so skinny. Rachel could stay in all day, not because she is the opposite, she just loves the water. Jeromy attached a tether to Ellie so she couldn't get out of our reach. I think it is pretty funny to reel her back in. I love Rachel's faces in these pictures too. She is such a daydreamer.

Emma Meets Her Grandparents

We hadn't seen Beverlee and Mark since Thanksgiving, so they had not yet met little Emma. They got lots of good time cuddling with our little one, when the bigger kids would let them. Mark took most of the pictures, that is why he isn't in many of them. They drove up with their camper which Bennett and Rachel LOVE! Every morning they ran out to the camper and snuggled and ate some breakfast out there.

The Park

After two weeks straight of being sick, first with the flu, then a cold, Jeromy's parents came to visit. Thankfully we were all healthy, so we could do a bunch of fun stuff and have a great time. Enjoy some pictures of us at the park along the Columbia River.

Headaches, Stomachaches and Fevers, Oh My!

Ughh, springtime again with all the little germ bugs waking up from a long winter's nap. Ellie woke up on Tuesday morning with a fever of 102 and the lethargy that accompanies it. To be honest, I prefer a fever to all other illnesses (in my children). They just lie on the couch all day quietly and want to cuddle. She never had any other symptoms except for crankiness. I kept her home with me last night while Jeromy took the older two kids with him to Bible study. When they walked through the door at 9pm, Bennett was crying and holding his head. He was complaining of a headache and felt pretty hot. It didn't bode well for a good night sleep.

11pm- Rachel woke up screaming her head off. She said she was scared of her bed. I should have guessed it was a fever talking, but I convinced her to go back to sleep.

midnight- Bennett woke up screaming his head off which woke up Ellie who started screaming her head off. I convince Bennett screaming won't make him feel better and sleep will.

1 pm- Bennett woke up crying again, and I told him there was nothing we could do, but that I would really appreciate some sleep if he wouldn't mind.

2 am- Bennett, crying, not quite as patient this time.

2:30- Bennett, crying, not patient at all with him this time, but he got the gist of no more crying.

2:45- Bennett crying? Nope, it is Ellie crying, but she stops before I open her door.

3 am- Emma up for some food.

6 am- Emma up again for some reason and wants more food.

7 am- Emma spits up in my bed and won't go back to sleep.

Rachel got up at 8:15 and has a temp of 102 and is crying that her tummy hurts. Our pastor's wife called this morning and I apologized profusely for letting my children go over her house last night, but she really called to tell me her 3 year old was up all night vomiting. Swell. I much prefer fever to vomit any day of the week. Bennett got up at 9:30 with a fever of 100.5. Ellie woke up without a fever, but was crying owie and so cranky that I put her back to bed at 10 for a rest. I cannot wait for naptime today!

Look at how pathetic they are today :o(

Similarities

People are always looking at my kids and wondering who they look like. They don't really look like Jeromy or me, but I am really seeing how similar they looked as babies. I really see some similarities between Emma and Bennett and mostly Emma Rachel, not so much of Ellie, except the picture of her swaddled. Ellie has a pouty bottom lip that the others don't have. Bennett was super chubby, but I can see a similarity to Emma if I look past the chub. What do you think?

Bennett






Rachel





Ellie

I know I haven't been very diligent with my blogging lately, but man, what happened to my background wallpaper while I was away?!

New Pics

Hi all! We are still alive, but getting back into the swing of things which means we are BUSY! My back is starting to give me trouble again because of the increased activity level, so I need to pace myself for sure! We bought one of those 15 foot wide by 42 inch deep pools last weekend, and the kids are having a blast! I was hoping to teach them to swim this summer so we wouldn't have to do swimming lessons, but Bennett can touch the bottom so isn't forced to use his life jacket to float. Emma is still growing really well. I am not taking her to weigh in anymore, but last Thursday we were at the doctors, so I could pick up some digestive enzymes, and she weighed in at 9 pounds 7 ounces which was another pound in 9 days. She is looking so chubby and cute now. She is smiling which is so much fun. She is a good sleeper as long as she is swaddled and is sleeping in the bassinet now, as opposed to with me! Enjoy the new pictures!

Weigh In

I forgot to post yesterday about Emma's latest weigh in. She went from 7 pounds 9 1/2 ounces last Tuesday to 8 pounds 7 ounces this Tuesday. That is 14 ounces! Hooray! We are officially in the clear now. My midwife kept assuring me that we would reach critical mass, and once she was bigger, nursing would be easier and better. Thankfully she was right, and I will no longer be worried. I can tell she is getting longer, not necessarily chubbier. She is starting to smile. I love it!

My Great Kids!

These are my three musketeers. Rachel does whatever Bennett does and Ellie does whatever the big kids are doing, and they are always together. It is really cute. Bennett still loves his Ellie Bellie. Those two have always had a strong connection, and Bennett still likes to have her around and is really good with her (unless she is knocking down his legos and blocks!) Rachel is still getting over pink eye and caught Bennett's cold along the way. She looks pretty awful with goopy eyes, a constantly dripping nose, and really dark circles. Poor girl!



I finally got around to downloading my pictures off the camera. I think these pictures were taken last week. My mom says that Emma changes so much every week. I can't tell as much because I see her every day, but I know she is getting longer. She is still a skinny minny and will probably just be little like Ellie. Emma has really long arms though as you can see in these pictures. Her outfit fits her fine but the arms are too short. She is so tiny around, like Ellie, and everything looks like you could fit another baby in there with her. Enjoy my sweet little baby!

Conjunctivitis

Rachel woke up from her nap yesterday with a slightly goopy eye, not so big of a deal that I thought anything of it. She woke up this morning with two red, goopy eyes. I couldn't ignore the inevitable. Pink eye. Highly contagious pink eye. Cancel your dinner plans with friends pink eye. Bummer. My eyes are feeling itchy just thinking about it, but I hope that it is just the power of suggestion. At least the house is clean because I thought we were going to have company tonight. Sometimes IT seems never ending!

Voice Activated Typing

I know that they do already have voice activated typing available, but I wish I had it and then maybe I would be able to blog once in a while. I am still stuck with the two handed nursing for about 40 minutes with about an hour in between ending one session and starting another. That makes it impossible to type! Emma is gaining weight much better now, but it sure has taken up alot of time. She weighed in at 7 pounds 9 ounces on Tuesday, so she has gained all the weight back that she lost and gained 6 1/2 ounces in the last week which is totally "normal." I am still treating thrush, but the pain has gotten better with the nursing, so I can nurse her alot longer than I could before. She takes a good few hour nap during the day along with some shorter ones. She goes to bed at about 7:30 or 8 and then I get her up and nurse her before I go to bed. She wakes up at 2 or 3 to nurse and then again at 6 or 7. She is such a sweet baby and is already starting to smile a little bit. The older kids are enjoying our spring weather and are so bummed when they wake up to rain, which has been quite often lately. Jeromy has started reading Swiss Family Robinson to them at night, and I think they will really enjoy it once they get into it. Rachel finally learned how to ride her bike with training wheels. She has been to scared up until now to ride it because of how it teeters back and forth on the training wheels. Jeromy and I went to a fundraising dinner while my mom babysat the 3 oldest, and she said she took the kids on a walk while they rode their bikes. I asked her if she meant Rachel rode her scooter, and she said that she rode her pink two wheeler. I was so surprised, so now she is a bike rider. Pretty exciting stuff. Ellie is chattering up a storm. She is our biggest babbler we have ever had. She is always singing in some unknown language. My mom said she sounds like she is speaking in tongues. The words she does say are mostly backwards which is kind of strange. Doof for food, oosh for shoe. I don't know if you can be a dyslexic speaker? That's it for the updates. Sorry no pictures although I did take some, I just haven't downloaded them off the camera yet.

Funny quote I read today: There is nothing right in my left brain and nothing left in my right brain.

Yep, that about sums it up!

Emma's Birth Story

I thought maybe a month of time would lessen the traumaticness of Emma's birth, but nope, it was pretty traumatic. At 8 days overdue, I went and had a chiropractic adjustment thinking that maybe I was out of alignment and that Emma couldn't descend because of it. It turns out that I was right and that the adjustment either worked and I went back out or it didn't work at all. The night after the adjustment I started having contractions which was pretty exciting because usually that means a baby is going to come pretty quickly after that. I continued to contract all through the night, but was able to sleep for a few hours because by baby #4 I knew to get sleep if at all possible. I woke up the next morning and the labor stopped. Jeromy decided to stay home though because we were still thinking that something was going to happen, and I was pretty tired. That night, the same thing happened. I labored all night long, but this time the contractions were too strong to sleep through. They were really strong when I was lying down, but would stop when I stood up. I woke Jeromy up at around 3 am just to let him know I thought I was "really in labor this time." I didn't feel like any company, so I just worked through the contractions all night. I finally fell asleep around 5 am because the contractions were slowing down and slept for an hour or so. When I woke up, no more contractions. I called my midwife that morning, and she told me that "real labor" wouldn't change no matter which position I was in. Lying down or standing up shouldn't affect the labor. Jeromy stayed home again that day so I could get some rest after the long night I had. Wednesday night, same thing. The contractions started about 9 pm every 5 minutes or so. That night, for the next 8 hours, the labor was REALLY hard! The contraction were strange too. I had back labor as well as the normal contractions, but there was a weird really painful, sharp pinching feeling with the contractions. When daybreak came, the contractions stopped again. That morning, I had had enough. I was so tired and worn out from laboring all night, for the past 3 nights, and I was done. I called my midwife who informed me she was attending a birth 90 minutes away. She heard my desperation and called the back up midwife to come and check me. She agreed that breaking my water would be okay. It was either that or I was going to go to the hospital to get some pitocin and an epidural. If only I would have known what the day was going to hold, I would have gone with the hospital. They have strong drugs there. Sometimes that is a good thing.

The new midwife, Shannon, arrived an hour later and started calling assistants to get someone there before she broke my water. She checked my dilation and to my surprise, I was at a 6. The 3 nights of labor had at least done something. I was feeling rather optimistic that I would get my water broken and things would progress fairly quickly. Shannon wanted to get my contractions going again before she broke my water and that meant some painful sort of thing stretching out the cervix. Ouch. The contractions did start again and Shannon realized that with each contraction my cervix was being pinched by the position of Emma's head and that was the pain I was feeling. My cervix was swollen from the pinching which is the opposite of what you want to happen with effacement. She could also tell she was posterior (face up instead of face down) and that is why my labor kept starting and stopping and had been going for so long. Shannon then tried to break my water with no success. She tried all day long and could never get to them. She said Emma's head was kind of acting like a cork and we couldn't get it out of the way no matter what we tried, and believe me we tried EVERYTHING. I was even inverted at one point. As the day wore on and the contractions were getting worse, I got more and more tired, worn out and pretty hostile. Shannon kept giving me homeopathics to calm me down every time I would start yelling and screaming. It was not pretty. I was having such bad back labor and Shannon attached a muscle stimulator that helped alot. I would have Jeromy crank it way up each time the contractions started, and that provided a little relief for a while. When I was at 8 cm we kept thinking that things were going to progress quickly, but I stayed there for a VERY long time. This was my second labor with never ending transition. Transition is supposed to be fairly quick, at least in my other two experiences and it is torture when it goes on for hours. At around 3 pm I started talking about going to the hospital. I didn't want to be in pain anymore, and I was at the point that if someone would have offered me a C-section, I would have gladly taken it. None of us really knew what to do. Shannon told us that in her experience, we would get to the hospital and by the time I would get the epidural, I would be ready to push. None of us could predict though how much longer it was going to take. I couldn't last any longer but also didn't want to go to the hospital if I was almost done. As another hour would pass, I wanted to go even more but the chances of almost being done grew too. Jeromy didn't know what to do either. He couldn't comfort me at all or even say that I was almost done when we just didn't know.

I decided that I would use the bathroom one more time and then get ready to go to the hospital. The thought of a car ride was also unbearable, so I was really wanting to not have to go. I thought that maybe I could start pushing to just see if I could make something happen on my own. I pushed as hard as I could even though I didn't have the urge at all, and she was right there. I called for Shannon, and they moved me to my bed. A couple of pushes later and there she was. We knew the reason Shannon couldn't find the bag of waters. It was empty. I don't really think that my water could have broke without me knowing, so it was probably just gone by that point. She was born healthy and crying, which I love because my other kids didn't cry right away which makes me worried. She was so tiny and had the smallest little head. She never turned the right way either. Often the baby will turn the right way when they come out, but she was born face up, the stubborn little girl.

I was so relieved and happy when she was born. I think I said, "Oh, thank you Lord," about a hundred times after she came out. She nursed right away and for a long time. My other kids didn't want to nurse right away. It was so nice to be at home after the birth. Shannon and her assistant, Brandy, were so wonderful. They took such good care of me and Emma. They did the laundry and the dishes before they left. It was so neat having women caring for women. It was like it was more than a job, that they just had to check off boxes that they had done, like in the hospital. It was truly care. That part of it was awesome.

I would definitely have a run of the mill, normal birth at home again. I would definitely NOT have a posterior, induced, or breech baby at home. Sign me up for the hospital and epidural at the first sign of contractions. It is not something I need to go through again. 4 natural childbirths is all I have in me. I have paid my natural dues, I think. We'll see how I feel if and when there is a next time, but at this point, I don't feel like I could do it again. I think taking advantage of drugs in a difficult birth scenario will be my next birth plan.

That's the whole story. Emma is beautiful and perfect, and I wasn't even mad at her after she was born like I was with Ellie. ( I was really mad at Ellie for a good few hours for putting me through her hard birth! ) Yes, she was totally worth it, but I do have the regret of not going to the hospital that last morning. God works it all out in the end though, and it happened the way it was supposed to. Emma is still gaining weight rather slowly. Nursing is getting easier though, and I think the thrush is clearing up because it isn't AS painful to nurse her as it was. She is a pretty lazy nurser which I have never had before. My other kids would eat in 15 or 20 minutes, and it takes her 40 minutes to an hour. It has made it hard to nurse all day long with the other children to care for, but we are adjusting, and I know as Emma gets bigger and more awake, she'll start nursing faster. It is still so astounding to me how different each child is, even within the same family. She seems like a mixture of Bennett and Rachel when they were babies. She is very serious like Bennett and studies faces and things around her, and she is very mellow and relaxed like Rachel was. She doesn't cry very much and is easily appeased when she does. All the kids adore her and there was no adjustment problem at all. We are truly blessed and so thankful to have Emma entrusted to us. I love you Emma!

Bennett's 6th Birthday!

This post is a little late, but so is everything else these days! Bennett's birthday was on April 18th, so now I have a 6 year old. I can't believe it, but on the other hand, he very often seems like a 16 year old, not a 6 year old. We had a "camouflage party" for him at my parent's house. His dinner request was beans, rice, and tacos, and in lieu of a cake this year, he requested banana splits. He saw them on TV and thought they looked pretty great. They were a big hit and definitely easier on me! Bennett was blessed with all kinds of fun gifts this year. We got him a skateboard and a knight in shining armor costume. His grandparents got him a "school" table. A really high quality table like they have in classrooms for him to do his work and play on. He has really been enjoying it and uses it every day. Some family friends got him a 5 foot lion that we named "Judah." They don't know how small our house is, and he takes up a VERY large space. Bennett also got alot of various paper and drawing items, and he has really been into tracing paper and art lately. It was a wonderful celebration, and we are so blessed to have Bennett as our son. He keeps us on our toes and challenges us everyday to be more like Christ. He informed Jeromy and I the other day that we are only doing a pretty good job at being parents, not great. Apparently we have some things to work on. The kid is right!

Easter

This last picture doesn't have anything to do with Easter, but it is pretty funny. Ellie calls these eyeballs that have a little post on the back her binky. She put Rachel's pillow on the floor and her blanket and sucked on her "binky."

Emma is Growing!

Good news from the Dr. today. Emma is now 6 pounds 15 ounces. I guess that an ounce a day weight gain is what "they" like to see, and she is over that, so YAY! I am going to bring her back in at 3 weeks just to make sure she is still doing well, but I think that we are in the clear. I am able to nurse her twice as long as I could before. It is still pretty painful, but nothing like it was before. I can't wait for it to be easy, but I am just taking it one day at a time. She is such a good baby and sleeping really well. She is still sleeping with me, but I will start moving her to her own bed once this nursing gets a little easier. I can't wait to be able to nurse her in bed too. Sitting up in the middle of the night for extended periods of time is a bummer!

Our Dr. also wrote Bennett, Rachel and I orders to have a Celiac Disease Panel done. Rachel will also get food allergy tested. I have been suspecting that she might have an allergy that I don't know about. I am just praying it isn't corn. The doc doesn't really think that the Celiac test is necessary once you test intolerant to gluten, but I want a little more confirmation. I think it will help Jeromy and maybe others to be more careful with the kids and what they eat. Bennett especially is pretty miserable if he eats wheat.

I have Easter pictures that need to be downloaded, but Emma is awake and squawking, so you'll have to wait!

Pray

Emma had her 1 week check up today. It was the second time I have gotten out of the house in the last week and I am pretty tired! I assumed that when Emma was weighed I would hear that she was 8 1/2 pounds already. She is such a good eater. I was very surprised to hear that she has dropped down to 6 pounds 9 ounces. I wasn't just surprised but pretty upset. I have been having so much pain with nursing her that I felt like it was all my fault that she isn't getting the nutrition she needs and losing weight because of it. I broke down during the appointment and my midwife spent the next half hour working with me on getting her latched on right. Man, after 4 kids, you would think I knew what I was doing, but I forget that you can't nurse a newborn the same way you do a one year old. You can't just plop them on and let them do the work. She helped me alot and even nursing with the damage I already have isn't as painful anymore when I do it the right way. Please pray that we are now on the right foot and that she starts gaining right away. We go in for another weigh in on Monday to make sure. I am looking forward to the day when there isn't anymore drama. I am ready for a little boring!

Introducing...............

EMMA GRACE MARKWORT


We are doing well and slowly getting back to what feels like normal life (a new normal!) Jeromy goes back to work tomorrow and my mom will stay with us in the mornings Thursday and Friday. Emma is sleeping really well (as long as I am holding her or she is cuddled in next to me.) We are all enjoying our new sweet little baby. She is really mellow and only cries if she is being changed or is hungry. Otherwise she sleeps or just looks around. The kids are doing great with her and Ellie loves her to pieces and is being very gentle. I think we are going to make it! Here are some new pictures!






These are for you Rohnda, a couple of days before Emma was born. You love to see me big as a house!

She's Here!

3 1/2 Days of labor, a new midwife, a very long and hard road, and we have a new little one that we did end up having at home! She has yet to be named, but in a moment of weakness Jeromy told me that after all I went through, I get to name her. For now, baby girl Markwort was born on April 2nd at 4:40 pm, weighed 7lb 7 oz (my smallest so far!), and was 20 inches long. She is perfect, nurses like a champ and has VERY excited siblings! I will post a birth story for those interested sometime soon. For now, I am concentrating on making up some sleep after 3 nights of not getting any. Feel free to call, we'd love to talk to all of you who have kept us so covered in prayer. Thank you so much! Enjoy the pictures

41 Weeks + 4 Days

Yes, I am still pregnant. No, I don't intend to be much longer. I was up all night for the third night in a row with really strong contractions, the strongest so far. When daybreak hits, they seem to get scared away. I have many fears at this point (baby isn't in the right position, something's wrong, etc.) so I would covet your prayers. My midwife happens to be attending a birth 1 1/2 hours away right now, so the backup midwife is on her way over. I want her to check and see if I am dilated and talk about breaking my water if I am. I can't take another sleepless night and hours of pain. I think that being in labor for 3 days is enough, so I am really planning on having to go to the hospital today. I have reached my threshold of pain and don't feel like I can physically or mentally handle anymore. I admit to being critical of women who in my mind have "taken the easy way out," ie. pain meds, but I think this might be a lesson in humility for me as all I can think about is wanting an epidural RIGHT NOW! God seems to like to chip away at any judgmental attitudes I might have, which is a good thing, and maybe this can be laid to rest too. I will update when and if there is any news.

41 Weeks + 3 Days

Well, I officially feel for you, Mystie. This was night number two of strong contractions. We took a walk at 6:30 and by 7, I was having consistent contractions. So much so that I nearly called my midwife and mom to come over at about 4 am because the contractions were so strong, long and frequent. I was having a hard time relaxing through them and was in alot of pain. Then at 4:30 in the morning, I got up to get Jeromy, I was on the couch, to come out and time them and just the getting up and using the bathroom and sitting up made everything stop.

I talked to my midwife this morning, and she said that she has had women who contract lying down but not standing up. It is more rare, because it usually is the other way around, but happens. She said the way to tell if the contractions are active labor or not is to do something different. "Real" labor won't stop no matter if you are up, down, taking a shower, walking etc.

I am feeling pretty discouraged this morning. Contractions all night long didn't give me very much sleep and my stomach is pretty sore from all the contractions. Just the knowledge that I have to go through this again before it's all over is making me pretty down. (And thinking a hospital and epidural might not be so bad!)

Anything?

Nope. Nothing to report. Just random contractions here and there.

41 Weeks + 2 Day

I thought that this was the day. I woke up at 4 this morning with contractions. The real kind, not the Braxton Hicks that I have had for months. I timed them for a little while, but they weren't coming at any regular intervals, so I went back to sleep. I woke up at 5:30 and 7 and was still having them, so I told Jeromy he should stay home from work today. When I got up this morning, everything stopped. No more contractions. I know that this is normal for alot of women, but I have never had labor start and stop before. I start having contractions and then they get worse until I have a baby. I think that I am still having some here and there, but they aren't getting worse. Actually I was just on the phone with a friend and started feeling them again and as I write this, I am feeling more. This could still be the day. I could still have a March baby. What a bummer to have a birthday on April 1st, so we will hope she comes before midnight. Maybe my midwife would be generous with the time and say 11:59 pm. The baby would never have to know :) Stay tuned.

41 Weeks + 1 Day

Okay, these posts are getting a little old! I went to the chiropractor this morning and basically the whole right side of my body, from shoulder to hips were higher than the left. He cracked me a ton and we'll see if it helps. The best part is that Jeromy took us out for Thai food after. Yum! Will we make it to Friday? I hope not!

41 Weeks

I hesitated even going to church this morning to spare the other attendees the need to feel bad for me, but I went anyway. And yes, they all gave me pitying sorts of looks which at this point I probably deserve. My mom's boss said that if I give birth next Friday, he will buy us all dinner. If I have to wait until next Friday to have this baby, that is going to have to be one heck of a dinner! I am going to try to get into my chiropractor in the morning to make sure everything is in alignment. I should have done it last week like I had planned. I am a little more motivated now! I am going to go take a nap now. Will this be an April baby?

40 Weeks + 6 days

Bennett said it all this morning: Mom, I don't think you are really having a baby at all. I think you just have been eating too much.

40 Weeks + 5 days

Yes, it's Friday. No, I am not in labor :(

40 Weeks + 4 Days

I had my midwife appointment this morning. Baby girl is still in the right position (HOORAY!). She is still high, but my babies usually are until I go into labor. All my babies have looked like Cesarean babies with nice round heads, never a cone head. Jeromy thinks tomorrow is the day. We'll see. I finally got all my pictures downloaded and the camera all charged up, so enjoy some pictures of Ellie. She is our dress-up girl and so cute, I might add. She and Rachel love to dress up like ballerinas and spin around the living room. The Nutcracker is their favorite movie, and they would watch it endlessly if I let them. My parents bought Rachel a 3 foot tall ballerina doll that attaches to your feet so you can dance with her. Let's just say they BOTH want to play with it all the time. Ellie likes to wear the ballet shoes that came with it even though they come off every 3 seconds and she endlessly asks for them to be put back on. Ellie Bellie is nearly 18 months old and is starting to talk alot. All of my kids have started talking right around 18 months, never early. Ellie can say Mamma, Dadda, Bubba, Sissy, Food (which sounds like oof, food backwards), waffle (waff), No No, please (peas), yeah, binky (beebee), eye, nose, baby, doll, throw, ball and more I am forgetting. She is pretty good with sounds of animals and trains too. She is so much fun, and we enjoy how funny and goofy she is all the time. She is either happy and laughing or screaming and mad. She has no in between mode. We can't wait to see how she responds to the new baby. She loves other people's babies, so we hope she does well with ours. Enjoy the pictures.

40 Weeks + 3 Days

Please pray for us. Rachel woke up from her nap yesterday with a fever a little over 102. She was achy and had an upset stomach. Please pray no one else gets sick! She is already feeling better and is rarely ever sick for more than a day or two at the most.

I am really tired and pretty cranky too. I could use some prayers for that as well! I think my family is looking forward to having this baby make her appearance soon too, so they can get their mamma back.

I have a midwife appointment in the morning. I think I am going to try to get into the chiropractor too in order to make sure everything is in alignment and baby can get to where she needs to go.

Another day closer!

40 Weeks + 2 Days and Names

I think this post-due date stage is so funny. People at the store ask when I am due and I say, "two days ago." They get this horrified look as if my water is going to break on their floor right in front of them. When I call anyone on the phone, my first words have to be, "It's Samantha, and no I am not in labor," before I can start a conversation. I hope to have this little girl soon because I don't know how long I can not think about the labor that is to come. I am in denial about how she is going to get here, but a little fear likes to creep in now and again. Worrying doesn't help the process AT ALL, so the futility of it has kept me from going there.

No, we haven't named her yet. We have never had so much trouble picking out a name before. Usually we are really sure and confident about our pick well before the arrival, but this time, we just can't decide. We have 3 names that we like and will probably decide on one of them after she is born. At least there is a little mystery still left :)

I am ready for nap time, so I will update when there's any news to be shared.

40 Weeks + 1 day

4 Loads of laundry done.............check

Grocery shopping done...........check

Kitchen Floor Vacuumed and fairly clean thanks to Bennett and Rachel............check

2 Freezer meals defrosting in the fridge...........check

Thank you cards done...........check

Okay, the baby can come now. I think I'm ready.

40 Weeks

Today is my "official" due date. I was really unsure about my dates this time around, so it is the date the ultrasound spit out months back. Jeromy guesses that I will have the baby next Friday, Rohnda guesses Tuesday. I don't have a guess, I am too tired :) It is pretty sad when I am hoping that she won't come until after Monday so that I can get laundry done and the kitchen floor mopped. (Actually, I have taught Bennett and Rachel to do it and they do a fairly good job!)

Nothing more to report. I need to have this baby soon, or I am going to gain 20 more pounds lying on the couch eating all day.

Happy Sunday.

Update

I had my weekly midwife appointment today. Everything was great as far as the midwife was concerned. I, on the other hand, was not too pleased with the 4 pounds I gained in the last week. Geesh! It is so easy to put on, but I am very well aware how much harder it is to get off! She took a very long time to make sure she knew how the baby was positioned. It took her a so long because she was fairly high still. It explains the breathlessness I have had lately and why my ribs hurt so bad. I have had some pretty good nights of sleep mixed in with some bad ones, so at least there are some good ones in there.

Jeromy and I went out for dinner last night to celebrate our 7th anniversary a little early. It is on the 30th, so we figured we should do it now while we have the chance to get out without having to rush back for the baby. Boy did I eat too much! I still had indigestion when I got up in the morning, I ate so much. Not pleasant! While we were at the restaurant, I pointed out that we didn't get our annual anniversary picture in which I am as big as a house pregnant. I have been pregnant 4 out of our 7 anniversaries with pictures to prove it :)

Will tomorrow be the big day? I don't know, but I sure hope I don't have to wait for another Friday!

New Pictures!

Here are some more current pics of the little munchkins. Enjoy!



Bennett and Rachel doing some good cuddling. I find them together alot of mornings in Rachel's bed waiting for me to let them get up. Too cute!


Ellie is learning the finer skills of table manners.


The big kids love to dress up and Ellie likes to do whatever they are doing. Her current favorite dress up is the ballerina outfit. The shoes are too big for her, and she asks me to put them back on her 25 times at least!


Our Little Mermaid


Warming up the tootsies by the fire.

A New Post!!

Okay, so I know that the only people that are going to read this are those who have me on their Google Reader Feed. I can't believe I haven't posted since January 1. It has been a nice vacation! I had a friend recently tell me though that no one was going to know I had a baby unless I blog about it. I haven't had the baby yet, but hopefully it will be VERY soon. Yes, I have reached that point already. I am due on the 22nd, but that isn't a Friday, and I have had all my kids on Fridays. I know that's kind of weird, but it is what it is. I am thinking that next Friday the 20th, the first day of spring, would be a great day to have a baby. We'll see. I am healthy and baby is head-down and healthy, so I am trying to be patient. My only issue is the insomnia that I seem to have right now. 2 or 3 hours of sleep a night makes for a very cranky mamma. At least I will get more than that once the baby is here. That's all I got for now, I will try to post some pictures soon. The kids are all so much bigger than the last pictures I have on the blog. I need to update! At least it is something I can do from the couch. I don't go too far from it these days! Stay tuned.

Girls Playing

Ellie really enjoys looking at books just like Bennett did when he was a baby. She is pretty independent too, and I can find her playing alone in her bedroom at times. Usually she is with the big kids, so these pictures were pretty precious. Rachel had to join in the fun by the end too. She likes to play with the dollhouse alongside Ellie.

Christmas 2009

Christmas was a wonderful celebration this year, made ever so enjoyable by the exuberance of little ones. They were excited about every aspect of the holiday. We taught them Christmas carols, decorated gingerbread houses, decorated our house, looked at the Christmas lights in our neighborhood, made a paper chain, shopped for Angel Tree gifts and delivered them to a family in need, and most importantly, read the Bible to remember the true meaning of Christmas. It is nice to get back to regular life, I will admit, and I feel my nesting instincts kicking into high gear as March seems right around the corner when we will meet our new little girl. Happy New Year to anyone that still checks my blog!

AM I EVER GOING TO BLOG AGAIN???

That question has been asked of me, and my answer is............I dunno. I do have alot of other things to do during the day besides blogging, but truth be told that I could find time if I wanted to. I think that I have become frustrated with blogging and the weird world it creates. I think that if I do continue to blog, it will just be updates on our family and pictures of the kids. I just haven't found blogging a good way to talk about anything of substance. I think that it could work on an anonymous blog, but not on our personal one. I have even stopped reading many other blogs because I end up reading the comments and they usually go like this:

blogger post: I have a question for you readers....

comment #1: I have found that for me..........

comment #2: You must not know blogger because she is the best blah blah blah

comment #3: I didn't mean to offend, just offering advice..........

comment #4: Those type of people are so..........

And so on and so forth.

I can't tell you how many times I have read this scenario but at least a dozen that I can recall.

So if I do continue to blog, which I think that I will on maybe a weekly basis, it will be geared to those people that know us and care about seeing pictures and updates of my kids. (Ellie is walking around the house right now with a baby doll giving her kisses. So cute!) For those people that know me and want my opinion on current events or anything possibly contentious, email me and ask. (No, I don't expect any of those!)

We just got home from a week in CA, so I will try the new blogging schedule soon. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Psalm 146 for Election Day

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!

I Got To Go On A Little Trip!

I have really been missing my friend Rohnda lately, so I asked Jeromy if there was any way I could fly to Minnesota to go visit her. He coincidentally needed to use a few vacation days before the beginning of the month so that he wouldn't lose them, which meant the timing worked out really well. He agreed to keep the older kids, so Ellie and I flew to Minnesota last Wednesday and were able to spend 6 days with my special friend. Rohnda had a large part in my becoming a Christian (we were neighbors in Hawaii) so we have a special bond. It was nice to get away for a little while, talk way too much, and watch a few too many "chick flicks." Her husband went on a trip Friday, so I was able to keep her company and help her keep her mind off of not going for a visit to Hawaii with him. It was hard, but she made it! I didn't bring my camera, but Rohnda took a few pictures to prove I did indeed come to visit. Ellie's birthday was on Sunday (a birthday post will follow) so we bought her some gluten free cookies to celebrate with and sang to her throughout the day. I am glad to be home and missed my family desperately. I had never been away from Bennett and Rachel for that long, so it was hard. I had a wonderful visit, but it is always nice to get back home. Thank you Rohnda for a wonderful week!

Computers.... You love them and you hate them.

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated,

'If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon.'

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating:

If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash........
Twice a day.


2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single 'This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation' warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask 'Are you sure?' before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none o f the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the 'Start' button to turn the engine off.

Bulllet Points

Since it is almost 11 am and I need to take a shower still and shouldn't be blogging I will quickly update all 5 of you on Markwort news:

-I had my first midwife appointment yesterday and got to hear the little 13 week heartbeat. What a precious sound that is!

-I have been extremely faintish lately which I also was with Bennett's pregnancy. I am also a bit underweight which seems hilarious to me because I have actually seen myself in the mirror. The dizziness might just mean I need to eat more and more often. Yuck, I hardly want to eat at all, so that is a tall order. It all seems so Victorian to me and I wish I had a fainting couch, although I would do without the corset.

-I have read 5 books in the last two weeks. I haven't read a book prior to that in the last year. I am not a very balanced person.

-Ellie weighs 16 pounds. The last time I weighed her, she weighed 9 1/2 pounds at 4 weeks. She is following the same pattern that Rachel did. She is really low on the weight curve at a year old and then she will spike big time in the next year. I doubt she will get as gigantic as Rachel is (previously known as the world's largest two year old.)

-I am taking Ellie with me on a trip to Minnesota to visit my dear friend next week. Jeromy is going to take the older two camping by himself. Yeah, I totally think he is crazy, but he is much more of an optimist than I am :)

-I am working on a reading program with Bennett called the Victory Drill Book (I used it when I was in Kindergarten. Yes, it's still around!) It is a "how many words can you read correctly in one minute" test that you pass when you reach 30 words for a Kindergartener. It is broken down into short vowel sounds to start with and he has already passed short a and e. I also have been working on phonics rules with him loosely while we are reading books that have them in it. I have started using first grade curriculum with Bennett as he was bored with the Kindergarten stuff. He is more challenged and alot happier now.

-Rachel has learned: letters in her name, counting to 20, recognizing most numbers 1-10, saying her alphabet correctly- still working on l-m-n-o-p, counting 10 objects, knows all the basic colors and shapes, draws a circle and a line. Boy she is a squirmy one. Homeschooling her will be more challenging than Bennett.

That's about it. I better go do what I should be doing now! (I still need to go make hamburger buns too. Yes, make. Gluten-Free eating is labor intensive, and I haven't felt up to baking lately, so we are out of everything!) Have a great Tuesday!

Need a Professional Organizer?

Bennett informed me this afternoon that his official job in our house is "organizer." He went on to tell me how he likes so much to organize things and likes things to all be put away and neat. This was after this morning when he went through every room in the house, including the bathroom, and picked up and put away anything on the floors and counters, organized the shoes in the closets, made the beds etc. He didn't just throw things on shelves and under beds either. He put them away neatly and organized the other things already there as well. I didn't realize he was doing this until I looked around and thought that maybe I should vacuum because the floors looked pretty clear. They were ALL clear! Way to get your mom in gear, Bennett.

When I was pregnant with Bennett, I had thought I wanted to have a girl first. In a large family, I imagined how nice it would be to have a daughter who could be my little helper with the cooking and household chores. I didn't realize that the Lord was answering my prayers in a different form. He gave me Bennett who is 50 times more helpful than Rachel on her best day. From the age of two, Bennett has helped with the laundry, dusted, put his own toys away, cleaned floors. No we aren't running a little sweatshop, he has always wanted to help. He is still that way and looks forward to the day that he can start cooking for me too. He loves that he is big enough now to carry in groceries and unload the bags. It is quite remarkable, and I am very thankful for this special little boy. (Disclaimer: Yes, he gets the "everything in its place" from me, but he has taken it to another level. The messy shoes in my closet weren't bothering me enough to do anything about them. They drove him crazy every time he came into my room. I feel bad for his future wife, he will run a tight ship!)

A Lady Named Irena Sendler

There recently was the death of a 98-year-old lady named Irena Sendler.
During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist.

She had an ulterior motive...

She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German).

Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of her tool box she carried, and she also carried in the back of her truck a Burlap sack, (for larger kids).

She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto.

The soldiers, of course, wanted nothing to do with the dog, and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.

During her time and course of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants.

She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs and arms and beat her severely.

Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard.

After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it, and reunited the family.

Most, of course, had been gassed.

Those kids she helped were placed into foster family homes or adopted.

Last year Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize....

She LOST.

Al Gore won for doing a slide show on Global Warming.

(author unknown)

The County Fair 2008

We made our yearly pilgrimage to the county fair once again this year. We never miss it, and as usual, fun was had by all. Jeromy took a half day on Friday and rode the bus to the fair with the older two kids after they ate lunch, so that they could get in hours of rides to make those wrist bands worth their exorbitant price. I stayed home, napped with Ellie, and brought dinner, so that we didn't have to eat fair food. (It is SO expensive and never very good!) We looked at the animals, the kids rode more rides, and then we went and watched the rodeo for an hour or so until the cotton candy ran out and the kids wanted MORE RIDES!


I love seeing the huge smiles on the faces of my happy kids!


Rachel's favorite ride was the HUGE slide that I was shocked she could climb all the stairs up to. She looked so tiny, and she got so brave that she was pushing herself down the slide with her hands so she could go even faster. What a daredevil!


The mini roller coaster.


Jeromy and the kids in front of a police assault vehicle. Jeromy thought it was so funny that it is an armored vehicle made to withstand anything, but you couldn't touch it.


Rachel coming down her slide.


Serious Bennett laughing like that just cracks me up! I love seeing him be silly.


While walking through the cow barn, we stopped to talk to the owner of the longhorns. He was sitting inside the pen with his cattle which seemed pretty brave. He told us that they were completely docile, and he pointed out to one of them that he said he rides all the time. He asked Bennett if he wanted to ride one and of course he did. The kid has no healthy sense of life preservation. The cow looks pretty innocent in this picture, but he kept trying to see what was on his back.


The cow actually started poking Bennett with his horns, and Bennett started looking a little nervous. I think the owner noticed too because he pulled Bennett off at that point. As if a lesson needed to be learned about not riding animals that can gore you, here ya go!


This is the only ride that Bennett was afraid of two years ago when they went on the rides. He cried the whole time because he was so scared of the spinning. This year was quite different. He wanted to ride with the fastest spinners possible. This group of innocent looking girls was just the ticket to crazy amounts of spinning. He was loving it.


Ellie on her way to a meltdown past her bedtime.


Ellie having the meltdown!


The last ride of the night. The lines got so long, so we were glad that the kids got in all their rides earlier in the day. I love the headlock that Bennett has Rachel in.


Me enjoying the blessing of my children.

Time For an Update

I know that I am excused from any regular blogging while in my first trimester, and it is nice to not feel the pressure and guilt of not posting. The truth is that I am feeling pretty good. Well, I will back up a little bit and tell the complete story.

I had been feeling functionally nauseous since I found out that I was pregnant. As long as I kept my stomach full, I was okay. We had a week-long camping trip to CA planned since before I got pregnant that we were planning on still doing. On Sunday I took a major turn for the worse. I felt the severe nausea that I did with Ellie's pregnancy and spent Monday and Tuesday pretty much on the couch all day. (Lying down is the only thing that has a chance of keeping me from getting sick.) I was preparing myself for the long haul of being really sick for the next month or so (remember, I had no idea how far along I was to even know how long to prepare for.) I decided to eat more Wednesday morning so that my stomach would be more full going into lunch when I started feeling really bad. The really bad never came. Hungry, still kinda tired, but back to the nausea that can be controlled by eating. I talked Jeromy into taking me to Red Robin for dinner. I was totally craving the CA Chicken burger (chicken, bacon, guacamole wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun) and lots of french fries. I was very happy to have my craving satisfied, but starting to wonder why I was feeling so good. Thursday was the same thing. Very mild symptoms. The reason this was worrying me is because this is exactly what happened with my miscarriages. The symptoms just got better one day.

After a very bad night sleep on Thursday and realizing that I was worried and pretty sure I was going to miscarry again, I had an ultrasound scheduled for Friday afternoon. I needed to know what was going on inside there. I prepared myself for the worst and was pretty resigned to not seeing a baby or a heart beat. 32 ounces of water was consumed (Is THAT much water really necessary? I have had 3 babies and this seems really cruel on the 'ol bladder!) and the ultrasound was started. There he was. A little wiggly baby with those little arms and legs and rapidly beating heart. I am so happy I went in for the ultrasound. Now I can just relax, enjoy the pregnancy and be thankful that I am not horribly sick. I am 9 1/2 weeks along and due March 22. With my luck that probably means early April! I say "he" because I wasn't as sick with Bennett's pregnancy as the girls, so I am telling myself that it must mean it's a boy. Jeromy likes to find out the sex (I like the surprise) so we'll see who gets to pick this time. It is my turn for a surprise, but we'll have to talk :)

That's all for now, we went to the fair last night, so I will have a picture update soon!

(Oh yeah, we aren't going camping after all. With my not feeling well and now my mom not feeling well, we decided that being over 8 hours away from home, living in the woods wasn't a good idea. The kids are sure disappointed, but I am trying to talk Jeromy into taking the older two overnight somewhere to go fishing.)

Here are the reasons why chickens cross the road:

BARACK OBAMA:
The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!

JOHN McCAIN:
My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on 'THIS' side of the road before it goes after the problem on the 'OTHER SIDE' of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his 'CURRENT' problems before adding 'NEW' problems.

OPRAH:
Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

GEORGE W. BUSH:
We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

ANDERSON COOPER - CNN:
We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE:
That chicken crossed the road because he's GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN:
To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

DR SEUSS:
Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY:
To die in the rain. Alone.

JERRY FALWELL:
Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the 'other side.' Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too.

GRANDPA:
In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

ARISTOTLE:
It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON:
Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

ALBERT EINSTEIN:
Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

BILL CLINTON:
I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE:
I invented the chicken!

COLONEL SANDERS:
Did I miss one?

AL SHARPTON:
Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

China confiscates Bibles from American Christians

By GILLIAN WONG
BEIJING A group of American Christians who had more than 300 Bibles confiscated by Chinese officials when they arrived in China is refusing to leave the airport until they get the books back, their leader said Monday.

The group arrived in the southwestern city of Kunming on Sunday as China hosts the Summer Olympics in Beijing, its capital.

Pat Klein said he and three others from his Vision Beyond Borders group spent the night at the airport after customs officers took the Bibles from their checked luggage.

"I heard that there's freedom of religion in China, so why is there a problem for us to bring Bibles?" said Klein, whose Sheridan, Wyoming-based group distributes Bibles and Christian teaching materials around the world.

The Bibles were printed in Chinese, he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Last year, false media reports claimed Bibles would be banned from the Olympic Games. The state-run China Daily reported last month that 10,000 bilingual copies of the Bible would be distributed in the Olympic Village, which houses athletes and media.

In China, Bibles are legally printed at just one plant - the world's largest - run by a Communist government-backed Christian association, and are available in many bookstores. But the officially atheistic government prohibits proselytizing and is worried that if the spread of religion goes unchecked, believers might ultimately challenge the Communist Party's authority.

A woman on duty at Kunming airport's customs office confirmed over the telephone late Sunday that 315 Bibles were found in the passengers' checked baggage.

The officer, who would only give her last name, Xiao, denied confiscating the Bibles. She said authorities were just "taking care" of them and provided no further details. She later said she was not authorized to speak to the media and referred questions to the national customs headquarters in Beijing, which did not answer phones on Sunday.

On Monday morning, Klein said Chinese officials had shown the group what they said were regulations that banned bringing Bibles into China, but that the documents were in Chinese. "We are waiting for them to come back with the law in English," he said.

Chinese officials had asked the Christians to leave the room at the airport where they spent the night, but Klein told the officials they did not want to go without the Bibles.

Klein said the customs officers had told him that they could each have one Bible for personal use, but no more than that. He said the officers had videotaped them and were insisting that they leave the airport.

"We don't want to go without taking those books. It cost us a lot of money to bring them here," Klein said. "They're saying that it's illegal to bring the Bibles in and that if we wanted to, we had to apply ahead of time for permission."

China faces routine criticism for human rights violations and repression of religious freedom. Religious practice is heavily regulated by the Communist Party, with worship allowed only in party-controlled churches, temples and mosques, while those gathering outside risk harassment, arrest and terms in labor camps or prison.

A Chinese Christian activist was detained Aug. 10, the opening weekend of the Olympics, on his way to a church service attended by President Bush in Beijing. A rights group said later that the activist, Hua Huiqi, a leader of the unofficial Protestant church in Beijing, had escaped from police and was in hiding.

Police have denied any involvement in Hua's disappearance.

HCG Levels

I got the results back from my second hormone test, and the levels are a little bit higher. Yay!!! They are not doubling anymore because at 8-11 weeks, they level out and then start to go down a little bit in the second trimester. I am really excited and can't wait to hear a heartbeat! I always feel so much better then. I am a little shocked that everything is okay, call me a pessimist, but I have been guarded and trying not to get too excited. Well, I am excited now! Now to just get through the morning sickness!

Sufficiently Sick?

My midwife suggested on Friday that I take an HCG hormone level test to tell us whether or not my levels are increasing and how high they are. They are supposed to double every two to three days in the first trimester, so if mine are going down, I will know that a miscarriage is imminent. I had someone say how awful that is to want to find out, and while it would be sad news, I would definitely rather know now than have it be a surprise later. I had the second test done on Monday, so I should find out this afternoon what the second reading was. My midwife called me yesterday with the first results, and she was very pleased with how high they were. She also said that the levels were consistent with me being around 8-9 weeks along which was my best guess as well. I figured that I first noticed symptoms around 5-6 weeks along and that would put me at 8-9 weeks right now. I am also starting to feel much sicker every day that goes by which usually happens around that time as well. Although with Ellie's pregnancy, I was really sick starting at 3-4 weeks. So, I am guardedly hopeful that I may break the every other pregnancy cycle, and we will have a new baby the end of March. I got my first (of what I am assuming will be many) comments about being pregnant with such a little baby from the phlebotomist. Ellie will be 18 months when the new baby arrives which is not uncommon or even as close as many siblings we know happen to be, but people still like to comment about how "full" my hands will be. I had to tell her that they are pretty full as it is, so what's one more to add to the barrel of monkeys :) Someone else commented recently about how small our house is and where we are going to keep putting "them all." I told her that at least the kids are small, and we will just keep stacking them. I am very happy that we have bunk beds with a trundle because we really CAN keep stacking them :) Stay tuned!

Ohanapecosh with the Covers

We did our first camping trip of the summer a few weeks ago. We met our pastor and his family up at Mt. Rainier for a couple of days of fellowship and fun. Previous camping trips we have borrowed a friend's trailer to pull all of our stuff because there just isn't enough room in our small van, especially with Ellie in the middle row now. We planned on squeezing Ellie's car seat in the middle seat between Bennett and Rachel in the third row, but when Jeromy tried, it didn't fit. We had several options at this point. Buy a smaller carseat for her to use when we need to squeeze her back there, borrow a trailer, buy a trailer, buy a platform that attaches to our hitch, or just make do with the space we got. I got on Craigslist to see what I could find, and I came across a cheap but old tent trailer. I called Jeromy, and he decided that we would drive the hour north to go look at it. Oh, let me mention that this was Tuesday night, and we were scheduled to leave on Thursday morning.

Long story short, the trailer needed some work, but the price was right, and we bought it. We registered it, got new tires for it and got on the road a little later than planned on Thursday.

The roof has quite a few rips that need to be repaired, but we decided to use duct tape as a short term fix until we have time to sew. It has two queen beds and two tables that fold into two full beds.

Sleeping arrangement on night one were: Jeromy in one queen bed by himself. It was too short for him, so he had to sleep diagonally. Ellie was in her port-a-crib where one of the tables were detached. Bennett and Rachel shared a queen bed and I slept below them in the full bed. I have a hard time sleeping in the best of circumstances, but add in camping and sleeping with 100s of other people close by, and I usually have a hard time. I put in my ear plugs, but was bothered that when the trailer moved and shook around, I couldn't hear if anyone was in distress. The night was pretty bad with Rachel kicking and fussing all night, bothering Bennett and me constantly having to move her off of him. I am not sure if she is just a very restless sleeper or if it was the environment. Night one: no sleep.

Our first full day of camping we hiked to a waterfall and had a great time. It is a little under 3 miles round trip which is a long walk for little ones, but they all did great. The Covers have 8 children, so there were lots of people to help us with ours. Samuel wore Ellie on the hike, and Bennett walked with the older boys most of the time.





That is one of the slugs that Bennett found on the trail, and yes, he did lick it. He is so my son!


Ellie finally fell asleep.


Pictures around the campfire. It was cold, so we kept a fire going most of the time and hovered over it.





Night 2: Jeromy and Ellie stayed in the same places, I slept in the queen bed with Bennett and Rachel got the full one below us to herself. I was so tired that I fell asleep immediately which is so unusual for me. I was jarred awake at some point soon thereafter by Rachel kicking and fussing which kept waking up Ellie who would then rustle around for a half hour before going back to sleep which would wake up Jeromy who would toss and turn and shake the trailer all around. I tried to get Rachel to stop fussing. I woke her up and talked to her and finally took her blankie away and told her she could have it if she lay still and was quiet. This unfortunately had the opposite effect. She started screaming and crying as loudly as she could and nothing would make her stop. It took me 20 minutes to get her calmed down. At this point, Ellie decided it was all too much in the middle of the night and started screaming and crying. She wouldn't take her binky and was mad! I brought her in bed with me and nursed her, and we both fell asleep for a couple of hours before morning. Bennett is a champ of a sleeper. It is like sleeping with a rock. What are we going to do about Rachel? I was a wreck after 2 nights of little sleep. We are going camping for a week later this month, so what are we going to do with a week of no sleep? Someone help me!



It was a nice time, even without sleep, and we love our dear Covers! We make quite a crew don't we? I didn't know about Bennett's face until I looked at the pictures either. He is such a clown sometimes :)

Bennett the Pollywog

We decided to do swim lessons this summer with the kids. It is quite a commitment to go for two whole weeks every day, but I knew that Bennett needed some practice in the water to be more comfortable by the time we go to the lake for a week later this month. He started out the week a bit tentative, and I nearly yanked him out of the lessons after the first day of seeing some really naughty kids, but we stuck it out and it turned out great. I had Bennett stay toward the end of the line away from the boys, so he didn't have to get caught up in their ADD craziness. It is called discipline people. I was so sad to see what a bad start these boys were getting in life. Not being taught self control, yes, taught because it isn't natural, is setting them up for some major problems (for their teacher and other students who can't learn because they are so disruptive) down the road. If I were at all on the fence about homeschooling before (I was not) this would have solidified my decision.

Anyhoo, by day three, Bennett was bobbing his head under the water unassisted thinking it was the greatest thing in the world. He learned his back float, tummy float, crawl arms, turtle arms, blowing bubbles, jumping in the pool, and going under water. He was a pro and did everything asked of him. I was so proud of him!

New Tricks

I have been so bad about blogging lately that I can't even remember what I have posted about Ellie in the last few months, and I am too lazy to go back and look, so here is the recap (or the first time sharing, whatever the case may be :P)

Ellie has been crawling on her knees, finally. Before, she just army crawled on her belly I think mostly due to our hardwood and tile floors. I moved out the coffee table, so she has a large area on the rug to crawl around now, and she uses about 50% knees, 50% feet and kind of does a a funny push off with the side of her feet. She really just uses the crawling to get herself to where she wants to stand. She stands everywhere, all the time and is officially into EVERYTHING. It is kind of driving me batty! We have never babyproofed things. We have always just taken the time to teach them what, "No hands," means. I forgot how time consuming this is and for it to work I need to be more consistent with it. I can't tell her, "No," 50 times for touching the CD's and then let her do it once because I am too busy to stop what I am doing because that undoes the previous 50 times she wasn't allowed to get away with it. Yeah, I could use a clone of myself right now, and maybe she could carry the new baby this time :) Just kidding (mostly!)

Ellie's favorite activity in the kitchen is opening the drawer with the kid dishes in it and throwing them all over the floor. Unfortunately, they actually eat off of these, so this doesn't work out so well.




Check out those tiny little twig legs. I am still amazed that they are strong enough to keep her standing. (And yes, I know they look just like mine!)