Traditional or Alternative (part 2)

It seems like a very long time since the last entry because so much happened yesterday. I'm torn between writing it all down and telling an interesting story. I'm chosing to document my thoughts and experiences. I'm trusting God for a great story.

Today I'm at home in the final hours of the 24 hour Holter cardiac monitor. Even in the middle of the night I felt nervous and know this greatly affects my typically abnormal heart rythyms. I don't know the reason for the nervousness but it has continued this morning and is affecting my whole body.

Yesterday, I did have the mineral IV. Unfortunately, I don't feel any different this morning. My pulse is still 52.

Although my medical doctor had not given me any report from last Friday's thyroid panel and etc. he had already scheduled more blood to be drawn when I arrived for the Holter yesterday. That was frustrating to me since I wasn't expecting to be taken to the lab and wondered if the results would be skewed because of the IV fluids. I was forced to tell him that I'd had the IV, which I'd previously decided wasn't important to share since I was certain he wouldn't agree with my chiropractor's decision. I was right. He thought dehydration was a silly concern and the IV was unwarranted. Although my lab results do rightly point to the possibility. There are many possibilities, and that's why it's so easy for practitioners to disagree. I had a questionably high potassium, yet I was given a potassium tablet with my IV at the other medical doctor's office. That was the start of the "train wreck" I was involved in for the remainder of the day. My medical doctor and the more naturally oriented medical doctor whose office gave the IV were destined to talk with one another.

My medical doctor and I had a short discussion about why my chiropractor sends her patients to him. The truth is ugly, but it took me most of the day to realize it. In Virginia chiropractors can order laboratory tests but most insurances will not pay for them. It presents a problem if a patient is sent to a medical doctor with some ideas in their head about what might be wrong and even specific recommendations for labs to be drawn and ultimately covered by insurance. When the results come in the patient chooses to be treated by the chiropractor's techniques leaving the doctor, if he knows it, feeling used and ignored. Yuck! If he's arrogant or very concerned for his patient's health, he's going to respond negatively. My doctor was level-headed, honest and concerned.

I communicated the entire scenario to my chiropractor and encouraged her to seek a peaceful solution. She was very concerned, and determined to attempt to make things better. Either the two of them will agree to work together, or my chiropractor's patients will have to pay for their labs. That means that most will not have the labs performed, therefore missing important medical information.

In the best interest of patients a collaborative effort must be implemented. But how? They do not agree. How can they? Their training barely overlaps. They are unaware of the common ground they share. Generally a medical doctor will refute every idea of the chiroprator/functional medicine doctor.

I was suspicious that this confrontation would ultimately happen. I am praying for wisdom about how to be a mediator as I walk through my medical cardiac investigation. I think I owe my doctor an apology for not considering his feelings on my "two-timing" approach. However, I plan to continue to listen to both professionals' advice, so saying anything could make my doctor release me from his care. Afterall that's what one of those forms I signed on the clipboard said: that I will follow his treatment plan. I hand wrote a note there saying I would follow as we discussed his plan, but he wouldn't have noticed it. He only looks at the computerized version of my chart.

On a more personal note, my medical doctor conducted a 12 lead EKG in his office showing PVCs, bigemeny in fact. I've seen all that before. I was having both in college when I started to investigate my heart initially. The print out from the computer was disturbing though. It had listed (for the doctor's consideration) many cardiac problems...scary ones. I'm not even going to look them up. Afterall it said at the top of the sheet that a doctor should make the determination of a diagnosis not the computer. After seeing it, my doctor concluded that he would be sending me to a cardiologist. I've seen two before. One around my twentieth year, and another around my thirtieth year. I'll be forty in November. Maybe it's just time for my trip to a cardiologist. The last two times they assured me that I was ok, could take a cardiac med to make me feel better, but it wasn't entirely necessary, Of course, I never took a cardiac drug. I wonder if I'll be so fortunate this time.

This morning, I looked at Joshua and wondered if I will live to see him grow up. I questioned whether that was a wise thought from the Lord to sober me up or a condemning thought from the enemy to scare me. I decided to make sure that I do everything that I can to increase the possibility that I will be here for him. Looking into those beautiful baby blues and then being struck with the realization that my "job" of mothering him includes the next twenty years, not just one or two, encouraged me not to fight every medical test or recommendation that I'm encountering.

I felt sorry for myself while being stuck for the third time in four days yesterday. Later, I remembered I'll be stuck atleast once more tomorrow for the echocardiogram. I can't feel bad for more than a couple of seconds, because I am too familiar with the thousands of reasons that millions of people are being stuck by needles these days. I am fortunate. But I always knew I didn't want to be in the company of those needing "medicine".

That thought leads me back to God. Even my medical doctor, during a personal, not professional conversation, last week reminded me that Jesus is a man of sorrows and we are to expect to share in His sufferings. He and I agreed none of us like that part of Christianity. (He wasn't talking about me, but how my stepfather has fought cancer this year) Our life has been so full of blessings and we have always given God the glory for it. Looking around at the lives of others has caused me to wonder when would it be our turn to suffer too.

When Isaac (our third) was born with problems and required a full year of intensive care at home, we "suffered" some. It didn't feel like it since we were fighting for him all the way. We drew close to God and He to us. It was a spiritual mountain top experience. But we would not have chosen it and do not care to repeat it. Honestly, I suppose we are all afraid of having to suffer, be sad, sick or possibly leave or lose our loved ones. For these fears there is the mighty Word of God. Praise the Lord! I'll be focusing there more intently this week. I'll have to.

While I've been writing this my nervousness has disappeared. I feel good. I am thankful.

Traditional or Alternative?

Over the last week I have been on a roller coaster of wondering "what is wrong with me." Last Monday we (all nine children and me) took a short trip to the boardwalk. On our way back to the van I started to feel light-headed. Unfortunately, while driving home I felt somewhat numb in my head...Thankfully, we made it home safely, abbreviating our trip. I had attributed the morning's symptoms to dehydration or a mineral imbalance. So, I probably drank alot and took minerals. I don't remember how I felt for the rest of the day but at bedtime I took my pulse. It was in the low 40s. That is generally low enough to make someone pass out and have their friends and loved-ones call paramedics. I wondered what was happening, said a prayer, and went to sleep.

The next morning, I checked my pulse again. Same thing. Low 40s. I was feeling a little panicked since I am a RN (in early retirement) and therefore do know some things after working in ICU, etc. The only person I know who has had this pulse, passed out and immmediately received a pacemaker. He was a young man...

I continued to focus on praying for wisdom, hydrating, eating well, and taking minerals along with my normal supplements. I called my chiropractor/nutritional specialist for advice or an appointment. She was booked. Her short term suggestion helped me to feel better but did not improve my heartrate.

By Thursday,both my chiropractor and I suspected a postpartum hypothyroid. She wanted my TSH checked. This would require a trip to the family doctor. I dreaded that because I knew he would be very concerned about the bradycardia (low pulse) and possibly insist upon intrusive and dangerous studies that I don't want to have performed on me. On Friday morning he saw me and ordered many labs to be ordered, including the thyroid panel, female hormones, and the typical other stuff. He also ordered various studies of my heart and insisted that I go to an ER if I have dizziness.

Today I saw my chiropractor. She had already acquired my lab results and assured me that I wasn't going to die when she first entered the room. I thought it strange that she would mention that possibility, although I had secretly wondered. Thankfully my appointment with her had been made months earlier and for a long visit too. Thanks to her, tomorrow I'm seeing another medical doctor who uses natural techniques for treating many medical problems. At his office I will be given IV fluid. Apparently, I am deeply dehydrated as indicated by high kidney/liver/blood study results. It isn't something that can be resolved by drinking more or even taking more supplements. But the expectation is that one course of IV fluids with minerals will set everything in order! Praise the Lord! It's my chiropractor who is setting this up after reading my (medically ordered) lab test results! I am so grateful for her and wonder if my medical doctor will come to the same conclusion. I haven't heard from him yet.

Also tomorrow I will have a Holter cardiac monitor placed at my family doctor's office for a 24 hour study of my heart's rhythm. Hopefully, I'll be in normal sinus rhythm after the IV.

On Thursday I'm scheduled for both an echocardiogram and a treadmill stress test. Thankfully all these diagnostics are painless, near our home and somewhat breastfeeding friendly.

One perk of having all this done is that we discovered that my progesterone is so low that I should not be able to even make breastmilk. Now, I'm taking an herbal supplement, from my chiropractor, that is supposed to have an immediate effect on this hormone. I will have many happy results from increasing progesterone. I look forward to that! Best of all, I should have a wonderful supply of milk for our precious little one.

Another secondary blessing is that now we know why the baby and I have been in gastric distress nearly everyday since his birth. My liver enzymes being slightly elevated indicate that I haven't been able to eliminate toxins from my body which causes alot of gas. We've managed ok with herbal tea and simethicone drops. Now we are on a natural supplement with herbs and some l-glutamine for soothing digestion. And when I am effectively rehydrated, I can clean up my liver enough to stop this process. Both the baby and I should be feeling much better soon!

So, can bradycardia be caused by dehydration? I hope so. If not, I pray we discover whatever God wants us to find out very soon.

However, all the while, I've been asking God if He doesn't have another reason for allowing all of this inconvenience (and some justified fear) into my life. Only a month ago we started a personal relationship with our family doctor and his family of 12. It was so unexpected that during the baby's first checkup they invited us over to their home, and later insisted that we stay for dinner. They are a wonderful family and we all enjoyed them immensely. We were even planning a second get together and began to discuss it more seriously with the wife on the morning I made my appointment with her husband. I don't believe in coincidence. It seems our families are meant to share time together and have already been very blessed by the new relationship. Their youngest is 16, while that is the age of our eldest. So we bring sweet memories to their minds of years gone by when they were younger and all sharing life together. They remind us that our children will grow up to be loving and family oriented adults one day. It's a nice trade.

This medical doctor and my chiropractor share many patients. Most medical doctors do not favor the care or input of a chiroprator. I have seen that look in my doctor's eye when I've mentioned something about my health history that relates to my chiropractor. I learned today that the relationship has become recently strained between them but not for any particular reason...now I'm wondering if our family might be used as a tool to bring that multi-disciplinary relationship into order.

We have seen our chiropractor almost monthly for seven years. We barely ever see a medical doctor. We love using vitamins, herbs and minerals rather than drugs to help bring our bodies back into alignment with God's plan. In an emergency, or just to maintain a history of medical care, that the world would view as responsible, we take our children for check ups to a medical doctor. Now because of my dilemma, I'm in the middle, between traditional and alternative medicine. I am at peace and quite thankful for them both. But I'm wondering if the Lord will use this situation to help bring peace between those two practices?

Whatever the outcome of the tests, I desire to be obedient and always glorifying to God in the process. I am praying that my words will be soothing and helpful as we enjoy the fellowship of our doctor and his family during our personal time together. I'm even writing all of this in hopes that one day in the future I'll be able to look back and see the hand of God in our lives and remember that this is how it all started. For now it seems like a strange assortment of coincidences. I don't believe in coincidence.

How Deep the Father's Love for Us

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom


This is such a beautiful song with deep meaning. Our youngest girls are learning it. Anna, who is eight, can play it on the guitar. Last night, Anna, Joy(6), and Mary(4) were on my bed playing and singing it, and trying to teach it to me while I nursed the baby. Noah(2) was trying to sing along as he played with a Playmobil man on my nursing chair arm.

It was a lovely picture. It was one of those precious moments in motherhood that I would like to preserve in a bottle. Then I could open it when times at home with nine children do not feel so sweet. Or I could show it to myself when I doubt that all we do really matters in Kingdom terms. ("Seek ye first the kingdom of God!") I asked them to sing it over and over while I tried to learn all the words, and hang onto the living treasure.

Kendal and Kelsey have played this song on the guitar and piano together for months. Anna was the second seat/string guitarist, if Kelsey wasn't available. Now the younger ones can sing it alone. In this case, Kendal and Kelsey started a "good thing".

Steve and Teri Maxwell have always taught that parents should wet their children's appetites for the right things. Giving our children guitars, encouraging them to learn to play, and learning alongside them birthed a lovely season in our life. Kendal plays fluently and plays so that our family can worship nightly together, and even for friends who spend an evening with us. Kelsey and Anna also play well. Not to be outdone by Kendal, Anna practices regularly and enjoys playing for while we sing.

Our first guitar book was full of praise songs and hymns. Our second, and thus far, final book, is a larger book of worship songs. Not by accident, the guitar students in our home use their new talent to worship God. They won't be performing for applause, except the applause of Heaven.

It was heart-warming to watch the three little girls last night. I'd love to include a video here but attempting to record it would've tainted the sweetness of our family moment. : )

Most of all, I pray the rich words of such songs as "How Deep the Father's Love for Us" will be etched upon their hearts forever and that they will always cherish these memories of their childhood!

The Blessings of a Sewing Legacy

When I was growing up my mother always made our dresses for special occasions. As I grew older, people were calling upon her to sew clothes for their special events. She may have made her own clothing when we were little, but mostly I remember that she sewed costumes, dressy clothes, and hard to find items. Her mother and grandmother were both skilled seamstresses. "Granny" and "Mema" could make anything, thus, so can my mother.

I realized over the years that my mom was rare. Other girls' moms did not know how to sew. They purchased all of their clothing, including prom, wedding, and holiday dresses. Many of them couldn't even hem pants or sew on buttons! Their daughters didn't learn either.

I watched my mother sew sometimes. She probably did most of her work while we were at school to avoid being interrupted. She did not try to teach me how to sew. When I was fourteen or fifteen I asked for a sewing machine for Christmas. I think she had told me that I could not use her machine to learn and that I would need my own. My parents kindly bought a portable machine and I began to learn. I became easily discouraged as I tried to decipher the patterns. Often I would rely on Mom to help me understand. Therefore, I only sewed a couple times a year. That continued through my early years of marriage and parenthood. These days, I can usually find my answers on the internet. And I sew monthly, if not weekly. I am forever grateful for a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who sew(ed). I am not intimidated by any project that I determine to be worthwhile, no matter how challenging. I get that from my mother too. She has a "can do" attitude.

My eldest girls are sixteen and fourteen. They can both choose and buy their own fabrics and patterns and have made several dresses. They can repair and alter clothing. I encouraged them to buy their own machine to share, but only because we were all wanting to sew at the same time and had only one working machine. They are far ahead of where I was, as a seamstress, at their ages.

These days, Kendal made our many of our window treatments, designs her own clothes, makes her own patterns, and has made patterns for our littler girls too. She has even taught a friend how to sew her own dress. Kelsey has made a couple of dresses and altered/repaired many skirts from the thrift store. Most recently, I've made baby slings, ballet skirts, throw pillows, tee-shirt dresses, night gowns, maternity outfits, and baby blankets. We are blessed to know how to make things for ourselves.

When Kendal was very young we bought a small quilt kit for her from Vision Forum. Once she learned how to make a nine patch quilt, she began to make them from all the material scraps of dresses I'd been making for her and Kelsey. She then taught Kelsey and me. Her hope chest is full of nine patches made from our family's scraps. In fact, Kelsey and I also have strips from many projects that will later be converted into our own quilts. It will be such a treasure one day to look at each piece and remember the little girls in their homemade dresses.

I usually scramble and make dresses for every girl for Easter. Kendal and Kelsey made their own this year and I made one for my pregnant self and for Joy. But my favorite and most practical clothing to make is a tee shirt dress. We purchase high quality knit tops from Lands' End overstocks and find bargain fabrics to match for skirts. Until the girls are old enough to wear ladies' sized skirts from the thriftstore, our daughters wear these dresses everyday (from one to about twelve years of age). Most of those tee shirt dresses cost us $2-$10. Often times we were given nice shirts and sometimes fabric and we were able to match them up and make dresses for free. For cold weather or rowdy activities we add leggings or shorts. (We also keep a supply of jeans for the really cold or hardy events outdoors) I've especially enjoyed adding rickrack, lace or other trims that I found in a bargain bin or at a yard sale.

Material is expensive. Patterns are too. Bargains can be found though. And money can be saved. Most importantly, modest, beautiful clothing is still available if you are willing to learn how to sew! Even better, teach someone else how to do it too!

Three weeks

It's hard to believe that our new baby was born three weeks ago! He's getting a little chubby and doesn't look as much like a newborn anymore. : ) He's finally starting to see our faces and maybe even smile intentionally. He chuckles in his sleep and has two dimples.

It is all very amazing to spend nearly every minute with a newborn and still look back and wonder how he grew up so quickly! It just happens minute by minute. Life truly is the accumulation of little moments. I'm trying to soak them up. I think I understand what the Bible means where it says that, "Mary treasured all these things in her heart." They are treasures.

Having a newborn is one of the best rewards of motherhood to me. I can remember as a very young girl being dissatisfied with babydolls. I really wanted a real baby to hold and love. I was ten when a baby sister was born and I adored her. My mother let me take care of her and I loved it. I had only been graduated from college nine months when I became pregnant for the first time. In spite of all the illness, lack of sleep, and breastfeeding difficulties I loved being pregnant and being a new mom. All of my memories with Kendal are good ones. She was a fussy baby. She wasn't an excellent nurser. But none of those things mattered at all. It was blissful to me. The same happened with Kelsey, Isaac, Daniel, Anna, Joy, Mary, Noah and Joshua. So far, no amount of pain, sleep loss or difficulty has lessened my joy. It is a gift from God and I hope to continue to appreciate it all.

I meant to watch very closely so that I could (for once) take note of all the subtle newborn changes...when the ears gain thickness and hold their shape, the toenails and fingernails harden and grow straigh out, the eyelashes appear, the eyebrowns can be seen, the last bit of newborn skin is shed. I forgot to write each one down when I noticed it. Maybe I'll remember next time, if I have another newborn one day...

On Joshua's two week birthday, a friend of ours took the following photo of him. They have ten (nearly all grown) children in their family and we had a wonderful time getting to know them last weekend. Our two large families got along so nicely. Mostly because their grown boys were very gracious with our younger ones. He (Jesse) also took about a hundred snapshots of our other children playing in their family's pool. It was a fun afternoon and we really love their family and this photograph. We hope that Jesse will one day take a photo of our whole family together, since he offered, and clearly knows how to take a great picture.


Joshua was three weeks on the day I took this picture.

Nothing sweeter

Our baby honeymoon has come to an end. Daddy returned to work yesterday and now I'm in charge of the home again. The children have done well. It hasn't been a difficult adjustment thus far. If we could have one wish it would be for Noah to be potty trained, instead of training!

Joshua likes to nurse every two hours at night and take his long naps during the day- to my dismay. However, I can't think of anything more wonderful to be awakened by than a precious newborn. So my complaints are few. According to his weight last Friday, he's gained atleast a pound since his birth.

We all went to church on Sunday. Rejoicing over God's handiwork (Joshua and other new babies) with our church family was a blessing. They have covered us in prayer, as we have done for them, so being together is often like returning "home". Our pastor is still preaching from Nehemiah so that warmed my heart as I held Joshua Nehemiah in my lap.

We have visited and been visited by many folks over the last two weeks. It has been wonderful!

Joshua Nehemiah is here!

We have been adoring him and praising the Lord for his magnificent provision and protection for five days! We were induced on Saturday morning and home by the afternoon! What a blessing!

Everything is going very well. I am resting most of the time in our peaceful bedroom with the baby at my side. The family is helping and Bob is taking great care of us all!

There are many things to say about how tremendously all of our prayers were answered...but for now it is sufficient to say that we are blessed of the LORD!

Twentieth Wedding Anniversary

We lingered over a very fine dinner in downtown Virginia Beach. Then, we strolled to the chocolate shop and indulged ourselves there. The weather was outstanding and the atmosphere was summery and celebratory with outdoor music and friends gathered all around. We watched others and occasionally laughed at ourselves as we thought of the last twenty years and how our relationship began.

No one can be praised but God alone for the resilience of our marriage! He has showered us in His mercy, love and wisdom. We are blessed indeed. I'm so thankful we've beaten all the odds that were stacked against us. We truly trusted God for better than we were told we could have together. And we still do! He is faithful! And we are happily married! Praise the Lord!


My friend, Karen, loaned a comfy, dressy, maternity outfit to me. It was so daring, yet somehow proudly maternal and modest...Bob loved it. So we took pictures and made good memories!

The Next Season

We never really know what the Lord has in store for us. We know that we can trust Him and that His ways are best and His strength is sufficient. But to assume that we really know what the future holds (outisde of His Word) seems arrogant.

In our home we are always watchful for the return of Jesus. We are excited that world news and the story in the stars and planets continue to point towards the end of time, as we know it. With each new Jewish feast comes an increased enthusiasm and attention to God's promises about "the end" for us. I've even wondered if the Lord might return before our baby is born. We've learned that there is a dramatization of the Rapture in the constellations and planets on June 6 this year. Even with an induction at 38 weeks that would be before our baby is expected to be born...so we have many thoughts and ideas for discussion at our meal table. Regardless of when we are all finally together in heaven, in the meantime we intend to be busy about loving God, learning about Him, obeying His word and loving others.

My more earthly thoughts are constantly changing from enthusiasm towards accomplishing much in the days left before our baby is born and just napping until he comes. : ) I'm still swimming a couple days a week but my 60 minutes of exercise has decreased to merely 20. I'm also still working in the gardens. We have four raised beds now. They aren't big but weeding is always needed. After making a photobook for our hosts and my parents from our vacation, I've decided to not scrapbook anymore for now. I have made a few choices for the children's school books for next year, but am not even close to being finished. Kelsey says that we don't need to freeze any meals since she cooks dinner. Our afternoons at the pool are very limited by my needing to pick Kendal up from work. So, it seems like the perfect season to sleep. But I haven't taken daily naps since the first trimester when I exercised three days a week.

Kelsey, Anna, Joy, Mary and I had a lovely time at the Mother/Daughter Tea on Saturday. All the teacups and saucers our family had collected were beautiful on the tables that our friends had decorated so tastefully. I meant to take a lot of photos but time slipped away. The food, fellowship and presentations were wonderful. We were sorry that Kendal had forgotten to ask for the day off and she wasn't able to join us.

We haven't made any other big plans between now and the baby's arrival. Our twentieth wedding anniversary is Wednesday. We'd hoped to stay at the beach overnight or something special but we've decided not to try anything fancy this year. One day we'd like to take a real vacation alone. But that will be during a different season of our family's life. We are thankful for God's faithfulness to us over the last twenty years. We still have so much to learn about blessing one another as husband and wife. We've agreed to keep working at it. : )

We did find two nests of baby rabbits in our raised beds. They are about two weeks apart. So once we discovered them, the older ones started jumping out and we started chasing them! We currently have two little ones in our lettuce garden, somewhat captive. One is too little to jump out so we're "protecting" him and the other...well, he's there by force and probably won't be there the next time we go out. It is a nice compromise since nearly everyone (except me) in our family thought we should have one in the house for the next month! It was difficult to get everyone to church on time yesterday with so much bunny chasing and holding going on in the backyard. It's all a little silly since we have been going to great efforts to keep rabbits out of our gardens, and in the meantime they built burrows under spinach and strawberry plants! And now we are using our garden as a bunny pen. : ) It has been very educational to observe the mothers' methods in covering their nests, scent, etc. Of course the children were motivated to research the habits and gestation of rabbits and so forth. We can just consider all the lost time- homeschooling!

Isaac's thirteenth birthday is Saturday. My stepdad, our family friend, and Bob had a special blessing ceremony for Isaac during our vacation. My stepdad wrote on a card to remind Isaac of their time together. I hope he will always remember the words that were shared and the prayers that were prayed over him. On Saturday we'll give him gifts and enjoy dessert together.

Bob has settled on the baby's name, my bag is packed, the infant seat is in the van...now I'll just have to be patient and continue to pray against the worries that try to creep in before delivery. I very much look forward to that moment after the baby is born! It is the best! And the reality of having another family member really sinks in when we settle into our bed, in our room at home, for the first time. Precious times are ahead!

May!

Yes, I really did get nearly all of 2009's photos in a scrapbook last month. I hope to print the photos from Christmas through present day, and scrapbook those and the last three vacations before our baby is born! (you can see that Noah doesn't appreciate what I'm doing, and the ironing is being neglected in the background : )

Speaking of vacation, we spent eleven days away from home at the end of April. We started with Bob's 20th VMI reunion, then to a waterfall hike on the Blue Ridge Parkway, stayed overnight with my dad and stepmom and celebrated Noah's second birthday, a week in Floyd at the cabin with my mother, stepdad and the Hylton family, and finally to my sister's house in Richmond. We were so very blessed with sweet fellowship and basically smooth sailing from one destination to another. It was a logistic miracle! I was 32 weeks pregnant, unable to do the luggage shuffling that is required on our vacations, uncomfortable in the van if we traveled more than 2 hours at a time, and unable to sleep for the first two nights. However, everything else was wonderful!!! We are still in awe of God's answers to our many prayers regarding relationships and fellowshiping on our trip. God is at work in everyone's life and we are amazed at Him!

This was taken at Falling Water Cascades. The falls went on forever! I don't think we ever saw the bottom. The sound was overwhelming and so peaceful! The Bible says that God's voice sounds like mighty rushing waters...I could've stayed there forever!
This was taken at VMI at the end of the parade ground. It was so exciting to have been there together 23 years ago: while we dated, and were engaged, then to return with (nearly) NINE precious children and twenty years of marriage behind us!
Mother's Day was sweet. We sent flowers to our two beloved mothers. And our family spent the day at church, out for lunch and dessert, and playing in the yard until supper time. I really enjoyed being the honored mom for the day. It was such a beautiful day and I took photos of all the children in the yard. Bob was refinishing Kelsey's hope chest, so when he joined in the photos they became comical rather than picturesque!

I'm 34 weeks along and still feeling better than ever! This morning my chiropractor gave me more tips on how to deal with some of the sore muscles that tend to accompany these last weeks. What a blessing she has been in keeping me well nourished, educated and in the best possible health for delivering these precious ones. This time we are going to try some natural treatments for starting labor. I've been induced everytime starting with Number Three, Isaac. Pitocin and breaking the sac are okay. But I'm certain that stimulating my body naturally would be best...We'll start around week 36 and see how it goes. My doctor likes to induce women like me (who've had lots of babies) at 38 weeks. Maybe we can beat him to it.

Bob's naming the baby. This is as it should be. But it is new for us. It's usually a husband/wife, family discussion, or a spiritual insight through me. We are excited to see how God will continue to lead us into the role of husband and wife that He has for us. We're also planning to refuse another one of the hospital dictated medicines and vaccines: Vitamin K. We have found a source and proper dosing for Vitamin K given by mouth to newborns. So hopefully our baby can join the world without eyes covered in goop, needle sticks in his sweet little thigh, and other unnecessary one-size-fits-all brand of newborn techniques. Also for the first time, we are planning an eighth day circumcision. The gyn in our area who performs this procedure in his office is the local Jewish mohel. Thankfully he helps Gentiles too! This allows our baby's prothrombin levels to be at the best and Dad and Mom to be present to pray and bless our baby on this special day of dedication. Best of all, we won't be sitting around the hospital for 24 hours waiting for this procedure. Maybe we can come home right after the delivery! That would be awesome!

I do love having a pregnant belly, so I will miss it, and I hope to preserve the memory of it. I never know which one will be my last. We have an assortment of mostly unattractive photos at this point but we'll keep trying and I'm going to post some here for my personal archive. : ) Isaac, Noah and me after lunch on the parade ground at VMI.
This was taken at the falls before the big hike back UP! Kelsey and I are like-minded when it comes to walking in creeks. You can see she's already been in. I had to watch from the bank. The rocks are too slippery for a pregnant momma.
Kristy and me in the cabin kitchen. She is the daughter of the family who own the cabin in Floyd. She is a new mother and wife and is such a great learner. It has been my pleasure to share the many resources that God has sent to me over the years!

I am so thankful for the exercise that I started last year at this time. Although I am atleast 28 pounds above my starting weight I am much stronger and healthier than ever! I had determined to prepare a safe place for our "next" baby by restrengthening my abdominals and pelvic floor muscles. We used some alternative therapy called Frequence Specific Microcurrent with massage to "rezip" up that gap in my abdomen. That was followed by months of water exercise focusing on core strengthening. And I've learned to exhale when straining to lift, push, or potty. Never strain. Strengthen and use my legs more. Continue to remind my worn out muscles to do their job, my chiropractor helps alot with this. Taking care of that psoas muscle holds my back/neck in better alignment, keeps my baby's weight off of my bladder and bowel, and I feel great! I hope to professionally write all that I've learned in an article and be able to share it with everyone I know.