Merry Christmas

Some pictures of our escapades in the great white north (MN) can be found over at my Beloved's blog. Enjoy!


I had started to write a post about Christmas but I know there are people who have said it better than I. One person whom I feel speaks very well about Christmas and Truth is a man named John Piper. You can read a few of his articles by clicking on the links - Why Christ Came and Christmas and Truth.
I pray you all have a very Merry Christmas, enjoy time with family and rejoice in the hope that we have in Christ.

-

We made it!

We made it to MN. It's snowing. It's cold. I love it.

Ruby is warming up to my parents and we're enjoying having all of us under one roof again. My sister brought a friend of hers from China also, so we've got a house full to the brim.

We're going to put up the Christmas tree today and hang out around the house watching the snow blow by. It looks like we're going to be "snowed in" with a pretty good sized blizzared tonight. Good thing we didn't plan on going out. Please pray for the people that are on the road for work, visiting family and those that have emergencies and need to get to town.

Pictures coming soon!

Another picture to make up for my lack of blogging...

My mother-in-law is really good about taking a posting pictures of Ruby. Here's a good seasonal one she's got up on her blog. I hope the last minute Christmas preparations are going well and that you don't forget the "reason for the season." More on that later, now, a cute picture.

T-Minus two days!

This month has been going way too fast. We leave for MN in just a few days and I honestly don't know if I can handle that.

I've been cleaning, thinking about packing, laying out clothes, running errands, remembering that I forgot to eat and trying to get Ruby to take a few naps the past few days. We also had Christmas with Chuck's mom and immediate family last night. It was a lot of fun and we all got treated so generously. Ruby, of course, made out like a bandit and has some great new toys. I don't have pictures right now (as I forgot our camera) but I'll get some soon and probably do a huge Christmas montage later. I don't know how much blogging I'll get done while in MN but I'm sure not too many of you have your hopes up with my terrible blogging track record.

I'm very anxious excited about being in MN this Christmas. It's been about a year and a half since I've been to MN my last Christmas there was in 2004. I'm looking forward to seeing family and friends and even to running into people I used to know. I remember being worried that I wouldn't lose all my "baby weight" before our trip but these last few months have not only resulted in a slimmer me but also in a me that doesn't care about it as much as I thought I would.

I hope the seasons are getting too frantic for all of you and that you take time to slow down and enjoy life.
Happy Wednesday!

 

Texas "twinkly" lights and shirt sleeves - I'm looking forward to snow and mittens!

Happy Birthday Brother!

*runs hand through hair and sighs*
I can not believe that it's the 9th of December. December? The 9th? Wow.
Not only does that mean that my younger brother is 15 today but it also means that my daugher is 6 months.

I remember when my brother was born! I remember when my daughter (MY DAUGHTER?!) was born!

I wonder if I've lived every moment well. I can't have possibly if I can hardly remember them... Have I lived as if my days with my family were numbered? Have I lived like Jesus could come at any time? After all this talk of births we celebrate His birth in just a few weeks.

I've been doing some research into how to better build up (or count down) to His celebrated birthday and I've decided that instead of a countdown calender (or advent calender) that I remember having as a child, our family tradition will be to have a Jesse Tree.

There are lots of resources and examples and explanations of Jesse Trees online (as there are resources for just about anything - I honestly don't remember how I survived without Google) but I'd like to simply explain it here on my blog.

Our Jesse Tree will remind us for the 25 days of December how the whole Bible, and everyone in it, not only gives Glory to God, but leads up to Jesus' birth. Each day we will place a symbol on a little tree, read a Bible passage and do a family devotional. I'm going to make a magnetic tree out of a cookie sheet and over the course of the next few years I'll make the ornaments. This year my goal is to decide on the Bible passages and make a booklet of the passages and some devotionals. Over the years I'm sure it will grow and change as our family does.
Here's the calender that inspired my magnetic tree idea.
And here's the site that I'm using as a guide for the devotionals and passages.
Also, thanks to Caroline for introducing me to Jesse Trees and for making copies of her tree's symbols. Thanks so much!

It's been too long

It's been too long.
So much has happened.
Ruby reaches out to me. She laughs until her body shakes. She grabs, shakes and talks to toys.
I'm almost done with this semester. Only one more test and it's over. Then there's another semester next month. I'm excited but only so much. I wish I were done.
I'm so grateful that there is something, someone, on which my joy, gratitude and love to terminate. I'm relieved that the same someone has a plan for my life and knows so much better than I. I trust that even when I don't understand He's got it. He is so good.
I love that it's getting colder out. I feel like I may have missed the fall but I always think that here in Texas.
Thanksgiving was a lot of fun and I love that I married into such a wonderful mess of family.
I can hardly wait to spend Christmas in MN. Mom, I miss you (and everyone else) and although I wish we were closer I trust that God had us where he wants us and I'm so glad that we can visit. Make sure you have some snow for us, it will probably be Ruby's first experience of it!
I've discovered that I love Celestial Peppermint tea. I'll probably be drinking quite a bit of it this Christmas.
It frustrates me that I my list is always longer than my ideas for others gifts but I love giving gifts so I'm trying not to think about it and be more creative.
I love my brothers and my sisters and although part of me knows its pure insanity, can hardly wait for God to give Ruby brothers and sisters. She needs at least one brother - if you ask me, which of course, He won't but what a mess things would be if He did.

*sigh* Life is good. And even when it isn't He is.

Have a wonderful rest of the week. I'll have pictures of my Christmas decor up here soon.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread

Happy Monday!
So sorry I didn't update anything this weekend but Ruby has gone from an unpredictable napping schedule to none at all and this weekend was sort of the culmination of all of that - meaning not only did she not sleep enough, I didn't either. After reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child again I've decided I'm going to try to wake her up at 7 every morning in hopes that not only will she go to sleep earlier but she'll nap at least twice (for at least an hour at a time) during the day. This morning was the first morning of our new routine so we got up at 8, napped at 9 for an hour and then again at 1:20 after quite a bit of crying and screaming, but I can tell she's tired I think she was wound up and over tired by the time she finally fell asleep. I'm going to give it two weeks... I have a feeling it's going to be a long two weeks but hopefully no longer than it's felt the last two weeks.

On another note - I made more pumpkin bread this weekend! I didn't get any more leaves cut out, for reasoning, read above paragraph. I did, however, score some pine cones from my neighbor that I'm going to scent with some essential oil and use as a festive centerpiece to go with my pumpkin votive holders that I plan to make this week. Woohoo!
Here's what I've learned about pumpkin bread:
I'm going to give you the original recipe first and then tell you about my experimentation.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread (2 loaves)

3 cups sugar

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup water

2/3 cup peanut butter

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, water and peanut butter; beat well. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Gradually add to pumpkin mixture; mix well. Pout into two greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Ok. So first I cut the recipe in half and tried one loaf just as the recipe called. It was delicious. So very delicious. I knew that I wanted to make it often and even eat it for breakfast but couldn't knowing what was in it (especially how much sugar!) so I tried a few variations.
1. I used pumpkin (or applesauce) instead of the oil - it worked out just fine
2. I only put in 1/2 cup of sugar in each loaf - I thought it was great for a breakfast bread by my husband didn't think it was sweet enough, and it didn't taste as good as before so maybe it needs 3/4 cup sugar or a mixture of honey and sugar? depends on your taster
3. I used 1/2 white flour and 1/2 whole wheat - tasted just fine and baked great. The only difference I noticed is that it's a little more dense and crumbly but that's the nature of whole wheat. My husband didn't notice that difference though.

I'm still going to tweak the recipe and plan on trying to substitute flax for the eggs, honey for sugar, and add saigon cinnamon instead of regular. I might add some cloves to give it a more pumpkin pie flavor too. Oh, and if you really want the peanut butter flavor I recommend adding a little more than 1/3 a cup per loaf. Maybe 1/2 cup even.
And if you still haven't gotten Saigon cinnamon... well... I think I might just have to have a giveaway... Stay tuned.

In the mean time, enjoy the weather and have a wonderful day!

Pulled Down Leaves

The leaves don't really fall here in Texas like they do in MN. I really miss the changing colors. I really love this weather though. Fall doesn't come and go like it does in the north but 70's during the day and 50's at night is just about perfect. I love cold weather but don't mind at all if this keeps up for a few months.
Back to the leaves, they don't really fall but occasionally the wind pulls them down. Today the wind picked up, swirled the leaves down from the trees and there was even a little rain. Here's a little bit of fall from north Texas.


Leaves on our back walk and yard. Notice I didn't say 'grass,' I said 'yard.' We have a green yard, as in we save water by not watering it. :)

And a few leaves - see there are some colored leaves! And quite a few green ones...

Prayer

My cousin Jessica posted this on her blog after reading it on another website. I'm not sure when this was originally emailed but please pray for these people. We've got it so good here in America, so good.

This is a request for prayer for YWAM (Youth With A Mission) missionaries and their churches in Orissa, India.

Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News India,

We have never seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work. But none of our staff imagined that they would see this kind of carnage.... And it seems to be totally under the radar of the Western Media .... Let me explain.... A militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and 'reconverting' people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend. Immediately the Christians were blamed.. The cry rose up...'Kill the Christians!' And the horror began.... In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bear the name of Christ . Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa... they are right in the middle of all this chaos. In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and 'finish the job.' Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past 3 days. It has been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer. More police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belonging. As they fled, the blood thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace. In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left.. We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore. All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police outside. The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in house and burned them to death. Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road.... even women and children. At another orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind. Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said: 'We stay with our kids.... we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.' More than 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen. This will continue for another 10 days.... supposedly the 14 day mourning period for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down. The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the Hand of God can calm this storm. None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means. So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and are unable to come and get them during these trying times. Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children. Orissa will be saved... that is our heart's cry. If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus , they will transform an entire region. It is a long term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great Commission.


What can you do? First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second, pass this e-mail on to as many friends as you can. We must get the word out and increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom. The next 10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help us to get as many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort to fulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all nations....

Blessings,
Chip & Sandy Wanner
Col 2:2 MBI (Team Facilitators to YWAM frontlines)

Fall Decoration Updates

I haven't done much more fall decorating around here but I have big plans that I hope to accomplish soon. I've been slowly working on my paint chip leaves. I've got lots traced but cutting them takes quite a bit of time. If only I had one of those fancy hole punches that serious scrapbookers use. When I get a bunch cut out I plan to make a little banner with them. We'll see what happens. (Not a great picture but I'll put some more up this weekend when I make more progress with them)


This weekend I'm going to by some pumpkins so I can make votive holders like this flickr user did. So cute!

A few days last week I simmered an orange with cinnamon sticks and spices. The house smelled so good! I've got to get another orange. If only they weren't so expensive!
I've also got some awesome pumpkin recipes to share but am working on perfecting a few so you'll have to wait a few days for those - no more than a week I promise!
Until then I recommend running out to the store right now and getting some Saigon Cinnamon and baking with it, making curry with it, and using it in all your favorite recipes with cinnamon. It's amazing!

What have you been doing to decorate and celebrate fall?

Zero to dead in 10 seconds

If I was skeptical before I'm not any longer. The Wondercide is, well, wonderful. It's not toxic so I can spray the house to prevent bugs but also to kill them. Even the cockroaches in my kitchen. Surely not, you say, they would survive atomic warfare a little tree oil is nothing to cockroaches.

Well, I came home to find this guy on my counter and in a fit of anxious disgust spritzed him a few (or 10) times, he ran in a few circles and then off the counter where he in old west bad guy fashion twitched and then died. Usually roaches run down cabinets.

He ran off. Like a lemming, to his DOOM, just like his friends will in the near future

The best part is if I want the cedar smell gone I just give my counters a little wipe, maybe a little rinse with vinegar and we're good to go. No worrying about toxic chemicals all over my kitchen. You can pretty much lick the stuff.

Wonderful.

Bug Update

Well I'm still not sure it's fleas (although there's no doubt about us having roaches), but I discovered a product online today that we're going to try.
It's called Wondercide. It's cedar oil and saline solution. That's it. No scary chemicals at all! And the best part is the cedar oil they use is food-grade so there's no worry about Ruby getting sick. Not only can you use it in and around your home you can use it as a bug repellent in place of OFF and others! AWESOME!
What's even more awesome is that's it's a company started by a family from DFW that was sick of all the chemicals in insect treatments and I spoke with Stephanie on the phone today. She was very helpful in telling me about the products and answering all my questions. It's not often that you speak with one of the founders of a company when you call customer service.
We're going to order some today and will rip the rest of our carpet up tonight (I ripped up the hallway and spare bedroom on Sunday - my back is killing me but it was worth it, I hate carpet).


I also found a few recipes for roach killer that use borax so we're going to make some of those and put them under the cabinet tonight. Here they are in case anyone else is interested.

Use a cup of Borax, half a cup of flour, a quarter-cup of powdered sugar, and one-half cup of ground oats - place in dish and cover with folded cardboard to make it more attractive or dust along walls/inside walls/inside cabinets

Mix equal amounts of borax and flour. Then add just enough confectioners sugar to attract the roaches. Add just enough water to make a soft dough. Roll the dough into little balls and place in the little candy paper cups (like the cups muffins come in). Place the balls in corners of cupboards and behind furniture where other animal life cannot reach. The roaches eat this and it causes them to dry out. It takes about two to three weeks before they will be completely gone. Replace the balls every month to ensure that there is no re-infestation.

(I'm going to wear gloves when I do these because borax is a skin irritant - also, be careful not to inhale the dust when you're dusting walls and cabinets as it is a lung irritant - children and pets should not be allowed to inhale it or ingest it as it's especially harmful to them)

I'll keep you posted.

It's only Pesky Friday

I'm supposed to be doing homework right now but instead I'm doing home work. ... Yeah, not really funny at all.

I've decided through experience and the advice of others that we've got bug problems.
There are roaches (although I only see one at a time) in the kitchen that are getting brave and venturing into other areas (I ran into one in the living room the other night) and there are other bugs that are biting Ruby and I in our sleep (and possibly all the time I just don't notice as much). That either means we have fleas or bed bugs. Yuck.

If it's bed bugs we'll have to have an exterminator do all sorts of crazy things but if it's fleas we might be able to treat it ourselves with borax.

I did LOTS of reading today and borax kills fleas as well as repels roaches. It's not totally safe (as in you should eat it, touch it in full concentration or inhale it directly) but it's not as toxic as a lot of the stuff exterminators use.

So we're going to think about it more this weekend (and possibly rip all of our carpet out, which we've wanted to do and just haven't yet) and I have an appointment to get a free estimate with an exterminator on Monday.

Does anyone have any advice/wisdom/experience with any of this? Has anyone used borax or found an exterminator that they highly recommend (or one that we should avoid)?

I hope you all have a wonderful (and pest free) day!

p.s. I was going to put a photo of a pest but then decided against it. I don't want to see anyone of them and I'm sure you don't either. Here's a pretty fall photo instead. It's by Etsy seller ParallaxPhoto. Oh, how I miss MN autumn...

Fireproof

I'm usually the last person to know about new movies or anticipate a new film (the list of movies I "need" to see is so long that I've stopped adding to it) but this film is one I'd like to see opening night. Rather than confuse you with my less than exemplary summary skills I'll just direct you to the website where there are lots of resources for you to learn about the film. You can watch the trailer, read about Kirk Cameron refusing to kiss his "on screen wife" (awesome), get ticket/theater info, learn about fireproofing your own marriage and more!

I'm definitely in favor of having my money go to this movie rather than a cheesy chic-flick or a gory horror movie (yuck!).
Would anyone like to join me for a movie?

Two for the Price of One

I was in Wal-mart the other day getting a few things and I saw some fall centerpieces in the craft section. I'm sure if you've been to Wal-mart recently you've seen them. One bunch of flowers in red, orange or yellow in a "pot" that's wrapped in brown paper like poinsettia's at Christmas. It's not often that I like the decor I see there (especially not the artificial flower variety) but these I enjoyed. I didn't enjoy them $7 though. But I found the same flowers loose and decided I liked them $3. I couldn't decide between the purple and the orange so I got both - two for the price of one!

I got them home and scrounged around in my craft stuff to find material for the "pots." I had just finished our oatmeal that morning so I cut the container in half for the bases and tied the textured paper around them with kitchen twine.


The paper is some sort of packing paper that I got 4 years ago. Yes, I had been saving it for 4 years. I was just sure that I would burst with creativity one day and have the perfect mixed media collage project for it. This isn't really what I had in mind but then again I've never been much of a collage artist.

The fabric on the chair in the background is my curtains for the dining room. I just need to get curtain rods but who knows when I'll get around to that.
Next project, paint chip oak leaves.

I was tagged

A- Attached or Single? -Attached - Married to my BFF Chuck
B- Best Friend(s): Chuck
C- Cake or Pie: neither is my favorite dessert but I do like a good coffee cake
D- Drink of Choice: I really need to drink more water but I prefer coffee - I did so good while I was pregnant but now it seems the more I drink the more I remember how much I loved it!
E- Essential Item: other than the diaper bag? Burt's Bee's chapstick
F- Favorite Color: I was into green but I'm liking Orange more and more
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: sour worms
H- Hometown: Milroy, MN
I- Indulgence: Amaretto Breve (oh the calories!)
J- January or February: Do I have a preference for either month? Umm...
K- Kids: I've birthed one and I plan on birthing more but we're open to adoption also
L- Life, for me, is incomplete without: Jesus.
M- Marriage Date: Which one? July 12th, Aug. 17th, June 18th
N- Number of Siblings: 4 - 2 of each gender
O- Oranges or Apples? I eat more apples (Gala) but I like the smell of oranges a lot
P- Phobia/Fears: nothing too serious but I am startled to profanity by the roach in my kitchen regularly
Q- Favorite Quote: I don't have a favorite but the Bible has some really good ones
R- Reasons to smile: Ruby's smile, crisp mornings, friends
S- Season: I love spring and fall, the changes, but here in Texas it's different than MN so right now I'm loving fall - the cool mornings and evenings are perfect for coffee with my loves
T- Tag Ten: Lisa Gordan, Carissa, Suzanne, Katie, Chuck, Dominee, Jessica, Kim, Lynne, Leah Gordan
U- Unknown fact about me: I'm not afraid of spiders but I can be reduced to tears by June Bugs... just thinking about them makes me squirm
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: I don't oppress my food, just eat it
W- Worst Habit: biting my lips
X- X-rays or Ultrasounds: I guess it was hard to come up with an X - only when necessary
Y- Your Favorite Foods: Calico beans, chocolate covered cherries, coffee, chips and salsa and baked goods of several varieties
Z- Zodiac: Cancer - but I don't follow any of that

Green things

I was sure my garden was a lost cause. I kicked myself for not tending it, sighed deeply when I thought about all those squash that would never be and wondered by only my basil produced.
Then Ruby and I took one last look at it.
Behold! Green Beans! And there are more that will be ready in the next few days!
And green peppers! There are baby green peppers! Amazing!
Still no tomatoes but I am hopeful! I'll water it tonight and weed tomorrow and maybe that will help. Is it to late to plant more?

We got a little sick but we're still here!

Hello Friends. It's been a long week but here we are again, we made it.
Just being alive another day feels good. I've been working on taking time to breathe and be grateful for that breath and my life and the lives of my family and all that we're blessed with.

We had a cold last weekend and Ruby is still fighting off a stuffy nose but it doesn't really bother her and she's as smiley as ever. We caught her giggling a little on video last night so we can look back in, well, a few weeks, and see how much she's grown. She's bigger every time I pick her up it seems.

Last Friday night we celebrated Carissa's birthday in total 80's glory and it was a blast. The pictures are on our other camera so maybe I'll get some posted this weekend. There's really no way to prepare you for how awesome and how frightening those pictures are.

I think I mentioned a few days/weeks ago that I got my haircut but then I never posted any pictures. Well, it wasn't much of a cut so you didn't miss out. I had been growing my hair so when I went to get it styled I was hesitant to have him really cut it as I'm sure many of you can relate to. But of course just a few days later it was up in pony tails again and that's when I know it's time for a change. So here it is - my new, new haircut courtesy of my friend Lisa who's fabulous with a razor blade. Thanks Lisa!

We're enjoying the cool mornings and evenings and I'm starting to plan for the fall thinking about home decor, baked goods and casseroles. A lot of what fall means to me is tied up with food. I try not to make fall type foods in the spring and summer which means in Texas there's a smaller window for all those wonderful foods. Of course our oven is on the fritz so I'm going to have to get creative with my use of the crockpot and stove. Anyone have any great fall recipes that don't involve an oven? I've heard that you can bake in a crockpot but never tried it before - this might be the week!

Days with Significance

I tried to write something memorable, heart felt and concise about what happened 7 years ago but to be honest, the day doesn't hold much personal significance; my life didn't change much. I don't know anyone personally who lost a loved one, a job or a dream. My life has remained normal. I see the impact in the airports, magazines and hear about the differences in the news but my daily routine doesn't seem to miss a beat. But I want to say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I don't feel the impact deeper in my heart as an American and as a person. I can't imagine losing a spouse, a parent, a child or even a friend to such a tragedy but I'm praying that God will send people into the lives of those whose world's were upturned to show peace and love to them. This day is significant in history and in so many people's lives and I don't want to pass it by without acknowledging that.

This day will forever hold another significance for me. Today is the first day that Ruby laughed. She giggled in delight. My heart soared and I couldn't help but laugh with her. Her smile makes my day brighter and I praise God that He's entrusted her to me for these last three months and pray that He'll give me many more months and years with her. She's wonderful.

I've been replaced

Ruby has finally become friends with her pacifier. I had no idea that a little bit of plastic could so quickly take my place. I was adamant about not giving her one for a few months, not wanting her to be one of those toddlers toddling everywhere with one in her mouth, but have since decided that she won't be one of those kids and neither will she be attached to me 24/7. We've discovered that she likes to nurse herself to sleep but then if she doesn't stay asleep she wants to nurse some more... well, you see how this could be difficult when in the afternoons she doesn't sleep much longer than 30 minutes most of the time. So today I began a new routine and it involves the pacifier. I feed Ruby and play with her and when it's nap time she gets her pacifier and is put in her "crib" (we're just using a pack-and-play). She did great today!

Oh, and I'm trying my hardest to continue calling it a pacifier. I don't want to end up a woman that only uses three word sentences full of partial words. We'll see how long I last before I'm changing dipies and looking for lost pacies.

Origami Tessellations

That's right, you heard right, Origami Tessellations. Two awesome things that I when paired become even more awesome.
While google-ing for tessellations today I happened up this website and was blown away. From there I checked out Flickr and found all kinds of cool origami tessellations and even some just straight up awesome origami.
I've always liked math and as I've gotten older have gotten more interested in things that also pop up in art like tessellations and phi. I recently read a book all about phi and it's history and loved it. In fact I'm going to try to find it again and hopefully more like it.
I hope your week began well today. Enjoy. Oh, you can click on the images for their original locations!

Origami Tessellation by Eric Gjerde

By Andrea Russo

By John McKeever - thiomor on Flickr

Edited on Sept. 8 (Thanks Ray!)- This one IS out of just one sheet of paper! Awesome! It's by Joel Cooper

No-Sew Crafts on the Horizon

I have been really wanting to sew lately but my sewing machine is broken. Blah. I'm sure if it were working, however, I wouldn't have such a desire to use it. Oh well. I'll just save up all my ideas for later.
Not being able to sew has made me look into other methods of being crafty and I've learned quite a bit. I'm going to make Ruby a new mobile out of felt and hand stitch/embroider it. I saw one online I liked but now I don't remember where... Here's a similar and also very cute one from girlsdefine.com.

I'm also going to give freezer paper stenciling a try. I wanted to screen print but after looking into it and different methods I decided the freezer paper was much cheaper and easier with similar results. Here's a tutorial I found and liked for those of you not familiar with the Freezer Paper Stencil process. Maybe after I get sick of that I'll move onto screen printing. The only problem is that I'm not sure what to stencil... I'm only so creative and unfortunately deciding to stencil clothes is about as far as I've got. So if anyone has any super awesome ideas or any cool websites that might offer some inspiration (read: designs to copy) let me know!!!
In any case, Have a wonderful weekend!
Oh, and I'm getting very excited for fall - I just got the latest issue of Rachel Ray magazine and there were all kinds of good cool weather recipes as well as a few neat ideas of how to use a pumpkin for something other than a jack-o-lantern. More on that later!

School and School Bags!

I've survived my first week of being "back to school" and am feeling ok about it. I know it's going to be hard and homework is going to have to be higher on my list of priorities than I'd like it to be but I know that's it's important and I'm glad that I'm not taking time off from it. I also met with an adviser this week and if I take some summer classes and keep my GPA up I can graduate fall of '09 or spring '10 Magna Cum Laude! Pretty cool - and not that far away! It's farther away than I would like, especially since my "peers" from high school are graduated, but it's less than two years away! It's now my goal to graduate Magna (or higher) in two years or less. Wow... writing that down makes it sort of scary - what if I don't make it? Ok, I'm also going to try to not get ahead of myself. Think happy thoughts...
In an effort to remain positive about going back to school I've decided to make a new school bag. I'd love to buy one of these from Etsy sellers christystudio and ChickBags but feel I should use what I have.

So I'm going to put a design like one I saw on a pillow at Anthropologie a while back (always look, never buy) on a simple white book tote I've got laying around. I'll maybe get it done by next week. I'll be sure to post pics when I'm done.

Announcement Photo?

 

I think I'll use this photo for Ruby's announcement. She's smiling and beautiful.

Of course, the next photo is slightly more telling of her personality...

 

Gallery Opening

Ruby attended her first gallery opening at the Kettle Art Gallery in
Dallas tonight. We went to see our friend Andy play and are glad we
did. He's in a band called Man Factory. Yup. A few of the band members
played an accoustic set for the opening. I haven't been to a gallery
opening in a long time and really enjoyed myself.
Ruby was really popular of course and seemed to like taking in all the
sights.
We went to Cafe Brazil afterward and enjoyed some of their English
Toffee coffee. Mmmm. Another activity I enjoy and haven't done for,
well, over a year.
I really needed tonight. I've been mourning my pre-baby life lately so
it was really reasuring to do things I'd been missing with Ruby.

We'd make lousy models

We're both right on the verge of laughter. This was taken at a friend's wedding last July. I was planning on wearing the same dress to another friend's wedding in Jan.or Feb. but it didn't fit and we didn't make the drive both due to my pregnancy. It's wierd looking back and remembering the plans we made and what we thought our life was going to be like. I'm glad God knows the plan for my life as I tend to be short sighted. I'm also glad that although I wasn't thinking about having a newborn when this photo was taken God was.

New Necklace

I got my hairs cut last night but I'll have to post a photo tonight as this computer doesn't have a working USB. But it's not too much shorter. It's now a medium bob you could say.
What I can do is show you a picture of my new necklace.

http://charmingsam.com/ornate-gemstone-resin-necklace.html

Isn't it gorgeous! It's made by artist Amy Steinberg. Her shop online is called Charming Sam Studios. She's got lots of great jewelry, collage art and ephemera. It's really cool so a while back I signed up to recieve the newsletter by email. Well, I've been getting it for a while but wasn't too involved with it until it came last thursday (it's called Third Thursday Threats) and not only was there a free print to download and print but there was this contest for a necklace. All I had to do is email Amy to be put in the running and this morning I got an email back saying I had won! Wow! I know I've probably won things before but I feel like saying "I never win anything!" In conclusion, I'm very excited about it and you should check out Charming Sam Studios!

The weekend

Just a brief update for you. This weekend I had a garage sale, it went pretty well but I don't enjoy sweating that much to do one again in August.

Ruby drank from a bottle! This may not seem too exciting to most of you but let me explain... I start school tomorrow. I have class from 9 to 1 and my sister-in-law's sister-in-law will be watching Ruby. In order to keep Ruby happy and taken care of she would need to eat during that time and a bottle was the option. Until two days ago she wasn't having very good luck with the whole bottle thing but now, she's got it! It takes her a little while and she still prefers to nurse (I must admit I'm grateful for that also) but she stayed with Lindsey today (as a test run before I was in class and couldn't rush home as easily) and she ate and did well! YAY!

We went for a bike ride to the square last night. This is a big deal for me because A. I haven't ridden much more than a few blocks pulling Ruby  B. The square is about 5 miles away and  C. I don't like to sweat. BUT I had a good time! The way there was harder than the way back - Thank God for that, He only gives us as much as we can handle and I really don't think I could have handled the way back being harder or more uphill than it was. I'm actually looking foward to doing it again soon! Chuck rode his knew bike creation, check it out on his blog. It's pretty cool!

" 4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Phillipians 4:4-7

Pictures at last!

Happy Weekend!

So here are some pictures of Ruby to make up for my lack of posting pictures. We finally got the internet and the photos coordinated - thank you Chuck my wonderful techy husband!

The first one is Ruby in her "baby legs" leg warmers and her headband. The other three are arm length portraits that I took of us the other day in hopes I would get a good one for an announcement or at least to hang on the wall. Hopefully I can save my pennies and have my friend Kim take some of her and get some really good ones. Enjoy!

My new table

Some photos for you, finally! And hopefully a few more tonight if we can get all our technical ducks in a row... or something.
Two weeks ago Chuck's dad and his wife visited to see Ruby and help celebrate Dominee's graduation. He brought with him news from CO and my brand new dining room table!!! Yes, three exclamation points. It's awesome. So here it is. I love handmade things and love that my father-in-law made me something that will get loved for many years.
You can see some of his other projects on his website Ranch Classics. His wife, Maggie, makes journals and photo frames also and will probably be opening an etsy shop soon. I'll keep you posted.

Congrats Dominee!

I'd only need a crow bar, right?

How about this for a kitchen? Yeah, I thought so. I doubt it's as easy as I'd like it to be to rip out all my cabinets and install shelves though. Probably not. I'll run it by Chuck and see what he thinks. What if I rip out all the cabinets????

At least I didn't miss another day

Just got home from visiting my mother-in-law. I love my mother-in-law. I wish my mom was closer (my family is in MN) but it makes it easier having my mother-in-law nearby. Ruby is asleep and so I should be too but I wanted to at least get a quick post in to say "hey, I posted today!" So... Here I am... Posting...
Goodnight.

3 years

Yesterday was my 3 year wedding anniversary. As I write this I'm nursing my almost three month old daughter. I live in a state almost 1,000 miles away from where I grew up. I'm not a famous photographer in a big city who wears outfits that only match because they don't match.
I could never have imagined my life would be what it is today 3 1/2 years ago when I met my brother's goofy best friend in Florida. I was on my Christmas break from school and had sworn off dating "boys." I would not have believed you if you told me I would marry him, move away from MN, give up my dreams of becoming a stylish, feminist photographer, have a baby and live a life full of more love than I thought possible.

Chuck, I love you more than I can find the words to say. Thank you - for pursuing the Lord, leading our family, loving me and our daughter, being so funny and open, loving people, being my best friend, knowing so much and not minding me asking a million questions about everything and for your sweet words... - for everything.

I promise to love you, serve you, listen to you, talk to you, raise a family with you, follow you anywhere and never leave you. As long as I'm living my best friend, lover, husband and baby's daddy you'll be.

The two of us last summer (I think) :)

Excuses, Excuses

So sorry I missed another post yesterday, but when Chuck would have been showing me how to post pictures we were at the emergency room instead.

Chuck was screwing a screw into something and the screwdriver slipped and the drill bit went into his finger. It made a deep "puncture" as he called it. I personally didn't inspect it as I avoid that sort of thing. I just looked up an emergency care center and got us packed up to go. It only took a few hours and he didn't even need stitches but it did prevent us from doing anything else with our evening.

Right now I'm listening to the rain and the little squirmy noises of my baby who is supposed to be falling asleep. I love quite afternoons like this. I also love that the air conditioning isn't even on because the rain has made it a delightful temperature today. Days like today make me really ready for fall. They also make me really miss MN because fall there is so beautiful. I bet I'd like fall on the east coast too. If anyone lives out there, or somewhere that has a wonderful fall, let me know how you like it.

Also, have a pleasant Monday.

p.s. You can learn more about birth centers and find one near you at the American Association of Birth Centers.

Teething

Having a two and a half month old who doesn't sleep the same way day after day is not congruent (that doesn't sound like the right usage of that word but I can't come up with the appropriate word... that's been happening a lot lately) with posting each day I've decided.
I've also decided that Ruby is officially teething. I bought her a teething ring yesterday from Etsy seller PappysWoodworks and hope she likes it. I like it. Of course she may not actually get any teeth yet, they could just be rubbing against the surface and bugging her. The teething tablets I got from one of my baby showers are really helping though. And she's slept through the night for 4 night now! Yay! And she went right back to sleep this morning so hopefully she'll catch up and not be so cranky and spacy. I'll get Chuck to sort out all the computer issues today so I can post pictures.

We've had some awesome rain the past few days and I'm hoping it will stay cooler today and into this week. That would be awesome. Ruby and I took a walk yesterday and didn't even break a sweat!! I know that the heat will last well into September (or longer) here but I can't wait for cooler weather! Mainly because I don't like to sweat and I love scarves. Love them. When I get my money saved these will be part of my fall wardrobe. (click the picture to go to the seller's page!) Of course I found more autumn goodies but most were a bit out of my price range so I didn't bother to put them on here. Etsy is just packed with cool stuff. Well, until next time, have a wonderdful weekend!

Blah

Alas, the computer situation is the same and I have no pictures avaliable to post. I've taken lots! But none are on this computer and I don't know how to get them here. Sad day.
I also have a baby that's decided to sleep all day for two days and then not sleep at all for two. We'll see if this is going to be a regular occurance. If so, I'll post a few for two days and then not at all for two.

Chuck's dad and his wife were up this weekend to see us and his sister's graduation. They brought us a new dining room table that his dad built. Totally awesome. You can see some of his other work on his website here.
I love having a table that was made by someone who loves my family and I know that it's going to get loved and used and enjoyed for years and years.

Well, I've got to pick up my crying baby now. Have a great day! Hopefully I'll have some better posts for you this weekend.

Goob

This morning Chuck and I once again chuckled at the similarity between Ruby and Michael "Goob" Yagoobian from "Meet the Robinsons." If you haven't seen the movie I recommend it, it's super cute.
Well, Goob doesn't get much sleep as he's kept awake by the main characters all-nighter inventing. I guess I shouldn't be surprised then that Ruby is pulling all-nighters. Hopefully the similarities end there..
I couldn't find a good picture of Goob for those of you who haven't seen the movie, here's what I could find. It's just after he's lost the little league game and he puts the steak up to his black eye declaring "Mr. Steak, you're my only friend."
Enjoy your day and watch out for bowler hats!

Trying to shine on very little sleep

So I didn't post yesterday. I'm already a slacker. Ruby slept more that night, however, and I was greatly encouraged only to find last night that her time has just shifted to 3 to 7am. Any suggestions? I'm going to try to keep her up longer between naps today so maybe she'll be to tired to be up for 4 hours in the middle of the morning.

I tried to take some pictures yesterday also but am not really excited about any that I took. Mainly I miss using my old SLR. Nothing is the same but film is so expensive and I'm out of practice. *sigh* I did enjoy trying to look at my every day tasks differently so I'll continue to do that.

I'm going to make a poster of sorts to hang on my wall today to remind myself not to complain. Complaining is so easy but it doesn't draw me closer to God. In fact, even with what I would consider the smallest complaint I separate myself from God and impact others negatively. Maybe not complaining will get people asking what's different. Have you ever noticed that women especially love to complain? You can compliment a woman and she may give you a funny look but almost always you complain about something like the bathroom being dirty, the weather being gross or the line being long and she'll agree, chat you up about it or at least smile and nod. Weird. So I'm going to try to be weird and not complain. Would you like to embark or this journey with me? Accountability is always helpful.
Here's the verse I thought of and am going to frame. I wanted to put verses 1 through 16 but that's a lot and then no one would actually read it. If you're interested you can read them here.

"14 Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world..." -Philippians 2:14-15

What I'd like for you to know

I'd first like to share this ingenious tutorial by Flickr user ladinka on how to make a toddler one-piece outfit from an old tank top. I know Ruby is only two months old but she'll be toddling in no time!


I'd also like to tell you about a blog feature I found and read today. I stumbled upon a blog called Rocks in My Dryer and really like it. She's on a break right now but you can read all her old posts as well as her feature called "What I'd like for you to know." Four women speak about what they'd like people to know about being the mother of a dozen children, being the mother of a stillborn baby, being the wife of a deployed soldier and being the mother of autistic children. I really learned a lot from reading each woman's entry.

I was inspired by these women and thought about writing my own "What I'd like you to know" but it's going to take me some time to get my thoughts together. My life isn't one that people would associate with difficulty or misunderstanding but I'm finding more and more that writing is therapeutic for me and so I'm working on putting my entry together if for no one else than for me. It's tentatively titled "What I'd like you to know about being a selfish, sinful woman responsible for another life."

A drop in the bucket

 I had big plans to blog each day in August and I've already missed three four (I started this post yesterday) and today is pretty much gone.

My desire to blog more often is three fold.

1. To rekindle and improve my photography skills - although I can't promise to have a picture with each post as I'm having USB issues

2. Because secretly deep-down I'm disappointed when blogs I enjoy reading aren't updated each day and I don't want to disappoint anyone

3. I wish my family were closer and I know they wish they were too so I need to keep them updated as my life changes and Ruby grows each week (and each day, she's growing so fast!)



So... Today I'd like to tell you about how Ruby is growing and developing.

Just in the last week she's increased her happy alert time as well as her ability to react to people and smile. She smiles at me everyday and even plays with me a little. If I gently poke her bottom lip she smiles and seems to understand that we're having fun. She's laughed a few times but not really in response to anything yet. I'm really looking forward to her giggling. She's quite the talker, also and has a very big voice for such a little person.

Here are a few pictures of her smiling one at my brother's apartment and the other at Transform (a really cool service project we did this summer and last - transformdfw.com).

Unfortunately another development is that she's not sleeping at night (1am to 5am this past week) so I'm a little bleary making my resolve to post each day seem daunting. Hopefully it was a week long phase and we're going to grow out of it soon.

Biblical Advice to Bloggers

I found this post today about biblical advice to bloggers via another blog I read. I though it was interesting - check it out here

Ruby's Birth

I've been avoiding putting Ruby's birth into words hoping that better words would come to me to describe it. Not only have few words come but in the 6 weeks since the event most of those words are fading. I've decided just to get down what I can before it's a total blur.
*note: I'm going to say Ruby but we didn't know she was a she until she was born. :)

Although the Sono-tech estimated Ruby would be here around June 18th the Midwives based their estimations on my cycle as well as our known conception date. So we were expecting Ruby around June 8th.
About a week before she was due I experienced some contractions. They were in my lower back and and irregular but we got a little excited anyway. I told Jen (my friend who is a wonderful massage therapist and would be attending my birth) about them and let her know that I was really glad she would be there for the birth as I didn't enjoy lower back pain.
Chuck's cousin's wife was due to have her baby girl on June 26th but due to some complications she gave birth via c-section on June 5th. It's interesting to note that Chuck is 20 days older than this cousin although he was due to be born after him. Seeing little Dakota only made us want to see our baby more but we were in no rush and wanted her to come in her own time. I was even prepared to wait two weeks or more after she was due.
June 8th came and went without contractions. I did, however, enjoy telling people "Today!" when they asked when baby was due. Little did I know that the following evening she would be here!

My sister, Liz, offered to make dinner on June 9th and I was happy to let her do that. Chuck and I sat and chatted about what we'd like to do that evening. I started to notice my lower back aching and tried different sitting positions, lying down, etc. but began to realize that it wasn't a constant sensation but ached in intervals.
At 6pm I began to time what I decided must be contractions. I timed them during dinner and found they were about 5 minutes apart. For those of you who have had babies or done any research on the topic, that's relatively close together. In fact, many books suggest that when they are 4 minutes apart you head to the hospital. I, however, was sure that this would be like most of the first time labors I had read about and last for at least 8 hours. In fact, when Liz asked "So, are you going to have a baby tonight?!" I said "No. Tomorrow morning at the earliest but this could go on for a long time."

About 7pm Chuck asked me what I'd like to do. I remembered reading that walking intensified contractions so we should do that, and I was craving an ice cream cone (milk fat was a constant craving the latter part of my pregnancy) so I decided we should go up to the square and take a walk. That way if the contractions lessened or lasted forever then we'd have a nice date anyway.

Chuck being the planner that he is thought it best to pack the car with our bags just in case we needed to head to the birthing center during our outing. I thought that this was a little extreme as we were only a few miles from both the square and the birth center and surely there would be time to come home and get everything, but I let him do that for his peace of mind.
By the time we got the bags all packed and into the car I was feeling the contractions less as an ache in my back and more as a cramp towards the front. I even leaned against the door frame during one as we got ready to leave at about 7:30.
We got half way to the square and I had two contractions, one while talking to my mom on the phone, and began to feel nauseous. I no longer wanted to go to the square. I really didn't feel like sitting any longer or throwing up in public.

Chuck suggested we go to our friends Clay and Emily's house as they were only a few block from the birth center and in Chuck's words, since "Emily wants to have a home birth, I doubt she'd mind if you have a baby at her house." I was, however, still not convinced I would have a baby in the next few hours.

I had another contraction on their porch, and according to my watch that was only 2.5 min. after my last one. Chuck began video taping with our new camera - good thing we had bought it two days before rather than wait, another good reason I let Chuck be the planner. As we walked in Emily asked why. "Because I'm probably in labor" I responded (notice the probably... I'm so slow) She and Clay were both excited and we chit-chatted for a bit while they made dinner.
I had another couple of contractions and with each one was enjoying them less and less. We went into the living room so as not to intrude entirely on Clay and Emily's dinner. "They're not supposed to be this close together!" I whimpered to Chuck. He had no idea what to tell me as that's a sort of an odd and demanding statement so he suggested we call Jean my midwife.
I wasn't so sure that was the best idea because she had told me not to call until I couldn't talk through the contractions and I could but she could just tell me to call back. I called at 7:50 and said that the contractions were about 2 minutes apart although I'd kind-of lost track and they felt closer. I could talk through them but didn't want to. She said she'd meet us up at the birth center at 8:15 to check me. I hung up with Jean and called Jen directly. Another contraction came on right when she picked up but fortunately Jen was excited about my birth and had been answering every time I called with "are you in labor" so all I had to say was "yes, meet us up at the birth center at 8:15."

About that time I really felt nauseous and not really being able to think asked Emily, who was now sitting in the living room awaiting news, where she would like me to throw up. Chuck swooped in and suggested we go outside. I quickly threw up in the front flower bed (Sorry again Em!) but felt better. My wonderful husband assured me that it was like compost and Emily would be pleased. I brushed me teeth which also made me feel better and since I didn't like how contractions felt sitting down while we drove earlier I decided we should walk to the birth center. I was really only two blocks away.

Chuck videotaped a little as we walked and we talked about our life up to this point. We had to stop every few feet because I was not only experiencing close contractions I was having mini spasms due to our walking. By the time we got to the birth center I told Chuck that Jean had better not check me and tell me I wasn't far enough along and should go walk because I wasn't going to.

Jean did not have to advise me to walk, however, because I was already dilated to 8 cm! I went right into the birth room. Before I go further in my story I should explain for those of you not familiar that I didn't deliver Ruby in a hospital. I received all my prenatal care and delivered at Inanna's, a birth center here in Denton. Some women choose it because it can be less expensive but most women birth there because of their beliefs about birth. The birth center also does not offer an epidural or pitocin. They believe in less interventions while many hospitals routinely use more drugs and other measures to hurry the baby along. I chose the birth center because I didn't want an epidural or pitocin, I wanted to know that the person attending my birth felt the same way about it that I did instead of a rotating cast of nurses just checking vitals and offering drugs and really I just don't like hospitals.

So, I'm an 8 and I'm laboring in the main birth room which used to be a living room I think - the birth center is in an old house. We didn't think to take many pictures while we were there. In fact, I don't even have a nice one of the three of us just after Ruby was born. My contractions were very steady and only about a minute apart. I began "sounding" through them and rocking on my hands and knees on the bed. I hadn't done much research on breathing or pain coping because I believed it would happen naturally. That's a post in itself I'm sure so I'll move on.
Jen arrived shortly after we did and although she didn't do much massaging I am very glad she was there. After about an hour I was having a harder time with the contractions but Jen and Chuck really helped me, reminding me they wouldn't last long and telling me about how beautiful the baby would be. In between the contractions, however, was wonderful. I have never been so relaxed my whole life. Granted I've never been good at relaxing, but I was amazed at how my body knew that it needed to conserve energy.

Jean told me that if I felt like I needed to push I could. I tried to push but it just didn't feel right. I actually thought to myself "I can't push! Oh my goodness, how am I going to have this baby?!" I told Jean something along those lines and she assured me that it was ok, that just meant I wasn't ready to yet. I almost cried during one of the contractions because I was beginning to really lose focus and they were quite painful so Jean came over and checked me again - I was a 9 - and suggested she break my water. I was hesitant because I really wanted everything to happen naturally but I trusted Jean. I sheepishly asked if it would hurt and she assured me it wouldn't. She broke my water (probably around 9:20/9:30) and the next two contractions were what I later recognized as transition. I was on my back because I didn't have much strength or time to get onto all fours so I rocked my body back and forth and clutched Chuck's hand. I didn't think I could go on but amazingly (God's perfect design) the contractions never got worse than my body could take. I'm so glad I didn't have any medication so that I could fully experience what my body is capable of.

After those two transition contractions my body began to push. I didn't, but my body did. I actually said something like "OH, Jean! I think I'm pushing!" I'm sure she was amused by this as she's attended plenty of first time births. She encouraged me to push with my body and to stop sounding so as to conserve more energy. I had read about women saying it felt good to push and thinking "OK. Crazy" but now I'm one of those women... After transition they did feel good. And it's totally impossible to really describe.
Jean kept an eye on everything and soon told me to lift my legs and push but I couldn't so Chuck and Jen held them up for me. From there on out I had my eyes closed. I was focusing on Ruby coming out. Telling her it was ok and that I would see her soon. I remember feeling her head come out (as that's the largest part and stings the most) and then her body sliding out.

Jean held her up and Chuck said "It's a... It's a..." He couldn't see at first because the umbilical cord was in the way and then he couldn't believe it (We had been almost sure it was a boy for some reason) so Jean handed her to me and I said "It's a girl!" I was pretty surprised myself. Ruby Nora Lynne was born at 9:56pm.
I actually couldn't believe that she was here. That she had someone fit inside me and I had someone gotten her out just seconds before. I started crying and saying we just had a baby and other obvious things that for some reason didn't make sense just then. I held her while they wiped her off and kissed Chuck and cried some more. It's really quite a blur...
I love talking about it though.

Oh, and they weighed her and all of that right there on the bed next to us. She nursed right away, some family came and saw us and we were home about midnight. It was pretty awesome.
I'm amazed by God. That he designed my body to do all of that and he provided the strength to make it through. He knit Ruby together in my womb and knew everything about her even before we knew she'd be here.

A whole little person... she began as chromosomes... awesome.