Soooo, in January our homegroup "Faith in Action" broke up. It was a stressful thing for us as the leader lived in our house and everyone in the group realized close to the same time that we simply couldn't submit to her leadership. There are times when certain people just should not be in leadership roles and anyhow the group disintegrated.
THEN one of the members suffered from a stroke yesterday! Well that's kinda freaky! So I called the previous Faith in Action members spur of the moment to have a prayer meeting for Ivan and almost everyone could come!! Everyone except the previous leader and her mom. We had such a good time of fellowship and prayer!!! We all prayed a blessing over Malachi and one of the members prophesied over him, it was beautiful! This was our dedication of him to the Lord! We prayed for Ivan's healing as well as our previous leader's healing. And while we all gathered around another member for a hot seat prayer, I kept getting a song going through my head...one we sang at church on Sunday. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom...Freedom reigns in this place, showers of mercy and grace, falling on every face, there is freedom" I didn't have the guts to sing it out loud...I wish I did, but then my face would turn red and I would feel all embarrassed...sigh. When will I stop worrying about what everyone thinks?! I know I can at least carry a tune, it doesn't have to be beautiful!! sigh...so I disappointed myself a bit tonight. Thank goodness I serve a God who is full of Grace and forgiveness! Don't stop prompting me Lord...I will listen AND obey soon, just don't give up on me!
Anyhow, we were all joking around and thought we should call ourselves Faith in Motion...lol So that's what I'm going to call us! We all want to keep meeting together and hopefully Ivan will be able to join us again soon! And hopefully add a few members soon as well!!
It's so cool to see God using Ivan's stroke to bring us all together again! How cool is that! To see in action, that what the enemy meant for evil, God uses for good!!! Wow!
It feels really good to have our housechurch up and running again! May the Holy Spirit have His way in us and lead us deeper in Him!
07/05/2009
Yup, he understands just fine!
Soooo, after a recent trip to the food bank and explaining to my 7 yr old son that we simply didn't have money for food this month, we got talking about the various ways people could be "poor". I told him that yes, we were poor in money, but that we were NOT poor in health, happiness, love etc. we were JUST poor in money, and that God will provide for our needs, so we really don't have to worry...anyhow, he was quiet for a bit thinking about the whole "poor" thing, and I knew he fully grasped the concept of what "poor" meant when he blurted out, "I wish I was poor in school...." sigh...yup, he understands just fine! hehe
04/05/2009
Homemade Bread! Yum!
So I decided to break out my good old breadmaker and make some bread to save some money...now this breadmaker is old...from my grandma's day...none of this one loaf at a time deal for me, my breadmaker makes 8 regular loaves at a time or 5 monster loaves at a time! I like the monster loaf size and pray that they fit into some sort of bag!! So here's my breadmaker!
You can tell by the label that it's pretty darn old! I just wish there was a year on it! I would guess it's from the '50's era...anyhow, I thought my efforts were going to flop as I was busy trying to make a sad baby happy and keep a sick girl away from the bread dough!! Yeahhhh, fun stuff! And then I forgot it was rising in the oven....
Sigh...yup, I think it's done rising...and now for the finished product!!!
And the cool thing is...Jamie, who normally hates homemade bread, is asking for more!! I wish I new what I did differently! Here's my 8 loaf recipe that I use:
1 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 heaping Tbsp yeast
Add these together and set aside, then in a large bowl or breadmaker like mine add the following.
7 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
4 cups flour
Then add the yeast to above mixture and then add about 16 more cups of flour(I usually add about 5 cups of whole wheat and the rest with boring white flour)...this is approximate...I never actually measure how much flour I use...I just "keep adding to make the right consistency"...lol
Knead it for a good 10 minutes when all the flour is added, I often add another cup during the kneading process...then let it rise until double. Punch it down and divide into as many loaves as you want and shape them nicely...I usually flatten the dough into a rectangle and then roll it up pinching the ends in...anyhow, then let them rise til double again and bake them at 400 for 1/2 an hour. After you take them out of the oven, take them out of the pans right away or they will get soggy and brush the tops with butter if you like the crust to stay somewhat soft...otherwise it will be quite crusty...then enjoy!!
You can tell by the label that it's pretty darn old! I just wish there was a year on it! I would guess it's from the '50's era...anyhow, I thought my efforts were going to flop as I was busy trying to make a sad baby happy and keep a sick girl away from the bread dough!! Yeahhhh, fun stuff! And then I forgot it was rising in the oven....
Sigh...yup, I think it's done rising...and now for the finished product!!!
And the cool thing is...Jamie, who normally hates homemade bread, is asking for more!! I wish I new what I did differently! Here's my 8 loaf recipe that I use:
1 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 heaping Tbsp yeast
Add these together and set aside, then in a large bowl or breadmaker like mine add the following.
7 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
4 cups flour
Then add the yeast to above mixture and then add about 16 more cups of flour(I usually add about 5 cups of whole wheat and the rest with boring white flour)...this is approximate...I never actually measure how much flour I use...I just "keep adding to make the right consistency"...lol
Knead it for a good 10 minutes when all the flour is added, I often add another cup during the kneading process...then let it rise until double. Punch it down and divide into as many loaves as you want and shape them nicely...I usually flatten the dough into a rectangle and then roll it up pinching the ends in...anyhow, then let them rise til double again and bake them at 400 for 1/2 an hour. After you take them out of the oven, take them out of the pans right away or they will get soggy and brush the tops with butter if you like the crust to stay somewhat soft...otherwise it will be quite crusty...then enjoy!!
19/04/2009
New and Old Revelations....
I have this unfortunate flaw in me...when God speaks to me, I tend to become satisfied with that one word from Him and instead of seeking Him for more revelations, I simple stay in the midst of that one word until I forget about it....sigh. I found something I wrote a year ago and as I read it, it sparked something within me and caused me to want to live it out instead of just agreeing with it in word only...and so here it is.
James 1:19-27
"19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." King James Version of the Bible.
I had read it many times, and even memorized this passage during my Christian School days, and yet for some reason, when the Lord woke me up at 6am one morning in April, and showed me these verses, they jumped right off the page at me!
Here's a little background on current happenings in my life, I'm a homeschooling mom and had just gotten back from an intense weekend at a homeschooling conference. Steve and Teri Maxwell were two of the speakers and so many of their talks really challenged my husband and myself to really take a look at our lives and start getting rid of things that waste time and don't glorify the Lord. Now to get a glimpse into their lives, you must check out their website . They have 8 children, no TV (they call it the beast!), they have tools, not toys, and just live such productive lives! So here I am being challenged with the complacent life I've become accustomed to! It's one of those things that slowly happens and then all of a sudden you are in the middle of it, and you wonder how on earth you got there! I'm sure it would've been a good idea to finish reading the book "This Day We Fight!" by Francis Frangipane. It's about breaking the bondage of a passive spirit....I had good intentions!
Ok, so it's 6am....I am NOT a morning person! I really wasn't impressed that I couldn't get back to sleep! However, I know by now that if I don't accept this invitation to spend time with my Lord I will be sad later. I DO enjoy these times, so I grabbed my journal and Bible and opened it up. Very funny Lord, it was the book of John where it talks about the Last Supper, and I'm NOT getting up now to eat! (although I did grab a glass of chocolate milk since my sugars were low) So I opened the Bible up again and it opened to James 1 and the little title above it caught my eyes, 'Listening and Doing'.
Both Jamie, (my husband) and I came back from the conference ready to make some changes in our lives and in how we raise the kids, however we wanted the changes to be Holy Spirit led and not just because others do it! These verses have now become very important to me in our vision for our family! Instead of just living and getting through life, we now have something to focus on...we have some guidelines to use to show us whether certain activities are beneficial or not! Yay Lord!...and He's probably saying, "You FINALLY get it!!!"
So verses 19 and 20 talk about anger....yes, I realize this is an area I need to work on and it is NOT acceptable to just control it! It needs to be put away from me. Yes, the Maxwell's DO have a teaching on this, and yes we DID go to the talk on anger at the conference, which I highly recommend to anyone, also, available at their website listed above. My notes from this session are available here. They were called to homeschool their children at a time when Teri was going through deep depression and anger, so out of experience they have shared how the Lord has led them to overcome anger. She has not raised her voice in anger in 15 yrs! I know, I know, I was astounded by this too! They also have a discipline chart called the If/Then Chart here's someones homemade one, which takes the emotions out of discipline. It is posted in a highly visible place and the children know that IF certain bad behaviors happen THEN a certain discipline will occur! It is done without anger, just very matter of fact. For example; the discipline for rowdy and noisy behavior is sitting at the table quietly and eating a crusty dry piece of bread...and while eating it, memorizing/reading Proverbs 17:1 "Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife." If the children are too young to read it themselves, then it is read to them. I mean, you just can't come up with a better discipline than one that is straight from Scripture! Let the Bible dictate what the various disciplinary actions are...Proverbs is chock full of them! Proverbs 30:32 is another good one. It deals with bragging and thinking evil thoughts. If this happens then they must cover their mouths for a certain period of time; while being read the following verse, "If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth." Have fun with your spouse as you figure out the various disciplines...just make sure the kids don't know how much fun it is!
So for me, I'm in the middle of implementing the If/Then Chart and hope that it helps with the anger issues. The other important thing for me to do is to DAILY set time aside for my relationship with Jesus. We can't become better moms if we don't take that time...trust me, I know! It's so easy to say, "Oh God understands how busy I am with so many small children around..." and I know there are many other excuses as well, I've tried them all! But it really is true, that we NEED this alone time with God! I'm still not as consistent as I'd like, but I am aware now of why we have bad days in our house. Those are usually the days that I neglected my most important relationship! Try it and see the difference! You may be surprised at how different your day is! It's your own attitude and responses that change, not how your children behave. And that's another thing! When your children start learning to read, they can start having their own personal time with the Lord, apart from family devotion time! I bet they will WANT to if they've seen how important it is to their mom and dad! And if you are consistent with it, it will be much easier for them to just accept it as part of their day and in this way, you are blessing your children by showing them how to live spiritually!
Ok, so that's what I wrote exactly a year ago...and I did exactly what I didn't want to do! I became a hearer only and not a doer...sigh And I have yet to finish and hang up my If/Then chart, I STILL struggle with anger and depression, not to mention the lack of discipline in my relationship with my Lord...utter disappointment is how I felt when I read this revelation I had a year ago...if I had it a year ago then shouldn't it have been put into practice and implemented into my life! I disgust myself sometimes...especially when I realize that I don't show grace to others in my life either! I'm such a mess! A judgmental hypocritical mess! Thank GOD, that I serve a loving and gracious Redeemer, Who doesn't seem to be bothered with how long it takes me to "get it". He is amazingly patient with me and knows that life is a journey and His children WILL eventually understand and grasp the concepts He wants us to learn. So now, I take this revelation and want to live it out...I'm starting fresh. God has already forgiven my lack of action and I repent for it, which means I turn away from being a hearer only...it's time to be a doer. Perhaps I should start by finishing the book by Francis Frangipane! lol So there ya have it...this is me, trying so desperately to break free from a passive lifestyle...again...
James 1:19-27
"19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." King James Version of the Bible.
I had read it many times, and even memorized this passage during my Christian School days, and yet for some reason, when the Lord woke me up at 6am one morning in April, and showed me these verses, they jumped right off the page at me!
Here's a little background on current happenings in my life, I'm a homeschooling mom and had just gotten back from an intense weekend at a homeschooling conference. Steve and Teri Maxwell were two of the speakers and so many of their talks really challenged my husband and myself to really take a look at our lives and start getting rid of things that waste time and don't glorify the Lord. Now to get a glimpse into their lives, you must check out their website . They have 8 children, no TV (they call it the beast!), they have tools, not toys, and just live such productive lives! So here I am being challenged with the complacent life I've become accustomed to! It's one of those things that slowly happens and then all of a sudden you are in the middle of it, and you wonder how on earth you got there! I'm sure it would've been a good idea to finish reading the book "This Day We Fight!" by Francis Frangipane. It's about breaking the bondage of a passive spirit....I had good intentions!
Ok, so it's 6am....I am NOT a morning person! I really wasn't impressed that I couldn't get back to sleep! However, I know by now that if I don't accept this invitation to spend time with my Lord I will be sad later. I DO enjoy these times, so I grabbed my journal and Bible and opened it up. Very funny Lord, it was the book of John where it talks about the Last Supper, and I'm NOT getting up now to eat! (although I did grab a glass of chocolate milk since my sugars were low) So I opened the Bible up again and it opened to James 1 and the little title above it caught my eyes, 'Listening and Doing'.
Both Jamie, (my husband) and I came back from the conference ready to make some changes in our lives and in how we raise the kids, however we wanted the changes to be Holy Spirit led and not just because others do it! These verses have now become very important to me in our vision for our family! Instead of just living and getting through life, we now have something to focus on...we have some guidelines to use to show us whether certain activities are beneficial or not! Yay Lord!...and He's probably saying, "You FINALLY get it!!!"
So verses 19 and 20 talk about anger....yes, I realize this is an area I need to work on and it is NOT acceptable to just control it! It needs to be put away from me. Yes, the Maxwell's DO have a teaching on this, and yes we DID go to the talk on anger at the conference, which I highly recommend to anyone, also, available at their website listed above. My notes from this session are available here. They were called to homeschool their children at a time when Teri was going through deep depression and anger, so out of experience they have shared how the Lord has led them to overcome anger. She has not raised her voice in anger in 15 yrs! I know, I know, I was astounded by this too! They also have a discipline chart called the If/Then Chart here's someones homemade one, which takes the emotions out of discipline. It is posted in a highly visible place and the children know that IF certain bad behaviors happen THEN a certain discipline will occur! It is done without anger, just very matter of fact. For example; the discipline for rowdy and noisy behavior is sitting at the table quietly and eating a crusty dry piece of bread...and while eating it, memorizing/reading Proverbs 17:1 "Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife." If the children are too young to read it themselves, then it is read to them. I mean, you just can't come up with a better discipline than one that is straight from Scripture! Let the Bible dictate what the various disciplinary actions are...Proverbs is chock full of them! Proverbs 30:32 is another good one. It deals with bragging and thinking evil thoughts. If this happens then they must cover their mouths for a certain period of time; while being read the following verse, "If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth." Have fun with your spouse as you figure out the various disciplines...just make sure the kids don't know how much fun it is!
So for me, I'm in the middle of implementing the If/Then Chart and hope that it helps with the anger issues. The other important thing for me to do is to DAILY set time aside for my relationship with Jesus. We can't become better moms if we don't take that time...trust me, I know! It's so easy to say, "Oh God understands how busy I am with so many small children around..." and I know there are many other excuses as well, I've tried them all! But it really is true, that we NEED this alone time with God! I'm still not as consistent as I'd like, but I am aware now of why we have bad days in our house. Those are usually the days that I neglected my most important relationship! Try it and see the difference! You may be surprised at how different your day is! It's your own attitude and responses that change, not how your children behave. And that's another thing! When your children start learning to read, they can start having their own personal time with the Lord, apart from family devotion time! I bet they will WANT to if they've seen how important it is to their mom and dad! And if you are consistent with it, it will be much easier for them to just accept it as part of their day and in this way, you are blessing your children by showing them how to live spiritually!
Ok, so that's what I wrote exactly a year ago...and I did exactly what I didn't want to do! I became a hearer only and not a doer...sigh And I have yet to finish and hang up my If/Then chart, I STILL struggle with anger and depression, not to mention the lack of discipline in my relationship with my Lord...utter disappointment is how I felt when I read this revelation I had a year ago...if I had it a year ago then shouldn't it have been put into practice and implemented into my life! I disgust myself sometimes...especially when I realize that I don't show grace to others in my life either! I'm such a mess! A judgmental hypocritical mess! Thank GOD, that I serve a loving and gracious Redeemer, Who doesn't seem to be bothered with how long it takes me to "get it". He is amazingly patient with me and knows that life is a journey and His children WILL eventually understand and grasp the concepts He wants us to learn. So now, I take this revelation and want to live it out...I'm starting fresh. God has already forgiven my lack of action and I repent for it, which means I turn away from being a hearer only...it's time to be a doer. Perhaps I should start by finishing the book by Francis Frangipane! lol So there ya have it...this is me, trying so desperately to break free from a passive lifestyle...again...
18/04/2009
He's a month old already!!!
Wow! Ok, so I'm back to prepregnancy clothes that fit perfectly or are a little loose on me, that's weird since it took 2 years to accomplish this after having Shyla!! NOT that I'm complaining! haha
So here's a picture of the little man!
We've finally finished all the fun little workbooks for Silas' schooling that I had gotten for him while we moved and were preoccupied with a new baby...now we are ready to start afresh with his 'regular' schoolwork on Monday...I'm so excited to get started again! lol It's like September for me! lol It's so weird that we have only done one fieldtrip this schoolyear and I missed out on it! The tour of Bernard Callebaute Chocolate factory...sigh...yes I opted to stay home and rest...too exhausted in my pregnant state...Jamie was a sweetie and brought home some chocolate! woo hoo! and the last field trip was on the day Malachi was born! So between forgetting about field trips and then just sending Jamie and Silas on the one field trip it's been a quiet school year...thank goodness for our monthly support groups and even then I missed it last month because my mom was in town.
And then there's my little princess...sigh, she just turned 3 at the end of March! She's starting to chub up again and along with her birthday came a fun little attitude and challenging disposition. lol Ok, so it started a little before her birthday, but it is still there and we are trying to nip it in the bud before it gets too developed! lol She has adjusted so well to her new baby brother and protects him very well and wants to love on him ALL THE TIME...lol and yet she still pokes my belly in great sadness wishing for a baby to be growing in there, although this time she wants a baby girl...hehe I just tell her she'll have to wait for a while...lol
So that's a quick little update of our lives. Life is slowly returning back to normal. Jamie is hoping to start spring cleanup this coming week! YAY! And I'm really hoping to be able to get some sleep soon...more than an hour at a time. Malachi is having issues sleeping at night...and is very gassy, I'd really like to get him in to a chiropractor asap...and there IS a naturopathic chiropractor right here in my area of the city that is taking on new patients! woo hoo! So I really just need to get the phone number and make an appointment. I'm pretty sure that will be a big help! That and getting him off of formula!
Here's a picture of me 2 weeks after giving birth..
.
Now that life is almost normal again I hope to update a little more regularly! lol Tata for now!
So here's a picture of the little man!
We've finally finished all the fun little workbooks for Silas' schooling that I had gotten for him while we moved and were preoccupied with a new baby...now we are ready to start afresh with his 'regular' schoolwork on Monday...I'm so excited to get started again! lol It's like September for me! lol It's so weird that we have only done one fieldtrip this schoolyear and I missed out on it! The tour of Bernard Callebaute Chocolate factory...sigh...yes I opted to stay home and rest...too exhausted in my pregnant state...Jamie was a sweetie and brought home some chocolate! woo hoo! and the last field trip was on the day Malachi was born! So between forgetting about field trips and then just sending Jamie and Silas on the one field trip it's been a quiet school year...thank goodness for our monthly support groups and even then I missed it last month because my mom was in town.
And then there's my little princess...sigh, she just turned 3 at the end of March! She's starting to chub up again and along with her birthday came a fun little attitude and challenging disposition. lol Ok, so it started a little before her birthday, but it is still there and we are trying to nip it in the bud before it gets too developed! lol She has adjusted so well to her new baby brother and protects him very well and wants to love on him ALL THE TIME...lol and yet she still pokes my belly in great sadness wishing for a baby to be growing in there, although this time she wants a baby girl...hehe I just tell her she'll have to wait for a while...lol
So that's a quick little update of our lives. Life is slowly returning back to normal. Jamie is hoping to start spring cleanup this coming week! YAY! And I'm really hoping to be able to get some sleep soon...more than an hour at a time. Malachi is having issues sleeping at night...and is very gassy, I'd really like to get him in to a chiropractor asap...and there IS a naturopathic chiropractor right here in my area of the city that is taking on new patients! woo hoo! So I really just need to get the phone number and make an appointment. I'm pretty sure that will be a big help! That and getting him off of formula!
Here's a picture of me 2 weeks after giving birth..
.
Now that life is almost normal again I hope to update a little more regularly! lol Tata for now!
21/03/2009
Welcome Malachi James!!
One last belly shot done at Valentines...35 wks
Malachi James born March 12th, 2009 into Daddy's capable hands!
I didn't get my first hint of labor until 11pm wednesday night.
Although I think all my coughing probably helped as well as the fact that the moon was still 99.7 % full!!! lol Seriously though, even at 11pm, I mentioned to Jamie that my water was starting to leak a bit and then shortly after that I felt a couple of crampy sensations....Jamie was getting ready for a bath (a staple when he's sick!!) and THEN he had a shower, and after that he went to Walmart to go grab the shower attachment we needed to fill the birth tub and also a birthing ball. Thus the beginning of me laboring on my own, which wasn't a big deal..I sat on the edge of my bed with a towel between my legs or sat on the toilet...I just went back and forth doing that until Shyla woke up and wanted to cuddle at 1am, thank goodness I was between contractions and was just sitting on my bed with my nightie on and a towel between my legs! So it didn't look too weird to her! I just told her mommy was still feeling sick still and that she should go back to bed, which she did without any fuss, she just wanted the hall light turned on!! yay!! By the time Jamie got back an hour later, which was just after 2pm, I was sitting on the can with my hand on Malachi's head preventing him from coming too fast and from being born into the toilet! HAHA The contractions had been piggybacking for about 1/2 an hour or so...but I was still surprised when my body started pushing!! I certainly didn't need to help much to push this baby out! He was doing fine on his own! So then, when Jamie came home and I was on the can, he thought nothing of it 'cause I spent quite a bit of time on the can while he was in the bath/shower...but then he noticed my hand was between my legs consistently and he kinda realized that, "Oh...THAT'S a HEAD!!!!" hehe
I'm talking to him between contractions and in my head I'm seeing the humor of the whole situation, while he's starting to freak out....what do I do? what do you want me to do?? I said, "you can forget about trying to fill up the birth tub and grab some towels to put on the floor and could you PLEASE pump up one of those birthing balls?" At least that's what I said in my head...I *think* all I uttered out loud was, "I don't know, pump up the ball" I've never seen a man pump a ball up so fast!!! LOL and then halfway through pumping up the ball, he's like, "is this noise bothering you??" LOL yes I'm hugely bothered by the noise of the air pump right now...NOT...I'm more concerned with birthing the baby into the toilet right now, PUMP UP THE BALL....lol (again this is in my head as I can't really talk much at this point....without sounding like a moron cause my body is trying to push!! lol)
So anyhow, he helps me off the can and onto the floor so I can lean on the ball with one knee on the floor and one foot on the floor and after another contraction his head is born, I barely pushed. Felt so much better since he'd been crowning for so long!! lol Then Jamie started wanting me to just hurry up and push the rest of baby out cause he was purple....I think Jamie forgot that babies DO tend to be purple when they are in the middle of being born! lol So I pushed hard on the next couple of contractions and tore getting the shoulders out...sigh...So then I sat down and Jamie was like "Wow, you did it!!" and he prayed a blessing over our son then started to pour a bath for us...unfortunately due to Jamie's "need" for a bath AND a shower, there wasn't a whole lot of hot water left!! grrr...but Malachi and I stayed in the tub until I birthed the placenta, which soooo felt like another head!!! ...and he nursed like a pro for a good couple of hours in the water and out. I realized when I was in the shower that I was feeling lightheaded and probably lost more blood than I should have. I convinced Jamie to cut off a piece of the placenta and put that under my tongue for a good long while, but it was such a huge piece (men lose all sense of what a 1inch square shape looks like in the throes of adrenaline highs!! lol) I bit it in half and ate the one half and left the other half under my tongue for awhile and then started taking my hemstop tincture after that, I should have taken it a lot earlier and much more frequently but hindsite is 20/20...it was close to 5pm by this time...I just wanted sleep! We phoned Juanita to come over and watch the kids around 6am so we could go get me stitched up as it looked like I had a 2nd or 3rd degree tear....it was 2nd degree...and I was pretty darn white from loss of blood so we went to the South Calgary Urgent Care Clinic, and then they sent us over to Rockyview General Hospital...my first ambulance ride ever!! lol what fun! (I know, I'm so juvenile!) Anyhow, baby rode with me and my husband followed... they got me stitched up, and even though we were there at the hospital for ME to be treated, they paid more attention to Malachi and didn't do anything about my blood loss...sigh...dummies! Got chewed out by the dr...since she could not believe the "chances we took" in having a homebirth ALONE!!! It was really hard not to roll my eyes at her, I did say that her response was quite typical for any medical professional, which is why we avoid them as much as possible and ONLY use medical professionals in cases of emergencies and I left it at that.
So because of the delay in me being able to nurse Malachi again...he had low blood sugars....if he'd been with me I would have been able to nurse him more frequently and we could have avoided the whole freak show that the low blood sugars caused...sigh...then they put him under the lights to treat his jaundice...sigh...so we were able to bring him home Wed. afternoon. I came home Sunday to pump and get my nursing tea into me...I guess when you hemorrhage even a little, it delays your milk supply...so I was home working on that and cleaning my house and doing laundry so baby has some clothes/diapers to wear! lol With a house full of sick people not a lot has gotten done in my absence! lol I just needed to make sure I didn't overdo it since I'm still lacking a bit in blood supply! lol Jamie stayed at the hospital with Malachi on mon & tues. then I stayed with him tues. night til he was discharged. We're all settling in nicely and Silas & Shyla both just love hanging out with their new brother!
So the stats are:
Malachi James born at 2:25am March 12th at 38wks from lmp.
weighed 9lbs 11oz.
head circ. 35cm
length 20.5 inches
03/03/2009
Ahhhh, Home Sweet Home!
We're here!! Finally! In the house we were hoping to move into! I'm exhausted and the kids are still run down and kinda 'off' but all in all they've settled well!! My mom and sister Shelby were angels sent from God!! I never could have gotten as much done as I wanted to if it weren't for them! Apart from lots of cleaning, my sister unpacked Shyla's room and made it all "pretty", they unpacked my kitchen for me while I wandered around wondering what I should be doing and then sitting because I couldn't stand anymore...lol the joys of moving when 9 months pregnant! HAHA
But I AM still pregnant, and although I'm limited in what I can do right now, I'm slowly getting the house unpacked and in some sort of order...I just want the family room and kitchen to stay nice and tidy and then everything else can sort itself out when I have the energy! Although I think I want to tackle my books and shelves tomorrow...get the homeschool stuff ready to go again! I think Silas is more than ready to start doing school again! Although I know spring fever is going to hit soon....he was out riding his bike this afternoon and loving it!
God is just so good....I don't say that enough, but He is! Today our previous landlord came by with a cheque for our damage deposit as well as $800 in receipts we had submitted...he also took a look at our washer and dryer and may buy them from us. Yay!
AND my Stamp'n Up order arrived today! So I'm itching to have some fun with that! I just need to set up an area in my room for my stamp stuff so I don't have to put it away everyday! lol
Did I mention my bedroom is ridiculously huge?? It's big enough to be my craft area, my bedroom and the nursery! sigh....and the whole house is VERY bright! Tons of windows, light colored carpets and walls...which I may grow to hate on "home blessing" days...BUT it lets in lots of light and that makes me very happy! OH, and very importantly, it's a pretty sound proof house! Which is really important when your husband likes loud trance music....lol He can have it loud in the living room (which is his office) and it's not too loud in the kitchen which is the next room over! I love it....Anyhow....I just wanted to post that we're all moved, excited, Jamie is back in Edmonton working for the rest of the week, and life is returning to normal for a little while until I go into labor....which really at this point could be anytime....perhaps I should forget my bookshelves and set up my room for the birth first...hehe....nahhhh
Nothing like a little excitement when I DO go into labor...hehe
So I tipped the scales this week, much to my dismay....I reached 151.5 lbs....sigh...I was hoping maybe, just maybe I could get away with not hitting 150...lol I also measured my belly and I'm 41 inches around right now! WOW that kinda took me by surprise! I had used a smaller measuring tape a week ago and it wasn't long enough...it only went to 32 inches or something....sigh...anyhow....that's that...my feet and ankles are ridiculous....look like they belong to an elephant...seriously! my legs have lost that nice shapely calf and it's just straight down now with no shape at all!! My skin on my feet is stretched to the point of being uncomfortable...it's the weirdest feeling! I've never experienced water retention like this in pregnancy before! Usually it's AFTER the birth and they've pumped me full of IV fluids! lol
Oh well....at least I can blame part of the 150 lbs on water retention! hehe
Next post will be a belly shot! I will try to find my camera this week....sigh...
But I AM still pregnant, and although I'm limited in what I can do right now, I'm slowly getting the house unpacked and in some sort of order...I just want the family room and kitchen to stay nice and tidy and then everything else can sort itself out when I have the energy! Although I think I want to tackle my books and shelves tomorrow...get the homeschool stuff ready to go again! I think Silas is more than ready to start doing school again! Although I know spring fever is going to hit soon....he was out riding his bike this afternoon and loving it!
God is just so good....I don't say that enough, but He is! Today our previous landlord came by with a cheque for our damage deposit as well as $800 in receipts we had submitted...he also took a look at our washer and dryer and may buy them from us. Yay!
AND my Stamp'n Up order arrived today! So I'm itching to have some fun with that! I just need to set up an area in my room for my stamp stuff so I don't have to put it away everyday! lol
Did I mention my bedroom is ridiculously huge?? It's big enough to be my craft area, my bedroom and the nursery! sigh....and the whole house is VERY bright! Tons of windows, light colored carpets and walls...which I may grow to hate on "home blessing" days...BUT it lets in lots of light and that makes me very happy! OH, and very importantly, it's a pretty sound proof house! Which is really important when your husband likes loud trance music....lol He can have it loud in the living room (which is his office) and it's not too loud in the kitchen which is the next room over! I love it....Anyhow....I just wanted to post that we're all moved, excited, Jamie is back in Edmonton working for the rest of the week, and life is returning to normal for a little while until I go into labor....which really at this point could be anytime....perhaps I should forget my bookshelves and set up my room for the birth first...hehe....nahhhh
Nothing like a little excitement when I DO go into labor...hehe
So I tipped the scales this week, much to my dismay....I reached 151.5 lbs....sigh...I was hoping maybe, just maybe I could get away with not hitting 150...lol I also measured my belly and I'm 41 inches around right now! WOW that kinda took me by surprise! I had used a smaller measuring tape a week ago and it wasn't long enough...it only went to 32 inches or something....sigh...anyhow....that's that...my feet and ankles are ridiculous....look like they belong to an elephant...seriously! my legs have lost that nice shapely calf and it's just straight down now with no shape at all!! My skin on my feet is stretched to the point of being uncomfortable...it's the weirdest feeling! I've never experienced water retention like this in pregnancy before! Usually it's AFTER the birth and they've pumped me full of IV fluids! lol
Oh well....at least I can blame part of the 150 lbs on water retention! hehe
Next post will be a belly shot! I will try to find my camera this week....sigh...
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