With a Little Help from My Friends

Mama Archer has started a QuiverFull Blogroll that I am joining.  I am looking forward to seeing blogs of other QF families.  The internet is great!  We know very few people where we live that are following the same journey. 

Although we know very few people where we live who are QuiverFull families, we have been so blessed by friends who have been so supportive of what we feel is God's plan for our family.  There are two ladies in particular who helped bring us here through prayer.

After First and Only Husband had his vasectomy, he and I both knew that we had made a bad decision.  I cried when he walked in the door after the deed was done and he just about did, too.  Our tempraments are a bit different.  When a decision is made,  First and Only Husband does not want to turn right back around and change it the next day.  I do!  ;-)  So began three years of me forwarding him articles I found on the web, nagging, and downright begging for him to get a reversal. 

I finally gave up talking with him about it and did what I should have done in the first place.  Prayed about it!  I had two really great prayer partners at the time and I also brought my request to them.  These two ladies are MAJOR prayer warriors and within a very short time, my Husband had agreed to a reversal.  Here is a link to his side of this story if you're interested.

You know, I'm not even totally sure how my two prayer partners felt about this prayer request I brought to them.  Did they think I was insane?  ;-)  I'll never know, because they never questioned me about it.  They just prayed with me about it.  That is an incredible kind of support for which I am eternally grateful.  Because of their care for me and my concerns, whether they agreed or not, they committed themselves to pray for what was on my heart concerning our family, and it has brought such great results for our family.  Third Son would never be here, and Second Daughter would not be days away from being born.  Our older three would have missed out on the fun they have had being big brothers and sister to these little ones.  Believe me, they have enjoyed it so far and the enjoyment will only be increased when Second Daughter is born.  And because of my Husband agreeing to go through the reversal, and his reasons for even beginning down this path, our relationship has been stronger.  Not to mention our faith in God has grown so much!

I am so thankful for you, friends!  Thank you for encouraging me with your prayers and strengthening our family in ways we three could never have imagined. You were doing more for us than praying for more babies for our family. 

"...May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent from one another."  Genesis 31:49

Women Who Won't Have Babies & Update

Thankfully the contractions have stopped!  I had a "contraction hangover" all day today, but no more contractions.  We just worry what we would do if the baby came before my parents got here.  It would be a lot more stressful for my husband to try to juggle everything and keep things running on both ends.  So here's to hoping and praying that God answers our prayers and keeps this sweet baby in utero for a few more days.  We only need to get to next Wednesday afternoon!  ;-)

Thanks, Tori and Reb for your encouraging comments!  I do want to say that I appreciate anyone who leaves a comment, especially if you consistently read my blog.  It is so nice to hear from everyone.  Tori, I love your comments and reading your blog!  And Brenda......pointing out my "dangling issues" got a good, long laugh out of my husband and me!  Reb....what happened to your blog??????

Sorta, kinda on another note, a hat tip goes out to Crystal at Biblical Womanhood for pointing out an article that I found very interesting.  Here's an excerpt:
"Through my job I made many friends who, like me, were more interested in campaigning, trying to change society and save the planet rather than having families of our own.

"We used to say that if ever we did want children, we'd adopt, as there are so many children in need of a loving family.

"At least then, we'd be doing something positive for the world, rather than something negative."

Toni was happy, at last, with fellow environmentalists who shared her philosophy. But when she was 25, disaster struck.

"I discovered that despite taking the Pill, I'd accidentally fallen pregnant by my boyfriend.

"I was horrified. I knew straight away there was no option of having the baby.

"I went to my doctor about having a termination, and asked if I could be sterilised at the same time.

"This time it was a male doctor. I remember saying to him: 'I want to make sure this never happens again.'

"He said: 'You may not want a child, but one day you may meet a man who does'. He refused to consider it.

"I didn't like having a termination, but it would have been immoral to give birth to a child that I felt strongly would only be a burden to the world.

"I've never felt a twinge of guilt about what I did, and have honestly never wondered what might have been."

Waaaah.  It breaks my heart to hear anyone talk this way.  In another part of the article, she says that couples who have children are selfish.  WOW.  The last thing I feel at this point is selfish.  Yes, it's true that I ask God for children.  Even now, when I am so uncomfortable with Second Daughter, I still pray for more children, and at my age (39), I wonder how much longer I will even be able to have children.  But living life with our children has broken First and Only Husband and me of MANY of our most selfish attitudes and behaviors.  We have learned through day-to-day life with our kids that we have to give up things we want to do for them - for the good of our family.  And it never gets easier because we constantly are confronted with issues that reveal how self-centered we really are.  It's especially lovely when it's the same issue that we struggle with over and over.  ;-)

It's hard to believe how far Satan has gone to mislead so many in the world, and all because he wants no one to obey God.  "Be fruitful and multiply."  And of course whenever we obey, blessings come and so many miss the blessings and the calling that God has placed on their lives for a higher purpose than our own.

Go here to read the entire article:
Meet the Women Who Won't Have Babies - Because They're Not Eco-Friendly

Pregnancy Update

Well.  Last night I started having mild contractions.  It wasn't anything to keep me awake all night.  In fact, they became a dream.  Of course in the dream things went too fast, and I ended up having the baby at home.  In the dream my Husband kept saying, "I don't know what to do!"  HA!  Me neither!  You know, there's something comforting about showing up at the hospital and having everyone tell me what's next - as much as that can be done during the delivery of a baby.  ;-)

Anyway....I already had an OB appointment scheduled for this morning.  Last week I was ZERO cm dialated.  This week I am THREE cm dialated!  Wow.  I usually have to fight for every centimeter, but it seems my body is cutting me a break this time around. 

Of course we cannot have the baby now.  My parents are planning to travel from TN to be here for the birth so they can hang out with the kids.  They can't come until the 5th of December.  That's just next week, and I hope that I can hang on until then.

In the meantime, I'm a little stressed, but too worn out from the contractions to care.  I had them until mid-afternoon, and they are picking back up now.  Nothing regular, but they are a bit stronger than they were earlier.  I'm stressed because I went grocery shopping on Sunday, but First and Only Husband and First Son put away the groceries.  I had my shopping list/menu for the week in one of the bags of groceries, and someone threw it away.  So if I end up in the hospital tomorrow, whoever is around to fix dinner will have to come up with their own concoctions out of what we have.  I can barely remember what was on the menu or I would rewrite it!  ;-) 

The fun never ends.  :-)  This week during our Bible study, the kids and I have been reading in Lamentations, and I have taken 3:24-26 to heart for this season of my life so I don't totally wig out on everyone around me:
“ The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, 
“ Therefore I hope in Him!” 
   The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, 
   To the soul who seeks Him. 
    It is good that one should hope and wait quietly 
    For the salvation of the LORD.  

I Wanna be Grandma Walton

It seems kind of crazy for me to be thinking about it now, with me about to give birth to Second Daughter within the next few weeks, but I can't wait until my kids are all grown up with families of their own so I can help them.  I imagine myself bringing meals, volunteering to clean a bathroom, teaching my grandkids a school subject.....really, whatever my daughters and daughters-in-law need me to do. 

My inspiration is Grandma Walton from The Waltons.  Did ya ever see Grandma resting on the porch when there was dinner to be made or mending to be done?  She was a working partner with Olivia.  In my imaginary world where the Walton's are real, I imagine Olivia thinking, "I could not do all that needs to be done without Grandma's help!" 

Amen, sistah. 

 

Misc.

Today the kids and I went to the mall.  First Son needed a new pair of sneakers and there is a store there that has great prices.  What a proud Mama Moment that was as my 12yo paid for his own sneakers out of his Living Expenses money that he had been saving all summer from his mowing jobs.  We use Doorposts' Stewardship Street to teach the kids money management.  It has been a great resource for our family.

I was also able to get some nursing bras while we were there.  What a monkey off my back that is!  LoL  I have been stressing a bit over a few dangling issues that still need to be taken care of before Second Daughter is born, and this was one of them.  Check!  All done.  :-)

The mall has a great indoor playground for kids.  First Daughter said, "We want to take "Third Son" onto the playground.  We're too big to play, but we'll just stay with him."  Yeah, right.  I saw right through that one, but they only had to be reminded once to focus on their real mission, which was to keep Third Son from being trampled by the 20,000 other kids who were also playing at the playground.

As I sat sprawled out on the cushioned bench in all my pregnant glory, I was taken back in time when it was just First Son and me.  There were tons of first-time moms there with their sweet ones.  They all were so careful and attentive, and followed their children around, ready to protect them from falls onto the 10-inch thick matting.  And if they happened to make eye contact with another mom, their conversation totally centered around their children and the things they said or did.  I remember all that!  Do you?  I used to climb up into the tunnels of McDonald's with First Son.  That stopped after we ended up sharing one part of the tunnel with a baby girl who had a stinky diaper.  Eeeeewwww!  There is NO ventilation in those tunnels, and that poor girl followed us everywhere we went. 

But I remember being a first-time mom.  What  a new world that was back then.  Everything that First Son did amazed me.  And while we are still mightily impressed with Third Son and his antics, we have seen and been through many of the same situations with the other kids that we now find ourselves in with Third Son.  That's not a totally bad thing.....First and Only Husband and I definitely have more of a handle on things than we did way back then.  But still, it's fun to think of the newness of life as a parent.  To wonder, and marvel at all we were learning, and have learned since then.  The really neat thing is that I doubt we are through learning.

On another note, a friend loaned me four of her brand new, unopened! Drive Thru History DVDs to use after Second Daughter is born.  I am not usually very quick in the recovery department, so I try to have some things on-hand to keep the kid's minds at least halfway working while I snooze on the couch.  After Third Son's birth, we went through all the Moody Science DVDs.  Man, those were worth every penny.  We'll probably go through those again, as well as the Drive Thru History DVDs and other things that we already have around.

But not only did my friend bring the DVDs for us to use, but also some Pumpkin Bread.  It was SO good, and saved me from having to make biscuits to go with our dinner tonight.  That was the biggest blessing of all, because standing in the kitchen making dinner wears me out these days.  So thank you, Friend!  Please send the recipe.  :-)

Baby Shower

On Saturday afternoon my sister-in-law hosted a Baby Shower for me.  It was so nice!  I honestly never expected to get a shower since this is our 5th baby, so it was a nice surprise when she asked if she could host one for me.  She has also been good enough to give me all her little-girl-baby-clothes (my niece was born in December of last year) and since Third Son is only 19 months old, we still have all our baby gear, so I kind of felt guilty having a shower and asking everyone to buy stuff we didn't need, so we decided to make it a Book Shower. 

I am a HUGE book fiend.  I love books, always have.  I can't stand to check something out from the library and give it back if it was a good one.  I want to have ALL the good books.  ;-)  We've certainly accumulated a great little library of our own in our years of homeschooling, but of course we don't have everything!  We asked everyone to bring their favorite children's book and these are the ones I received: 

Horton Hatches the Egg
The Poky Little Puppy
Guess How Much I Love You
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?
Goodnight Moon
My First Read and Learn Bible
Barnyard Dance
Gossie
Old MacDonald's Farm (can't find this one on Amazon.)

We also got some diapers!, precious, PRECIOUS outfits, and a handmade blanket from Nana.  I wish I could post pictures from the shower, but our digital camera is broken!  And I'm here thinking, "how can we give birth without a camera????????"  LoL

More than anything, it was so nice to get together with friends and family to celebrate the arrival of our new daughter.  We are so excited to have her on the way and it was fun to share that excitement with others.  God is good to bring her to us, and to give us loved ones with which to share the fun!  It's hard to believe that we are just a few weeks away from meeting her!

 

Full-Service Home

Something my Husband and I learned as adults is that the skills we have acquired over the years are not for our own benefit.  They are to be used to serve others.  It's been interesting as we try to instill this thought into our own kids.  God has been good to give us many good opportunities for this.  Especially here at home, since we've begun this "full quiver" journey.  I am a complete control freak, and would do all the cooking and cleaning if I could.  I enjoy it, and especially enjoy seeing it done "right."  ;-) 

But since we had Third Son, and after I got pregnant with Second Daughter, things have changed.  I can't keep up with things as I would like, so the First Three have had to step up and get busy.  All the years of teaching them to do chores and simple cooking are now having to be used for more than just a way to earn allowance for themselves.  They now have to go above and beyond their regular chores.  They are fully capable, if not always fully willing.  And so we have come to a new phase of the learning - using the skills they have to serve others with a cheerful heart.  It's been interesting to watch the kids as they go beyond their regular chores into actual service in the home and see how far they will go before they start complaining.  Our goal is to teach them to go all day, if necessary, with the same good attitude they started out with.

I can relate to that!  Yesterday was a busy, busy day for us and I am a little sore around the bottom part of my tummy from being on my feet so much and sitting in uncomfortable chairs.  On our way home from church today I thought, "I am going to do nothing but lay on the couch all afternoon!"  If I only could have shut my brain off after that thought, I would have been okay, but then I remembered that First Daughter has to make a dessert to her AWANA meeting at church tonight.  She can do it....she just needs a little supervision because she'll be making a new recipe.  I also remembered that I need to run to the store to get some canned goods for the AWANA food drive.  That will use up the afternoon because First and Only Husband and kids will leave for AWANA around 4:30, and then it will be Third-into-everything-Son and  me.     ;-)  My first thought was to groan, and I did.  Then I had to straighten up and decide to go about the day with a better attitude than that!  So here goes......