Still here!

I just wanted to write a short post letting you all know that I'm still here just going through a lot of "bumps" in life that are normal, but have kept me too busy to blog.  I've got SO many ideas to write about that are on my heart, but so little time to actually sit down & write out all my thoughts.  I'd say that the time that I do spend w/ most of my days is trying to balance out things that I "want" to do w/ things that I "need" to do.  Often I am faced w/ the reality that my wants are less important than my needs.  Just writing this post is keeping me from being w/ my precious babies!  So, that's why I "need" to keep this short: to tend to *their* needs. 

It is the most rewarding treasure on earth...this mama thing.  I am SO overwhelmed w/ praise to my Heavenly Father for allowing me this unspeakable blessing!  Without Him, I don't know...? 

Please feel free to give me your input on what YOU would like me to write about.  I can always use new ideas!  Maybe you have a question for me or a concern?  Or maybe you're struggling w/ an area in your life that you need a fresh perspective on.  I certainly don't assume to have the answer for you, but maybe I can help in some small way.  I want to minister to my readers any way that I can.

Blessings to you all!

Please pray & help if you can...

I just found out about a family w/ 9 children (ages: 13, 11, 10, 9-twins, 7, 6, 5, & 22 months) who lost their home in Kansas & EVERYTHING in it to a fire over Christmas break. The Red Cross is providing shelter for them, but only for the first 5 days. I will be gathering basic necessity items to send them (they are out of state). But if you could please pray for them & contact me if you have it on your heart to help them in any way that you can, it would be MUCH appreciated!!!

In loving memory of Nathaniel

I have been struggling lately to think of things to write about.  Mostly because I've been preoccupied in thinking of & praying for a dear family whom I have never even met personally.  That's when it hit me that I should write about their story & ask you all to lift them up to Jesus & remember to continue to pray for them as they grieve. 

Today marks 1 month that a sweet, precious life was taken from this earth.  His name was Nathaniel & he was only 11 weeks old.  After being in the hospital for about 6 weeks & doctors doing all that could be done for him medically, he passed away on October 10th in his mama's arms. 

Around the first week of September, I was asked on Facebook by a dear friend of mine to pray for this young family as they had taken their little darling to the hospital w/ an enlarged liver.  Shortly thereafter, the doctors diagnosed him w/ leukemia.  I closely followed his page daily on Facebook to see how I could specifically pray for him, his papa, mama, & big (2 year old) sister.  The Lord surprised me at how attached I could become to 4 people I had never even met before, just by praying for them!  I wept for each of them as I prayed that the Lord would heal Nathaniel's body.  I could barely ask people to pray w/o ending up in a puddle of tears! 

Now that he's gone, I still fight back tears thinking about how much pain this sweet family must be going through.  Every new day is a reminder of his precious life in their home.  Their grieving will be long & relentless, but I'm SO thankful that they know & love Jesus & trust Him through it all. 

Would you please remember to pray for them?  Could you please make it a point to pray for them every day?  Write it on your calendar, your journal, your day-timer.  Nathaniel's daddy's name is Josh, mommy's name is Meri, & big sister's name is Naomi.  By the way, Naomi does not realize that he is gone.  She still asks for him, calls his name, looking for him.  It breaks Meri's heart.  Please pray for encouragement, strength, comfort & peace.  Pray also & ESPECIALLY that their sorrow would soon turn to joy!  Thank you!  I also will pray that the Lord would bless each of you in a special way as you selflessly remember them in your prayers.  

                

I'm here. Just busy working!

Over the past month or so, I've been busily working to get our kitchen counters all tiled & new sink & faucet put in.  I've had the tile sitting in boxes for about 4 years!  It was time!  This summer, I was determined to get it all done!  And now, I am almost finished.  I will post pics soon.  I promise!

Some things I've learned while doing this project are:

1. Family comes first!  No matter how urgent I think a project can be to complete, I have my family to care for first & foremost!  My original goal to finish this was way back in July.  When I didn't meet that goal due to family needs, I selfishly grumbled a bit, but the Holy Spirit constantly shows me how we are to put others first.  Especially family!!!  He kept reminding me of that fact until I would say, "This can wait."
2. While working, I love to put in either a music cd or a sermon.  Yesterday, I chose a sermon by Dr. S.M. Davis called, "Changing the Heart of a Rebel".  WOW!  Was it good!  If you've never heard his stuff before, I highly recommend him.  He has a way of making the practical things of Scripture pop out at you!  Good stuff!
3.  This past week, I have had the tremendous blessing to help my daughter, Raquel, launch her new ministry:  "First Night of Freedom"!  In light of item #1, I can't tell you how much THIS ministry of her's eternally out weighs any material project on earth!  Please click on the link or the button on the right side bar & help out if you can.  It's a WONDERFUL cause & we are SO excited about it's potential to reach out to young ladies all around the world, with the Gospel of Christ's forgiveness & cleansing power!  

Thank you all for being so patient with me.  Can't wait to show you the pics when I'm all done!  Love ya all!

Grace is THREE!

My sweet, baby girl, Grace, turned 3 on Friday.  She has been used of the Lord to teach me so many things!  When I was pregnant w/ her & found out that she was a girl, I'll be honest, I was very disappointed.  I knew I shouldn't be, but I was.  I wanted a boy SO bad!  Then, as my pregnancy progressed, the Lord continued to convict my heart about how discontent I was.  When she was born, He washed EVERY bit of my discontentment away!  In my eyes, she was absolutely PERFECT!  I was SO ashamed of how I could have been so discontent with the beautiful creation that God had blessed us with.  And she was such an easy baby, how could I have asked for more?

she is minutes old in this photo

with Big Bro', Noah, who is now one of her greatest heroes!

 

 with Big Sis', Raquel

 with Big Sis', Lydia

with Big Sis', Eunice

 

with Big Sis', Priscilla

This pic was taken earlier this year in March.  Now SHE'S the Big Sis'!

  Happy birthday, Grace!  We love you SO much & can't wait to see what other ways the Lord uses you in this precious life!  It is already so evident that you have a special way of making those around you feel loved & are always putting a smile on our faces!  What an encourager you are!  YOU are precious!  Jesus bless you, Baby! 

 

Celebrating my baby boy's first year!

WARNING:  If you're squeamish about blood, you may NOT want to view the following photos.  They can be a little graphic for some that have never witnessed the birth of a baby.

Yesterday marks one year that I gave birth to my baby boy, Josiah.  He has been nothing but a JOY & a wonderful, constant reminder of the grace & blessing that the Lord showers on our lives. 

He & his next older sister, Grace, have been born in the peace & comfort of our home, in my bedroom, in a kiddie pool of wonderfully, warm, soothing water, with my dear husband & dear children gathered around, anticipating the arrival of their newest sibling (all done w/ the utmost of modesty in mind, of course!)!  

 Both births were considered "unassisted" because I did not have an official midwife present.  Instead, I had a dear friend, Mrs. S, who apprenticed alongside a professional midwife during approximately 30+ births.  She was willing & MORE than able to help out.  I also had another dear friend, Mrs. M, who is a nurse that came to witness the birth and be there "just in case".  She took most of these pictures.  THANK YOU MRS. M!!!

My first look at his perfect little face!  I'm trying to hold him up closer to my chest, but his unusually short umbilical cord wouldn't let me!

  His first, sweet cry!
 

                      Mama & Papa checking out our newest olive shoot!  God's handiwork is perfect!

  

Tired, but excited to hold my sweet baby.  Labor was a short 4.25 hours.  Just waiting for the cord to stop pulsating so we can cut it.

Beautiful creation!  Praise the Lord you're here!

Of all 7 live births that I've had (I've had some miscarriages too), the two I've had at home were the most peaceful, relaxing, exhilarating, and least painful!  AND, amazingly, my largest babies!  Grace was 10lbs, 1oz.  Josiah was 10lbs, 4oz.  I really believe that birthing in the water & having my husband squeeze in my hips while I pushed, did TREMENDOUS wonders to my ability to have such an uncomplicated delivery.  Not to mention, being surrounded by all those precious people who love & care for me most!     

  You may be wondering..."What on earth possessed you to take the 'risk' of having your babies at home when there are so many hospital facilities available to 'safely' deliver babies at?"

ANSWER:  I happen to be a child of the ONLY true GOD who DESIGNED WOMEN'S BODIES TO HAVE BABIES and I TRUST Him with that event!!! 

Ladies, He knows your bodies better than anyone! God DESIGNED our bodies perfectly capable of having babies without anyone's "help". Pregnancy is a natural occurrence, NOT an "illness" to be "treated" by a doctor!!!  Of course, there are cases where it is necessary to have a doctor's input & even intervention due to health issues that are pre-existing or complicated by pregnancy, but I think I can safely say that the majority of deliveries can happen in the peace & comfort of the parent's home.  

 

 In my previous 5 hospital births, NONE of my doctors waited for the umbilical cord to stop pulsating  (unfortunately, I didn't know any better then...I was just trusting their "expertise").  They would just go ahead & have the cord cut as soon as the baby came out!  This is NOT a good idea!  The blood that continues to pulsate through the umbilical cord from the placenta to the baby is VITAL to the baby's health!  Read up more on this subject here.  In this photo, you can see that the cord is white (empty of any vital blood) and the placenta is in the bowl.  

Here the clamps have been put in place.  Mrs. S is handing the sterilized scissors to Daddy.

 

YAY!!!  Daddy cuts the cord! 

So precious & sweet!  All 10lbs/4oz. of him!!!  We are SO blessed!!!

Daddy is so happy & proud!!!

Precious baby, blessed by God, how I pray that you grow to know the One that created you!

Now, a year later...

Playing with his birthday balloons!

Standing like a big boy!!!

Happy to be with his big sis', Grace.

About to enjoy some yummy birthday cake with his siblings!

With Big Bro' Noah & Daddy!

Here he threw himself back in laughter when we were trying to get a shot of him 
smiling!

Proud Papa!

Proud Mama!  What a smile he has on that scrumptious face!

 Being attacked with kisses from Mama & Papa can be a bit overwhelming!  Love the look on his face!

We are SO thankful to our Lord Jesus Christ for having blessed us with each & every one of our sweet, precious babies.  They are each so unique & bear the image of God.  

We, as parents, have the HUGE responsibility to disciple them & teach them the Word of God (Deut. 6:5-9); training them to follow His instructions so that they might be blessed in this life.  May the Lord continue to grant us the wisdom we need to accomplish this great task!!!  It can be so overwhelming at times, but we know that only with the Lord's help & His Holy Spirit to guide us, all these things are possible!   We must continue to trust Him & pray that our children would somehow overlook those ugly faults that we are so good at displaying to the people we love most.  We must continually point to JESUS & the great work He has accomplished on our behalf.  He is our only hope!

SOLI DEO GLORIA!!! 

My baby is 1 year old today!

a funny face he made after having enjoyed a piece of his birthday cake!  what a ham!

Today we celebrated the beautiful life of my sweet baby boy, Josiah!  He is a whole year old!  I will be posting pics of our celebration tomorrow.  Stay tuned!