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... and I never even watched Captian Kangaroo. Had no idea he was until I was a teenager. Figure a link to my Flickr photos is better than nothing since I haven't the time at the moment to post them here on the blog. So here ya go. With love, from all the little Willies: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11114310@N04/ |
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(wrote this Thrusday and forgot to post it!) Finally getting around to having that yard sale. Sort of a "moving-in" sale. We’ve been here nearly two years and still had things to unpack. Actually, I have boxes of things I packed up when I married Bobby and we moved into our first home that I still hadn’t unpacked... that was nearly nine years ago. Oh boy. Needless to say I can live without all that and most of it's in the sale. At our current home the only outbuildings we have are the barn and coop, which we built, and the well pump house, which holds a few outdoor tools like rakes and shovels. No storage. All our need-to-store-out-of-the-way items find their way to the laundry room (Bobby’s tools really, really need their own room!) or to the unfinished attic (someday bedroom), affectionately dubbed the "Spare Oom." A LOT finds it’s way to the Spare Oom. I finally kicked the habit of saving every article of clothing "for the next kid" and wow did that free up some space! Being able to donate to our Community Closet helps a lot, as well as to replenish our wardrobe for free from there when we need to. Last week I went through all the kids current clothes and reduced the number of articles drastically. The two older girls each got to keep 4 short sleeve shirts, 4 long sleeve shirts, a small mix of summer and winter dresses/jumpers, a couple skirts, couple pairs of pants, and a couple pair of "creek shorts." The younger kids keep a little more because they just go through them so much more often, but they each were freed of at least half their wardrobe. That, combined with my own yearly wardrobe thinning, filled about 8 trash bags full!!! What a ridiculous excess we have in America, eh? |
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Guess what? Yup, we're still sick! Things are going along about the same... maybe the symptoms are worse but we're settling into the routine of endless vomiting and laundry so it's a little better in a sense. Unfortunately the Momma of the house is getting worse. It's settling into my chest now and it's terrible at night when I try to sleep. Once I get to sleep it doesn't wake me, so that's something. About the same for the kids, I guess. Within a half hour of putting them to bed we have one or two vomiting (and Farra, though not vomiting, is still up coughing) but once it's over they sleep the night through. Seth coughs and sputters more during the day than anyone else. And though we're all up late with this, I don't get to sleep in like the kids do because of the goaties! (And forget napping. It takes a couple hours to get to sleep with this tickly throat and by the time that's passed I have to get up!) Bobby had mercy on me this morning and did chores so I could get an extra couple hours sleep (I begged him). Chores are remarkably easier now that we've weaned the baby goats. Bobby's back to work tomorrow, at least for a day or two. I'm hoping Kelly will officially lay him off after that so he can collect unemployment until the next out of town job in a few weeks. Usually, though, he gives him a few odd hours of work here and there. Praying about it. The Lord knows. Not much else going on. Bobby wanted to get out today so we did a little letterboxing. Kept it to short trails to not over-do our bacteria-fighting bods. The weather is beautiful since the humidity dropped some and it was nice to be out. Of course, that meant that the house didn't get cleaned and only half my garden got weeded this morning and I got the cauliflower and broccoli in and frozen but didn't harvest any more calendula or get to those green beans... and the pool we started filling this morning is only half full of water and we still haven't found that leak in it... But there's always tomorrow, right? You know, while Bobby's working... I sure miss the fellowship. I miss being in a room full of believers all signing praise, encouraging and admonishing one another... doing what the body does... But people are calling and writing email and letting us know we're not forgotten. Looks like we're out of the loop for at least another month, if Blue doesn't get sick. Deep breath... (cough cough) we can do this! ... With His help alone. |
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I spent about an hour last night updating ya'll here on the blog... only to discover this morning that it it was never posted. Man.... I hate rewriting. I think I'll go back to my former method of writing it out in Works and saving it, THEN posting it here. Sometimes that doesn't go real smoothly in the format department, but at least my material is safe. Well, the gist of it is the pertussis update. We had two vomit-free nights but last night apparently made up for that. I've been trying to make our afternoon meal the biggest of the day instead of the evening meal and that's made a huge difference. Last night, though, I made pizza because my dad was here (he came to install an air conditioner in our bedroom wall - I wrote about how fantastic he is but it's all gone and I can't get it back! But he's still fantastic) and the kids pigged out. Oh what a mess... Bobby was sent home from work Monday because he was coughing. We opted for antibiotics for him to shorten the communicability to 5 days (from yesterday, day 1 of antibiotics) so he can get back for work. Unfortunately, his boss doesn't have anything going on for awhile after this week, maybe even until the next out of town job (in August, I think). But there's already talk that he might have some odd jobs in the mean time. The Lord will provide. He already has in the way of Bobby's out-of-town-job pay raise... this just means it won't be extra. It's never extra... but I'm thankful that there's always enough, always just in time. Farra, Atira and Seth are still coughing, Blue still remains unaffected. I'm coming down with it and the tickly feeling in my scratchy throat kept me up late last night... I'd gone to bed early because I was soooo tired. But, thanks to Dad, I should be able to get a good nap in my cool bedroom this afternoon! Bother... there was so much more I'd written... about Bobby's work and his boss, about the herbal remedies we're using, about the baby guineas that hatched the other day, about the stray cat I boldly delivered to my parents' house without permission thinking Mom would like it, knowing how Dad feels about strays in general and cats in particular....(sigh) Oh well. Tomorrow's another day. |
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Atira still has paroxysms (viloent coughing fits w/ whooping) and vomiting most nights. Last night as I was getting her back to sleep Seth (the older four share a room) coughed quite a bit and you could hear the intensity growing and he started "whooping" a little. Gagging, too. I don't know if he vomited or not... everyone's still asleep. They've been sleeping in late most mornings and I'm so glad they're getting that rest. Bobby coughed a bit more than usual yesterday and we're waiting to see if it gets worse (and praying it doesn't) or if it was nothing. My foot's nearly all better. I just have to be careful how I step and not to be on it too much or it gets real sore. But it's not even black and blue thanks to the comfrey. |
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Just tell me when you get sick of updates... :) Atira had only one fit last night and Bobby was still awake (though I'd been asleep for an hour) and he helped with it and witnessed the violence of it for the first time. The key seems to be letting her cough through it and then get her calmed down as quickly as possible so she doesn't start again. She laid down on her bed (propping up does seem to help) and I talked to and prayed with her, rubbing her back, and she fell right to sleep. Slept peacefully all night. The most remarkable thing about this all is how normal they are during the day. They drag a little bit, a little tired, but it's not even as bad as a cold aside from those fits. |
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We made it through the night! 'Course, I didn't think we wouldn't... but... I struggled in a way I never have. I dreaded bed time and my heart ached so bad when I tucked my little Willies in. I prayed and prayed for peace and the Word kept going through my mind, "I will lie down and sleep for you, oh Lord, make me dwell in safety." I knew this applied and that I was trying to be in control of something that was in his hands alone. |
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You know from my previous posts that I've been struggling to stay on top of things around here. My mornings begin with a desperate plea to the Father to help me, to give me the strength I need for each day. My last post I mentioned crying out to Him and his answer to "remember." Well, I should mention my ackknowledgement that the fact that he's the one that provides for my every need is more of a head knowledge than a heart knowledge... and my tiny wisp of a prayer that he not let me forget not just where I can from, but who I still am without him. Helpless. Worthless. The prayer that you're sometimes afraid to pray out loud because you know it's going to hurt.... but the one you make anyway because you know what's good for you. |
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Ah! I just discovered the ads in my "more on midwives" post... I guess I accidently copied them and pasted them or something but I can't seem to get rid of them. The edit window won't let me edit. Sorry! |
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Wow. How great to have my darling dear home again. His work trip to Ohio went smashingly well. It took them only 4 days plus a walk-thru on the 5th to install all the do-dads that trim carpeters install in fancy pizza joints. He left last Sunday and was home Sat night, all bubbling with energy (usually he's very drained). And he got a $500 raise (he's paid a lump sum per week for out of town work). He's back to local work tomorrow, which pays well per hour, just doesn't involve that many hours. But it's work and it's just about the best job he's ever had. So last Saturday we hunted down two letter boxes with my sister (Vince was working) and the Raddest Family In Town. To find one we had to hike about 2.5 miles of fairly rough terrain, all over Taum Sauk mountain, the highest point in MO, about 45 minutes from here. Very neat, but for the most part you don't know you're so high up because you're surrounded by trees and it looks like every other beautiful forest in MO. But every now and then you break into a glade and have a wonderful view of the surrounding St. Francis mountains. I drank tons of water and snacked on GORP the whole way and actually did really well energy-wise. And by Thursday my legs didn't hurt at all. |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, June 26, 2008
Opponents of Midwives Launch Smear Campaign In a Desperate Attempt, Play the ‘Abortion Card’
JEFFERSON CITY, MO (June 26, 2008)—Just hours after the Missouri Supreme Court ruling that declares Missouri families now have legal access to professional midwives to help deliver babies in the state, the coalition of physician groups that tried to fight the law in question have launched a misinformation campaign seemingly designed to cast doubt among citizens, and based on false claims that the new law will permit Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) to perform abortions.
“To suggest that CPMs are trained to do abortions—or that they would even want to—is beyond the pale. CPMs are all about delivering babies—abortion is not within their scope of practice. Abortions are performed by obstetricians, not by midwives,” said Mary Ueland, Grassroots Coordinator for Friends of Missouri Midwives (FOMM). “But considering that the Missouri physicians association told their own members last year that this legislation would allow bricklayers and crane operators to deliver babies, I’m not surprised at this new attempt to distort the truth.”
Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs), who are licensed and regulated in all 50 states, are trained to deliver babies in the hospital and to provide family planning and well-woman care. Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs), by contrast, limit their scope of practice to the management and care of healthy women experiencing normal pregnancies. They also undergo specialized training to qualify as experts in the provision of out-of-hospital maternity care.
“This interpretation is incorrect and obviously so,” stated Susan Jenkins, Legal Counsel for the National Birth Policy Coalition and a member of the legal team for the Friends of Missouri Midwives. “The new law clearly references the federal Medicaid statutes to define the scope of practice for which CPMs are certified and, as everyone knows, the federal Medicaid program does not cover abortion, except under rare circumstances as defined by the Hyde Amendment. More importantly, CPMs are not certified to provide abortions by their certifying body, the North American Registry of Midwives, and this statute is directly linked to CPMs certified scope of practice. The basic certification of CNMs does not include abortion either.”
In a 5 to 2 ruling Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld a law that legalizes Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) who practice in the state. The Court determined that the physician groups that brought the suit to overturn the law lacked standing because their only interest in the case was economic. The decision makes legal Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) and removes the threat of prosecution to professional midwives who assist families who choose out-of-hospital birth. State and national birth and midwives advocates hailed the ruling as a triumphant and historic moment in Missouri ’s history and evidence of a tipping point at hand on the national scale.
The Court’s summary is posted online. With this ruling, Missouri joins the majority of other states where Certified Professional Midwives are legal. There are only nine remaining states where they are prohibited. Twenty-four states license CPMs.
Missouri is a priority of The Big Push for Midwives Campaign <http://www.TheBigPu shforMidwives. org>, a nationally coordinated campaign to advocate for regulation and licensure of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and to push back against the attempts of the American Medical Association Scope of Practice Partnership to deny American families access to legal midwifery care. The Big Push for Midwives Campaign is the first initiative of the National Birth Policy Coalition (NBPC). Through our work, we are building a new model of U.S. maternity care delivery at the local and regional levels. At the heart of this new model is the Midwives Model of Care, which is based on the fact that pregnancy and birth are normal life processes.
Media inquiries about the Missouri Supreme Court case should be directed to Mary Ueland at (417) 543-4258, grassroots@friendso fmomidwives. org. Media inquiries about The Big Push for Midwives Campaign should be directed to Steff Hedenkamp at (816) 506-4630, RedQuill@kc. rr.com.
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Friends of Missouri Midwives www.friendsofMOmidw ives.org Missouri Midwives Association www.missourimidwive sassociation. org Show-Me Freedom in Healthcare www.showmefreedompa c.org Free the Midwives www.freethemidwives .org The Big Push for Midwives www.TheBigPushforMi dwives.org |
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Here's some articles regarding the reinstating of the midwifery law. I particularly like the first one.
The part that thrills me to no end (you know, aside from being able to have a mdiwife help deliver my baby at home!) is this (from the St. Louis Post Dispatch): The big dogs that came against us are these: "The plaintiff associations have no standing to bring this challenge. Before passing judgment on the constitutional validity of a statute, this Court must determine whether the plaintiffs have standing to bring the constitutional challenge. Standing requires the party seeking relief to have some legally protectable interest in the litigation so as to be affected directly and adversely by its outcome. For an association of individuals to have standing, the association members must have standing to bring their claims individually." |
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One day I asked my friend Mark Freeman, an older cattleman, "How’s life on the farm?" anticipating he would pick up on my reference to John Denver’s tune. "Kinda laid back," was his answer as he gave me a big hug. Then, "You know," says he, "Merry and I are convinced that that young man never set foot on a farm." {laf} Spoken like a true farmer. I love Mark and Merry to pieces. Well, the van thing didn’t go as I’d hoped. He wouldn’t trade. I was sorely disappointed but am consoling myself with the thought that when things don’t go my way it usually means God has something better for us. If we don’t end up with something else we will customize our van by ripping out the roomy back seats and installing a 4 person bench and a 3 person bench. Whatever. We have a bit of time. On to other things. When did I post about ordering the herbs? I received both orders in the mail Saturday. Wow! That was fast! I’ve been drinking almost a half gallon of Mama’s Red Raspberry Brew a day. The kids helped me encapsulate some alfalfa and the dandelion we dried ourselves and I take a capsule of each 3x a day. Between that and getting back in the hang of power snacking (a carb w/ protein every 2-3 hours) I seem to be doing better. Nearing the end of the first trimester helps. =) Having accomplished some major jobs that were weighing me down helps. Air conditioning helps. =D I’ve gotten more than my fair share out of that city boy. When I hinted he help with the butchering his words were something like, "I told you before we moved to the country that there were certain things I wouldn’t do when we got there. I’ve built a chicken coop, built a barn, put up fencing, hauled goats, bottle fed goats... I’m not butchering your chickens." So, with my handy dandy Encyclopedia of Country Living (a must!!!) and some other articles from the internet (Encycl. of CL didn’t cover how to skin a chicken - I might have taken this to mean it’s a no-brainer - ha ha), I set about the dirty deed Sunday afternoon. I tell ya, the first 25-30 minutes are the hardest. After that, it’s a breeze! Yeah... ‘cause after tackling the messy carcass with a knife that I couldn’t get sharp enough (shame on this homesteader - I still haven’t a single good knife) I decided to call the Martins (good neighbors and friends) and beg them to send over one of the boys (or at least a sharp knife!). I told Mrs. Martin when she answered the phone, "Uh... I started something I can’t finish." She was very sympathetic and sent 16yr old Joseph down. After quickly finishing up the 1st bird he showed me how to do it start-to-finish on the next. Apparently he learned how to do this from my crazy mountain-man pen-pal in OR and was so good at one point he could do it in 5 minutes. Color me impressed. I think I’ll see about hiring him next time I decide I want to eat some of our pets. The hens are happy as can be in the yard and I love watching them. They continue to lay in the coop (if they should decide they like other areas better, I’d leave them penned up until after noon, when all the laying is finished) and Murphy (the Great Pyr mix) keeps an eye on things, keeping strays away and such. So far there’s not much mess and I’m still hoping they stay away from the road.
Goats Gran and Dessy both give delicious milk. They have great shaped udders and are easy milkers. Gran will probably give even less milk next year, assuming we breed her this fall. Dessy will give more, but won’t reach "prime" for a 2-3 more years. We’re keeping the two doelings and will breed them next fall. So, next year we won’t be ahead any in milk, and the year after that we probably won’t have Gran, Dessy will hopefully be giving a good amount and we’ll have two first fresheners. Hmm. I got to thinking (someone make it stop!)... maybe we should pick up a doe that’s in or near the end of her prime, something that produces a goodly amount of milk. I talked it over with Bobby and he thought it a reasonable idea (just don’t ask him to butcher her, right?). I talked with the Martins first and they offered us Brownie, a beautiful Toggenburg giving almost a gallon a day. Good deal. We brought her home Tuesday (I was just getting things ready for Brownie when my sister happened to show up with a truck - it was meant to be). I think she’s the most beautiful goat I’ve ever seen. After the babies are weaned...
I suppose I have to concede that summer is upon us. I much prefer all the other months, but will accept summer as my garden loves it so. And cold well water is never so refreshing as in the summer. The garden a few weeks ago: The garden last week:
Which brings me to this... Don’tcha love taking annoying trash and making it useful? The paths in my garden are about 3’ wide. That’s also how big a 50# feed bag is when you cut it open. I’ve taken my whole stack of used feed bags (the only thing I can’t use is the dogfood bags because they’re glossy inside and out), cut them open and laid them in my paths and spread straw on them. Simple, but I’m quite tickled with myself. (Maybe thinking isn’t all bad....) Now I’ll cut them in half and use them to start preparing the bed around the garden. I hope to be able to produce enough compost that I won’t have to buy any more of that weed-infested stuff I got this year. Very dark and fertile, but wow there was so much of that one weed. Here’s a picture of it:
Midwifery |
(this was about 2 weeks ago - can't believe how much they've grown since then!) ...we’ll just have to see if Gran and Dessy’s milk is enough for us. We can always get the occasional gallon from the Martin’s and keep our eyes out for a good deal on another doe.
Probably won't eat her, though.
What is it? Mark Freeman calls it a cockle-bur. It has a thorn at every leaf joint.|
After falling just short of getting our midwivery bill passed this legeslative session, turns out that the Missouri Supreme Court just ruled in our favor to keep the law that was passed last year, legalizing midwifes in Missouri.
You can see the opinon and summary here . I'm dizzy with excitement and crying tears of joy! This means I will probably be able to have a midwife this pregnancy and you don't know how much that means to me!!! Well, some of you do... (Thanks for commenting, Sarajeen.) I've been really chewing on this and praying about it... I can't bring myself to get prenatal care with an OBGYN. It's like signing up for stress. I was thinking about calling all the OBGYNs withing 40 miles and ask how they felt about legalizing midwives... If one were in support I would consider receiving care from him/her. :) Anyway, more later. I'm late for morning chores. All kinds of stuff going on.... I've butchered chickens, brought home a new goat, Bobby's working out of town, my kids bless me to no end... and today we're going to go talk to a guy about trading our van and some cash for his 15 passenger van - the same one we've been looking at. He said no when we first asked but I've really been praying and believe we should try again, really make an appeal. Say a prayer for us! |
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Feeling tired most of the time. Very low on energy and having a hard time getting just the basics done. I’m not taking prenatal vitamins because of their tendency to add to my kidney stone problem, so I planned to take bunches of herbs. Well, my friend at the health food store was suppose to order me some herbs and things a month ago and still hadn’t gotten around to it when I called her yesterday. I’ll find it in my heart to forgive her but I really need to be taking them ASAP! I think it would make a huge difference in my energy and blood sugar levels. So, I ordered everything online (bulkherbstore.com). I bought gel caps and a capsule filler rig so I can encapsulate the dandelion I dried (just too bitter for me), also some alfalfa powder I have. I also ordered two pounds of Mama’s Pregnancy Tea, which I absolutely love and drink every pregnancy, which has red raspberry leaves, alfalfa, nettle and peppermint. I can’t wait to see what a difference it makes! 6:30 or 6:45- wake up 7:00 - morning chores: 8:30 breakfast clean-up, dishwasher emptied, laundry started, then start weeding and/or watering the garden. This brings us quickly to lunch around noon. After lunch we feed the baby goats a little more grain, cut some brush for them to munch, give them fresh water. Then we put Gran and Dess on leases and lead them to their tethers (10-12’ chains on a corkscrew type stake). We move the tethers if need be, get them fresh water and check on them every couple hours until evening chores. They frequently spill their water buckets and tangle themselves in brush and it’s quite the job for me at this point (the kids help some). I thank God the weather has cooled off to something more reasonable because hiking up the hill to tend the goats in 90°+ temps, and high humidity, was getting very, very old. I was considering getting rid of all the goats until we could get at least an acre fenced in and THEN get goats. Did I say was? It still sounds like a mighty good plan.... Bobby is so encouraging and helpful, though. He wants to stick it out. I try take a little time after this to let the little Willies drag me around the yard and show me all the flowers and nest and things they’ve discovered during the day. If I have any energy left I might sweep the house or tackle some other odd job (hand washing the odd dishes that don’t make it to the dishwasher, etc). 6:45 or 7:00 Some children stay inside to help clean up the dinner mess (Daddy supervises) while others help me with evening chores. We un-tether the goats, feed and milk them, make sure everyone has water, collect eggs, bring the milk to the house, prepare the bottles, feed the kids... and then it’s nearly bed time! By this time my energy is actually up a little and I clean up the kitchen or tackle something else begging my attention. The kids go to bed around 9 after a story (currently a chapter of James Herriot), try as I might to wind down and get them in bed by 8:30. Something always seems to keep me up until 10 or so. Then we get up and do it all over again! Even Sabbath doesn’t vary much because the hardest part is the animals and that routine doesn’t change. When I can afford hay I can get away with not tethering them for a day and that is a much needed break. But at least all the other things are done for the week, like laundry and house cleaning. The best thing about Sabbath is that there’s nothing pressing. Don’t have to do this or that or run here or there... |
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You know, there’s something about knowing someone for a long, long time... History counts for a lot.
This was what I received in the mail yesterday:
This was written on the back |
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One day last week my 3yr old told me, as I was resting on the couch waiting for the queasiness to pass, that I looked like a farm. "A what?" says I. "A farm," says she, clear as day. I still have no idea what she meant but it neither sounded like a compliment or an insult, just an observation. I'm sure it's the strangest thing I've ever been called. I was shopping earlier this week with all the little Willies in tow (as usual). As I was selecting some ground beef, Blue was following Atira along the display of meat in the freezer, listening as Atira read the names. They came to a huge hunk of meat with a sticker reading "Pork Loin." Atira thoughtfully read aloud, "Lion..." Blue commented, "I don't like lion meat." "Me either," says Atira and they casually moved on. I was still laughing when the fella that heads the meat dept. walked out of the back. He got quite a kick out of it, too. This morning Seth informed me, "Blue peed in my undies.' Figure that one out. Apparently he had let her borrow a pair of his undies when she couldn't find any of her own and later had this accident in them. Mystery solved. |
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Although none of us likes being harassed... I figure if I'm going to be harassed, at least I should have a clue as to who is responsible. So, I've restricted the ability to post comments to registered users only. I was hesitant to do this because I have several friends and extented family that visit my blog... But I figure they all have my email address and if they want to say something they can contact me that way. |
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My last fews posts seem to have stirred some hearts... some wonderful and encouraging, some rather bitter and discouraging. |
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I'm back. Sorry for the confusion. We'll get things back to normal here shortly. I should note that we're raising our children to be hard workers and dependent on the Lord and hopefully they will not make some of the ignorant mistakes we did and won't need to turn to such a faulty system. At any rate, they'll grow and learn to trust the Lord and will be an asset to society and not a liability- shouldn't we have a couple dozen kids, then? |