Baby Update - 24 Weeks

We had another visit today at the Birth Center. The kids came with me and they did very well. I was relieved. It was a pretty uneventful visit. Just measuring, listening to heartbeat, blood pressure, etc. Next time will be the glucose test so I brought the bright orange sugary drink home with me. How fun.

Four Months from Your Due Date - 23 Weeks

Baby boy, it's 4 months away from your due date and what are we doing?

Yesterday I had an appointment with a general doctor to discuss my hemoglobin and hematocrit levels (which has indicated low iron) but I found out that I needed to only have that discussion with my OB/GYN since they take care of all of my health needs whilst I'm pregnant. Unless of course they see something that requires sending me to a specialist. I prolly shoulda known that after all this time but I guess I forgot.

I've read all these things about what could cause low iron, other than pregnancy and a few months before I became pregnant my white blood cell count was low so that's the reason for my concern. But I pray that there's nothing more to it than that, especially in the realm of what the mind could imagine or dream up ya know.

School has been a little light the last couple of weeks. After going through writing, spelling, geography review and math review, we've been practicing the Christmas Play. It's a One Act Play that we're inviting the family to on Sunday. Everyone has a part!

Today we took a trip to Walmart at recess/lunch time. The Kitty and the Pupster were very excited to go because we don't make it there very often. Daddy does a lot of the grocery shopping. They were excited because they knew they'd have the chance to ride in the Bob the Builder cart and watch movies while the rest of us shopped.

I was proud of myself because I had a list and I stuck to it, and the bill was well under $80.

I haven't done that much shopping for your essentials yet. I thank God that I have had some friends offer me some little boy clothes and I have a few things from your big brother.

So here's (theoretically) how you're sizing up nowadays

Speak son:

What else is going on?

Your cousins are working on independent assignments right now, your big brother finally fell asleep for his late nap, biggest big sister is still figeting around trying to take a nap or at least be quiet, and littlest big sister has been fast asleep for almost two hours.

Daddy came home early from work today and he's working on some things in the office/ guest bed room (at least that's our plan to make it that way soon). Right now it's just an office.

Dinner tonight? I think we're having tilapia (for the kids) and potato crusted cod for me and Daddy. I picked up a good looking pre-seasoned set of cod from Walmart, which your cousin, K, says is delicious!

Your anxious (for you) siblings usually don't watch tv on a Tuesday but tonight we allowed them to watch Rudolph's Shiny New Year. It's been a little different during December since all these little classic shows are on.

Tonight the lights went out in our subdivision so we sat in the dark for a while, with only a candle. Hardly anyone was phased by it (except mommy) because I was thinking, it's gonna get really cold after a couple of hours. I thought about packing everyone up and going to Granny's house. But Dad encouraged me to stick it out. The estimated time for fixing it was midnight. He and your biggest big sister went and bought firewood and dessert and we made a cozy fire to watch.

Daddy and I ate our dinner by candle and cell phone light. Your siblings had eaten before the lights went out, but they still asked for more of our fish. The pecan crusted cod was really good. After Lamby finished her food and her helping of our food, she ran toward her room and said "night night, niiight niiight!" so I put her in her bed and said good night.

The lights (and the heat) came back on at about 10:45pm. I was very happy!

We then got ready for bed and hit the hay!

Baby Development - 22 Weeks

Baby Development - 21 Weeks

20 Weeks - We had the gender determining sonogram today, and ........

We'd be happy either way it went right? Although some little one told me she was praying in the car on the way to the doctor's office for her personal choice!

So dad made it over from work, to witness the results (it worked out great that his job is only 5 minutes away). It's funny that we found out this time and not with baby 2. I guess we just couldn't take going through that suspense again.

We all sat there in the office and watched while the ultrasound technician rolled the little camera thingy around my tummy until she got to the area of revelation!

And the results are
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86% of those who responded in the the poll which was included in the previous post were


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RIGHT!!

Older Big Brother and Sister are totally excited and so are we. I admit I was a little nervous, thinking man I'm thinking too much about what it would be like to be "even", to have two sets, to have equal testosterone (if that's even possible) around the house so he's not outnumbered by a bunch of doll houses and pretty clothes!!!! Of course I'd be happy either way but this makes things really fun.

Oh and Jeoff just reminded me that this is what happens when you have one who came from a family of four girls and another who came from a family of four boys.

You gotta get two boys and two girls. Did we learn that in Biology or some other science class?

Anyway....


Thank you for having fun with us and participating in the poll!!

As far as names go, Big Sister 1 has been suggesting the name, Samuel, since 2005 but that didn't happen since the baby ended up being a girl.

So Samuel is still in the running. We don't have any other choices yet.

Suggestions? Let me know. It definitely has to have significant meaning.

Oh yeah, here's a development update.

Speak son....

Very interesting...

.... from EthicsDaily.com, June 2006

Following are several excerpts

(Ted Seago) came up with a model called the "family integrated church," where Christians worship, learn and pray as families. Church is a place where believers come together for corporate worship, but the teaching of theology and doctrine to children is centered in the home.

"When you're talking about a family integrated church, you're just looking at a church that has brought everything back under the guidance of the family," Seago said.

In their church, Fathers ..serve communion to their families and pray over them. When a child becomes old enough to accept Christ, Seago's invitation is not for them to walk the aisle but to discuss it at home with their parents. Dads baptize their children.

Grace Community teaches that fathers are to be the spiritual leaders of their home. In the family integrated church, no adult except the parent is a significant influence
on a youth's spiritual life.

"Men are called to lead their families," Seago said. "They are the priest of the home."

Women are instructed in "biblical" roles for wives, including remaining in the home during their child-rearing years. A lot of the women members have college degrees but choose to "put work aside in this season of their life" so they can be home with
their children.

Families stay together for Bible studies, worship and fellowship, though optional childcare is provided for younger children and babies. It is not acceptable for a child to sit outside the family. If a child visits without a mom or dad, he or she sits with another family. "We do everything together as a family," Seago said. "We don't
separate."

Church members eat together every Sunday in a "fellowship meal."

Started by five home schooling families 14 months ago, today there are about 50 families in Grace Community Church. Members include Voddie Baucham, an author
and conference leader who in 2005 co-sponsored a Southern Baptist Convention
resolution contending that parents, and not the government, are responsible for
educating their children.

"Leading our own children to Christ, that's our greatest mission field," Seago said. "If you have children at home, that's your mission field. That's your small-group ministry."

While the model appeals most naturally to families with children, several older women, mostly widows, have joined, as have some younger single men. Several older couples have visited and decided the church wasn't for them.

While all the current families homeschool, Seago is hoping to reach some more
"non-home schooling families that we can minister to."

by Bob Allen, managing editor of EthicsDaily.com

Please vote in the new poll!

I would appreciate your input. See the question in the top right corner and let me know what you think? Will it be a boy or a girl?

Also, enter a comment on this post, if you want to make your vote public!

Other topics and categories on this blog:

Thankfulness

Imari's Article in the Newspaper

Baby Update

Toddler Discipline

Chaos, Qualor, Filth (Clean that house!)

Homeschool

Women

Is Christianity Decreasing in America?

Children

Marriage

Childbirth

Voddie Baucham

Thankful

What am I thankful for?

In addition to the list below, I am extremely thankful to God for the opportunity that I now have to be home with my children. It is not something that I can say I've hoped for during all my time of motherhood. It is a desire that I grew to have, as Jeoff and I grew in our marriage and as parents. When we began to have the desire to have me home, we didn't know how in the world it would be possible! The biggest reason for this was debt, and spending money that should have gone toward debt repayment, paying cash for things instead of borrowing fort it, etc. etc. etc.

The job he has now pays almost 3 times what he made a year and a half ago!

God is good and He is faithful!!! And I am thankful!

My thankful list:

• Life! Abundantly.... (To live is Christ and to die is gain)
• The opportunity to be home and provide the primary instruction and influence to our children throughout the day
• A wonderful husband
• 3 beautiful children
• A great family (mothers, father, sisters, cousins, etc.)
• 1 cutie pie baby on the way
• Great friends
• The influence of great churches and great spiritual leaders

Imari's Article in the newspaper - Away from the game: Cedar Hill's Imari Thompson

06:38 PM CST on Wednesday, November 21, 2007

By RANDY JENNINGS / The Dallas Morning News
rjennings@dallasnews.com

Athletes who distinguish themselves away from competition:

Imari Thompson, Cedar Hill, SENIOR

Notable: Thompson is a third-year member of the school's a cappella choir, which consistently draws top scores in UIL competition. He is a tenor II, one of six in the choir. He ranks 80th in his class of 470.

Sport: Running back on the football team

Favorite singers: J Holiday, Chris Brown, Jennifer Hudson.

Favorite music: R&B

Comparing activities: "There's pressure in choir to keep getting good scores, just like there is pressure in football to win. We want to keep the tradition going in both."

Teammates reaction to his singing: "They sing along with me."

As a tenor II: "I'm a low-high. Tenor I is up there."

College plans: Weighing football offers from many universities and service academies, including UNLV, Air Force, Naval Academy, North Texas and Kansas.

Potential career: Sports medicine. "This will be it for choir when the school year ends."

Halfway There - 19 Weeks

I had another check up last week. It had been about 5 weeks since the last visit. I found out that my iron level had actually gone down. :-( I was told that I need to make sure I'm taking the iron supplements 30 minutes before or after a meal, take it with orange juice, and begin cooking in an iron skillet.

The midwife was extremely surprised that the levels were so low this time and she said "YOU MUST BE REALLY TIRED! Even if you weren't pregnant that would be a really low iron count so I KNOW it's making you tired! I agreed.

They will check my iron again in 10 days.

I have also been feeling a lot more flutters!!

Baby Update - 18 Weeks

Baby Update - 17 Weeks

Ten Great Reasons To Have Another Child

1. Have another child to join with God in the creation of an immortal soul.

Parents are given the incredible opportunity to assist God in the creation of an immortal soul. As the late Cardinal Mindszenty said, even the angels have not been given such a grace. “The most important person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral—a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby’s body...Even the angels have not been given such a grace! What is more glorious than this—to be a mother.” Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty Reason

2. Have another child to bring joy into your life.

There is no joy like the joy of welcoming another child into your life. You will marvel anew at how perfectly formed your little one is, and over how quickly you will fall head over heels in love with him. You will be enchanted with every tiny aspect of her appearance. The color of her hair, the shape of her nose, and the winsomeness of her smile will occasion endless happy debates about from which side of the family (yours, of course) she got that adorable trait. The birth of a child will bind you to God more tightly than ever before, in awed gratitude. “She was the most miraculous thing that had ever happened in my life,” Whittaker Chambers wrote about his new daughter in Witness. And in the lives of most of us.
I thought that one dayI would be a famous artistand create great works of artInstead, God made me a mother,and my children are His masterpiece. The design of their lives will live on after me. What is painted on their hearts will last an eternity - Anonymous

3. Have another child to grown in holiness and virtue.

For those who marry and have families, children are the primary means God uses to help them grow in holiness and virtue. Children teach their parents patience, perseverance, charity, and humility. They give their parents the opportunity to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. They come into the world naked, and we clothe them, hungry and we feed them. Thirsty, and we give them drink. All of the things that we are required to do for the “least of these our brothers,” we do first and foremost for our own children. St. Catherine of Siena once had a vision in which God took her to a roomful of crosses and told her to pick one. St. Catherine went to the largest, heaviest cross in the room and would have chosen it. But God told her that it was not for her: That was reserved for the parents of large families. “Mary gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes.” Luke 2:7

4. Have another child to help end abortion.

When Mother Teresa of Calcutta was asked by a young mother about the best way to proceed with pro-life work, she responded emphatically, “Have a big family. That is the best way to end abortion!” How this works is not difficult to understand. As children become more rare due to contraception, sterilization and abortion, whole segments of society become less and less familiar with the sense of joy and hope that only babies and children can give. In this climate, contraception and abortion feed on themselves, as the increasingly selfish few further reduce their number. By having another child, you demonstrate once again to the world that children are God’s greatest gifts. “Children build up the life of the family and society,” as Pope John Paul II has said. “The child becomes a gift to its brothers and sisters, parents and entire family. Its entire life becomes a gift for the very people who were givers of life and who cannot help but feel its presence, its sharing in their life and its contribution to the common good and to the community of the family.” The more children there are in society, the more pro-life that society will become, and the easier it will be for the great evil of abortion to be eradicated once and for all. “Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19

5. A) Have another child so your sons will have brothers and your daughters will have sisters.

Children who have siblings learn early to share. They learn to take turns and to put the needs of others before their own. The bond formed between brothers and sisters is lifelong, and stronger than the bond between the closest friends. “How good it is, how pleasant, where the brothers dwell as one!” Psalm 133:1-2

B) Have another child so your sons will have sisters and your daughters will have brothers. Boys who have sisters learn the dignity of women. They learn to treat other girls and women with respect, as they consider how they would like their own sisters to be treated. Girls who have brothers learn the complementarity of men and women, both fashioned in the image and likeness of God. “Love begins by taking care of the closest ones—the ones at home.” Mother Teresa

6. Have another child so you (and your parents) won’t be lonely in old age.

People who have children don’t have to rely upon strangers to care for them in their old age. Children also become the parents of your grandchildren. Grandchildren bring joy, happiness, and laughter, while still allowing you to get a good night’s sleep! “Grandchildren are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their parentage.”Proverbs 17:6

7. Have another child because people are our greatest resource.

Humans are blessed with the gifts of an intellect and free will. It is human ingenuity that discovers creative solutions to the problems which confront us. People without children should remember that it will be someone else’s child who will become the doctor that performs their life-saving operations. Someone else’s child will become the firefighter that saves their house. Someone else’s child will become the railroad engineer. “How can there be too many children? That’s like saying there are too many flowers.” Mother Teresa

8. Have another child to contribute to the economy.

Families with children are fuel to the economy, purchasing houses and cars and college educations. Without young people to enter the workforce, social security systems fail. Without children to attend school, teachers are jobless. Many industries, from fast food restaurants to toy stores, obviously rely heavily upon business from and for children to stay in business. But ultimately the whole economy does. “Like a fruitful vine your wife within your home, Like olive plants your children around your table. Just so will they be blessed who fear the Lord.” Psalm 128:3-4

9. Have another child to counter global depopulation.

Anyone who has traveled from coast to coast in the United States and seen the vast empty spaces should know that America is not overpopulated. In fact, the entire population of the world could live in the state of Texas, in single-family dwellings with front and back yards. Fertility rates are falling everywhere. The world’s population will never again double. If current trends continue, world population will peak by the middle of this century and then begin demographic freefall. Our long-term problem is not too many children, but too few children. Having another child will help offset the coming population implosion. “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth.” Genesis 1:28.

10. Have another child to help populate heaven.

The child that you and your spouse have been generous in accepting from God was created to return to Him, after a life of love, service, and obedience on earth, to spend eternity with God in heaven. Our Lord Himself said that there was plenty of room for those immortal souls. There is no overpopulation problem in Heaven!

“There are many mansions in my Father’s house.” John 14:2

“Ten Great Reasons to Have Another Child”

Permission to reprint granted.
Redistribute widely.
Credit requested. http://www.pop.org

Baby Update - 16 Weeks

Toddler Discipline

One of the best things I've read on this topic was the book, The Mother at Home, by John Abbott, written in the 1930s! Check it out or let me know if you've already seen it. This post talks about why this book was helpful to me and I included some quotes from the book below as well.

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It broke my heart to do it but this weekend my baby, Lamby, who's now 18 months old, got her first real spanking. She's 18th months old now.

We visited a friend's church which is a Family Integrated Church. My 5 and 3 year olds did surprisingly well in the service. They had activities to keep them busy during the parts of the service which did not hold their attention well. My son (3) sat by Jeoff and my daughter (5) sat by me. I can't imagine if I had more than 3 at this point in my life. I dunno, maybe it would have been okay, but I was glad to have my first experience at this church with a small number of children.

Now my 18 mo old, who has become very active, loud, expressive, you name it, went from mommy's lap to daddy's and back, once the sermon began. And when she began to demand going to Daddy after I told her to quiet her voice or not get out of my lap, I chose to go ahead and take her out to the foyer. After that I practiced with her sitting in my lap in the nursing mother's room and she got a little ornery so I popped her the way I do the older kids.

She was very sad and mad at me and I hated the sad look that she gave me. But she needed to know who was boss. After that she leaned on my chess and huffed and puffed and when she tried to do it again, I touched her bottom lightly and said "no no", .... "pop pop" and she immediately stopped. Now that even surprised me! I think if I hadn't been in a setting like that, I may not have exercised that type of discipline until she was much older.

I'm learning that at the toddler stage, I should not only punish when the child has disobeyed a command but also when they have chosen NOT to obey a direct command. How did I miss that in all the books and articles and talks I've heard? I am practicing that with the older ones but hadn't started it with Lamby.

So since yesterday's event I have been giving her specific command that I expect her to obey the first time, like stand up (for me to put her pants on) or sit down (to put on her socks and shoes), get in your high chair, bring me the ball, put your plate in the trash,.... and if she doesn't obey it I exercise some type of discipline.

Again, one of the best things I've read on this topic was the book, The Mother at Home, by John Abbott, written in the 1930s! Check it out or let me know if you've already seen it.

Here are a couple of quotes from the book:

Quote 1 from The Mother at Home by John Abbott

How entirely is your earthly happiness at the disposal of your child! His character is now, in an important sense, in your hands, and you are to form it for good or for evil. If you are consistent in your government, and faithful in the discharge of your duties, your child will probably through life revere you, and be the stay and solace of your declining years. If, on the other hand, you cannot summon resolution to punish your child when disobedient; if you do not curb his passions; if you do not bring him to entire and willing subjection to your authority; you must expect that he will be your curse. In all probability, he will despise you for your weakness. Unaccustomed to restraints at home, he will break away from all restraints, and make you wretched by his life, and disgraceful in his death.

Quote 2 from The Mother at Home by John Abbott

If you love 'momentary ease' better than your children's welfare and your own permanent happiness, you cannot murmur at the lot you have freely chosen. And when you meet your children at the bar of God, and they point to you and say, "It was through your neglect of duty that we are banished from heaven—and consigned to endless woe!" you must feel what no tongue can tell. Ah! it is dreadful for a mother to trifle with duty. Eternal destinies are committed to your trust. The influence you are now exerting will go on, unchecked by the grave or the judgment, and will extend onward through those ages to which there is no end!

Pumpkin Patch Visit Number 2

Pumpkin Patch Visit Number 1

Today we visited one of the many Pumpkin Patches in the metroplex! It was a lot of walking for mama, but I made it. The kids really enjoyed the trip. We met some friends of ours, and fellow homeschoolers, there.