"...if faith is always as easy as placing all of our trust in something/Someone all the time, then I'm not really sure that is real faith at all. I sit in chairs all the time (going back to that lazy thing), and I can't remember the last time a chair decided it wasn't going to hold me (although with all of this hospital and fast food, I'm becoming more suspicious)...but I don't think that my faith in those chairs is really anything to write home about. If my faith in God is never tested, if my trust that He is always there and always wanting the best for me is always 100%, God might as well be a piece of furniture.

And, up until just recently, maybe that's exactly what my thoughts, words and actions were showing about my God...As I've mentioned a few times, it's not so much that I have incredible faith...it's more that I have an incredible God Who has chosen to put me in an incredible situation that only gave me two choices: rely on my own will and strength and stamina, or increase my trust in God. Knowing my own limitations, the choice was pretty simple."

For more like this and a very beautiful story about some beautiful lives check out this blog

Where did blue eyes come from?

This article shares the discovery that everyone who has blue eyes has one common ancestor.

"People with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor, according to new research.

A team of scientists has tracked down a genetic mutation that leads to blue eyes. The mutation occurred between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago, so before then, there were no blue eyes. "

6000 years ago hey... well guess what, according to the bible (which is happen to believe is the infallible word of God) the world is right around 6000 years old! And maybe the reason that there were no blue eyes before then is because there were no eyes at all!!! It is very interesting to know that we got our blue eyes from one original person.

This article is based on evolution but it sure is neat to see another confimation of the fact that God created Adam and Eve first and we all came from there!

My only question is, which one had the blue eyes?

That's right!!! 1 more week until I'm due!!!

How your baby's growing:Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Buster's Booties

Okay so here is my first attempt at leather booties. I decided to line them with rabbit fur, which is really nice and soft and warm, but, I never want to sew with it again. You can't see a thing! There's just fluff everywhere, all over your clothes and in your eyes and up your nose! And in the way of your seam. These turned out okay but I think I can do better with a different liner. Also I'll post a picture of the slippers stuffed.

I made the slippers with the wide version of the patter and man they are really wide!!!

So here you go.

Slipper pictures

So here are the slippers that I made yesterday. They are really cute! I am heading to town today to scope out leather. I do really like the fabric though as it's soft and cozy, I will do both I guess. I will also be hitting up the thrift stores for old leather jackets and stuff. I'm thinking that this could be a good way of getting leather cheap... but I will be limited in colors. We'll see what the fabric stores have.

Well they aren't great pictures but they'll have to do. I'll have to stuff them with something so we can see the real shape of them.

Okay so, selling these. This is the thing. I made these from a pattern, if I want to sell them I have to pay the person who made the pattern 60.00 a year. US. So I need to make a lot of sewing money before I can start selling them. If four people want to buy some then I can probably swing it. At this point it's just not worth it for me to fork out 60 bucks when I have no idea if anyone will buy them. Also I don't know totally about the leather situation yet so that will effect my choice too.

Anyway I have a doctors appointment today so I'm hoping I'll know by then what my body is doing baby wise.

Chao!

Wannabe!

So as I posted before I bought a pattern for making Robeez style booties and slippers. I'm going to post pictures of the booties now and once I get my camera back from the kids I'll post pictures of the slippers.

This was the trial run of the booties and I'm really happy with them. There are a few things that I'll change... like I'll make sure that the top seem on the booties doesn't let go and make a big gaping hole that I'll have to hand stitch tonight ;) You can also see the stitching on the sole. I just used white thread because they were the trial. On the slippers that I made you can't see it on the outside of the slipper like these. Ephrim has not taken these slippers off yet!

As you can see he's pretty happy about them! Stay tuned for slipper pictures!

New patterns coming.

So I bought a pattern to make the robeez booties. They are no longer on my list. I'm pretty excited!!! I also got the pattern for the slippers. This will be a fun addition to my baby gift closet ;)

My wish list.

See below for edits.

So as I'm sure you can guess, I don't really need a lot for this baby. But there are a few things that I would really like and that would be really useful.

So this is another thing that would be a huge blessing to us. These diapers have great reviews and I'm a huge fan! I have used cloth diapers for some period of time with all of the kids and I do have diapers, but these would just make the whole thing easier and simpler. After three kids your diapers start to get a little thin and worn. I have had to retire a lot of them and some of them were never that great (fit wise) to begin with.

Okay the source that I had to buy these diapers from was the wrong one and was in the states and will not ship them here. Dangit! So now I'm on the hunt for another place. I will still gladly take money to go towards buying diapers though. Thanks.

I know that I probably seem really selfish to people but I'm going to go ahead and say it anyway. If these things are just too much, I would be very happy to take some money to go towards some of these diapers. I have been so blessed and I have more than enough of most things. This little guys doesn't really need anything. Diapers would be a huge blessing to our family as they help us financially and I also prefer to use cloth over disposable because of the environmental and health benifits. I would rather someone give me money to buy one diaper than buy me a whole pack of disposable diapers. I hope that you can all understand this. It may not be so fun to wrap up, but in the end it is the most benificial thing you could do for me and Buster.

Not only that but you will be blessing me with time. I will have to make diapers for this little guy if I do not get to buy some. Right now making them is about the only thing in our budget but it takes time... about an hour a diaper, and it's not nearly so nice a diaper.

If I think of any other things that I would like or need I'll be sure to add it to the list, but so far that's it. We're pretty set for baby boys around here... now if Buster manages to come out a Bustette for some reason.. then we'll deffinately need clothes, but as it is, we're set.

Edit -

Okay so I thought of a few more things that we (I) could use. Gift certificates to Reitmans would be great. I know that there are a few clothes items that I will be lacking once I'm out of my maternity clothes... some shirts you can wear with a pregnant belly, but they sure don't look so hot when the belly deflates!

Another thing is a nursing bra. Now I realize that this is kind of a personal thing and I'd rather not post my size on here for all of the world to see. The bra that I've already ordered which I would like another of is 45.00. I know that seems like a lot for a bra but I've nursed two babies with junky nursing bras and it's just not worth it.

So again these are all not things that are fun to wrap, but are really the things that I need and will have a use for... maybe we should just have wishing well? Sorry to seem money hungry, just being honest about what we can use around here. I really don't want to seem ungrateful and I'm sorry if it comes across that way. I hope that you understand where I'm coming from.

Blessings and many thanks!
Another Edit-

Something else that I love for my babies is the Baby line from Burt's Bees. I love the shampoo bar and the buttermilk bath soak. It's all I use on them.
And this is another thing that I use a lot of. It's about the best diaper creme out there! Just ask a goat ;)

Sleep...please

Ephrim was up at 6:15. He's decided to get up before 7 almost every day this week. For some this may be normal. I'm sorry if I seem silly to you. My head is pounding. I'm about ready to go through the drive through in my braless state. Very hungry, too tired to make food. But not to tired to drive to town to get it? Quite an interesting thing.

12:48 am

Fell asleep at 8:00 pm tonight. Woke up at ten. Ugh. Oh well I was really really tired!

Update

Just a quick update to let everyone know that all is well. We did a fetal strip yesterday and baby Buster (I almost called him Ephrim) is great. I found out yesterday that my doctor will only let me go one week over my due date, so please please please pray that this little guy will make his appearance sooner than the others or that the Lord will change the doctors hearts. Obviously I want God's will, but I'm really hoping that his will is for another VBAC.

I'm also kind of excited because when I was in the hospital for the fetal strip Sherry the nurse was telling me that in the big (good) delivery room they have a new EFM machine (electric fetal monitor) that is cordless and can go in the bath. This is really exciting because I have to be on the EFM 100% of the time I'm laboring at the hospital. Now the question is, will I like their bath? I'm a little spoiled bath wise.

Anyway I have a lot to get ready for today. God Bless you in your day!

5:45 am

Oh yeah that's right, it's quarter to six in the morning and I'm awake. I'm hungry and I've had a stressful night. Buster just isn't moving enough. He's still moving little bits every now and then, but nothing like normal. Night time is his normal active time and this is shockingly abnormal. He is still moving when I push on him so I don't think I'm scared, just worried. I layed in as many different positions as I could through the night and none of them seemed to make a difference. I even propped my bum up on pillows, just incase he's dropped further down in my pelvice and he's pinching his chord or something. Now for most of you this probably seems silly, or overly freaky. I just need to feel him moving! It's very unusual for him and I'm really glad that I have a Doctors appointment today because I really need to hear that heart beat. I'm getting one of those home doplar things next time. So anyway, please pray for lots of movement this morning. There are Teeny Tiny wiggles every now and then but I'm used to tummy morphing aerobics. I guess he's just being lazy! At least he comes by it naturally ;)

Off I go to eat something ravenously.

37 weeks!

How your baby's growing:Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

Cloth Diapers

Okay so I just got my diaper covers for when Buster is born. I have never bought anything new for diapering. I've either made it or gotten it second hand, oh maybe I've bought a Kushies diaper cover or two. But let me tell you. These diaper covers are worth the money, and if all I spend to diaper this little guy is the $80.00 these cost (plus the cost of laundering, which is barely measurable), I think I'm doing pretty good

.

So I bought the covers above from Baby Cotton Bottoms. The orange one is called Melon. The picture makes it look like a fun orange color but when you get it, the orange is more neon. The color should be called Visivest! None the less these are amazing covers! The other thing that I love about them, that I will have to copy is that the velcro tabs are double sided. So that you can overlap them, which is so important on a new born.

Anyway so I'm very happy with the service from Baby Cotton Bottoms. They also included a little pamflet on cloth diapering, the benifits, different kinds of diapers, cost differences, all that jazz. There was something in it though that I just really needed to share that I think is really important for people to know.

I know that there are a lot of people who are just grossed out by the whole cloth diaper thing and the extra work that it is. I have my own personal reasons for choosing to use cloth and I'd be happy to share if there is anyone out there who would like to know, but I think that this information should be shared with those who have babies.

From Baby Cotton Bottoms cloth diaper pamflet "The disposable diapers available at your loval grocers contain sodium polyacrylate which absorbs liquid and turns it into gel. Sodium polyacrylate is commonly liked to allergic reaxtions, skin irritations, and possible reproductive organ dysfunction. It was banned from use in tampons in 1985 after it was linked to toxic shock syndrome and caused hemorrage, cardiovascular failure and death in rats who were injected with the gel.

In addition, the dangerous chemical dioxin is reported byu the EPT as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals, and is a byproduct of the paper bleaching that is used in disposable diapers. Whitening through the use of dioxin has been banned in most countries... but not in the U.S." (I'm not totally sure about Canada, but of course I have my suspicions)

Anyway you can take what you want from it. I think that it's a pretty important piece of information personally. As always, if there is someone out there who wants to do cloth but is strapped financially and a little overwhelmed by the start up cost. I would love to help you plan and make your diapers. There are a lot of things that you can do to save on the costs of cloth diapering. Let me know if you're interested!

The Recipe For Sirena

3 parts Happiness 2 parts Intuition 1 part Playfulness Splash of Panache Limit yourself to one serving. This cocktail is strong!

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

Kiddie Records

Oh my! This is incredible. This web page has taken old stories on record and you can download them and listen to them for free! They've even scanned the covers and such! All for free! How fun for the kids!

Check it out!

Wow! I'm really excited!

edit: I'm sure that giving you the link would really help! Sorry Gwen!

http://www.kiddierecords.com/

Belly comparison.

So here is a comparison of belly pictures from Ephrim and Buster's pregnancies.

Ruth's amazingness

I just wanted to share this beautiful picture that Ruth took of Ephrim today. I am continually amazed by the gifting that God has given her to see beauty and capture it.

36 weeks...belly shot.

Okay so here is a picture of the belly. I will hopefully get one in a few more weeks. Just so you can see the finished product. I am really happy with my belly this time, although of course you can't tell in the picture ;) Oh well it's better than nothing. Wow I really feel a lot bigger than that! YAY!

If only.

We thought that we might be able to take a little trip together to PG in the next few weeks, but it fell through. So I'm on the hunt for some tiny baby boy shirts. Now I am a cheap skate. I hate paying more than 2 dollars for an article of clothing for the kids. I even cringe when I have to pay three bucks for a pair of pants for Adon at the Sally Anne. But I'm feeling frivolous lately and because of that I'm thankful that I don't live near an Old Navy, because look at these!...
Try as I may, so far I just haven't had any luck at sewing shirts... maybe I'll hit up the consignments stores. I know that shirts aren't a hugely important thing for a newborn, but I just love it when my little men look like little men. I can remember Jaime saying that my kids always looked uncomfortable. Oh well... they were stinkin' cute!

36 weeks...

Okay I know I've been missing in blog land, but, I'm really pregnant, trying to run a home and school my 6 year old who now has an aversion to math. So when you add all of these things to the fact that by nature I am lazy and disorganized, it amounts to a lacking blog.

But I thought I would let you all know that we are alive here. Things are trucking along and I'm feeling really great. I'm starting to get that tired thing happening again in the afternoon. So the kids got to watch two signing time movies today while I rested.

Ephrim is really not wanting to potty train at all. So I continue to try, but not too hard, and I continue to make diapers for him since he's grown out of all of the other ones that we have.

So yes, four more weeks until my due date. This has been the easiest pregnancy that I've had and I'm hoping the delivery will follow suit. Pray for me because my heart is very anxious! Here is the baby center 36 week info

How your baby's growing:Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

I'm hoping that I'll have a belly picture to post soon. I will get it up as soon as someone takes one of me.

Anyway, it's time to figure out what to make for supper.

Please remember to pray for the Thiessen/Taylor. My friend Dawn lost her mom in an accident today. I know the Lord is in control but sometimes it's hard to understand why some families are given so much tragedy. We love you guys and we will be holding you up in prayer in the weeks to come.