Children... Children Everywere!

We were going to have our monthly Midwife Meeting at my house this last Wednesday but one of Linda's Bakersfield mothers went into labor so we had to reschedule until the 5th of July. Since we had already made plans to meet some of us mothers still got together. There were six of us mommies, two of which are expecting and a total of 24 children under the age of ten. Lol, even I have to sit back and ask myself…”how do we do it?”

Ice Cream Faces

4 ½ year old Joseph treated his siblings to Thrifty Ice cream the other day with 5 dollars that he received from family. What a sweet boy. This is Colette’s first hands-on ice cream cone. She made a mess but it was worth seeing her enjoy her treat as much as she did.

Happy Father's Day

TO my darling husband. You are an amazing husband and father. God blessed us with a very special man to care and share with us. A father who has made our world a happy place to be in. Happy Father's Day!


"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children
to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord."
~Ephesians 6:4~


His Special Place

Mother is all that is noble and fine,
And all that is right and good.
She richly deserves every sonnet that’s sung
To her glorious motherhood.
And when Mother receives some fresh acclaim
The whole wide world is glad,
But away down deep in every heart
There’s a place that is just for Dad.

We may not shower him with praise
Nor mention his name in song,
And sometimes it seems that we forget
The joy he spreads as he goes along,
Bu tit doesn’t mean that we don’t know
The wonderful role that he has had.
And away down deep in every heart
There’s a place that is just for Dad.

- Author Unknown




And now just a little history on the beginning of Fathers Day.

Sonora Dodd, of Washington, first had the idea of a "father's day." She thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909.

Sonora wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. Smart, who was a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife died while giving birth to their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state.

After Sonora became an adult she realized the selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.

President Calvin Coolidge, in 1924, supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Then in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day. President Richard Nixon signed the law which finally made it permanent in 1972.





And in the same way -- by our faith -- the Holy Spirit helps us with
our daily problems and in our praying. For we don’t even know
what we should pray for, nor how to pray as we should; but the
Holy Spirit prays for us with such feeling that it cannot be
expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows,
of course, what the Spirit is saying as he pleads for us in harmony
with God’s own will. And we know that all that happens to us is
working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans.
Romans 8:26-29

Camping

Because of not being able to post pictures this post is a little late. We went camping in the middle of May. Better late then never though. :)

Our first camping trip and I must say a great success for a family with three children under 5. We went to Lake Isabella, which is only about 1 hour and 45 minutes away from where we live. We brought my 9-year-old brother, James with us and they all seemed to have a wonderful time.


Colette was eating Red Liqurorish. She tried to put the last two pieces on her ears for earrings. :)






The squirrels were VERY friendly. Joseph had a grand time giving them peanuts to open.



Daddy and Gerard fishing together. I love this one. :)






You can see Daddy way out in the water trying to fish. I’m afraid the children are not very good at no splashing while fishing.

I'm Back

Gosh, I have been having a heck of a time with this blog. I could not post pictures for the longest time. Thanks to my man, Shawn I am now back and running. :)

Ramblings on Birth and Safety

I don’t know if anyone saw this story on dateline NBC but it was just tragic. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9818616/ A mother lost her life after having a “routine” epidural. This brings up a bunch of issues for me, as I'm sure it does for others. Epidurals are a risk! When you tell people that you plan on having a natural childbirth most people look at you in shock. “I could never do that, you’re so brave.” People think that you are some “nature girl”. Lol No people, you’re the brave one if you have epidurals. A long needle going into my back. Drugs going into my SPINE! Augh. No thank you!

I have never been able to understand the concept that some people have on not wanting to have a baby at home just because it not as “sterile” as a hospital. What a bunch of bunk. Like it says in the article up above. “Infections contracted in hospitals are the fourth largest killer in the United States, causing as many deaths as AIDS, breast cancer and auto accidents combined.” For myself just being with my husband in the hospital overnight I can say that my house is a lot cleaner then the hospital, and we are not talking about clutter, I would loses on that one. :) While we were in the ER I saw plenty of blood drops on the ground and when they did get around to “cleaning” it was just with a wipe of some sort. I would rather take a chance with the germs I am accustomed to in my own home.

Why my husband and I have choosing to have home births is not just because of this one concern but because of many different reasons. We feel that as parents we have a duty and responsibility to learn as much about pregnancy and birth from balanced and accurate sources so we can make the best-informed decision as possible. Is homebirth for everyone? Absolutely note. Is hospital birth for everyone? No. Most people who are not educated or familiar with the benefits and safety of homebirth and midwifery care have the reaction, “how could you do something so stupid?” Most of their information is what they have seen on TV, heard from others, and often it’s a competition of the most dramatic and problematic births. It would really empower women if they would take the time to question and learn about risks and befits of who they birth with and where they birth and not just let doctors use big words on their patents expecting them to follow their every word. Sometimes - the priority in the hospital is procedures, liability, protocols and convenience of staff and not our wishes for what is best for us or what we consider to be best for our baby's health and well being. It really is sad how misinformed society is about natural birthing. If more hospitals aloud midwives to play a more active and authoritative role we might just move up from being # 17 in the world on the mortality rate.


Shawn and I have decided to birth at home for some of these reasons:

1) We believe that pregnancy and birth are normal, physiological functions of a woman's body and that unless a clear medical indication presents itself they are not medical conditions to be "managed" or manipulated.


2) In most normal circumstances - A woman's body will instinctively know when the time is right to begin labor (don't need pharmaceutical inductions) if supported in the best environment for the woman with the most appropriate caregivers and surrounded by the best support system.

3) I want too ultimately have the right to decide who attends my birth and have the right to touch MY baby and bond with it gently as apposed to being staff-handled in the name of procedures and protocols.

4) Shawn and I have opted not to receive many of the newborn tests and procedures routinely done in a hospital and didn't want to have to fight the system each time (these include but are not limited to - eye ointment, vaccinations on the newborn, vitamin K shots, heel pricks/blood sugar testing, observation in the nursery, administering sugar water to an infant, pacifiers, etc)

5) I preferred to be up and mobile as opposed to flat on my back. I want to eat and drink at my will as opposed to an IV and ice chips (or nothing). I prefer my own clothes in my own home without feeling inhibited in an unfamiliar surrounding.

6) At home, we will be able to utilize many and various coping techniques. In the hospital, drugs and anesthesia are the most common type of 'help' repeatedly suggested to laboring women. From my own experience I believe that pain management is MUCH better at home!


We believe that for healthy, no/low risk women, homebirth is as safe or safer then being in a hospital. We are adults who shoulder the responsibility and the privilege of making these decisions about our baby’s birth.

I have found that since my husband and I have really researched this topic in great detail I am not at all hindered by negative remakes and can only feel badly for those that feel threatened by homebirthers when they decide that’s its not for them. We are all adults that need to feel like we have made the best-informed decision for our baby and us.


The largest North American study shows the safety of homebirth compared to hospital birth. It was published in the British Medical Journal a year ago.

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/conte...505/1416?ehom_

Car Accident

June 2nd, my husband Shawn and Joseph, my 4 year old were involved in a car accident in an intersection not far from our home. They are both going to be fine so Thanks be to God! Shawn does not remember anything after slowing down behind two cars at the stoplight. They were both unconscious after the crash for a short time but miraculously they had no trauma to the head at all. Shawn and Joseph were flown out by helicopter to KMC in Bakersfield because of that fact to see if there was any unseen damage. I was able to bring Joseph home late that night and he seems to be bouncing back just fine. Shawn had to stay over night in ER because of liver concerns. He is home now with medications for the pain. In the picture at the top you can see Shawn in the background. He is the one with the red shirt on lying by the road with the neck brace.

I feel very confidant the their angels were the ones responsible for keeping them alive and with no major complications. God is Good.

Shawn and I are just praising God that Joseph is still with us after looking at the pictures. I am so glad that I did not see the car till after seeing Shawn and Joseph first. Gilbert took these pictures today when he went to get our stuff from the car. The van that hit the car actually left his license plate in the trunk of our car. I'm sure everyone will be happy to hear that Shawn's PDA is still working, *Alleluia!!* although he is a little bummed that his cell phone is working too as it is starting to flake out on him. ;)

This is the article that our paper had on the collision.
http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/viewarticle.php?cat_id=383&post=16686