Life is good!

"Hey, all of the leaves are back." - comment by James. And they are.. we're loving the weather here and all of the brilliant green. The duck eggs are getting close to hatching. One of them rotted (and burst slightly) so it went to the trash, we're hoping to get at least one baby from this group. If not, we'll try again!

We're getting closer to the end of the school year which will be nice. Charlotte still has more science to finish which might extend into the summertime. James is excited about getting Teaching Textbooks Math 4. I'm excited about a summer off and then getting stuff situated for next fall. 

A few of you already know this, but I haven't been telling the world. :) I officially mailed in my midwife apprentice license forms. In SC, it is a somewhat big deal because it is all a formal affair. I'm also very blessed that it worked out the way that it did. It's an amazing opportunity for me. I will be apprenticing with a homebirth midwife about an hour away and also helping at the birth center in my city. It gives me a broad variety of experience for which I'm quite thankful. 

On top of apprenticing, I need to graduate from Ancient Art Midwifery Institute to meet SC requirements. SC also requires a written exam (NARM, it's expensive, long, and has lots of chatter about it on the internet!) and an oral exam (3 hours, given in state). At that point I'll be a licensed midwife (LM) here and can do a few more things to be a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) which is recognized by a variety of states. 

I feel very blessed that this has all come together like it has.  I am still teaching HypnoBirthing courses at the birth center (and love that!) but will probably not be taking as many private doula clients. My next client is planning to birth at the center so that will work out nicely. :)  

Jim has been a great encouragement, especially since the children are at an age that this isn't leaving us in a bind for finding childcare and such. The children themselves have been wonderful. Charlotte is often my help with giving me feedback on how we can continue to adjust/improve with the variety of schedule changes. Bethany enjoys helping me with office-tasks and enjoys reading about herbs, etc. James sat down by me today and said, "So, are you still liking this midwife learning?" and we had a chat about it. The youngest three are obviously not as involved, but they do keep me sane... I've learned to appreciate plopping on the couch, snuggling, and reading a children's book to them. Being away from them at times (and busier at home) has made me appreciate them all the more.

But, honestly, to God goes the glory. He set this up and I'm eternally grateful for it. One Pastor we know likes to say "If God guides, He provides" and that has happened here. I'm doing a lot of work (I won't even play false-humble and deny it!) but He opened every door and it still brings me to tears at times to think of His greatness in this.  Those who know the full story of how all of this has played out so far, know that to say it was anything -but- God would be foolishness. 

Sooo.. I will try to get posts up. I do have great pics of the kids from the park on Friday. Every so often the printer doesn't play nice with me and I'm unable to get them moved. I'll try soon. :) 

Sesame Street Video - Very cool!

I'm amazed that this was covered by Sesame Street. I showed the video to the children and James said, "She's feeding her baby. Can we watch something interesting like the sheep again?" :)  

Here is the sheep link:

http://shipfullofpirates.com/2009/04/14/foolish-waste-of-time-yet-amazing/

Naomi is two!

It is hard to believe that Naomi is very close to being two. We plan to go out later to celebrate and I'll post two-year-old pictures at that time. This is her birth picture. :) She is probably thirty minutes out of the womb in this shot..  and in denial about everything. She rarely cried at all those first two weeks. We spent the first week almost entirely in bed for our 'babymoon' with nursing and recovering from birth. All moms deserve a babymoon! I missed that with most of our others due to moving, prematurity, or bilirubin checks. Naomi's birth was about as perfect as they come...

* She basically slept her way into this world, born into a large tub of warm water.

* Her pregnancy was the longest I'd experienced, which I credit to the midwife's nutritional information and fish oil. 

* Her birth was unrushed and peaceful. Friends came over (with their children) and it was seen as a normal and natural event.

* I birthed during the day, which was my dream for this pregnancy. I could see the flowering dogwood out the bedroom window... it's flowering now and it's such a nice reminder of that time.

* We ate, drank, and walked in the country while letting labor get going.

* At around 5-6cm I was in the kitchen helping to make grilled cheese for the children. Not because I had to, but because it felt good to be in my kitchen doing normal things. 

* My birth was empowering, not because it was natural, but mainly because it was -normal-. My home, my surroundings, my friends, my family, a normal day with a miraculous happening. 

The verse I kept in mind during my labor and birth:

"Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert." - Isaiah 43:19

The frugal way to get a massage..

At the skills weeked I was able to try out a chi machine.

It basically wiggles you like a fish through water. :) It was interesting to try and felt quite relaxing. The reviews on it were mixed, some didn't like it because they felt it was overwhelming, others loved it.

Yesterday, I joined Naomi outside on the trampoline. After running around with her a bit, I stretched out in the middle and let her run around -me-. First off, if you've never stretched out on trampoline with the spring sunshine pouring down on you.. you're missing out. Second, if you have a small child run around you, it feels a lot like a chi type massage as it makes you "wiggle". She had a great time, I had a mock spa treatment. :)

(If you have a larger child run around you, it feels like a poorly crafted fair ride!)

Feet, Bacon and Old-fashioned thermometers

(Got feet? This was one of the 'failed' pictures from our "lets get a group picture!" adventure. I'm not sure if Jim was aiming for feet? I did not crop it. :) For the record, I am barefoot as well, but they're mainly hidden behind the boy in front of me. And um.. yes, Joseph's pants are on backwards. Don't ask. I don't know how he manages it! Naomi is being held so her feet are not in this picture. Bethany was the one to have sense and wear shoes.)

Thermometers: I looked all over the grocery store for a thermometer. When I found them, I discovered they ONLY sell digital. I wonder if old-fashioned ones are off the market now due to mercury? Although the new lightbulbs have mercury in them.. that has been a hot-button issue on the MOMYS list! :) We have a nice thermometer for the humans in the house, I was seeking an old-fashioned one for the incubator. I'll check the pet store soon to see what they might have available.

Bacon: The ducklings brought up a conversation about various animals and the meat they provide. For the most part, we eat a vegetarian diet here, although it's almost by accident for the bulk of the family. I find that I feel best when I follow a vegan (no dairy/meat) diet for myself and we have a lot of tasty vegetarian recipes (chili, burritoes, waffles, penne & sauces, etc) Anyway, except for eggs, we rarely have meat here. I'm hoping our ducklings are a success because just a half dozen would easily keep us supplied in the eggs that we need. After discussing ducks, James announced that he wants to raise a pig. I was a little surprised by this and asked why. His simple response was... "Bacon". It had all of us laughing. He did lament on the price of bacon and such, which made me realize that maybe I talk about grocery prices a bit TOO much? hehe. When asked how much he thinks bacon costs he said, "$50." :) Silly guy. I confess, I usually don't buy bacon because I know it isn't very healthy, but it's also messy and such to make... I figure our breakfast trip to Ryan's once a year (after camping) is enough bacon! But..... forseeing decades down the road when James may say, "I had so many brothers and sisters that I never had bacon.." I decided to remedy it. Guess what's for breakfast tomorrow?

The boys have been busy making a fort and Bethany took pictures of it. We're going to try to get them up tomorrow. The phone actually sync'd the other day, so maybe we'll get lucky and I can post a video as well.

One more post, then bed! (1:34am)

I changed the name of the blog, at least for now, because I think it reflects us. It seems like many of us in the house are entering a new season. Naomi is almost two and is remarkably "grown up" all of the sudden. I think she seems that way because of all of her talking and devising of new games. Noah has entered a new awareness and Joseph is continuing on his path of growing into a mature, soft-spoken, but very articulate guy. James is sprouting and learning more about this "guy" thing as he slowly eases out of young boyhood.. and Bethany has hit a growth spurt. I've already posted about Charlotte earlier.

I'm knee-deep in my midwife studies along with being a doula and childbirth educator. I'm hoping for the right apprenticeship opportunity to show itself (please pray there if you feel led!). And Jim is adjusting to having a wife with a 'job' albeit a very abnormally houred one. I try to study for as much as I can each day and generally take a long day of study on Saturday (literally 8+ hours of being out and focused).

With no 'new' baby on the way and Naomi leaning towards potty-training, it does feel like a different experience and season. It's a good one. We're all enjoying life and this period that we're in now. It feels balanced while still quite exciting and fresh. I also feel like my doula/CE stuff has led me to a different position in some ways. I've been exposed to a lot of ideas and genuinely enjoy how certain things (natural childbirth, homeschooling, etc) bring together such a HUGE variety of people under one 'banner'. It has broadened my understanding of others by a lot and has been a great time for growth. It's also allowed me to pass more of that on to the children.

Now if only someone would decide mopping the floor is their favorite hobby, life here would be nearly perfect. ;)

Grab Bag of Ideas (like always!)

(These pictures were taken a while ago, we went to the midnight sale of Brisingr at the local bookstore. One of the girls' friends went with us. It was also a dress-up event so thats' why they look a bit 'odd'! hehe. We had a nice time, how could we not in a store full of BOOKS?!)

I changed the layout of the blog, if someone finds the white on black to be difficult to read please let me know!

IT IS, IN FACT, NOTHING short of a miracle that the modern methods of education have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty. To the contrary, I believe that it would be possible to rob even a healthy beast of prey of its voraciousness, if it were possible, with the aid of a whip, to force the beast to devour continuously, even when not hungry, especially if the food, handed out under such coercion, were to be selected accordingly. - Albert Einstein

This might be long. Stick with me. Charlotte came to me a little while ago to have a conversation about college and school in general. She has some niche interests that she'd like to explore more, so we started talking seriously about curriculum in general. She will be in 8th grade next year and I can't imagine not letting her have a hand in all of this, isn't that the point of homeschooling? So, she's going to be doing the basics, along with a focus on computer-related subjects. Bethany also has some interests that she wishes to explore more.

So, we will be stopping Tapestry of Grace. I like the program. A lot. But we seem to do just fine with covering the basics with a variety of curriculums (Teaching Textbooks for math, various grammar sources, Apologia science, etc.). Bethany is currently studying anatomy terms and botany because her major interest is later doing a course by Shonda Parker - www.naturallyhealthy.com (or it might be .org). She has been invited to attend a midwifery skills weekend with me because we'll be discussing herbs, making tinctures, etc. So we're back to basics and lots of trips to the library!

The other fun thing is Charlotte has asked to start devotionals with me. I've never been a fan of canned devotionals, I'd rather break open my Bible and read it. I tried, really tried, to get into some of the "how to study" books, but the Bible and a good program like www.BlueLetterBible.com was enough. C loves the Do Hard Things book, is involved in their forum, and wants to do their printable devotional together, so we are. There's another that we plan to go through together as well. I guess because this is her interest -and- it feels like the time is right for it now.. it's natural and doesn't feel forced at all. I am excited about having this time with her to have these deeper discussions. She never fails to amaze me as she matures into a wonderful young lady. She knows that without her I could *never* do the doula work and midwife studies, at least not yet. But instead of the "woe is me as the overburdened oldest" she finds it laughable to read about some of the things listed in Do Hard Things as examples of what low expectations are had of teens. She's grabbing her life by both hands and I'm whole-heartedly encouraging it.

This is a major reason why I was attracted to homeschooling in the first place. While I don't believe we'll ever be true "unschoolers" I do know that I'm fine with child-led learning. The only place where that isn't true might be math - we do typical work, although Teaching Textbooks is geared towards homeschoolers. Also, in science in the older grades because I like the way Apologia covers 7th-12th grade.

I spent Friday & Saturday at a local midwife skills weekend. It was really nice and overall refreshing. We ate great vegetarian food (all took turns making a meal) and the midwife opened up her home to those of us that were a distance away. She has goats, ducks, beautiful gardens, and a very artistic/decorative home. Two pregnant women (and families) joined us for Friday's dinner and let us practice basic skills on them - baby positioning, heart tones, measurements, and blood pressure. We talked about birth, ways to have an easier natural childbirth, and then watched videos later that evening after they'd gone home. We did bookwork the next day, along with discussions. Many shared birth stories and experiences, which was invaluable for learning from other student midwives. I brought home ....

Eight duck eggs! This is our unexpected spring project. They're in the incubator now and we should have ducklings by early May. The boys are eager to help me build a brooding pen and I think it'll be an especially nice project with James and his new toolset from Christmas. The children and I will be headed to Virginia for a long weekend next month and a local friend has offered to duckling sit for us. We have hatched guinea hens in the past, but ducks are a bit different. Their eggs require a misting or dunking daily - we're doing a dunking 2x's/day - and the eggs are much larger. The midwife uses her duck eggs for cooking and I was pleasantly surprised at the taste (I was expecting it to be strong, but it was fine). I'd love to get to the point where we have duck eggs and more ducklings. The ducks have lovely personalities and I think they'd be a better fit for us overall than chickens. The big test will be teaching Kuza (great pyrenees dog) how to protect them and making sure predators don't get them.

Off to bed! This week should be much less chaotic than last, yay!