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!