Our Son

Welcoming.......

Silas Josiah!! He was born Friday Dec 19th. After having 5 boys in a row, we have had 5 years time of welcoming precious little pink bundles, so to have a boy again after so long is quite a joy!

If you dont want to here the "details" of the birth than stop reading now, although I will try to not be too graphic.

I knew Friday morning that it was the long awaited day. I had a few errands I had to run and about half way through them I was ready to go home, when labor starts for me it gets going quick and hard so home sounded really good! Around 3:00pm it kicked in with contractions about 1 minute apart, there was no turning back now LOL.

I found that the best position was on my knees with Rob pushing in hard on my lower back this is basically how I stayed for 45 minutes of contractions coming one after the other. Finally I felt the head descend and then go back up, I dont think Rob believed me because he looked and said "theres no head" I told him "the next push will be the head" and sure enough out it came. I heard Rob say" Oh, my gosh Audrey this kids head is huge" Thats good to say AFTER the birth....not during LOL.

Heres where things get a bit hairy. I got his head out, but his shoulders were stuck. It sounds worse than it was, it took me about 2 minutes to get him out with me pushing and Rob pulling (gently) but out he did come. He is perfect and handsome just like his daddy and brothers before him. He was born around 4:00pm weighing in at a whopping 9 pounds and 21.5 inches long. Elohim was so good to us and was with us through the whole delivery. With great Joy we add another eternal soul to our family for the Glory of Our Father.

Photos to follow soon!

Need A Hug??

Taking Time

I just wanted to let everyone know that I might return to blogging after the first of the year. Its time for me to take a break from this Internet thing for a while. Life is busy, and though I so love to stop by yalls blogs and check in I just need to take a while to "get away"

I am praying for all those who I hold dear to my heart, those expecting babies soon....I am soooo excited for yall. May the Lord bless you and your families with healthy happy deliveries. Please play for me if you think about it, during the first few weeks of December as we should have a new little bundle.

Blessings to all of you!! With Love!
Audrey

Prenatal Stats....

....already? Gosh time is zooming by! You can read the previous states here, here and here.

We are nearing week 29 only 11 more to go. My due date is Dec 14 but that could be off as much as 14 days, although I think I am pretty close this time. So we can safely say that baby should be here anytime between Dec 1 and Dec 14th. I am in the "wonderful" stage! Past all the morning/noon/night sickness, yet not quite to the miserably big stage. Life is good!

So what are the numbers?

• Date: September 24th
• 28.4 weeks gestation
• weight: still not any real weight gain 181 pounds, my goal is to not exceed 190 during this pregnancy.
• Pulse: 93
• Blood Pressure: 118/63
• Fundal Height: 30
• FHR (fetal heart rate) 144

So there they are. Nothing out of the ordinary. I have been so blessed with healthy, uneventful pregnancies and deliveries. My Father has been so good to me and I am eternally thankful!!

Day of Joy!

Thirteen years ago today, my true love became my husband. I was nineteen and he was twenty four. Our life has been blessed!

Then on the same day four years later, we welcomed our third precious son Seth.
Happy 9th birthday my sweet young man.

The garden.....

.....and some new additions.



This is my new favorite way to garden, It is a mix between a raised bed and a row bed. The rows are 2.5 feet wide and about 20 feet long. They are a bit higher than an average row. The benefits of gardening this way are that you can get so much more harvest. I have 32 plants on these rows, when a standard row may only hold about half that. Weeding is less and I have made the walk spaces virtually weed free by placing newspaper down them. I am very pleased with the garden.
I have planted two varieties of Kale, I LOVE kale!
Brussels Sprouts and not pictured are broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.
The new planting of lettuce is doing well, just a few weeks away from salads. I have also planted cilantro, mint and spearmint in some containers. The weather has been fantastic and everything is growing well.
I also hand hatched my first eggs today. For whatever reason they were not hatching well under Broodie (momma hen). We lost one that had made it halfway out but the membrane dried up before it could get all the way out. There were two more eggs under Broodie that were chirping (there is nothing more amusing than an seemingly normal egg that chirps) so we brought them in and I helped them hatch. The above picture is of them after I had removed half of the shell.
Here they are just minutes after hatching
Here they are a few hours later. I suspect we will have hatching chicks for the next few days. I hope the rest of them have a better time....it took me an hour to get these guys hatched and doing well.

The day I could have....

......done without. It started out on the wrong foot to begin with. The girls were into everything. The moment I would turn around to grab something off a counter, Ava would spill a cup on the floor. I spent alot of time being anxious as well, just all the things that are going on right now with Robs gym has been stressful, it just all seemed to pile up on me yesterday.



Then it happened. The day I had hoped to never see. The moment I prayed would never come........

I sobbed as I saw the soft hair I used to run my fingers through when she was a little baby, the hair that I put up into a pony-tail when she was 2....all laying about me in a pile on the floor. To many it probably sounds silly, but it was truly horrible.

I called Rob up crying and he came right home so that I could take her up to the beauty salon to get her very first haircut. They did a pretty good job, as well as could be expected. She now has a very cute bob with layers in the back that the hair dresser assured me would grow out very well.

Truth be told I think she likes her new shorter hair. Sighh!

Today was better!

Rag Quilt

I found a wonderful tutorial on the most adorable rag quilt. It will be my next adventure. I love the simpleness of it as well as the fact that you do not have to add large backing, which is the hardest part for me when quilting, as it is hard to baste on a basic sewing machine.

Provision

The world would have you believe that you are in charge of your life and all that you acquire through it. Its YOUR effort, YOUR hard work, YOUR decisions and the things you choose to do or not do that will make you a success. How will you know your a success? Well of course you will have money and many of the best possessions. You will have prestige and be well known among many.

The Word says...... do not worry about what you will eat or drink or ware.....The Lord will provide! It is also very clear that if you do not work you will not eat. To sum it all up, we as believers should work and do our very best to provide what we can, but when times of hardship come along you need to trust that He will provide your basic needs. When you are in specific need, He knows and will work through others to provide for you.

This summer has been a testament to His provision for us. Through the troubles, we have been truly blessed. We have had groceries delivered to our home when Robs business partners would not pay us...when customers did not pay us. Within two months we were owed 8,000 and not one penny did we receive. The Lord saw Robs honesty and his hard work and He sent many to fill in the gap with groceries, I went an entire month without having to purchase food. That was a lean month, but we didn't starve.

His provision is such a comfort. We will have grown out of our car when this little one arrives, and had planned on buying a fourth seat to put in our suburban, as we do not want a car payment and our vehicle is still in great condition. The seat was $800 and we have been trying to save up for it, but do to the above circumstances had not gotten far on that. So what happens?
The Lord placed before us the same exact seat (make, model, color) as our suburban at 1/3 the price. The family who has it will allow us to pay on it as He provides.

We have stepped out in faith with regard to our children and giving Him sovereignty over our fertility, that if we will obey Him and have faith, even when it doesn't look right to us, He will provide!

And, He does!! I am one of the richest people I know. There may not be much money and no named brand shoes; but I have peace, a house full of little precious people, a loving hard working husband, a Father who loves me and a Savior that stood in my place!

Pregnancy Stats

Its time for pregnancy stats again. You can see the first two here and here.

• Date: August 24 2008
• 24.1 weeks gestation
• weight: 180, still no weight gain this month, but remember I started off a bit higher than I should have been. Life these past three months has just not leant itself to weight gain. Busy! Busy!
• Pulse: 97
• Blood Pressure: 117/83
• Fundal height: 24.......right on time.
• FHR: 155

All is well and going along nicely. I havent had much discomfort, ahhh but yes....discomfort belongs to the last three months. Baby is moving and seems very healthy! I still am leaning towards a girl. I guess we'll know for sure in about 111 days!

Theres a......

......new man around the house!

But I'm afraid that those riveting red eyes and that golden tan arent getting him anywhere with these ladies. After all this has been an all girls club for the past two years.

The head mistress, made it very clear to him that he was not wanted, they fought for a few minutes, she won and he went off into the corner. Poor guy! He went from being man of the house having plenty of lady friends to being all alone in his new home.

I'm sure after a few days they will warm up to him....I hope so....I was hoping for baby chicks!

In the Moonlight

"Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.
Jeremiah 29:5

Pregnancy/Life induced insomnia sent me out into the moonlight last night. I transplanted all the seedlings from the peat pots in to larger cells so that they can continue on growing and getting ready for the garden.

The sound of crickets and the cool breeze were so relaxing! All the broccoli seedlings and a few cabbage are resting happily in their new homes, though there is still much more to finish today.

I pray you all have a blessed week!

Nurturing

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:11

We had a beautiful day....the weather was a lovely 80 degrees and the soil was wet from last nights rain. We took advantage of this pleasantness and worked in the garden, preparing it for the seedlings that are growing stronger each day.

Ava sinking her little chunky hands into the damp soil next to me as we pull out the weeds and grass. Smiling up at me as we worked side by side.

I am blessed!

This and That

So what else is a pizza cutter good for? Cutting up food for a bunch of little ones! Its quick and Simple!
I have not taken many pictures lately and I surely have not posted pics of Ava like I did of Eve. So in honor of my goofy girl, here are a few. The top one she was laying on my tummy feeling the baby kick her noggin. See how she sucks her arm? I have never seen a child do this before. She started it the day after we stopped nursing, she was 15 months when we stopped.
I could not decide which picture to post they are all so adorable, so I picked many LOL!


I am SOOOOOOOO excited about this next picture. I have wanted/needed a serger for over a year now and I FINALLY have one. It will make sewing clothing so much faster and the finished product will be so much nicer. I sewed up a cover for it the other day and it took me about 5 minutes to sew it, it was great! Thanks to Robyn, whos need for a new wardrobe for her girls made it possible! I will soon be adding clothing back to the website, so stay tuned!

Sweet Childhood

107 degrees to an adult is dreadful. To a child its an opportunity to fill a bucket with water and enjoy it with a friend. I looked outside my window and saw the heads of Elijah and Eve bobbing around. What a glorious life I've been given!

Blossoms

Okra Blossoms are some of the prettiest in the garden. They open up at first light and sing to the sky for hours, even in the hot, hot heat of the day! They are a reminder to me that even as the day sinks in and all that entails to look up and smile.

Around the house

How I went for posting upwards of at least 14 times a month to a meager 6 I just dont know. I think that there is so much to say, that I just dont say anything. Or it could be this heat. Who knows, I do apologize though and I promise to do better!

So what have we been doing lately......

Tuesday thru Friday we painted the library and rearranged it, I like it much better now. The boys got to tear out the old closet in there so that was tones of fun. What boy does not like to beat down walls with a hammer?



106 year old wallpaper, hidden and protected nicely in the closet...your jealous arent you?



We spent most of the day Sunday working on the gym, the whole family up there cleaning and doing what ever little hands can do. We have moved the open date back to September 1st, isnt that the way it is with new businesses, there is always something pushing the open date back.



Monday I held the final summer sewing class at my home. We made cloth dolls and I think everyone has a good time. I enjoyed hosting that this month for our homeschool group moms and their daughters.



Today I spent about 4 hours sewing and will spend a few more this evening once the kids go to bed. I needed to sew some restock of the Extend-A-Bibs, geesh thats time consuming work! I look forward to adding more to my website in the near future. A few things I am working on designing right now are "babies first haircut keepsakes" containers. The other is a clothes pin holder. I know what your thinking. Even if I only ever make one (for myself) it will help out alot. When I hang out clothes I take the clothes pins and pin them in lines down my shirt. Yes....it looks funny, but it works great. I am not reaching into a bag around my neck or walking back and forth a hundred times to the bag hanging on my line, I just reach down and grab a pin, simple. So I want to make something that will allow me to clip the clothes pins to it in that manner and maybe ware it like a side bag. Dont know yet still thinking it through.



Lastly we worked in the garden this evening. I had been ignoring my weeding and hoping that the weeds would not grow in 104 degree weather....silly me! So all the kids came out to help. The pictures are cute, they look like they are just working happily, but in the spirit of keeping it real I heard more complaining in that 20 minutes to last me a while. I finally told them that for each complaint I heard they would work an additional 5 minutes...lets just say that did the trick.

Pregnancy Stats

Its already been a month sense my last stats post. So here are the new numbers.

• Date: July 25, 2008
• 19.6 weeks Half way there!!!
• Weight: 179 down a pound from a month ago. This does not concern me because I started out this pregnancy already about 15 pounds over my normal and I have never weighed more than 195 at the time of birth so, I am watching what I eat and keeping the weight off.
• pulse: 93
• Blood Pressure: 106/71
• Fundal height: 20 centimeters (20 weeks)
• FHR (fetal heart rate) 155

Everything is still right on track and doing well. I cant wait to meet this new little person. I am putting my money on another girl, I just have a feeling. I had said I wanted 5 boys and then 5 girls in that order, maybe He heard me.

He is good!

I have been meaning to post for a few days now and just haven't made it here. Our prayers were answered!! Rob had a bid accepted on Thursday and we were able to put enough money in the bank to cover our bills for June and July!!!! Isn't that awesome?

I want to thank you all so much for your sweet words and many prayers! He has heard and He is good!

Rob is still working away on the gym and should have it open in a few weeks, its still iffy that he can have it ready by August 1st, but we'll see. He has other businesses counting on him to have it ready, as they will be subletting space from us and have canceled there leases with their current leasees. Prayers would be appreciated for Rob. He will be working the construction company 9-5 and heading to the gym in the evenings to work. Funding is still needed and is another opportunity for prayer.

I hope that things will get back to "normal" around here soon and I can start posting about non eventful things like school and gardening...you know, the fun stuff!

Worry....

....is an interesting thing. Usually when I am worried about something my heart will beat faster and I will feel very anxious. I thought I was handling this trial without worrying. Funny thing is its surfacing in different ways. Although my spirit doesnt "feel" worried my body seems to be reacting all on its own. I cant sleep at night. I lay there starring at the ceiling and watching the clock. Two nights ago I succumbed to my insomnia and decided to do some sewing. Today I have this rash on my arm and I cant remember ever having a rash.

Today though I "feel" worried mostly because we are hitting our deadlines on a few bills, namely our mortgage. We have to have it paid by Friday. Even though there is the promise of money in the next few days, I am having a hard time believing it. Rob has had two bids put in and both we were told we had, then poof there gone. So I'm a little gun shy at this point. Rob is putting his motorcycle up for sale today, he was supposed to do it two weeks ago...but again we had a promise of money and I think he was hoping he wouldnt have to sell his bike.

We have been so blessed with the little things, food, money to pay smaller bills as they have come up. I see His work all around me...now we need His Miracle!

Mail man just left and there was no check....I think panic is starting to set in.

I'm still alive

Its been a week sense I have posted anything, sorry about that. We are still hanging on and still waiting. Ethan's birthday was fun, thanks to a lovely lady that anonymously stopped by my home the day before his birthday and dropped off a walmart card for us to specifically use for Ethan and any extras we needed. Isn't that beautiful! Thank You So Much!!

I have to tell you its been a very special time and a time of heartache these past few weeks. Folks that I don't even know have pitched in to help pay this bill or buy some groceries. My sister in law whom we really never spoke with a whole lot until these past few months, has come over the past two weekends (she lives an hour away) and takes me to buy milk and bread and cheese. What a blessing! My dear friends father whom I had never met, showed up at my door with the money to pay my utilities bill last month. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about the love and support that has been given to us. So whats the sad part you ask? Well, lets just say that in times of trouble you know very quickly who has your back and for us its not who we thought. So I want to thank all of you who have helped us and prayed for us, you are greatly appreciated and loved! We are still not out of the woods but we serve a Glorious King and I trust Him!

VBAC Triplet Birth at Home

The medical community has woman so scared of their bodies and giving birth that its no wonder woman either put it off all together or stop at one or two. I was watching the new show Deliver Me on Discovery Health last night and it was awful. So far I have seen only one woman give birth without having a C-section, it was really quite alarming watching how much fear these Dr's put into the minds of the woman under their care.

Then I came across this beautiful story of a mom who delivered triplets (thought to be twins) at home, a full seven days after her due date, all average singleton weights. Enjoy!!

By A. Midwife
Here is the story of Eleanor and her triplets. I was her midwife and have been inclined to be pretty quiet about it for a couple of reasons: 1) what I am doing in this town is clearly illegal, and I don't want to draw attention to it, and 2) although it may not seem so from this story, I think of myself as a relatively cautious midwife and don't want to encourage other to do high risk births lightly.When I first started seeing Eleanor, she seemed quite low risk to me. She's a healthy, active woman, and she and her husband seem very solid and reliable. Her first child had been born by C-section after a positive herpes culture at term. I don't encourage VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) home births, but will help with them if the parents are very clear about their decision. With a healthy mom, I don't think there's any significantly increased risk after one lower segment transverse C-section, but there is no medical backup available. Obstetricians here treat VBACs as a "trial of labor" and do a repeat C-section as soon as the mother varies even slightly from textbook "normal." Family practice doctors are not even allowed to deliver VBACs at the local hospital. It looks to me that the odds of actually having a vaginal birth after a C-section with local obstetricians are not all that good.

Early in pregnancy, I thought Eleanor's dates were wrong because of how big she was getting. By 25 weeks we were sure it couldn't just be an earlier baby--she was growing so fast her belly looked like 32 weeks, but her arms and legs were still thin. So, Eleanor and Gary, her husband, and I talked for a long time. I told them I had never caught twins before and wasn't entirely comfortable with the combination of VBAC and twins. I had helped with unexpected breeches often enough that it wasn't the chance of one being in there butt first that worried me. As we talked and gathered information, we realized that no local obstetrician was likely to allow her to even attempt to have the babies vaginally. The standard treatment for twins in a mother with a previous cesarean (locally) is repeat C-section at 38 weeks (so the uterus doesn't grow too big and rupture).So I agreed to help them do their prenatal care and see what things felt like when she got closer to term. I didn't feel right sending her off for a lot of obstetric technology she didn't want and a C-section she didn't need, so we started looking for ways to make it feel safe at home.

First, we discussed adding even more protein and calories to her already excellent diet. I gave her The Brewer Medical Diet for Normal and High Risk Pregnancy, which she read and followed. Then we decided to ask the other local midwife to help, so we'd have two experienced people at the birth. Later we decided to call another ex-midwife we knew out of retirement so that we were sure we'd have plenty of minds and hands for whatever developed.We all studied what we could find about twins. After reading one book, Gary asked if I thought there could be more than two. I thought it was a joke: triplets are pretty rare [outside IVF], and by that time, I could clearly feel two babies and hear two heartbeats. I told him an ultrasound might show, but they didn't want one and I really didn't take the possibility of more than two babies very seriously. We all watched the Farm video of a twin birth. It seemed a bit more conservative than we were being. I wished we had a nice out of hospital birthing center staffed by midwives. But since Eleanor had Gary couldn't travel for the birth, it seemed our choices were either home or the whole technological obstetrical scene. I began to feel more certain that we were doing best by choosing home.

Eleanor's belly grew enormous! At almost every visit, we would marvel at how big she was getting and tell her to eat even more, because her arms and legs were still very thin. The two babies we could feel and hear were obviously active and healthy. One was head down, with the head nicely in the pelvis and that baby was obviously coming first. Another, very active baby was head up, in front and a little to one side of the other one. Both babies felt big, so we guessed she was going to have 8 1/2 to 9 lb. twins.In her last month, Eleanor's blood pressure stared to creep up, and she was spilling a little bit of protein in her urine. We visited her at home and found her blood pressure was normal lying on her side, and her reflexes were all normal. We sent a 24 hour urine test to a local lab, which came back all right. We advised her that she spend most of her time lying on her side, getting 200 grams of protein a day, and eating almost constantly. We visited every other day and always found Eleanor's blood pressure all right. Her husband took off from work the last few weeks and spent all his time feeding her*.

Eleanor called me at 1:00 am, one week after her due date*. She wasn't sure it was labor and wanted me to come over and check before calling out the entire crew. She hadn't timed contractions yet and could still talk through them, but they'd been intensifying for about one hour. When I got there (about half an hour later), two babies' heart tones sounded good, Eleanor's blood pressure was normal lying on her side, and her cervix was 6-7 cm, completely effaced, with the water bag bulging. Contractions were harder, and she breathed with them. It didn't seem like there was any need to get her up to make things go faster, so she stayed in bed, except when she had to pee. She had had her third dinner at about 11:00 pm and was drinking tea with honey. I called the other midwives.

The babies and Eleanor continued to do well as contractions intensified. She started to feel an urge to push around 3:00 am, and we were glad to see the rest of the crew arrive. She was completely dilated with the head in occiput posterior position. A half hour or so of pushes and the head rotated, the water bag broke and the baby came down slowly. A healthy, nice-sized baby boy was born just before 4:00 a.m. (we made up exact times later). He was alert, with an Apgar of 10. I cut the cord and checked for the presentation of the next baby. One of the other midwives was taking care of the first baby, who was calmly looking around. The second baby was confusing; I thought I could feel both head and feet up pretty high through intact membranes. But as I checked, the head started coming down and a baby girl just squirted out, with the membranes breaking as her shoulders emerged. I cleaned the fluid off her face, and she breathed and turned pink and looked at me, obviously fine--another Apgar 10.

I was a little behind Eleanor, and her friend, who was holding up her leg, obstructed my view of her belly. After the second term size baby came out, Eleanor said her belly was still big. She was looking at her babies. I didn't realize right away how big and thought about blood collecting from a detached placenta. Then she bled about a quarter of a cup of blood all at once. I put on clean gloves to reach in and see what was going on and felt a foot way up high. I told Eleanor and Gary there was another one and asked Eleanor to feel her belly and be sure it felt longitudinal. It did. I pulled the foot down gently (still in bag) and found the other foot and brought that down. My partner couldn't find fetal heart tones, so I reached in (the baby was face up), turned her to face down and brought her bottom down to the perineum (feet out). Then a 7 lb. girl was born with Eleanor pushing and my partner putting pressure on the head to keep it flexed and me freeing the arms all at once. She was a little depressed, with a good strong heartbeat, starting to breathe, but a little pale and floppy. I handed her to my partner with instructions to get her going (instructions weren't needed). A little stimulation got her pinked up within a minute and crying and active by five minutes.

Eleanor was bleeding, so I worked with the cords while she pushed and got out one single and two stuck together placentas. Bimanual compression of the uterus and 2 amps pitocin, IM, stopped the bleeding before she had lost enough to bother her. With all the fluid and blood and meconium all over everything, it was hard to tell exactly how much she bled, but she felt fine when she sat up.There was a small, first degree midline tear.

All three babies nursed within the first hour. When we finally settled down enough to weigh them: the first boy, 6 lb. 7 oz.; the first girl, 6 lb. 14 oz.; and the second girl, 7 lb.Eleanor had a little trouble peeing right at first, which cleared up within a few hours after birth. She also had trouble getting her balance to walk for a week or so, because her skin was so loose that her belly swung around back and forth when she moved, which felt weird.Four months later, all three kids are still alert and obviously healthy. They are entirely breastfed and are growing and developing better than average.

Is that a light I see....

....at the end of this tunnel? Well of course it is, tunnels just don't go on forever, do they?.We finally received a phone call from the person who owes our company money. This is a huge step sense we have been trying to contact him for two weeks. He has said that he will have our money for us this week. PRAISE THE LORD!

In all fairness to my already tired and emotionally drained psyche I am not holding my breath or jumping up and down, but its a positive step in our favor. Rob also was given the opportunity yesterday to do some remodel work in a building down town, it will be two blocks from our home instead of the usual 1 1/2 hour drive to and from. What a blessing. If these two money sources do not fall through then he will be able to finish the Gym on time and our Grand Opening will still be August 1st. He will also be able to postpone taking any jobs for August and focus completely on ironing out the kinks at Combat Sports and Fitness.

Thank you for all your prayers, they must be reaching the Heavens. Please continue as we are not out of the tunnel just yet.

Homemade Birthday

Ethan turns 7 on July 3rd. So I made him this Space boy cloth action figure and I am still working on the Robot that goes with him. Rob thinks its pretty neat but has a feeling that Ethan is going to be a bit disappointed. He may be right. It seems that the last two birthday celebrators made out rather well gift wise. I feel bad but there is really nothing more I can do. His is lucky that I had this material already on hand.

Lets just say things have been tight around here for the past 6 weeks. Rob did a bathroom remodel for someone we knew in June. They are and have been for the past 2 weeks ignoring/running from and dodging us completely. They owe us $6,000 dollars and we haven't seen one penny. Its looking rather dim that we will be paid for this job and will have to place a lien against the home, problem is we are broke. I haven't paid the bills for June and yes its almost July. My friend paid our electric/water bill earlier this month so it would not be turned. off.

Its been really hard going through this. We have never dealt with someone who would not pay. It was a set up from the beginning and we realize now he never intended to pay us. We do have a contract to back us up but the truth of the matter is it will cost a few hundred dollars to file the judgments and then time, both of which we just don't have. Thank the Lord we planted a garden this year because that has been keeping us fed as well as eggs from the chickens. We have tried to take meals from 3 down to 2 a day, eating breakfast at 9:30 and eating Linner or Dunch (whatever you want to call it) at around 3:30. This works for the most part, its amazing what kids will eat when they are hungry ;-)

Any way, not here to cry on your shoulder just wanted to tell you that if I suddenly disappear from Internet land for a while its because my phone has been shut off. Life sometimes throws hardball's and we are on the receiving end this time. All I know is He is in control. If you feel led to pray for us and for this to be resolved rather quickly, please do.

Garden

I can not wait to bite into these babies! We will have about 4 ready in a week to pull off and eat. The rest are in various sizes/stages of growth and will provide us with Cantaloupe through out the summer.

Todays harvest. I planted way to many sweet peppers this spring, they are coming out of my ears. I will dry half of them and freeze the rest. There is a beetle critter getting to my tomatoes, so I pulled a few to see how well they will ripen on the vine in my window seal. The green beans should be ready to pick in about a week as well. I am ready for something new to harvest!

Everything

Lord I'm tired
So tired from walking
And Lord I'm so alone
And Lord the dark Is creeping in
Creeping up To swallow me
I think I'll stop
Rest here a while

And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give
And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give, thats my everything.

And didn't You see me cry'n?
And didn't You hear me call Your name?
Wasn't it You I gave my heart to?
I wish You'd remember Where you sat it down

And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give
And this is all that I can say right now, I know its not much
And this is all that I can give, thats my everything!

I didn't notice You were standing here
I didn't know that That was You holding me
I didn't notice You were cry'n too
I didn't know that That was You washing my feet

And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give
And this is all that I can say right now, I know its not much
And this is all that I can give, thats my everything!

....thats my everything!

David Crowder Band "All I can Say"

This song is so very special to me. I'll never forget the time my Sweet Savior spoke to me so clearly. I have always believed in God, but due to my childhood/teenage years I was mostly just angry with Him. I was baptised when I was 23 and began my journey with Him.

I had alot of issues to deal with though, my mother leaving me as an infant, abuse, molestation, a step mother who loathed me as a young girl, so much loneliness. One day as my two children where sleeping and I was all alone on the couch reading scripture, I became so overwhelmed with emotion, so much grief and sadness. I asked Him flat out "why me, why did you allow all of that to happen to me?"

I will never forget His response. It was a clear, hot summer day. As I sat there I heard rain begin to poor down as hard as it could poor, and He said to me, as clear as day, " Everytime you cried, I was crying with you!" Then as quickly as it came the rain stopped. I forgave Him that day and everyone that had ever hurt me, it was all washed away.

I learned so much about Him in those few moments, His sweetness, His Love...so pure.

Pregnancy Stats

I said I would keep a running log of my prenatal care record, so here is the first official entry.

• Date: June 25,2008
• Weeks gestation: 15.5
• Weight : 180, ya I know this is not good, I am working on it not raising much higher.
• Pulse: 90....my resting pulse has always been really high, does any one else have that?
• BP: 122/68....great BP though, I have never had a BP issue, Praise the Lord!
• FHR (fetal heart rate): 166 a nice strong heart beat.
• Fundal Height: 16cm, measuring right on schedule, so we can pretty safely rule out twins!

There you have it, so far everything is wonderful. I usually dont start checking my urine until I am about 25 weeks. The nausea is pretty much all but gone. Still super exhausted though and need my hour long nap around 1:00. I have started riding my stationary bike 30 minutes a day to build up my cardio.

Indigestion abounds with this little one. I had a salad last night for dinner and afterwards had horrible indigestion, from salad....go figure. I still feel like I have to force my self to do anything, I just have no desire to get up and do anything....kinda like I am living in a fog. So everything that gets done is because I forced myself to do it. I hope it lifts soon!

Giveaway!

Kelly at Hearts for Family is hosting a wonderful Vision Forum giveaway. You can read all about it here. Go on over and take a look at the fabulous prize!

Encouragment?

I often come across posts on the blogs I frequent that talk about their children and how they welcome them as the Father gives them. These folks are just excited about what The Lord does in their lives and love sharing it with others. Yet it never fails that someone gets defensive and throws out accusations of said blogger pushing this way of life down other peoples throats. Although that never really is the case.

Lets say you are a Dr of some sort and you LOVE your profession. You often talk to others about how wonderful your life is, all the exciting things you did that day...and how you feel its one of the best jobs in the world.

Many would probably agree with you and commend you for your dedication and hard work.

I'm not sure anyone would say " well thats great for you, but I just dont see why you have to force it down peoples throats, I could never do that. Its each individuals choice as to what they become".......you get my point?

Why cant people just be happy for you? Why do they think its always about them? I may feel it is the best way for my family and enjoy sharing those thoughts with others, but that in no way means I am saying you must follow in my footsteps or you are wrong.

Another Birthday

Its birthday Season around here. Two weeks ago Eve turned 3. Yesterday it was Jordans turn to become another year older (11 to be exact) and two weeks from now we will have another to celebrate.

During these two months it becomes all to clear to me how quickly time goes by. I wish I could say I have used all these years wisely, but I have missed the mark on many occasions.

Every day is a new day, a new beginning. Another chance to sit and read to them, to have silly conversations, to talk about the wonders of our Creator and His Creation. Every day is a gift!

I have the best job in the world. There is no other occupation more rewarding than being a mother. Its not just a dish washer, laundry folder, floor sweeping job. Its a boo boo kissing, heart shaping, big squishy hugs job. Talk about employee benefits.......eternal benefits!

Casualties

If I have learned anything through gardening, its that there are going to be casualties and more than you would prefer. So far I have lost my row of peas due to the heat (planting them too late). I lost my black eyed peas and black beans because of bugs. You learn though as you go along.

I learned that I need to plant the beans after my other plants have become established, because at that point you will have a nice family of Lady Bugs to eat those pesky bean eating bugs. So I will plant them next week and see if they do any better.


I have learned that gardens will not be safe if you have animals or children, even if you have it fenced off. I planted four rows of corn yesterday, yes late but corn is a fast maturing crop and if you live in an area with a long growing season you can pull it off. I go out this evening to "tuck in" my garden and read it a bed time story, OK kidding about the bedtime story......and I find that feet have visited the freshly planted corn.

If my tracking skills serve me correctly this little animal must be freshly 3 with pig tails and a deep love for freshly mound dirt. Luckily I still have enough seeds to replant them and she is now very aware that she is to stay off of the corn rows, all four of them.

Another tip that I have observed these past few days is that a pristinely weeded and clean garden may not be the best scenario for establishing a healthy bug environment. Those good bugs like lady bugs and spiders need pollen from flowers (i.e. some weeds) they also need the cover from surrounding grass, weeds, plants to lay eggs and hide out from the heat.

What I have been doing is allowing the grass to grow in the walkways of my rows, this has helped alot. Our lady bugs are flourishing and working hard for us. I have lots of little spiders that catch flies and gnats. I have really enjoyed watching the echo system of this garden.

Around the garden

Acorn Squash

Yellow Squash
Grape Vine
Onions
Bell Peppers
Zuccinni
Tomatoes
Todays Harvest
Cantalope
Okra
Cabbage

We have had some rain over the past two days and the weeds have taken off, but so have the plants. I Love walking out there every morning to see what The Lord has for us. Today it was squash and zuccinni.

Conversations with Eve

As we sit in the garden watching the lightening bugs dance around our heads......

Eve "mom, wheres the moon....wheres the cheese?"

Mom "I dont know maybe its still sleeping"

Eve "Its mommy needs to wake it up"

.....running off to catch fire flies.......

Eve "mom, I found it, theres the moon! I'll share it with you, do you want some cheese?"

T-Shirt Link

Some have asked for the "birth control is for sissies" T-shirt link, so here it is!

Happy Birthday!

Today you are 3. Happy Birthday my dear. I couldn't begin to even relay the things you have brought into our home. Theres the obvious pink ruffles and bows, but you have brought so much more! I love your sweet kisses on my cheek and the way you cuddle with me on the couch during nap time. I love how you want to help me with dishes. Oh, how you watch my every move.

"Whats your name?" you will ask me......"Audrey Joanna", I reply
"Whats my name?" you ask smiling...."Audrey Eve" I say. Then we giggle together.

I love you, sweet Eve, more than you will ever understand! Happy Birthday!