Constellations

 This week has been all about constellations! Because the younger children are still... well young they enjoyed looking at the starts and learning how they form into different shapes

Questions we talked about were:
Do stars shine during the day?  The answer was YES, but atmospheric gases, dust, and water vapor scatter sunlight passing through. This veils stars until the sun sets.

 We used the tablet with the app Google sky map to see the stars in the day and the night.

For a craft we used black construction paper, yellow and white paint and drew out constellations from a guide online.

Loving People

   It's been one of those weeks/months when it's easier to not look at the pain, the shame, the guilt others carry.  I sit here with the scriptures open questioning, how do you keep on loving when it seems so hard? How do you lay down your life again and again? As a wife and a mother the answers seem to just come, but when it comes to the outside what does that look like?  There is a lot of ugly in life. In the world. In people. In places, and in our hearts. There is a lot of ugly right here in me.

 It's hard when you feel like your losing hope and you have cried out to the Lord and nothing changes... When your believing for the miracle that doesn't happen..

 

 I remind myself of all I have seen, and set my hope fully on what we have not yet seen. Placing all of my hope and all of my trust and all of my focus on the grace given to us through Christ.

We went to church yesterday, what a timely encouraging sermon, it was if God was whispering "keep going, keep loving change will happen"  When you really get into life with people and decide to just say I'm not going anywhere, I may not agree with your choices but I am going to be here and love you anyway.

 

 I believe - that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
This is a big one-when you choose to walk through life with someone no matter what. It doesn't mater if you agree/disagree have the same convictions or what-ever. I think a lot more people would feel loved if we didn't measure each other so much.

I believe - that no matter how good a person is they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that. 
Yep! We have been hurt by someone and we have hurt someone. All guilty.

  I believe - that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
Growing takes a long time, I screw up a lot!  There is still a long ways to go, so be patient with each other.

  I believe - that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them. Sadly this is something I had to learn how to do. It wasn't that I didn't love people but I learned people need to simply hear "I love you".

  I believe - that you can keep going long after you can't.
I have lived some horrific things and still came out on the other side with a deeper faith.

 I believe - that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
That's what being a mom is.

I believe - that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe - that friends can do anything or nothing and have the best time! .

I believe - that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe - that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe - that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe - that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe - that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I believe - that your life can be changed in a matter of hour's by people who don't even know you.

I believe - that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

Pregnancy Update 27 weeks.

            I can't believe we are heading into the last stretch here.   I am amazed that no signs of PSD this pregnancy. PSD can drain any woman and make her question her sanity. Words I would use to describe how I feel are heavy and tried. This week was harder than the last week on my body which I think it’s just  going to be that way until they are here! Finding comfortable positions sitting or laying is becoming harder and harder. The past 2 days the babies were squishing my lungs which made it very difficult to take a breath. I slept  up on big stacks of pillows including my snoogle.  

Last week I had an ultrasound to check the babies growth, baby A was 2lbs 5ozs and baby B 2lbs 1oz. I can only image what the pressure is going to be like when they are 5+ lbs each! Not to mention two sacks and two placentas!  They are doing fantastic. Heart beats were 142 and 158, A was breech and B was head down.   I have a fundal height of 36cm typically with a singleton your fundal height stays within your number of weeks, so at 27 weeks you would be around 27cm. I hope to grow these little boys into the 50's range.

 I have a large to-do list over the next 3-4 weeks I would like to get done.  I would like to get my change table re-painted. It's over 24 years old and I remember the day at 7 years old when my mom and dad bought it for my brother. Amazingly enough SEARS still sells the exact one!  I need to buy a nice stash of receiving blankets and then I have two swings picked out.  It would be nice to pre-make some meals and have some in the freezer for those last few weeks.  The hard part now is standing for extended periods of time so we will see if that actually gets to happen.

Last week I took a spontaneous trip up north to a long time friends house husband-less and children-less.  The only time I have done something like this is to a homeschool convention, so taking a trip that was just for my fun was way out of normal for me.  My friend had twins in March so I wanted to go snuggle babies and visit asking all those questions that would still be fresh in her mind.  I was so encouraged by her and different things to say to those nosey ones that you really would rather not answer.

Raspberry Leaf Home Made Tea

 

Raspberry leaf tea is probably my favorite herb and definitely my most consumed herb. It's not my favorite because of the taste but because of the amazing health profile it carries.  It's naturally high in magnesium, potassium, iron and b-vitamins which make it helpful for nausea, leg cramps and improves your sleep during pregnancy. It strengthens the uterus and pelvic muscles which some midwives say leads to shorter and easier labors. This has been a very true fact for me, it also has helped with postpartum bleeding.  I currently am almost 27 weeks with my twins and am drinking 2L a day of it at almost $7 a box it can get expensive quickly and I run out at the worst times. If you scroll back a couple posts I shared that someone blessed us with raspberry plants, what a perfect time to make my own leaf tea!  All you need to do is pluck off a decent amount of nice looking ones. Once you’ve collected a decent amount of leaves, give them a quick rinse and dry them out. You can do this fairly easily by laying them to dry out in the sun for a few days. Once your leaves are all nice and dry and you’re ready to brew your first cup of red raspberry leaf tea, just take about a half ounce of the leaves per cup and pour boiling water over them, steep for 10 minutes or so and then enjoy.  I have been making iced tea with mine during these hot summer days and I find drink way more this way as well.

Where have the first 7 Days of August Gone?

What a busy seven days of August so far! Some amazing memories made and answered prayers.

It started July 31 with a  text message from my brother in law telling me they were at the hospital and would really love it if I could be there. I really don't know anyone who is going to turn down the opportunity to see a baby enter the world.  My sister labored for 3 days in the hospital after a planned homebirth. Her midwife became concerned after 42+ weeks at the chance of meconium in her water.

I was so honored to see my niece come into the world, it was a beautiful delivery. I even was able to cut her cord. She was born in the early morning hours on Aug 2, she is just the sweetest little thing. Aubrey-Grace weighing 8lbs 5oz at 1:24am August 2 2013

 

 

 That same day Chis left in the middle of the night on a bus 6 hours away to pick up our new van.  Another amazing story of God's provision. We had been praying as a family for over a year that God would bless us with a new van. I knew though that it wouldn't' happen until it was truly needed.  While I was at the hospital with my sister Chris called to tell me he got me a 15 passenger van for our 15th wedding anniversary. Miraculously the money came in for us!

 Sunday I took off with some girl friends on a much needed IKEA road trip, and then it was our 15th wedding anniversary!!!

Chris and I went out for a very nice dinner while my mom came to spend the night with our children.

I wanted to post this quote, I just loved it when I heard it. I thought it applied so well to those who leave their family size in the hands of God. 

 

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy. How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels? While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”