This Pregnant Body – 23 Weeks

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emind me that I am over halfway through this pregnancy. I think the kidney stone a few weeks ago set me back, and I feel like the first trimester all over again with the sickness . . . and still losing weight, though not quite as rapidly.  I am having some problems with low blood sugar – the opposite of diabetes – so I am having to check my blood.  I can tell when it’s low too.  I get quite shakey.  The funny thing is, is that for low blood sugar the food requirement is protein, and that is mainly what I crave.  I cannot eat anything sugary, too sweet, to acidic (such as tomatoey things), and so I eat lots of egg meals, and the boys even cooked up some good flank steaks from the deer tonight.  Every so often a double cheeseburger from McDonald’s sounds good too.  But, it’s a little on the greasy side for my taste, so I usually can’t eat the whole thing.

I  am 23 weeks along now, and the baby should weigh close to one pound and be about 8 inches from crown to rump.  I am noticing his activity a lot more.  Thankfully, I am not uncomfortable yet, and actually, have not even had to wear maternity clothes yet because of the weight loss (35 lbs).  So that is good!  I’ve still got the continual gags if I move around too much, and walks through the grocery store can still put me on overload.  The kids know they better flush the toilet or mom will be sick and they will definitely hear about it!  Leftovers in the sink don’t go over well either. 

Everyday our youngest asks if the doctor will get the baby out TODAY.  I guess it’s a long pregnancy for her too.  The older ones keep telling her she will have to change the diapers, but she already has voiced her opinion that she wants no part of poopy diapers!  We told her we will have the new baby before birthday and that on her birthday she can hold the baby.  She said she does not want to hold the baby – she wants PRESENTS!  Too funny!  I guess the baby won’t pass as a present for her this time.

Have you participated in our baby contest yet?  If not, please do so! 

More Manna

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o many thoughts were running through my head yesterday, of how God has blessed our family, that the post could have been twice as long!   Just in the last week and today God blessed us that I will continue my story.

We were down to just a few jars of venison.  Our oldest son is the avid hunter in our family, but with taking a full load of college classes and working 20 hours a week, hunting is limited to Saturdays.  Last week we were given a small doe someone in our church got.  That alone was a blessing!  Then, this past Saturday our son got a deer!  He was disappointed it was a doe, but it is a BIG doe!  Our pantry shelves are filling up again.  Manna from heaven!

With Thanksgiving it slowed down my husband’s small engine repair to practically nothing for almost two weeks.  He was getting pretty bummed.  Tuesday morning after I had yesterday’s blog up, God gushed the rocks open, and five jobs came in just a matter of a few hours.  To see the relief in my husband’s countenance was joy alone!

So, our Tuesday was a wonderful crazy day, with Norm keeping busy, and I and the children canning up the venison.  And, more stories to remind our children of. 

And as an added PS note here, it’s my friend Angie’s birthday today.  I’ve known her close to 15 years, and a couple of years ago she moved away to Tennessee.  I miss our scrapbooking and card making, coffee times and red "clothing" laughs.  So, happy birthday Angie. Notice too girl, I only displayed half the cake so we can’t see how OLD you are!  Love to you!

In Other Words: The Stories We Tell Our Children

      

Christian Women Online This Week’s Quote "God has delivered us, He has parted waters for us, He has made water gush forth from rocks and sent us our own manna from heaven. He has brought us into our own Promised Land. Will I miss the opportunity to tell the story to our children? ~ Ann Voskamp ~ Holy Experience

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hen I read this quote it made me think of how I need to add more to my scrapbooks, and more to our everyday conversations.  How often do we take our personal lives, share with our children how God provides along with the personal miracles in our lives.  When my children page through our many scrapbooks, will they tell the stories to their children of how God delivered us?

I think of how God provides in little ways – even with toys.  No, not our children’s "wish list".  Our daughter who has had 2 open heart surgeries and a 10 week ICU stay was in the hospital over Christmas and we were sent many gifts   A physical therapist was working with Jessica and told us how she wished she could find her "V-tech play phone".  It was missing.  We remembered this being one of the unwrapped gifts, and the children ran back to the Ronald McDonald House to get the V-Tech phone.  We still have that phone.  A reminder of God providing not manna this time, but a toy.

When my husband decided about 5 years ago that we needed to find a new church, it was like losing a family and heart-breaking.  The children took it especially hard.  I had met a local pastor’s wife on an e-mail list and knew from our talks we had many of the same concerns and goals for our families.  I asked my DH about checking into this church and we decided to do so.  Other close friends of ours had also left the same church a few weeks before us and I told her where we were going to visit, to find out, this was the church they had been attending for the last several weeks!  We felt welcomed the moment we walked in the doors, our children found friends they thought they never would, and my husband developed a relationship with the pastor he never had before.  God found us a new Promised Land, without our having to church hop or forget going all together. 

After our stillborn daughter’s funeral and a week off from work, my DH was not ready to go back to work, and desired to be home another week, but knew financially there was no way.  It was Matthew who got the mail that Saturday and he came back with a manilla envelope that had our name typed on it with a large note inside, "My God shall supply all your needs".  As we counted ten one hundred dollar bills, Matthew sweetly asked "What are we going to do with this million dollars?"  It was like a million dollars as it meant DH could take another week off from work, and our needs and even wants, were more than met.  I have this envelope in our scrapbook, along with what happened.  When my children are older, and the bills are tight, a job is lost or a car breaks down, will they remember this story of how God gushed the rocks open to supply our needs? 

When there has been a vehicle accident that has taken someone’s life, often they are remembered at that roadside with a cross and their name on it.  Our boys were in a serious truck accident five weeks after our son died. It totaled the truck, but the injuries were minor considering how far their truck flew into a field.  We pass this intersection each time we go to church.  I have often thought, I wish I could put up a big sign as a tribute to God for sparing our son’s lives.  We talk of it often when we pass it, and as a family are thankful for God sparing their lives.  When our children are adults and pass this intersection years from now, will they tell their children of God’s goodness in delivering us?

That the generation to come might know,
even the children yet to be born,
That they may arise and tell them to their children,
That they should put their confidence in God
And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments  . . .
Psalm 78:6,7

One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
Psalm 145:4

Visit the following participants to
read their take on this week’s quote
(Participants Please Add Your URL)

What is the QUIVERFULL Mindsent?

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have been a part of an e-mail list for over ten years called, Quiverfull.    This e-mail list is for families who have allowed God to be their Birth Controller.  The goal is not to have a dozen children but allowing what God gives, and takes away. For some quiverfull-minded families it may be one or two children or sixteen children. 

Recently there has been a couple of articles that have made its rounds to the blogs, on the quiverfull mindset.  One article, Arrows for the War, published on The Nation.  On the home page of The Nation, the article is introduced as:

The Christian "Quiverfull" movement measures a mother’s spiritual resolve by the number of children she raises, each one an arrow in the quiver of God’s army.

This introduction alone is quite alarming, as I know the e-mail list I am on, and those I know personally, do have the belief they gain any type of spiritual resolve in the number of children she has.  The article seems to highlight the mothers as though they are the only ones with this mindset:

But Wolfson, Moore and thousands of mothers like them call themselves and their belief system "Quiverfull." They borrow their name from Psalm 127: "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate." Quiverfull mothers think of their children as no mere movement but as an army they’re building for God.

I do not see the dads mentioned in this, but it is couples coming to an agreement together, to allow God to be their Birth Controller.  As you might imagine, it’s been quite a discussion on the Quiverful e-mail list, and one of the moms, Kelly  Leinbach, has given me permission to use some of her thoughts on this article.

• It [quiverful] is not simply word of mouth growth and it can’t be traced back to protestant anything…..it’s a God thing, traced back (by reading ones’ Bible) to Adam and Eve. [be fruitful and multiply]
• Not all "quiverfull" women see themselves as domestic warriors.  Some simply see themselves as lovers of God and His ways, doing what they understand to be God’s best.
• Quiverfull isn’t any more militaristic than ALL Christianity should be. It’s a spiritual war that all Christians are in. 
• Most of QF’s prospectives do indeed learn through literature….but not so much the literature they cited.  Mostly through the Bible…or perhaps through other literature which points them TO the Bible.

This is just a glimpse into the above article. I could go through it paragraph by paragraph where words were turned about, and inaccurately articulated.  There was another article in Newsweek, How Full is Your Quiver? which was written better, and includes an interview of  the moderators of the Quiverfull e-mail list.  The subtitle of the article is "In a New Movement, Christians Open Their Wombs to God".  NEW movement?  My husband’s grandparents had 12 children, and many of them have large families, many of these children adopted.  I could start a whole other topic regarding birth control that many of them, abort.  To conclude, the quiverfull conviction is not a "cult" that may be implied by some and not necessarily part of a particular church or denomination, but personal decision made soley by each couple. 

"The Bible calls debt a curse and children a blessing.  But in our culture we apply for curses and reject blessings.  Something is wrong with this picture."
Doug Phillips – Vision Forum

Baby Contest! Did you put in your guess yet?

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posted a few weeks ago about starting a baby contest, which you can participate in.  All you have to do is go to ExpectNet and join the game of guesses (name and statistics) for our newest blessing, due in March.  We will have two prizes, one being the book mentioned below and I will still come up with another.  So come be part of the fun!

 Darlene Schacht, Founder and Editor of Christian Women Online (Home of "In Other Words" and "One Thousand Gifts") and author of the book, The Mom Complex, has graciously said she’d donate this book to one of the winners.  Thank you Darlene!

Amazon Book Description:  The Mom Complex is a collection of stories that are written both to humor and to inspire the soul of mothers who are seeking daily devotion with God. It urges us to search inside ourselves, so that we may uncover the path that God has placed our feet on. It’s on that path, where we often discover that His plan for our life is different than ours.

SATURDAY PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT: Time

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code

Join the blogroll
Photo Theme: TIME
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This is from several years ago.  We put in a new septic system and it took a lot of TIME! 

   

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If you have participated in the Saturday Scavenger Hunt,
be sure to leave a note below!

Next week’s theme:  LIGHT(S)
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Black Friday Free Homeschool Book Downloads

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urry, before it’s too late! The Homeschool E-Store is having a "Black Friday Promotion" including 13 free downloadable activity type books and even a game!  Some of the downloads include: 

• Fruit of the Spirit Bingo
• Celebrating the Season – Christmas copywork and activity book, advent activities, recipes and easy to make gifts.
• History Scribe – Colonial Times – This helps children to LOVE history. Children learn as they draw and write history…your children bring history alive with their own creative hands!
• Old Testament Timeline Booklet Set

This is a wonderful website with lots of homeschool ideas and books.

What Have YOU Done?

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his has been sitting in my draft box for awhile. After some busy, busy days, I decided now is the time to post this.  I do not recall who sent me this meme, but the object is to highlight in bold the things you have done.  Feel free to snatch this and share it on your blog!

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone (my husband only!)
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper (ahhem . . . for 19 years!)
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day (does all day morning sickness count?)
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children – still am!
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth (goats)
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet (abolutely NOT)
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad – and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts (my husband has!)
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair – not anymore
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Hosting In Other Words

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ext Tuesday I will be hosting Christian Women Online’s "In Other Words", writing on the chosen quote below:

      

Christian Women Online This Week’s Quote "God has delivered us, He has parted waters for us, He has made water gush forth from rocks and sent us our own manna from heaven. He has brought us into our own Promised Land. Will I miss the opportunity to tell the story to our children? ~ Ann Voskamp ~ Holy Experience

 

Join me in sharing on this quote.  Write about it on your blog on Tuesday, and come back and leave a link here on Tuesday to your post. 

Happy Thanksgiving