Good word for the future...

I realize I have not written much in the past here about my beliefs. As we face the new and (no doubt) curvy road ahead as our family grows, I am so thankful for my faith which is my solid foundation when all seems to be changing.

Even though we live in a fallen world we each have an opportunity for redemption from it, into Holiness through Christ. Redemption is a one time deal, no question asked, but Sanctification I find, is such a daily fight. It is hard being responsible for just myself.. and now I have the added weight of raising a Godly son or daughter. From the Word, I have assurance that He will provide everything I need to accomplish the task ahead.

There are two things that I observe as I enter motherhood:
One, I have daily guidance available to me. That is to say the Scripture, on which I can rely on to never change unlike my emotions which often change.
Two, I can call upon the Lord at any time, any place, any mommy crisis! He is an active, heavenly Pursuer who loves for His children to come to Him. They call it a 'Sacred Romance.' Having these two ways of support spiritually brings such confidence and makes my heart burst at the seams. And when I inevitably fall apart in a mommy crisis I know I have a Father who swoops to my rescue, directing my footsteps.

Bebo Norman sings a beautiful ballad depicting God's love for us even when we fall a step away. I want to share the lyrics with you:

Soldier:

Remember the time when I thought of letting go
and taking back my hand
when all I could think was how long can I follow you
and where do I stand in this world
I lost my faith, my reason to believe
when I refused to see
oh Lord, you carried me

and just like a soldier
You battle for my soul
but more like a father
You come and take me home

What is the worth of a man living for himself
with a heart of his own
and every day goes in and out, still without a sign of life
but Father wont you please give me more
when everything is closing in on me
I know you set me free the day you died for me

and just like a soldier
You battle for my soul
but more like a father
You come and take me home

And who is this Man who calls me by name
and covers Himself with all of my shame
but not even death could make You surrender
I remember

and just like a soldier
You battle for my soul
but more like a father
You come and take me home

September Showers bring October Babies???

If it can work for April rain and May daisies.. why not??

Speaking of showers, Sunday Sept. 23rd, I was blessed so overwhelmingly at my baby's Shower! My sister Christy and my mother Susan hosted it for me. Christy is an expert party planner by hobby and did a fabulous job. The colors were yellow, green and purple. We had ribbons, flowers, a very fun diaper cake (Thanks to Ashley) and 30 wonderful guests to boot!

My mother, upon request from the depths of my heart, made my favorite cake- the Pineapple Mandarin Cake. We even had a small portion to share with Steve afterwards.


My sister not only coordinated all the yummy treats (grandious fruit trays, cheese balls/crackers, veggie trays, nuts, punch...) she laid out a Baby Food testing Game! From the look on the girls faces I'm a bit concerned about feeding this stuff to my kid!

Such generosity is overwhelming! And to be the center of attention is humbling. All of the gifts were just wonderful, and the blessing of having the support of so many wonderful women in my life was touching. My mother shared a selection from 'You are Captivating' a devotional on Motherhood and prayed blessing on all the new mothers (see future post for copy of selection.)

If I could list all the wonderful treats bestowed upon us I would, but I'm going to pick a few in particular... From my mother, a handmade texture blanket- the binding is the satin used to make my Bridesmaid dresses 3 and 1/2 years ago!

Also, our associate pastor and his wife gave us 'The Rhyme Bible Storybook', the most creative and wonderfully illustrated book of Bible stories!


I wanted to get an entire group photo but it did not happen. So, for your viewing pleasure I'll include a shot of what I'll call my 'homebirth gals'.

Clockwise, starting with Me, Bethany (a homebirther, and my dearest
friend), Gwen (another homebirther and friend), Wesley (born at home,
son of Gwen), Lisa (my midwife and mentor), and Brandy (former
co-apprentice, now midwife, friend).

Belly Casting

My mother, husband and I had a wonderful time this evening making my belly cast. I'm so thrilled that it turned out beautifully. I am rather shocked at how large the cast looks.. I haven't seen myself from all of those angles! Here is the finished product! 37 +4 and growing...

Now that's a lot of hormones!

Monday night my dear friend Bethany hosted a Spa Party for the four Pregnant girls from church, all of whom are due in the month of October. Not only did we stuff our faces with the beautiful spread set before us, we were pampered with pedicures and facials. Our hearts were blessed by Bethany and her sister Lauren with their servant hearts to wash (and paint) our tootsies for us. We also listened to scriptures from the Psalms that encouraged our hearts. Thank you Bethany and Lauren for a wonderful evening!

L-R in chronological EDD order: Susana, Myself, Becky, Nicole

Belly Shot at 37 weeks

Don't I look large and in charge???

Photoshop 101:

I feel blessed that a friend gave me an hour long 'here's how it works' seminar on how to use Photoshop. When I came home to play with the program I made this. The picture is of my mother and me when I was a little baby... What do you think?

Has it really been 9 months?

If I concentrate really hard I might be able to recall what it was like to not be pregnant. It seems like a lifetime ago. And the funny thing is, when I'm done being pregnant life wont go back to pre-pregnant status.. it will be consumed with a little-Steve/Katie. I assume our home will never be as quiet as it is right this moment. There will be ruckus, commotion, giggling, snuggling and loving. But never quite as it is right now. Are we ready for that change? Do we have a choice? :-)

Yeah. We're ready to hold onto our hats as we lift off into parentdom. The joy of knowing our baby is created unique and perfect for God's purpose is amazing. The individuality and personality will amaze us daily as our child grows and learns about his/her surroundings. I cannot wait to witness such a fluid work of God. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Ps. 22:6. This verse echo's in my head. A blessing and a challenge. May God give us stamina, courage and a willing child!

Sorry Dara!!!

This morning after waking earlier than normal, stumbling into the bathroom, rushing to fix breakfast and swinging back by the potty, I wanted to kiss my man goodbye before leaving.

As I rounded the corner moving fairly fast for a pregnant lady I hit, what I thought was a log or some sort of fallen tree limb in the doorway and-- I went flying. Thankfully I landed safely on hands and knees- not on belly or head. I observed two things at that moment. #1- it was not a log or fallen tree that was assaulted but in fact was the dog laying in the bedroom doorway. And #2, my husband sure can move fast when motivated. I flew... and so did he- out of bed to my rescue. Poor fellow was scared to death and poor Dara limped off sulking. I assume there was no internal damage caused to my poor puppy, as she was alive and wagging when I came home this evening.

Love At First Sight

We have a green light! Well, at least we have permission to birth at home!

Today we, my girlfriend Bethany, Lucy (her daughter) and I, took a little road trip to see the Consulting Doctor. The 1 hr and a half drive was nice, we caught up with girl gab and laughed at the cute things Lucy was doing. We arrived in plenty of time to spare. My UA (pee test) was clear on all counts, a good thing. My blood work, Hematocrit, was at 40% (to find the Hemoglobin, divide 40 by 3 = 13.3; remember I was concerned for this to be a minimum of 11.5- fhhhhhew!) So that was a relief. My Blood pressure and general health are fine, check check check, and the baby is a good size for my dates and in good position (head down).

Now, because I love my husband and want only for him to have peace of mind, I requested she do an Ultrasound. I have never been keen on ultrasound procedures, thus I have never had one. Steve has recently been studying Obstetrics and was exposed to rare but serious things involving the afterbirth, and was just wanting reassurance that it 'lay' in an appropriate place. So, after listening to the babies heartbeat which sounded wonderful as always, Leah (the CNM) whipped out the US goop and went to work. I had prefaced all of this with, "#1 we do NOT want to know the gender and #2 I don't want to see anything on the screen as it is not fair that I see the baby before Steve does." So respectfully she agreed.

She proceeded to tell me about the location in question-- posterior and to the left, up high (a great place for afterbirth.) And she checked the baby.

"There is the babies heart, looks great, four chambers, nothing wrong! And the spine is well formed. The umbilical cord has 3 vessels... normal. The eyes look good--"

At that moment I said, "You can see it's face???"

"Yes, and everything looks normal. The bladder is developed well, and their are two kidneys. The baby looks great!"

As I laid there, with my arm over my face it just simply stunned me at how marvelous God's creation is. There is a little person inside me. Many times before I had visualized the body and the tushy (gender-neutral of course) and it's little feet pressing into my ribs, and even it's shoulders twisting and boxing with my bladder. But I simply had never been able to 'see' the gender or the face. To be perfectly honest I was jealous that someone else had seen the face of my child before Steve or I did. We created this little bundle of joy and he- she- it... whatever it may be is ours to discover. But of course that did not dampen my mood of sheer relief that we were given the green light for birthing at home.
As we exited the building I told Bethany 'we had to go google a 36 week ultrasound so I could see the details she described.' But as I thought more about it, I decided I do not need to see anything on an ultrasound screen because when the time is right, Steve and I will share the most precious moment in all of history- when the moment our child comes into the light we can be the first look into his/her eyes and see for real. Face to face.

It reminds me of the Bible verse, 1 Corinthians 13:12-13,
"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

I cannot wait for that perfect moment of love and sight. It will be worth it all- the 9 month wait, muscle cramps, dietary restrictions... and labor; it will be worth it all!

That will be the true definition of love at first sight.

Baby with Hiccups:

Well, this is the first try at videoing the babies movment. Hope you can actually see the little bumps! Blink and you MIGHT miss it!

Countdown continues.... 35 + 4 wga

YAY YAY YAY!
Okay folks, celebrate with me.. my all important Hemoglobin has risen!!! From 10.4 last Tuesday to 11.9 today! YAY! I needed to make it to 11.5 so I feel really good about my visit to my consulting CNM's office on Friday.

However, I am not looking forward to Wednesday, when I have to take my final exam for this quarter in school. I feel ill prepared and should be studying right now. Therefore this is short and sweet.

Diaper Cake!

Very Festive, no?

Week 35 begins...

As with any mom-to-be at this point, pregnancy is taking it's toll. Today I had a prenatal visit with my midwife, which is always great fun, but my hemoglobin check showed low. To remedy this I'm now on a mega-regiment of herbs to boost it to an acceptable level. (10.4 to 11.5) So, Lord willing the Floradix, Yellow Dock and Chlorophyll along with all the beef my heart desires will boost the Hemoglobin count to the approved 11.5 in a week and a half. I think it will.

Over the past few weeks Steve and I have enjoyed forming a routine of walking together after dinner. While every night would be wonderful, not really reasonable, we're enjoying it more now that the temperature is not triple digits. It's surprising how much there is to talk about when the TV is turned off! :-)

Recently my ankles have blossomed. The swelling comes mostly in the evening after being up and about during the day. It's sad! If I prop them up.. they aren't bad, but the really interesting thing is if I prop just one leg up, then I have ONE puffy ankle and one not puffy! Weird!
Today begins week 35. It's exciting to think that our baby is going to be done 'baking' soon! We liken the time left of gestation to that of a long vacation.. and we all know how fast a vacation can fly. You may wonder how my to do list is working out.. Generally well! I feel good about the house, the accomplishments and the baby supplies that we have bought or been blessed with.
The things that matter have been taken care of mostly.. and all the rest will fall into place soon enough.

What's ahead? My 36 week Prenatal Visit will be held at the office of my Consulting Doctor. I'll see Leah a CNM in Bamberg, SC. She'll check me over, see my vitals are stable and check my all important Hemoglobin and agree I'm a healthy candidate for Home Birth. The next week is especially exciting. My 37 week Prenatal Visit will be held at MY house with my husband and Jami, who will be assisting Lisa at the birth and Lisa the midwife. I'm hoping my mother will also be available during that time, since she'll be at the birth as well. We'll discuss any loose ends and walk through the birth setup and the attendants roles while I'm in labor and ask any questions. Then the birth pool will be brought in and we'll be ready for the baby to make his/her entrance. That is exciting!!

So, from then until now I'm living on Iron supplements and joy that the baby is well and coming soon!!