My Favorite Song Right Now

You know sometimes certain songs just really bless you at certain times in your life and this song is one that is really blessing me at this time in my life...

Blessings by Laura Story



We pray for blessings, we pray for peace. Comfort for family, protection while we sleep. We pray for healing, for prosperity. We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering. All the while You hear each spoken need Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things


'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops? What if Your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights Are what it takes to know You're near? What if trials of this life Are Your mercies in disguise?


We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear. We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near. We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love. As if every promise from Your Word is not enough. And all the while You hear each desperate plea and long that we'd have faith to believe.


'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops? What if Your healing comes through tears? And what if a thousand sleepless nights Are what it takes to know You're near? And what if trials of this life Are Your mercies in disguise?


When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win. We know that pain reminds this heart that this is not our home. It's not our home.


'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops? What if Your healing comes through tears? And what if a thousand sleepless nights Are what it takes to know You're near?


What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy?


And what if trials of this life, the rain, the storms, the hardest nights are Your mercies in disguise?


Blessings, ♥T

Liar, liar, pants on fire...

Ok, so this is actually a serious post :)

To all the mom's out there...

Have any of you ever dealt with a child who lies about EVERY thing? And I mean literally everything! A child who will lie to get out of trouble, who will make up stories about anything and everything, who will lie to your face even when you watch them do "it"? What do you do? How did you deal with it? I am at a loss and nothing I say or "do" is seeming to get through to this child. I welcome any suggestions!

Blessings, ♥T

2 weeks to go!!

Yep, that's humongous me! Still got 2 weeks to go :) Can't wait, but can all at the same time! 

So things have been pretty "normal" around here. Had my "nesting" time, got everything clean except the toys in the girls room. Really need to get that done. Of course all the contractions I was having stopped as soon as I had everything done. I got my birth kit and supplies ready, got all the baby clothes and supplies ready, and now nothing.

Kids are staying caught up on school for the most part. We are trying lots of new things and some we really like and will continue with next year. Some we don't like and won't use again. They are doing really well with their piano too.

I'll probably do a post about what we are doing and what we will be doing soon. We'll see how things go :)

Blessings, ♥T

Emily Noel

Well, Emily has the last birthday of the year so I guess it's good she's got the last birth story too huh? :) 

We of course, were very happy to find out I was pregnant again. I was relieved partially because it gave me a good excuse to wean Michelle. I was very ready to be done, but she wasn't. 

When I was 16 weeks pregnant we were in a car accident. Someone backed into the side of our car. They were in a big vehicle. I went to the hospital because I was having contractions. They couldn't find a heartbeat so I was very worried. I went to my midwives the next day and she was able to find it really quickly. She was really low so that's why it was hard to find. 

After that things were pretty calm and normal. We moved to CA when I was about 6 mos along. I was very anxious to find a midwife and was blessed to be able to use Claudette. She had been the midwife for my sisters SIL. There were actually no midwives in my area so she was going to have come 2 hours to get to my house. But thankfully she was willing.

I found out I was pregnant in April and my due date was Dec 20th. I just KNEW that she was going to be born on Christmas. I really didn't want her to be though. For more than one reason... I didn't want to be in labor on Christmas, I didn't want to miss out on Christmas, I didn't want my kids to miss out on Christmas, I didn't want her to have to share her birthday with Christmas Day, etc... 

I had an appt with Claudette (On my due date I believe) and she stripped my membranes. I had lots of hard contractions for the next few hours and then nothing. On Saturday, the 23rd, I had my mucous plug come out and some bloody show. I thought for sure I would be having her that day or night. But no, nothing happened. We went to church Sunday morning and then spent the rest of the day celebrating Christmas with his side of the family. We had a good time, but I was very frustrated because I was late and I just knew she was going to "ruin" Christmas. 

That night I finished wrapping presents and went to bed around midnight. At 3 am the first contractions hit. They steadily got closer and stronger. I was able to have Christmas morning with my kids though :) I called my mom and Claudette around 4 pm. My mom was over right away and my dad took the boys back to their house. Claudette got there around 6 and by that time the contractions were beginning to get slower and further apart. So we discussed it and decided to put some gel on my cervix to get me going really good. We didn't want her to leave and then have to turn around and come right back. 

So at 6:30 we did that. Right away the contractions got stronger and closer. I stayed in the tub for most of the time after that. Claudette and my mom sat on the floor in the bathroom. Several times Claudette checked her heartbeat and encouraged me to try different positions. In the back of my mind I knew things were quite right, but didn't know what it was. Finally I was to a 9 so she said if I didn't want to be in the tub for the birth I needed to get out. So I got out, made my way to the living room and "got ready". The baby didn't want to come down though and we thought it was cause of her position. So I tried to get on my hands and knees. I think I only lasted one or two contractions that way. It just hurt my knees way too bad. 

I was finally at a 10 and she was down low enough, I started pushing. On the first push I experience the worst pain I have ever felt during labor and delivery. It is hard to describe but it was the horrid pain of pushing her out but at the same time her being pulled back up inside me. I said "I can't do it" (ok, I say this every time, but still it was AWFUL!!!) Everyone said "Yes, you can, push!" so I did and her head was out. Claudette told me to stop because her cord was around her neck. She got it off and I delivered the rest of her. I pulled her to my chest and the cord was so long it was still connected to both of us and in a pile on the floor. It had been wrapped around her neck 2 times and was wrapped around her arms/body too. When Claudette was checking her heartbeat she was actually only getting the cord pulse, not Emily's heartbeat. This was the reason I guess. 

Emily was born at 10:53 pm on December 25th. We didn't have a name picked out for her yet. Well, not exactly. We had planned on naming her Mykaela Emily, but couldn't agree on the spelling. Since she was born on Christmas Day we decided to name her Emily Noel. She was 7 lbs 13 oz. Big beautiful blue eyes and dark hair. 

She is a very smart, spunky little girl. While I was pregnant I would tell people that she had a terrible temper. Sure enough she does! Irish through and through. :D She has always been a sweet, cuddly girl in spite of that though.

Blessings, ♥T

Zachary Glen

I found out I was pregnant while I was in CA to help my sister when she had one of her babies. She had actually gone to the hospital in labor and I took the test. So we knew for a day that we were pregnant at the same time! I had severe exhaustion with this pregnancy. And by the time I got back home I was hardly able to stay awake. It lasted quite awhile this time. I also kept getting sick. I had several bladder infections and sinus infections while pregnant.

Because of insurance related issues I had to have a hospital birth. I was NOT happy about this. I did end up seeing a group of 4 midwives and actually liked all of them. The one I liked the most ended up being the one on call when I went to the hospital.

2 days after my due date I had an appt. My blood pressure was really high. So an hour later they checked it again and it was still high. They also did a non-stress test and the baby was fine. I also had a blood draw. So they told me I could go home and do a 24 hr urine test and come back in 24 hrs for another blood draw. Or I could just go to the hospital for an induction. Neither option was desirable. I went to the car and talked it over with James. We decided that since we lived an hour away and there was an ice storm coming in it would probably be a good idea to just be induced so we wouldn't have to rush to the hospital, in labor, during an ice storm.

We went home and took the kids to the people who were watching them for us. Got our stuff and headed up to the hospital. We got there and they started with the prostaglandin around 11:30 pm. In the morning they moved my to a labor and delivery room and James went to pick my mom up from the airport. Sometime around 9 am they hooked me up to the pitocin. They started really low and upped it very slowly. Still, hurts way more than natural contractions.

Twice we thought I was in transition but the first time I was only at 5 and the second at 7. It was not easy at all! Sometime after that the midwife went to check my and my water broke. I did not want that to happen because of the cord issues with Kathleen and Michelle. I was very paranoid at that point. The midwife was very apologetic, but it wasn't like she did it on purpose. Thankfully my water was clear and no bleeding occurred.

After that the contractions were so hard and coming so close together that I couldn't deal with it any longer. I felt like I was losing it during contractions so I asked for something to take the edge off. (Up to that point the nurses were all very good about respecting my initial desire of no meds in labor, none of them even mentioned it) I got 1 shot of stadol. It didn't take away much of the pain, but it made me "loopy" enough that I could get through the rest of the contractions.

Zachary was born at 11:43 pm, on January 7th, after 24 hrs of labor. He weighed 7 lbs 15 oz. He had a TON of dark hair, with several swirls in it. We named him Zachary Glen. The Glen being from my great grandpa.

While I wasn't happy about being in the hospital, it did end up being a good thing. After I had him he latched on really well. But then after they moved me to a recovery room we spent all night latching on and then him letting go and crying. Until about 8 am when he finally fell asleep. I was so sore, I was bleeding. I asked for a lactation consultant. I knew something was wrong but didn't know what. She came in right after they took him out to do his circumcision (Not going to debate that, it's our decision, if you don't circumcise that's fine, we do). I told her what was going on and she asked some questions. The only thing I had "noticed" was at one point when he was crying it looked like the tip of his tongue was heart shaped. She immediately said she's go check him and be right back. She came back and said her and the Dr had checked him and sure enough he had an issue called "tongue tied". The line of skin under his tongue had literally tied the end of his tongue to his gums. He couldn't move it up, forward or backwards, so he couldn't latch on properly. They ended up getting an ENT and he was able to cut it right there in my room. We were able to leave the hospital a few hours later.

He was able to eat after that, but we still had a very difficult first week. He had a very sore tongue and had to learn to use it properly and I was already sore from the first night. But we got the hang of it and he nursed for 18 mos.

He still has pretty thick hair, but it is now blond as can be. He's a very ornery, energetic little guy. He is such a ham and adores his older brothers. Always wants to play football or frisbee with them. He has just recently started talking up a storm. He went from just random words here and there, but mostly gibberish, to talking in sentences pretty much over-night.

Blessings, ♥T

Makenzie Emma

We were very happy to find out I was pregnant with baby #4. In February when I was 9 weeks I started bleeding. Went for an U/S and it showed that the baby was only 6 weeks and we couldn't see a heartbeat. My midwife had me do an HCG count. It did not double in the 48 hrs like it was supposed to. In fact it barely went up. I was very distressed and tried to prepare myself for a miscarriage. My MIL came and stayed with us for a week so I could be on bedrest. I stopped bleeding and nothing happened. 3 weeks later I went in for another U/S and it showed a very healthy 9 week baby. Apparently my dates were off, though we don't know what caused the bleeding.

After that everything went well. I went to CA in July to be in my sisters wedding. James and I went to Hawaii right after and had a great time! Not easy though to explore Hawaii when you're great with child :)

At my last official appt she was in a breech position. My mom came out a week before my due date. My labor started on Saturday morning on the 25th, 3 days before my due date. I thought for sure I was going to have a baby early for a change. The midwife came out and checked me. I was only to a 3 and the contractions were starting to space out. I continued like this all day Saturday and Sunday. Sunday evening I went to church to distract myself. Didn't help much. Monday I went to my midwife appt. No change and the contractions just kept getting strong and close and then petering out. The midwife checked her and she was still breech. Her heart rate was good and everything was great. While we were talking about having a breech birth I could feel the baby moving around and the midwife wanted to check her again before I left. She started feeling around and asked me if I had felt her moving around while we were talking. I said yes. She said "she's head down now". Craziness. She was very excited though as she doesn't get many breech babies. Since this was my 4th baby it was obvious I wouldn't have much problem with her head getting stuck. So she wasn't concerned if she turned again :)

We went home and things continued like this till the next day. On Tuesday contractions really got stronger, but would never stay regular. The midwife had said to keep track of them and call her when they got regular and stayed that way for an hour straight. That never happened, but at some point (I think in transition) I told my mom "I don't care if they're regular, call her now I want her here". So she called and the midwife was on her way. 15 minutes later my water broke. They called my midwife and let her know. She tried to hurry, but ended up getting in front of a highway patrol car. No speeding for her! Lol.

About 45 mins after my water broke I could feel her head coming. My mom was telling me not to push because she didn't know if my cervix was dilated or not. I thought to myself "doesn't matter her head is coming out, I must be dilated". I had to push, so I did. Her head came out and the midwife walked in. My mom started to move out of her way and the midwife told her to stay there! The midwife checked and there was a cord over one of her shoulders, which she pushed off and then I was able to push her the rest of the way out.

At 12:01 am, October 29th, Makenzie Emma came into the world into her Nana's hands! She was 8 lbs 8 oz and she did NOT come out breech! She turned again before she was born. She did have a knot in her cord though, so apparently she was always a very active baby ;)

Makenzie is a very laid back little girl. Loves pretty, girly things and loves babies. She is always a little mother to our new babies. She is very talented on the piano. She was a bit slow in her learning to read. She just finally in the last few months started reading and is so happy about it.

Blessings, ♥T

Jason Wesley

We were really excited to find out I was expecting baby #2. I took the test and left it in the bathroom, James read the results and told me. :D I was really hoping for a girl. At my ultrasound the technician wasn't allowed to tell me the sex til she had it confirmed with the head technician, but as she was doing the ultrasound I could see the parts and said "it's a boy". She was all surprised and said "you can see that?" Um duh, obviously I could! lol... I was slightly disappointed but was happy that James Michael was going to have a little brother.

I didn't have a very eventful pregnancy. I did get big quite quickly and everyone thought it was twins. But nope, just one BIG boy! I looked like a torpedo at the end :)

I had my appt on Friday the 20th, 5 days after my due date. She checked me and stripped my membranes. That was around 3 pm. By 4 pm I was in active labor. I called the midwife on call and she said I could come in or just wait til I wanted to come in. I decided to wait. Finally around 10 pm we decided to go in. I was at a 5 almost 6. So we of course stayed. I got to a 6 and stayed there for a few hours. They broke my water and I got to a 7 and stayed there for a few hours. They decided to give me some pitocin to speed things up. Um, yeah, that was a bad idea! Yes, it made things go faster, but it also made it much more painful. From that point I ended up getting 2 shots of stadol.

I finally got to 9 with a lip and the midwife said I could push with the next contraction and she would push it off. So I did and with just a few minutes of pushing at 4:43 am October 21st, I gave birth to a chunky 8 lb 2 oz dark haired, dark eyed, beautiful baby boy!

We named him Jason Wesley, after my husband cousin/best friend who died of CF. His middle name is the same as my husbands.

He is a very smart and talented boy. Very athletically and musically inclined. In just one semester he went through an entire piano course. He loves to wrestle with his brother and is just through and through BOY!

Don't have many pictures since he was born pre-digital camera :) But are some recent ones!

Blessings, ♥T

Kathleen Rose

This is long overdue, but I just haven't had the time or desire to finish it recently.

I found out I was pregnant in Oct of '07. I immediately was exhausted, as is usual for my pregnancies. I was completely incapable of even doing the most simple tasks. (It was at this point that we put the 3 older children in private school as I was not up to caring for their schooling.) After I got over the exhaustion things were pretty much normal and "easy" for a seventh pregnancy. Nothing out of the ordinary or bizarre. With taking care of 6 little ones, taking kids to and from school and keeping up with "life" it passed fairly quickly though.

When I was nearing the end she was very active. Even when I was walking or moving around she would not be still. (She is still very bouncy :) I remember trying to walk and she would jump so hard forward that it would literally make me move forward. Several times it almost caused me to trip!

When I found out my due date, June 29th, I KNEW she was going to be late and I just KNEW she was going to be born on July 4th. Why? Because we had just moved back to our old house and I was really looking forward to going to the fireworks! The displays there are awesome! So much better than what we have here. I was really, really wanting to go see them and I just knew that because I really didn't want her to be born on that day she would decide to come then.

The week she was born I managed to come down in a very SEVERE sinus infection. On July 3rd I finally went to an Urgent Care center because the pain was so bad. I started having some mild contractions that afternoon. On July 4th the contractions were getting stronger and coming a bit closer, but as is normal for me, kept stalling. The midwife assistant came and checked me. I was only a 3-4 I think. She watched me for a while, but nothing was happening so she left. By evening they were actually getting pretty strong and I was really hoping they would hold off till after the fireworks. Yes, I know, very silly! LOL... But my sweet little girl was ever so kind and she let me go to the fireworks! YAY!!! I must say they had a magnificent display, even while having contractions it was very enjoyable. :D

The next day they finally started getting much stronger and closer. The assistant came again and checked me, I think I was 4-5 at this point. But I honestly don't remember. I labored in our jacuzzi tub (boy do I wish I had that still!) for the day and finally somewhere around 10 pm she checked and said I was 9 with a lip. For all my previous pregnancies this meant baby was coming in a few minutes. So because I didn't want a water birth I got out. We called the midwife and she came. Took her around 45 mins. Nothing happened. I had really wanted to be squatting for this birth but tried to use her birth "chair" and it did not work. Somehow she was sitting on top of my pubic bone and couldn't get around it so I had to get in bed. I laid on my left side and finally she started to come out. Apparently her head came out sideways, so her position was odd in the birth canal I guess, that's why it was so difficult for her to get around my pubic bone?

She came out, and just as I suspected, she was bald and WHITE as can be :) I had very little to no heartburn, and from my experience with 8 kids now, the amount of heartburn does affect how much hair they have. They put her on my stomach but I couldn't pull her up any further because her cord was so short. When the cord stopped pulsing Makenzie got to cut it. As she cut it she said "Michelle you get to cut the next babies cord" Lol...Not what I was thinking about just then!

There were a lot of things that I wasn't happy about for this birth but I have left them out, but here is where I will put what happened that makes me very upset. At this point I had still not be able to nurse her because she couldn't reach. I had just pulled her to my chest and she wasn't tremendously interested in eating yet. We were just starting to work on latching on. For some bizarre reason the assistant midwife (whom I hadn't even wanted at my birth) was the one who ended up delivering her. So she was the one who was "down there" still. For whatever reason she pulled on the cord. Now if you've read Michelle's birth story you'll know why that was NOT something I wanted to be done. So of course as soon as she pulled I started bleeding heavily. I ended up having to PUSH the placenta out while the midwife pulled it out. As soon as it came out the reason for the bleeding was obvious. Her cord was missing the Wharton's Jelly for about an inch from the placenta.When she pulled it snapped the arteries. Thankfully the blood had mostly stopped transferring and I didn't start hemorrhaging. Because I hadn't started nursing and there were no hormones causing contractions my uterus didn't start cramping down. I was still bleeding heavily and my uterus was not returning to normal. So the midwives had to put a hand inside me and push up on the uterus while the other pushed and massaged on it from the top to get it to start contracting. After giving birth and pushing the placenta out, it was not a very pleasant experience. To say the least.  Thankfully it worked and a shot of pitocin wasn't necessary.

After all this I had a beautiful 7 lb 10 oz baby girl born at 12:01 am on July 6th. I had very little problems after she was born. I was very sore as usual, from nursing, but that stopped pretty quickly using some homeopathics.

I now have a very "bouncy" little 3 year old. Her favorite movie was Piglet's Big Movie, but she is so much like Tigger! She loves being hugged and playing with Little People. She talks a lot :) She just recently got glasses. I had suspected that she had an issue, but couldn't tell for sure. Sure enough she did. After we got her glasses we went to the store. As we were walking through the parking lot she said "Look at all those cars, I can see them" and when we got in the store she said "Wow I can see all that stuff!" :D So cute, but I guess she really couldn't see much before! She looks so adorable with her glasses on!

Here's some pictures of her growing up :) This first picture is supposed to be next to last but I can't get it to move down... Oh well :)

Blessings, ♥T