Friday, February 25, 2011

Leviticus

There are many things going on in Leviticus. Lots of things God is telling Moses to tell the people of Israel so they can begin to have order and laws set up. Honestly, I was getting kind of bored reading the chapters, since I knew most of this really didn't pertained to us anymore, until I got to chapter 18. Chapter 18 started getting into the things that do still apply today and 19  kind of blew my mind away.

Leviticus 18 goes through sexuality. From incest, homosexuality, and even beastiality.

Leviticus 19 gets even deeper into what we should be doing.
  • Keep the Sabbath. This website will show you that is indeed on "our" Saturday. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_calendar#Day
  • Do not worship idols.
  • Don't lie or swear.
  • Don't steal.
  • Be kind to everyone.
  • Have thoroughbred cattle, pure seeds, and 1 thread garments. I started to think about how we are trying to be more organic and go back to our roots in how we live and eat. In our family now, we only eat pure bred cattle and I am only going to grow things for my garden from untreated, organic seed. I have been researching the 1 thread garments. I think it is saying not to mix any threads. Your clothes should be for instance 100% cotton. In another translation it also says not to mix linen and wool. It's interesting that when you mix linen and wool threads, they can combust... It also resembles the mixing of 2 different kinds of animals and/or plants, which is forbidden.
  • Do not seek fortune tellers.
  • Do not eat raw meat.
  • Do not cut your hair or your beard.
  • No tattoos.
  • Show respect for the elderly.
  • Be honest in dealing with money.
Leviticus 23 says we should be keeping the Biblical holy days (holidays).
  • Passover
  • Feast of Unleavened Bread
  • First Fruits
  • Feast of Trumpets
  • Day of Atonement
  • Feast of Tabernacles

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Journey of a natural miscarriage, Part 2

My miscarriage finally ended on Wednesday, February 9 with the passing of the placenta. Yes, it really took a whole week to complete, and that is normal. As soon as the placenta passed my bleeding was almost nonexistent. I stopped bleeding on Sunday, February 13.

I did take pictures, so Eric could see, and he told me it eerily looked like a face.

We are both relieved that this is over and are patiently waiting for the next step.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Pride

Pride goes before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 16:18

I have been reminded of this verse quite a bit lately. As I sit here and ponder it, I ask myself. Why is it that the words pride or proud have become such a big thing in our vocabulary?

We often hear:
I am so proud of you.
Proud to be an American.
Army Strong, Army proud.


“A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking down, you can't see something that's above you.”
C.S. Lewis quote

Just a little food for thought...

My thoughts on makeup

Why do we as women feel the need to wear makeup? Is it so that we feel pretty? What does it REALLY do for us?

I know that everytime I wear makeup, which is about once a year, twice if there is a wedding, I feel like a clown. Nature does not make it so that we need makeup. I fwe are in the sun enough, we will naturally have rosy cheeks and a non pale complexion. If we drink enough water, we do not have to have the copious amounts of lip gloss and lip treatments out there on the market. Our lips are a natural shade of red that is perfect the owner of the lips. Since when have you ever seen a person with purple or blue eyelids, unless they have been punched in the face? Why do people think they need to outline thier eyes? It just makes some people look weird. Why do we feel the need to cover up dark circle under our eyes? For MOST people out there, if they would actually get the amount of rest needed for their body, they would go away.

Another problem with makeup is that is absurdly expensive. If people would realize that they do not need makeup, they would be able to pay off bills or afford better food that actually nourishes the body, instead of buying prepared junk food.

My last point is that, does anyone even realize what they put into makeup? I know a couple years ago, they finally realized some of the things that makeup was made of, were not good for us to put on our faces, yet there are products that are still make with things such as foramldehyde. Are we trying to embalm ourselves while still alive??

This is just a small take on my perspective of makeup. I could write much more on Eric's perspective, but to sum it up, I don't ever need to buy makeup ever in my lifetime.

A typical day

What is a typical day in our household? Everyone seems to think that I have all the time in the world to do what ever my heart desires, since I am always at home and only leave the house usually 2 times a week. Once to get our milk and MAYBE once more to go to the grocery store. On most weeks, Eric is the one to go grocery shopping since it is such a hassel to take the kids with us during the winter especially.

Keep in mind that we do not have a "normal" family's schedule, since we do not have to be anywhere, like everyone else in the outside world. Since Eric and I want to be able to see our children every moment we are awake, here is our daily schedule:

7:00am Eric gets up (sometimes Tabitha does too. She eats breakfast with him, then goes back to bed)

11:30am I get up with the kids.

12n The kids and I eat breakfast.

12:30p Nurse Grady, check emails/facebook. Make sure everyone has their water cup for the day.

1p Clean something (sweep/disinfect/scrub/wash) while kids play (scream and fight over toys...), get out something for dinner out of the freezer to start thawing (we cook all weekend, so I don't have to worry about it during the week)

2p We go upstairs to do a reading lesson with Tabitha

2:30p Kids play while I try to read my Bible, while getting interupted multiple times for fighting over toys and short nursing sessions

3:30p Eat a small lunch

4p Check emails / facebook before going back upstairs for the kids to play or read stories

5p Grady's naptime, I nurse him and hold him to make sure he gets a good nap, while I read/research/play on the computer. Tabitha either colors/reads/draws/goes on designated websites to stay quiet.

6/6:30p Eric gets home (most nights)and dinner is started.

7p Clean kitchen up, fix a desert

8p After Eric checks his emails we go back upstairs to either watch a little TV (no more than an hour) or play a video game and spend time together

10p Get started on readying for bed.

11p Kids get a before bed snack

12m Eric & Tabitha head to bed

1a Grady falls asleep nursing while I work on computer things.

3a I finally get to bed.

I figure that right now there is no reason for me to go to sleep at a decent hour. I need 9 hours of sleep not to be a grumpy mommy all day long and I need to sleep as long as the kids do, because if I get up before them, they hear me up and we all have a horribly crabby day.

On the weekends the kids and I keep our schedule while Eric has his alone time with either a movie or yucky game that the kids shouldn't be watching that he has been wanting to see/play. He usually starts the bread making too, so we don't get behind during the day.

All in all, I love my simple life. I never did like having to wake up when someone else told me to or be somewhere at specific times. It just creates a lot of stress for me.

Plain and simple is the way of our household.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Nursing a toddler

Tonight as I was checking on facebook what everyone is up to today, I came across this post. http://www.drmomma.org/2011/02/joy-of-nursing-toddlers-photo-gallery.html

It got me thinking. I posted a couple days ago that I appreciate my non-stop nurser more than ever now. Since my miscarriage I have been doing a lot of soul searching. I feel very guilty in giving in to peer pressure that was around me after Grady was born and I was still nursing Tabitha. I was told that she was "old enough not to do that now", among other things. The day that she turned 3 1/2 years old was the last day that I let her have "nini". I really regret that now. I had promised myself that I would let her self-wean, but others were getting in my sleep deprived brain.

I really enjoy nursing my children. It helps them over come bumps and bruises, as well as other obstacles of life. It also makes me, as a mother, to sit down and actually relax, so I don't get too involved in cleaning the house, etc. It makes me spend LOTS of time with my children, which is why I am staying home with them in the first place, right??

This time nursing my toddler helped me in a way that I had hoped would never happen. He helped my uterus clamp down and helped the bleeding to lessen during and after the miscarriage. It is amazing how our bodies are designed and how just the act of nursing a child helps us at times.

I fully intend to nurse Grady until he is done, which is probably not going to be anytime soon, since he still nurses on-demand every 2-3 hours. I don't know what I would do without my little man. He brings joy into our lives everyday.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Yet another dumb holiday...

Here we are yet again, facing another made up holiday. We watch TV and it tells us that all men are supposed to wine and dine women on this "special" day.

First of all, why aren't women expected to do the same thing, if you do celebrate this day?

Second, why do you need a special day to show someone that you love them? If you truly love someone, you should be showing them daily what they mean to you, even if it's just a kiss.

I know that I am loved each and everyday. Eric has given me the biggest present of all, being able to stay home and raise our children. In return, I raise our children, keep up the house, and tell him I love him at least once a day.

In our home there doesn't have to be a day set aside just for love. We love each other everyday, and that's all we really NEED.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Journey of a natural miscarriage

WARNING!!! If you are squeemish, do not read. This is my account of natural miscarriage. I am trying to dispell some of the people out there who are trying to say that this is horrifically painful. I know that it is not comfortable, but just like labor, it is completely managable if you don't freak out and let your body proccess everything naturally and progressively!


Well, it all started about January 12th. I started having brown discharge, but no more than any other pregnancy, so I really wasn't worried. It was off and on for a few days, then became consistent. I mentioned it to my midwife and we decided to keep an eye on it.

On January 18, I woke up for my nightly bathroom run to find pink on the tissue. My heart lept into my throat. The next day it turned into bright red. After a couple days of off and on "spotting" we finally decided to get checked out, hoping that it was just a cyst that was being irritated.
If you have kept up with my blog, then you know what happened at the hospital.

Around January 26 the spotting got heavy enough that I had to start wearing a pad.

February 1, there was a huge ice storm that took out our power around 10:30 pm. Around 5 am on the 2nd, I again went for my nightly bathroom break and started cramping. I didn't want to bother Eric about it incase they just fizzled out. At around 7 Eric got up to call his customer to tell her there was no way he would be there, and I mentioned I was still cramping.

I slept until about 10:30 and was still cramping. I got up, ate breakfast and all of the sudden as I was putting my dishes in the sink, I started gushing blood. I had Eric call our midwife and make sure everything was right and went over a couple more things. Then, what I am calling "nauseated hotflashes", started. I had Eric "help" me get to the floor without really touching me. At that second I felt like I was in labor. I only had that happen 1 other time so far about an hour after the first. I kept waiting and waiting for more, but haven't had anything else yet. I am now having like a heavy period. Not really anything new, like after having a baby. It's also a huge advantage that Grady is still nursing.

I also want to include that I wasn't totally unprepared. I do have many homeopathic remedies that I could have taken if needed.

We decided to have a natural miscarriage for many reasons.
1. There is no reason to have anything medical done unless something is seriously wrong, which there wasn't.
2. There are too many side effects of D&C to just go to the hospital and trust anything to go perfectly fine.

http://www.suite101.com/content/risks-and-benefits-of-a-dc-after-a-miscarriage-a120828

There are so many more reasons, but I really don't want to sit here and list them all.

For us, this was definitely the way to go, in our house, in privacy, with the people I care about the absolute most.