Everything Birth

As we prepare for the new member of our family, I get to discover all the new products out there! What fun! There is only a six year gap between the youngest and our new baby, but there are many new advances over the last six years.

Even though this is our 4th child, this is our first reversal baby. That means that this is the first baby we have carried since my tubal reversal surgery. I will share with you our journey.

I have to admit that the first two children were not planned, but wonderful surprises . . . that we weren't quite ready for. I got pregnant again when my son was about 8 months old. Wow! I didn't know if I could handle all that! About 17 weeks into that pregnancy I had a missed miscarriage. That means there wasn't a baby. My body formed a pregnancy sac and was preparing for pregnancy, but the baby never formed. The guilt that built up after that was difficult. We waited three months like the doc told us to and then tried again. I got pregnant right away but miscarried at 5 weeks. Without my next cycle, I discovered that I was pregnant again. This was a time full of mixed emotions. Most of us get excited when we see the two pink lines, but mine was mixed with fear and doubt.

At about 10-12 weeks I went to the doc to hear if the baby had a heartbeat or not. I felt good and was happy I had made it this far, but I still was not freed from worry. We lived about 1 1/2 hours from the doc's office. I developed a migraine headache that morning and threw up every hour for about 4 hours. It wasn't until after I heard the heartbeat of that precious life that my headache started to subside and I was able to eat again. That little heartbeat is now my beautiful 5 year old daughter.

Overwhelmed with the previous years of emotions, we decided that three children was enough and we scheduled a tubal ligation. Everyone supported our decision as "three is more than enough children." I was 23 years old at the time.

I was comfortable with my decision for a couple of years, but then the Lord began to do an amazing work in me and my husband. We were denying the gifts God wanted to give us. He had given us a desire to raise more children for His glory. We studied and researched tubal reversal surgery and physicians. We even had the opportunity to go with a friend to have hers reversed. After several years we chose a doctor, but now needed the funds. With the sell of our house we scheduled surgery in September 2006 - 4 years (almost to the day) after my tubal ligation.

We impatiently waited the suggested two months and then got pregnant immediately. Only to discover it was ectopic. The Lord protected my womb and the ectopic pregnancy dissolved on its own. I went almost a whole year with no pregnancies. I was to the point of hopelessness. Obviously the Lord did not want us to have more children yet. In September of 2007 I became pregnant again and miscarried at 5 weeks. But no ectopic which meant my tubes were open!! I was a little more excited, but didn't want to get my hopes up. Again without having another cycle, I found I was pregnant. I immediately called upon my friends for prayer over this new life.

Now 30 weeks pregnant with a healthy, active little girl I am excited to say the Lord has provided! It has been quite an adventure! Now that this baby is almost here I am hurrying to collect everything I need (want) to care for her. You see, after the tubal ligation I gave away all of my baby things. So in a sense, this is my first baby. I am having to start fresh, which is fun. But I didn't remember how much stuff you can gather for one tiny life!

In this process I discovered Everything Birth . What cool things they have for those of us wanting to provide our babies with natural products. Check it out and by clicking on the gift registry you can see what I still need. (Hint . . . hint!) LOL.

Above Rubies Retreat

Last weekend I was blessed with the opportunity to attend my first Above Rubies Retreat. I wanted to share with my readers what a blessing it was, but my friend described it so beautifully I'm going to let you read hers: PFamilyGal

Nancy's message for the weekend was Powerful Parenting. She encouraged us as mothers and sent us home with a vision for our families. At this time in my life, I really needed that. Raising three children with number 4 on the way . . .

The Deaf World

For those interested in my involvement with the deaf community:

As the Educational Resource Director for Isaiah's Place (www.isaiahsplace.org), I will now be posting Teaching and Learning Tips on their webpage every two weeks or so. Check that out at http://www.isaiahsplace.org/newsletter.shtml. I will also be adding info to my deaf homeschool blog page soon. (www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers)

Raising a deaf child has it's challenges, homeschooling one adds a whole new dimension!

Dead battery . . . no problem!

What do you do when the battery will no longer hold a charge on your John Deere Gator (kid-sized, of course!)? Well you could always take turns pushing, but that just wouldn't be fast enough and too much work.

*Well it is just not letting me share this viedo with you! The kids tied our pit bull to the front of their Gator and threw a ball for her to chase. That little Gator was moving faster with the "dog motor" than the battery could ever have gone! They also tried to tie the dog to a little push toy, but that was too much motor for that little thing!

I'm Back

I moved to Texas and fell off the internet planet! Sorry about my absence, but I am back!

We have been busy, busy since we moved to Texas. We moved our 5th wheel here and lived in it for a while. Then we moved into a mobile home and that has been nice. We have been preparing for the arrival of our fourth child. I still have moments that I can't believe I am pregnant and then the baby kicks my bladder and reality sits in. Short Stuff has gone to Drill Team Horse Camp. Dad and Little Man have been enjoying their frequent fishing trips to the river. And Tinker is joyfully awaiting the arrival of her new baby sister. Katy, our pit bull, is enjoying her new home, especially since we are right on the river.

I know that is a short update, but there will be more to come!