Treasures of March

Another month's collection of thoughts from others. Be blessed!

The Fear of Silence at Holy Experience - ironically, there's little to say about this... it says it all for itself.

Taking Back the Day at A Path Made Straight - this was very encouraging, as it is something I desperately need to put into practice better - I tend to give into feeling overwhelmed and frustrated all too easily.

Who's Responsibility is it Anyway? at At the Well... In Pursuit of Titus 2 - comparing the world's way of raising children to the Lord's way... who do we follow?

Beautiful Truth in Beautiful Trust at At the Well... In Pursuit of Titus 2 - I love the portrait of a Godly helpmeet that Scripture paints - and certainly pray that God continues to shape me to His mold for Michael.

When Your Service Area Feels Small at The Family Revised - being content to serve where the Lord has placed me has changed my perspective so much, and I think Brenda does a wonderful job of explaining it!

The Joy of Boys, a guest post at Passionate Homemaking - do I really need to say anything about this one? :-D

Do They See God? at Raising Arrows - good points to reflect on and examine ourselves with!

The Gospel for Busy Moms at girl talk - a few great tips about how to continually reflect on the Lord throughout all of the day to day busy-ness we experience as moms

What a Waste! at Large Family Mothering - where are we investing our capital? Is it even ours to invest?

Pursuing Character as a Means of Grace at Engstrom Family Celebrations - I really appreciated this description of why pursuing character and righteousness is not a means of "works" but a way to more fully see God's grace in our lives (ala Romans 6)

Slavery at Large Family Mothering - well said!

Am I Wasting My Life? at Visionary Daughters - a great post on "redeeming the time". What should our focus be when deciding "what to do" with "our" time? Us and our desires? Or something much larger than that?

Excellent Questions at Pursuing Titus 2 - a good discussion regarding sheltering, homeschooling, and socialization.

Does "Nothing" REALLY Mean "Nothing"? at Chats with an "Old Lady" - an excellent word regarding living Biblically vs. living relevantly.

The Return of the Homemaker at down to earth - an enjoyable and encouraging read

Who I Am at Raising Arrows - wonderful, wonderful post. Don't miss the last part - "It is who I am because I am HIS" Amen!

Quiverfull Defined at Your Sacred Calling - be careful not to judge by outside appearances!

Flipping Through One of my Old Journals at Breathing Grace - this could have come out of my own journals, it rang so true to me.

20 Tips for Finding Your Routine with Kids at simplemom - I love these! Great pointers!!

A series at girl talk regarding priorities - short, sweet, and immensely convicting!

• Pay Attention
• A Question of Priorities
• First Things First

The Triune Ministry of Homemaking: Management at Meditations (and Confessions) of a Woman Found - a very thorough look into Proverbs 31:27 and what home management entails.

Openness to Life: An Inconvenient Truth Series at The Apple Cider Mill - this fellow blogger is a Catholic mama, so I don't agree with *all* of her points, but I thought the majority of what she had to say was really excellent. Here are my faves:

• Abortion
• Ecologlical Breastfeeding
• Childbirth, and the Modern Medical Community's Effect on Openness to Life

My Nose in the Book at Large Family Mothering - another post that seems as if it came from the depths of my own heart. How grateful I am for His Word!

Wordless Wednesday - Sweet Feet

More on Cloth Diapering

I had a few questions asked after my last post mentioning cloth diapers, so I thought I'd dive into the topic a bit more for anyone interested!

Let me first preface this with the disclaimer that I am not an "expert" - I'm just going to share what I've found works best for me, and what hasn't worked. There's such a huge variety of cloth diapers for the very reason that every mama and baby are different, and my experiences may be vastly different than someone else's! But I have been using cloth for the main part of 4 years on 3 different children, so those are my "credentials". :-)

First, Manda left a comment with a few questions:

Do you find that covers contain blowouts?
Absolutely! Especially those with gussets at the legs. In the past 4 years, I can count on two hands the number of blow-outs in cloth I've had to deal with, where, with disposable diapers, I experience leaks or blow-outs daily!

How many do you have, and what kinds??
I have probably 8-10 covers in each size. I don't use that many in a day, but I like having decent back-up. I especially like Proraps (inexpensive, super durable, and extremely dependable), Thirsties (gussets on the legs, lots of fun, vibrant colors, and a great fit), and Bumkins (trim, lots of cute prints, but a bit pricey).

What do you do when infant prefolds are too small and regular are too long?
Hmmm... I am trying to remember. I honestly don't know if I've run into that problem. I've been able to use trifolded infant-sized prefolds up until toddler age, but I also didn't use them exclusively once the boys got to that size... I've always used a variety of things at that age! Regular prefolds do tend to be a bit bulky. So, I don't know that I'm of much help on that one, my apologies!

A friend in "real life" was asking me about the popular "one-size" diapers. I have tried them, and in fact, for my sister-in-law's baby shower, our family chipped in and got her a good rotation of them. In both my personal experience, and my sister-in-law's... they aren't worth the price. On newborns, they are very bulky, and after a good 6 months or so of regular use and washing, we encountered elastic failure as well as lots of leaking. My sister-in-law's began leaking so badly that they were completely unusable, before she even used them for an entire year. So much for infant-to-toddler usage! So I don't recommend investing in them, especially since they are pricey but don't live up to expectations. However, they are extremely popular, so others must have had better luck with them than we did. I will say that once past infant stage, I really loved the fit- very trim and easy to use, and I really, really wanted them to be the "perfect" diaper for us. I was disappointed when they proved to be unreliable.

I also wanted to explain more about how I use my cloth diapers. For the infant stage, I've been using preemie sized prefolds, rather than infant. However, preemie sized don't have as many absorbant layers as infant, so I've been doubling up. First, I lay the prefold into a cover, trifolded in the front, but flaring out in the back to help catch messes and keep the covers clean. Then I trifold another preemie prefold and lay it in the middle of the first one, so that there's a double layer of absorbancy. Here's a picture, since its tricky to explain (click to enlarge for better detail):


For wipes, I use baby washcloths. I fold them in half, lay them in an old plastic wipes container, and pour a little warm water in to get them moist. That way both the diapers and wipes can just be tossed into the diaper pail and washed!

Cloth diapering can sound intimidating at first, but I would assure anyone interested that it is very easy, economical, and, of course, "green" ;-) Feel free to ask any other questions you might have, I'm more than happy to help if I can!

Random Ramblings

In my middle of the night ponderings (probably more than a bit abstract) there were a few things on my mind I wanted to blog about, but none are really "worthy" of their own posts, so I thought I'd throw together a conglomeration of them here.

• First, my favorite soft soled shoe company is going out of business, and having a huge clearance sale. I'm seriously considering on stocking up before they're gone forever. I LOVE these shoes - great quality and the price is so much better than the "high end" (read: more expensive!) shoes, in which I find no difference. The smaller sizes are a soft suede sole, and the upper sizes have a thin rubber sole for traction and outdoor protection, but they are still super soft and flexible. Anyone who knows me in "real" life has seen Nathan's frog and turtle shoes - this is where they are from! So, check out Wiggees and use the code SAVE15 when checking out to save an additional 15% off their closeout price. This will only be until March 31! (and no, I don't get anything for sharing this, lol! I just wanted to pass along a great deal)

• Second, let me ramble about cloth diapering for a minute. I started using cloth diapers when Joel was a few months old, and have tried what seems like everything out there - I was really into getting the "latest and greatest" for a while. But now that its been 4 years, I've learned that simple really is "greatest", at least for me. While I love the convenience of All-in-Ones, they are a bit too pricey for me to have enough of them to use exclusively. Fitteds are fun because they can come in cute colors and prints, but over time I've decided they're a bit too bulky for my taste, especially when under a cover, which is necessary for outings. Pockets are also a bit pricey, even though the adjustable absorbency can be a plus, especially at nighttime. So where does that leave me? With good, old-fashioned, tried and true prefolds! And some fun, trim covers. I don't even pin or fasten the prefolds, I just fold them into thirds, lay them in the cover, and TaDa! instant, easy diaper. And so inexpensive, comparatively! The funny thing is, the mama who introduced me to cloth diapering used this method, and I was lured away from its ease and reliability by all the other tempting systems... only to find myself back after spending too much time and money trying everything else under the sun. For some good info on cloth diapering, check out The DiaperPin. And, if you're curious about cloth but don't want to invest alot of money just to decide it isn't right for you, check out Jillian's Drawer's 21-day cloth diaper trial for just $10! Its a pretty neat way to try the different "systems" and see what suits you best! A few other cloth diaper websites I enjoy are Abby's Lane (free shipping on all orders!) and a local-to-me one, Emi Beans!

• Next, I'm considering actually decorating the nursery! I've never decorated a nursery for any of the other boys, its always been something I considered a little bit frivolous, especially when we went through our season of really bad budgeting ;-) Little niceties such as decorating just weren't priority. But now we've become more frugal, and I've grown in confidence in my "decorating on a budget" skills, and I think I can pull it off with paint we already have, plus some chair rail, which Michael assures me we can find room in the budget for! There are two different color themes I'm trying to decide between, inspired by this bedding set and this bedding set...bedding set itself I'm not sure will be included, that is something still considered a bit "frivolous" and definitely not a necessity, no matter how cute. But I love the colors, so I think its a good starting point! Please feel free to share your opinion with me - blue and green, or green, cream and brown?
  

That's about it for my random thoughts. And just to make this post worth your while, here's some cute pictures :-)

Wordless Wednesday - Signs of Spring and Love

A surprise for mama from her boys!

Interview with my Children

This was a thing on Facebook that some friends sent to me, and I thought it was so cute it should be shared! I asked the three oldest boys (Isaac, 8, Ezra, 6, and Joel, 4) the following questions, separately. Here are their answers, quoted exactly!

1. What is something mom always says to you?
I - I love you
E - Do your chores
J - She loves me

2. What makes mom happy?
I - Me doing nice things
E - Flowers, no, doing what is right
J - When we obey

3. What makes mom sad?
I - Me being bad
E - Not doing what is right, not acting right at other people's houses
J - When we don't obey

4. How does mom make you laugh?
I - By being funny
E - Tells funny jokes
J - I don't know, you just did, though!

5. What was your mom like when she was a child?
I - I don't know
E - I don't know, a little girl
J - I don't know

6. How old is your mom?
I - 29
E - 29
J - I don't know, 12?

7. How tall is your mom?
I - 5 feet, 3 inches
E - 2 feet, 2 inches
J - I don't know

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
I - Be loved by dad
E - Clean the house, no, take care of us and eat Moose Tracks
J - Do stuff with us

9. What does your mom do when you are not home?
I - Take naps
E - Make cookies and dinner
J - Cook

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
I - I don't know
E - Being a good wife
J - I don't know

11. What is your mom really good at?
I - Knitting
E - Eating Moose Tracks, baking
J - Writing and reading

12. What is your mom not good at?
I - Remembering things
E - Disc Golf
J - You're good at everything!

13. What does your mom do for a job?
I - Raise us
E - Stay home, clean, take care of us
J - Cooks

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
I - Pineapple, no, Moose Tracks
E - I don't know... enchiladas? No, Moose Tracks!
J - Everything, I guess

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
I - Raising us in a Godly way
E - She prepares our breakfast and provides for us
J - You let us do fun things and give us food

16. If your mom was a cartoon character, who would she be?
I - Nobody, actually, I don't know
E - I don't know
J - I don't know

17. What do you and your mom do together?
I - Talk
E - Talk
J - All sorts of things

18. How are you and your mom the same?
I - We both like to sleep
E - We both have blue eyes, and hands and feet, noses and a body
J - God made us the same way

19. How are you and your mom different?
I - I have more energy
E - Mama has longer hair and mine is blonde
J - God made us different

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
I - Because she loves all of her children, so she must love me
E - Because she always tells me
J - Because you always say you do

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
I - He loves her
E - That he's a hardworking man
J - I don't know, everything!

22. What is your mom's favorite place to go?
I - Cold Stone Creamery
E - her mom's house
J - Putt-putt. Actually that's my favorite place, I don't know where Mommy's is.

A New Series and a Giveaway!

My friend Brianna at Heart(h) Management has started a fun new series called "Its a REAL Job!", all about treating our calling as keepers at home like a "real" job and working purposefully to fulfill our roles within our homes. This week, she wrote an excellent article called "Dress for Success", and along with the good pointers she made, there's a fun giveaway for a Marie-Madeline apron! So hop over to Heart(h) Management for some great blog posts and a chance to win!

Birth Stories - Judah

After the middle-of-the-night false labor incident on Tuesday, I was feeling a little out of sorts. I continued to have contractions off and on throughout the day on Wednesday, and then Thursday. Around noon on Thursday, they started feeling a bit different, a little more painful and regular, so I started timing them. They were 10-12 minutes apart, so I figured it was more of the same. As time went on, though, the pain definitely got more intense, and I began to feel slightly nauseus, as well. So I called Michael (who had to work late that day) and he asked me to call our friend Jenny over to keep me company and just incase I thought I needed to go over to the hospital.

I felt a little foolish calling Jenny again, afraid that it would be just another false alarm, but after she arrived, the contractions picked up in a big way - they began coming every 3-5 minutes, very regularly, and were quite painful. Jenny fixed us all dinner and then I called Michael to see where he was on his way home - I wanted to wait for him before we left for the hospital, and sure enough, he was only about 15 minutes away. So we got the kids ready, Michael got home, changed his clothes, and we loaded up the van and headed over to the hospital, Jenny and kids in tow :-) We got to the hospital around 7:20 pm.

They were very quick to get me checked in and get the midwife to check me. I was SO nervous that she was going to say still no progress, but she said "Oh, you're a good 7 cm!" Hooray! I was really in labor, and in fact, almost done! Michael and I were ecstatic! We talked about breaking my water, but I said I'd rather wait until I was fully dilated, so we spent about 2 more hours talking and visiting with the friends and family that showed up (I think all of our extended family members fill the waiting room, lol!). Contractions were rough, and I remember one specific scripture that kept coming to mind during them - Psalm 18:1-2

"I love You, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

and what comfort that verse brought to me! He surely was my strength and my fortress during the pain (and is always!).

Finally the midwife came in for another check and I was almost complete, so she said she'd go ahead and break my water. It was a little after 9 pm, and within a few minutes, she suggested I try pushing. I didn't have a huge urge, but we all figured it was time to get the show on the road and have a baby already ;-) Pushing was hard. I dislike pushing more than contractions, I really do. Michael laughed at me afterwards because at one point during the pushing, I said "Put my legs down, I'm not pushing anymore" and the midwife had to talk me into the fact that yes, I was actually going to have to do some work to get this baby to come! I guess I got a bit stubborn, lol!

However, even though it seemed like an eternity to me, after about 30 minutes of pushing, at 9:55 pm, Judah entered the world. And of course, we've all been waiting eagerly to see whether the baby was a boy or a girl, and when the midwife said boy, I laughed out loud and was filled with absolute joy! I can't believe I am the mother to five young men! I was beyond thrilled, and couldn't BUT praise God!

As soon as he was born, I knew his name was to be Judah. It was a name that we had mentioned in passing, but not given alot of real consideration, but it just seemed to be the perfect fit once I saw him. Michael took some time to pray about it and we discussed other options, but, obviously, in the end, we both agreed Judah would be it! Judah means "praise, thankful" and the story of the name is in Genesis 29:35 - Leah, who is desiring Jacob's love and attention, had borne him three sons already, and named them each names that indicated she hoped Jacob would finally love and appreciate her. When her fourth was born, she realized that her focus was on the wrong thing - instead, she said "This time I will praise the Lord", and named her son Judah.

And so, praising God for our fifth son, he is named Judah.

Turngren has a special meaning, as well. Becca, Michael's sister who recently passed away, had gotten married just nine months earlier, taking on the name Turngren as her last name. We chose it for Judah's middle name to not only honor Becca, but also so that her husband will always be a part of us, and our family, tied forever through Becca's love. Jeff is a wonderful man, and we love him very much.

Michael did an excellent job of taking pictures during the evening (nothing indiscreet!), so I will try to put together a slide show soon. We are settling into "real" life reasonably well. He's nursing like a champ, and everyone is doting on him (and me!). We're so pleased to have him here with us to hold finally!

The Real Thing

Introducing...


Judah Turngren Robinson

born Thursday, March 19, 2009
9:55 pm
7 pounds even

Another Boy!!!
birth story to come soon...

Not a Birth Story

You would think after 4 deliveries, I'd be a pro at figuring out when to head to the hospital. Last night proved that this is not the case!

All day yesterday I had a burst of nesting energy, as well as the usual signs that tend to occur pre-labor. By 8 pm last night, contractions had begun, and were a good 8-10 minutes apart. Michael and I sat up for a little while, continuing to time them, and I packed bags to be ready just in case. Since the intensity didn't seem too bad, we both decided to go to bed and get what sleep we could, not knowing what the night might hold.

A little before midnight, I woke up with more painful contractions. I stayed in bed for an hour, unable to sleep, and finally got up to walk around to see if anything might change. While walking, the contractions grew to be 3-6 minutes apart, and painful enough for me to need to stop walking and rock a bit. After an hour of that, I woke Michael up to get ready to go!

We called our wonderful friend Jenny who immediately came right over to stay with the boys, and we headed over to the hospital. Once there, I was hooked up to the monitor, and sure enough, contractions were coming every 6-8 minutes while I was lying down, more frequently while walking. However, I was only dilated to 2 cm! So the midwife said to walk, walk, walk - and we paced the halls, discussing the artwork and interesting floor designs, and Michael snuck me some animal crackers ;-)

After an hour of walking with some pretty good contractions, I needed to rest, so we went back to the room and laid down. The nurse and midwife were kind enough to just let us sleep, so they didn't bother us at all until a little before 7 am, when I woke up and asked to be checked. And the verdict was... still at 2 cm. And contractions had died down significantly. No labor!

So we're back home, a bit weary and dejected, but also a bit relieved because as far as timing goes, the next few days would be a bit stressful for having a baby due to Michael's work schedule. So all's well that ends well - the baby is doing great and moving around, and we have a few more days to prepare. I feel badly that we had to call Jenny over and alert a few others who were waiting excitedly in the middle of the night, though!

Now I'm just wondering - if I had all of my normal labor signs, happening for over 6 hours, and this wasn't labor... how will I know the difference when it is?! Yikes!