Solids & Teething

I started Faith on solids a few weeks ago. Banana's, apples, avacodos & now she's on carrots. Carrots are the first spoon fed solids though. Everything else has been through a little mesh feeder thingy that I bought at toy's r us. She loves food that's for sure. She sees me with her spoon and starts going nuts. I'm going to do sweet potatoes next week. Hopefully she'll get some meat on her bones. She's 5mos and just now growing out of 3mo clothing. She only fits in 3-6mo right now. So...at 7 mos (Christmas) will she fit into 6mo clothing??? Christmas is going to be so much fun with her.

For the past 2 weeks I have had the hunch that Faith has been teething. This morning my hunch was confirmed. I looked into her mouth and saw 2 little white specks shinning back at me. My little baby girl is getting teeth!!! Part of me is so excited, but the other part of me is almost sad. Is she still going to have the cute baby face? What about her smile. The toothless grin is so captivating...how are teeth going to affect that. She'll still be gorgeous of course. There's no question about that! LOL!!!! Can you tell I'm a proud momma! My house is a wreck of course. Since she has been so fussy and what not I have not gotten a thing done. It wouldn't be so bad if Mike were on his regular schedule, but he has been home all week so I have had to cook every day too. Oh well, time to go clean now that Faith is napping.

So...when do I get my nap!?!?!?!?!?!?

Faith- 4 months

Well, I am sorry that I havn't been very good about sending pics of Faith. I get so distracted by how amazingly cute she is. Every day I am more amazed by Gods creation and how such a little person could affect me in such big ways.

We just finished two wonderful weeks with Grandma & Papa (too short if you ask me) and a quick visit from Ashley (also too short). Papa & Grandma were out for my dads 60th. This was the first time I was able to spend a lot of time with them as I am not working. Well, I am working harder than I ever have before, but you know what I mean.

Okay so Faith has rolled over a few times in her crib. The little stinker of course waits until we are not in the room to do so, but she does it none the less. At her 4 mo appt she measured 25" long and 11lbs 13oz. Long and lean, can't argue with that! Her toes and tongue are her favorite body parts right now and she is able to spend more and more time each day entertaining herself, but her favorite place to hang out is in the sling that Aunt Kathy gave me (thank you so much!!! It's been a real life (and time) saver.

She becomes more aware of the world around her with every passing day. Shadow is a new interest. Just this past week she has started watching her. Shadow is very cute with her and constantly lays next to her, and walks into her room to "Check" on her when she's chillin in the crib. If Faith is crying and I am in another room Shadow will run into the room and get my attention then turn around and lead me to wherever she is crying. I am still not comfortable with leaving her in the room alone with Faith. She's a great dog, but she's still a dog so we're pretty careful about that.

She is "talking" so much. Mike was home with her while I worked at the Opera house last night and said he was teaching her how to roar and she mimicked. If I could just get him to use the video camera!

Well, I know all you really want to see is pics. She is the cutest girl in the world by looks and spirit.

I attached one, but to avoid using all your email storage space here's a link to the rest of our pics.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ImKita

Article on Measles outbreak

Ok, so many of you have heard about Measles outbreaks across the nation. I have read several articles on the topic, and they are rediculously biased. Not that I am surprised as it is the media. Anyway ALL of the articles make a coment about nearly half of those with measles did not get the immunization. Ok...so read that again and slower... NEARLY half. Which means that MORE than half of those with the measles DID get the shot, yet STILL got the measles and are spreading it. Yet the tone of the articles are on the irrisponsibilities of parents that do not vaccinate. It kills me how the media can still twist the facts of a story by using specific wording to make it sound like they are right.

Each parent is right in whatever they decide to do regarding vaccines. I would never tell someone that it's wrong to vaccinate. The only thing that I believe to be wrong is making blind parenting choices based on what one is "supposed" to do. Again I say, Parent with purpose!!!

Disturbing

I witness a consistently disturbing practice every day. It happens in every city in every state, and in many more countries than just ours. It isn't gross. It's not unlawful. But to me it is very disturbing. That is parenting by chance not purpose.

Too many people become parents and choose not to train or discipline their children. Fits no longer bring on discipline, but equal reward. Parents yell and scream at their children instead of providing correction and direction. There are no longer consequences for bad behavior. I fear for society more and more with each generation of whiners that is created. I fear what is to come as disciplne is now shunned in our society and children are being given what they want, and parents have no follow through with their discipline tactics.

It's time to bring back the paddles and switches if you ask me. Allow teachers to discipline, and parents to spank. It never did the past generations any harm.

A little correction is healthy

So, I have suffered from foot in mouth disease a lot lately. I am a bit hot headed as most of you know, and certainly have a problem with correction (I am working on that). I have offended a friend, though I am not sure who she is, that was just trying to give me a little direction in my response to things and immediately shot out a post that was meant for them. Thankfully this weighed on my heart enough that I went back and changed the post. So, to Mrs. Anonymous (or I guess there's a chance it could be a Mr. but I think I know who it is, and she's definitely a Mrs.) I am sorry for my reaction, and I apreciate your words and correction. I will heed them and try to be more careful in the future.

Okay, so here is the problem though. This is how I ALWAYS react to correction, advice, constructive critisizm, anything that isn't saying I am perfect. How sad is that! But I always, after reacting poorly, think about what was said and often what that person said was true, and helpful.

It affects every aspect of my life, and all I really know to do is pray that God will change my heart and mind. But I think He needs me to do the work so that I learn from it. This brings me to you. So, how do I fix this? I am seriously asking for help and advice. Do any of you suffer from this foot in mouth disease? How have you worked through it?

Adventures in Diapering

So, it is always interesting to see what I will find in a restroom when I go to change Faith's diaper. Many of you moms can sympathize. Katie, I have no clue how you do it with twins, more power to you sister girl!!!! Well, I had such a...well.....hmm.... yeah.....ummm... experience in a restaurant bathroom, that I thought I would share.

I will start this all by saying that I started the evening out with switching to a new diaper bag....something that should have been simple...though had I remembered the bottom pocket that held the wipes I wouldn't be telling this story.

So, Faith had used her potty (had a BM) that morning so I pretty much knew I was clear for the evening just having to deal with wet diapers if that. We got to the restaurant and Faith started fussing. I figured she was wet so I went to the bathroom to change her diaper....only find out there wasn't a changing station, nor a place to use as one. Normally I would put the pad on the floor, but it was a 2 person bathroom and someone was using one of the stalls. So...I waited until they left. Then I had the brilliant idea to put my bag in the sink and cover it with the pad to make somewhat of a flat surface. it worked okay, but Faith wasn't thrilled as it was a corner sink so VERY cramped. So I take her diaper off and notice there is a little bit of poop that I needed to clean up....wipes...where are my wipes...I just need one wipe....CRAP they're at home. I guess I'll use TP. So I pick Faith up and walk over and take care of that then walk back to the makeshift changing station. As you know I practice EC which teaches them to wait for the cue to eliminate, Well.....the way I was carrying her is pretty much the same position that I hold her in over the potty....and I made the mistake of saying "potty" which triggered a Pavlov's response. Yup...you guessed it. She peed on my new bag, the counter, the floor and my leg. All this time she is crying and Mike's family is waiting at the table for me as our dinners had been delivered. So....then I had to clean up her pee while holding her and not dropping anything (including her) on the ground... It was quite comical. I was laughing pretty much the whole time.

So...you can bet I will try and never forget the wipes again. :)

Contest

I am a big fan of baby wearing. I don't keep her in tow 100% of the time because I like her to still have some independence, but baby wearing has certainly saved me when she is gowing through a clingy fussy time. Here is a link to a contest I thought I'd share with those of you that also are interested in it.

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

EC (Elimination Communication)

EC (Elimination Communication) is the practice of learning your baby's ques that are given when there is an elimination need. It is not a new practice, as it has been practiced in countries such as Africa and Asia for centuries. It is only new to our culture. In our society of disposable everything and hurry up and wait mentality the art of parenting has been forsaken. Parents let their children get away with throwing tantrums, and being lazy, and becoming spoiled brats. There are so many things that our society and gleen from other cultures that would make our lives, and the lives of our children, better. This is just one of those as it would reduce the need for rubbing chemicals on our babies (diaper rash cream) and reduce waste (disposables) as well as save us time (washing cloth diapers and changing diapers in general).

I will first admit that I do not practice EC full time. Part because of my running around too much, and part because up to a certain point Faith couldn't hold her head up by herself which made that difficult in itself. Well, I can proudly say that I have been able to read her signs, and get her used to it enough that every time I place her on the potty she pees and when I wake her up from her noon nap she poops (her normal elimination time every other day). I don't catch every thing of course as I am only doing it part time; but I have to tell you that no messy diapers is a blessing especially since I use cloth prefolds.

At first she fussed a bit when I held her over our toilet, or placed her on her Baby Bjorn potty (babies'R'us $10), but it didn't take her very long to get used to what I was doing and why I was doing it. I hardly have to make the Pssss sound anymore. I hope to start being more dedicated now that she is getting bigger, and especially once she's able to sit on it by herself. For now, I put her on the potty each time she wakes up. She is 8 weeks old today and I think it's just a matter of time before she starts waiting for the potty to go potty as she hates sitting in a wet diaper for too long and sometimes not at all.

The book Diaper Free Baby by Christine Gross-Loh is great. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions. imkita@gmail.com

Below I have listed a few websites that I also found useful in case you are interested. Now, I am not advocating everything on all of the websites listed. They just happened to have information about EC.

http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.com/elimination-communication.html
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/infantpottytraining.html
http://www.tribalbaby.org/ECindex.html
http://www.timl.com/ipt/
http://www.freewebs.com/freetoec/mythologyreality.htm
http://www.natural-wisdom.com/nihgentlealternative.htm

My baby is the cutest

I know that every parent THINKS that their child is the cutest, but mine really is! :) I have always loved talking to new moms because of the infatuation that is held for this new person that has taken over their lives. Well, I am no different.

Faith is amazing. She is getting chunkier by the minute and has completely stolen our hearts. There isn't anything that could have prepared me for how I feel with her sleeping on my chest, or watching her eat. I think watching her eat is the best. There is such an amazing bond that I feel with her when I know that God designed my body to care for this being in totality. She is such a veracious eater too. Her eyes get really big and her mouth starts moving before I even get her latched on. Oh, she is so amazing.

She is 5 weeks old now, and has entered into the fussy infant stage. It is interesting though, as really most of the time I can figure out what her need is based on the type of cry. I never thought about infants actually communicating, just crying. Boy was I wrong. I love knowing how to satisfy her needs based on her communication with me.

She has been sleeping well since day one (5-6 hours at night) and is starting to be more alert during the day. She's holding her head up now and smiling in response to people. Mainly Mike and my Dad. She loves the men in her life for sure. She adores Mike and just stares at him whenever he's holding her. There's nothing like a father/daughter bond...nothing.

Well, hopefully I will be able to keep this updated more often now that I am getting the hang of motherhood and housekeeping! I hope to start posting every Monday or Tuesday morning. We'll see how well I can stick to that though. Oh, I posted a link to my Public Photo album under the "Links of My Life" in case you wanted to see more. http://picasaweb.google.com/ImKita

Faith Anna Phelps

We welcomed Faith Anna Phelps into the world at 11:35pm on Wednesday, May 21st. She weight 7lbs, 7oz and was 20.5" long.

I went into Labor on Wed. AM having the first contraction at around 6:30 (as Mike was pulling out of the driveway to go to work). Since I didn't know how long it was going to be I just told him to go and that I'd call him when he needed to come home. The Contractions quickly went from 10min apart and 1min long to 5min apart and 2min long. At 9:30 Mike came home and at 10:30 we went to the hospital to get monitored for a little bit as Rachel wanted to see how Faith was handling the contractions. I was only 3cm dilated, but decided to just stay checked in since they had a jacuzzi tub. At 2:30 I was at 4cm and 6:30 I was complete at 10cm.

Unfortunately my labor stalled then and my contractions started getting further apart. I never got the "pushing" contractions that everyone talks about, where I would have gotten relief by pushing. We couldn't figure why I wasn't progressing and by 10:30pm Rachel told me that if she didn't come out soon I would have to have pitocin (which would probably lead to an epidural and c-sec if it went too long).

Since I truly desired an all natural birth I didn't want that to happen. At a bit past 11 Rachel gave me my final chance before she intervened. Since my contractions were 8 min. apart I didn't really have a choice and I had to push her out on my own without any contractions. The cord was wrapped around her neck twice and we think that was what was holding her back, and the fact that her nose what hitting on my pelvic bone.

Mike was an amazing labor coach and gave me an amazing pep talk when it came down to the wire. I couldn't have done it without him. My mom and Sister were able to be there too. There presence was a comfort even though they stayed in the background. Our Doula, Audra, really helped out a lot with the little things and positioning. It was so nice to have some guidance through this.

So...it was painful, but totally worth it. Next time I want a water birth at the midwifery center though. I had a happy healthy baby who was beautiful from the start! Sometimes I just sit here and cry over this blessing that God has bestowed upon us.

Kid Safe email accts.

I just helped my sister set up a safe email account for my nephew. It's through Gmail and only emails from people on the approved list get through. All others get automatically forwarded to her. Since a lot of my friends kids are old enough to be on the computer and communicating through email I thought I would share.

Here's how:
After creating an account for your child, giving them the choice of the address, add people to your child's contact list.
then do settings --> filters --> create new filter
in there fill in these blanks:

to: your childs email address

Doesn't have: list peoples email addresses that you allow them to get email from UNMONITORED (here is where you type in the addresses to yourself, family memebers and kids that she/he is best friends with.) put OR between them so it looks like this : grandma@grandma.com OR mommy@mommy.com OR bstfriend@bestfriend.com OR bestfriend2@bestfriend.com

Then go to "next step": (If an error code shows up just keep retrying)

check all of these: (These three steps set the commant that any email sent to the childs adress will skip the inbox, be forwarded to your email address and deleted from their acct completely)

Skip the Inbox (Archive it)
Forward it to: youremail@youremail.com
Delete it


This will send YOU all the email that is not approved. You child will never get a Viagra ad or an email from a stranger. Their spam folder will always remain empty. If you get something that you want them to see you can forward it to them from you instead if it showing from the original sender. You can always add more approved people later.

Optional and very helpful: and in the quick Contacts list you can run your mouse over the name and it gives an option to "change picture" I have pictures of her friends in there so she is sure she is emailing the right person.

This is a great way for children to practice language skills, spelling, sentance structure, communication and typing.

Nearing time

Well, I am into the final stretch of this race. I have about 4 weeks left per her due date, but think she might arrive early. I could be wrong though....I did think she was going to be a he! :) For the past week I have been experiencing the wonderful sensations that accompany her dropping. Lower abdominal pressure, discomfort, more frequent bathroom trips, feeling like my pelvis is being ripped apart, you know...the usual.

Its exciting. I know that a lot of women have a fear of labor and delivery. I am not sure if it's the unknown that they fear, or the pain they believe is to come, but I have even known a few who are so afraid of it that it keeps them from wanting to bear children.

Me...not so much. I am (brace yourself) actually looking forward to it. I hesitate to say that because of the responses that I get. Women who take it upon themselves to impart their...ahem... "wisdom" (and I use that word very lightly) upon me regarding childbirth. 2 problems I have with this, first being that I didn't ask. Everyone has their own idea and opinion about how they think labor and delivery should proceed and their own desires for their time. It makes no difference to me that you want to get the epidural at the first onset of pain. That is your right and choice. For me...I don't want it. Besides the fact that I want to truly experience what God created our bodies to do...the research that I have done on the matter just supports my decision to not have my child through a haze of medical procedures. Okay...and the second.....darn this pregnancy brain........I'll have to come back to that later as my mind has shifted directions already! :) Oh...now I remember. Secondly, why does it matter to anyone else what I have chosen? My experience is not going to affect anyone outside of Mike, Faith and I. Why do people feel the need to rain on my parade? To influence me negatively? To try and insist that I am crazy??? Oh well, it usually only takes me a second to brush off their comments, as I am very secure in my decision.

As I can feel my body preparing to bring Faith into this world I become more anxious every day. I am anxious to hold her in my arms, anxious to see and experience the MANY changes that she will bring into out life. I am anxious to see Mike hold his daughter for the first time. I can't wait to get her in the ridiculously cute clothes that everyone has given her. I am also anxious for her birth.

Why am I anxious to go through this experience and why have I chosen to be completely free of drugs and medical intervention (other than Rachel catching her during delivery of course)? I guess because I have always lived pretty free of medical involvement in my life as that is how I was raised. My mom always shared with us what a wonderful experience it was to feel her body bringing forth new life, and that God made us to do this. Our bodies were created to have children. God doesn't make mistakes. Every detail and intricacy has a purpose. I just believe, and research supports my belief, that drugs hinder the birth process and actually make it harder on the mom and especially on the baby.

Side Note: I don't think that people realize that yes, and epidural takes away YOUR discomfort, but not the baby's. They still feel every contraction. And because drugs hinder your body from doing what it is meant to do in the time it was meant to do it...this means that the baby is experiencing the contractions longer than necessary, which leads to a drop in heart rate, which leads to a C-section. The US has the highest rate of epidurals...and the highest rate of C-sections. That's not just a coincidence.

Okay, so this is getting a lot longer than it should because I am just letting myself type and type and type. So I will try and wrap this up. I believe that the pain that is experienced during childbirth is heightened in many women because that is what they expect. I have known and read multiple accounts of women that have experienced truly pain free (not pressure free) and even orgasmic childbirths to know that what is pushed at us by the medical community and Hollywood is not what birth is like for everyone. I believe it to be a lot like life. If you go into something expecting it to be bad...it's going to be.

I try to live my life with a positive outlook, and I am looking at this experience no different.

Faith's Room

Well, I have been working on her room little by little since December. My dear friend Amy Million helped me paint on January 2nd which was really the catylist for completing it so soon. her room was the junk room...I took before pictures, but they aren't pretty, so they will be kept under lock and key until and undisclosed date in the future....probably my death! :)

There are still somethings that I need to do (as you can see by the bags and pillows next to the IKEA shelf). I'd like to get those cute wood letters that spell out her name and paint them with some lime green and pink and purple and then hang them from the wall over her crib with ribbon. We also need to do something about the carpet, but that takes money ... and tearing apart her newly finished room!! :)so we'll just have to wait on that one.

I have a baby shower this weekend with all of my wonderful friends from Virginia...and then my church is actually throwing me one on April 19th. Which I think is so awesome because we just became members last week. We've been going there for 1 year, but wanted to make sure that is where God wanted us before we made the final decision.

So, I can't wait to see how her room looks after all is said and done. We are so anxious to meet her, and care for her. The task of parenthood that is before us becomes more real everyday. It seems so silly, but purchasing the changing pad was the item that pulled it all together. It's like the crib and clothes and whatnot were all just there...but the changing pad???? Now that's what makes it a baby's room. I can't wait to organize her diapers, and onsies, and all the little things to care for her health, safety...and insuring her utter cuteness. I get on little organizing spirts, so I can imagine that the clothes and supplies will change location in her room several times before they find their final resting place!

Well, I am going to try to fall asleep again. It's 3:30am here. I was REALLY tired and went to bed at 8. So hopefully we can pull in some more ZZZ's.

Hope that God is blessing you all and revealing His presence to you in the little things throughout your day! :)

There's no way...You're so small!!!

That is what I keep hearing when I say I'm 8mos preggers. The grocery store clerk, the random stranger that asks about the baby, the waitress, my friends....it seriously doesn't stop.

I am just a few days shy of being 32 weeks pregnant. I still look the same as when I first started to look pregnant at 22 weeks. I plan on buying batteries for my camera tomorrow night to finally take an updated picture. All of the comments that I got were starting to get a little unnerving so at my last appt. I asked Rachel if Faith was growing okay, and if there was anything to be concerned about. She said everything was great and that in response to those comments I should just say that I am one of the lucky ones.

I feel very lucky. Faith is growing, I'm healthy, I've had no complications that a Chiropractic adjustment couldn't fix, and my body is handling pregnancy so well. It amazes me how different everyone is. I feel very blessed and fortunate that God has given me such a great experience. But then on the other hand I feel guilty about it when I am around those that I know have had or are experiencing difficult pregnancies. No one makes me feel guilty; other than the occasional "I hate you" comment that I recieve in jest. But I find myself not giving as much detail about how great things are when I am speaking with particular people.

Oh well, I can feel my stomach stretching ad her growing, so I am sure that those "small" comments will cease!

3D ultrasound

Mike and I got to see a glimpse of our little girl this morning. Here are 3 pictures. She has such a cute little nose!!!

Every time her face came into view I started to cry a little bit. I just can't believe that I am growing a human in me. It really brings to reality this great sense of responsibility that God has given us. Mike and I have never been parents. We are both selfish human beings that want everything to go our way. How in the world does God expect us to be the kind of Godly examples that he requires of us? And then I am reminded of His grace. He doesn't expect us to be perfect. He knows that we cannot be perfect, as His son is the only Perfect human being to ever step foot on earths soil. What He does expect of us is to live our lives worthy of his calling. If we do that, and raise our children according to His word and will, then we cannot fall too far from that which is required of us.

Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.

More and more every day I become aware of the eternal responsibility that I have as a parent. It is no longer just myself that I need to get to heaven. Now I have a soul that I am responsible for. I must teach her morales. I must teach her respect. I must teach her independence. I must teach her about sin and salvation. I must set an example of what a Godly woman, mom, sister, daughter, and most importantly Wife looks and acts like. I must teach her how to maintain a house, how to provide for herself and her family. I must teach her when it is okay to get dirty and rough house, and when it is necessary to be girlie (something I have only recently learned myself). I must make sure that she is raised with love and support and somehow teach her how to let God fill that void in her heart, so that she doesn't find some other means to fill it. I will then have to learn to let her make mistakes and learn from them. I will have to suffer the heartache that every mother experiences as she learns to fly on her own. I will have to stand by and watch while she fixes her own mistakes so that she may learn from them, all the while wanting to jump in and save her, but knowing that would not save her at all.

I know that I am not doing this alone. Mike will be there struggling and learning, and loving her. Most importantly we will have God as our guide. We will have Him to turn to when we don't understand something, and we will have His word to reference when we need direction. he is always there thankful. Regardless of the time or day, He is waiting for us to call upon Him. Thank you Lord for your presence. For without you we would be lost! :)

BE EDUCATED!!!!

A friend of mine emailed me this morning asking for some websites that I have come accross in my research. I love thata I am not the only mom that is taking the time to be educated regarding the many decisions that we have to face...even before our babies are born. It occured to me while sending her this information that maybe others would want it as well. I want to make sure that you understand that I am not against the medical community. God has imparted knowledge and skill on the Doctors in order to help us. I am very against us allowing the medical feild to lead us blindly. We are in charge of our lives, not them, we have to suffer the consiquences of a medical mistake, not them. So, here are some websites that I have found in my research. Please, don't just take my word for it either. We have a wonderful tool at our fingertips called the internet and on that tool we find an AMAZING website called Google (where I find EVERYTHING). Use it! :) Whatever your decision is (including Vaccines) make sure that you are educated and that your decision is made with conviction. Don't ever let a doctor or friend or family member tell you what to do. These are our children, this is our life.


Vaccines:
http://drbenkim.com/vaccination-hidden-dangers.html
http://www.thinktwice.com/

Mattress:
http://www.mommiesmagazine.com/safe-crib-beds/1224/
http://www.preventcribdeath.com/site/452285/page/45029
http://www.safecribbeds.com/order.asp

Delayed Cord Cutting:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3747098.stm
http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/lateClamping.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060618224104.htm

I plan on waiting for 5 minutes before cutting in order to allow the placental blood and nutrients to give Faith the best healthy start to life.

Do's & Don'ts of child rearing

http://gcb.vox.com/library/post/the-dos-and-donts-of-child-rearing.html

Had to share!!!

Kicking & Hiccuping, & Moving & Grooving!

(Picture: I thought I would share my latest Baby shower cake that I created for my good friend Scottie. Her Daughter Lucy is due the end of Feb/beginning of March)

Faith has really grown and her bones have definitely hardened. I feel her all day now. It is really neat. I still feel great, and sometimes still forget that I'm even pregnant. I hit my 3rd Trimester next week. I can't believe it. Time has just flown by.

Last night Mom, Dad & Nicolas all got to feel her kick and move. She was really active and for once not shy. It was so fun for my family to finally be able to feel her. It still gives me the giggles everytime I feel her move and kick. I think she has turned and is heading the right way. Hopefully she'll stay that way.


I leave on Friday for 10 days in California. I am so excited to be able to see my family. My Grandparents are celebrating their 60th Wedding anniversary on Feb. 10th. Yes, you read that correctly. They have been married for 60 years. If you ever want to know how to make a marriage work, ask them. But... be ready to give up your self-centered desires! :) Apparently you have to want what's best for your spouse, not yourself! :) Revolutionary...I know.

My cousin Glenn has met his perfect match and is marrying Ms. Julie Ross on Sat. February 17th. She is so great. I couldn't imagine ANYONE better suited for him.

My Bro & Sis are flying in from Japan for all of the festivities too so we will get to see them! I'll also get to meet my cousin Emily's Fiance which I'm looking forward to.

AND....my Aunt Kathy and cousing Beth are throwing me MY FIRST BABY SHOWER!!!!! I am so excited about it! I feel so honored that among everything that is happening that week that they are taking the time to celebrate Faith and Me (and Mike too of course, but common, what guy really wants to be honored with a baby shower!). Even though I am a pretty outgoing person (shocker , I know) I still get a little funny about being the center of EVERYONE's attention, but I am actually really looking forward to this. I guess because it's not really me that's at the center, but my Daughter, just not a visable center!

I am just so excited to be around my whole family again.

As soon as I suck it up and buy new batteries...again...for my camera I'll post a new pic. My belly still hasn't changed much though. I've only gained like 15 pounds still. It's good though. Less to take off. Not that I am really watching my weight, but I definitely am more careful about what I eat for the most part.

Until Next time....Happy Valentines Day!

Secrets to Supermarket Savings

I heard about this through www.HEAV.org (Home Educators Association of Virginia) and I wanted to share it with anyone interested.

Biblical Womanhood: Encouraging and Equipping Women for the Glory of God is a great site with a lot of different books and tools on leading your home and family biblically. It's mainly geared toward women, but I have no doubt that men could benefit from some of this as well.

If you follow this link it will take you to the page.

http://kitasluv.cpaine.hop.clickbank.net/ [this is my link so I can get paid per click. Just another way of helping me become a stay at home mom.] Hope you enjoy this information as much as I do.

I specifically purchased the Secrets to Supermarket Savings - Tips and Strategies to Cut Your Grocery Bill by 40-75% or More! Only $7.97! As Mike and I prepare for me to stay at home after we have Faith, cutting out excess grocery spending is just one more way to make it easier.

Anyway, there are a lot of great resources on this website and I wanted to share it with you. Hope you all enjoy it and have a blessed week.

Belly pop!

Okay, so on Sunday I still hardly looked pregnant. On Monday, as you can see by the picture taken that night, I popped! It is so crazy how fast it happens! I can feel my belly expand and become more of a prominent prego belly as she is growing. I have only gained 12 pounds and am about 23 weeks along so I think I'm doing pretty good so far! :) I am hoping to meet with Audra, my friend and Doula, sometime within the next week or two for us to start practicing for Faiths natural birth arrival. We will be working on Accupressure points as well as laboring positions and techniques. She'll prepare Mike for his role and how he can assist me. I truly desire to have no medical intervention during her arrival, other than Rachel delivering her of course! Please be in prayer with me over this. It is truly the strongest desire of my heart and can't imagine it being any other way. Though we will prepare for different scenarios of course.

It is getting really exciting!!! I have finished painting her room. As you can see in the picture it's light pink on top and dark brown on the bottom. The paint could not have turned out more perfect. At the end of this month I will put the border up, and hopefully will receive the hardware for the crib by the end of February. Right now I am at work filling out my Short term disability leave paperwork so that everything is in order when Faith arrives. I am getting pretty anxious. Only 4 months to go! :)

I am also researching some things that I can do from home to bring in some money without having to go into work somewhere. So, if any of you out there reading this blog know of a great at home job let me know. No sales things though please. I've done Party Lite and Mary Kay and really just don't care to go down that avenue again! :) More along the administrative or Marketing line I guess.

Hope everyone is having a great year so far!

Movement

Well, Faith is moving a lot. Most people always described it like butterflies. Well, I would have to describe the sensation more like gas bubbles! :) I know...how precious right! :) But honestly, it is truly the neatest feeling. She is moving and kicking and poking constantly. Luckily she goes to sleep the same time as I do so she's not keeping me up at night at all.
On Dec 27th I had another OB appt. and brought my mom & Grandma with me. Rachel did another US so my grandma could see since she had never seen an US before. Well, Faith was so active for us, and anxious to show how healthy she is. We got to see her fingers and toes and legs, all four chambers of her heart pumping away, her perfect spine and again were able to verify that indeed she is still a girl! :)

I only have approx 18 weeks remaining until she blesses our life with her presence. I cannot wait to hold her, and am probably most excited for Mike to get to hold her. She will definitely be daddy's little girl! With the help of a friend I painted her room last night. I found the cutest boarder (shown in the picture) that will be at chair rail height with Chocolate brown paint below and Pink on the top. I hope to have all the pain finished (second & third coats as needed) by this weekend in order to move the furniture and then get the crib set up. A friend of mine gave me her crib, but unfortunately it didn't come with the hardware so we have to piece it together, take a picture, and then email it to the company for them to send us the appropriate hardware in order to complete the crib setup. So, the 18 weeks has me a bit worried, but it'll all work out.

I am so excited to have her room finished. Her closet is already starting to fill up from Christmas presents and hand-me-downs. It is so fun to look in and imagine her in all of those clothes!

Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for her arrival, and mainly that our finances will come together and allow me to be a full time mom and not have to continue working.

Thanks! Hope you all had a great Christmas & New Years!