Chopstick knitting

I found myself in need of some wooden knitting needles the other day...and the stores closest to me do not carry anything like that. I didn't want to venture to "big town" just to get some....as I have had 6 sick ones and did not want to get them out just to tickle my fancy. I just mentioned to some of the girls that I was going to get me some as soon as they all got better, and Anaiah (8) said, " what about chopsticks? Would they work?" I had thought of that a few days before, but didn't realize that we actually had some here. That was a nice surprise! The ends are a bit too blunt for what I needed, so I dropped them in the electric pencil sharpener for a few seconds, and was so pleased with the fine tip that it produced. I quickly realized that they needed to be sanded a bit and had no idea where Marion kept the sand paper. (his shed is an absolute mess) So, I said, "Anaiah, grab me a dryer sheet out of the wash room." after rubbing the tips down a bit with the dryer sheet, they were nice and smooth, so, I began stitching away. By the next day, Marion had come home and he sat out his sanding materials and did a fine job of smoothing them out for me. Who knows? I may just stick to chopsticks from now on! I like the grab that they have...it is just right for me! But, the real reason for this post is because I am so tickled at the ingenuity of children. They have very WONDERFUL ideas! It never ceases to amaze me...how they have solutions for lots of problems! Never hesitate to let them try them out! It builds their confidence in themselves and their abilities....a VERY important thing!

*365 days with Avenlea Jade*

I haven't really shared her birth story...because it seems a bit uneventful, I guess...but I will share a little bit of it today...in honor of that sweet birth, of which I am so thankful! AND, because I like to remind myself of the sweet gift of birth and motherhood! For those who don't know my story, I have had 4 c-sections and 4 natural deliveries....My first baby was an emergency Cesarean, then I had 2 natural deliveries followed by 3 more cesareans...the last of which dove me to trust in the Lord...in my body that was created by Him, and seek out a different alternative to the torment that I had gone through before! Thankfully, He led me to JUST the right midwife for me...led by the Spirit, and a kindred soul! I am so truly thankful!!! I can never say enough!

THAT is another story, for another time...so...on with labor and delivery ;o)

I remember thinking that I was going to pop before she decided that she wanted to meet us...

I had concerns of ending up in the hospital even after trying my hardest to do a repeat home birth...

She was technically 2 weeks past her EDD...which seems to be the pattern for all of my babies...

I had run errands every day and didn't worry much about getting caught of guard by the onset of labor, even though we would have to do some major shuffling to get on the road to make it to the midwife's office...but this particular trip to town on November 30th, I had taken Mariah to a meeting and ran to the grocery store for a few last minute items while I waited for her to finish up. As I was shuttling about, I noticed a change in my usual and frequent BH contractions...and I thought...WOAH!!! That was a REAL one! I picked Mariah up from her meeting, and made it home...all the while, I was contracting regularly about every 10ish minutes. I cooked and served supper. I cleaned up the mess. I did a few loads of laundry. We did our normal bedtime routine. As we were laying the girls down for the night, I alerted Marion and Andrew that we needed to go over our middle of the night head out scenario, just in case. Marion was a bit stunned, because I never mentioned that I was having contractions until then. With our plans in place, I felt confident enough that I decided to lay down and try to get as much rest as I could...only to be awakened around midnight with that uncomfortable feeling every 5 to 7ish minutes. I prayed for a while....and I did ask the Lord for enough time to get some rest and let the kids get theirs. My contractions all but stopped around 12:30...and I didn't feel another pain until around 8 that morning.

 I had made arrangements for my mom to come get the kids the day before, because, I had an appointment with the midwife to get checked out and discuss what we would do next, seeing that I was nearing a critical decision making point in this pregnancy. I got up on December 1st, got the girls ready to go, and began feeling those reoccurring reminders once again. Right at about 7 minutes apart. My mom arrived to get the kids, and asked me what I thought. I didn't really know how to answer her, but I said, "Time will tell!" As she was driving off with 6 of my children, I sat down in pain and thought to myself, "Thank YOU Lord! You have given me JUST what I asked of you!" I just wanted to know that I wasn't putting anyone out in a freakish dash in the middle of the night run to the midwife an hour and a half away. I felt SO LOVED, and HEARD!

So, I clued in Diana, as to the situation. I told her that Marion and I were heading that way and asked when her last apt. of the day was. She told me 3pm, and I said, "Well, if nothing exciting happens, we will see you then...then!" Marion and I loaded up our stuff in the van. Not sure how things were going to go...but by this point, I was sure that labor was progressing. We planned to just go mill around close by and wait it out. We planned to go out to eat and do a little shopping while we timed everything. I had REALLY wanted to go to PF CHANG'S for lunch, but Marion said, "THAT is TOO far away from the midwife! I DO NOT want to get caught over there and not be able to get you back in time for delivery." So, we settled for a nice Chinese place right off the freeway that was about 15 minutes from her :o) We don't get the chance to dine out together with 'JUST US' very often, so it was a nice treat. I would have the regular contractions, all the while trying to keep silent and inconspicuous to all of the others that were dining around us. I mean, who wants to eat lunch with a lady in labor around? As we checked out, I had a few strong ones and had to prop myself on the doorway as people around took notice. Marion explained the situation and we were covered in prayers and encouragement by sweet strangers. It meant so much to me! I would grin through my pains :o) After lunch, we headed out to do a little shopping. Marion needed some new shoes and we felt confident that we had time, so we went to the western store that was near the mall to look around. My contractions were becoming stronger and more frequent. The ladies that were helping us in there probably thought we were crazy, but I smiled like all was well...and the spoke encouraging words regardless of what they were thinking. Marion tried EVERY PAIR of shoes on in that place! I thought I would have that baby RIGHT THERE in the floor by the time he picked out his most comfortable shoes EVER! O.o We finally checked out and I told him that we should head on over to the direction of the midwife...I was getting uncomfortable. We had to make one more stop before we could do that. We needed to pick up some food and snack for our stay. We spent about 30 minutes in there while Marion tried to decide what he wanted to snack on...peanuts, ice cream, coffee...gotta have coffee, oranges, (not just 1...had to be a whole bag), chocolate candy bars (Reese's i think), and some other stuff that I can't remember because i really didn't care by this point!

With contractions every 3 minutes, we headed over to see Diana! YAY! Her last appointment was still there, and I tried very hard to just hang tough. I spent most of my time waiting outside walking around the tennis courts because that helped my contractions progress. When I would sit, they would settle down some. Activity during labor is good! I did visit for a while and talk to the young mother of 4, pregnant with the 5th, and her husband. They didn't even realize that I was in labor until Diana fussed at me a little about not rushing them out...LOL! I Finally got my privacy as her last appointment left. Diana checked my progress and said, "Well, I was going to go home and fix my hubby some dinner and change...but I am NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" She quickly began getting things set up and Marion helped like he was a pro or something ;0/ She called in her backup, and we settled in. I made calls to my mom and checked on the kids. I was chatting away and kept trying to convince them to go get some dinner while we waited. Diana decided to order pizza and have it delivered. I seriously thought that they had time to go eat. But, between her ordering the pizza and the 30 minutes that they waited for it to get there, things got really busy. I can't say that I was in too much pain...but I know that things were changing. They followed me around with their stuff and we talked about everything under the sun. I finally said, "Let's get this over with!" I crawled into bed and began to push...and PUsh...and PUSH!!!! I had never had this much trouble pushing before!!! I sensed that something was different. I tried sooooo hard to get her out...after about 30 minutes, I was pretty tired. Marion quietly prayed for me and I called out to the Lord for some help! I began to feel some major pressure and FINALLY got her head out as Diana grabbed Marion's hands to finish the delivery, I looked down and saw this HUGE head (my babies' heads aren't usually THAT big!) I was so baffled by the size of her head that I almost forgot what I was doing. She had gotten a little stuck and after a few twists and turns, Marion held her up and Haded her to me. I was so relieved...and THANKFUL! I could NOT get over her size though! She was so precious, and healthy, and as Diana checked her out, she said...she weighs 8lbs 14oz!!! That is nearly 2 lbs bigger than the biggest of my other babies! I immediately began to nurse her. She went right to her job like a pro! After we were all cleaned up, they finally got to eat their pizza and we just sat around chatting away about how beautiful and peaceful the delivery was. Diana actually said to a lady that came to take a peek, "This was the easiest delivery since I started delivering!" I felt so honored! I spent the next several days just getting to know this chubby little baby that had come along and stolen my heart, for the umpteenth time ;o) Never forgetting how gracious the Lord is for honoring the desires of my heart! I am truly grateful! The girls were so proud of her. They checked her over repeatedly and couldn't stop cuddling and oooing over her. It is such a blessing to not have to be concerned about acceptance from the other siblings. There has never really been any rivalry issues for that to be any real concern

Thank the Lord!



 

 

seeing this picture makes my heart skip a beat!

 

 

 just about 12 hrs old, and I can't stop kissing her :o)

 

 The midwife checking her out so we can head home

 

 PUDGY WUDGY :o)

 

 The girls and my Dad are checking her out...so precious

 Her first grin she saved for Andrew....it was soooo cheesy and sweet. He waited until everyone else had held her before he did....and she lit up when she saw him. It was so amazing to see how she must have recognized his voice and his spirit....aggggg!!!!! Butterflies!!!!

 2 weeks  old

 

 i never tire of her cheesy grins

 all dressed up for the Christmas gathering

 



she loves her bath

 a spring walk

 

 Kisses for mommy

 her dedication

 Sleepy baby

 

 my oldest holding my youngest

 

 Jerromy is introducing Avenlea to her new nephew Donovan Ross ;o)

 

Avenlea is telling mommy a secret

 

 

 My sweetie pie

 



 

 

 

 

Avenlea Jade has been an absolute treasure. Easy...happy...well natured...easily comforted...able to comfort herself....just a pleasure to get to know! I feel so indescribably close to her. She is such a part of me...as are the rest of my children. I just think that, as I have aged, I have become more aware of the importance of things...and have thoroughly enjoyed this 1st year of her life....no regrets...no reserve! THank YOU LORD, for 365 days with Avenlea Jade!

Fresh Garden Salad made by my girls

The girls were so excited about making lunch for us today! They got to pick lettuces, some greens, a radish, an onion and a carrot out of the garden and prepare our lunch for me! Mariah took the pictures for me as well. She was super excited to be in charge from picking to preparing to presentation. I think she did a fine job! And Anaiah served wholeheartedly....as usual! The salad was super delish!!! Everyone had seconds!!!

Sunset lettuce, butter crunch, spinach, arugula, red onion, freshly grated carrot,thinly sliced red radish and freshly made farmhouse buttermilk ranch with LOTS of fresh cracked black pepper

They were so cute...making sure to write their recipe down for our future cookbook ;0)
What a treat!
I SURE do love this bunch!!!

Homestead craft and children's fair

This weekend was the Homestead craft fair in Waco. It is the weekend after Thanksgiving every year, and has been since its first year which was 25 years ago! I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, even though I have had friends insist that we would love it...and now that I have been, I can understand why they would think so. It is everything sustainable living and homestead life style all in this one place. Their goal is to equip people with the necessary skills that are commonplace for those who are seeking to live a more self sustained life, being the shepherds, or guardians if you will, of the gifts that God has so graciously bestowed upon us. I saw people from all walks of life trampling around this huge place. Some were here for food...which was so impressive....some were here for the demos..which were amazing...we were here because we were told that we belong here.lol!

 I was super impressed with So many elements of this fair! I guess because it was modest and homey and family friendly. They have a crafts barn where they have for sale items that were made by apprentices and youngsters that are learning a trade. For instance, I looked at some 8 paneled skirts that were in the sewing booth. On the tag was a description of the item, the size, and the name and age of the seamstress...these skirts are top quality fabric, top quality workmanship, and presentation was far beyond what you see at department stores today. And the price was so affordable, this coming from one who knows that fabric gets expensive when you are constructing an ankle length, heavy weight fabric, paneled skirt.

There were young ladies working the weaving looms while people shopped around. They were so sweet and let the girls have a little hands on. I told Marion that I needed one :0) he knows that I would put these girls to work! Scarves, rugs, blankets, pot holders....all kinds of things you can make with those things!

The girls (with some help from Andrew and i) got to do several hands on activities. Leather working, soap making, candle making, pottery, knitting, weaving...just all Around fun! And we came home with soooo many little hand made goodies ;o)

We watched as they made apple cider for this event. I inquired as to how much they needed for it, and they man working the press said that they had made 450 gallons and were down to just above 100 gallons left on that first day! Yummy stuff! We brought home 2 gallons just for Andrew...he loves it so!

We talked to some very neat people that were so encouraging, hard working(willingly and no grumbling), and honest. If they didn't have an answer to my questions, they were polite enough to say so and direct me to someone who may. I really like hospitality...it is one of the most important things to me. Suffice it to say, we will be going back next year, Lord willing.

With everything from how to make your own solar powered water heater, to bee keeping, to wood working, metal working, quilting, basket weaving, soap making, pasta making, a working grist mill, using milk to make everything from cheese to soap...food that was as old fashioned and home made as anything you would find at an old fashioned bazaar or county fair...home made ice cream, apple cider donuts, freshly pressed apple cider...It was a very neat weekend. Exhausting...but well worth the trip!

P.s. I know that this is a little off topic, but, I noticed that there were no obviously obese people that were a part of this community. They eat organic food, no artificial ingredients, and work very hard to contribute their portion to the efforts of the vision that they have for their community. Intriguing!!!

My new work hat!

Beautiful weaving loom

Tired little girls

 

goofing around with friends

Soap workshop

rope making station and barn raising

the girls making soap

sweet friendly lady making pasta....yum!

Avenlea riding in her wagon

proud little gift makers: after you make a project,

the sweet ladies would wrap it up

so pretty and tag it for you

even the youngsters do their part

watching those amazing sheep dogs

they had some outstanding music

cute little babes ;o)

Sheep shearing demo

Marowynn is ALWAYs making silly faces......she can do all kinds of eye tricks O_o

worn slap dab out!

These were sweet potato fries and a beef dog on whole wheat bun freshly made..so good!!!