3 hours ago
Yesterday was Good Friday. Tomorrow is Resurrection Day.
I don't like to let this time of year go past without saying something on my blog about why we celebrate. It isn't because of the arrival of spring, or to give honor to bunny rabbits while we stuff ourselves with boiled eggs and Peeps. All that stuff can be fun, but the real reason we celebrate Easter, as Christians, is to remember our Savior. His death. And how He came to life again, to save us!
This is the seventh Easter that I've celebrated since I've been blogging. That's a lot of posts to come up with over the years.
This is the most important holiday to me, even more than Christmas. Without Christ's death and resurrection, we could not be saved. That's huge, and I want to always spend time reflecting on what Jesus did for us.
So on Thursday I grabbed my old hymnal, hoping to glean some inspiration while the kids were napping. I read through so many hymns. I couldn't find a single one to use today, mostly because I've shared all my favorites before.
Finally I just put the hymnal aside, and sat there thinking. I thought about how Jesus lived His life on earth all those years knowing what was coming. And I wondered how He felt when He thought about the death He was going to die.
I just had a baby a few months ago. As silly as it is, the thing that flashed through my mind was how I felt late last year. I knew labor was coming soon. I knew how it would feel since I experienced it once already with Wyatt. And last year, as I waited, I felt anxious and scared when I thought about it.
But I also thought about what was to come after. I knew at the end I'd be holding a beautiful baby, and I tried to think of that instead.
As bad as labor pains can be, crucifixion is worse. It's the most painful way to die, and not only was there the physical pain for Jesus, but there was also all the pain and isolation that would come when the sins of everyone in history were laid upon His shoulders. It can't be compared to labor - I know it was much worse.
And Jesus knew that. How did He feel when He thought about it? Was He scared?
I think in His humanness He was, a little bit. I think that's why He prayed asking God if there was some other way.
But I think Jesus also thought about what was to come after. The Life He would give us when He rose again.
And that was worth it to Him.
In the words of my hymnal . . .
Jesus Paid It All. On Good Friday.
And tomorrow? We remember that Christ Our Lord Is Risen Today!
Hallelujah! What a Savior.
Gwen is officially allergic to milk. By officially, I mean that through the process of elimination, I have determined that she's allergic to milk. It was a sad day. I am still trying to figure out peanuts and soy, but I'm hoping this is something she'll grow out of - in the meantime, I have to avoid dairy. And as a dairy-loving girl myself, this is pretty detrimental to my favorite foods list.
In an attempt to replace my beloved Starbucks, I decided to make some flavored syrup for my coffee, and I have deemed it a success! And it's also cheaper than buying that fancy flavored syrup. So without further ado, here is my recipe for coffee syrup!
Homemade Caramel-Flavored Coffee Syrup
1 cup of water
2 cups of sugar
2 tsp. caramel flavoring
(or any other type of flavoring you want)
1. Bring 1 cup water to a boil.
2. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the flavoring.
3. Stir and simmer on low until syrup reaches desired thickness. Pour into mason jars and store in fridge.
And that, my friends, is that! I use a little bit of the syrup and mix it with coffee, rice milk, and ice for a delicious non-dairy Starbucks alternative. I actually think I like it better than Starbucks iced coffee (gasp!).
Plus I can make it with decaf coffee. Every time I order a decaf iced coffee (anywhere, not just at Starbucks) I'm informed that they don't have iced coffee in decaf. And I always wonder, why not? Just pour some decaf over ice and serve it to me. But they won't do it. So I guess I just have to do it myself!
I'm thinking of making some other flavors too - vanilla, peppermint (so I can attempt a peppermint mocha), coconut? The possibilities are endless . . .
The Christian Mama's Guide To Parenting A Toddler by Erin MacPherson includes topics from getting your child to eat healthier, to teaching a love of learning, to getting back to date night with your husband. Each chapter covers a specific topic and give tips relating to that topic, along with a Bible verse and prayer.
The moment I started this book, I immediately wondered if the author was a blogger. Something about her style of writing? So I turned to the page with the author's bio, and I found out she is a blogger! Can I call it or what? I guess sometimes bloggers can just spot one of their own.
I have to say, I really enjoyed this book. While I did not agree with everything the author said (ex. didn't like some of her suggestions on dealing with toddler tantrums), she included a ton of tips and ideas that I would like to try. Her writing style is easy to read, and I found myself laughing and relating to her stories all the way through the book.
When you are a toddler mom it's easy to wonder if you are doing anything right, but she tells it like it is in this book in a fun way. I left feeling encouraged and normal, and like I'm not alone. As I said, even though I didn't agree with everything she said, I would recommend this book just because it was so fun to read, and I think I may look into some of the other books in the "Christian Mama's Guide" series.
Note: I received this book for free from Booksneeze in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
Last weekend we threw a little birthday celebration for Wyatt!
This was Wyatt on his actual birthday with his birthday muffin! We got some practice in blowing out candles. I took that picture while also filming Wyatt and singing him happy birthday. That was my super-mom moment, and I'm pretty proud of it, rare as they are!
The rest are pictures from the family party on Saturday! It was pretty low-key, just cake with immediate family, but I decided to do a tractor theme anyway!
(That's my attempt to draw a tractor in the corner!)
Wyatt is so into tractors right now, and he loved his tractor cake!
I ordered this children's book and had all the family write birthday messages to Wyatt on the inside cover, like a guestbook. I did this last year for Wyatt's first birthday too, and I think it's going to be our birthday tradition.
Perfect occasion to wear his tractor shirt!
Wyatt got lots of great gifts, including a Berenstein Bear book, a movie, clothes, bathtub ships, a tractor flashlight, a horse toy, a "Gator" tractor toy. Derek and I got him a car track (he's also very interested in cars right now), and Derek's family got Wyatt a basketball hoop!
He figured out how to throw the ball in the right way pretty quick though!
Wyatt playing with his new cars!
It was a nice time to celebrate with family, to celebrate our two year old! Wow, that's still weird to say . . .
When I was about 14 weeks pregnant with Wyatt, I remember going to my doctor's office for my first 2nd trimester checkup. I laugh when I think back on it, because those visits seem so routine now, but I was so excited and happy to be pregnant, and I couldn't wait to hear the swish, swish of my baby's heartbeat.
That day my doctor talked to me about some of the screening tests that we could do to make sure everything was okay with the baby, including one that should be done before 16 weeks to check for a possibility of Down's syndrome or birth defects. I had already kind of decided that I didn't want to bother with the screenings, especially when my doctor told me that they could usually tell on the 20 week ultrasound if there were any problems.
But knowing so little about the process at the time, I asked if there was any reason it would be good to know earlier. I know these days they can correct some problems while the baby is still in utero, and I was thinking they might want to know earlier for some things to make sure everything went smoothly the rest of the pregnancy.
My doctor kind of paused and then stuttered over her words, saying that some women would want to know earlier so they could terminate . . . (imagine a lot of "ums" and "uhs" in there) . . .
She must have seen the look on my face, because after I said "Oh, no . . ." while shaking my head, she immediately assured me that most women they see don't choose to do that even if the test is positive for abnormalities.
But in that instant, the life issue became more real to me than it ever had before. Because here I was, pregnant with my first child, enjoying every little symptom and examining my belly daily for growth . . . and I couldn't imagine that sweet life that was already so real to me being snuffed out.
And it could have been, with just a word.
I was pro-life before. But in that moment my heart broke like it never had before for all those babies who never had a chance.
(Wyatt when I was 15 weeks pregnant.)
I am not bringing this up to cast judgement on women who have had abortions. I've never walked in their shoes, but goodness knows they've already been through enough. They've lost something precious that they can never get back, and I think deep down most of those women know that. My heart breaks for them. And if that's you, I pray that you've found healing and hope.
I wanted to mention this because right now 40 Days for Life is happening across the country (and even internationally). 40 Days for Life is a peaceful prayer vigil, where Christians gather in front of abortion clinics to just pray for an end to abortion and for babies to be saved during the campaign. It's something I'd love to participate in some year, but for now, with two kiddos at home, I have to be satisfied with following their blog and praying right where I am.
For those of you who are also pro-life, definitely check out their blog, and I'd encourage you to pray too. Pray for an end to abortion in this country. Pray for many babies to be saved over these 40 days, for wisdom for the volunteers as they try to reach these women who feel they have no other choice. And pray for the women that go through with their abortions over the next 40 days, that they would find the forgiveness, and healing, and hope that only comes with knowing Jesus.
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P.S. If you are curious to know why I believe in the pro-life movement, I think this podcast explains it very well, and especially if you are pro-life I'd encourage you to listen to it. It's important to know why you believe the way you do on issues like this.
Since having Gwen I've been asked a few times which I thought was better - delivering naturally, or having an epidural. I know this can be a controversial topic, but I thought I'd give my opinion, based on my experience.
First let me say that I have no real strong feelings about either giving birth naturally or having an epidural. I think both are just fine, and I think epidurals and delivering naturally both have their place. Hopefully this means I can give an objective opinion since I've delivered both ways!
I know some people have some pretty strong convictions about delivering naturally because of the possible effects of the medications (among other reasons), but I'm not going to get into all the statistics on that. And I don't really want this post to become a debate on that aspect. I'm just comparing both of my experiences for those who are curious.
For any readers who weren't around two years ago, toward the end of my pregnancy with Wyatt I developed pre-eclampsia, and I ended up being induced. I got an epidural about six centimeters in. You can read the full birth story here.
With Gwen things moved so quickly that I ended up delivering her in the ambulance on the way to the hospital - and I delivered her naturally. You can read that full birth story here.
So on to a few specific questions . . .
Was the epidural painful?
I think this depends largely on the anesthesiologist, and thankfully I had a great one! It just felt a little like the end of a pencil tapping on my spine, and then it was over, and there was no more pain (except for a "hot spot", but I liked having the hot spot, so it didn't bother me). Delivering naturally is much more painful then the momentary discomfort of the epidural (just saying it like it is).
Did you notice any effects on Wyatt after the epidural?
Nada. Both Wyatt and Gwen seemed equally alert to me right after birth, and both had no trouble nursing. Obviously this might be different for some babies, but we had no issues. (You can read about possible effects on babies here, though the research on the ways babies can be affected and the amount of babies that are affected is "somewhat ambiguous", since every situation and baby is different.)
Were you still alert when you delivered Gwen?
This was one of the biggest things I was worried about when I thought about delivering naturally. I heard so many stories of women "zoning out" when delivering naturally and almost not even realizing when the baby had arrived - it's a way some women deal with the pain I guess, but I did not want that to be me! I loved being alert when I delivered Wyatt and remembering every detail of the moment he entered the world, and the thought that I might not remember much of the delivery if I delivered naturally was worrisome to me.
Thankfully this did not end up being the case for me with Gwendolyn! I remember every little thing leading up to Gwen's birth, and I knew the moment she was born, which is exactly what I wanted. Obviously it was a bit more peaceful with Wyatt than with Gwen, but I remembered and was alert for both deliveries.
Now, if I had been in labor longer I might have "zoned out" when delivering naturally. There's no way to know for sure since (thankfully) both my labors were quick.
Was the recovery time different between delivering naturally and with the epidural?
I honestly don't know that I can really answer this, because the situation each time was so different.
The recovery with Wyatt was much harder, but I'm not convinced it had as much to do with the epidural as it did with the medications and fluids they had to give me because of my pre-eclampsia and the fact that I hemorrhaged. It also might have been worse because he was my first. But I was much more swollen and sore after having Wyatt.
After Gwen I felt great the next day - a little sore, but not that bad, and I wasn't swollen at all. I felt amazing after a week! I tore both times, and I think the tear was a bit more noticeable with Gwen, probably because I was exerting myself more and I probably over-did it a bit, and also because I was less sore in general so I could feel it more.
Were the pitocin-induced contractions more painful?
This doesn't have so much to do with the epidural itself, but I thought it was relevant. And I'm going to say yes and no.
The contractions with Gwen were just as painful as the contractions I had on the pitocin with Wyatt. I think the difference is that the contractions started out easier when I labored naturally - they weren't that bad except for the last hour and half (and then they got really bad really fast). Once the contractions started picking up they were the same as or worse than the pitocin contractions.
When I had pitocin, the early contractions were more intense than the early contractions during my natural labor. I don't know for sure how they would have felt toward the very end since I had the epidural by that point. The contractions started out more intense but they worsened more gradually as they turned up the pitocin (as opposed to going from manageable to unbearable in a half hour like they did with Gwen).
To be honest though, the contractions were still manageable on the pitocin - I got the epidural mainly because I couldn't stand the thought of being checked again - it was worse than the contractions! But that's beside the point.
Now some people have intense contractions all the way through when they deliver naturally too (like my blog buddy, Brittany). And some people have a much more gradual progression in their natural labors than I did. This is just the difference that I noticed for my body.
How will you do it next time?
Honestly, I like not having a definite plan when it comes to birth. Nothing can really take you by surprise if you are open to anything that might happen.
I am glad I had the epidural with Wyatt. I was unable to move around with Wyatt because of my pre-eclampsia. I had bad back labor, and it was very painful to be checked with Wyatt. I had a great experience with the epidural, no problems pushing. With not being able to move and being strapped down by so many monitors, I was much happier after the epidural and it made my labor experience a more pleasant one than it would have been.
I am glad I had the chance to deliver Gwen naturally. I like being able to see what it was like to labor naturally and give birth naturally, and I honestly feel confident that I could do it again.
Whether I want to do it that way again is another question, and I don't have an answer. I was happy having the epidural - I was happy delivering naturally.
I'm actually already worried about making this decision next time - because with the way my labor progressed so quickly with Gwen, by the time I would have actually wanted the epidural it would have been too late to get it, even if we were at the hospital. I think I'll have to decide beforehand next time, or the decision might be made for me. And there were aspects of both ways that I really liked. So I just don't know.
That's not a very definitive answer on the epidural vs. natural question, but it's where I am right now.
In closing though, I just want to say that after having delivered both ways, I firmly believe that any woman has what it takes to deliver naturally when it comes right down to it. You might not think you would be strong enough to deliver without pain medication, but don't doubt yourself - you could do it. Whether you want to is the question. It's just a matter of preference. So if you want to deliver naturally, proceed with confidence! If you decide to go for the epidural, don't let anyone make you feel like you are a wimp or you aren't strong enough, because you are.
Just choose whatever you think would be the best choice for you, and know that any way it happens, giving birth is an amazing thing, and such an adventure!
I read thirty-five books last year! I far exceeded my expectations as far as how many books I would read in 2012 - I thought for sure it would be a slow reading year with a toddler and being pregnant and all. But after reading eighteen in 2011 and nineteen in 2010, I'm pretty impressed with myself!
I like to keep a record of the books I read and my thoughts on them, so I'm just going to do a few words on each book - like a super-brief mini review. If you want more of my thoughts on any of these books, just let me know! Here we go. In no particular order...
Miss Billy by Eleanor H. Porter - The same author that wrote Pollyanna. Loved it!
Our Last Great Hope: Awakening the Great Commission by Ronnie Floyd - Very good, read my full review here.
The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lillian Jackson Braun - I liked it!
Decorating Schemes by Ginny Aiken - Pretty good, liked it.
Last Light by Terri Blackstock - Intense plot, I liked it. I want to read the next book.
Kisses From Katie: A Story Of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie Davis - Very good, inspiring!
When The Cradle Is Empty: Coping WIth Infertility by John Van Regenmorter - Very good, I'd recommend it to anyone struggling to get pregnant.
Simple Secrets to A Happy Life by Luci Swindoll - Loved it, lots of good wisdom, read my full review here.
Scrapping Plans by Rebecca Seitz - Didn't like it, wasn't well written or researched - read my review here.
One Thousand Gifts A Dare To Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp - Overall I thought it was good and thought-provoking. Didn't like the way she put certain things, but the poetry of her writing was inspiring.
Misconception: One Couple's Journey from Embryo Mix-Up to Miracle Baby by Paul and Shannon Morell - Wow, I can't imagine going through this - very interesting read. I just read "Inconceivable" by Sean and Carolyn Savage, the other couple involved in the mix-up, and I couldn't put it down. I'd recommend reading both books if you read this one, it was interesting to read both sides of the story.
Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam (not pictures because I remembered this one later) - A few situations that I didn't quite want to read about in the book, but overall I really enjoyed it.
Sixty Acres and a Bride by Regina Jennings - Liked it.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Meh. Read my review here.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (audiobook) - Obviously it was good.
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis - Excellent, a must-read. I love C.S. Lewis's writing. He was such a deep-thinker.
Common Sense by Thomas Paine - Classic. You can't review American classics. It was good!
Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne - Read it to Wyatt, loved it!
Take Three by Karen Kingsbury - First let me say that thesis the third book in the series, and I did not like the first two books in this series which I read a couple years ago. I didn't like reading how one of the characters falls into sinful relationships, and though Karen Kingsbury can write about these topics tastefully most of the time, I felt her descriptions in the first two books were bordering on inappropriate, for me. But I picked up the series again this year, and I thought this book was appropriate, and her books are always hard to put down.
Take Four by Karen Kingsbury - It was good.
Leaving, Learning, Longing, and Loving (Four books, Bailey Flannigan series) by Karen Kingsbury - This series builds off of the previous series, which is the whole reason I read the two books above. I wanted to find out what happened to Bailey Flannigan. This series did not end like I expected, but I enjoyed it, and after I got used to the idea that it was not going to go the way I thought, I was very happy with the story.
The 13th Hour by Richard Doetsch - Note: There is language, descriptive violence, and a couple other things in this book that I wanted to include a warning on. Just be aware. Not sure I would recommend it because of the above warning, but the plot had me on the edge of my seat, and it was well-written. I think if they cleaned it up a bit it would make a great movie.
Tidewater Inn by Colleen Coble - Kind of slow-moving, but it was good, read my review here.
Dreaming In Black and White by Laura Jensen Walker - Christian Chic-lit, I enjoyed it.
Fatal Distractions: Conquering Destructive Temptations by Kay Arthur - Bible study, very good, read my review here.
Blind Dates Can Be Murder by Mindy Starns Clark - I love this series, good book.
Elementary, My Dear Watkins by Mindy Starns Clark - Same series, last book, I liked it!
Covenant Child: A Story Of Promises Kept by Terri Blackstock - Good, but one of those stories where you get really frustrated with the characters until the end of the book when they come to their senses!
Beyond the Farthest Star by Brock and Bodie Theone - Okay, kind of depressing, I thought.
Miss Match by Erynn Mangum - Christian chic-lit. I enjoyed it, though I wasn't quite sure if the author was trying to send a message about predestination through some of the book . . . which is a completely different topic, but if you might get frustrated by that, be aware. But I thought it was humorous and fun!
Bringing Up Girls: Practical Advice and Encouragement For Those Shaping the Next Generation Of Women by James Dobson - It was very good! Definitely would recommend it to moms of girls.
Parenting Isn't For Cowards by James Dobson - Excellent parenting book, easy to read, I'd recommend it.
How My Soul Yearns by Ashley Wells - An Infertility story by a fellow blogger, I enjoyed it, though my heart broke for her too. However, I tracked down her blog, and the story has a happy ending - she is now the foster (and hopefully soon, adoptive) mother of four precious children!
And that's it! Once again, if you want to know a more detailed opinion from me on any particular book, let me know!
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