Friday, July 29, 2011

insta isaiah

You could call this week the week of of Isaiah.
I do still have three other children around here somewhere. 
But the baby coon is so nice. 
You know the world that exists the first few weeks after you have a baby. 
The week where you have a terrible head cold and the first day your family leaves you alone they come home to you in a full on post postpartum melt down.
Normally its a little nicer. But in the spirit of keepin things real, this was a hard week. Hubs is sick, I am sick, Myka is sick.
I am praying my guts out that Isaiah stays healthy. Today was better. My mom stayed with me. She did laundry, and watched Myka while I napped. I am starting to feel human again and fully intend to return to the nice snugly, part if the baby coon. The part where its just you and your baby. Where you take everything in . The first smile that every one says is gas but you know better. The little grunts and groans. The blissful sound of a sleeping baby at 3 am.
Thats where You can find me. 

I am linking up a few places.

Photobucket
life rearranged

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Welcome to the World Isaiah .

It was a long nine months. I am not going to lie. I am not the most gracious pregnant woman.

I moan
I whine
I am crabby

But when the end result is this


Its all worth it. Little Isaiah was born Friday , July 22nd. I had wonderful nurses. A funny doctor ( I appreciate that when I am awkward positions). And a epidural that worked beautifully. The whole thing was really fast. I didn't have time to call the people I wanted to right away. For that I am sorry. His heart rate was a little on the worrisome side so things went fast. All is well now.

Lexi came to the hospital late that night. My sweet friend Jen drove all the way to our house in the sticks to pick her up and bring her to the hospital. While my friend Megan and my mother in law stayed and held my hands through contractions. My own mom couldn't be there because she was with the girls. Ashlynn was sick so she couldn't come visit her new little brother. It was also the same night as Lexis camp rock performance.  More on that later. Thanks MooMoo for holding down the fort.

Lexi was such a big kid that night. She even got to go out to a late night breakfast at IHOP with Jen and Megan that night. And she was so interested in everything that was happening with Isaiah. The nurse was so sweet. She let lexi help with the first bath and the first outfit.  


She swears she is never having kids. But I am pretty sure its an act. And at 11 years old I am ok with her thinking that. 



He takes my breath away. I have done this four times now and each time is magic. Each time I am in awe of a God who knits us together so wonderfully in our mothers womb. A God who has all our days numbered and steps counted.  

Welcome to the world Isaiah . We love you and can not wait to see what God has in store for you.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Coffee Tuesday a Giant issue.

Good morning !! Myka is at pre school and I am enjoying the quiet. No coffee for me this morning. Just water. I got good news from the doctor that labor could be just around the corner. And I tend to be a puker so I am trying to keep my belly as empty as possible.

Betcha wanted to know that , huh !

My plan was to share this weeks updates and antics with you. Then I got a e mail from my mom. I am so grateful for my mom. Sometimes I don't always show it.  I need to work on that. But i am. I think the thing I am most grateful for. You know, other then the fact that she gave me lie ! Is that my mom raised me to be very aware of others. To see hurt and injustice and suffering in the world. To not only see it but to fight it. A issue that has been on my heart for years is that of human trafficking. Even saying that statement seems funny to me. I mean to say that something is on your heart means you think about. But something as monstrous as sexual slavery simply can not be something we just "think about".  We need to do something about it.

I was so inspired when i read that Blog Sugar ( woot ) was sponsoring Love 146 this year. I had never heard of them but I watched this you tube video and before I knew it I was crying. Crying for this little girl. For all the little children being hurt and exploited. Then I prayed. I prayed that God would show me how to help. I mean I give money, I follow a slew of organizations on twitter. I keep informed, do my best to tell other people. But I am just one person !!  And this monster is a giant.

And I feel like David. Standing before Goliath with just a sling and stone.

back to my e mail from my mom. I had shard the Love 146 video with her. And yesterday morning I got his e mail from her. She sent it to everyone in her inbox.






 The little girl was held captive in a glass cage, fully displayed for sale, her small white dress, bearing the
number 146, clinging to her tiny, brutalized body. There were other little girls trapped in the cage with
her, also for sale, but #146 stood out - she was screaming, clawing at the glass in a futile attempt to
escape what was happening to her. She still had a minute trace of fight left in her terrified soul.

The others didn’t; that was evident. Their eyes, blank holes, stared numbly, wondering how soon the
next sexual torture would come. All around them, monsters, who had, once upon a time, been human
(long ago, before evil, insane desires claimed them) licked their lips in anticipation of devouring the little
girls’ flesh. Many monsters would be satisfied that day…

And the next…

And the next…

And the next…

And the little girls knew it. They had no hope.

That’s why #146 screamed. But it would be only a matter of time until she stopped, until she realized
what she was…

FOR SALE.

She was

As a mother, as a grandmother, as a woman, as a Christian, as a person, I can’t just sit back and do
nothing to stop this horror. But what do I do? Every instinct I have tells me to fight for these precious
little girls (and boys) - and I would fight to the death if this were happening before my eyes. I would
eradicate the monsters with whatever weapons I could lay my hands on - but who do I fight? And how
do I fight? And even if I could fight, would eradicating a few monsters make a difference? There are so
many of them…

Millions...

Utterly helpless, I feel my heart sink within me; my lips quiver and tears fill my eyes. This type of
injustice can’t be, it can’t prevail. And yet, it does prevail. It is prevailing every minute of every day. It’s
just too big, it’s too monstrous… It’s a leviathan that no one person can stand against.

The Book of Job, Chapter 41, describes a leviathan in the following way:

If you lay a hand on him, you will remember the struggle and never do it again!
Any hope of subduing him is false; the mere sight of him is overpowering.
No-one is fierce enough to rouse him.
I will not fail to speak of his limbs, his strength and his graceful form.
Who can strip off his outer coat? Who would approach him with a bridal?
Who dares open the doors of his mouth, ringed about with his fearsome teeth?
His back has rows of shields tightly sealed together;
each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.
They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted.
His snorting throws out flashes of light; his eyes are like the rays of dawn.
Firebrands stream from his mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.
Smoke pours from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds.
His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from his mouth.
Strength resides in his neck; dismay goes before him.
The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.
His chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.
When he rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before his thrashing.
The sword that reaches him has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the
javelin.
Iron he treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.
Arrows do not make him flee, slingstones are like chaff to him.
A club seems to him but a piece of straw, he laughs at the rattling of the lance.
His undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing-
sledge.
He makes the depths churn like a boiling cauldron and stirs up the sea like a pot
of ointment.
Behind him he leaves a glistening wake; one would think the deep had white hair.
Nothing on earth is his equal— a creature without fear.
He looks down on all that are haughty; he is king over all that are proud.

The leviathan is NOT too big for God. In fact, in the beginning of Job, Chapter 41, God tells us, very
clearly, what He can do to the Leviathan.

Pull in the leviathan with a fishhook and tie down his tongue with a rope.
Put a cord through his nose and pierce his jaw with a hook.
Make the leviathan beg for mercy and speak with gentle words.
Cause the leviathan to make an agreement to take him as a slave for life.
Make a pet of him like a bird or put him on a leash for girls.
Cause traders to barter for him.
Divide him up among merchants.
Fill his hide with harpoons and his head with fishing spears.

God, and only God, can crush a leviathan.

Psalm 74:13,14
It was you who split open the sea by your power;
you broke the heads of the monster in the
waters.
It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan
and gave it as food to the creatures of the
desert.

So…

At 1:46 p.m., every day from here on in, I will be taking a moment, just one moment of my
day, to ask God to do just that, to utterly crush the leviathan. And I want to ask you to join me,
because if two or more agree on anything in prayer, God will do it.

"...Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything
that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For
where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of
them." Matthew 18:18-20

Please pass this on. It may be that we, together, can raise an army to pray every day at 1:46 that
this leviathan will be crushed.

That’s 1:46 p.m.

For #146, and the millions like her.
WOW !  This e mail reminded me that I am not just standing before Golaith with a sling and a stone. I am standing before this giant with a army of heavenly angels and a God bigger then any monster. And prayer is one of the most powerful weapons we have aganist this monster !! 

So every day at 1:46 we pray. 
We pray that this will end.

That people will fight.

That children will be saved.

We pray that LOVE will come and that LOVE will free !


So on this coffee date I am asking you to join me. Feel free to share this post. I pray you will. I pray an army of prayer warriors will rise.

We pray that LOVE will come and that LOVE will free !


Friday, July 15, 2011

Instafriday from a boring week

Not a whole lot from this week.
Sick kids, false labor,general summer time blues.
Hopefully next week will be better. A baby will make things better.
Sleeping comfortably will make things better. The chance of rain next week will make things better. Lots to look forward too. I am blessed.
Happy Friday!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

random thoughts on Thursday

Myka is sick. We went to Urgent care last night. They checked her ears, throat , belly and bladder ( have you ever tried to make a three year old pee in a cup ? ) super not fun. Everything looks good. Just some random fever I guess. But she is down for the count. Poor baby. In a total selfish way though I am kinda grateful for the quiet. Its nice to cuddle and watch Disney all day. And these days it seems that's all I am capable of. I went to labor and delivery yesterday. I have been having painful contractions and on Tuesday night they were so bad I couldn't sleep. I thought for sure I would have made some progress. But no...... maybe its a good thing though. The hospital was so full they were delivering babies in he triage area. INSANE! They said the next step was the hall way. I do NOT want to give birth in a hall way. I feel bad feeling that way. I know what awful conditions other women give birth in. Mud rooms with no doctors or drugs. In the middle of fields. On second thought. If I have to have my baby in the hallway of a clean hospital, with a doctor and a nurse who know what they are doing. I am grateful. The nurse that checked me out was so funny. i think she had a few too many red bulls that morning. She was making jokes and singing silly songs about the whole situation. My favorite was when she was putting on her glove and she put her arm up in the air and sang out real loud "time to check your cervix". Sorry TMI.

Still just the three girlies photo credit Blue lily photography
So no baby yet. But at least things are semi calm around here. I have been editing pics from last weekends wedding I shot and catching up on my blog reading. Tonight I have two SKYPE meetings with clients. Its just the right amount of busy for me. I cant just sit and do nothing. And truth be told I am not a nester. Everytime I do a dish or hang a picture my mom starts getting excited saying I am nesting. Not true. Unless nesting counts as figuring out how to use google+. speaking of... I have been inviting people left and right. I think it will be a lot more fun the more people who are on. I am super pumped about the circle aspect and the ability to share certain things with just certain people.

I would share this mornings Grace on a Thursday post with everyone though. Read it here. And then live it. Guilt is Not from God. I wish I could communicate that to everyone.  A relationship with God is about grace, forgiveness, a life free from guilt. A life full of love from a heavenly father who wraps his arms around us and assures us things will be ok.

It ill be ok , even with sick little ones, and even if if I have a baby in a hall way :)

It's all good.


Friday, July 8, 2011

Hullo Instafriday

Not a ton to report this week.
I am indeed still preggo.
It was Americas birthday and it was a good one.
We had some CRAZY monsoon storms!
I had a root canal. (my tooth still hurts)
and some pregnancy cravings.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Coffee Tuesday.

<It's okay to have a cup of afternoon coffee on Tuesday, right ? I hope. because i could use some girl time. Some talking time. Today I would probably have asked you to meet me at a starbucks or another coffee house because earlier today i was  needing a break from my kids in the worst way. I have lots of thoughts swirling in my head that need somewhere to go. I am sure I would be chatting your ear off.

I would tell you that we had a super rad fourth of July and i photographed a wedding this past weekend NINE months pregnant ! I know, I am awesome !! But I am thoroughly wiped out today. I would also mention about how on Saturday night I experienced a horrible toothache in the middle of the night. I woke up at 3 am and my mouth was throbbing !! The pain was shooting up my ear. I tried a warn shower and that didn't calm me down. I used warm compressed, took Tylenol and gurgled salt water. NOTHING helped.
I finally opened my ipad and started to read my bible app. I was half awake and needed the reassurance that I was not alone.

I started thinking about suffering and pain. Why is pain always so much worse in the middle of the night ? I had the same toothache all day Sunday and barely noticed it. But Saturday night I was praying someone would hit me square in the jaw. Emotional pain is the same way. It's night time that it creeps up on us.

like always I was reassured that I was not alone. And somewhere between the Tylenol and the praying and the hot compress I was able to sleep for a few hours.

How do you deal with night time anxiety's and fears ? 

Busy 4th of July weekend.

I am a Midwest girl. I grew up running around outside all day on the fourth. We played with sparklers, had bbq's, and ended the night with a huge firework show over lake Butler.
Great memories.

Arizona is different. It's hot here. Hot and dry. It's hard to be outside for hours when it's 110 degrees. Living here has turned me into a fourth of July Scrooge. So this year because I am nine months pregnant, because I was on my feet most of the day on Sunday shooting a wedding, because we have had record breaking heat. I decided I had no expectations for the 4th.
Nope.
Nada
Zilch.

And ya know what!
It was one of the best I have ever had in Arizona.
We had a storm blow through (minus the rain) and it cooled it down to the 90s! Unheard of for AZ!
We went to the park, ate burgers and hot dogs and watched the girls dance.
In my mind I had my girls dressed in matching blue and red shirts. I packed a Punic with cute decorated cupcakes and sliced watermelon. But in real life. I was lucky I remembered bottles of cold water.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Instsfriday on Saturday almost Sunday

Things are crazy here.
Lexi is in camp rock the musical at our local theatre.
Ashlynn started karate and Myka started summer preschool! I am really starting to understand the whole mom taxi thing. But I didn't want to miss a week. Because I am committed man.

Our week on my phone!