Jethro's Birth Story

40 weeks had come and gone.  41 weeks had come and gone.  Here I was at 42 weeks gestation and staring down an extra ultrasound to make sure my placenta was still doing it's job and that Jethro was still thriving.  I was quite confident that both of us were doing fine, but I was not at peace with the fact that at 42 weeks I'd only had a handful of braxton hicks contractions THE ENTIRE PREGNANCY.  This is not my normal mode of operation.  In the past, I'd always had weeks of on and off contractions in preparation for the big day.  My biggest fear was that my uterus would not be ready to perform.  You can't go to game time without some warm up!  At the very end, I began to wonder if perhaps we missed a trisomy issue that would cause a lack of progression.  But baby was obviously full size and there were no "soft signs" of any problems, so it was a small concern. 

I would like to say I was a patient mama with a soft glow of Godly maturity highlighting my countenance... but I wasn't.  By 41 weeks I was ready to try to prompt at least a few rounds of contractions even if that meant not actually starting labor.  I tried a regimen of black and blue cohosh and castor oil among myriads of other "natural" ways to start labor.  I got one hour of contractions that day while I rode the quad around hitting all the bumps.  That was it.  Discouraging to say the least.  Days later I felt like I needed a break to talk to God and be alone.  So, while the kids put on a movie, I took to the quad again.  Unexpectedly the Lord confronted me with several internal issues that needed dealing with.  I felt a need to release several things that I had not forgiven over the years.  At first there were just some obvious, more current hurts that I needed to forgive, but then it was like a flood gate opened and I realized how much I was holding on to, little hurts and offenses that I sort of set aside but that were building up as resentment within me.  This was not what I was searching for on my afternoon ride but quite clearly it was something that needed to be dealt with.  When the tears were too much, I parked the quad in the back field and wept out forgiveness to, um... just about everyone.  Wow.  I didn't know it was in there.  A lot of it was forgotten to my conscience but, as it came out, the release was huge.  I begged God to forgive me for holding on to all this and was so grateful that this healing moment, as unflattering as it was, would forever be apart of Jethro's birth story.  I came back to the house much lighter internally, but with no contractions.  However, I knew that my heart was prepared to labor freely and completely when the time came. 

Two days later, at 42 weeks, we needed to schedule that ultrasound and so I gave it one more shot with caster oil and a few other "natural" labor inducers in order to avoid 2 hours in the car and the cost of an ultrasound that I knew would reveal perfect health.  By midnight I was up with non-labor contractions, really just cramping from the caster oil.  This woke me every hour or so and by 3am I needed to be up and walk around and to visit the commode periodically.  Lovely.  Slowly but surely, the contractions did begin to change into uterine contractions and I was hopeful that we might have gotten something started.  At 5am I sent text messages to my dear friends who would need extra time to come attend the birth if possible.  I said, "Just a heads up.  I've been having contractions and I think today's the day.  I'll let you know in a bit."  About a half hour later I called the midwife and talked and laughed with her that maybe things were happening today.  She had a few of us "overdue" and currently due and I just wanted to get first in line if possible.  Selfish I know.  She said she'd take a shower and eat and start to head our way.  As soon as we hung up I was hit with a genuine labor contraction and I wished that I hadn't been so "aww, take your time" about things on the phone.  I asked Andrew to fill up the tub and he got to work on that, as well as patching a small hole he found, then he called my mom so she could start coming as well.  I walked around the house trying to keep the steady contraction ball rolling in the right direction and it definitely was.  I also needed to post to facebook that I was having contractions; so many people had been praying for us and I knew would continue to do so through this labor and delivery.  I probably got into the tub around 6am.  It was just Andrew and I there.  He called my dad to come watch the kids in a couple hours.  (I knew we didn't have hours but I didn't want people there too early.)  I told the kids, "It's not time yet" and sent them to start a movie downstairs.  At first it was "laboring as usual" as I began to survive the early contractions before transition and pushing, but then some thoughts hit me that changed everything. 

Several weeks before, a friend had posted about pain in labor and how it is different than regular pain.  Labor pain is the pain of working.  It is how God designed our bodies to work with us to get our babies out of our bodies.  It isn't something to be fought.  It's to be worked with.  I had also discussed with the midwife and her apprentice about natural adrenal drops called "rescue remedy".  Essentially these help when your body is beginning to "freak out" so that you can relax and get back to work.  For example, if you started to hyperventilate or shake, essentially panic, that might be a good time for rescue remedy.  I suppose before that extreme response it might be good, too, but this was just my tiny take on it.  They told me a couple of stories where, after rescue remedy, the women were able to relax and calmly labor on for a wonderful, peaceful birth.  I realized that I could achieve the same effect by mentally choosing not to enter emergency mode and to avoid stimulating a "fight or flight" adrenal response (which I so eloquently called "freak out" earlier).  Just like when the kids are hurt and I flip the mental switch so I remain calm and thinking and can respond appropriately.  Just like when I deal with angry people and flip the switch so I'm able to respond without being touched by their anger.  I knew this would be key in laboring better as well.  I would need to identify the time when I was conditioned to respond as if it were an emergency and flip the switch from a kind of fear mode to "time to be patient and work with my body" mode. 

So I settled down in the tub, with a cold wash cloth in hand, and just felt my body working.  It was amazing.  Eyes closed, I would rub my face, neck and chest with the cold cloth through the most intense contractions, often gently rubbing my tight belly and sometimes quietly whispering "down, down, down", breathing in deeply through my nose at the beginning and exhaling through my mouth, to encourage relaxation. If I felt baby move I would pray for God to position him just right for an easy delivery.  As the contraction relaxed I would just melt back against Andrew's knees and wait quietly for the next one.  I welcomed each contraction and could truly feel it moving baby down.  Breaks felt so long between contractions but I was at peace with the timing and the work that was being accomplished.  Soon I felt the very end of one of the contractions draw out a need to push from within me.  The next contraction did the same.  The progress was amazing.  We were here, at the threshold of pushing, and I had relaxed through the entire thing.  It was around this time that I heard the midwife arrive.  Andrew stood to go greet her at the door but I whispered not to leave, she knew the way.  I heard him tell her we probably had a couple hours.  I whispered, "He's coming soon."  The apprentice arrived next and I had a few more pushing contractions.  She tried to check for baby's heartbeat to see how he was responding to labor but he's always been hard to find due to the placenta being attached in the front.  A friend who was bringing her camera with her was the next to arrive and she began setting up.  The girls popped in to check on me and one of them encouraged me, "You're doing good mom."  I could only respond that it wasn't time yet.  At the advice of my midwife I rolled over to my knees so we could insure baby's cord wasn't being compressed.  Just a few minutes later my mom arrived and I was already actively pushing.  I could feel baby moving down but, as I checked on my progress, could not feel his head yet.  Also, I had not felt my water break.  The midwife helped with stretching and guiding baby's head down.  He took his time.  His head came through broadly centered, rather than tipped, with the back of the head leading, so it was a lot of work and explains why I couldn't feel him crowning and probably part of why I didn't have any braxton hicks.  I put all my energy and focus into pushing and did not vocally express as much as I have in the past.  Finally his head was out.  I heard encouragement to keep working hard.  I had to keep pushing to get his broad shoulders through as well.  Finally he slipped out and the midwife passed him to me between my legs.  She told me to grab my baby.  I was so relaxed even though I was working so hard.  I grabbed him and pulled him up. 

For the first time I didn't feel the need to ask if he was alright.  I was so confident of the process, I just savored him and rubbed his little body all over.  He was covered in thick vernix.  I've never had such a buttery baby!  He cried just a bit and I held him in the water, trying to keep him warm and just admiring what God had been up to these past 42 weeks.  "Get the kids" was the first thing I said.  We left the cord attached until it was thoroughly done pulsing and he got all that good oxygen filled blood into his body.  I have no idea when my water broke.  I've always felt it break in labor.  In the hospital of course they broke my water to "speed things up".  With Jack it broke as he was being born.  I wonder if maybe my water broke days before as I had noticed a little trickling from time to time, but still, I felt no gush at any time and my fluid levels were good.  It's a mystery.

This labor and delivery were a pure miracle to me.  A blessing, a gift... I wish every woman could experience it.  Complete confidence, peace...  I've delivered 6 babies before Jethro.  I know that it was much different this time because of the change in me.  There is a night and day difference between home birthing and hospital birthing, so much so that it's hard to even begin to explain to people.  But even beyond that, there was such a benefit to understanding and embracing the process of birth and controlling my emotional response which affects the physical adrenal response.  God's presence was evident as he led me through the entire thing.

So, the worst parts of this birth were, first, delivering the HUGE placenta.  It was basically another small child only uglier and interrupting my time with Jethro.  Also, I believe because I had taken the caster oil before bed, and my body had eliminated all food reserves by morning, I threw off my blood sugar.  I was having severe cramping for after pains, much worse than I've ever had in the past.  I felt weak and shortly I was unable to hold Jethro or even really sit up.  I was not losing a lot of blood but I was definitely "off".  All I knew was that something was wrong.  I asked the midwife to check my blood sugar, I was sure it was low, even after eating apples and peanut butter and a scone to try to get my energy up.  In fact, my blood sugar was high, probably my body compensating for lack of food during labor.  I cancelled my order for orange juice and asked for cottage cheese (Nancy's cottage cheese THE BEST EVER!!).  Within in just a few bites I was revived and feeling great.  Cramps became a normal level, just regular after birth pain and not as frequent.  I could enjoy my newborn again and get on to all the measurements and checking him out.  He was 9 lbs even and 21 1/2" long.

When it was all said and done the midwife said Jethro was not an overdue baby and would have been fine in there another week even.  Due to the physical response I had afterward, I don't think I will use caster oil again in the future.  I think I'll trust the process and wait for his time completely.  (Remind me of this at 42 weeks next time!!).  I loved her comment in the end, "Some babies just cook longer."  He was perfectly done and has been a content, peaceful baby.

Welcome to the world Jethro Asher Daniel Nordstrom.  We love you so much!

Slow and steady wins the race.

Jethro... meaning His excellence, his posterity, overflowing, abundance... over and above!  Thank you Lord!  This has been so true of his birth and his life so far.

Asher... meaning happy, blessed.  You are so content and bring much happiness to our family.  Truly a blessing!

Daniel... meaning God is my judge.  May you always remember that it is God's good opinion and judgement that matters most.

The Ultrasound & a Birthday Party With Baby's Gender Reveal

Saturday we went for the long awaited ultrasound, a little peek into what God has been quietly doing inside me for 20 weeks. Andrew took the day off and the doctor was willing to come in on the weekend in order to make it work for both of us. I chose a naturopathic doctor, who does the ultrasound right in their natural childbirth clinic and can diagnose immediately. A natural childbirth clinic is a great choice for people who are not quite ready to embrace the wonderful comfort and empowerment of a full blown homebirth, but want to take a step towards trusting their bodies and the birth process. (ok, ok, no more plugs for homebirth, onto the story) The ultrasound went picture perfect, a true blessing. The doctor spoke to me as we went along and told me what he was looking for and why, and then, praise the Lord, that everything looked great. He was kind and even talked to the baby as if they were face to face. I had him write the gender on a piece of paper which I planned to reveal at Eliza's 2 year old birthday party the next day. He folded it up and put a paper clip on it. I was on such a high, considering the health of the baby, that it didn't even phase me to be holding the answer to the gender question in an unsecured piece of paper.
Saturday was a full schedule with running up to Portland, juggling the babysitter back home, running back for lunch, off to a basketball game, a quick swim, then off to Church and a very late dinner. Phew!! I didn't want to lose my ultrasound pictures and, of course, the precious gender paper, so I put them on the bar in plain sight, since we'd be gone all day, then I ran off to return the sitter home while Andrew fed the kids and got them ready for the next part of the day. When I returned, not thirty minutes later, I immediately saw the storm surrounding Josiah.

"What is wrong with you?"

"I hate when the girls ruin things for me!"

"What happened?"

"Mia opened up the ultrasound paper and told us what we're having."

Noooooooooo!!! My perfectly crafted plan! The party tomorrow! How will the girls, who couldn't keep a secret in our family, not tell the world before our party? You know, I have very persuasive friends who can read me like a book and I will see them at Church! How can I keep a secret? No, no no!!! This was not the plan people!

Later that night when I generically mentioned this situation to a man at our church who has four children he said, "Yep! That's life with a big family, it never goes as planned." He's right you know, and actually I'm the better for it because life doesn't really go as planned anyway, but we can't help but think it does, at least until we've been a hit a few times. With several kiddos you're just reminded of this fact daily, hourly sometimes!

So I said to my obviously disappointed son, "I'm guessing we're getting a girl based on the frown on your face."

"No, I just didn't want to find out that way."

No? Then it must be a... "Aaaaaaggghhh!!! It's a boy!!!" I shrieked with sudden understanding and delight. That was how I found out that our newest bundle of joy would be a little man. It's been nearly 10 years and my initial emotional response holds true even now, "Do I remember how to raise a baby boy?" Andrew assures me that the only difference is you've got to blow in the diaper first, then wait a few seconds before the change. Got it.

Josiah's comment was fitting, "I still can't believe it's a boy. I thought you forgot how to make them." Oh, God is good, His timing is perfect, but I was beginning to have that same thought myself!

So, I lied my way through basketball and then, *gulp* church. Nice. I tried to be tricky with my answers so as to avoid an actual lie while still not admitting that I did know the gender, but I'm pretty sure I lied to at least a few. Sorry about that folks, it must be the pregnancy hormones that made me do it. :)

Since we were celebrating Eliza's birthday, my big reveal plan was to have her choose between a blue ribboned stuffed animal and a pink ribboned stuffed animal, as I did with Sierra when I was pregnant with Eliza. I'd open the note, whisper in her ear which animal to go get, and it'd be this fun reveal that she would be in charge of. This was a less attractive option now because I'm just not a good faker, and I would have to pretend to read the note or admit up front that we already knew, yada yada yada. (As I'm typing now, I'm thinking really it wasn't that big of a deal and I should have just gone with it, but pregnant brains don't always function normally and, again, I think I'll claim the hormones made me abandon ship.) So, I decided to make Eliza's birthday cake white and add blue food coloring, then we'd cut into it for the big reveal. No blue food coloring left. DOH! I found some blue m-n-m's and figured some of their shells would rub off enough to leave a blue tinge but it didn't spread through the cake and wasn't really enough to show much so I went with plan... what are we on now... C. I put a blue candle and a pink candle on the cake, perfect since Eliza is 2. I told everyone the candle that I lit first was the gender of the baby. So we enthusiastically sang "Happy Birthday" to Eliza and, as she began to get overwhelmed and shy, I lit the blue candle which erupted a large cheer of celebration and sent her into full blown crying and the inability to actually blow the candles out. Thankfully she has older siblings that know the drill and they jumped in to help her. Phew!!
I confessed to everyone the events of Saturday and we all had a good chuckle over it. There were a few there that were in on the news ahead of time as well. Let's just say that a couple of us in this family have our weak spots and that next time (hey, I'm not ruling it out) I'll make sure to put the note in a sealed envelope and I think I'll keep it in my bra!!

***Happy birthday Eliza! I love you like crazy!! I'm so glad we were finally healthy and able to celebrate your day. Just think, next year this time your little brother will probably be crawling all over.***

Birthday #1

It must be hard to be the fourth child but WOW! so much fun, too. Poor Eliza didn't get a blog post on her birthday or one following her party either. But she is much loved and I'd like to share a few pictures from her special day.

We followed our tradition of dedicating our children to the Lord on their one year birthday. Our pastor Steve and his wife Trina came out to the house, as well as family and some good friends. It was also the day several of our pastor's kids went back to college after the Christmas break so I felt like his prayer and his heart were particularly knowing since they've been there themselves and are further down the road. We were blessed!

Here's Eliza with her friend Berlin. They're only 3 months apart (Eliza's older!). Isn't that cute, they're holding hands!

Around the party table ou can see cousin Mackenzie, Mia and her friend Olivia, and Eliza still enjoying her cake.

Gramma Linda helped Eliza open her presents which we finally remembered to get to after almost everybody had left.

I love you sweet child of mine. God is generous in giving us you, my beautiful, wished for child. You are such a joy and gift to our family. You sure do keep me on my toes climbing on everything and running all over the house. Phew! I can't imagine what the future holds for you with your determination.

Why I DO NOT Shop At W*nC* ...even though it's cheaper!

Today, against my better judgement, I decided to hit W*nC* for my last bit of Christmas dinner shopping, instead of the usual S*f*w*y or Fr*d M*y*r. I had just told my sister-in-law that I would never venture there because things always go wrong and the lay out really confuses me. Many times I just haven't been able to find my way to what I need. But, it was a last minute decision. I was right by W*nC*, stuck in traffic, thinking about how much cheaper it would be and maybe it's gotten better since the last time we were there and after all the kids were doing so great. Nevermind that it really was closing in on naptime and come to find out Eliza had actually already fallen asleep in her carseat. I pulled in and began navigating the parking lot traffic.

The trip actually started out pretty good. We got a great parking spot right next to the cart return so coming and going would be quick. Then, to help with the holiday spirit I had us all wear our Santa hats that I had brought. So far so good. I was inspired by a beautiful family with ten or so kids that entered the store before us, all color coordinated and behaving so nicely. I did note that the father was there, too, so I knew that despite their having more than double the amount of kids I had, my job would still be harder, but with our hats we'd win in the cute department.

And so we set off. I had Eliza in the sling so she could fall back asleep if she wanted, a good list to follow and let's not forget our great hats!! I felt kinda proud that I was so prepared for once. Of course the girls got confused on the Exit versus Entrance doors and at W*nC* there's no crossing over to go through. When you're on the wrong side you have to OBEY YOUR MOTHER and come back out and enter through the Entrance. It's ok, we made it in.

Unfortunately Sierra's hat wouldn't stay on right. She was just beside her self trying get it set right and she really wanted the Christmas bell that Santa gave her to stay on the end but that weighted it wrong and made it pull off. Of course her hopping up and down in anger really threw it for a loop but thankfully she chose to stop me right by the discounted green beans and those were on my list for green bean casserole. So I got the beans and adjusted the hat and thought, "All's well that ends well".

I allowed myself to get a little distracted by the huge box of fish crackers I saw on sale out of the corner of my eye. I sent Josiah to go get it, then sent him back when I realized there was no way I'd be spending $6 on fish crackers when we have plenty of regular crackers that everyone would enjoy. We pressed on. As we were approaching produce apparently Mia "inadvertently" stepped on the back of Josiah's shoe which was very annoying to him and he really wanted me to hear about it but I was in the middle of counting out the right number of cans of cream of mushroom soup, thinking about how many bananas we would need and responding to two older women who were just tickled at the sight of our family in the cute Christmas hats. Especially the baby... "where did you get that little hat!!"

List! Where's my list? I was beginning to shop a little "shoot from the hip"-ish and thought the list would solve everything. OK! I began to tell the kids what else we needed in hopes that would distract them from their bickering. No one was listening. A large Hispanic family smiled and laughed at our cute hats. They pointed at Eliza.... "so cute!" I smiled.

Sierra kept grabbing the cart and jumping on trying to get a ride. This throws off my direction because I really can only use one hand to drive between reading the list, getting what I need off the shelf and keeping a hand on Eliza in the sling. This is not a new issue and I guess I can be thankful that I'm not pregnant and having it bang into my tender tummy but still.... "DON'T TOUCH THE CART!!!" Lots of people looked at us. I smiled hoping they'd be distracted by our hats. Worse! They were distracted by Sierra's temper tantrum right in the middle of the tight W*nC* aisle. She desperately wanted a ride, her hat kept falling off, she bumped a water bottle off the shelf, and I was telling her "no, no, no" at every turn. For a four year old it was just the worst day ever and so she plopped herself down and began to sob and cry. Unfortunately for her there was just no time for this pity party so we continued on. "Oh, I don't want to hit your little girl" said a well meaning Christmas shopper since Sierra was partially blocking her road. I was thinking, "Just bump her a little it might motivate her to get up and OBEY HER MOTHER!!!" I gathered up my little puddle of a girl and told her to just put her hat in the cart and hold my hand (I would steer the cart with my hips and elbows). Off we go.

I hadn't decided if I was going to make cranberry sauce or just buy the can but seeing as we were right near the canned fruit aisle I made the decision to just go canned so we could get out of there quicker. "Turn left everyone." "Which way's left?" Oh honestly haven't we learned this? "Turn by the cans.... Look out for that cart! Sorry." It's like it's always our first time in a grocery store.

There was no cranberry sauce on the canned fruit aisle. I went down the canned soup aisle, maybe it's kind of off on it's own because it's not really a fruit once it's made into sauce, right? Nope. I tried the fruit aisle again. These aisle were packed and slow and Eliza had decided she didn't like her cute hat anymore and began pulling it off and throwing it down and squirming in her sling. Fine, no hat and you can sit in the cart now. Great, the cart has no belt. I tried to use the sling as a belt by putting it around her and hanging my purse in it to weigh it down. She wasn't going for that. Meanwhile Sierra decided that she did want her hat again and the issue had reached a new crisis point and her whining and crying had reached a new decibel. Josiah was still trying to tell me about all the annoying things Mia was doing and Mia was bouncing around in the aisles causing cart pile ups left and right. People around me were "tsk-tsking" and all I could think was "maybe the hats will help" so I put Sierra's hat back on and tried to distract Eliza enough to keep hers on. It actually helped for a while and at least we looked cute.

I decided we'd go for frozen cranberries and I'd make the sauce. It's easy to make and I needed ice cream and frozen juice anyway. I had Josiah go for some vanilla ice cream and I went in search of the frozen fruit. Veggies... potatoes... burritos... no frozen fruit. I went around again.

"WHAT KIND OF VANILLA?" a frustrated Josiah yelled across the frozen foods. I sent Mia to tell him he could choose. They both came back empty handed since apparently Mia said, "CHOOSE!" in a mean voice and Josiah was not going to respond to that. After circling the entire frozen foods department three times I knew I needed help so I asked two young WinCo staff members where I might find the frozen cranberries and they looked at me like I was wearing my festive hat in July! You know what... no cranberry sauce this Christmas. Oh the disappointed whining that followed this executive decision. I sent Josiah back for ice cream, "Just choose a vanilla, whatever kind you want, I don't care." *breathe*

As we headed to the check out we were passing the canned foods again and I couldn't help but feel like with one more trip through I could find the blasted cranberry sauce and save Christmas for everyone. Being the hero type, I tried one more time. I studied labels hard, not letting the bickering or whining distract my focus. There was definitely no cranberry sauce there. I left for check out mildly dejected at my failure.

It was about then I realized that I only had three kids. Mia, my independent, distracted child by nature, was missing. I sent Josiah back an aisle begging him to be kind in his pursuit of our lost girl. No Mia. He came back saying a man said, "Are you looking for your sister?" So obviously she'd been spotted. Several people passed us as we stood waiting for her to catch up, "Aren't you missing a one?" I guess we drew enough attention that people knew how many kiddos I was juggling that day. Unfortunately, just before she slipped away, she had taken off her Santa hat so now I had no identifiable clothing to mention to these observant people.

After several minutes we headed towards check out looking up and down every aisle as we went. Then I saw her, up with a clerk in the front, standing with her fists doubled up, arms laced tightly against her chest, face set in the bravest way she could. Our eyes met and you could see the relief. First she slinked side ways towards us then she fully ran. As she got closer the tears she'd held at bay came streaming down her face and I held her right there in the middle of all the chaos and carts and I cried a little, too. The lesson I'd been telling her all these years had hit her heart so there was no need for reminders. I pulled our group into the juice aisle for a little recovery time. Finally everyone was quiet, there was no bickering or whining, our festive hats lay in the cart. So we headed for W*nC* check out... the one where you bag your own stuff. *sigh*

Things went really well actually. The man behind me was so chatty with the clerk that I didn't feel as pressured while I directed the kids and bagged up our stuff. As we pulled away from the check out stand I said, "Hey, let's put our hats back on so we'll be warm outside and we'll look so festive!!" Everyone did and then I noticed the girls were chewing on something. Apparently while I was distributing the groceries between bags they had gathered up all the spilled candies around the candy machine and helped themselves. What a treat!

W*nC* was a trial again to say the least. I can't help but think bad thoughts about it. But, at least it's over and we're set for Christmas dinner.

The Great Transformations

Many of us in our family had big changes in the hair department lately. Here's some before and afters.

I went first. My hair had been over grown and bothering me for going on 6 months. It's hard to decide what to do when you're ready for a big change, and then to have the money to spend on it, and to make the time to do it with sitters and all. But finally I made it happen! Unfortunately the hair dresser didn't understand what I wanted even though I brought 3 pictures and gave a very clear verbal explanation. So I ended up with something totally different. After giving it a couple of days I decided that I really didn't like it and got my money back. So, I guess I can't complain much about a free haircut and lucky for me my hair grows pretty fast. In no time I'll have the look I was going for, a medium length slight wedge cut. But here I am with my REALLY short hair (he shaved my neck).

Ironically when Sierra saw my haircut she wanted to get hers cut the same way. I have trimmed it several times but this time we were going for a whole new look so she got to go to the corner family hair place. Here's the before:

And here's the after:

Funny, that was the look I was going for myself! Totally cute and it fits her so well. She loves it!

But the biggest change was Josiah's! He'd been growing his hair out all year. I decided even before kids that I did not want hair to be an issue and would let the kids decide what styles they wanted as long as they kept it clean and groomed. Josiah actually has very nice hair and long hair is 'in' right now. He did have to endure lots of flack from other adults in his life though. This didn't bother him at all. But, when Grandpa Nordstrom offered him a few incentives to get it cut and keep it short he found it a no brainer and we went for it. He also incorporated it in to his Halloween costume and had it cut like High King Peter of Chronicles of Narnia. So, here's his before:

And his after:

What a handsome guy! I have to admit, I'm loving seeing his gorgeous face again.

Grandma: These Are For You!

Summer is winding down but I still need to post some more pictures of our fun times.

Sierra turned 4 this summer! We had a nice afternoon with friends and family and she chose a Dora theme again. It's so fun as they get older and can do more activities, so we had some little games (bean bag toss, water balloon game, and musical chairs) that they had to do as they followed the map back to the cake!

Even baby sister Eliza got into the party mode. (6 1/2 mo. old)

Josiah and Mia went to Canyonview Camp again and both were thrilled to have great friends along this year. Here's Josiah with his best friend Boston.

And Mia with her kindred spirit Olivia.

Eliza and I attended the wedding of a friend and I got this great picture of her meeting herself in the mirror. Mia lost her first tooth this summer. Actually at this posting she's lost two and has another wiggly one! What a milestone. And, just to keep the tooth count balanced out, Eliza got her first two teeth. Look closely!

The races at Bush Park were a lot more convenient the last couple of years but we made the trip in and really enjoyed the time. Mia had to run quick and then head to choir practice but she's a great "roll-with-it" kinda girl and was glad to get to do both activities. Here she is finishing the race.

Josiah loves to run and has found some success in it, too. I love that he still runs with a smile! Here he is getting a ribbon.

Apparently Sierra loves to run, too. After running her race for 6 and under, she took off after Josiah and the 12 to 7 year olds, and finished the mile run, too. The first time Dad didn't notice for a little while and had to go running after her as she was already out of earshot. Every other time she asked to run the long race so we were ready for it. What a little runner!

I decided to make the trek to Silver Creek Falls with the kids. I was longing to just be in nature and this was the perfect antidote. Eliza and I got lots of comments about her luxury ride.

Here's the kids under the waterfall in the cave area.

Surprise Eliza!Josiah climbing around!We celebrated Grandpa's birthday a little late so that we could share it with Aunt Linda. Roaring River here we come!!

Here's the birthday Grandpa with Josiah enjoying the cool waters. Josiah was all over and in the creek.

And here's Dad being the safety guy for crazy Mia as she balances her way across the stream on the branch.

And there was sweet cousin time for Sierra, as she and Mackenzie enjoyed wading and just generally playing around.Even Eliza got to dip her toes in the creek!
It has been a great summer and I'll post a few more pictures soon. The nice thing about home schooling is that summer isn't over for us. We already have several great outings planned... educational of course!

The Big Winter Wait

We've been hit with some pretty big snow and ice this winter. Actually, I guess it's not technically even winter yet! It's not been unmanageable weather but just not typical for this neck of the woods. What's been the hardest part is everything is being cancelled: PE, AWANA, Christmas parties, even Church! This gives me very little to do but wonder "When is Eliza gonna get here?!" It's been an excruciating week or so as I've come through the period of "will she come a little early" or "will she be on her due date like her brother". Now we're to the part where I wonder if I will ever have her. I know someday this whole conversation will be in the past and I'll be enjoying her sweet presence but for now, quite frankly, I'm going a little insane. My mom has come to stay with us a couple of nights just in case the roads were too bad she would still be able to be here for Eliza's arrival. It's been helpful to have her here, it's just too bad Eliza isn't. Sometimes I wish I could just curl up like Sierra at nap time and sleep through this big winter wait for baby.

Actually, this weekend has been so great having Andrew home. I've gotten some jobs checked off the "Honey-Do" list and he's a lot more fun for the kids at this point in time. He even got those stubborn alpacas to eat from his hands. I don't know how he always has the magic touch.

It would've been a great weekend to have a baby. Oh well, the wait continues.

When It Rains It Pours... er I Mean...

So, you can probably guess, if 10 chickens, or for that matter 30 chickens, weren't enough then surely one horse was not enough. Today we welcomed Stormy the miniature Appaloosa gelding to our farm.

He is only 2 years old, silvery gray and he and Sugar have quickly become the best of friends. When they first met through the fence, Sugar came running up, whinnied a loud hello and stamped her foot as any independent, spirited woman would. This was the most movement we've seen from Sugar since we got her. Then she sprinted over to the gate where we were leading Stormy in, they both whinnied a lot, danced around some, and then that was it. They were friends. I expected some bickering as they adjusted to each other but there wasn't any. Both are mild mannered and they don't wander more than 5 feet from each other now. I'll have to post another picture later, it was getting dark and that's the best I can do.

Now the work begins. We need to train them to our voice commands, the saddle, and eventually to a cart. Sugar has some experience with the saddle and riders and she's working on obeying voice commands but Stormy has very little experience with any of it. By the way, when I say "we" need to start training, you know of course I mean Andrew. After all this is his venture, I just get the joy of blogging about it.

And that's not all...

We also opened the front pasture up to 6 male alpacas. It's a win-win situation as we've been wondering how we were going to maintain the field and the owners of the alpacas needed extra grazing room for the herd. It's also another opportunity to bring in a little income and get familiar with the animals without the investment of actually buying some.

Josiah and Mia got to hold the lead on two of them but both dropped the ropes when they pulled too hard. Alpacas are stronger than they look and of course they were nervous in the new environment. Unfortunately they could only catch one right away and the other ran off with his lead dragging behind him. They were all in the field, but we didn't want the lead to get him caught up in anything. So, if you're wondering, catching an alpaca isn't easy. Especially when it's their first time in a new field and they've just gotten out of a trailer. Thankfully for me, Sierra needed to go down for a nap at the same time, so I got to watch the comedy unfold from the warmth and vantage point of the house. The couple that brought them over, Andrew, Josiah and Mia were all waving their hands, arms outstretched, forming a semi circle trying to corner them on one end of the field. Those wiley alpacas though, they managed to bob and weave and work their way out of the little trap.

Pacas 1, humans 0.

They tried again, this time with all the leads they had removed from the other alpacas tied into one long rope. The alpacas saw that coming and ran all the way around to the other side of the field.

Pacas 2, humans 0.

Finally, with the extra leverage of a tree in the corner and the extension of a long branch cutting off the get away angle, they got them cornered and were able to grab the lead. Phew!

Game over. Humans win 3-2 with that last second 3 point play! It was great fun to watch!! I was thinking that I actually should have joined in, perhaps that would have sent me into labor. Oh, there's still plenty of time to chase them around.

To top it all off. Josiah found another garter snake, only this one is a lot smaller. He named him Carter. We're keeping him outside in the same little tub we used before. Hopefully he'll last longer than the other one. I'm wondering if a raccoon or some other predator got the last one. Poor thing.

Happy Birthday Sierra!

Brand new baby Sierra!

You are three years old!! I can't believe it. Sierra was born at another time in our lives when we were up in the air. We had decided to really tackle the financial issues we were facing. We downsized our home, sold our Honda Accord, and really tightened the spending belt. We moved into this house with no extra money or time to work on it but with a dream of it being beautiful again. Sierra was 6 weeks old. Have we really come this far?

Fall 2005

Spring 2008

Just a side note. In the first picture, I love the symbolism: air compressor, extension cord and ladder for our remodeling project, baby clothes and toys for our children, elliptical machine and bungees for personal goals, bills, paperwork and laundry for family responsibilities. That was my life!

One year old!

Sierra means mountain. It was so appropriate for the mountain we were climbing in life. I will always remember Andrew saying, "It's like we're climbing up a mountain of mud. I'm working so hard to take a step forward but each time I slide back several steps." It was a frustrating, mucky time. At the same time, I also trusted that God would provide wonderful perspectives from the mountain journey, so Sierra was very appropriate. She has two middle names, like the other kids: Ruby Jean. Ruby has so many wonderful connections. It is July's birthstone, Andrew's paternal Grandmother's name, and a dear friend of my paternal Grandmother's. Jean is my mom's middle name and the name of a wonderful mentor that God brought into my life several years ago. Jean also means "God is Gracious". Perfect!!

2 years old!

Sierra was a surprise baby and even that was a blessing. We've always wanted a big family and I had already begun to grieve the fact that it looked like financially we'd have to be done at 2 kids. As much as the timing seemed crazy and impossible at the time, here we are 3 years later and, first of all, I wouldn't change a thing and, second of all, it obviously wasn't impossible because we're all thriving!

3 years old and rafting!

As a Dalmatian dog at the 4th of July!

Happy Birthday beautiful girl. You'll be a wonderful big sister!