The Short Version

Just wanted to let you all know that we are all home safe and sound. The short version is that Dr. Perry turned Ellie head down at about 10 am Thursday morning, started me on Pitocin at 1pm, broke my water at 9:30 pm and I had her at 6:40 the next morning. It was very long and hard and in hindsight if I had to do it over again I probably would have taken the epidural because I was so tired for the hardest part of the delivery (transition and pushing) but she made it here safe and sound. She is absolutely beautiful and weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces and is 20 inches long with a headful of dark hair. We begged them to let us go home yesterday so that we wouldn't have to spend another night at the hospital. We were so tired and wanted to sleep in our own bed! They let us go at 5:30 Friday evening and we came home, ate, and went to bed by 9. We slept fairly well and Ellie is nursing great but is hungry so hopefully my milk comes in ASAP. Bennett and Rachel were so excited to meet their new sister and kissed and pet and poked her endlessly. I promise to post a full birth story at some point later, but thank you for all your prayers during this really stressful last couple of days.

slow progress

Samantha has been on pitocin since 1pm. They have decided to break her water to try to move things along. Will update when we can.

News

We have an appointment at the hospital tomorrow morning at 7:30 am to have a manual version done. Dr. Perry was great this evening and reassured us that he will try to move the baby, but also isn't opposed to delivering a frank breech. He has done it many times. He does want to induce me right away if he can get Ellie turned to not give her time to turn back. I am scared of Pitocin and all the other can of worms it opens, but pray that I can still have this baby naturally even at the hospital. It looks like one way or another we are having this baby tomorrow.

Bad News

I had my ultrasound this morning and found out why I haven't gone into labor yet. Ellie is in a frank breech position, which means butt down. There is no way to have a regular delivery with her in this position, so they are going to try to move her head down. I have heard that this is horribly painful, doesn't work a majority of the time, and poses risks to the baby. They will monitor the baby via ultrasound during the moving to make sure everything is okay, but there is a good chance I will end up with a C-Section. Please pray that I can find a Dr. to do the procedure, that is our first obstacle. I will keep you posted. Please Pray!

Update

I went to the midwife this morning for my non-stress test. The baby reacted to movement and contractions well, nothing out of the ordinary. I have gained 36 pounds to date, and I am sure that will continue to climb the longer I am pregnant! My blood pressure was fine which I was glad about with the weird migraine episode on Sunday. She wished I had called her and let her know about the vision changes, but I am bad about wanting to worry people for nothing. She asked if she could check to see if I was dialated, and I told her that I would rather not in case I wasn't dialted at all because I would be depressed. She won out and I let her check. She said I was only at about a cm and the cervix still felt pretty thick, but I know that a couple of contractions can change that real quickly. She said the head felt right there, but when she started feeling around to feel the other baby parts on my abdomen, she started questioning whether or not it was head or butt she felt. She said I have such a long torso that there is alot of room in there, and she could really move the baby around wherever she wanted. Needless to say, I am now scheduled for an ultrasound in the morning to make sure the baby is head down, a chiropractor appointment to make sure my pelvis is in alignment, and another midwife visit to give me some herbs to try to jump start things if the baby is in fact head down. This is what I wanted to avoid by being "late." All the extra stuff that starts going on to "help" things along. I just want to have this baby, so please pray I just go into labor before tomorrow and a head comes out before a butt or foot.

Pictures

I haven't been into taking any pictures lately. I think I am saving up for the baby and all the pictures that you take in the beginning. I did get a few today.


This was me the day before my due date when I thought I would be having the baby sometime soon!


Rachel is really into saying, "Cheese," right now when you take her picture, so I have been able to get some cute ones lately. Bennett is another story!


This is the only picture where Bennett isn't making a REALLY silly face.

Strange

I guess I know now that I have had two babies that went over 41 weeks not to expect any early or on time deliveries. I have felt like I am probaby dialated for the last couple of days, I don't know how much though. We went over my parents house yesterday afternoon, and on the car ride there, my right eye started acting really strange. I couldn't see out of it very well and it was like my brain wasn't computing what it was seeing. I started to get a little worried as it was starting to pulsate and get worse. I thought I was going blind or had a blood clot or something. When we got to my parents, my mom asked me if I had a headache, and at that moment I didn't. 15 minutes later, my vision cleared up and I got what I can only assume was a migraine headache. Can I say how sorry I am to those of you that experience these on a regular basis. It was awful! It lasted until about 10 pm and then started to go away. I have a little twinge of a headache today, but nothing like last night. I don't know if it was pregnancy related or due to the allergies my whole house has been suffering from this past week. Sage brush is in bloom here and even the kids are runny nosed because of it. I am sure glad the headache went away before I went into labor. I can't imagine trying to deal with both. I have to go in for a stress test tomorrow if Ellie doesn't show up. I was hoping to skip out on all the extra monitoring, but we'll see what happens in the next 24 hours. I started going through the kids clothes today and putting away the ones that are too small and washing the fall/winter ones. I think I am going to take a trip to Target too to get Bennett a couple of pairs of sweats and some pajamas. I try to shop at thrift/children's stores throughout the year to have their next size of clothing and I did pretty well this year. Rachel's foot has grown so fast though that I have had a hard time keeping up with what size she should be wearing. Poor thing always seems to be wearing shoes that are too tight. I usually take out the next size too late and it is already getting too small. That's all for today unless I have any news later :o) (don't get your hopes up though!)

Tired and Hanging in There

I am tired of posting these non-posts, but for all of you that keep checking my blog to see if I have "popped" yet I will indulge you! No contractions and no sign of Ellie today.

Nope

A week overdue and nothing yet!

Midwife Visit

My midwife came today to check me and the baby. Everything checked out great. She is delivering twins today, so she begged me to not go into labor until tomorrow. I wish I could control such things, but Ellie will come when she comes. Stay tuned, hopefully this will be a productive weekend.

Clarification

Maybe I should have specified to Ellie which Friday I thought would be a good one to have her on. It was LAST Friday, not the one 7 or 14 days later. She might have gotten confused, so I thought a little clarification was in order.

Diaper Conclusions

No, I haven't had this darn baby yet, so I decided to post on something else for a change. I posted a while back that I was looking to try out some different brand diapers as the other brands out there are cheaper than the Pampers that I currently am devoted to. A friend happened to have a smorgasbord of different brands to try and was nice enough to give me several in each brand, so the trial began. She gave me the Kirkland brand (Costco), Huggies, Target brand, and I had bought Parent's Choice, a cheapie Walmart brand. The biggest difference I found in the diapers was the amount they would absorb without leaking. The White Cloud diapers were so cheap and leaked pretty bad, and I ended up having to change Rachel's diaper twice as often as I would have normally, so no savings there. The Kirkland diapers are just a little cheaper, 19 cents per diaper, than Pampers, 21 cents per diaper, and they were the only diaper I liked equally, maybe a little less well, than Pampers. The Target and Huggies were okay, but I didn't feel they were quite as absorbent as Pampers. The biggest difference between the Pampers and Kirkland brand is that the Kirkland diaper has a cloth-like exterior and the Pampers have a more plastic-like smooth exterior. I don't think that really affected the diaper at all, maybe just a personal preference to some people. There is a bigger savings 13 cents vs. 16 cents per diaper in size 1-2 in the Kirkland diapers, so I will probably use those for Ellie when it is convenient. I can't say I will make a special trip to Costco just for diapers, but will buy them there if I am already shopping there. I buy my Pampers at Walmart where I shop every week anyway, so the convenience factor is a lot higher. Bottom line is that I really like Pampers the best, but if price became a more important consideration, I am glad there are other alternatives out there that are pretty good.

Nada

I at least have started having some minor contractions again. I had alot on Friday night and then nothing all weekend, not even very many Braxton-Hicks. Last night I started having some again, so that is good news. Even better news is that I slept really well for the first time in about a week or so. I woke up feeling good and so happy to have slept! My house is clean and we are all ready to go!

Waiting

Having a baby is definitely a lesson in patience. 40 weeks is a long time to wait for anything, especially a new child and anything past 40 weeks adds to the agony. My fatal mistake this time was thinking I was going to deliver before my due date. I had it in my mind that I was going to go a day or two early. When that came and went I started feeling a little depressed. It doesn't help that I am not sleeping very much at all at night which makes for a long, tired, cranky day. I think my family is more ready than even me to have this baby, so they can have their mommy/wife back. Bennett was 10 days late and 8 pounds/ 20 inches and Rachel was 1 day late and 9 pounds 4oz/ 22 inches. I was assuming my body was streamlining this baby operation and not taking as long, but I was wrong. My theory with the different sized babies was that I was a vegetarian when I was pregnant with Bennett, and I started eating chicken during Rachel's. I called her my "chicken baby." Gotta love that protein. I also was crazy with the amount of sugar I ate with her pregnancy, but didn't test positive for gestational diabetes. I still wondered if blood sugar had anything to do with her being so big. My weight gain was the same with both of their pregnancies, 40+ pounds, way more than necessary and not fun to lose! This time around, I have watched my sugar and have gained alot less weight, so I have been curious whether I would have a bigger or smaller baby with my lower weight gain even though I have eaten more protein with this pregnancy than with the first two. Babies usually get bigger the more you have and boys are generally larger than girls, except not in our case already.

On a brighter note.... I have been sleeping in later in the morning since I have been sleeping so poorly at night and usually the kids play downstairs quietly until I come down to get them. This morning they were upstairs and being noisy, so I called them into my room and reminded them that they should still be downstairs waiting for me. I got up because it was after 8 and I was awake and we started our morning routine. Much to my shock, Bennett informed me they didn't need any breakfast because Dad had already fed them and gotten them dressed. Yay Dad!

That's all for now. My midwife is back in town, so I guess the Lord wants her to deliver the baby which I am okay with. He knows more than I do about the future, so that makes it easy to rest in His decisions.

Nope, nothing yet!

Ticking Time Bomb

That's what I feel like right now! I am at the point that people keep calling me to check to see if I have "popped" yet. No baby yet. I talked to my back-up midwife and she will be in Yakima, and hour and a half away, tomorrow for the afternoon which I was not too excited about. I would have to call her and she would run back here. I am really hoping to have this baby today. I have had both of my babies on Fridays, and I think that it would be cool to keep that going. She told me to work on a project to pass the time, but I have pretty much finished everything I wanted to get done, so I spent the morning baking. I made almond butter balls, a favorite of the kids. You just throw some dates, shredded coconut, and almond butter into the food processor until it forms a ball. I then add some whole almonds and dried cherries in and mix again. Form into balls or logs and keep in the fridge. I also made some peach/blueberry muffins, and some brownie muffins that stuck to the pan....bummer! I had to pry them out and put them in a ziploc. They still taste good, but I think they will need some vanilla ice cream to be crumbled on top of. I did all the dishes I dirtied and now I feel like my back is broken! Nap time for me.

Everyone's Okay

I thought I should post an update lest anyone think we are all here suffering with the stomach flu. Rachel was fine the next day after her overnight bout with it, and no one else seems to feel like they are coming down with it, so the prayers are working.

My midwife came by yesterday to listen to the baby and leave my file here because she is officially out of town until Sunday night. Jeromy, the kids, and I all took a long walk last night (it was only a few blocks but I am pretty slow these days, so it just took a long time) hoping to move things along, but nothing yet except alot of pressure.

I rearranged our downstairs this morning, and if that doesn't bring on labor, I don't know what else will! I'll keep you posted.

You Will Never Guess

I think that we can pretty much claim the Guiness Book of World Records for the most cases of stomach flu in one one year. I was still awake at about 11:30 last night due to some killer indigestion and the baby not wanting to be still, and I heard Rachel coughing and choking on the baby moniter. I ran downstairs to find my worst nightmare right now....... Rachel was throwing up! Man, how many times does one family need to experience such joy? I brought her upstairs to sleep near me which was a total mistake. The girl would not go back to sleep. She talked nonstop for the next hour and a half before she finally went back to sleep. "Mama, I throw up in bowl." "Mama, I watch Dora super babies." "Two super babies." "I have pajamas, huh?" "I have water, please?" She didn't sleep in like I had hoped either. I finally let her get up and watch a video with Bennett at 8 while I slept for another hour. She is eating today and playing, but does look a little pale. I am PRAYING that this ends with her and doesn't go through all of us like usual. I thought I was done with laundry for the week, but I am off to do another load.

Blogging Casualty

Who knew that blogging could be hazardous to your health, well at least if you are a two year old. Admittedly, I am addicted to reading blogs, even ones belonging to people that I don't know or hardly know. It is like reality TV on the computer. This afternoon I was reading a blog by someone that is in the "I hardly know" category, but it was obviously so interesting that when Rachel asked me to help her put the top on one of her toys, I didn't look up long enough to grab it fully and smacked her in the mouth with it giving her a bloody lip. Pathetic!

Just In Case You're Wondering

No baby yet. I am having contractions here and there, but nothing that is serious enough or consistent enough to bring on labor. My guess is that I won't have Elizabeth until the end of the week. Rachel was a day late, so I will probably go sometime close to my due date on Saturday. I will let the blog reading world know when I go into labor, so stay tuned. My midwife is coming over on Wednesday to see me before she leaves for her trip, so I will let you know if there is any news at that point. I am getting out my labor Bible verses today. I have started to feel a little fear creep in for the whole labor/pain involved with delivering a baby, but God's Word definitely is a comfort, so I am going to choose to dwell on what He says instead of what Satan wants me to feel. That's all for now, I am in cleaning mode and just finished the downstairs. Now I am off to do laundry.

Midwife Appointment

I had my second home visit with Fran, my midwife, this morning. We talked about when to call her to come over (early so that she can get here in time!) some different birthing issues I have had in the past (I'll spare the men readers those details!) and the fact that she will be out of town Thursday to Sunday of next week. I am due next Saturday, and I am hoping to go a day or two early which would put her in Seattle during that time. Ginger, another midwife and natuorpath doctor that the kids and I go to will be on call while she is gone. Ginger wasn't a preferred provider with my insurance, so that is the only reason I didn't go to see her from the start. Getting to have Ginger deliver the baby without having to pay any extra money (Fran will pay her directly) is the best of both worlds. Ginger is a Christian and I think it would be nice to have her here for the delivery. We'll see what God has in mind. I don't feel that desperation yet that I would do anything to get this baby out, so I am probably not going to deliver anytime too soon. I measured bigger this week, smaller than I should be, but the baby is still really low and we just need to know that she is still growing. Everything is good and it is just the waiting game now. This is definitely one of the hardest parts!

Ellie's Baby Shower

It is always a blessing to have a baby shower, to celebrate the imminent arrival of a new baby, to thank the Lord for the gift of children. I was encouraged in this way last night when a woman from church, Trudy, hosted a shower for me.


Julie gave a wonderful Bible study to start the evening. It was encouraging mothers to not look at the giving of all of our free time ( "me" time) as a bad thing but to look at it as service to the Lord. I struggle with this selfishness all the time, so it was a timely topic! Julie and her husband have 6 children, and we are so thankful to know them.


Having a laugh at one of the games we played. Everyone wrote a baby care question on one side of a card, then handed the card to their left and wrote the answer to their original question on the backside of the new card. There were some funny combinations!


That is Trudy in the purple shirt to my left. That is the only picture I captured of her all night! She is such sweet lady and made the evening very special with her hospitality.


That is my mom in the brown shirt talking to Julie's mom, Jeannie, and Terry. It is so special to have my mom so close to share all of these memories that we didn't get to when we lived so far away from each other.


This is a card addressed to Samantha and Rebekah. Julie had it stuck in her mind that Elizabeth is going to be named Rebekah and called her that all night! It is a great name, just not the name of this baby!


It just isn't a baby shower without other pregnant women there. Mystie, on the right, is 22 weeks pregnant with a little girl, and Liz in the white is due a month after me.


Gift time!

St. Louis

This week I am in St. Louis, MO for a Cisco Certified Network Associate BootCamp. This trip has only been planned for about two weeks so it has been a rather wild couple of weeks. For the last six months or so doing projects on the wireless network where I work (pnl). I made my intentions of becoming a network engineer known to my line manager who went and talked to the network team who in turn found that they had money to send me to training. The catch was that the money had to be spent and services received by October 1. In case you missed it, Samantha is due September 15th! so it was either now or never. Well long story short we decided this was too good of an opportunity to pass up and we scheduled the trip as quickly as possible.

I left Pasco at 6am Saturday 8/25 (Samantha's birthday!) on a flight to St. Louis with a one hour lay over in Denver, CO. When I arrived in Denver I was told my connecting flight had been cancelled due to mechanical problems. This may have been due to the FAA manditory inspection of Boeing 737s after one caught fire on a runway in Japan.

I was given stand-by tickets for two other flights but they were full so I had to wait until 7pm. I packed light and didn't check any bags so I could get out of the airport quickly, but as a result I had to drag my bags around with me for the 8hrs I was stuck there.

I finally got into St. Louis at 10pm and was picked up at the airport by my good friend Jon Grable who's family has been living in St. Louis for almost a year. We (Samantha and I) were friends with his family while we were in CA and have missed them dearly. After a quick drive around St. Louis, he took me to the house they have been staying in for the last 10 months. It is a beautiful brick 3 story home that has been recently remodeled. Georgeous!

Juanita made me a midnight snack (literally) and we hung out and caught up. It was so fun. I could hardly sleep as I was so excited to see them and thinking about questions I had forgot to ask them.

The next morning I was blessed to wake to the pitter patter of little feet. The Grables have 5 beautiful children including a new baby boy named Jeremiah. So fun to hold such a beautiful little one. Jon made pancakes for breakfast and we all enjoyed them!

I will post more in the next few days including pictures of the excellent food I have been enjoying here in St. Louis.

37 weeks 6 days

I had my first home visit from my midwife today. She measured me, listened to Ellie's heartbeat and checked out where we would be delivering the baby. At my last visit, I measured 37 (cm's I think) which is right where I should be. Today I measured 33 and she couldn't get over how low the baby was. I told her that my pelvis felt ready to give way and very achy, and she said that all I needed were some regular contractions, and we would have a new baby. I haven't carried this low with my first two pregnancies, so maybe I will finally get a baby with a conehead! Bennett and Rachel both had nice round heads because they didn't engage until right before they came out. I am also getting really tired with not sleeping well at night and the aching back and pelvis are making it hard to be comfortable whether I am standing, sitting, or lying down. I am definitely hoping that this baby comes a little early. Two more weeks seems like an eternity to me! Jeromy gets home tomorrow, so at least Ellie waited to make her appearance until her daddy got home. I am so happy about that!

I Finally Finished A Project!!

I started knitting this blanket when I was pregnant with Rachel, but we didn't find out her sex beforehand, so I didn't feel compelled to finish it. The original plan was to have 4 white/pink squares in the middle and 16 squares altogether, but I don't think I would have ever gotten it done, so I left it at 9. I also had planned on knitting a heart and sewing that on the middle square, but I couldn't figure out the pattern I had for it, so I went with the monogram. It turned out alot better than I thought it would. I was nervous about sewing all the squares together and having it look decent. It feels good to have that done. Now I just have to get started on Rachel's scrapbook!

TO DO

I made a list last night of all the things I need and want to get done:

(Done)-Wash towels/receiving blankets for homebirth
(Almost Done)-Get supplies ready for homebirth
(Done)-Sort and wash baby clothes
-Unpack baby items and get Ellie's room ready
(Done)-Sew together knitted baby blanket squares
-Sew curtains for front door window
(Done)-Shop for Cal King sheets
-Clean Upstairs
-Print out new recipes
-Cook freezer meals
(Done) *2 Meatloafs
(Done)*60 Meatballs
(Done)*Spaghetti Sauce
*Teriyaki Chicken
*BBQ Chicken in Marinade
-Make
(Done)*Salsa
(Done)*Salad Dressing (mix together seasoned salt mix for salad dressing)
(Done)*Salad to eat this week
*Granola

I have so far spent 3 1/2 hours in the kitchen and made a huge pot of spaghetti sauce, 60 meatballs, 2 meatloafs, 2 batches of salsa, and a large green salad. I also did a load of laundry that is still in the washer and will probably stay there until this afternoon. I am wiped and don't think I will be doing anything but resting on the couch for the next few hours. Tomorrow I would like to get the upstairs at least vacuumed and the 2 chicken freezer meals done. I know that I have orders to take it easy this week while Jeromy is gone, but I just can't do it. There is too much to get done and not very much time left to do it. My mom came over last night for dinner and helped with the kids, made a pot of chili for us to eat/freeze, gave the kids a bath, cleaned that bathroom while the kids were in the tub, and put them to bed. That was a huge help. Evenings are when I run out of steam and getting the kids ready for bed is enough to kill me! 4 more days until Jeromy gets home and then I can start doing things to encourage the arrival of our little one. Hopefully it will be cool enough to take some long walks.

Turning 30

I don't feel any different today being 30 than I did yesterday being 29. I think the only difference I will encounter is when people ask me my age. My mom has always told me her 30s were so much better than her 20s, but I always thought my 20s were pretty good. I became a Christian at the age of 23, so I spent most of the decade serving the Lord and seeking Him in my decisions. I got married at the age of 24, had Bennett at 25, Rachel at 27, moved to Washington and owned my first home at 28 and sold it at 29. They were very full years, and I am sure the next 10 will be even fuller yet. I still have a desire to adopt a sibling group from Africa, serve in my community more, and get my children involved in giving and serving others. I don't know how that will all look but the desire is there.

I watched an interesting 20/20 program that I had taped today looking at philanthropy and charity in America. The myth is that Americans are stingy and cheap and that America doesn't give enough of our wealth away. Another myth is that liberal people give more than conservative people. It just isn't true. The two people groups that give the highest percentage of their money to charity is the working poor and the rich. People of faith, all faiths, give more than anyone else, not just to their church either. They give more to non-religious groups, they give more blood and donate more of their time. The top 23 of the 24 most generous states are all "red" states. It is true that the US government doesn't give as much of its money away than other countries, but Americans give more individually than any other people. No one else is as generous as Americans with their money.

The program also looked at the uber-rich, the American billionaires. There is a movement within their ranks to give generously... Warren Buffet, Ted Turner, and the Gates have all given away at least a billion of their own dollars. They call it "philanthropy" though, not charity. The difference is that philanthropy creates something new to solve problems in the world, it doesn't just throw money at it. The host interviewed several billionaires and asked them why they don't give more of their money away. Why do they need so much? There were many different answers to that question. Some said that they do give enough, some said that there weren't enough organizations to give to that do a good job, some said that investing their money back into business helps more people by creating jobs for more people and creates more wealth, some said that they can't "afford" to give more. I thought that one was funny. The show was very interesting, and it was nice to hear the truth for a change that Americans aren't all bad.

One thing that their research found was that private charities do a better job than the government does at meeting needs. That means that people like you and me can really make a difference. That is one of the reasons the researchers say that liberal people don't give as much. They live with the philosophy that the government should meet the needs of people. The government should create programs and distribute wealth to the people. That just isn't how churches and the generous American operates. They take it upon themselves to do the job, they don't wait for someone else to do it. Churches start foreign orphanages, schools, hospitals, soup kitchens, and shelters. When they give of their money to these causes, they become invested personally in them.

I feel compelled to do more with the resources the Lord has given me. Give more money, time, energy to serving those less fortunate. I need to start praying that God will lead me to where He wants me to serve. Jeromy too feels the desire to get more involved in our community. We just haven't found where that will be and what God wants us to do. There is so much work to be done, and I want to use my talents wisely. That seems like a good goal for my 30s.

Plumbing Update

Well, the hole in the huge, old cast iron pipe was fixed this morning. We live in a 1940s house and the guy that replumbed it when they rennovated last year was able to come out and fix the pipe. He knows the whole system well, so he knew what was wrong. Unfortunately, the sewage backing up into the house isn't related to the hole in the pipe. What are the odds of that? Now we have had a different set of guys out in our backyard digging for the last several hours. They said the pipe they are trying to get to is alot deeper than they thought it would be. (Of course it was right under my flower bed!!) Hopefully they will be done soon, they can can clear out the blockage, and we will be back online with a working system again. We are going to go to my mom's house tonight to do laundry if they aren't. The first plumber that was here said we could use a little bit of water today, so while I haven't gotten a shower yet, we have flushed a toilet or two and washed our hands when needed. This has made me thankful that we are no longer homeowners and don't have to pay for any of this!

On a much brighter note, my very considerate husband came home during his lunch to clean the very stinky, sewage covered upstairs bathroom. I was so appreciative because my lower back is ON STRIKE today! Thanks honey!

Yuck!

Is there anything more gross than raw sewage coming up from all the drains in your house? I am waiting for the plumber to get here before I clean up the bathroom where it spilled over the toilet. Luckily that was the only place it overflowed although I am not very excited about having to clean it up. Jeromy leaves for his week-long trip in the morning and I need to do laundry so that he has something to wear while he is gone. Pray that the plumber is able to fix the problem ASAP and that I can use our toilet! Yikes, 9 months pregnant and no toilet!

The Benton-Franklin Fair and Rodeo '07

It's that time of year again. We are suckers for the fair. I think we have gone every year since Jeromy and I were dating. We decided to forgo the overly expensive rides for the kids this year since they got to go on some when we were in Minnesota at the Mall of America. Instead, we opted for the overly expensive but not very good fair food, looking/petting the livestock, the rodeo and something called an Elephant Ear. My favorite fair treat is a funnel cake, but we were appalled to find out they were charging $6.50 for a regular size funnel cake. Are these people mad? That is ridiculous even by fair standards! Instead we got an elephant ear which is an enormous piece of deep fried dough covered with cinnamon and sugar. It was good but not funnel cake good. So sad!


Rachel was really scared of the animals unless Jeromy carried her. Actually, she wasn't scared of the chickens, bunnies and bird building, but just of the noisy animals.... pigs, sheep and cows.


That cow in the background was the biggest bull Jeromy or I have ever seen. He must have weighed a good 1200-1500 pounds. He was pretty intimidating.


One of the girls let Bennett feed her pig a treat. Did you know that pigs like red vine licorice? They don't like the cheaper Twizzler variety of licorice (who does?) but they really like red vines.


Me! I still haven't gotten a good hair picture yet. You can't even tell I have any bangs in this shot. I think I need a more head on picture to see all the layers. I can't believe I survived walking around the fair. I wore my belly belt which is a lifesaver on my back and my Dansko clogs which my back can't live without either. By 9:30pm I was done and ready to head home!


A picture of a cool horse-drawn carriage at the rodeo. We didn't get very many good rodeo pictures because we weren't up high enough to get any shots without the fence in front of us. We saw mutton riding (too cute!), steer roping (I couldn't believe how hard you can snap a cows neck without it breaking!), bareback bronco riding, steer wrestling (I am not sure of the correct rodeo term for this, forgive me), and we missed the bull riding because we left early.

It was a fun night for all!

Homemade Tortillas

I LOVE homemade corn tortillas and after having some really good ones last Friday at a restaurant, I thought, "How hard can it be?" I bought some Masa flour at the grocery store, I already have a tortilla press that my in-laws bought me a couple of years before (that I hadn't used yet), and a cast iron skillet. That is all you need. I mixed 2 cups of masa in a bowl with 1/4 tsp of salt and 1 1/2 cups of water. The directions said to mix it for 2 minutes. It was just like kneading regular bread dough, but a little stickier. I think I would have added a little more flour next time. This recipe was supposed to yield 16 tortillas which I figured would be enough for dinner (steak fajitas) and some leftovers.


Mix the dough.


Roll the dough into 16 balls.


Line the tortilla press with wax paper to eliminate sticking. I didn't have any problem with sticking, so the wax paper worked great.


Press and Voila!


Heat the cast iron skillet (It has to be cast iron for the authentic thing) to med-high and cook each side for 50 seconds. I found that the tortillas would start to bubble when ready to be flipped and that it took a little longer than 50 seconds.

There are some things I would do differently next time, and it was so easy that I will definitely make them again. They tasted so good!
-I would only made 8 balls with the recipe next time. The tortillas were too small with the 16 (only 4-5 inches in diameter). I made a few small ones for the kids and then used 2 balls to make the rest. They were a much better taco size.
-I will absolutely double the recipe. We didn't even have enough to satisfy everyone for dinner. We each had 2 and we all wanted more!
-I will roll them out a little thinner than the press makes them. The press left them a little thick, almost like pancakes.
-I will cook them on lower heat (medium) for longer. They didn't really have enough time to brown much, just charred a little in spots.
-I will make sure everything is ready for dinner before I make the tortillas. You have to completely babysit them and can't get anything else ready at the same time. I sauteed onions and bell pepper while making the tortillas and even that was a little hard. You could also cook them first and then get everything else ready. I kept them in a bowl with a wet towel surrounding them and they stayed hot and didn't stick at all. It think it also helps them to finish cooking in the steam.

All in all, it was a culinary success! I love when I go to special work to make something that turns out well. I don't have pictures of the finished product because the camera ran out of batteries. Bummer.

Fun at the Columbia River

A very nice woman, Donna, that Jeromy works with took us out on her boat Saturday morning. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time seeing the sights of the Mid-Columbia from the river. The kids thought it was a blast and played in the water for a while too. Bennett's favorite part was driving over the wakes of other boats and bouncing really high. We were so proud of Rachel hanging from the back platform of the boat kicking and playing in the water. She is usually really cautious about water, but not Saturday. She and Bennett played until we told them we had to head back to the dock. It was so much fun that Jeromy asked Donna alot of questions about owning a boat! That would be fun, especially because we live 5 minutes from the river.

El Prego

Okay, okay, I have succomed to the pressure of posting pregnant pictures of myself. So there you go! I will post pictures of my new hairdo when I get some good pictures of it. If I leave the camera upstairs, there is a much better chance of getting a couple. Happy Monday!

7 Things That Make Me Laugh

I am never good about doing the list of things about myself when tagged, but I just saw this on the Heldts blog and liked this one. Although not tagged, I thought I would play along anyway.

7 Things That Make Me Laugh

1) Animals dressed in clothes, especially chimpanzees and Weimreiner(sp?) dogs.

2) Bennett's new found love of making funny faces. Ask him to make his "gawking" face. It is hilarious!

3) Watching people fall/get hurt. (I got this trait from my mother who used to laugh when she would see us biff it outside. So mean, I know!)

4) When Rachel says a new phrase that we have never heard her say before. (Yesterday it was, "Talk louder, I CAN'T HEAR YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" We were cracking up. Okay, maybe you had to be there.)

5) The Seinfeld episode where Jerry pretends that his girlfriend's stomache talks like the Koolaid guy and says, "Hellooooo, bum bum bum." That episode kills me.

6) When I am in a situation, like church, when something funny happens and I know I shouldn't laugh, but I can't help myself. No self-control, it's terrible. If my mom is there, it is even worse. She makes this face when she is trying not to laugh that ensures that I will laugh uncontrollably.

7) Bennett dancing to the music in church. It is like he is jumping and shaking uncontrollably with seizures or something. Everyone else laughs too, poor kid.

This was a fun one, feel free to make your own list and link it with a comment in my blog.

To Blog or Not to Blog

Okay, I am sitting at the computer totally uninspired to write anything interesting, but it has been since Monday since I posted, so I feel like I have to!

One potentially problematic piece of Markwort news is that Jeromy will be going to St. Louis, MO for 7 days on August 25th. (BTW, that is my birthday, but I missed his this year too while I was in Minnesota, so it seems only fair!) The problematic part is that we are having a baby in case someone missed my every growing hugeness these days! I have never had a baby early. Bennett was 10 days late, and Rachel was 1 day late. Chances are that I won't go into labor early unless something was wrong. With as fast as my labor went last time (2 hours), there is no way that Jeromy could get home in time to do anything but greet his several hour old baby girl. What complicates matters is that I am planning on staying home, not going to a hospital, so my mom would have to stay with me instead of the kids and the kids would have to chance it alone with grandpa :o) Jeromy said that my only responsibility while he is gone is to keep the baby inside. Someone still needs to take care of our other two children, so sitting around all day resting is totally out of the question. I do need to start slowing down more though because I have been getting really tired and am not sleeping very well at night. This is the craziness that I did yesterday:
-Made marinade for the chicken for dinner
-Drove to Jeromy's work to drop him off some checks
-Returned library books
-Went to the car wash
-Returned a baby monitor at Toys R Us
-Got my haircut at the mall
-Had lunch at the mall
-Costco
-Nap
-Started dinner
-Had a co-worker of Jeromy's with her daughter over for dinner

I have got to slow down one of these days or my back is literally going to quit on me! Anyway, grocery shopping, minimal housekeeping, dishes, laundry, meal preparations and basic childrearing will still have to go on even if Jeromy is gone, and I am supposed to be taking it easy, so I guess we will pray VERY hard that little Ellie doesn't decide on any early arrivals.

On another note, I mentioned that I got my haircut yesterday, and I was a little more daring than usual. My hair has gotten ridiculously long these last couple of years, and I have been a little bored lately with the same 'ol, same 'ol. I got about 3 inches cut off and got it layered and really thinned out. My hair is very thick normally, and I'll bet she took off a pound of hair. The most daring part is that I got bangs. I have been toying with the idea for a while and just decided to go for it. I have a really good hairdresser that I completely trust, and she said that it would look good, so there you go. They are the kind of long, side-swept kind that are just long enough to be in your eyes without being long enough to put behind your ears. Hair in my eye constantly and repeated pushing them off my face has not been my favorite so far, so I think I made a bad decision. I might be using a lot of clippies and headbands until they grow a little bit. Luckily the bangs aren't very thick, so there isn't too much to deal with. I am just not used to having anything on my forehead, so that might be the problem. The funny thing is that I have the same haircut as everyone else seems to have right now. I didn't notice until after the fact, but it has been funny to me to see my hair on all sorts of different heads in all sorts of different colors. I am not one for fads, so I am finding it hilarious to actually be in style right now! I'll post pictures soon, I promise!

35 Weeks 2 Days

I had a checkup today. I gained back the pound I had lost from the last time I was weighed. We talked about all the details of a home birth. She told me that we could have the homebirth anywhere after 37 weeks. We went over the list of things I need to have here for the home birth, the preparations we need to make, and what the midwife will be responsible for. I need to still find/buy the following things:
-10 old towels and washcloths
-Old fitted sheet(s) for our bed which will be a little harder because our bed is a CA King, not the most common size
-Shower curtain (I might just use some old vinyl tablecloths I have.)
-Large bottle of hydrogen peroxide (hopefully we won't need this for any carpet stains)
-Some old receiving blankets I don't care about getting ruined
-Several quarts of the drink Recharge (I drank this after Rachel's birth and it was great. It is an electrolyte drink like gatorade, but natural)
-Snacks and drinks for myself, Jeromy and midwife

I also need to pre-register at the hospital just in case I need to be transferred, so we don't have to worry about it during an emergency. (I live about 3 blocks from the hospital for all of you that are worried about such things!) My biggest concern is probably getting the midwife here in time. My other homebirthing friends that have fast labors have not called early enough and given birth without them. I hope that we are more aware of timing this birth and not ignoring all of the signs that the baby is coming.......soon!

I feel ready mentally to have the baby. I am starting to get uncomfortable and looking forward to having my abdomen back to myself. My ribs and lower back have been really sore this week, but I know it is because I haven't been resting every day like I need to be doing. In fact, I am going to sign off to take a nap right now. ZZZZZZZZZ

What We've Been Up To

I have not felt like I have anything to blog about lately. I haven't been taking any pictures either. We've had people over for dinner, went to a baseball game, had the kids spend the night at my parents for a little break, watched some movies, gone to church/bible study, I have been buying things on ebay, and just played at home alot. I am starting to nest a little bit before Elizabeth (Ellie) Joy makes her entrance into the world. I found a girl's crib bumper at Goodwill for $1.75 which I was extremely excited about. It is pink on one side and pink and white flowers on the other side. I bought some curtain rods for her room as well to hang some lace curtains that I have been carrying around for years, but I don't think the kind of rods I got are going to work. I am wanting to get a glider rocker for the nursery too, so I have been looking around online for one.

I had my midwife appointment canceled this week because my midwife had a birth to attend. I had to reschedule for Monday morning. This will be my last appointment I have to go to her office for. At 36 weeks she makes home visits every week to do the checkup and to get used to getting to my house and where everything is. In case some of you don't know, I am having a homebirth this time around. I just about had one last time around, but we hadn't planned on that one. In WA, health insurance will pay for homebirths, which is the only reason we didn't have one before. The out of pocket costs were too high. Actually, we bought our minivan instead!

I can't believe I only have a little over a month to go. This pregnancy has gone by so fast. I think having two other little ones around has helped that alot. My constant indigestion has magically disappeared, so I am wondering if I have "dropped" already. I don't think I ever did with Bennett or Rachel until I was in labor, but I don't know why the indigestion would be completely gone. My only complaint is my back by the end of the day, but as long as I can take it easy after 7pm I am usually okay. If I am still cleaning up any later than that, I pay for it!

We have been attending Wednesday night Bible study at our church this summer. We are going through a DVD series put out by Focus On The Family called, "The Truth Project." We have been really impressed with it. It is very well done and has been very thought provoking. It basically is looking at science, philosophy, history, government, religion and trying to separate truth from the lies that so pervade our society these days. It is done in a lecture/classroom style with alot of multimedia thrown in (interviews, graphics, comments, etc.) There are interviews with R.C. Sproul, Ravi Zacharias and other very well respected Christians. We gather for a potluck meal beforehand, so it has been a good time of fellowship as well. It is nice to connect midweek with the body of Christ, and we know our days are numbered for doing this type of thing for a while once the baby comes.

That's all that we have been doing around here. I will TRY to get some new pictures this week, and people keep bugging me to post some Samantha pregnant pictures, so I will try to do that as well.

Diapers

I have spent the last week or so compiling diaper prices to find out what brand and what stores have the cheapest diapers. I have always used Pampers with both of my kids, mainly because when I used Huggies, they both leaked out of them. That was enough to make me loyal to Pampers. There are so many other brands out there, but unfortunately you can't just buy a sample of a few diapers. You have to make quite a commitment buying a big pack. Rachel is at the point that I feel like I can try some other brands and use her as a guinea pig. I bought Walmart's brand, Parent's Choice, today and at first glance I wasn't as happy with them as Pampers. They said they had the stretchy tabs, but they didn't seem to stretch to me. I also want to try Costco's brand, Luvs, and Target's brand. Has anyone tried any of these brands? Any likes and dislikes? From what I have found so far at Walmart (I haven't priced Target brand, but have heard good things about them) Parent's Choice is the cheapest followed by Luvs, Costco brand, and Pampers. Pampers are the same price as Luv's though if you can get them at Toys R Us when they have the $5 off coupon. I don't think that comes around very often, but I guess you could stock up when it does. I'll keep you posted with my findings but would love any input you have out there.

Good Friends

We had dinner with some good friends on Saturday night. It was a wonderful time of fellowship, and I got some one on one time with my friend while the kids were outside playing with the dads. She is a mother of soon to be four, and I used the time to ask for some advice about my attitude and problems with childrearing lately. For starters, it is always so nice to know that I am not the only mom who struggles. We put on such a brave front for the world that I think it makes us feel isolated when we are having a hard time and feel like no one can possibly understand. I want everyone to feel like having kids is so wonderful that I hide the fact that it is hard and challenging and frustrating at times.

I gained a good piece of advice that I am still mulling over in my head trying to completely understand. God doesn't approach us, His children, with the expectation that we will act perfect and be sinless. He knows we are going to screw up, require reproof, lead us to repentance, and restore our fellowship with Himself. This is a perfect picture of how He expects us to raise the children He gives us. Instead of approaching my children with the expectation that they will remember all the rules and obey every one of them, I need to expect that they will need reproof more often than not. That eliminates my attitude of frustration that they let ME down. My job is not to be disappointed and constantly frustrated with their sin, my job is to be ready to give reproof, lead them to repentance, and restore our relationship.

This is all easier said than done. I am still going to battle my own flesh that wants to get impatient and frustrated, but if I want my children to be followers of Christ, that relationship needs to start now with me showing them the love of Christ. I also want to make a more concerted effort to pray for the salvation of my children, that the Holy Spirit would begin to soften their hearts and dwell within them, leading them to follow Christ. Praying more often for them will help me to remember that they are not saved, and that I want nothing more for them than a life dedicated to the Father. There is no loftier goal as a parent than that.

Attitude

Today I am so disappointed with my attitude. It sounds so ridiculous to say it, but I find myself expecting Bennett to be a perfect version of myself. Not only is he only four, but he is human and will never be perfect. I have been told by more than one person that I really expect a lot out of him, and that is probably a true observation. I know that there must be a balance between requiring obedience with a good attitude from a child and realizing they will never be perfect. I have a hard time knowing which side to fall on.

Maybe the requirement of obedience is the right thing, but my frustration when he fails is where the problem lies. He is going to fail just like I fail, and we all fail. I know that I have good intentions. I want Bennett to learn to obey and respect his parents so that he will learn to obey and respect God, but God doesn't yell and get frustrated with us when we sin. I know that I am much more frazzled and tired lately, but I still need self-control over my actions.

How do we as parents balance Godly expectations of our children with the reality that they are a work in progress and will fail?

32 1/2 Weeks

I had my twice-monthly midwife appointment yesterday. I lost a pound which was no surprise due to the recent stomache flu, and she wasn't worried because I had gained more than necessary the month prior. It all evens out in the end I guess. I have gained 21 pounds so far. I need to look back at Bennett and Rachel's pregnancies to see how much I usually gain the last month or two, but I think I am on track to stay within the 25-35 pound range. The bummer about being pregnant in the summer is that it has been too hot to take many walks. I can't get out the door early enough when it is still tolerable out. By the time we all get dressed, eat breakfast and get out the door, it is starting to get hot. I have never been one to do much exercising while pregnant, but a little walking here and there is nice. I usually feel motivated to exercise when the baby is about 3 months old, and I look like I am still 5 months pregnant. By then it will be snowing out, so I will have to break out the workout tapes. I am not so much driven by vanity as I am clothing that is too tight. Waistbands that are cutting off my circulation really bum me out!

I had such an easy second trimester with this pregnancy that I hardly noticed I was pregnant. The realization has finally hit me that a baby is coming. (The constant indigestion these days is a reminder I can't ignore!) I am feeling twinges of nesting and starting to think about getting out baby clothes and blankets and burp cloths and all that fun stuff. It is strange how fast a pregnancy goes by when you have two little ones already. I haven't thought about it too much. I have talked to other moms with lots of little ones and they say that it only gets worse. You just are too busy to sit around daydreaming. My first pregnancy seemed to take forever, so I think I like it flying by better. I am afraid that these last 7-8 weeks are going to creep along at a snail's pace. I don't think there is any way to ever make the last few weeks go by fast. It is God's way of getting us to go through labor. Motivation!

Oh The Fun You Can Have

You can tell that between the severe heat and a whole week of the flu, we have been spending WAY too much time inside. Bennett has been having fun lately dressing up Rachel for various battles and games they are playing. This is how I found her the other day.


I am not sure what she is supposed to be, but she thought it was pretty funny.


Silly face.


Our little Rachel's dual personality. She is wearing her apron while playing at her play kitchen, but is packing heat while doing it.

Stomache Flu Is Worse Than Death

Unfortunately I was not immune to the ever occuring stomache flu in the Markwort house this time around. Jeromy fell Friday, Rachel Monday, Bennett Tuesday, and I on Wednesday. I think it was of the 24 hour variety, so I am feeling weak but better. I have said all along that I didn't want to gain more than 25-35 pounds this pregnancy, but the flu isn't what I had in mind to accomplish that goal. Third trimester stomache flu is enough to bring on labor I am sure, but for now, baby is still safe inside although probably traumatized by what she heard and felt in there. Two sleepless nights in a row will take a while to recover from, but I did sleep well last night which is a total blessing! Thank you for your prayers. I am sure banking on the fact that having the stomache flu three times while pregnant should ensure that I don't get it again for the next decade at least! I will post again when anything more exciting than laundry happens around here. Have a great weekend.

Wow, What A Night!

There are a few moments in mommyhood that elicit pure terror, and I experienced one of those last night. I will preface this by saying that Jeromy came down with the stomache flu on Friday night and Rachel on Tuesday night, but I thought that Bennett and I would be safe because we have already had it twice this year, and they haven't had it at all. I was wrong. Bennett showed up at our bedroom door at 1 am letting me know that he had thrown up in his bed. Bummer, I thought. I got up and in the midst of asking him a few questions he got sick again, but it looked like blood. Panic! I yelled, "Jeromeeeeeee!" which caused him to shoot out of bed to see what was wrong. Jeromy assured me that the color was due to the bedtime snack of blueberries that Bennett had eaten a few hours earlier. Okay, I'll buy that, but my heart was racing a mile a minute by that time. I can't believe how frozen I became in that moment. I didn't usher Bennett right into the bathroom when he got sick, so the next half hour was spent by my wonderful husband scrubbing our very light color carpet to get out the bluberry stains. I went downstairs to survey the damage and unfortunately the bed was pretty clean, but a trail had been left from the bed to our bedroom. Our house reaks of vinegar this morning, but at least the stains are mostly out. We definitely need to invest in a carpet cleaner of our own.

Bennett finally stopped throwing up every 15-30 minutes at 7:30 this morning, so we are all really tired. Thankfully we will all take a good nap today. My poor little Bennett. He doesn't ever just get sick a couple of times and then it's over. He always is a stomache lining sort of guy. That will make for a sad future I think. I have to admit that through all of this I had a hard time not thinking about myself and how much I don't want to get sick. Twice is enough for anyone while pregnant, so I am praying, praying, praying, I am spared. My hands are raw from all the washing. We'll see, I guess. Now I just have to make it until naptime. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Blueberries and Dinosaurs

A friend of mine has a grandma that lives about 45 minutes west of us that grows organic blueberries. They offer U-pick blueberries for $1/pound. We couldn't resist the lure of fresh, organic (CHEAP) blueberries, so off we went to Zillah with hats and sunscreen in hand. It has been hot here, mind you. I mean 100+ degrees hot. We left here at 7:45 am, a little later than I had wanted, and started picking at about 9 am. There were quite a few people there when we started picking, but they finished very quickly thereafter. We were the lone pickers as the sun started scorching. We finished a little after 11 am (picking blueberries takes longer than I had anticipated!) We had two hot, tired little ones and two hot, tired mamas (my mom came with us as Jeromy came down with the stomache flu Friday night.) All in all, we picked 32.75 pounds of delicious blueberries. That is ALOT of blueberries. I have 4 gallon-size freezer bags in the second freezer, a gallon- size bag of dehydrated ones (that didn't work as well as the cherries. It was quite a mess,) my mom took several pounds home, and we have 2 gallon bags in the fridge to eat. Let me just say that at 31 weeks pregnant, that was too much work for me. I couldn't walk by the end of the evening. Hobbling around was all I could muster. I think I am ready to start taking it easy. I hereby claim that I am going to start reading more and am going to finish knitting the baby blanket I started while pregnant with Rachel. We'll see how the taking it easy goes. I am not so good at it.

Oh yeah, dinosaurs. There is a town called Granger that has built all sorts of life-size dinosaurs around the town. Granger has a park that we called "Dinosaur Park", I am not sure of its real name, where the kids can play on the dinosaurs and climb all over them. After we picked blueberries, we stopped by the park because we were all the way out there and let Bennett play for a little while. It was close to lunch time, so he only played for a little while, we could believe he had the energy to play at all. We found a yummy Mexican restaurant and ate a ridiculous amount of food before calling it a day.

I forgot the camera, so I don't have any pictures to document this fun day, so my narration will have to do.

Fun in the Sun

It has been sooooo HOT here this week. Over a 100 for several days with a couple more to go. Thankfully we have a shady backyard because the kids still want to go out and play. I bought them a little plastic pool, and Jeromy is much more fun than I am and put it underneath their slide. Bennett had fun sliding down into the pool for a while, but then wanted it moved. Rachel was too scared to go into the pool with Bennett sliding down into it, so she just ran around and watched. We have it in a different spot in the yard now, and Rachel spends as much time as Bennett does in it.





I have started potty training Rachel this week and it hasn't been going well to say the least. I don't know whether to persevere or to wait a few weeks and try again later. Does anyone have any good potty training advice for me?????

Trusting God With Your Fertility- Part 2

I left off in Part 1 just having read, "Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions." That night I went home and told Jeromy about everything I had read and showed him the facts about how the Pill works. We made the decision that I would go off the Pill immediately. That was an easy decision for us, but the next question was a little harder, "So what do we use now?"

I researched Natural Family Planning online and decided to order their book. I am not one that is really in tune with her body or knows what is really going on in there. I have never been all that intersted, and the whole charting aspect of NFP didn't really appeal to me. It seemed like alot of work and stress to make SURE I didn't get pregnant. Of course they say that you can also use the method to get pregnant as well, but I didn't really know anyone that used it for that reason.

The same time as all of this was taking place, a co-worker was preparing a Bible study in Genesis and came to work with all sorts of crazy ideas about being fruitful and multiplying and filling the earth. The Bible study started taking on a new direction and was affecting the co-worker's ideas about fertility and allowing God room to be in control of the childbearing aspect of marriage. The Lord was beginning to speak to me as well with all the Scripture that was being discussed and wrestled with. I came home daily with these ideas to talk to Jeromy about. I am going to copy the Bible study below for you to read and post comments about if you want. In Part 3, I will discuss the thought process that God took Jeromy and I through to get us to the point of complete surrender and finally freedom with our family plan.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL?

First Scriptural Principle (A basic truth or standard of personal conduct):

• God controls the womb!

1. Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.”

2. David speaks clearly of God’s active involvement in creating life; Psalm 139:13, 16, “For you have formed my inward parts; you have woven me in my mother’s womb. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me.”

3. Genesis 29:31, “Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.”

4. When Rachel then complains to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die,” Jacob accurately responds, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” (Genesis 30: 1,2)

5. Ruth 4:13, “So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.”

6. Deuteronomy 32:30 tells us plainly, “It is I who put to death and give life.”

Scriptural Principle #2:

• God highly values fruitfulness.

1. Genesis 17:2, the Lord says to Abraham, “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”

2. Genesis 17:6, He goes on to say, “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you.”

3. When God wanted to bless His people, He promised fruitfulness. He told the Israelites in Leviticus 16:9, “So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm my covenant with you.”

4. In Deuteronomy 7:13, 14, Moses promised the people, “And He will love you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb…You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle.”

5. Not only does God value fruitfulness…He commands it. In Genesis 1:28 the first command ever given to man was, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it.” God’s dealings with Adam are representative of His dealings with all of mankind!

6. Genesis 9: 7, 8 & 9, “And as for you, be fruitful and multiple; bring forth abundantly in the earth and multiply in it.” Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying; “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you.”

• With your descendants (seed) includes all of the human race

• Nowhere is God’s covenant rescinded concerning fruitfulness in regards to children!

7. In our culture today, fruitfulness is viewed as a curse rather than a blessing, are we thinking Scripturally as we PLAN our families, or are we thinking as the world does?

Scriptural Principle #3:

• God says children are a blessing.

1. Psalm 127:3 says, “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is His reward.”

2. Psalm 127:5 says, “How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”

3. Psalm 128:3,4 declares, “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine, with your house, your children like olive plants around your table. Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.”’

4. Do we truly believe what the Lord is saying? Are we acting as if we believe that children are always a blessing from the Lord? Is the Lord truly the Lord of our life in all ways?


Á cry in the wilderness” by Keith Green

• Let’s face it, children are a lot of trouble and a lot of work! They cry, they fight, they mess up the house, they interrupt our sleep, they need tons of assistance, they need patience, forgiveness, and love. Children force us to become more Christ-like if we are going to be successful in raising them up to follow Christ.

Scriptural Principle #4:

• Our bodies are not our own.

1. Romans 12:1 says, “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

2. The Apostle Paul continually refers to himself as a “bond servant of Christ Jesus.” A bond servant is a believer who voluntarily takes the position of a slave to Christ and has no rights of his own. He does always and only the will of his Master. For His part, the Lord binds Himself to care for His servant.

The Heart of God portrayed in Scripture is one that embraces life, children, and fruitfulness rather than voluntary barrenness!

I believe we’ve been too cavalier about family planning and leaving God out of our decision making.

In John 10:27 Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

Proverbs 3:5, 6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”

Cherries, Cherries, Cherries!

This is one of my favorite times of years for the very reason of............ CHERRIES! The house that we just sold had a cherry tree, and we were sad to move before we could harvest them. What is better than having your own cherry tree in your front yard? Friends that own a whole orchard! A family from church owns a cherry and apple orchard, and they blessed us on Saturday by inviting us over to glean the leftover cherries. We came home with a ridiculous amount of cherries! I put up 6 gallon size bags in the freezer and am working on my second dehydrator full of cherries right now. We have given some to my parents, two sets of friends, and Jeromy's work. We still have a ton leftover to enjoy fresh ourselves. We are in cherry heaven!


Mmmmm, cherries!


Two big shopping bags full of Bing cherries and one of Ranier cherries.


Two 5-gallon buckets full of Van cherries. One is half empty because they were dehydrating.


The dehydrating operation. Jeromy was very generous to help me load the dehydrator. I pitted the cherries, and he cut them in half and loaded them in.


Boy, this is alot of work, but totally worth it! My kitchen looked like it had been splatter painted when we were finshed. It was a sticky mess!

Heyburn State Park

We had a great time camping with Jeromy's parents for a few days. They camped in Yellowstone for 5 days before heading west to meet us at Chatcolet Lake in northern Idaho. The weather was wonderful and much cooler than the Tri-Cities (110 today!) and the kids had a blast at the lake. We borrowed a friend's kayak, and Jeromy's parents brought an inflatable one, so the kids as well as grownups spent the days paddling around. We enjoyed the usual campfires in the evenings, smores, and relaxing. We met a family that was camping next to us that had a 4 year old son as well, and he and Bennett played any time they were both at the campground. Jeromy, the other dad, and their oldest son also spent one night leading us in worship around the campfire with their guitars. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and fun to meet some other Christians. It is always so neat how sharing that bond makes a fast friendship.


Our camp. Yes, we have the world's largest tent! It is one of the two-room kind. It makes it hard to find somewhere to set it up sometimes. We had to use the driveway this time. Mark and Beverlee parked their trailer behind it.


Pop and Popgrandma.


The dirtiest boy ever! We were laughing at our little "Pigpen." When he ran around, he left a trail of dust behind him. Thankfully the campground had showers!


Pop and Popgrandma brought Rachel birthday gifts. She had so much fun with her hula hoop and was getting pretty good at it.


A cool marshy area near our campground. There were lilly pads and lotus blossoms and all sorts of wildlife.


Hiking around.


Chatcolet Lake.


It was hard to get Bennett out of the kayaks. He would have been happy to stay in all day.


Rachel was happiest playing along the shoreline and not going in too deep!


Bennett liked having on all of the flotation devices at once- water wings, life jacket, elmo floaty, goggles and anything else he could get his hands on. I think he thought that the more he had, the safer he would be. It was pretty funny. He got braver as he spent more time in the water. Last year he was comfortable floating around by himself with just a life jacket on, but it is going to take a little more work to get him back to that point again.


Rachel kicking back with her dad. She would get so relaxed floating around that she looked like she was going to fall asleep.


Naptime on the way home. Poor Bennett has a rough time sleeping in his new booster seat. There is nowhere to rest his head like in a carseat, so he has a hard time getting comfortable. At one point, I held a pillow under his head so that it stopped whiplashing forward. He must have a sore neck today.