Holland - Our Miracle Breech Baby

With our fifth baby, we sure had a lot of firsts. First time our baby was breech. First time my water broke on it's own. First time to not deliver in a hospital. First time to deliver a breech baby. First time to come home the same day I had my baby. First time to snuggle for an hour or longer before they even cleaned her up. First time my throat hurt so bad from screaming for so long and for so loud. First baby to sleep really well during the night. (Knock on wood). First time to have midwives deliver and not a doctor.

Every birth is a miracle. I mean, truly a miracle. I don't care how these little ones get here, it is down right miraculous what a female body can endure to get them here...safely. When we found out a little over two weeks ago that Holland was breech, we went right to work on how to safely help her to turn. My options with my doctor were, get her to flip, or prepare for a c-section. I had true anxiety at the prospect that I may have to have a c-section. Sure, maybe I'd be one of those very very few lucky ones that have an amazingly quick recovery and I'm up on my feet in no time, but the chance was WAY too high! How could I care for my other children and allow the recovery time to heal from a c-section? True anxiety people! So, when I was talking to a friend who has home births, she told me I needed to talk to her midwife about my options. It was my first glimpse of hope that things would still be ok. Talking with her midwife, led me to talk with several other midwives as well. They all said I could deliver her breech, especially because this was my fifth baby. Huzzah! I was not doomed for a c-section after all. Aaron and I made the necessary changes with my doctors office, canceled my version/induction date at the hospital, and went to work on trying to help Holland flip on her own. The midwives tried to flip her with a version, but Holland flipped right back upright. I laid down on an ironing board upside down each night for days. We hung pictures all over the house of head down babies in the womb, and even tried an ancient Chinese medicine called Moxibustion that has a 98% success rate of flipping the baby. Nope! Holland wanted to stay put, so we prepared to have her breech.

When my water broke Monday morning at 5:30, I was surprisingly calm. This was it! I felt like we were having our first baby all over again because I did not know what to expect, but I was calm. And so was Aaron.
On our way to the Birthing Center

In between contractions...until they became unbelievably unbearable.

Born at 9:56 am, October 28th, weighing 6lbs. 9oz.

Meeting her new family.

No pictures of Joe yet with her. He just likes to point and grunt at her right now. Hannah is making up for the lack of attention Joe is not giving her.

Traditional first bath given by Dad.

Two days old and simply perfect!

A Test

We had a Relief Society/Priesthood meeting a couple of weeks ago on Reverence and what we can do as parents to invite more reverence into all of our meetings, especially Sacrament meeting. Lets face it, if you're going to be in a meeting with more than 100 children and infants, there is next to no chance of complete reverence and quietness. That said, there are things we can do to improve the tone of this important meeting each week. So..., we put some things to the test. We have a "Sunday" bag that has coloring books and crayons, a few match cars, some crackers for Joe and a bottle. The deal with the kids is if they are quiet until after we partake of the sacrament they can have something from the bag for the rest of the meeting. Pretty good incentive right? WRONG! For some families this might work. For mine, not so much. The kids bicker and whine over what toy they get to play with or ask a million times if it's time to get their stuff out.

So today we took nothing. Not a crayon, paper, toy car, snacks, nada! And they were a million times better! Go figure. So much more reverent. So apparently, they don't need a bunch of "stuff" to keep them busy. They will listen or at least sit more quietly if they don't have all the distractions. I'm amazed.

Breech

I found out at my last doctor appointment that little Holland is breech. Awesome! Actually, not awesome even in the slightest. I have less than 3 weeks to try to get her to flip, and believe me, I'm doing anything I can to make it happen. Including, laying upside down on an ironing board.

Aaron game me a blessing and the kids are praying too that she will flip. Here's to patience yet again!

General Conference

Every six months we hear from the leaders of our church. It is FABULOUS!!! Their message is broadcast on TV on both Saturday and Sunday. We snuggle in our homes, stay in our pj's, and eat yummy food, all while being spiritually fed by them. Truly, it's the best! General Conference is something we look forward to every year. We are reminded of what matters most. That keeping the commandments of God is what brings true joy. Oh there is so much we learn each time! We've established some family traditions at this time to help the kids enjoy it too. Scones and canned peaches has become our food of choice during conference.

Hannah drew a picture of President Monson. Man that girl is good I think!

And Joe had a love affair with his teddy bear. He LOVES this thing!

I encourage everyone to hear what a true prophet of God has to say. It will uplift, strengthen, encourage, and bring peace to all who will have an open heart. Conference

Good Morning

The progression of his walk.

And a true morning beauty!

In Charge

Cute as a button. Sassy as a Goose. Naughty little Stinker. And about to have his whole world rocked in 4 weeks. 

 He's walking. Sort of. He's taking steps and they are getting longer every day, but he still prefers crawling.

He's sleeping better, but man alive I jinx myself every time I write this. We've had to put him in the pac 'n play, in the bathroom, with the fan running to have him cry it out a couple of times, but so far it seems to have helped him to sleep through the night. KNOCK ON WOOD!!!! He screams like a chimpanzee. He knows exactly what he wants and just how to get it. I fear we are in trouble when he's 2 and 3...and probably when he's a teen too. Aaron is completely wrapped around his little finger and I'm pretty sure Joe knows it. When Aaron is home, Joe MUST be with him or else we hear a lot of the chimpanzee noise.

Ya, he's pretty much in charge around here.

Transformation

I spent the weekend at a women's retreat. I've never done a "women's retreat" mainly because I've never thought they were a good thing to get involved in. That, and I'd much prefer to spend my time with Aaron than any other person, and that's the truth. But when the mother's of the Family Leadership Academy wanted to have an overnight retreat to discuss homeschooling and have tremendous speakers come and inspire us, I was all over it! Fortunately, so was Aaron.

Here's the thing. Truth is truth. No matter if you're talking about God, spiritual matters, politics, education, or anything. If it's true, the Spirit can and will bear testimony of all things that are true. This last weekend I felt the Spirit so many times. Things that absolutely rang true with my spirit. It was another confirmation that I'm on the right track with my kids. This IS what Heavenly Father would have me do at this time. I became so keenly aware that He is aware of me and my children personally and He will help me on this journey. It was powerful and inspiring.

Something is happening to me. I'm transforming. (some might be laughing right now and be thinking, "how can you transform any more"?) There's an awakening that's taking place. I feel overwhelmed by it sometimes. I don't feel that I have enough hours in the day to accomplish all that I desire for me personally, let alone my children. AND...I'm about to add to the beauty with another child. To be frank and honest, not every day is so good. I'm thrilled to admit that I really have not had a single day of regret that I've kept my children home. There hasn't been one day that I wish they could just go to school for the day so I could have "me" time. I'm grateful for this. But, there have been days that I've gotten frustrated to the point of causing my children tears. I hate those days. I feel terrible on those days. After all, I'm learning right along with them how to teach them best and what really is "best" for us as a family.

But then I have nights like tonight where Nathan offers a family prayer and thanks Heavenly Father for me. Me! and tells Him how much he loves me. Or Hannah wraps her little arms around me at bedtime and says, "Mom, I'm so grateful you're my mom". Humbled is all I can say.

I know this path is not for everyone. I know there are some who think I must be crazy to think I can offer my kids more at home than they can receive in public school. I do not think public school is horrible. There are incredible teachers in public school. I had some. But times are changing. I do want something more for my kids than I think they can receive there. So let the transformation on us all continue!

Field Trips

We have some wing dinger Field Trips planned for our school year. We started it off with Hogle Zoo. It was a perfect 80+ degree day. Beautiful! I must say, I was a tad bit nervous to take my kids to the zoo by myself, but the kiddos were UNUSUALLY amazing! They truly were spectacular for me which made our day all the better!

 The Ballerina Polar Bear was spectacular! Really, his show was WAY more than we bargained for and worth the trip to the zoo alone.

 This seal was playing dead. Bummer.

Happy times at Hogle Zoo!

A week later, we ventured out in the freezing cold/rain/snow to the Utah Valley Renaissance Fair. Too bad the weather was no good because this fair was awesome!

 And some good 'ole fashioned Renaissance candy. Not!

Hannah Camille

I have a rare minute this late afternoon. The kids are outside playing, Joe is quietly making a mess on the floor. Dinner is ready and filling our home with a most delicious aroma of Mountain Hash (a childhood favorite of potatoes, corn, and beef), that hopefully will draw my family in relatively soon. The house is in unusual good order, especially for this late in the day. My windows are open, letting in the most perfect fall breeze ever! And I'm thinking of my Hannah. I really love this oldest girl of mine. If I had to think of one word that could sum her up it would be "pleaser". She really does love to please her mom and dad.

My top 10 favorite things about this girl of mine:
10 - She is the BEST big sister to her siblings (even if she could work a little on her relationship with Nathan).  I can count on her to help me with Joe anytime and I rely on her probably too much in regards to my littlest man.

9- Her sense of style. This has been a growing favorite of mine. She has a unique sense of style. And I know exactly who she got it from, and it's not me! I've had to let go of caring that she likes to put flower patterns with plaids or stripes or even different colors together.

Here she is with a grey shirt, black leggings, a navy skirt with flowers of orange, green, and white, pink boots, and a leopard print head band. She feels pretty and that's all that really matters.
8- Her hair. She has the BEST hair! It's thick and full and a beautiful chestnut brown. I love to make it all cute like, but she hates that, so we compromise and I let her wear it down (my least favorite way) when we don't have anywhere to go, which is often.
7- She loves to serve! She truly loves to serve others. I am the recipient of many thoughtful gifts or acts of service from her ranging from flower bouquets, making my bed, sweet love notes, and many other little things. She does this for us all and I have a file already full of her sweet notes.
6- Her love of Art. Her little artistic creations are truly one of my favorite things about her. She thinks of things, or see things so differently than I ever did at her age. She has a true gift in the arts.
5- Her tender heart. Oh man, this one is a slippery slope. The flood gates open so quickly with her that sometimes, her emotions are hard to handle. That said, she is sensitive to others pain. She feels horrible when she disappoints. She loves to make people happy, smile, and LOVES it when we are proud of her. Which is often.
4- Her love of learning. Homeschooling Hannah has been a joy for me. She is bright! She loves to learn. Because she is creative, I have to think creatively sometimes to keep her attention. It's been good for me. She asks deep questions sometimes and I'm so impressed that she's actually paying attention. We are reading the Book of Mormon together and she'll stop me and ask about something she has read, or that I've read. She really gets things.
3- Her eyes and eye lashes! They are definitely what people see first. Beautiful! Beautiful! Beautiful!

2- Her desire to choose the right. We talk a lot about choosing the right in our home. I believe we all inherently know what the "right" thing is. Hannah deeply desires to choose the right.
1- What I love most about my Hannah is that she was the first to make me a Mama. She is my guinea and we both are learning together. She is quick to forgive me, and I need her to be forgiving far too often. She is quick to wrap her little arms around me and she needs love and affection in return, which has helped me realize how important that is for all of my children; and my husband! I couldn't have asked for a better first child.

She slept like this every night for a week. We were starting to worry that we were raising a little diva, but she gave it up all on her own! Funny girl!