If You Want Me To.

Sometimes, I seriously wonder, why did God bring me to this point in my life? This is not exactly what I had planned. Don't get me wrong, I am so blessed and I know I am. I thank God every day for the many ways He has blessed me. But I also wonder why do we have to endure some of the trials we do. I'm having one of those days. I just want to cry and cry. I don't see an end insight and their may never be. It's at these times, when I feel like worshipping God the most. Here is the song, that I'm singing, praying, crying to, today.

Crock Pot Girls

If you haven't heard of the new recipe crazed website you should check it out! These busy moms got together and shared their crock pot recipes and now are famous for it! They have almost a million fans on Facebook.  I became a fan on Monday when they had 400,000 fans and now it's Thursday and they're at 960,000 as of now. Here's a link to their website and Facebook page.

All Out of Energy

Some days, such as today, I wonder how I'm suppose to keep my energy level up. I mean seriously!! It's 4 PM and the hardest part of the day isn't even here yet. I'm having a day that I just want to sit and read a book in silence, maybe with some Pandora radio in the background. Even though I'm not a runner, I know they have times where they wonder how they are possibly going to go any further but they just have to keep going. Today is one of those days. I don't know how I can possibly make it to the end of the day. I have no energy, no desire to clean, cook, NOTHING. God has blessed me with 2 energetic boys who keep pushing me forward. Sometimes, I wonder how other moms do it. How do they possibly keep their energy up!!

What I'll Miss

As the days grow shorter, and the evenings are almost cooler. I think about how much I love autumn! It's the best season by far! It has all the best things in it! The colors, the smells, the food, the holidays and the football!! When I was a kid, school was what I lived for. I was good at it and that's where I thrived, so every summer was always too long and I've never grown out of that thinking. There really has never been anything I miss about summer. I'm a spring, autumn, winter gal; if I could cut out summer that would be great!

So here we are September is fast approaching and for the first time I'm finding something I'm going to miss of summer. I'm going to miss the summer sun for drying my cloth diapers!! It works so great! My diapers are almost stain free, they smell awesome and they're in great shape all because I've dried them in the sun all summer long. If you cloth diaper and you have never 'sunned' your diapers, you're missing out!! The sun is a natural deodorizer, disinfectant and it's a free dryer!! So when colder days and harsher weather are here. I'll be missing the summer sun for my diapers, but that is all!

(I should also mention that I will greatly miss the summer produce!)

Better than Potatoe Chips!

KALE CHIPS!! I personally haven't made these yet but have snacked on some of my friend's.  They're so yummy!! Next time I go to the story I need to remember to get kale! It's a superfood and it's super good! Here's a link to an easy recipe for them.

Meatless Monday- I heart quinoa!!

A few months ago, if you had said the word 'quinoa' (KEEN-wa), I would have thought you were speaking in a foreign language. But in our pursuit of a healthier eating choices, I came across this amazing grain!! Quinoa is very popular in South America, and for good reason!! Not only is it full of B vitamins, protein (yes some grains have protein in them!), and iron- to mention a few, it also is gluten-free! So if you're one of those increasing numbers of families going G-free, try putting some quinoa in your diet.  It's pretty much like cooking rice, and has a similar texture. While quinoa is a little more expensive than rice, it's cheaper than many other health foods.  The cheapest place I've found it is at Trader Joe's for $4.50/16oz and it doesn't take much to fill you up! Here are few recipes to get you started.

Mexican Quinoa

Quinoa salad with black beans

Meatless Burrito with Quinoa

Happy Meatless Monday to all!!

thoughts

Some days I just fail at giving my children a nutritious balance of foods, and I always scold myself for doing so and feel guilty while I let them devour the 3rd cookie of the day. As the nurturer of the home, I feel that if my kids don't like vegetables it's my fault, or if they grow up to be over weight then it's my fault for not teaching them proper eating habits. Is there anyone else who feels the same? I mean seriously! It's just one more pressure that we have as moms.  We have some how failed our children if they don't eat good all the time.

As a nation we've addressed the fact that our society is getting fatter and more unhealthy but we've not addressed the moral downfall of our society. For me, I feel this is the a far bigger problem than a number on a scale.

As I write this, I'm watching my 10 month old eat a french fries and know that if he doesn't like broccoli later in life, bummer, but if he doesn't come to know and love Christ, that is the true tragedy and heartbreak. While we as a family are striving to become healthier, we need ensure our focus remains on Christ. Does Christ want us to be health? Of course!! But if I'm worrying more about how many calories we've eaten today rather than how many life lessons I've been able to teach then something is wrong!!

I heart MOPS

Shortly after I had my oldest, the bouts of lonliness started to kick in.  I was a first time mom, staying at home, not knowing what the heck I was doing.  Don't get me wrong, staying home was such and blessing and still is, but I really missed adult conversation at times.  I needed to connect with moms who were going through the same thing I was.  That's when I was introduced to MOPS.  I love MOPS!! MOPS stands for Mothers of PreSchoolers.  It's a ministry that brings together mothers who have children birth-5 years.  I encourage ANY mom to check for a local MOPS chapter.  I'm about to start my fourth year of MOPS and can't wait!!

OBGYN vs. Midwife

I could right a huge post about the differences in OBGYNs and midwives but this video sums it up in two and half minutes.

August; One Year Ago

August, one year ago, my life changed forever.  I was about 32-33 weeks pregnant at the beginning of August.  After much tears, regret and foreboding, I had a repeat c-section scheduled for September 20th.  I was due September 23rd, my Dr. was going out of town and needed to schedule it before he left, just in case I went into labor while he was gone. I knew at the time that VBAC was the healthiest option for a women with a normal pregnancy.  But I was being refused one.  I was mourning the day that my son would be born.  I felt robbed, I felt sick and I felt guilty. You're suppose to look forward to the birth of your children but all I could do was think of another c-section, where I wouldn't get to hold my child, he would be ripped from me, taken away and sometime later I would get him. It's no secret that babies are more awake and alert their first hour of life, it's the time they're suppose to attach to their mother's; I was going to miss out on that, again. I had prayed the whole pregnancy that I wouldn't have to go through that again, while I thought God had said no to this prayer, H had in fact said, no yet.

It was about this time that I happen to come across, Business of Being Born, a film that will forever change my life. For a quick sidebar, Business of Being Born is a documentary about midwifery and homebirths. As Scott and I sat and watched the film, all I could do was cry, because I knew that I would never get to do that.  Scott was so sweet, he held me while I cried and told me that he wished I could get to do that too. I remember praying and weeping to God, "Please, if this is possible, you are the only one who could make this possible!!" I had in fact given up completely on have a VBAC and was just starting to face the fact that I would have another c-section. (VBAC stands for vaginal birth after cesarean.)

Then God sent me an angel, Brandy, whom I had seen in the park at least once a week all summer long, we both liked to go early in the morning with our dogs and our 2 year olds before it got too hot.  We had matching pregnancy bellies.  I had visited with her before, I knew her dog's name, her daughter's name and her due date.  I didn't even know her name!! I'm not generally a shy person but you put me one-on-one and I don't do to good, I guess I was being a little stuck up.  Our due dates were in the same week, and for some reason, a few days after watching the film, I asked her where she was having her baby- meaning what hospital. Here I had spent all summer seeing her multiple times and I had never asked!! GRRR, I was kind of mad at myself after I got her answer. She shocked me when she said, I'm having a homebirth. At first I could tell she was really apprehensive about telling me this.  How was I going to react? Would I think she's crazy? What thrilled me even more was when she said it was a VBAC homebirth (HBAC). I immediately starting harping her with questions, I wanted to know more!! Where did she hear about this? How does one go about doing a homebirth? How do you get in touch with a midwife? Would it be too late for me? I'm sure she felt like she was on 20 questions or something.  First thing I learned, it's never to late until you start pushing, or until they make the first incision. I will be forever gratiful to Brandy for how much she did for me! I could have talked all day about it but the day was heating up and so we had to go.  But she did tell me to google, ICAN, International Cesarean Awareness Network.

I tried for a week to get ahold of someone in the local ICAN chapter, everyone was on summer vacation.  My giant belly was like a ticking time bomb, I had a doctor's appointment in a week and I did not want to go! Finally, after emailing everyone I could find online, I was eventually connected to Anita, one of the most, compassionate, caring and amazing people I know. She was a Certified Professional Midwife, who miraculously had an opening in September. She was willing to meet me and learn more about what I want in a birth. (That's right, what I WANTED!!)

More to come in future posts.

Move

My new favorite dancing/workout/cleaning song.  Can't help but want to move when I hear it!!

Meatless Monday- YUMMY!

While doing the food overhaul in our home, we for sure have been taking part in Meatless Monday!!  When I first heard of Meatless Monday, it was probably a year ago on an episode of Ellen (one of my favorite daytime shows).  If every American went without meat and cheese just one day a week then it would be equal to "91 billion fewer miles driven each year".

So what does a family eat for Meatless Monday? While I still need to remove cheese from our menu on this day here are meatless things we ate today--

• Breakfast
• pancakes topped with peanut butter and applesauce, milk and orange juice
• Lunch
• For toddler
• grilled cheese sandwich made one whole grain sourdough bread and Swiss cheese (less fat that other cheeses and more calcium), carrot sticks and banana
• For Mommy
• hummus with horseradish spread on organic whole grain sourdough bread, sliced avocado and fresh mozzarella (better for you that 'regularly' process mozzarella cheese).
• Supper
• Here's a yummy link to what I'm cooking right now. :)

Happy eating!!

Love it!!

In an attempt to remove processed junk and other junk from our diet, we're missing ice cream.  It's hot, 105 degrees today, so I've concocted our ice cream replacement.

Fresh berries (whatever I found on sale that week, preferably organic)
Greek yogurt
Frozen fruit (whatever I have, this week its been frozen mangoes and strawberries)
A splash of juice (this week it's been organic grape juice)

Put them all on my Magic Bullet, mix them up and we have a sorbet. It's been awesome!!  I've had 2 on some days. It makes a good quick breakfast and a good snack.

Superfoods?

My husband and I have spent many a Sunday afternoon watching documentaries on Netflicks Instant Watch.  This last Sunday we watched Food Matters, it proved to be thought provoking, insightful and full of life altering, empowering knowledge, just like a good documentary should. :)  If you haven't seen it I highly recommend.

The basic subject of the movie was "You are what you eat".  If you eat junk, you're going to feel like junk, look like junk and eventually you're body is going to give up on fighting against the junk.  If you eat good, you're going to feel good, look good and your body will be so much better for it. It sounds so elementary BECAUSE IT IS! But we live in a society where we treat everything with a medicine instead of just changing what people put in their body. 

One of the subjects discussed in the film was superfoods. I believe I had heard the term before and thought of broccoli, lentils, spinach, etc. I was so far of base! They named some that I had never heard of! Spirulina, raw cacao, wheat grass, and their website named many more! Superfoods have amazing nutrients packed in a small punch!  For example, spirulina has 70% complete protein, while a cooked steak has 25% plus, spirulina is almost completely digestible and easily digested while as steak - - just isn't.

Some of the opinions of the film I don't 100% agree with, such as, if you eat perfect and good your whole life, you'll never have a chronic disease.  While nutrition is probably 50-80% the cause of many of our illnesses and diseases, they didn't mention genetics, and other environment factors that are our of our control. Plus, I know our world will never be disease free until Christ comes again.  I know of people who have followed this type of diet to the T and they still have had diseases invade their bodies.

What made this film even more fascinating to us was, we've been toying with the idea of becoming vegetarian, with the occasional chicken. ;)  This film has just solidified our decision to change.  I'm not going to pretend that I'm excited, because I'm more scared than excited.  I don't think I'll miss meat, I've been without it before, no biggy.  I'm more scared of 100% getting rid of processed food.  How pathetic!! I'm not going to lie, I occasionally like my handful of chips or my processed, packed chocolate chip cookie.  No more sugar cold cereal for breakfast, we get that about every other month as a treat.  But in return, we will have our energy back, weight loss and soooo much more!!  I like to think that I'm pretty organized with our menu but now it has to completely go through an overhaul, which is intimidating for me. Wish me luck!  I welcome any tips and recipes!!

The age old question: WHY?

Last week, a friend of mine lost her 17 month old daughter to a rare degenerative disease. I can't help but wonder and ask God, why? Why do bad things happen to people?  How could a loving God allow such heartbreak among his followers? I don't think we'll ever fully understand why these things happen until Christ's second coming.  As a believer, I can rejoice in that hope and know that the world is not suppose to be this way and it won't be this way forever! God designed the world perfect.  Sadly, the human race did not take that path.  Adam, as the "father" of all human beings, chose a path of sin for our world and race. We were not designed to sin.  Our world was not designed for sin and yet it's all around us and in us. It's like if we were to put the wrong gas in our cars, it wouldn't work as well or maybe not at all.  Sin does not work for the human race.  And tragically, the outcome is the deaths and diseases of our human race.  Doesn't seem fair does it? Why does it happen to little ones who didn't even have a chance? Why does it to happen to "saints" who are doing the world some good?  Why doesn't it happen to the "bad" people, like murders and rapist who can live until they're 80?  That's what makes sin such a disgusting disease for our world to be infested with.  I do believe God uses tragic events for His greater good and we may never know why until we can ask Him in heaven one day. There are two human men brought to this world perfect and without sin, While Adam lead humanity into sin, Christ made a path out of it.  "By one Man's obedience, many will be made righteous." Romans 5:19.  One day there will be no more suffering, no more sin, no more tragic deaths of sweet little ones.  "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 1 Corinthians 15:55

This post might seem a little scatterbrained, but that's me. :) My mind has been going a million miles a minute thinking of the death of this sweet little girl.  If you'd like to know more about their story and/or to help them with funeral and medical expenses visit this site set up to help them.

Tornado Preparation

This past week we've all seen  tornado destruction all over the news and some have even been in it.  It's so devastating and heart wrenching!!  This past week our family was started by an tornado warning that happened late at night.  We were, sadly, very unprepared!  Thankfully, nothing became of it and we eventually were able to go back to bed.  In the past, when there was a tornado warning I've been able to just quickly grab what I need and scurry downstairs.  But now it's a lot more difficult to do anything quick when you have two small children. I was so frustrated with myself for not being more prepared! I decided it wouldn't happen again.  So when, a few days later, we were in another warning, I was prepared and I felt so much better about it.  What do you need to be prepared for a tornado?  Here is a list of things that I always take with me and a few things I hope to add to our emergency kit. It may seem like a long list but I can only imagine how grateful you would be that you have all those things if you ever have to use it!

1. Radio - weather radios are the best! Get a crank radio or battery radio with lots of extra batteries.
2. Flashlight - Either crank or battery with lots of extra batteries.
3. Glow Sticks - Don't use candles. Gas leaks could be present.
4. Copy of the contents of your wallet. Credit cards, medical ID cards, etc. In case your wallet doesn't make it, you have a record of everything in it.
5. Extra cash, credit card or traveler's checks.
6. Small power converter to turn vehicle power into AC household power.
7. Cell phone charger.
8. Extra car keys.
9. Empty medicine bottles so you have the prescription number to get filled.
10. Small can opener.
11. Extra shoes and socks in case you don't have time to put yours on.
12. Spare glasses. Better to have an old prescription than none.
13. List of emergency contacts.
14. Police whistle to sound for help.
15. Garbage bags with ties - personal sanitation.
16. Toilet paper and toiletries/hygiene products.
17. Complete change of clothing including long sleeves and long pants.
18. Food - bottled water, granola bars, energy bars, cheese and crackers, canned meat.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_would_be_in_a_tornado_emergency_kit#ixzz1NQFXij54

Best Fruit EVER!!

Want a power breakfast, lunch or supper or even a snack?  What has every essential vitamin and mineral in it? What fruit is probably one of the BEST first foods for a baby not to mention the cheapest? An avacado!! I love avacados for everything that I can possible use them for.  For both of my sons, they were their first foods and they mix so well with other foods.  Avacados are also probably one of the easiest foods to peel and cut.  When you buy an avacado and want to use it right away, make sure it's somewhat soft when you pick it out at the store, otherwise you won't be able to do anything with it.  If you know you won't need it for awhile you can pick a harder one and keep it on your counter, or if you want it to ripen slower, in the refigerator.  To peel an avacado, simply cut it in half with a knife and seperate the halves.  Then with the knife cut slices in the avacado and, if desired, cut them in small diced cubes.  Then take a spoon and scoop it out of the skin. Avacado is good with salt if you want a little extra flavor.  It's also great just all on it's own.  It can be mashed up for a chip dip and even seasoned for guacamole dip.  It goes great on sandwiches, tacos, salads, burgers, chicken, the list is endless!!

Loving Orphans

Did you know there are 143 million to 210 million orphans in this world!?! And every 15 seconds another child becomes and orphan in Africa. 
"Learn to do good. Seek justice. Arrest oppressors. Defend orphans. Plead the case of widows." Isaiah 1:17

Many of these children are orphaned because of the AIDS epidemic in Africa, or because they have a special need such as a cleft palate and the family can't take care of them or don't want them because of the stigma that a special needs child has in some cultures.  It breaks my heart every day when I read about orphanages and what those children have to go through.  They all need a forever home!!  Christ calls us the care for orphans and for some the thought of taking an orphan home with them is daunting, pricey and not for them.  But have you ever thought of helping someone who does want to take an orphan home?

In the US, we are so close minded and shut off from reality.  Sure we give our $10 a year to a charity or when a disaster strikes we donate another $10 and mark that off as all we need to do.  I say this because I'm know I'm very guilty of it!!  We are suppose to serve orphans, and serving often takes sacrifice!  What are you willing to sacrifice? Even if you're not serving orphans, what have sacrificed for someone recently? For anyone who has sacrificed, you quickly learn what you get in return is far greater than anything you could have imagined!!

There are so many organizations that are geared to help families adopt orphans, check it out!!

The Scoot

Well Deacon officially scoots.  It's so cute and I know that it's only a matter of time before he's crawling and into everything.  He's been rocking and almost crawling for almost a month now, but I hold him so much he doesn't get much practice, which doesn't bother me!! I have a lot of baby proofing to do!! My poor ivy, all the cords that are out, etc. Here's a video for all those who haven't seen Deacon in a while (and for those who have).

I'm on the Band Wagon

Recently, I've jumped on the blogging band wagon and after a little bit of encouragement from a friend, I decided to try it out for myself. I've really enjoyed reading Happybottomus blog, which is also a cloth diapering store in the KC area, they blog about lots more than cloth diapering, they have some great ideas and advice for everyday living!  I also have enjoyed reading HappyFamily's blog, you recognize them from the American Express commercial that features them.  I've also read some posts from The Cloth Diaper Whisperer and hope to keep reading many more.  Like I said, my blog reading adventures has just begun and my blog writing too.  If you've never read a blog, now's a great time to start!  There's a blog for everyone!  Here are a few blogs written by friends that I also recommend, Kyan's Fight, Adventures in Diapering and Beyond, Living a Full Life, and Faith and Family Man.  If you have any blogs you liked to suggest I'd love to hear them!! 

I hope to use this blog to stay connected with family and friends who living long distances away, and to write about some of my passions and share general information.