The end to our school year is still a few weeks away as we started later in the fall and waiting for baby Ethan has distracted me from our normal routine. For all the ease I should be having birthing my 6th child he seems to enjoy building up the anticipation of his arrival. I spent the entire day yesterday in labor and maybe dilated 1 cm. Usually I start and finish within 4-5 hours. So I'm not exactly the best candidate for teacher right now. The kids have been spending lots of time with my dad and step-mom (God Bless them) while I have been wandering around trying to distract myself. Today I hope to hit some garden centers or farmers markets.
So this is the toughest part of this pregnancy that otherwise has been my easiest. I just keep trying to remind myself that when he does arrive I will have forgotten all of this part. Then its back to school.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
God gives a little pat on the back.
Every now and then I feel God give me a little pat on the back just to let me know I'm doing a good job with His kids. Its a nice feeling and he always seems to know when I need it the most.
Last Wednesday I had to take all the kids with me on a marathon visit to wal-mart. We had lunch at the subway inside then went looking for shoes and finally had to get all the boys haircuts for the wedding. All told I think the trip took us about 2.5 hours. That's not the interesting part though.
As we sat in the subway people started walking up to us at separate times to comment to me on how well behave the kids were. One woman was convince they couldn't be all mine I must run a daycare. "No, these are all my beauties" I replied. She went on to say what a beautiful family I had and what a good job I must be doing. Mind you I am 9 months pregnant also and its way obvious. So many of the comments started out with how much longer I had and are the other kids excited about the new baby.
One of the best compliment I received that day came from a retired school teacher.
"You must home school your children. I can tell because its obvious how well they get along with each other. Home school kids just do better with their siblings." I told that lady that it meant the world to me to hear that from a school teacher.
All told that day 7 or 8 different individuals or couples stopped me to make a positive comment on my family. I was nearly brought to tears every single time.
(of course I am 9 months prego) It was truly a gift that they all took time out of their day to hand to me some of the kindness that I am always trying to hand out in the same store. The Holy Spirit inspires us all to be Christ to others I just thank those people for being Christ to me and my kids on that day.
Last Wednesday I had to take all the kids with me on a marathon visit to wal-mart. We had lunch at the subway inside then went looking for shoes and finally had to get all the boys haircuts for the wedding. All told I think the trip took us about 2.5 hours. That's not the interesting part though.
As we sat in the subway people started walking up to us at separate times to comment to me on how well behave the kids were. One woman was convince they couldn't be all mine I must run a daycare. "No, these are all my beauties" I replied. She went on to say what a beautiful family I had and what a good job I must be doing. Mind you I am 9 months pregnant also and its way obvious. So many of the comments started out with how much longer I had and are the other kids excited about the new baby.
One of the best compliment I received that day came from a retired school teacher.
"You must home school your children. I can tell because its obvious how well they get along with each other. Home school kids just do better with their siblings." I told that lady that it meant the world to me to hear that from a school teacher.
All told that day 7 or 8 different individuals or couples stopped me to make a positive comment on my family. I was nearly brought to tears every single time.
(of course I am 9 months prego) It was truly a gift that they all took time out of their day to hand to me some of the kindness that I am always trying to hand out in the same store. The Holy Spirit inspires us all to be Christ to others I just thank those people for being Christ to me and my kids on that day.
Monday, May 5, 2008
A Holy Celebration
Our oldest daughter celebrated her first Holy Eucharist this weekend. What a blessed day it was.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Giving Birth
With the anticipation of giving birth again so close to fruition, I am left with the thoughts of why I chose to give birth naturally. The births of my children have been as different as they are. I started out with my first child's birth as many women do. The doctor scheduled a induction with pitocin. I was still positive I wanted no pain medication as I usually respond poorly to it but I was a week over due and very uncomfortable. (Duh, show me a pregnant woman who is comfortable at 9 months in June) It took 11 hours just to get me to 4 centimeters from the 2 I was at when I arrived that day. I finally caved and had an epidural. Slept for an hour then woke up and pushed for 20 mins and then pop he was out. Yes the ultimate goal of giving birth was realised. However, experience has taught me that letting nature do its thing makes for a much easier and quicker delivery. Baby number two was another induction however before the epidural had time to work she was crowning. By the time #3 was ready I was determined to avoid the pitocin and epidural at all cost. (#2 epidural was incredibly painful) The doctor however had other plans. I won't go into the horrible details but I was bullied into another induction. I however would not take the drugs. Nobody was gonna poke me again. 12 hours of intensely painful labor (the pitocin increases the strength of the contractions but does not help with the effectiveness of them) and a boy was born. #4 came with a new doctor and a promise I would never have to see the old one again. He (the baby) arrived in his own time . I had an appointment that day so the pains I was having seemed like something I would just as the doctor about. Well I drove myself there and found out I was already at 7 cm. He was born about 45 min. later. That delivery was ideal.
When we found out about #5 I discovered a local midwife. No more OB's for me. Baby #5 had what I call the perfect delivery. I woke up in the morning about 6 am the contractions were 7 min apart. My husband drove me to the hospital at a leisurely 100 mph. He was hoping a cop would stop us and give us an escort. We got the hospital were the midwife was waiting and we began with the rhythm of delivery. I had found in my past labors that water is an oasis to be taken advantage of. Hot showers and baths literally wash away the pain of contractions. I had showers and a bath, used a rocking chair, walked the halls and finally hung on to my husband for support and dear life. The baby all but came out on her own. I only pushed for a second. Yes, I screamed and moaned and took lots of deep breaths. There were even a few moments when I almost let the pain lead me into a panic. But, I have found that control and focus are key to getting through this marathon. Her labor lasted about 5 hours almost 6.
The differences between my childrens births for me is drastic. The lessons I have learned from them however I consider profound. Women are powerful beings. We can withstand so much that our counterparts cannot. Please do not mistake me. I do not belive this makes woman better than man. On the contrary, we each have roles to fill that make us unique. For woman the greatest of these is the ability to bring life into this world. Our bodies were designed for it. Whether you belive in God or not you can not deny this. Take the time my dear women to discover how your bodies work. Look past the establishment and what it wants you to deny your body with pills and medications that make you not feel your strength and ignore your natural femine abilities. Embrace being a woman and all that it entails. Love that God made you strong. Strong of heart, mind, and body. Empower yourselves not with denying what you are and trying to become something else but by recognizing what a beautiful gift you are to mankind. God makes no mistakes girls. We are the way we are on purpose.
When we found out about #5 I discovered a local midwife. No more OB's for me. Baby #5 had what I call the perfect delivery. I woke up in the morning about 6 am the contractions were 7 min apart. My husband drove me to the hospital at a leisurely 100 mph. He was hoping a cop would stop us and give us an escort. We got the hospital were the midwife was waiting and we began with the rhythm of delivery. I had found in my past labors that water is an oasis to be taken advantage of. Hot showers and baths literally wash away the pain of contractions. I had showers and a bath, used a rocking chair, walked the halls and finally hung on to my husband for support and dear life. The baby all but came out on her own. I only pushed for a second. Yes, I screamed and moaned and took lots of deep breaths. There were even a few moments when I almost let the pain lead me into a panic. But, I have found that control and focus are key to getting through this marathon. Her labor lasted about 5 hours almost 6.
The differences between my childrens births for me is drastic. The lessons I have learned from them however I consider profound. Women are powerful beings. We can withstand so much that our counterparts cannot. Please do not mistake me. I do not belive this makes woman better than man. On the contrary, we each have roles to fill that make us unique. For woman the greatest of these is the ability to bring life into this world. Our bodies were designed for it. Whether you belive in God or not you can not deny this. Take the time my dear women to discover how your bodies work. Look past the establishment and what it wants you to deny your body with pills and medications that make you not feel your strength and ignore your natural femine abilities. Embrace being a woman and all that it entails. Love that God made you strong. Strong of heart, mind, and body. Empower yourselves not with denying what you are and trying to become something else but by recognizing what a beautiful gift you are to mankind. God makes no mistakes girls. We are the way we are on purpose.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The best of intentions
The most basic of responsibilities can be a challenge when pregnant. Add to that homeschooling and getting caught up with that damn laundry and you can forget it. I'm dragging so bad right now. The laundry is still piled high but my kids got an education today. Each of them actually received a monumental amount of my attention with their studies. So I can at the very least look back and say hey they got smarter today even if they are half naked. JK!!!
My oldest daughter will be receiving her first communion in two more weeks so we have been really discussing the Eucharist and what It means to us. During this conversation we touched a little on the institution of the rest of the sacraments. Baptism came up and I asked her when Jesus gave that sacrament to us. She stood up and quoted scripture verbatim. Down to the clouds opened up and God spoke. The girls got it down. I was brought to tears. Its those rock awesome moments that remind me that I can do this and hey I'm not to bad at it either.
The rest of the kids all had remarkable moments like this today in various subjects. What a gift God has given me. Even the baby has been making sure he gets my attention with lots of wiggling. I think he got my dancing genes.
Now I'm off to shower and changed so that my husband recognizes me when he gets home from work today.
Chow
My oldest daughter will be receiving her first communion in two more weeks so we have been really discussing the Eucharist and what It means to us. During this conversation we touched a little on the institution of the rest of the sacraments. Baptism came up and I asked her when Jesus gave that sacrament to us. She stood up and quoted scripture verbatim. Down to the clouds opened up and God spoke. The girls got it down. I was brought to tears. Its those rock awesome moments that remind me that I can do this and hey I'm not to bad at it either.
The rest of the kids all had remarkable moments like this today in various subjects. What a gift God has given me. Even the baby has been making sure he gets my attention with lots of wiggling. I think he got my dancing genes.
Now I'm off to shower and changed so that my husband recognizes me when he gets home from work today.
Chow
Monday, April 7, 2008
The perfect mother
The perfect mother. Who is she? How does she handle the everyday situations of her motherhood? What does she do in those tense situations when the child just won't obey? Or is it that the perfect mothers children always obey?
As a woman who loves Mary the mother of Our Lord I often ask myself " Did Mary ever raise her voice at the child Jesus when he did something naughty?" Did Jesus as a child do things that were naughty? Hum, this is a puzzling question for me.
I am not a perfect mother. I fear there are those in my life who think I am. I really don't want to be thought of as something I am not. It puts in place all kinds of expectations that I know I just can not live with or up to for that matter. I yell far to often at my kids for my liking and I know it is so because I hear my tone and frustration in their voices when they are correcting each other. I hate that part of myself. I know in my head the better way to handle the situation. Get up from what ever task it is I am performing, go to that child, and direct them with my full attention to what I desire to be done. Now most days that is easier said than done. I do have 5 little bits running around right and the little guy in my belly has slowed me down considerably now that he is 8 months along. I still can't help but believe their has to be a better way though and that like in all things in my life, I can do better.
Holy Mother,
Pray to your loving Son that he will grant me the patience and the graces necessary to be a good mother to the little children he has put in my charge. I desire to please Him in all things.
Amen
As a woman who loves Mary the mother of Our Lord I often ask myself " Did Mary ever raise her voice at the child Jesus when he did something naughty?" Did Jesus as a child do things that were naughty? Hum, this is a puzzling question for me.
I am not a perfect mother. I fear there are those in my life who think I am. I really don't want to be thought of as something I am not. It puts in place all kinds of expectations that I know I just can not live with or up to for that matter. I yell far to often at my kids for my liking and I know it is so because I hear my tone and frustration in their voices when they are correcting each other. I hate that part of myself. I know in my head the better way to handle the situation. Get up from what ever task it is I am performing, go to that child, and direct them with my full attention to what I desire to be done. Now most days that is easier said than done. I do have 5 little bits running around right and the little guy in my belly has slowed me down considerably now that he is 8 months along. I still can't help but believe their has to be a better way though and that like in all things in my life, I can do better.
Holy Mother,
Pray to your loving Son that he will grant me the patience and the graces necessary to be a good mother to the little children he has put in my charge. I desire to please Him in all things.
Amen
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