Got Milk?

*Disclaimer...don't read this if words like nursing, breastmilk, or miracle freak you out*

'Cause I do. A whole freezer shelf (going on 2!) of it. I produce a lot of milk, I must pump AT LEAST 4 ounces every morning just to be comfortable, and I can't bear to toss it. I feel guilty. So I've been freezing it...way, way more than baby girl will need, even if I shot a wedding every weekend. Which I don't. So a few weeks ago, I decided I needed to do something useful with it....I have a friend who's been on bed rest with her 2nd for 4 1/2 weeks...offered it to her for their little guy if he came too early and needed it in the NICU. But God is sooooo good, that she's make it to 36 weeks!! (seriously, this is a miracle!) and so the little guy should be able to nurse on his own when he comes (please, pray with me that he holds on a few more weeks!). SO I looked into milk banks. Do you know what they charge PER OUNCE for breast milk?? $2.25. AN OUNCE. Plus some other random .25cent fee that I don't know exactly what it's for, because I didn't pay that much attention when I read it. Really? 2.25 an ounce?? Starbuc*s doesn't even charge that much!! And (not that I would be looking to be paid) the donors don't get anything. I decided I'd much, much rather GIVE the milk to someone who needed it ( I mean, I make it for free), preferably someone I knew...but how do you know when a baby will need it? I began to think of all the women I knew who were preggo....and then. It hit me. I remembered a friend from D-town whose family is adopting very soon, a birth-mother situation, who would be bringing the baby home with them from the hospital...on a chance, I wrote what felt like a very awkward note to her on Facebook (have YOU ever tried to write someone a note offering them your breastmilk? I mean, how do you even START that?? It's not like this woman is my best friend, and I could just be like "hey, so you want my milk?"), offering them my store of breastmilk. I had NO idea what she'd think when she read it, if she'd think it was weird, if she'd be open to it...so imagine my joy when I opened her (very excited!) message and read that my offer is an answer to prayer for them! Who would have thought breast milk could answer prayers?? WEll, GOD answers prayers. But this time He did it through my breast milk. How flippin' cool is that?? the woman told me she'd been very upset, thinking she wouldn't be able to provide their little one with milk...that she'd contemplated pumping, but knew with her schedule & the lack of preggo hormones (she's a photographer, too) it just wouldn't work for her; that they'd looked into buying it from a milk bank but just couldn't afford it...so, long story short, I'll be sending her a big shipment of frozen milk early next week, and any extra I pump from now on (aside from a few bottles for B) will be saved for them, too. I feel so completely blessed and blown away by this...the orchestration God has done to make sure their new little one could have milk at the start of her life...and I can't stop thanking Him that I have milk. And that, for some compulsive reason, I've saved every drop I've pumped. He knew. And it's just so cool that I can't get over it!! He cares SO MUCH about EACH of us...sometimes I think I can grasp that, and then something like this happens, and I'm blown away again by His love for me-for you- for all of us. Don't ever think anything is too big or too little to pray about-He cares enough to answer prayers about breast milk!!
P.S. Do wet nurses still exist? maybe I could get a job? Pretty sure they'd pay really well; I mean...$2.25 an OUNCE??? ....a new calling in life perhaps? :)

High-fashion girl

Ok, not really...I just couldn't think of what to name this post and wanted something more exciting than "Little B got her ears pierced!". Cause that's what this is about...my baby girl, a whopping 4 months old, getting her ears pierced last Saturday. The reasoning behind this? I mean, besides the fact that she looks absolutely adorable....

I got mine pierced when I was 3 months old. My sister got hers done as a baby too...we lived in Tucson, and, well, it was just normal there to pierce a baby girl's ears. Part of the culture. I had lots of friends growing up who had to wait until they were 12; in fact, that's what my nieces have to do, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it. This was a decision based simply on, well, tradition. I know I'll have to take care of them for several years, and that I'll need to teach her to take care of them as she gets older-really, not a big deal to me. She'll still have to wait until she's probably 12 or 13 for "dangly" earrings; that's kind of a right-of-passage into young woman hood when she's proved she can care for them, in my mind. A loooooong way into the future. for now? We just can't get enough of how stinkin' cute those little gold balls look in her sweet ears! We got them done at an accessory store (wink wink) right by the library, and the woman who did it (one of the managers) was wonderful. Said they get babies in all the time...Pax, having watched his sister get shots earlier this week, kept telling daddy that B was "all better!" after the lady marked her ears, and told his sister, "It's ok, Bwyyve," when she cried briefly after the first ear was done. An improvement from when he very sternly told the nurse "You NOT give sister a shot!!" earlier this week.He was totally ready to take on the nurse (who's really very friendly)-he's pretty protective of her. A very good big brother...but I digress.

Ear piercing. Right. She did cry, of course- but only for about 30 seconds. And the best part is, she won't remember a thing!

P.s. she also learned to blow raspberries last week. She's pretty sure it's the coolest thing ever.

Sweeping

Last night, while Adam was sweeping the floor, he jokingly asked B if SHE wanted to sweep. To which she responded by blowing a huge raspberry, and then grinning at him. Pax, on the other hand, immediately protested..

"Daddy! Bwyve can't sweep...she doesn't have any TEETH!!"

Yes, Pax. THAT'S why your sister can't help sweep the floor. Not because she can't even sit up on her own, let along walk....because she doesn't have any teeth. Yup. Oh, how I love the logic of a 2-year-old.

beauty.

We had snow about a week and a half ago, just as the lilacs were blooming. I was sure they were toast.

But they weren't.

Such incredible beauty, right outside our back door...I love God's creativity.

4 years, 4 months, 1 year...Thankful thursday

Thursday, May 20th, 2010...guess what I am thankful for?

4 years ago today, I married a pretty great (ok, really, really great!) guy. How would I describe my wedding day? Beautiful, love-filled, and so, so fun!! Adam and I were surrounded by so many great people who made our day special that we'd both do it again (to each other, of course!) in a heartbeat. We were completely non-traditional and spent quite a bit of time together that morning- a run to "our tree" to talk and pray at 7:30 that morning, then massages before getting ready-and we took 99.9% of our pictures before the ceremony. And I am so, so glad we did. We weren't rushed, I wasn't nervous, we just revelled in our wedding day, our God-given love for each other, and a fun party! I thank God for this relationship every day- the good days AND the bad. He's the only one for me- but I believe that is a daily choice we both make, to love each other, to continually pursue each other, to play together, to choose each other over and over again...to put God at the center of our marriage and our lives (a concept that we are still learning, of course-it's a life-long journey!). 2 kids and 4 years later, I truly love him more today than I did on the day we got married-which blows me away!

1 year ago today was a crazy day. It was our 3rd anniversary, our last night at theWELL (our youth group in D-town) before we moved, and, at about 10:30 that morning, I called Adam to ask him how he felt about "having a little January baby,". A complete surprise, in a very good way; my friend and preggo-buddy had told me just 2 days earlier that SHE was pregnant...I'd been so excited for her, then paused, laughed, and said, "wouldn't it be funny if I was pregnant again, too??" little did we know :) i can't believe it's been a year already since that exciting, crazy, and extremely emotional day...I still tear up when I think about that last night at youth group, and the love that was poured out on us by "our" kids and leaders at youth group. I miss them all!

4 months ago yesterday, our baby girl was born. Today, she's a happy, healthy, sweet little peanut...11 lbs, 22 1/2 inches long, giggling at her brother (who she's pretty sure is the funniest guy in the world), snuggling her daddy (who she's got wrapped around her tiny finger), cooing and smiling at me and completely melting my heart. She's sleeping SO well (9;45pm to 5:30-6:30am; then back to sleep usually until about 7:30am!), eats like a champ, and is so far living up to her name (which means joyful). We're so very blessed with 2 healthy kiddos, and we know it. I also thank God for the honor of being a mother every day-I know it's not something to be taken lightly. I also know there's no way I could do this without the things God is teaching me about being a mother; and the side-by-side parenting of my super-husband.

* side note:I just noticed this is my 100th post...kind crazy!

Every girl should have a pair of red, patent-leather shoes...heels or not.

Actually, the little ones are mine, too...from when I was a baby...yep, my mom knew even then I'd have an addiction to shoes...

Teacher...or goofball?

Pax loves his Sunday school class-and why wouldn't he?? As soon as we walk up to the door, the teachers squeal "PAX!!" and he begins to show off a little for them. The fact that the main teacher is a cute blond high-schooler is a bonus; but he seems to like all of his teachers pretty well. When Adam and I picked him up from class today, one of his teachers asked us if we knew that Pax taught class every week. Um...what?
"Yeah," she said "as soon as we tell them to get their carpet squares, he brings his up to the board, puts it down, and goes up to the board and "teaches". He points to the board, tells a little story, wiggles his hips (apparently in imitation of the blond high-school teacher, who does the storyboard), and tells the kids "everybody say "JESUS!". (and, apparently, they obey him) It's hilarious!! I laugh so hard at him every week!"
Bingo. Think we figured out why he does this repeatedly...the kid loves an audience. Even better if the audience is laughing at him.
The kid's 2 1/2.
Should I be worried??
He also tells "Jesus!!" enthusiastically every week when we ask what's in his craft bag. But I'm pretty sure that's just a product of growing up in Sunday School....good to know Jesus is in the bag.

Happy Birthday!

Tomorrow is my love's 27th birthday. He's a pretty special guy...so tomorrow will be a special day just for him. I can't really say anything more than that-because he lurks my blog. And the guy is next to impossible to keep secrets from. But I've managed to do it this year!! It's good, too. All of it. Ok. shhhh....ziiiip! lips are sealed. Have I mentioned that we LOVE surprises at our house?? All of us-well, ok, I don't think B really cares YET-but at 3 months old, most things are probably pretty surprising...hard to believe that it's already been a year since we were going bowling with some great friends in D-town to celebrate you...our house filled with boxes...getting ready to move up here...I was pregnant, but didn't know it yet. Even harder to believe that next week it will have been 7 years since we met randomly at a barbecue, with no idea what the future held. And today--is Adam's last day of classes for the year. One year down, five (or so ) to go! I'm so proud of you, Adam- thank you for your dedication to God, me, and our family; your passion, your honesty, your hard work; how much you enjoy your kiddos, your fun-ness (is that a word??) and your love. I am so very thankful that you were born! And I.can't.wait. to celebrate you tomorrow!