We've Moved!

You can now find us at citybarrel.wordpress.com

I would love for you to follow me there!

Love you all!
Baci Baci Baci

Jac

Try

This music video has been circulating around Facebook and everywhere and I finally got a chance to watch it the other night. Whoa! I've been a huge Colbie fan since I saw her as an opener for some 80s band years ago. The message of this song and the power of the video is so so good! With social media taking over our lives and this constant pressure to look "perfect," whatever that word has come to mean, I'm so thankful for this reminder. Hoping it's something we as women can genuinely embrace and not simply momentarily support. I like you! Do you?
Baci Baci

pondering … 10 months

Where did ten months go?! People always warn you that life speeds up as you get older. But no one could have really prepared me for how quickly this time would just fly by. This little man is not so little, he is chatty, incredibly mobile, and full of his little personality; and what a personality it is. I wish I could remember every little moment: every hand clap, every smile, every stubbornness, all of it.
I always think about the verse where it says "Mary pondered all of these things in her heart," referring to Jesus as a baby. I think that is such a great way to approach all of this. I cannot remember every single tiny detail of every one of Hudson's days, but I can remember moments. And you can bet that I will continue to ponder and treasure all of these little things in my heart.

Pause and Reflect

We just got back from an incredible twelve days in Montana! The time was sweet, the air was CLEAN, and the memories will never be forgotten. Time with family is so sweet, and while we get a ton of time with my side, we don't get nearly as much with Jake's and it was just so sweet to all be together for almost two weeks! I'll get some photos up this week, Jake got some AMAZING shots! But, my time out of this crazy city made me realize how fast life is going.
My baby boy will be ten months old this week! TEN MONTHS! Where did this time go? How is he trying to walk, and talk, and feeding himself, and already moving a million miles a minute? I don't want to look back and see a blur of our life, I want to remember moments, the tiny things, the huge things, all of it.
With that, I've decided to start every week off with a few moments of pausing and reflecting. Each Sunday I want to take some time to look back on the previous week, whether it's the messy hard stuff or the exciting thrilling stuff, I want to be able to look back and at least have these weekly snipits to remember. I hope you all can take the time to be still for a few moments each week and reflect on the many things going on in your own lives.
Baci Baci,
J

taking time

These last few weeks have been crazy. I feel like I reflect on snipits of our life and often feel this way. There is always something to do. There always will be something to do, but life is short. We only have one. And when I actually take 5 seconds to pause and reflect I realize it is flying by; and I'm left questioning if we're spending it the way we really desire to / should be.
Rest is an art, it is acquired. It is different from laziness. And for me at least, it requires a lot of work. "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you REST." What is this rest? Christians are commanded to keep the sabbath, as much as we are to not murder, lie, steal, we are commanded to rest. And if we've broken one commandment we've broken them all. So why am I vigilant to keep these other areas in check while completely negating this.
We're getting ready to leave for a 10 day trip to Montana to visit Jake's family. I feel that the timing of this conviction of needing rest for our family is not coincidental. While I am sure there will be a million things we want to do, I know that we absolutely need to take time on this trip to be still, to be out of this crazy city, and sit before the Lord, not with much to say, but with much silence.

Malibu

Thursday we had a little family date day and brought Hudson to the beach for the first real time. He and I had tagged along on a photo shoot Jake did when he was two months old but this was the first time he could really enjoy it.

I love the ocean. I dream of living there. I could sit and watch the waves forever. It is so strong and powerful, but so peaceful all at once. The beauty of God's creativity is just so real to me there.

Anyways - we had a blast. Hudson LOVED it. Watching him discover the sand and sink his little toes in and watching the waves was amazing. He is such a little adventurer and just couldn't get enough. We will be spending a lot of time at the beach this summer.

Enjoy your three day weekend!

Baci Baci!

  

He is His

Since getting pregnant I have preached to myself that this baby is God's. I had to preach it to myself throughout pregnancy and the fear of what my body would or would not be able to do as it grew this tiny human. I preached it to myself throughout my time in the hospital to bring him in to the world. And I've preached it to myself every single day since.

My baby boy is God's, just as I am God's. He is good and in control, and even when life is hard and the circumstances are horrendous, He is STILL good. He truly does work all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

But I have never had to fight so hard to believe those truths as I did in those first five weeks of Hudson's life.

This not so tiny peanut was born at a healthy 8 pounds 8 ounces. (I'm still amazed that I was miraculously able to carry and birth him at all!) In the first day he lost 14 ounces, not too big of a deal for a newborn as they lose all the fluids they have in their system. We took him home happier than I could have dreamed and went along learning how to take care of this tiny little person. We brought him in for his newborn screening beaming that we certainly had the cutest baby in the world (something I still standby).

He hadn't gained any weight back but everything else looked ok, and we'd go back in a week just to be sure. A week later he still hadn't gained the weight and wasn't pooping. Never did I ever imagine I would be praying so much for poop. We went in two to three times a week for the next month.

That month was honestly a whirlwind, I was an emotional mess as I saw his pediatrician more than any new mom should, lactation consultants, specialists. There was talk of surgery, a genetic condition, and things that I honestly can't even remember. I was up basically 24/7 trying to feed him because he was endlessly hungry, but everyone told me I was feeding him right and just to push through.

At the end of the month when we finally saw a new doctor, they explained that our precious one month old needed to be hospitalized as he was formally diagnosed with "failure to thrive." I've never broke down so quickly in front of someone I'd just met. Despite all efforts to comfort me, there was simply nothing that could make this easy. Nothing they could say would make me feel less inadequate to be raising this baby boy and that I had done something terribly wrong. It was the first time I had been to an appointment without Jake - so I just sat there holding my baby and crying out to God that He would help me believe that He was good. Thinking through it now still brings me to tears.

We spent a solid week at Children's with truly the most amazing doctors I've ever met. They were gracious and compassionate in ways I'd never seen before. They were more knowledgeable than I could have hoped for and talked through everything with me until I fully understood what we were looking at. The Lord used them in amazing ways to give peace in a situation that was simply tumultuous. We were able to stay with him the entire time, through every test, every night, all of it, it was our new little family working through our first huge trial together.

After countless tests, weigh-ins, measuring food intake, and so on, we were blessed to come to a very simple conclusion. He just needed more food. Looking back on it now I feel so foolish for not putting it all together more quickly. Not enough was going in, nothing was coming out, and no weight was being put on ... put more in. But in the haze of exhaustion, hormones, and a doctor filling your mind with the idea that there was a much bigger problem - we missed it, the doctors did too I guess, and by the grace of God it was an incredibly simple fix.

I had wanted so badly for Hudson to be exclusively breastfed, it was just my thing. And it was a thing I had to give to the Lord. When you're at the point of being hospitalized and you find something that will fix the problem so simply compared to what you were anticipating, you take it. When you realize it's either have an unhealthy baby who's not getting enough food, or add more food than what your body is making - the decision was clear - challenging, humbling, and difficult - absolutely. But clear none the less. I'm so thankful that we've been able to maintain breastfeeding and bottle feeding this long, it's only the grace of God. And this not so little chunk is up to a beautiful 18 pounds 8 ounces.

Even now as I sit and watch him sleep in his crib, all 19+ pounds of him, I still have to preach to myself. I am just entrusted with him for these brief moments. As he grows and skins his knees, and is hurt by others, and is faced with his own trials, I am blessed to be the one who gets to be here to hold him and comfort him, always remembering that he is His first, and He loves him more than I ever could.

looking at people

There's a difference between looking and seeing.

I've realized that at times I can go most of the day not really looking at the people I'm surrounded by. I've started making it a point to really look at the people I'm with.

I've been made so aware of the fragility of life lately. I've seen so many posts about people suddenly losing children and family members, and it just makes me pause and consider how temporal our lives are. Why would I live these days surrounded by people I love, living life with them, and not pausing to take the time to really look at them. Look them in the eye.

We live in a time where there is always something to take our attention. This city never stops. Legitimately. You don't have to try to be busy here, you just are. It's kind of ridiculous. I grew up in the suburbs, and there is a whole different type of stress that comes from that lifestyle, but LA just has this strange pressure that is put on it's residents simply by living here.

All that to say, pause, take in moments. We never know when we won't have the opportunity to take the moments. I will never miss something that I didn't see on Instagram, I won't miss status updates, people are what matter. Soak them up. Take in as much as you can. Be thankful. This is what I'm learning.

Baci Baci

blows and strokes

"Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts." Proverbs 20:30

This has been a hard 7 months. There has been a lot of drama and it has just been hard. Multiple people I love so much in the hospital, friends just going through trial after trial, us facing our own trials. 

I don't historically respond well to times like this. I shut off - everything. If you don't feel anything then you don't feel how much it hurts. I don't recommend this - I hate that I've come to this place again. But multiple times today the Lord has been showing me this sentiment. The hard stuff brings the good fruit. 

It doesn't make it less hard. It doesn't make the reality of the difficulty go away. But it does give perspective. And a little perspective makes a big difference. 

As you are facing your own battles and giants in front of you remember - preach to yourself Truth - it's hard, it's real, but it will not be forever and something beautiful will be made from it. 

Praying this brings encouragement to someone else feeling the blows of life are more than they can handle today. 

Back Baci 

taking stock & photo drop: life lately

 

I read this here, and she said it originated here; it looked like fun, so, enjoy ...

Making : a blanket for Hudson's crib
Cooking : more dinners
Drinking : more water
Reading: the Bible, I've gotten so out of my routine with this since having Hudson
Wanting: more time to relax with my little family
Looking: at my babe sleep
Playing: music for Hudson constantly. He LOVES it.
Wasting: time - tired of wasting time frustrated rather than choosing joy.
Sewing: is not my strong suit by I'm working on it
Wishing: time would slow down
Enjoying: having my husband back
Waiting: on the Lord for what's next
Liking: country music - strangely enough - I always go through these random little phases where I like it
Wondering: what our life will look like in a year
Loving: being a wife and mama
Hoping: in the things unseen
Marveling: at God's grace
Needing: more grace for myself and others
Smelling: Hudson's little head
Wearing: a flannel shirt that was my dad's and shorts that were my moms
Following: Jake's leadership - submitting does not come naturally to me
Noticing: Mom world can be a lot like junior high world sometimes
Knowing: that God is in control and sovereign
Thinking: a lot about the responsibilities that come with being a mom and wife
Feeling: like I'm in an awkward middle phase
Bookmarking: 2 Corinthians 4
Opening: a new little company in the next few months
Giggling: with Hudson every time he laughs
Feeling: overwhelmed and thankful all at once 

Mama's Day

I still can't believe that I have the privilege of being a mama. I don't think I could have understood the truth of children being a blessing from the Lord until having him. Children - all children, ones that you bear, ones that you adopt, ones that you care for - they are blessings.

I am so thankful for a day to set aside to celebrate my mom and grandmas; it's so valuable, I truly love being able to celebrate my mama and all she does and is. But I honestly can't my head around the fact that fall in to this category this year. It will be a sweet day with family, I have no doubt, but as I sit and think about it - I am just left praising the Lord for this little family of mine.

I am overwhelmed and left in tears of joy as I think about these two that He has entrusted me with. I pray that I would love them well. That I would be a constant picture of His love to them. That Hudson would understand just a fraction of the Father's love for him through me.

And while they think tomorrow is about me, the truth is that to me, it's all about them - without them it wouldn't be a day for me at all.



I posted this last year, and it is still my absolute favorite Mother's Day poem. For every mama,  the ones who are overwhelmed, the ones who hope to be mamas, the ones who are mama's to babes in heaven - my prayers are for you. That the Lord would make His face to shine upon you in the seasons of joy and the seasons of pain, that you would feel incredibly loved by Him.

Baci Baci

Writing history

We're DONE! - Jake is done! He finished his first semester back at school and I am beyond proud of him! I don't know how he is still functioning with how exhausted he is, but he's a fighter.

As he was getting ready for his history final I was going over it with him while he was studying - I had to find a way to spend some more time with him :) And as we were reading over the terms of the "restless youth culture" of the 60s and 70s, as they phrased it, and this new way of life; I found myself realizing these were real people. These were the things I've heard my parents talk about. The stories of World War II are the stories my grandparents have told me about. It's not just stories or terms in a book - it's life. This is life. We are writing history . now ...

I must be a little slow on the uptake because I've taken countless history classes, I've learned about these wars, movements, and so on more times than I can count. But there's something different about history when you're raising a child. I found myself placing our family in those historical scenarios. What if we were living through this, or that, what affect would it have on us? And that's when I realized we are living through these scenarios. The things we are facing now are the things that Hudson will lean about in college 20 years from now.

And I ask myself, what will we leave for him? What will he learn? Will it be the tragedy of war and economic hardship? The liberalization of different people groups? The way other people groups are still being persecuted?

There aren't really answers to these questions, but for me it's so important to be reminded of the responsibility of life. The responsibility of raising a little man, and the part we are playing in our society.

We are writing history, our children will go on to write history. History isn't a book, it's life. We're living it.

Grieving for Strangers

The phenomenon of grieving for someone's loss that you've never met is a strange one. To feel so heavy and truly just ache for a complete stranger is honestly unexplainable to me. But when I read about Ryan's tragic accident this morning my heart broke for his mama and daddy. The deep pain of losing a child is truly unfathomable to me. I am praying and ask all of you to pray pray pray for these sweet parents. They need strength beyond anything they could ever muster up. They need love and support. I know that I cannot even come close to understanding the depth of need they have right now, but please be praying for Jacqui and Dan.

Life comes so much more in to perspective when tragedies like this happen. Remember that life is so valuable, it is fleeting, in the blink of an eye it changes. 

He is truly near to the broken hearted, and His ways are higher than ours, even when the way seems so wrong - He is faithful. 

If you'd like to financially support this family please visit thrivemoms.com/blog

Jacob

This man is amazing. He loves me better than I could ever deserve. He puts up and often even goes along with my crazy ideas. He loves Hudson with the deepest father's love. And he has been working harder than anyone I know. He is currently in school almost more than full time, taking way more units than he should be, growing his photography business, and working retail to keep something steady coming in, so I can stay home full time with our little man; and all while being the best husband and dad in the world. Thank you Jake for being amazing, thank you for being the answer to prayers I didn't know how to pray, thank you for a better life than I could have asked for. You inspire me, encourage me, and accept me. I love you more than I know how to say.
We would love all the prayers you have to offer over this next week as he finishes up finals and some major projects. Baci baci.

Morning & Evening

Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening devotional is my absolute favorite! I love Spurgeon and have this devotional as an app on my phone which makes it so accessible. I even find myself somehow enjoying the old English. This is actually yesterday's because I read today's late last night. These two are some of my favorites. Enjoy.

Morning

"In the world ye shall have tribulation."

John 16:33

ART thou asking the reason of this, believer? Look upward to thy heavenly Father, and behold Him pure and holy. Dost thou know that thou art one day to be like Him? Wilt thou easily be conformed to His image? Wilt thou not require much refining in the furnace of affliction to purify thee? Will it be an easy thing to get rid of thy corruptions, and make thee perfect, even as thy Father which is in heaven is perfect? Next, Christian, turn thine eye downward. Dost thou know what foes thou hast beneath thy feet? Thou wast once a servant of Satan, and no king will willingly lose his subjects. Dost thou think that Satan will let thee alone? No, he will be always at thee, for he "goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Expect trouble therefore, Christian, when thou lookest beneath thee. Then look around thee. Where art thou? Thou art in an enemy's country, a stranger and a sojourner. The world is not thy friend. If it be, then thou art not God's friend, for he who is the friend of the world is the enemy of God. Be assured that thou shalt find foemen everywhere. When thou sleepest, think that thou art resting on the battle-field; when thou walkest, suspect an ambush in every hedge. As mosquitoes are said to bite strangers more than natives, so will the trials of earth be sharpest to you. Lastly, look within thee, into thine own heart, and observe what is there. Sin and self are still within. Ah! if thou hadst no devil to tempt thee, no enemies to fight thee, and no world to insnare thee, thou wouldst still find in thyself evil enough to be a sore trouble to thee, for "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Expect trouble then, but despond not on account of it, for God is with thee, to help and to strengthen thee. He hath said, "I will be with thee in trouble; I will deliver thee and honor thee."

Evening

"A very present help."

Psalm 46:1

COVENANT blessings are not meant to be looked at only, but to be appropriated. Even our Lord Jesus is given to us for our present use. Believer, thou dost not make use of Christ as thou oughtest to do. When thou art in trouble, why dost thou not tell Him all thy grief? Has He not a sympathizing heart, and can He not comfort and relieve thee? No, thou art going about to all thy friends, save thy best Friend, and telling thy tale everywhere, except into the bosom of thy Lord. Art thou burdened with this day's sins? Here is a fountain filled with blood: use it, saint, use it. Has a sense of guilt returned upon thee? The pardoning grace of Jesus may be proved again and again. Come to Him at once for cleansing. Dost thou deplore thy weakness? He is thy strength: why not lean upon Him? Dost thou feel naked? Come hither, soul; put on the robe of Jesus' righteousness. Stand not looking at it, but wear it. Strip off thine own righteousness, and thine own fears too: put on the fair white linen, for it was meant to wear. Dost thou feel thyself sick? Pull the night-bell of prayer, and call up the Beloved Physician! He will give the cordial that will revive thee. Thou art poor, but then thou hast "a kinsman, a mighty man of wealth." What! wilt thou not go to Him, and ask Him to give thee of His abundance, when He has given thee this promise, that thou shalt be joint heir with Him, and has made over all that He is and all that He has to be thine? There is nothing Christ dislikes more than for His people to make a show-thing of Him, and not to use Him. He loves to be employed by us. The more burdens we put on His shoulders, the more precious will He be to us.

"Let us be simple with Him, then,

Not backward, stiff, or cold,

As though our Bethlehem could be

What Sinai was of old."

The Feelers

Lately I've thought a lot about what this city does to people. It is a city that takes it's toll in a hundred different ways. I realized recently that I've been in LA for almost 7 years now. I kind of laugh because I never planned to stay here, but never had anywhere else I was planning to go either. It just happened this way and I love it. 

But I wonder what this city has done to me, who I've become, pieces that needed to be stripped away to be replaced with something better; but also what pieces I've taken away in an attempt to "fit" better.

I've always had a desire to fit, whatever the mold in front of me was, I'm sure it comes from never feeling like I did quite fit it. It is ridiculous, but I remember in junior high purposefully making my binder disorganized and throwing books in to my locker so it was messy because I thought that's what I was supposed to be. I would literally cringe every time I shoved a paper in to my binder rather than neatly placing it behind it's correct tab. But, I didn't want to be seen as the organized "has it together" girl. And while I didn't have it together, I was made an organizer, it's a gift the Lord gave me to be used for His glory, and I need to use it as such. I'm thankful that while for much of life I've had the desire to fit, it has rarely overridden my innate desire to be genuine. I've learned that I have to be who He mad me to be, but as I think about this I wonder what ways I've tried to look more like what I think this city wants me to look like.

I realize that deep in who I am, I'm kinda serious. What I mean is, I take things seriously, I mean what I say seriously, it's me. But in a city where words are thrown around in any way to get what you want, I've tried to not be serious. I read other women's writings and they have this way with humor, their everyday lives can leave me laughing harder than I would have imagined, and I think to myself that I need to be more like them. I love to laugh, life has it's light moments - we need those, I need those. But I've just realized lately that somewhere in these last 7 years I've lost a piece of myself. It's probably a defense mechanism more than anything. If I don't take things seriously, or put my real self in to the things I say or do there's a lot less hurt; but the truth is it's not who I am. I feel things deeply, and I see myself slowly shutting this part of me off more and more. The truth is, I know it hurts more, especially in this environment, but it's worth it. With deeper pain there is also the opposing experience of greater joy.

My husband is great at being himself. He has zeal for things and there's no doubt about it. He is who he is and has remained that way, unchangingly, as long as I've known him. I see so much of this in Hudson. I remember praying He would be passionate, and boy is he passionate. I know this may seem ridiculous to talk about a 7 month old in this way, but truth is, the boy is more passionate than most. He feels things deeply - I see it. It may be excitement over a new food, frustration over not being able to walk yet, or sadness over being left by himself in a room - whatever the feeling, you can already see on his face how strongly he feels it. I love this about him, it's one of my favorite parts of his character. I never want him to feel that this is something he should change or lose. I want Hudson to see me willing to live this out so he knows it is safe for him to live it out. It's so much a part of him, as it is so much a part of me; and although it is different, and sometimes hard, we are serious ones, the feelers.

Hudson 7 months

Oh how these seven months have flown by. I am daily amazed that God chose me to be his mama. Each of these milestones becomes harder. I think that each month I am made more aware of how fast this time is flying by, he is already becoming his own little human, his own personality. And Jake and I are the ones entrusted with shaping that little personality. I have never understood in such a tangible way that to whom much is entrusted, much is required.

Baby boy,
I love you more than I could ever compose here. I thank God daily that He allows me to be yours and you to be ours. You are His above everything else, and how I am trusted with you blows my mind on a regular basis. You are adorable, you bring joy to just about everyone you meet, even the few who you're afraid of and let out a terrible cry, you somehow even bring them joy. You have discovered your hands and love to grab one with the other and just look at it as you open and close it. You love to razzle mommy and daddy's arms and tummies when you wake up in bed with us in the morning. If daddy isn't awake yet you love to tap his back to wake him up. You love to be tickled. When I'm wearing you in the carrier and we walk in to a store with music on you bounce up and down to the beat. You love to "drum" anything and everything that is in front of you with your strong little fist. You are already so stubborn, and I know God has great plans for that strong will. Your huge smile, with your two little bottom teeth, brightens everyone's day who gets to see it. I love to watch your eyes get wide and your mouth open up in amazement as you watch daddy drum. I love to watch you learn your words and how to use that beautiful voice. I love being the one who gets to soak up every moment of all that you are.
We love you peanut!
XO,
Mama

5 seconds of my day

I have about 5 seconds of my day that are, without a doubt, some of the most precious. Over the last few months as Hudson has become increasingly more alert and active there are very few moments where I just get to cuddle him. I feed him, and he is sometimes calm, and I spend a ton of time holding him, but there are few moments where he is just still. But almost every time that he wakes up from a nap, I pick him up, and get about 1.5 seconds where he lays his head down on my chest and just is. These moments are legitimately some of my favorites of the entire day. I know that as he gets older I will have less and less time just being with him so I am constantly thanking God for each of these amazing moments.

Griffith Park Engagement Shoot

My husband's engagement shoots are one of my absolute favorite things to post. I just love watching how he photographs people in love. Enjoy, baci baci

5 Tips For The Soon To Be Natural Mama

I'm pretty granola when it comes to the babe, and most things really. I researched just about EVERYTHING before Hudson was born, but there were a few things I wish I would have spent more time on. Here are my hindsight recommendations for you other crunchy mamas, and soon to be mamas.

1. Research breastfeeding
I will never forget running in to an acquaintance at a fundraiser dinner when I was about 4 months pregnant. I asked for any advice to be shared as he was a new parent himself. "Research breastfeeding," was the immediate response. I thought it was pretty odd, and thought, "there's nothing to research, you just do it, obviously." I arrogantly left, and never researched breastfeeding. Fast-forward 5 months, just a few hours after meeting my handsome baby boy. The pediatrician came in for his routine check-in, and proceeded to give me some of the worst advice I have received yet. He adamantly explained that I must only feed Hudson for 15 minutes on each side every two hours. For any of you that know anything about breastfeeding, this is absolutely not what you're supposed to do, especially in the first week. I foolishly listened, my baby was hungry, my milk never fully came in, and a month later my little peanut was hospitalized with "failure to thrive" simply because he wasn't getting enough milk. Moral of the story, RESEARCH breastfeeding.Pinterest is a great place to find articles.

2. Know why you want and don't want certain things immediately after birth
We didn't want most shots after Hudson was born, we did some things recommended, but were very choosey. They probably would have been fine, but for us, it wasn't how we wanted to go. If you're having your baby in a hospital, be prepared to face opposition about anything you choose to not do. You've just grown a baby for 9 months and pushed, or had them pulled, out of your body - you're not 100% on your A-game when the Dr. comes in explaining his view of what you should and shouldn't do, so I highly recommend thinking through why you want what you want and being prepared with an answer if you meet opposition. 

3. Be prepared mentally for "un-natural"
For anyone wanting to do everything naturally I'm all about the determination. I knew that going into it telling myself I would do it a certain way would significantly increase my odds of doing it naturally what I was in the heat of birthing a human being. BUT the reality is that birth is one of the craziest things our bodies can ever go through, and there are going to be some unknowns that come up. Ultimately we are not in control of how our bodies and our babies bodies respond to the process. For me researching how things would typically go if there was some unforeseen complication really helped keep me calm as I approached birth.

4. Pick and choose what's most important
When it comes to organic I try to pick and choose where I have room. The reality is we can't afford to have everything 100% organic. I would have loved to get the organic crib mattress, I stared at it on the Amazon screen for far longer than I'd like to admit. But a $350 price tag vs. a $50 comparable mattress didn't fit our budget. But the organic mattress pad and organic sheets were more reasonable .... So we went with those. With Hudson's food, I'll buy the organic pears but feel comfortable buying non-organic avocados since they're low on the pesticide affected list while pears are high. (charts like this one are really helpful). I just try to evaluate where we can afford things and the things that are more logical to go without.

5. Research natural pain relief techniques
Whether you opt to take classes or do personal research, if you're not hiring a doula or midwife, make sure you and your partner know your stuff. I knew I wanted natural and researched everything in my birth-plan, but didn't spend time researching natural pain relief techniques. God is clearly a God of miracles, for a billion reasons, but as it would turn out, one of my nurses at the hospital was also a natural birth coach on the side. Miracle, right?! She was able to tell me little things like, flexing my pinky finger while I was going through a contraction helped to relieve the tension I was keeping in my shoulders that would have lead to a lot of pain post-birth. It seriously worked and I definitely couldn't have come up with that one on my own.

Hope these help. Let me know if you have any other tips for natural childbirth!

I Need Thee Every Hour

I need Thee every hour
Most gracious Lord
No tender voice like thine
Can peace afford

I need Thee, oh, I need Thee
Every hour I need Thee
Oh, bless me now my Savior
I come to Thee

These lyrics have been running through my mind constantly since Hudson was born. I have never been as aware of my desperate need for the strength of Jesus as I have been since becoming a mom. I started this post months ago, and it has only become more true. Every time this song comes up on my iPod or pops into my mind I am overwhelmed by how truly it resonates.
I am more desperate for the Lord in this season than I have ever been. Praise Him that He knows my weaknesses, my proclivity to wander, and rely on my own "strength." As if I can even call what I bring to the table, strength. I am so aware that all that is within myself is weakness, but by His grace He enables me with HIS strength. To the mothers of 2, 3, 4, 10 children, I'm sure I am so naive. Bless you for going before the rest of us and showing us that it is possible.
As I end another long day where there is very little that can be marked off my to-do list, but moments with my family that I can only hope to remember forever, I am thankful that God is gracious, and that He is strong in my weakness.

Why blog?

I've come back to this little blog a few times now. I come for a while and leave. And I continually ask myself, why? Why blog? 
This isn't a mom blog, but I'm a mom and obviously talk about that; it's not a cooking or crafty how-to blog, but that might come about; it's not fashion or beauty. So what's the point? As I lie here in bed next to my precious baby boy, I am reminded of why. Someday when things are hard and crazy and insane as life seems to get whether it's for him, me, you, or someone else, I want us to be able to look back and remember. Remember that no matter how hard life gets God is still faithful. He always told the Israelites to remember, and they always forgot His faithfulness. I look at them with such pride thinking, "how could they be so foolish?" But when I look at the doubt in my heart, I am humbled, if only I could learn from their mistakes. My prayer is that me, my family, and anyone else who could be pointed back to God through this little slice of the cyber world, would. That we would remember good times, impossible times, and everything in between and see the faithfulness of the Lord. 
I'm overall a relatively private person, which is strange for someone writing to basically anyone in the world who would stumble upon this. And I by no means share every single detail of our life here, but I hope that through honesty and transparency, Christ would be exalted, and people would be pointed back to Him. It's why I'm here, on earth, on this page, it's why I exist in any context. With that, I'm back for now, praying that this will bring a little more glory to the One to whom all praise is due.