New Music

We met Solomon at our church and my husband and he have become friends. He and his twin brother Caleb and they just had an album recorded and that is what Moses is singing and playing to in this video. Check them out here: http://calebandsol.com/

Today is Friday

I know I'm his mom, but are these not the sweetest pictures? He is so excited about his new baby brother!

I hope to get a full shot of me soon. For now all you can see is the belly:)


So, a great investment I finally learned now that I'm on my third baby and almost done is a body pillow. I can't believe I did not get a body pillow sooner! I just bought one yesterday and it made such a difference in how I slept last night, it was wonderful!!! I am so glad to have one.

Well, I have exciting news! We finally met with a Dr. at Legacy Emmanual Hospital and they are willing to support me and let me try for a VBAC at their hospital. They still reccamended that I have a repeat c-section, but he said that if this is what I really wanted then they would support me and let me deliver there! No other hospital that I looked into would do that! It's been such a journey of faith with many emotions. This past month especially God's really been ministering to my heart and I've just had complete peace about this birth. A verse that has been an encouragement to me is Nehemiah 2:8b, "...And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me." Now I know the context and the story of Nehemiah is completely different from my situation, but when I was reading this passage, and got to that verse, it just hit my heart. I felt God whisper to me that his hand is upon me. I couldn't say that I had complete confidance that I would be able to try for a vbac at the hospital, but I just felt the Lord's peace wash over me and have been resting in knowing that he is soverign and clinging to hope that it just might go well for me. Anyways, I am so overjoyed and thankful to at least have another chance at giving birth the way God designed it. I can only imagine what it will be like if all goes well and I am able to hold my baby as soon as he is born. It's amazing to me how God desinged a woman to have all these instincts and desires to have a baby and nurture life and birth children! Truly incredible...
So, I'm due about the 3rd week of March. I would greatly appreciate your prayers as we prepare for this birth. Thanks! I have been in touch with a great midwife here and my hope is that as soon as labor gets going, she can come and be with me at our home. That way she can listen to the baby's heartbeat which will enable us to stay home a little longer and then she'll come and be with us at the hospital as my doula and support for Ryan and I. She is a wonderful christian lady and it would be a blessing if it works out that she could come.

In other news I think Moses might be allergic to peanut butter. He has had this small rash on the back of his right leg since the end of November. It never got worse or spread or anthing, it was just there. We tried a few different creams but nothing happened. After talking with several different people I got the idea from one lady that it could be related to a food allergy and the first thing I thought of was peanut butter. I definately feed it to my kids pretty regularly, so I cut it out of his diet right away, and after a week or so, the rash was completely gone. I also was putting lansinoh on it because it was so dry. Well, probably two weeks later, I gave him a small half of a peanut butter sandwhich and overnight the rash flared up all red again. Hmmm....so, no more peanut butter this week, and the rash is almost completely gone again. I realize the only way to know for sure is to have him tested, but for now I will just not feed him peanuts of any form. It's interesting as I did a little reading on peanut allergy to learn that reactions can vary from a small rash on various parts of the body to really bad life threatening stuff. I am glad he didn't have any bad reactions.

My boys snuggling on the couch:)

Plastic Info

Since I was thinking about plastics again today and wondering which numbers on the bottom are safe and which are not I thought I'd look them up. And then I thought I'd share what I found from this website.

Adapted from Green Remodeling, by David Johnston and Kim Master (New Society Publishers, 2004).

The news about plastics has been pretty alarming lately, causing some of us to go dashing for the water bottles to see what kind of plastic they are—and find out if we’ve been unwittingly poisoning our children and ourselves with chemicals leaching into the water from them.

If you’ve been concerned, here is a handy chart that identifies the good, bad, and OK plastics and where they are found. Find out here:

1 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE)
Used to make soft drink, water, sports drink, ketchup, and salad dressing bottles, and peanut butter, pickle, jelly and jam jars.
GOOD: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones.

2 High density polyethylene (HDPE)
Milk, water, and juice bottles, yogurt and margarine tubs, cereal box liners, and grocery, trash, and retail bags.
GOOD: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones.

3 Polyvinyl chloride (V or PVC)
Most cling-wrapped meats, cheeses, and other foods sold in delicatessens and groceries are wrapped in PVC.
BAD: To soften into its flexible form, manufacturers add “plasticizers” during production. Traces of these chemicals can leach out of PVC when in contact with foods. According to the National Institutes of Health, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), commonly found in PVC, is a suspected human carcinogen.

4 Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
Some bread and frozen food bags and squeezable bottles.
OK: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones, but not as widely recycled as #1 or #2.

5 Polypropylene (PP)
Some ketchup bottles and yogurt and margarine tubs.
OK: Hazardous during production, but not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones. Not as widely recycled as #1 and #2.

6 Polystyrene (PS)
Foam insulation and also for hard applications (e.g. cups, some toys)
BAD: Benzene (material used in production) is a known human carcinogen. Butadiene and styrene (the basic building block of the plastic) are suspected carcinogens. Energy intensive and poor recycling.

7 Other (usually polycarbonate)
Baby bottles, microwave ovenware, eating utensils, plastic coating for metal cans
BAD: Made with biphenyl-A, a chemical invented in the 1930s in search for synthetic estrogens. A hormone disruptor. Simulates the action of estrogen when tested in human breast cancer studies. Can leach into food as product ages.

Highlights of Snow and Christmas

It's Snowing!



"And the Angel said to them..."



Saying verse on Christmas morning





Enjoying a Christmas Cookie

Reaching Out

I went over to our neighbor girl's house on Monday and met their dad. I invited the girls over and their parents too, especially since they don't know us. I was glad to meet their dad, but i don't know if they will come, but I am going to plan as if they will. I was a little nervous but I know the Lord was leading me to invite them over. The girls seemed excited about it, so we will see:)

Miscellaneous

I am feeling a bit better today. I had a cold last week that just had me run down. I am on the tail end of it now. I have spent the morning cleaning, and there is always still more to do! But I'm taking a little break to rest a bit.

My boys are at such a wonderful age. They are great playmates and friends. I am really enjoying how they can play together, especially with their imaginations coming alive! Their latest interest is firefighters and engines. Of course I've checked out books on the subject from the library and we've watched some educational videos on it as well. So that has been their latest game. They carry our belts around as "fire hoses" and Elijah is always trying to climb things, "ladders" he says. They love imitating dad too and really like hammering things with their wooden toy hammers. Ryan built them just a small little work table that they can hammer on. We still have a pumpkin leftover from October that the boys like sit on by the work table. It's cute:)

I'm excited for Christmas, and I have been since the beginning of October. However, now that we are in the month of December, I'm feeling less motivated to get done all the things I'd like to. So instead of making a to do list, I have made a list entitled, "things I hope to do." One idea that I really hope happens is reaching out to some neighbor girls that live around the corner. We used to see them alot when the weather was warmer and we went for walks more often. They are 7,9, and 11, and so sweet. I'm hoping to invite them over to decorate cookies and do a craft and read the Christmas story. Anyways, I am going to go over to their house this afternoon hopefully and talk to their parents. We will see. We've really been challenged lately to reach out to our neighbors. Why is that so difficult? Anyways, I need to get going now. I hear a boy crying...
Merry Christmas!

Here are just a few photos of fun with boxes:) oh and my little drummer boy. Elijah has drumming in his blood. He drums on everything.
Special Delivery!

He usually just uses his hands, but occasionally he gets the tinker sticks out and drums with them too.
Playtime with Dad!!!

Get 75 Prints Free

I don't know how long this special is going on, but if you like ordering prints online check out this link. For new customers at Kodak, you will receive 75 prints for free. You just have to pay shipping, which is like $4 something. We just ordered our Christmas pictures there, plus a bunch extra of family photos, what a deal!