A Post a Long Time in the Making

I have previously mentioned my love of the Duggars.  They are the family that has the show 19 Kids and Counting on TLC.  We don't have cable, but I do like to watch the show on youtube.  Who doesn't love youtube?

Anyway, I know that we are to aspire to be Christlike and that is what I see in this family.  Aaron and I want to emulate them as they emulate Christ.  In watching the show, I'm convinced that if God would allow us I would love to have a huge family.  It just seems more Biblical to me.  I have been learning a lot lately that I don't really like monkeying around with the way God made things.  One of the things that means for us is that we are already praying about the timing of our second child and that we would have that child in God's timing.  This is exactly what the Duggars have done.  Please read this to understand why I make this claim.

Something I greatly respect about the Duggars, is that they teach their children the Scriptures very early on.  If you look at the family page on their website, each of the children (except the very youngest) have a favorite scripture verse on there.  We are hoping to teach our children to love the scriptures as well.

Aaron and I have also been praying for quite some time that God would show us what to do about entertainment.  We've been feeling for a while that it might be time to throw out some of those movies from our BC (Before Christ) days.  And somehow just knowing where the Duggars stand on the issue of entertainment helps to encourage me at least.

Also, Aaron and I hope to homeschool.  Sometimes I wonder if I'll be able to make it work, and then I look at this family with 19 kids that HAS made it work.  Praise God!  And much of the curriculum they recommend are things we would want to use as well.  We believe it is so important that our children are taught a correct view of history and science, one that does not exclude our Creator.  Much of the curriculum available today does just that, which is why we want to home school.  We have been told that if we home school our children will suffer by not having enough social interaction.  Watching this show has proven to me this is simply not true.  There are home schooling conferences you can go to.  You get to decide what field trips to take your children on.  And we have a lot of pregnant friends right now, there is always the church community!  We pray that our children will get to grow up in a church family that is supportive and tight knit.

One of the most amazing things to me, is that because of the way the Duggars love each other, most of their kids want large families, and often the girls want to be stay at home moms.  That's such an encouragement to me.  I hope we can foster the kind of home environment that would lead to our children wanting that as well.

Just take a look at this video to understand more:

Ok, enough of my praising the Duggars.  If you want to know more you can go to their website www.duggarfamily.com, check out their show, or read one of their books.

Recent Readings

Recently I've been reading some books from our midwife, Valerie.  I know I say it all the time but we just love her.  She's the best! 

I have not read all of the books completely because I read enough to know if I thought we should get the books or not. One of those books was Back to Eden by Jethro Kloss.  This book was awesome in that he teaches you how God intended us to deal with illnesses.  He talks about how most of the time, our diseases/conditions can be dealt with by the creation God has given us.  I really hope to get this book in the future.  

The other book that I read completely is Male Practice by Dr. Robert S. Mendelsohn.  Wow was that a great read.  It made me angry, in a good way.  Although written in 1982, I think there are so absolutely critical lessons we can take away from that book. Unfortunately I already gave it back to our midwife or I would have quoted some of the sections.  I am not one to read "science" type books very often, but I couldn't put this one down.  It was so good and so informative. 

I've also spent some time reading up on various topics from the website Mothering.com.  It's been so fun to do so.  You should check it out!  I'm not sure I'd try it but I read this interesting article about using seashells in your bra instead of nursing pads basically. 

And then there's this fascinating one about how baby's already know how to breastfeed. 

And now that I've finished reading the books that were more "required reading,"  I have finally started reading Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy.  I got it for my birthday but had been trying to get my "baby" reading in first.  It's so good! I'm only 20 pages in but am thoroughly enjoying it.  

What have you been reading lately? 

Different

I have never been one that has cared a lot about politics.  I didn't really understand them, didn't see the point in listening to debates, thought that they were far too boring.  Aaron and I started researching more about our country's history.  We have watched the American Heritage Series by David Barton and that had really sparked my interest in history and politics.  David Barton is criticized by some as be a "Revisionist Historian."  However, that is simply not the case.  He goes back and sites the original documents of our Founding Fathers, you know, the ones who helped frame this country.

After watching those videos, Aaron started looking more into Ron Paul.  As a result, I got to watch a lot of Ron Paul videos as well.  After reading a lot of his material on his website www.ronpaul2012.com, I realized that I agree with almost everything he has to say.  I recently disagreed with something he said in a debate but it's been so rare that it's a welcome change.  He is the only statesman we have left.  If you haven't looked into Ron Paul yet, I urge you to do so.  He's served in Congress for 12 terms and REFUSES to take a congressional pension. When he becomes president, instead of taking the $400,000/year that is currently the salary, he wants to take what the average American makes, $39,336.  He also actually wants to get us back to the Constitution which made our nation so great in the beginning.

I realize that our country cannot turn itself around by a leader only.  I think this country is in DESPERATE need of a spiritual revival.  I pray that God would bring revival to this nation.  I think that one way that may be possible is through the election of Ron Paul.  I'm not saying it will happen that way, but I pray that if it is God's will Ron Paul will be elected and because he is a believer that hopefully there will be a change in this nation.

If you'd like to learn more, please watch these videos.  They are some of the best ones I've seen.

Tickle Me Tuesday: Future Inspiration

Lately, as I sit around waiting for our little one to arrive, I've had more time to scour Pinterest.  I try not to spend a ton of time on there, but boy is it helpful for inspiration for home projects and recipes.  We also recently found out that we're probably going to have to move, like, before April.  Our landlord and his family are trying to fix up the place we currently live in.  In that process they are going to be removing the old siding (containing lead paint), the old windows (the sills contain lead paint) and remodeling our bathroom.  So, they have a smaller little house right next to our landlord that he suggested we move into.  Aaron is still not super sold on the idea.  Neither of us like the layout very much, however, I do like that it's off the main road, and that we'd not have neighbors to worry about.  That would be so helpful.  It's not that I don't like neighbors, it's just that right now we have the top floor of a house and sound travels too easily between the top and bottom floors.  With a newborn this could become a problem.  So anyway, because we might be moving, I have been looking up some nursery type ideas. Here are a few that have been tickling my fancy lately.

Add  spice racks to either side of a dresser for a book shelf that saves space. Brilliant!

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An old entertainment stand turned baby storage area/changing table.  

I couldn't find the original source 

Wouldn't this be such an awesome bookshelf???

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And I would love to have chalkboard paint in our house some day. 

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Linking Up with Sarah for Tickle Me Tuesday!

It came and went

Saturday came and went, with no baby.  La sigh.  Unfortunately, it also came with another gall bladder attack. . . at 3 in the morning.  And it was accompanied with nausea and Braxton Hicks contractions.  So unfortunately we didn't make it to church this morning because instead I was trying to catch up on some sleep since I had missed out on a few hours during the night.  Aaron stayed up with me during the first hour or so and I know that God has provided my wonderful husband for me on purpose.  He's so wonderful to me!  He comforts me like nothing else.

I also found that drinking water helped out a TON this time.  It was painful but not unbearable.  Unfortunately though I drank a TON of water (not kidding, I drank nearly half a gallon in 2 hours), which lead to me constantly in the bathroom.  I finally realized I could go to bed when I was falling asleep in the bathroom. I realized the pain was gone and it was ok to return to bed.  Praise God.

Although that was not very fun, Aaron and I had a very nice Saturday.  We visited his momma and sister Courtney because we needed to do some laundry and we just miss them.  So we did laundry throughout the day, watched some tv, played Settlers of Catan with Court (she loves it as much as we do), and Aaron and I had a great time of prayer and Bible study.  Oh and of course there was doggie and kitty snuggles in there.  =D

Today we spent some more time with Aaron's family before returning home.  They are so cute together. All three of them were snuggling on the bed together when Aaron woke up.  And of course some of the doggies had to join in the snuggles.  I wish I would have had my camera.  Too precious!  I'm thankful for the sleep I was able to get and the restful day today after a somewhat stressful night.  I was so afraid the GB attack would send me into labor.  Perhaps that's silly but I was a bit worried.  Thankfully it did not.  As much as I'd love to meet our little one, I'm glad our meeting wasn't the result of my attack.

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I wasn't home yesterday to mention this, but head on over to my friend Jana's blog to see her adorable little one Emily modeling the headbands I sent her! :)

1 Day (but probably not)

I love looking at our Target Baby Registry just for the sheer fact that it says how many days until our due date.  It's been so fun watching the numbers roll down.  Today it says we have 1 days left. (Yes, it says days).  I know that our little one may not be here tomorrow, but it's still so exciting to know that we've made it to our due date. Our little one has survived 40 weeks in mommy's belly and is doing well!

Some things we've been experiencing lately:
1. Lots of hiccups.  Poor little one hiccups quite often.  I feel so bad for him/her.  Hopefully when our baby decides to arrive he/she will not have them nearly as often.
2. Nesting.  I've been nesting a lot lately.  It's great because it's helping me to keep the house cleaned up!
3. Random hip spasms.  I don't know what else to call them.  They started yesterday.  My inner hip gets a sharp pain in it and then gives out and I have to grab onto something to stay upright.  It happened roughly 6 times yesterday and twice so far today.  Not sure what that's about.  Hopefully that means baby is fully engaged and pinching a nerve?
4. Having a little one soon makes me want to do more natural cleaning products.  I have many things I want to make.  Like this recipe for liquid handsoap from a bar of soap.  I was going to do it today but we don't have any liquid glycerin and Aaron works all day, although I suppose I could drive him to work tonight if I wanted the car.  hmmmmmm

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5.  My belly button wasn't popped at our appointment on Wednesday and it popped that night.  It looks so funny!

6.  Valerie told us that it could be another week or two and not to be anxious. 

7.  We have our bags packed and ready to go including candles and worship music.  (Yup, I sing a lot so I'm thinking that will help and if it doesn't, we just turn it off). 

8.  I can't stop thinking about our little one and wanting to hold him/her.  The hardest part right now is that we're so close and I just want to know if we have a son or daughter.  

9.  I made some headbands in the event we have a little girl since most of our clothing leans more towards boy. 

10.  I'm still obsessed with coconut :)

What's going on in your lives?  

Any one have a guess as to when baby's birthday will actually be??? 

1.5 weeks left

How did the time go by so quickly???

Our little one should be here any day now up til about 4 weeks from now (Dear Lord, please let our little one be healthy and come early, please).  

We have a meeting with our midwife on Wednesday.  I'm trying to think of any last minute questions I should ask her.  Do you have any suggestions? 

 I was rather tired today and didn't get as much cleaning done as I'd like to have gotten done, however, I did watch some videos on tips with newborns.  I watched an excellent one on breastfeeding your newborn from babycenter.com.  There was also a good one on bathing your newborn which I will share with Aaron tonight when he gets home.  

I've been watching little ones probably since around 8 years old although not by myself until 12.  I feel like I'm prepared for most things, but I've never been a *parent* before.  I've never had a little one that I didn't get to send home in the evenings, or that I would hug and say goodbye.  I know it's going to be a huge change and as much as I'm excited I'm also starting to get nervous.  

I feel like that's weird, but I'm all of a sudden realizing how much I don't have it all together.  What if our baby won't sleep in the bassinet?  Will we cosleep?  What will I do with a newborn all day (other than snuggle him/her of course)?  How will I ever get any cleaning done, meaning I already dislike cleaning, how am I going to want to clean when I have a little one that needs my care?  Please tell me I'm not alone in my concerns in becoming a new mom.

Oh and there are things like, well, I've never done this before, how will I know if my water breaks??? How will I know if those are real contractions? What if baby has decided to flip around (I've been getting a lot more knee or elbows to my side lately)?  How will we get baby to get back into position?  

I know that some of my concerns are rational and some probably aren't.  But even with all of these new concerns that have come up, I'm still super excited to hold our little one in our arms.  I can't imagine how overwhelming that will be.  More than anything I'm looking forward to becoming a family of three.  Aaron already cares very much for our baby and I can't wait to see him when baby comes.  He is going to just be so excited.  It'll be better than seeing his face when he heard baby's heartbeat for the first time and that was pretty incredible. 

We are praying for a healthy and safe delivery.  

Anyway, any last minute questions I should ask??? Thanks for you help!

Eviction Notice

Dear baby, 

I'd love to keep you inside longer so you can "cook up right" as daddy always says.  However, my ribs would like to issue you an eviction notice.  They say they hurt and would like to be able to cough and sneeze without pain.  

Sincerely, 

Mommy & her ribs

P.S. If you would even just like to move on down a little more I'm sure they might be ok with that. 

P.P.S. BTW daddy has off from work next Wednesday, just something to keep in mind.  You know and it's daddy's half-birthday and he'd be thrilled if it'd be your birthday too.  

Ok, all done! Love you baby!

If you need a new winter recipe

Look over here, where I'm guest posting for Jana. 

Yummy Yummy Yummy.

Happy Winter! 

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