Our Genevieve

Our baby girl is three and half months already! She smiles a lot and sleeps through the night! She's thinking about rolling over but hasn't made any concrete decisions to do so yet. She loves altitude (Daddy holding her) and being upright as to not miss any action going on in the Sabo household. She's a sweet girl with an easy-going disposition! She doesn't seem to mind all the chaos around here........she's a trooper! We love you baby girl!

Quote

Encouragement

Just wanted to share a quote a sweet friend of mine sent me the other day! May you, too, be encouraged........

How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No. A woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness. -G.K. Chesterton

Abuse???

I'm Not Convinced of Abuse Yet! This is a story that has been pretty heartbreaking to me! Although I certainly don't agree with Mormon practices, especially polygamy, I'm not convinced this is the "dangerous" situation it's made out to be. So far, it seems as if there has been NO concrete evidence of abuse! All I can think about is how these precious young children have been torn from their families and don't understand why! Imagine these little ones crying in strange beds each night because they miss their mothers terribly! And as moms, how would we feel? I can't imagine.

Here's what I've been reading:

Scott Henson, in an article for the Dallas News, said this:

"In Eldorado, no one alleges YFZ parents are themselves abusing children. Instead the allegation (in court, at least) is that they're teaching their kids that a woman's highest calling is giving birth and raising children and that it's acceptable to get married at an early age. Even if it were true, and the allegation was disputed, can this really be enough to seize children from their homes?"

I keep hearing about abuse, but where? I haven't heard of one verified instance of abuse being found. Who gets to decide what we're allowed to teach our children and what should be considered "dangerous" or "cultish?" The state? Here's a quote from MSNBC that should give us all pause:

“Experts and lawyers fear the children's transition to foster care may be much harder than it is for other foster children...Many of the children have seen little or no television. They have been essentially home-schooled all their lives. Most were raised on garden-grown vegetables and twice-daily prayers with family. They frolic in long dresses and buttoned-up shirts from another century.”

Such abuse! How horrible! Let's rip these poor children from their families before they miss out on the necessary and oh-so beneficial experience of MTV and the hook-up culture.
From the same article, Mr. Henson addresses the judge:

"Excuse me, Judge? You issued a sweeping, house-to-house search warrant based on a highly questionable anonymous call that turned out to be phony. You refused to allow individual hearings for children, grouping them together like cattle. You accepted the testimony of an expert on "cults" who only learned about FLDS from media accounts, rather than an academic who'd studied them professionally for 18 years.

You've ruled the existence of five girls between 16 and 19 who were pregnant or had children was evidence of systematic abuse, even though in Texas 16-year-olds can marry with parental consent. You've ruled young toddlers are in "immediate" danger because of their parents' beliefs or what might happen 15 years from now, not because anyone abuses them.

From the evidence presented publicly, I do not believe that the children have been sexually abused or physically harmed. Allegations of forcible rape turned out to be bogus, and only five girls 16 to 19 years old were found pregnant or with children – probably about the same ratio you'd find if you rounded up all the kids in my neighborhood.

Instead, I wonder what it would be like for these children to be torn from a loving family by people whose message is this: Everyone who loves you is bad. Everything you believe is wrong. The God you've been taught is a fraud, and belief in Him is harming you."

And Tim Lynch, of the Cato Institute, had some interesting thoughts:

"If a child says 'I love my parents and want to go home,' it means he has been brainwashed by the 'cult.' And if a child says 'I like my foster parents a lot. They give me candy and the video games are awesome,' it means the child’s actual parents are unfit.

"State authorities talk a lot about rape and forced marriages, but 300 children are ages 4 and below. They should be sent home because there is no evidence of abuse. All the boys should go home because there’s no evidence of abuse. As for the remaining girls, they have been held for 3 weeks already … the judge should give the police one more week to present evidence or they should be going home too. The investigation can continue, but 3+ weeks in custody is enough already.

"When it comes to separating children from the parents, the burden of proof must be borne by the state."

And another must read: "Increasingly I'm coming to think that the case against the Eldorado polygamist compound may be a setup job." - Scott Henson

"Don't get me wrong: True pedophiles should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But that's a little different than changing the law to redefine historic religious practices by a particular sect as "pedophilia," which is what Rep. Hildebran did. Similarly, there's a big difference between investigating an individual, anonymous complaint from a single teenager, and forcibly taking 419 children away from their homes based on guilt by association.

I'd feel the same way if the state decided to seize all the children of parishioners in a Catholic church whose priest had been accused of pedophilia. What's the difference between that and what's happening in West Texas based on allegations against one man?

As Fox News' Greta Van Susteren declared, "being weird isn't a crime." And the alleged crimes of one man don't justify violating the rights of hundreds. When we identify "weird" people whose religious beliefs we don't like and pass laws criminalizing that behavior, as Hildebran did, to me that borders on "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion. This whole episode strikes me as grandstanding and overkill." - Scott Henson

And what about this:

Texas 911 Calls Linked To 33-Year-Old in Colorado

"SAN ANGELO, Tex., April 23 -- The phone calls that triggered a massive raid on a polygamist compound in west Texas -- in which a quavering girl's voice described being forcibly married at 15 -- have been linked to a Colorado woman with a history of making false claims of sexual abuse, according to an affidavit filed in Colorado Springs.

The affidavit says calls that allegedly came from "Sarah Barlow" -- a teenage girl at the Yearning for Zion Ranch outside Eldorado, Tex. -- actually came from numbers connected to Rozita Swinton, 33, [State Democratic Delegate] of Colorado Springs. The affidavit also notes Swinton's possible involvement in a series of separate but similar reports in which the young caller described being abused by a pastor, an uncle or her father."

I think it's about time these children are sent home!!! For another intersting perspective, read here!

ht: Stacey M.

Prayer for Caleb

Please Pray For My Friend! UPDATED

Thank you to all who prayed! Little Caleb got the "all clear" from the doctor. His tests were all normal! Praise God! The Cambron family thanks you sincerely for your faithfulness in prayer!

She writes:

I don't know how to make this short, but basically my heart is breaking tonight. Our baby, Caleb, has started having some neurological problems. Basically, it looks as though he is losing head control and his head falls forward or to the side. This could be a benign condition or it could be infantile seizures which is devastating in an infant. The strange thing is that our Joshua went through this very thing when he was 4 months old and it lasted about 5 months. We had to have eegs, mri's, cat scans and see neurologists at Children's Hospital in New Orleans. We found a treatment that worked for him and we never had to put him on heavy duty, dangerous medications and he never regressed...Praise the Lord!
I am in shock that this is happening again. I don't understand why? I am scared, but trying to trust God. It is hard with my husband in Iraq. Please, please, please pray for baby Caleb. Please tell everyone you know who prays to pray for our sweet baby. We had so many people praying for Joshua when he went through this and I know that is what healed him. Caleb needs your prayers. I am going to try the same thing we did with Joshua starting Tuesday. I am taking him into the dr tomorrow and I am positive they will want to do an EEG very soon. I go from feeling strong to feeling desperate to trusting God to being scared and angry.
Sorry this was so long. And thank you for being awesome prayer warriors and praying for our precious baby boy, Caleb.
In Him,
Stacey & family

Thank you!!!

Expelled

Expelled

GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Purity Ring Photos

(Full Story Below)


Greg sharing stories from Cheyenne's early childhood..........


More stories..........

Presenting the ring........

Greg placing on the ring........

I LOVE this picture...............

End of "ceremony"...........

Prayer.........

The gang.........

Thank you, Longenbaugh's, for the use of your camera. We wouldn't have captured these memories had it not been for you!

Purity Ring

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Psalm 51:10

One of things we had been looking forward to since Cheyenne was little in an effort to guard her heart was presenting her with a purity ring. We have known people through the years who have made this an important event in their families and it has encouraged us to consider the same.

The purpose of presenting the ring is for the young person to be reminded of his/her commitment to flee any situation that might compromise their commitment to abstinence, but it is also a reminder for the parents to encourage the young person, through accountability and prayer, by wearing the ring.

But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 

1 Timothy 6:11

Last October, we were finally able to present a ring to our oldest daughter on her fifteenth birthday. It was a ceremony filled with memories, commitment, and prayer. It was one of the most beautiful and meaningful occasions in our family and one we look forward to doing with the rest of our children in the years to come.

In the weeks leading up to Cheyenne's birthday, we began planning. We hunted and purchased this ring. We wanted something pretty and feminine, but also something that wasn't too expensive; in the event it is lost we can easily replace it. We also spent time developing "the ceremony". Greg thought long and hard about how he wanted to present the ring to his daughter. It was well worth the planning......it was so sweet!

On the day of her birthday, we celebrated throughout the day just as we normally would. She opened her gifts that morning, saving the ring for later. After dinner and the cake, it was time!

Greg began the ceremony by sharing stories from Cheyenne's early childhood through the present. She was brought to tears as she listened to her daddy reminisce through the years stories of laughter, growth, and testimonies of God's faithfulness. Greg told of stories that even I had forgotten. It was precious and beautiful!

Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.  1 Timothy 4:12

Once we were all good and teary-eyed, Greg presented the ring. By accepting the ring, she is making a commitment to God, her parents, and to the man God has chosen to be her husband, to remain pure.  Greg then placed the ring on her ring finger and led our family in prayer, which concluded the "ceremony"!

Words cannot describe how precious this day was and how meaningful this was to Cheyenne. Not only did the presentation signify and encompass the beauty of purity, it also showed Cheyenne how much we love her and our level of commitment and protection over her. 

As an additional resource, here is a site I recently came across called Purity Pledge . It's a family business of hand crafted purity rings and lockets.

Gun Wars

Gun Wars

Daddy and Seth having a blast with Seth's Nerf guns!

Did I mention this took place during a math lesson today? Yep.....gun fights during math! I lovingly asked Greg how math would be incorporated into this gun war. He said that Seth was very rambunctious today and needed to exert his extra energy. "Ohhhhh, I seeeeee!"

It's hard to tell which one of them was having more fun, but, I have to say that Seth DID do a much better job of finishing up his math once he "exerted his extra energy"!

He Is Risen

HE IS RISEN!
We hope you all had a wonderful Resurrection Day. The Lord is risen indeed!

Thought I'd post an updated photo of the family, minus myself! I wasn't feeling well, so didn't dress for Easter. I'm bummed about the lack of quality in this photo, but at least it's a recent one! More to come......

From the Sabo family to yours.........have a wonderful day!

Balancing Act

Balancing ActWell, Daddy's up to his old tricks again. Once our babies reach about two months of age, Greg puts them to the test. He's done this with all of the children, and now, Genevieve has proven herself to be yet another silly Sabo! When Seth was a baby, he and Greg scored a few seconds of fame doing this very trick when one of our video clips landed on America's Funniest Home Videos.

And just for the record, no, he's never dropped a baby.........yet! ;-)

Boys Will Be Boys

Snacks Anyone?
*dog food
*toilet water (a la pee)
*deoderant (spring fresh, of course)
*blue marker (only non-washable will do)

These are the contents that have been consumed by Ethan in the last two days! After eating dog food and quenching his thirst from the toilet, we're convinced he should have been born a puppy..........he's as cute as one, anyway! Lord, help us...........

Baby Genevieve

Baby Genevieve

Finally, after several months without a digital camera, we're back in business! Here's our sweet girl!

Two months old.....ALREADY!

The First Time

Isn't it a funny thing when your baby sleeps through the night for the first time? On one hand, you're excited that the baby has finally slept through the night, but on the other hand, you're wondering all night why she hasn't awakened yet!

After many unpredictable nights with Genevieve, she finally slept through the night last night.

Me on the other hand....

I woke up at 2am, peeked at her, still asleep.

Woke up at 4am, peeked at her, still asleep but should be waking up at any moment.

Woke up at 5am....okay, time to feel her to make sure she's still breathing. Whew....still breathing.

Finally, at 6am I hear that sweet little cry that I had been waiting for since 2am.

Even after seven babies, that first "sleep through the night" still gets me! We'll see how she does tonight.  And how I do!

Genevieve is eight weeks old today! Wasn't she just born last Monday???

Thoughts, Observations, and Other Musings

Chloe (3) has this cute little purple, fuzzy purse that she carries around ALL DAY! She loves this purse. This purse was a stocking stuffer for Christmas. It's the ONLY present she still plays with everyday. I bought it at the Dollar Store........

A few months ago, while driving in the car, Seth (6) was telling us about his tooth. He asked me if I rememered when it used to be gray. I said yes! He then said that "God raised it from the dead..........."

All of our kids LOVE yogurt. We used to buy family packs of Yoplait yogurt until we made the switch to all natural yogurt. Well, yesterday I decided to buy Yoplait again because it was on sale AND I had a coupon. When Chloe (3) saw the yogurt in the fridge, she very excitedly said, "Yea, the upside down yogurt!"

Ethan's favorite phrase these days is "naughty boy". Hmmm......do you think he's heard that once or twice in his life? He also favors the word "NO"...............

A couple of weeks ago, Seth (6) and Sophia (5) (partners in crime) were running through the kitchen. We have a NO RUNNING IN THE KITCHEN POLICY here! When I caught them, I rhetorically yelled, "How many times have I told you NOT to run in the kitchen? After a few seconds pause, Seth, with a calculating look on his face answered, "Nine?" The girls and I burst into laughter. So much for that lesson in discipline.........

We're so proud of Cheyenne.........she's been able to come up with a new word for the dictionary! While helping her with implied pronoun references in English, she invented the word "fraidiness" as a substitue for the word "afraid". We're so proud..........

(Disclaimer: She's really a VERY bright young lady.......we claim that she's suffering from cabin fever since we've been sick for so long.......at least we got a good laugh out of it!)

I just called Greg at work a bit ago and woke him up from his nap. Yes, you read me right......a nap.......at work! Oh, the life of a firefighter.............

Celeste (12) makes the BEST pancakes. She infuses the batter with vanilla and a mashed banana. Then she makes a homemade strawberry puree to top the fresh whipped cream! YUM!

The other day we were all enjoying a handful of Cheez-its for our snack. After Seth (6) finished his, he walked back into the kitchen and said, "Mommy, we can't buy Cheez-its anymore!" When I asked him why, he replied, "Because Cheez-its aren't healthy!" Hey, WHO told Seth that Cheez-its aren't healthy.........

Baby Genevieve is almost eight weeks old. Just eight weeks! Both of my older girls are ALREADY ready for us to have another baby!!! And people say we're crazy..........

And, as I'm finishing up this post, Ethan (1) comes downstairs in underwear! Not his diaper, underwear! There they go again.........those little ones are trying to potty train him AGAIN! Sorry, Mommy's not ready yet for that! I'd better go get that diaper back on before he........well, you know where that's going........

Sick Sabos

This doesn't happen often.......but.......

.....most of our family is sick! We all have varying degrees of illness ranging from severe colds to the flu. Fortunately, Greg and baby Genevieve are still holding strong. We've been praying diligently that the two of them will stay well. Greg has been doing a wonderful job of taking care of us and keeping things running smoothly.

The sad aspect of us getting sick is that I was unable to go to the Whole Hearted Mother's Conference this weekend. Our group left early this morning for a weekend full of refreshment, fun, fellowship and inspiration! I'll miss you, ladies!

On another note, we've finally decided to have our digital camera fixed. After doing the research, it is more cost effective for us to have ours repaired, rather than buy a new one or buy used on ebay. This is good news because I'll finally be able to post pictures again on the blog. It's not nearly as much fun posting without cute pictures to go along. We should have our camera up and running within a few days.......I'll be sure to post lots of pics of our nearly six week old Genevieve. Come on back!

Part 2: After the Birth

Read Part 1 here.

The details of what happened after the birth may be a bit sketchy, so I'll do my best to remember.

After our sweet Genevieve was born, all was well and we were elated. I remained in the tub, with Genevieve resting on my belly, while we waited for the cord to stop pulsing. Once the cord had been cut, we then had to wait on the placenta to deliver. The bleeding at this point was minimal so there were no concerns. Once the placenta was delivered, Genevieve was passed over to Daddy so that I could begin cleaning up. By this time, it had been about 20 minutes since the birth . Just as Janet was helping me to get out of the tub, I suddenly felt strange. My arms felt extremely tingly, so much so that it was quite uncomfortable, then my ears clogged up. The next thing I knew, Janet had her hands on my face and she was yelling, "Candace, Candace!" I had passed out.

At this point, everyone began working quickly to try to get me out of the tub. My midwife determined that my placenta had only partially detached, so I was bleeding heavily! Time was of the essence, so my husband came to my side to assist in getting me out of the tub. As Greg and Janet lifted me to the edge of the tub, I felt that tingly feeling again and my ears began to clog. I yelled, "I have to sit back down!" I lunged myself back into the tub and, again, the next thing I knew, Janet was yelling my name again. I had passed out for a second time.

Once I came to, they couldn't wait any longer trying to get me out of the tub. I remember the other midwife, Holly, getting into the tub and explaining to me that she had to "go in" and pull out those leftover bits of placenta that were causing all the bleeding. I had no idea what that would be like, but I quickly found out. This was the most excruciating procedure I had ever been through in my life....a manual D & C....with no drugs!  After labor, passing out twice, and loosing blood, I had nothing left in me to handle the pain. I am normally a quiet laborer. But at this, I screamed at the top of my lungs, begging her to stop. It took three times for her to get everything out, but once she did, the bleeding stopped almost immediately!

Now that the bleeding was under control, they could get me out of the tub and transfer me to my bed. I was very weak, but it was good to finally be out of the cold, hard tub and into my soft, comfy bed. Over the next couple of hours, the midwives worked tirelessly to stabilize my blood pressure. I would feel fine one moment and then very ill the next, vomiting several times. They kept me on oxygen and tried intermittently to get me to eat and drink. In the meantime, Janet had sent a friend out on a mission to track down liquid chlorophyll. It seemed as if everyone was out of it, so she pretty much drove all over town trying to hunt this stuff down. Thankfully, her mission was successful, because as soon as I began to consume this rather large bottle of green plant cell pigment, I began to feel better almost instantly! Hooray for chlorophyll! It should be a must at every birth.

Finally, I was well on the road to recovery. I was able to sit up and nurse little Genevieve for the first time....two hours after she was born.   She latched on and nursed like a pro! All was well and the midwives stayed by my side for several hours to make sure I remained stable.

This was the first time I had ever experienced a partial placental detachment. All of my previous births had been smooth and uneventful. Of course, this would happen at my first home birth. But God, in His grace and sovereignty, had His hand on the situation and it was certainly no surprise to Him! He gave the midwives all that they needed to handle this emergency. He gave my family and friends strength in the midst of worry and fright. And He gave me the comfort of knowing I was in capable hands and surrounded by loved ones. I also felt a huge peace in knowing that our new baby was near at all times, and in the loving care of family and friends.

With that being said, I understand that this was a very alarming situation, quite traumatic for my husband, my older girls and my mom. From their perspective, seeing me pass out, turn ghost white, and convulsing, was extremely frightening! I'm sure there was a moment when everyone in the room wanted to call 911. Thankfully, the midwives were equipped to handle this type of emergency and would have called 911 if necessary.

My overall assessment of my first home birth: Wonderful! I do not regret in any way having Genevieve at home. Some people have assumed I wouldn't do it again. Why? My placenta didn't know whether I was at home or in the hospital.  Midwives know their craft and I trusted mine to do what was necessary!  And she did!

So this is my story and I'm sticking to it! ;-)

God is good and we give Him the glory for the entire birth! Feel free to ask me any questions regarding the birth, or, if you were here during the birth, to chime in where I may have left something out!

Today, our sweet Genevieve is one month old! My, how time flies!

Our Home Birth Story

Part I: Labor and Birth

It all began Sunday, January 6th, late afternoon. While visiting with friends, I noticed I was having regular contractions. At first, I didn't pay much attention the them, but once my friends left, I realized that I was still having regular contractions. They continued and seemed to steadily be four minutes apart. Unsure if this was the start of labor, I decided to take a warm bath to see if this would cause the contractions to fizzle out. While in the tub, they did spread out to about five to six minutes apart. But, as soon as I got out, they returned to about every four minutes. I felt this was indeed early labor, but knew the contractions weren't strong enough to be active labor.

After several hours of wondering if this was labor, I was tired of timing and just tired in general, so I went to bed around 10:30pm. I was so tired, in fact, that part of me hoped labor wouldn't intensify during the night, but rather "pick up where we left off in the morning", after a full night's rest. I had always wished that I could wake up in the morning and go into labor. I've had all my babies late at night, after a long day, and feeling very tired, so I desired a morning labor.

Well, I got half of my wish. I did officially go into labor in the morning, but I certainly didn't get that full night's rest I had hoped for. I guess my mind was just too focused on the possibility of labor, because I was up constantly during the night. I did maintain regular contractions through the night, although only a couple of them were a bit stronger than the rest.
The alarm clock went off at 5:30 am the next morning because I had planned to take my friends to the airport. Well, with having not gotten much sleep AND knowing I was possibly in labor, I awoke Greg and asked him to take them to the airport. The thought of being stuck in morning traffic and having my water break in the car was an unnerving thought.

Before Greg left, I had already experienced a few harder contractions and started to get nervous about something happening while he was gone. I sat down to post on my blog, and as soon as I stood up, I had a very strong contraction, hard enough to have to breathe through. At this point, I KNEW I was in active labor! I told Greg to get to that airport FAST! I also told him to call me every thirty minutes to check on my progress. As soon as he left, I went into labor preparation mode and finished up last minute things in my room and bathroom. In no time, Greg was home and we called the midwife. I think it was about 8:30am when we called her. She said she would go ahead and come because it was going to take her an hour to get here.

At this point, I pretty much stayed in my room as labor intensified. I tried various positions to find what was comfortable. I was almost overwhelmed with choices! In the hospital, I always did the same thing....I walked and stayed on my feet until it was time to push. Ahh, but here at home, I had choices! Almost too many choices. I couldn't decide WHAT I wanted to do! I walked, I stood, I layed in bed.......I was trying to hold out as long as possible before getting into the tub. I wanted to hold out for that much anticipated relief for transition. It wasn't long before the contractions became doozies, so Greg drew the bath......it was time. I had a couple of contractions in the bathroom so I held onto the counter and had Greg rub vigorously on my lower back. This helped tremendously to ease some of the pain. Tub time!

I had only been in the tub about 10 minutes when Janet, my midwife, arrived. While in the tub, I tried to relax and find a comfortable position. The water WAS a great relief, but I couldn't seem to find the right position during a contraction. I wanted to be upright so that Greg could have access to my back, but I felt like I was having to hold myself up which just exerted extra energy that needed to be reserved for the contraction itself.

Just as I was trying to decide if being in the tub was working for me, I had a HUGE contration and suddenly felt "pushy"! To everyone's surprise, including mine, I began grunting and pushing. Usually pushing affords me some relief, but I wasn't feeling any. But, with the next push, I felt a pop and then MAJOR relief. My bag of water had ruptured. Labor had advanced so quickly that it hadn't even occured to me that my water bag was still in tact.

By this time, my small bathroom had filled up with lots of people: My mom, the kids, my friends, and my midwife. Greg left my back to get into the "catcher's position". In one push, I felt the baby go from high up in my pelvis to crowning. I instictively put my hand on the baby's head to ease her out to prevent tearing. Once her head was out, Janet instructed Greg to check for any cord around the neck. No cord! Before my next push I remember yelling, "I hate the shoulders!" and bracing myself for the next push. The head is not what bothers me, it's those shoulders! Ouch! So, with one final push, Greg pulled our sweet baby girl out and placed her on my belly. She was perfect and breathing well! Our baby was finally here!

I can't tell you what a blessing it was to be surrounded by loved ones to share this miracle with us! I always love the sounds of all the people around me after giving birth. The shouts of joy, the praising, and the laughter. It's priceless!

Genevieve Julee was born January 7th at 9:52am. She was milky white (with vernix) and absolutley beautiful! The birth was amazing and Genevieve was strong and healthy! Best of all, Greg finally got to deliver one of our babies! God is good!

Part Two

Meme

I've been tagged.......again!

Okay, here's six not-so-important things about me:

1. Growing up I was a complete tomboy! I really had no use for girls and the things girls did. Boys were much more fun.......they played rough sports, weren't emotional and didn't care what my hair or clothes looked like! In sixth grade, I played Little League baseball. My positions were first base and catcher. Later, I went on to play (girlie) softball in highschool where I made MVP. Those were the days! My sophmore year in highschool, I played football. Yes, football. On the boys team! I told you I was a tomboy! My positions were split end and defensive back. I was good and I loved the game. I even made front page news in my hometown. And NO, I would never let MY girls play......are you crazy......football is dangerous and SO unlady-like! ;-)

2. Also growing up, I always said I was never getting married and NEVER having kids........

3. I cringe when people sneeze near me, especially behind me! It gives me the heebie-geebies!

4. Josh Groban's music can bring me to tears. Not much else can!

5. Having many children has mostly cured my germ phobia. Although, I still have occasional issues with restaurants and what employees do behind the scenes!

6. I have several OCD's. One is, the four pillows on my couch HAVE to be placed with the pattern sitting vertically with the seam down. It irritates me when someone places them any other way but this way! I'll spare you from rest!

I think everyone I know has been tagged except Adrienne.

The Business of Being Born

The Business of Being Born

Greg and I (and Genevieve) attended a private screening last night to view this AMAZING documentary about birth and how women's view of birth has changed over the decades. We were floored by many of the statistics, both nationwide and local, concerning infant mortality rate (in hospitals) and the C-section rate in the U.S. We learned, that in Bexar County alone, the C-section rate is 50% for those on Medicaid!

The Synopsis of the Film:

Birth: it’s a miracle. A rite of passage. A natural part of life. But more than anything, birth is a business. Compelled to find answers after a disappointing birth experience with her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to examine and question the way American women have babies.
The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey becomes even more personal.
Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?

My disclaimer to the film is that it is NOT a Christian film by any means. There are about five bad words in the film and a lot of birth related nudity, so the film is certainly not for everyone. If you're interested in viewing the film, there is another screening here in San Antonio Jan. 29th. For more details, zip an email to this address: info@texasbirth.org . This film is also available on Netflix, and will be available on DVD in March.

And on this birth note, I've been working on our birth story and should have it posted soon!

Helping Children

Always ready to help.......I think?

The scene this morning:
Celeste runs upstairs to check on the little ones. You know.........when it's TOO quiet, something's up! She finds Seth, Sophia and Ethan in the bathroom. Ethan has no pajamas on and NO diaper.

Celeste: What are you all doing in here?

Sophia: We're trying to get Ethan pottied!

Celeste: He's not ready yet! Get his diaper and jammies on right now!

So then Sophia comes running to the stairs and shouts down to me, "Mommy, Ethan WANTS to be potty trained!"

Me: Oh really! Well, we'll have to think about that one! (Shaking my head, I send Celeste back up to get Ethan dressed.)

The funny thing is, the little ones probably COULD "get Ethan pottied"! I have to admit......I do love their enthusiasm!