It all comes down to One

So many people ask, “Are they all yours?” or “Don’t you have a television?” or “Aren’t you done, yet?”

After reading Michawn’s blog this morning, I wanted to post my own column on this subject.

Baby five is on her way. When we told our families this, they were not excited. Well, at least not my folks.
Most grand parents are thrilled at one or two grand children. But then came three. Everyone hoped for a girl, and that’s what we got! But then came four. The questions began, and the excitement of birth seemed to wane.
Guess how everyone, at least in my family, behaved when we announced number 5.

You got that right, “Another one?”

As if it were a curse. It is an extreme shame the way people look down on large families these days. “Children are an heritage of the Lord,” says the Bible. “Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” Why would I want anything other than a full quiver?

I suppose the answer to all these questions is about trust. Do you trust God? Do I trust God? Can I really rely on him to control every aspect of my life? It involves complete surrender…something we Americans do not like at all. Surrender?! I’ll go down fighting, never mind any consequences from the battles.

As Michawn states in her post today, there are two sides to this camp. Maybe more.
One says trust God in ALL things, even fertility. Do nothing to interfere with God’s plan for your life.
Another says you must act responsibly with your child bearing. Only have what you can handle, and cut it off when you’ve had enough (usually 2, 3 at the most).

I lean toward that first group. I once said I didn’t want to have any more. Especially after having toxemia with the first two. I was done. Then God changed my heart. Now, I ask you, what would I have done if I had had a tubal ligation after number 2? I would have missed out on my little girl, then another boy, then this baby girl on the way. I would have voided God’s plan. I would have cancelled the blessing he had in store.

Do I know for sure I want to stop my fertility here? No I don’t. I have that sense of, “I’m done,” but my heart says, “What if God wants us to have more?” What if I miss the mark here? What if taking fertility into your own hands has the same effect as taking your life into your own hands?
All Christians know that we live as God leads, not as we choose. To be led, means we must be willing to consult our God and follow Him. AT. ALL. COSTS.
But how do we do that? Especially in a society that shuns large families, for the most part.
The answer is: We are not our own. We must weigh the balance of serving and trusting God, with listening to godly advice. Honestly, I don’t think there is any Godly advice out there that God can’t give me himself. So the real answer here is: One.

It all comes down to One.

and now for the rest of the story…

More strange dreams::

Early this morning, I dreamed I was walking by a church building.
I heard praise music coming from within. I cannot recall the song, it was something I’d never heard before, but it was a ‘war’ song.
By ‘war’ song, I mean a song you would sing when going into a holy battle. A spiritual fight.

I went inside, only to find I had entered the choir loft. There was a young man singing the verses, and then the choir would echo. I somehow knew the song, and sang full voice.

When the song was over, I took a seat in the congregation, but alone, instead of with the people. I was kind of at a table by myself, instead of in the rows with the others.

The “adults” in the room where dismissed, but I stayed with this (what looked like) College and Career group.

Then I woke up.

Beloved says my dreams make total sense to him. Some kind of spiritual warfare I am going through. Seems that’s what this pregnancy and this year has been about.

I pray that the dawn of the New Year brings victory over this battle!

and now for the rest of the story…

35 weeks and all its glory!

Well, here I am at 35 weeks. I only have 1 month (31 days!) until my scheduled cesarean.
This week I’ve been having strange dreams. The first was that at my ultrasound next week, I saw boy parts. I screamed in my dream. I cannot imagine how I would be able to return every thing and get all new boy stuff before the baby is born. Luckily, so far, that was only a dream.
Then, last night, I had a dream that I delivered at home, without any assistance. I verified that the baby was a girl, and she smiled at me when she first saw me. Ahhh, the crazy dreams of pregnancy!

and now for the rest of the story…

2008 Resolution List

1. Stop caring if people are interested in me. The only ones that matter are God, my husband, and my children.
2. Reclaim my health. That means beginning to lose the 100 pounds I need to lose. That means doing my own research on health and wellness. That means taking time for myself to pray and meditate.
3. Laugh more.
4. Enjoy my children every day.
5. Not let people look down on me because of my youth.
6. Get back on the Praise Team and sing my heart out!

and now for the rest of the story…

Our beautiful Christmas

Our children have never been the ones to wake us at 4 AM to open gifts from Santa, since we don’t do the Santa thing.
So, here is how our day unfolded:

Ronnie and I woke around 7 AM. We headed down stairs, all the children still sleeping.
I began to prepare the pumpkin pie, and Ronnie prepared our cinnamon rolls for breakfast.
When all the kids were awake and downstairs, around 7:30, Ronnie served the cinnamon rolls.
We had prayer and thanked Jesus for being the first gift of Christmas.
The cinnamon rolls hot and yummy!

After breakfast, we all gathered around the tree. The children got to open the gifts tucked in their stockings first. Melody got hair stuff, the boys all got hot wheels.
Then for the other two presents from Mom and Dad:
Melody loved her Little Peoples Camping set, Levi was just as excited with his Mega Bloks Firetruck, Elijah was happy with his Crayola Color Wonder Set, and Ethan was thrilled with an Origami Desk Calander.
Then for their second, and most anticipated present:
Ethan and Elijah both got the K’nex I had purchased at a garage sale this summer. I think these topped the list of best gifts ever!
Melody got a fairy dressup costume, and
Levi got a toy screw driver, hammer and bolts and screws to go with it.

The children then got to play with their new toys for a couple of hours while Ronnie and I prepared for our guests to arrive.
At 11:30, my parents came with the food stuffs they had prepared. Too many pies to list, potato salad, brisket, and candied yams. I had already been reheating the baked beans I had prepared the night before (because they are always better the next day).
At about 12:15, my sister and brother-in-law showed up. I cannot believe the amount of weight my bil has lost in the past year. He looks so much like Charlie from Numb3rs!
Anyway, they just brought gifts, not a problems since we were loaded on food already.
Then just after that, my Uncle Robert, Aunt Kim, and cousin Amy came in. More pie!

Oh boy, so we had nearly everything ready, and at about 1 PM lunch was served. First to the children, who ate rather quickly and were mostly gone from the table before the adults had their plates ready.
We all had great conversation over lunch and when lunch was over, another round of gift giving and receiving began.

I wont bore you with the details, but much fun was had by all. The children continue to play with their new gifts, and the adults sat in conversation for a few hours in the living room. All the while watching home videos of Christmases past from Ronnie’s youth. Quite a crazy bunch he was raised with!

It was a great day with laughter and family. I couldn’t have planned a better day.

Merry Christmas, Y’all!

and now for the rest of the story…

A note on Homeopathy

Well, Saturday evening, I went to HEB to pick up a few items for our Christmas lunch that we needed.
During my shopping, I felt Sofia do a flip of some sort. Nothing painful at all.
When I got into the truck to leave, however, I must have squished her, because what followed had me crying before I made it home.

Just as I drove out of the parking lot, Sofia kicked me hard, right in the right hip–you know, right in my sciatic nerve!
“Ahhhhhhhh!” I screamed, as if a hammer had been plunged into my hip.
Again. She did it again! and again!
By the time I was half way home, I had my fist balled up between Sofia’s feet and my hip, trying in desperation to limit the force in which she was kicking.
Ronnie called just about 5 minutes before I got home. I answered in tears, and let him go so I could put that fist back in my hip.

When I finally got home, I laid down on the sofa and tried in desperation to get her to turn, all to no avail. I did take some back pain remedy that Maria had given me, and it helped a bit with the back pain I was experiencing at the same time.

That evening before bed, I recalled what I had read about a transverse breech baby and Pulsatilla. I had some by my bed, and thought, “It’s worth a try.” So, I took a capful of the remedy and went to bed.

At 5 am on Sunday morning, I was awakened with violent movement. I couldn’t sleep and got up to take a shower.
After my shower, I took another capful of the Pulsatilla, just to be on the safe side if it was working.

By 7 am, Sofia’s feet were at the top of my uterus, and I had no pain. Absolutely no pain! Not in my back, not in my hip, not anywhere in my body. I felt better Sunday than I have the entire pregnancy. I had energy, and just felt wonderful.

I still feel that good today. I am not angry with my children, and in general high spirits. Sofia is still moving a lot, and once I feel her begin to get into a cradled position, I just take some more Pulsatilla, and she is back where she belongs in minutes.

So, the proof of homeopathy is in the specificity of each remedy. I was taking ‘remedies’ that weren’t remedies for me. I needed Pulsatilla. So, now that I see the effectiveness of homeopathy, I will be sticking with it on a first aid basis.

Praise God he made such wonderful things to cure us, if only we will just research them.

and now for the rest of the story…

Week 34

Only 5 weeks and a couple of days left. I can’t believe we are so close, and I still wish it were closer. The realization of how closer we are came to me when I made my next ob appointment. She said, “Two more weeks is January 2nd.”
Wow! Already? “I’m just not past Christmas yet. When you have kids, the next big thing is all you’re looking at!” I said.

Not too much to report this week.
I started taking Zantac for my acid reflux a couple of weeks ago. It has definately helped me sleep without being awakened by coughing from the reflux. I may need to take it twice a day to keep from getting the AR just before supper. ARRRRR…

Anyway, I’m feeling much better since I stopped the homeopathic ‘remedies.’ Actually, I’ve been researching things on my own and found that my friend was prescribing them all wrong. Of course, to her credit, it’s hard for someone to get inside you head and really know how you are feeling, especially if they don’t know you very well.
All that to say, I may begin taking a few remedies as symptoms appear during my pregnancy, and when it comes delivery time. There are remedies perfect for cesarean section recovery, and I want to recover quickly.

That’s all I have for now. Hoping this Christmas is as blessed for you as it will be for us.

and now for the rest of the story…

For Steph…

Steph asked for a picture of me and Beloved, so here it is.

and now for the rest of the story…

Lost one pound

My obgyn is going nuts! She is concerned that after gaining 7 pounds at my last visit, that the one pound I lost in the past two weeks is going to negatively affect the baby.
So, in that light, I’ll have another ultrasound. Reason: Poor Weight Gain!
I mean, if you’ve seen the scales when I weigh in each visit, you’d know that one pound aint enough to disturb the sanctuary that Sofia is enjoying.
One pound. Amusing.

So anyway, in two weeks, January 2nd, I’ll have that ultrasound and see the nurse midwife that works in my ob’s office. After that visit, I’ll be going once a week. Yay! The end is coming!

and now for the rest of the story…

Jolly Old Saint Nicolas, some of you will not like this post!

Oh my, the glory given to a fat man in a red suit. Saint Nicolas himself may roll over in his grave.
We have turned this great Christian man into an idol.

“He sees you when you’re sleeping,
He knows when you’re awake.
He knows if you’ve been bad or good,
So be good for goodness sake.”

I’m sorry, I thought, other than those in your household, only God could see you when you are sleeping, and know when you are awake. On the subject of bad or good, heck, there wouldn’t be a Christmas if anyone was good!
The whole purpose of the very first, most important Christmas gift was because this world was so bad. We needed a Savior. And in His immeasurable love and kindness, God sent His only son as the very first Christmas gift.

Saint Nicolas knew this. He was a kind man that lived long ago. He gave gifts to the poor, without expectation of anything in return. The people found out and began giving gifts at Christmas time in his honor.
However, Nicolas gave his gifts in Christ’s honor.

Doesn’t the REAL reason for the season deserve our attention and affection this year?

Teaching our children that Santa is bringing them their favorite gifts, only if they are good, is a lie! It’s and out and out lie, folks! On that note, God wants you to know that He gave you a good gift…even in your sin. Shouldn’t we teach our children the same? As loving parents, we give good gifts to our children…even in their sin. Why? Because we love them, just as God loved us.

Santa has no place in our house this Christmas, or any Christmas for that matter. I pray you will reconsider how you celebrate this good man who never meant to become an idol.

and now for the rest of the story…