And Now I Pant for You

'Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you!...

Created things kept me from you;

yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all.

You called, You shouted, and You broke through my deafness.

You flashed, You shone, and You dispelled my blindness.

You breathed Your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for You."


~St. Augustine, Confessions


*I'm loving www.aholyexperience.com I love the soundtrack, the poetry, the pictures...it's a worthwhile visit to soothe the soul and stir the mind.

New Baby!

Nope, we're not having a baby. My big brother R and his wife N had their first little bundle last night. I'm still waiting for pictures, but I'm sure she's gorgeous. Baby K (not to be confused with SIL K) was born November 20 in the evening, weighed in at 6 lbs 14 oz and is healthy and wonderful. Welcome Baby K!

Stable Birth

Jesus' birth. Have you ever really thought about it? I love this post by Avital at There Are No Ordinary Moments. Take a look-see by way of the link below. *warning - it talks very frankly about birth, so it might not be for everyone :)*
There Are No Ordinary Moments: WHERE'S THE SWEAT AND THE PLACENTA?

Drugs in Labour

I've had 3 babies, each in very different ways. My first was a c-section with all the pain meds available (almost). My last was all natural at home. I won't go into my own experiences as I don't think that this article needs any extra push. It says it all.

Women are incredibly powerful and strong. The problem isn't what our bodies can not do, but what our minds won't let our bodies do. I've seen labours stall and be "jumpstarted" through the use of pain meds. However, I think that if the women had not had their confidence tampered with in the first place, the pain meds could easily have been avoided to the benefit of mother and baby. The mind is a powerful tool, but must be trained to work for us and not against us.

I wish that women took the time and made the effort to properly prepare for childbirth. Even more, I wish that women took the time and made the effort to encourage other women, rather than spread horror stories about birth and motherhood. It can make all the difference in a woman's birth experience and, as these studies show, in a baby's health and well-being.

My Little Shadow

My Maddie is so much like me. We get comments all the time when we are out; "My does she ever look like you!" and "We can all tell who's kid she is!". I've begun to notice just how much she is like me on the inside, though.

She is so curious. She loves to learn. She loves to read and listen to stories. She has a thirst to understand and she questions everything. She wants to know about other countries, and how people live in other cultures.

We watched Out of Africa together. During the lion scenes, she exclaimed, "Mom! I want to SEE lions for real. I don't want to see it on TV, I don't want to see a movie, I want to see it in Africa! I want to go to Africa, Mom!" This isn't the first time she's asked to go to Africa. I told her to save her pennies and maybe we could go together.

When I returned from Nicaragua, she was very certain that she wanted to go there, too. She still mentions it every once in a while. She wants to be able to see the ocean, and the volcanoes. She thought that if she kept all her pennies, she'd be able to afford to go to Nicaragua when she is 8 yrs old. After I told her how much it would cost, she decided to save up for a pet rabbit instead.

Pet rabbit or Nicaragua...hmmmm...it's a tough one!

Watching her is like watching a revelation. God gave me this child because I am the best mother for her. He could have given her to any of the other millions of women out there, but he chose me. I'm thankful for that.

All About Dogs

Our homeschool group had their Zoology Fair tonight. The girls and I had been working on our dog project for a couple weeks. They worked so hard on their poster. They coloured dog pictures (blue, because some dogs are circus dogs), printed titles using my "special" markers, read books about dogs and puppies, visited the pet store and even learned a poem. It was really awesome to be able to see them be so interested and driven to learn about their animal.

I was proud of them just for doing that part. I wasn't really expecting them to do the speech part, although I was hoping they would at least stand with me while I did their presentation. They surprised me, though! Not only did they come to the front with me, they also answered the questions I had prepared and even recited the poem for the crowd! My mama's heart just about burst with pride.

I love that homeschooling gives me the chance to see firsthand how much the girls are learning and developing. They are shy and quiet (sometimes!), but with encouragement and nurturing, they've really come out of their shells. One of the other moms and I were talking today and she mentionned how great it is that the children all play together, regardless of their ages. She had noticed, too, that none of the children has ever ostracized or made fun of her son who has a disability. I am so thankful that my children have the opportunity to socialize in an accepting environment such as this.

We are blessed.

Nicaragua Pre-Post

I've been home from Nicaragua since Sunday morning. I've been wanting to write an update on my vacation, but for the life of me, I can't figure out how! Do I write a post for every day of vacation? Do I write one big post for the whole trip? Do I write about only the highlights, only the facts, or my insights as well? Do people care that I don't have all my pictures organized yet?

Man, blogging about vacations is almost as stressful as packing...