Family Planning

Sorry that I have not posted in a few days. We have been dealing with some testing for health issues in the last week. All is clear now, praise God.

Over the last few days, family has really been on my heart. I had a relative announce that she was pregnant with her fourth child and received negative feedback. As well, I read a blog this morning that talked about how mom's are missing their children's lives due to being consumed by technology. We can become so interactive that we forget to interact with those who are actually in our presence.

This has all triggered my next post. I am saddened that we live in a generation that views children as an obligation instead of a blessing. Brian and I never thought we would have children this early in life. We thought we would get married, finish graduate school, buy a house, get the right car, and then feel ready to have children. We would have 2 children (one boy and one girl of course) and be finished. We would go to Disney World with their four person vacation packages and live happily ever after. Instead, after 3 months of pregnant we were pregnant with Maddox. We were scared and NOT excited. However, as this little one grew inside of me, the fear changed to love. We trusted that God had a better plan for our lives, and knew what he was doing when he gave us Maddox. So, we would take God's plan back into our own hands (go back on birth control) and decide to have another child 5 years later. Life all changed when I was sitting in my Women's Health Nurse Practitioning lecture.

A professor was explaining how typical hormonal birth control works. Suddenly, a girl sitting in front of me raised her hand and asked the following question. "If it is possible to ovulate and have the egg be fertilized but still not become pregnant, is that really contraception? It does not always prevent conception. It does, however, usually prevent pregnancy." The professor looked stunned at what she was implying and became immediately defensive. She replied, "You miss understand me. The ...." I will not bore you with the details. However, it sparked conversation that night for Brian and I. It took us about two months to come to the conclusion that if we believe life begins at conception, we could not in good conscience continue to use hormonal birth control. We could not handle knowing that a late period could actually be an unimplanted baby. So, we continued forward with joy and trepidation. What would others think? What would we do if we had a lot of children? Was this wisdom or insanity? Were we making the right choice? Three months later, the Lord confirmed our choice.

We were pregnant with our second child. We were overjoyed but nervous. We shared the news with family, they were not especially enthusiastic. I was still in school and we were living with my in-laws. By the world's standards it was not an ideal situation. We trusted that the Lord would provide a house and jobs by the time our child was born. Sadly, just a few days later, we lost our precious child. It was hard. There was, however, still good that came from such a tragedy. We realized that each of our children is precious to us. There are no guarantees that our little one's will always be ours, so we should enjoy them as long as possible. So, we began a journey of faith with our family planning.  We conceived again and had our beautiful daughter, Caroline, one week after moving into our house. Brian had a job, as did I. The Lord is faithful.

We do not know anything for certain. We do not know whether the Lord will lead Brian and I to desire 15 children of three. We do not know whether we will every go on luxury vacations or have everything the world tells us we need. We DO know that the Lord's provision is perfect and he will give us the desires of our hearts (when they align with scripture). So, we will trudge forward in faith, one child at a time. At any point one or both of us feels that we should not have anymore precious children, we will stop. It is not always easy or joyful. Being a mother is hard. Children are frustrating, but so full of joy and happiness. My life would be incomplete without them. They are a blessing not to be taken for granted. When I am at my whits end with my children, it is usually because I have a heart issue that I need to deal with. Being a wife and mother has brought my selfishness and anger to the surface. It is not always fun to deal with, but we are becoming a better family as I trust God and work through my problems.

Just today, I got to experience teaching my little boy to ride a bike for the first time. I do not think there is any greater joy than that of your children. I am praising God daily for my precious children. Thank you Lord for allowing me to be a mother.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

One of the things that I want to do with this blog is to share some ways I have found to save money around the house. I, also, like knowing that when I make things myself I guarantee that there are not hidden ingredients that I am not aware of. So, this is a recipe I found for making homemade laundry detergent. I was skeptical at the beginning. However, this works really well. The clothes do not loose any color. It is safe for sensitive baby skin. Finally, it costs 1 PENNY per load.  I make a batch every two to three months. This batch literally took 20 minutes or less. The recipe is below.

Homemade Laundry Soap

1/3 bar Fels Naptha Bar or other type of soap, as listed above (can use a Dove bar)

½ cup washing soda

½ cup borax powder 

You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan (I recommend that large grating size. The fine grating takes forever and does not really make that much of a time difference - fine grate is pictured below).  Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. 

 

Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved.  Remove from heat. 

Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket.   Now add your soap mixture and stir.  Now add 1 gallon (16 cups) plus 6 cups of water and stir (22 cups total). 

Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel.  You use ½ cup per load. 

I put the bucket in my laundry room or basement. Every couple of weeks, I stir it and use a funnel to fill my old Tide container. Before each wash I just shake the bottle and pour it in the washer like regular detergent. And, yes, the shaking before laundering is one extra step. However, I ask myself what they have added to regular detergents to keep them congealed together. Then, those additives are on our skin. :( As well, I love that Maddox can participate in making it because it does not have harmful chemicals (I would not let him eat it of course). 

This is so economical and easy. I highly recommend trying it for yourself. I have other recipes for homemade household cleaners I will share later. I hope you enjoy! Have a great afternoon.

Songs of Encouragement

Last night was a long night. Caroline is sleeping better, but still not sleeping well. That is another conversation all together, however.

I ventured into a Christian Bookstore today to try and find some wall decals. I was reflecting on Deuteronomy 11:18-20 (which is taken very out of context, by the way). He wanted them to write to words that he spoke in Deut. 11:17 on their doorposts (super scarey words), but I think the message still rings true. We should put the word of God on the doorposts of our hearts and homes. Anyway, those decals are super hard to find. Instead, I decided to wander the store. I love wander shopping. It is sometimes more fun to wander and contemplate buying than actually purchasing.

In my wandering, I remembered that our pastor's wife had recommended Seeds Family Worship CDs to me. I saw Power of Encouragement and decided to give it a try. It is so precious.

The CD comes with two discs. One to keep and one to give away. My sinful heart thought, great, one for in the house and on for the car (we did actually give the other CD to a friend, later). The music is unlike most Children's Christian music. While children are singing, they are not the primary voices. As well, the music sounds like music you would hear on the radio. It is not perfect singers, but it is beautiful music sung unto the Lord. The songs are each one scripture verse set to music. So, the words get plastered into their hearts and minds. Well, I was sold. I listened my entire way home this afternoon and even sang along. But, what would Maddox think?

He LOVES them. He began dancing and grabbed his "atar" (aka. guitar/slash broom held at a horizontal). When the songs were over he said, "Mommy, play my music again." We immediately had another break dance session. It was a beautiful and joyous moment that the Lord allowed me to participate in with my child. Worship can be so simple and beautiful. I think that is how God intended it.

P.S. There are multiple volumes in the series. I can not wait to get more.

Sitting on the couch

I am sitting here on the couch listening to the rain. Sadly, our zoo trip for the day is going to be canceled due to these severe thunderstorms. I am, also, camped out on the couch to avoid the pain of walking.

My dear lower body is aching thanks to the motivation to start a new work out regimen from my "Aloha state". She chose "Jilliam Michael's 30 Day Shred." Mine got lost in the move. So, I am using the alternative "Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30."

I have been using our eliptical everday since we purchased it in January. So, I had confidence that I would not encounter the same level of torture from Level 1 as my counterpart. Oh how wrong I was. The first workout went really, minus the push-ups (I can not for the life of me do military style push-ups). That day my legs were a little shaky but nothing too extreme. Fast forward to sleeping.

Sleeping and rest would, in theory make you feel better. I, however, only woke to feed Caroline in excruiating discomfort in my lower half. I feel like the tin-man before he was oiled. So, I moved on to Day 2. Starting a workout with sore muscles feels terrible. After a few minutes, I felt fine. I, again, set myself up for speedy recovery. Let's just say this morning now involves me sitting on the couch, typing, and contemplating how much I really want my beloved coffee. If you know me at all, that is crazy talk (I take two thermoses of coffee to work each day).

So, cheers Jillian. My body better be truly ripped in 30 days or it am going to pout for sure. Maybe it would also help if I could get over my current obsession with Key Lime Pie.

P.S. When I went to get the image of the DVD case. People had posted before and after photos. They look promising. Sorry folks, no before or after photos on this blog.

The Circle Maker

I just started the book, The Circle Maker. We are reading it for our church leadership. Granted, I am only a few pages in, but I want to share how it has touched me already. 

"The greatest moments in life are the miraculous moments when human impotence and divine omnipotence intersect..."

"We pray out of our ignorance, but God answers out of his omniscience. We pray out of our impotence, but God answers out of his omnipotence. God has the ability to answer the prayers we should have prayed but lacked the knowledge or ability to ask"

These words are so profound. The book started with a biblical times hero named Honi that sat in a circle until rain came and ended a severe drought. Imagine if I prayed like that. Not small things that I know in my heart could be expected to happen, but big things that could only be explained supernaturally. What a testimony to the Lord! I want to create this post the be a thread where people can view prayers that I have and can add their own. I intend to share stories of how my prayers were answered.

1. Praying for God to raise up my children to be Godly.

2. Praying for a son to be returned permanently to live with his father and soon to be new mom.

3. Praying for Nora - http://iwillcarryyou.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/nora-6-days-old/   to live a life 

that influences those around her, and for her families faith to be strengthened.

4. Praying for Brian's heart to be ready to adopt a baby internationally and for God to be ordaining a sweet child for our family.

Those are just a few thus far.

How to begin

I have contemplated starting a blog for awhile now. We live away from my family and I would love for them to get a better look into our lives. As well, I feel like I have a lot that I would like to share with others. I am a Christian, full time mom, part-time working Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, granola wife and mother. I love finding new/retro ways to do things. I am currently working on being more frugal. So, this blog will be a conglomeration of information and experiences. I hope that you enjoy reading! I always welcome commentary and new ideas!