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Sunday, September 26, 2010

Circus Bear


    I have the pleasure of knowing Circus Bear! The best band you will ever hear. This last weekend Circus Bear & Mike Middleton put together a wonderful concert with all benefit going to the Wounded Warrior Foundation. In honor of their friend Yogi who is a soldier in Afghanistan. They raised over $1,000 for the foundation. Circus Bear has three members, Peter, Mikey & Chase. They are all from the Northshore and have been friends forever. Their music is all there own. They write all the lyrics and music. Circus Bear has played at a number of venues all around the Chicagoland area. Check them out on FB or Myspace. This is a band you are going to want to hear, they are on there way to big things! Check out some pictures from the evening. 


Mikey

Peter

Chase

One of there smallest but biggest fans!




Wednesday, September 22, 2010

A Beautiful Sunday



   Our baby girl was Baptized last Sunday morning. It was a beautiful day and such a special day for us. It was a beautiful service and we were fortunate to have all of family and friends surrounding us. I couldn't have asked for anything more. W had a great morning and put on quite a show for the congregation. Brad and i of course could not see any of it because were were standing behind them, but my dad got it on tape so we eventually saw what everyone was laughing at. While Greg was putting the water on W she started throwing her hands up by his mouth. Once he handed the baby back to me O was trying to wipe the water off of W's face and then tried to kiss her. Of course i was totally oblivious to this since I was so enthralled by Lukes bible verse he gave W. 

W's verse was Psalms 19:14:
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

The day was perfect and again i feel abundantly blessed for my beautiful growing family. Check out a few pictures our wonderful photographer did for us.

My Baby Girls 
My Handsome Man & Me
My Family, minus my beautiful sissy! 
Daddy's little girl
Big Yawns
So proud to be your mommy!

What a Blessed Saturday with Beth Moore

Beth Moore! This is the face of a women who has changed so many women's lives with her ministry. I know first hand, because she changed mine. This past weekend she was at the Rosemont Theater for her Chicago Living Proof Bible Study. It was a day filled with music, fantastic word and tons of laughter. If you can picture it she is this little southern women who has great hair and fantastic style. You would never imagine the energy that comes out of that little body. She is so incredibly real and has suffered a lot of hardships in her life.

This particular study was simulcasted to 596 host site, 46 states, 26 churches in Canada, 11 different countries, 5 military bases, 1 college, that equaled 125,000 women and a few brave men! It was chilling to know how many different people all over the world were worshiping at the same time. God is using Beth Moore to do so much good for so many people.

Her study was on Kindness and being a real women who opens her mouth with wisdom. A women who brings people up instead of cutting them down. It was inspiring! The music was beyond amazing! The energy in this room was something i had never experienced before in my life.

I am going to leave you with something Beth left us with:


My Dear Sister, 
"Your God has called you to use that mouth of yours For His great glory. Don’t just add to the noise. Become a real woman Who opens her mouth with wisdom. God wants the Law of Kindness On your tongue And the love of Christ In your heart. Never forget: Kindness is not a weakness! When you’re wearing down Head to Christ and His people And let them build you back up. Always remember: His yoke is KIND. Make sureIt’s the only yoke you wear. It’s time to go our separate ways But we’ll all meet up again At the glorious epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ. Until then, Let the One who led you here Lead you on with cords of kindness. Now, get out there And build a welcoming fire In a cold world. Live by the Law of Kindness!"
I think living by the law of Kindness is something all of us can stand to do a little more of, no matter what religion you choose to practice. Any of you ladies out there interested in Beth Moore blog me:)

The tricks to a Natural Birth




     I have had two babies, my first with Pit, Epidural, Catheter and a million other things to make you comfortable during birth. I can't say enough about how amazing my first birth was. I was interested in doing it without drugs with O, but was not at all mentally prepared. Once the pain got worse (i thought for sure i was at 10, i was only at 5) i was begging for the drugs. The birth was very calm and pain free (once i got my epidural). I was in labor for 15hrs and pushed for 1hr 38min. It was exciting, amazing and everything i ever wanted. So why would i want to do it drug free? 

     With my second i decided to try it "all natural". I started playing around with this idea at the beginning of my second trimester. I knew that if i was going to do it without any drugs i was going to need to be mentally and physically prepared. They don't call it labor for nothing:) I thought about different birthing methods and classes, but when it came down to it all i needed were different options and techniques. I also needed support. So i started talking to all my crunchy granola friends, who have studied natural birth or have gone through it themselves. I enrolled in a prenatal yoga class, and worked out every day i was pregnant. 

    The key was to stay trim and do whatever my body felt comfortable doing. I was able to do everything i could do before i got pregnant. I took spin class, weight lifting classes, ran and walked. I then started a prenatal yoga class with Tricia Sweeney. She is absolutely fabulous and just happened to be a labor and delivery nurse at Evanston a few years back. She answered question upon questions and really encouraged the natural birthing method. She showed me different methods to use while in labor like the ball, shower, and different potions to be in during contractions. Staying upright was the key. I saw her every week up until the delivery. She motivated me and reminded me that birthing is a natural process, your body knows what its doing and to concentrate on the moment. I thought about everything she told me the entire time i was in labor. I could not have done it without her encouragement and advice. I would recommend her to any of my girlfriends that are going to have a baby. You can use her even if you aren't planning on doing it naturally! She is the best. 

     Dana Merk my freshman year roommate, who has just received her masters in nursing and was recently hired as a labor and delivery nurse at Evanston was by my side.  Dana is also a Doula and has done more reading and research on natural births and the benefits behind it. She was amazing! All you lucky ladies delivering at Evanston should request her, she is gentle, incredibly smart and will for sure make you laugh! I know i could not have done it without her! 

     Last but not least my amazing husband was right by my side the whole time. I was everywhere! On the floor, the ball, the yoga mat and in the shower. He was right there to help me through the whole thing. I don't even think i yelled at him, but don't quote me on that. For the first birth he was up by my head while i was delivering, but for this one he was holding one of my legs and kissing my forehead as our beautiful little girl was being brought into this world. It was completely magical!

     Support would have to be at the top of the list of things that makes it easier to give birth naturally. Next i would say keeping upright so that the baby can move into the birth canal faster. The shower was like a narcotic for me. The pain was completely  manageable when i was in the shower. I prayed that God would give me strength A LOT, especially while i was in the last hour of labor and when i was pushing. He came through for me like he always does:) 

     Baby W came in 5 hours, start to finish! I pushed 4 times and she was out. It was the most painful, exciting, exhilarating, emotional, adrenaline fueled 5 hours of my life. I would never do it any other way. Check out the natural method of birthing your baby, you can totally do it! 

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

"Forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors"

This last Sunday Dr. Terry Swicegood gave a fantastic sermon, one that really resinated in my soul.

"Forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors"

For the last couple Sundays the sermons have been on the Lords prayer. We have taken apart the entire prayer to understand it truly line by line.

Do you ever sit in church and say The Lords Prayer and ever wonder what your really praying? I have found myself doing that a number of times, but never really taking the time to understand it. I was so impressed when i heard that understanding the prayer was exactly what the next few weeks of sermons would be.

This specific line in the prayer really got my attention. Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do, yet one of the most important. Christ made the ultimate sacrifice so that we would constantly be forgiven for our sins. Yet it seems so much harder for us. I found it interesting that this one little line would have such a powerful meaning to it. Making that move to forgive another person is such a big deal and something only one with a forgiving heart can do.

Its defiantly not an easy thing to do. How is the world was Christ able to do that for us? He is so incredible! God forgives us whenever we ask him to. He forgives us for some of the most awful things, yet we can't forgive people for things that are hardly as important?!?!? When you think about it, its really quite silly and juvenile. Everyone deserves forgiveness no matter who they are or what they have done. It really got me thinking about they people in my life that need forgiveness or gosh the forgiveness i need to receive. When we are able to  forgive it truly is the grace of God working through us.

I loved this sermon so much! I wanted to share how powerful it was and how it can really get you thinking about your own life and the wrongs you really need to make right. Try forgiving someone today, trust me it will make you feel great!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

First Train Ride


   On Labor Day B and I took the girls on train ride to Glenview for lunch, ice cream and fun in the park. Glenview is only about a 5 minute train ride, but it was perfect for the first train ride for the girls. O road a train when she was a baby when we would go meet daddy downtown for lunch, but this is the first one that she would really be able to enjoy. It was a total hit! O loved it and W didn't care either way.

  

We took the train to Glenview and went to lunch at a restaurant called Orange. It was delicious! It was also all Organic, an A+++ in my book!

W slept the entire time. After lunch we headed to the Ice Cream hut right next to the train station and then headed over to the park. O couldn't of had more fun. It was such a great family day, i loved every minute of it!!! We headed back home on the train about an hour later, O hasn't stopped talking about taking a Choo Choo since. Next we are headed over to the Choo Choo Restaurant in Des Plaines. It should be so fun!
Mama & W waiting for the train

The Drinking Fountain

Friday, September 10, 2010

Potty Fun:)


O tinkled for the first time on the potty last night. I'm such a proud mama! Never in my wildest imagination would i think my daughter using the washroom would be so exciting, but it truly is. I feel like she is such a big girl now. I don't expect it to be an everyday thing yet, i was just so excited she did for the first time. She even asked to go! She was taking a bath and my husband was putting a diaper on her and she said no no no. My husband asked her if she wanted to use the potty and she said yes. SO she walked to the bathroom and sat on the potty and the next thing you know, the music starts playing! She has a princess potty so every time she goes it plays royal music. My husband was SHOCKED. O was so so so proud of herself. She started clapping and shouting out yeah yeah yeah!

Our intentions with potty training, was defiantly not training. I hate that word "training", it sounds so mean to me! I don't think children should ever be trained. They need to learn, but not trained, so we don't do potty training. All i did was buy a potty around 15 months and left it out in the bathroom. She would sit on it when we were going potty or she would just go in and sit on it by herself, but mostly she liked to use it as a stool so she could reach things she wasn't suppose to touch. We asked her occasionally if she wanted to go potty and she wold say yes, but had never really gone. We just kept asking. She is now 19months and went potty for the first time all by herself, and we didn't even have to TRAIN her:)

Again I was this happy when she got her first tooth, crawled, took her first step, said her first word, and now is using the potty. It's amazing how your excitement levels change the minute you have a baby! I love every minute of it:) On to the next milestone!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Strange People on the Internet



You may have noticed that i changed my blog address. I had to, I noticed when i looked through my followers that some strange older men from other countries like Brazil and Taiwan were following me on my blog. Why do old men want to follow me? Yeah there is absolutely not reason!  This kind of freaked me out (i totally watch wayyy to much CSI & Law and Order, dun dun dun!) enough to change my dot come back to my regular blog name. Did y'all know that if you buy a dot com they put ALL your information on the internet. That really upset me, I would never have bought a dot com knowing that. Or i would have purchased a privacy block (total scam that they are charging us for our privacy!) had i known. Well i block those two men and changed back to my old blog name, which still have our names in it, but were are in the process of switching that as well. I lost $11 from the dot com, but that hardly matters in comparison to my families safety. Its so sad that these are the times we live in. Have to be so so so careful when it comes to your babies!

Monday, September 6, 2010

A Career in Photography?

I have loved photography for as long as i can remember. I learned to take pictures on a real Nikon film camera. When my husband and i had our first child my parents bought us a digital Canon Rebel XS. I started shooting away and i have been told lately that i have an eye for photography. I am seriously thinking about taking a class or two to get everything i can out of my Canon Rebel XS. I love photographing babies, 1st birthdays, weddings ect.  Take a look at what I put together, of what i think is my best work. Do you think i could start taking professional pictures? Just curious to know what you all think. 


























































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