Birth

I had a couple posts planned but last week but life happened and they just didn’t. Last Sunday I sat down to write about my Birth Story  for another blog I write for. The Motherhood Collective is a great Mothering Blog. I am definitely different from most of their writers, which is one of the things I love about writing for them. I like getting to be a voice from another point of view, and love that they encourage that and seek to minister to and build up moms from all walks of life and parenting philosophies.

It was an interesting process to look back and work through what was going on in my mind that day five and a half years ago. All of that was definitely still fresh in my mind when we met with my doctor on Tuesday to discuss C-section number three. We were presented with a LOT of information on repeat c-sections and consecutive pregnancies.  There was a lot of information and suggestions to processes and I think that's what I spent most of last week doing. Most of my brain power last week was used to sort through and filter all the options.

The result of a lot of thinking is that we might actually try for a V-BAC this time. Obviously there is a chance it won't work, but this is my last chance to try, and for the sake of my health and my husband and I am willing to give it a go. Of course, it will only work if I go into labor naturally, on my own, before my scheduled c-section on August 1st. There's a lot of "ifs" involved, but it is assuring to know that whatever the outcome of it all my God is in control and so much bigger than all of this.

In the process of writing my birth story and sorting through photos to get them printed I stumbled across a bunch of pictures from the girls first weeks. They were just to cute NOT so share!

 

 

Maddie Goose.

"Teddy Bear" (as she now insists on being called)

Cannot wait to meet our Tacy Rae!

Wars and Rumors of Wars

Matthew 24:6
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

This verse was running through my head over and over last week as facebook, twitter, and the news media were flooded with speculation and misinformation.

For most of the week I was able to avoid the chaos. I stayed in the loop enough to know what was going on, but for the most part was able to avoid the rumors and conspiracy theories. That is until Thursday, when I ended up at my husband's work for roughly 6 hours with new channels playing non stop and fellow car sales men discussing the case every free minute. The same day my facebook feed seemed overflowing with every one's opinions, thoughts, and theories.

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

The thing is, most of what I was reading, was RUMORS. Rumors mostly based on fear. People I know to be normally sane and reasonable were blaming every one from the media, to Russia, to our own government. And those were just the semi intelligent arguments. We won't get into the truly crazy accusations. The thing is NOTHING was based on fact, it was all rumors based on fear.

See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place,

We live in an evil world. We have since the day Eve ate the apple and we will until Christ comes again. It's a fact. Yes we should be saddened and mourn when horrific things happen like the Boston Bombing or the fertilizer plant blowing up in Texas. These are AWFUL things and we should be HORRIFIED by them. We should take time to mourn. We should demand that those responsible be held accountable. But whipping ourselves up into a frenzy over speculation helps no one and just causes more fear.

but the end is not yet.

Evil has happened for centuries and will continue to happen. WE should fit it with all our being, because, the end is not yet.  We have to hold on, and stop throwing in the towel. Yes, each generation may seem more wicked than the next. Yes things may never have looked this bleak, BUT the end is not yet. Have hope. Hold on. Have Faith. He will not leave us comfortless (John 4:18).

Lately

 

Lately I've Been:

Watching: Eureka. I only have a couple of episodes left and then I will have to find something else to watch. I will miss it.

Listening to: JJ Heller station on Pandora. LOVE her and the stuff it suggests along with her. I really need to get some of her CDs.

Reading: Jesus Calling

Lusting after: The Spring and Summer issues of Artful Blogging. And the new Susan Branch Book of Days.

Working on: Organizing all my photos, getting them onto Snapfish and Shutterfly. Getting prints ordered. Compiling books. All in all trying to be a bit better at documenting our lives so my children has something tangible to hold on to down the road.

Creating: Random little pieces of pretenses. Hair clips. Scrabble tiles. Washed necklaces (which I was very unhappy with)

Thinking about: Being filled with Christ. So often I feel like I am running on empty. It's only when I am truly filled with Christ that I can be the mother, the wife, the sister, the friend, the woman that I want to be.

What's going on with you all lately?

Noticing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is so easy to look around at our life and think "This isn't what I signed up for" or "How did I get here?"

We look at our big plans. We look at our facebook feed. We look at our favorite blogs. We wondered what happened. We wonder why we don't have the life we so desperately want when every one else makes it look so easy.

The funny thing is, I think if most of us slowed down and looked around we would realize that we are in fact living the life we wanted. Our lives, for the most part, aren't that different from the blogs we drool over. We bake, we take walks, we go for ice cream, we do special activities with our kids. The difference between our lives and the lives of the people on the other side of the glowing screen and polished blogs is documenting. The ONLY way that "other" woman is different from us is that she taking the time to notice, document, and dwell on the little moments. She takes time to make much the life's small celebrations.

Like ice cream for dinner on a hot Thursday night.

Baby's in diapers on hand-made quilts.

A big jar of pop beads.

A baby dedication.

The first watermelon of the season (even if it is a bit early).

Hot dog fingers.

So here is to noticing my life more. Lifting up prayers of gratitude for simple moments. And capturing the beauty in the mundane.