Excellent Soup Recipe

photo courtesy of chefsline.com

I have made this soup several times and it always impresses me. It is very flavorful and so healthy. In fact, today I made it without the bacon (even though I cooked some and added it to our bowls with the soup) because husband is doing the Daniel Fast and doesn't eat meat and it was still delish! Now, as with most recipes, I always have to add more salt and other seasonings. :)

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup (I cooked mine on the stove today) from Cooks.com

3 qts. water
1/2 lb. bacon, cut in pieces
1 tsp. sea salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 c. canned tomatoes
1/4 tsp. cumin seasoning, or to taste (we used way more than this b/c we like it spicy)
1/4 tsp. garlic salt, or to taste
1 med onion, chopped

(Today we added some artichoke sliced and put in red pepper as well)

Put in at night, ready for noon meal. Let cook on low all night. Very good.

Today I have been slow at getting my chores done, but things aren't too terribly messy, so it really doesn't matter too much. I did clean the kitchen, which makes everything look better, cleaned our bedroom, which included putting most of my maternity clothes up and replacing them with my regular clothes, emptied all the trashes, and straightened the bathroom. Dh has the older 2 kids at my MIL's for one more swimming escapade before the cooler temps come. Younger son is napping and baby is nursing contentedly. She is a really big eater and it is showing! I can already tell she is growing!! I have mixed feelings bout that! :) :(
I did put up my Fall decor on my mantle of which I shall leave you with a picture! Hope you are having a blessed Saturday!

Daily routine...

I hope you are having a fine Friday. The weather is really nice today, temps not too hot, breeze blowing a bit. It just tells me that Fall weather is on its way! Yeah! My parents took my 3 oldest to the MS Pecan Festival for a sort of field trip, so Ella and I are just hanging around. I'm cleaning up a bit, but still have a good ways to go before I finish my chores. I am mowing some grass a bit here and there as well. People may think it's outrageous to be mowing grass 2.5 weeks Postpartum, but I really feel good. I had one day last week that I felt like I was relapsing, so to speak, but I took the day off (my mom came and got the kids, bless her) and the next and just rested. I'm better now. My recovery has been wonderful!
Since Ella is now 2.5 weeks old, I've pretty much settled into a routine that will suffice for now. When she gets about 3 months old and cuts her sleeping down a bit, I'm sure I'll have to adjust the routine a bit. It's been awhile since I've posted my routine, so here's what it looks like.
Most mornings, we get up a little before 8. I love getting up early in the winter, having a cup of coffee, reading and praying by the fireplace, so I hope I can get back into that before too long. Sure beats squeezing it in during a busy part of the day! Ella will sleep until 10 or so, so I can be free from the bondage of the couch for awhile. :o) I try to get one chore down upon awaking. I have a 'running' list of chores that I have cut up and folded. I draw one out of the jar and that way I'm doing a random chore...makes for a fun new way to do chores. You might want to try it! :) It also ensures that my chores get done for the day (well, almost). :) Breakfast comes next and it could be anything! :) I usually have a list of my menus, but if I'm out of groceries, it's pretty much what I can muster up! :) One day this week we had Oatmeal, the next day, we had French toast and Jelly, yesterday was Cereal...etc. After breakfast, I read a few verses from the Bible and we discuss these. This week we have been reading in 1Timothy. Even Evan gets involved. He will 'reanswer' a question after the others have already answered it. :) After devotions, the kids do table chores...one will clear the table and the other will wipe it off. While the kids get on the rug to play (blocks, with their animals, dinosaurs, cars, etc...if they don't know what to play, I will put toys on the rug and they will play with them) while I do 2 more chores. By 10 am, they will do their Math Schoolwork, Em in his schoolbook and Erin on the VTech Computer. Evan is wandering around with Mama at this time. :) Ella usually wakes up and I will feed her while the kids work on whatever. I will dress her and bathe her off (still can't have a full bath) during this time. After Math, the kids and I go outside for a bit to play Kickball or something else. They both are into throwing the football right now. ?? After cleanup around 11, they can do Table activities (ie puzzles, playdoh, etc) while I do a chore and fix a bit to eat for lunch. After lunch, the kids do their table chores, and it is Story time. Right now we are reading the second Box Car Children book. They loved the first one, so I was pleased to find the second one at our library. The last book we read was The Secret Garden and they loved that one as well. After story time, it is time for Pick up. Now, this usually takes quite some time. Their toys are everywhere by this point and Evan has gone around and dumped out toys in different places. I promise it doesn't take the same amount of time to dump out the toys as it takes to pick them up. :) Once he picks up, he goes to bed for his 2 hour (usually) nap. The kids and I finish our schoolwork and I am doing some chores along the way. At 3, they have resttime and usually at least one will fall asleep. At 4, I start supper and as the kids get up they sort of have their own playtime. When daddy comes home, It's supper and family time until baths (around 7:30) and bed (around 8:45-9:30). I usually go to bed whenever Ella does for the final time. It's usually around 10ish. This is our schedule in a nutshell. I hope that one day next week, I can take some pictures of "Our Day" and post on here like I did one time a year or so ago. Now, our days aren't perfect. In fact, yesterday at 12pm, we were 2 hours under schedule...lol. Most days, their outside time is really short because we are trying to get everything in (school is #1 priority, yk?). But, this is it on a good day! :)
Oh, and the kids help me with the chores too. If I draw out, "Change the trash", then that is Erin's job. They both clean their rooms, Emory takes out the trash, gets the mail, takes the sheets off the bed, hangs up his clothes, etc. Erin will feed the dog and cat. They are good kiddos! :)
We've had a good week. It is so busy, but good. Looking forward to fall in its fullness! :)

Challenges...

First of all, Happy Fall to my readers and dear friends! This is truly my favorite season of the year. The only thing I hate to see go is the greeness of everything. I hate for the grass to die and things to look dreary. I hope to get some fall flowers planted over the next few weeks to spruce up my fall yard. Speaking of my yard, it definitely needs a lot of work. I haven't been outside much at all lately. As soon as I feel like I can get out there and not get reprimanded for 'doing too much too soon' (ha) I'm gonna have a yard day. Anyway, I hope to get out my fall decor today and maybe I will even bake something that will remind us of fall.

We sure are enjoying our new baby, Ella. She is so sweet as any newborn is, but so special because she's ours! I already can't imagine not having another baby, I know that is crazy to some. Maybe God has just turned my heart toward a big family. I can't understand the attitude, "We are Done, that is it for us" just like those ppl can't understand my attitude of "We are not done". :) So, maybe the Lord has just changed my heart and thoughts. Things aren't perfect..if fact there are some Challenges....

My main challenge has been how to make sure I'm spending enough time with the children, nuturing them, cultivating their interests, discipling them both when they need it and appropriately, teaching them, etc.. The house gets cleaned, but I'm not sure I'm being to my children or husband what I need to be. It's an act of daily dying to self and my own agenda. Instead of saying Good Morning, Lord when my feet hit the floor, I need to say, Lord, today I need to die, if you understand what I am saying. Sometimes the Lord gives me wisdom to know what to do as a parent and how to handle a situation, but often I will do it my way. :( Anyway, I'm constantly reminded of God FIRST, Husband SECOND, children THIRD, Me LAST. Now, I don't want to sound like I sit around and read magazines, stay on the internet, or the phone all day while my children run crazy, but what I am saying is that sometimes I fail to do what the Lord speaks to me to do as a wife and mother and then things become challenges. My son has been a challenge to me for awhile. I am at a place with him where I could really mess up if I fail to listen to God's wisdom that He so kindly offers. He is only 6, but at times he can be a challenge to me. He needs 100% consistency right now and that is a challenge when I am tending to other things that 'I' think are important. He has to have a schedule or he misbehave most of the day, it seems. I've got to do what it takes to make sure he is on a schedule even if it conflicts with my schedule. My little girl and little boy have got to have 100% consistency as well.

Well, He's still workin on me, to make me what I ought to be! I really appreciate it when the Lord gives me wisdom, I just have to remember to heed to it and not forget it.

Now, challenges like what to do when I have to go to the store with all 4, I'm still waiting on that wisdom.... :)

Birth Story

The birth of Ella Annabelle....

For several weeks I had been having contractions, but I knew they were not the ones that I would be having during the throes of labor. I have never been in the throes of labor without the help of Mr. Pitocin, so I really wasn't sure of how regular, natural contractions were going to feel like. The Friday night before Ella was born, I experienced pretty strong contractions that were pretty intense in my back. We went to the hospital because, once again, I wasn't sure how mild natural birth contractions were and I wasn't going to fool around getting to the hospital. Once there, I found that I was about 3.75 cm dialated, which was disappointing. I was having regular contractions, but they weren't getting any stronger. The doctor on call was nice enough and she decided to strip my membranes (which had already been done by my midwife earlier in the week) and walk me. This was a terrible combination. I immediately started having severe cramping and still some intense contractions. The cramping was horrible and I wasn't able to walk through them. After an hour, I went back to be checked and there was no change. The doctor sent me home in this awful pain and told me to come back if the pain worsened or if my water broke. I was sure I would be back later on that night because my contractions were so strong. I was near tears because I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get back in time if my contractions were going to get worse. However, after we arrived home (and it was SOO good to be home for some reason), I decided to get into the bathtub and I started relaxing some and the contractions slowed. A little after midnight, they pretty much stopped. I realized then that the awful cramping/contractions was just from the membrane stripping. I was relieved that it wasn't labor pains and I would have to let them get 'worse' before going back to the hospital. Saturday and Sunday was pretty noneventful. I was sort of depressed on Saturday and on Sunday I had my family over for soup and fellowship. I was having some pretty strong contractions that night while my family was over. The next day was Labor Day and I woke up having contractions all day at regular intervals. They weren't strong, but they were regular. We went and celebrated at my Grandmother's, spending good time with my family. I pretty much ignored the contractions. At home, I rested for awhile, being lazy and all of the sudden I felt like I had to get up and do something! I was overwhelmed, so I made a list of things that needed doing, cut up them into strips, and would pull a chore out of the 'hat'. This made it fun for me and I started working like a madwoman. Dh took the kids to his moms for a little while and I continued working on my list, washing, folding, sweeping, cleaning the porch, cleaning the van, washing dishes, putting sheets on the bed, etc.... All the while, I was having contractions, regularly. I totally ignored them, focusing on my tasks. After Dh got home, we put the kids to bed and I determined to stay up and put up a few butterbeans and pears that were in the fridge. About 12:30, I finally decided to go to bed. I really didn't know how I would sleep because I was really contracting and this felt like labor. I slept until about 2:10 and finally got up. I got on Facebook for a few minutes and starting timing my contractions via a website I found. It was neat..had a start/stop button. My contractions were every 1-5 minutes. There was definitely a pattern. It was like, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and would start back over. I decided to wake Dh about 3, but then decided to wait until 4. I laid back down for a few minutes, but got back up to wait it out. Finally a little before 5, I decided I would wake Dh at 6 and we would head on over, no matter how I was feeling. I decided to put some clothes in the washing machine and maybe get into the tub until time to go. Contractions at this point were not unbearable, but I would have to stop walking when I was having one. Yes, getting into a hot bath sounded divine. I sat on the edge of the tub and reached down to turn on the water. Immediately I felt something pop inside me. It wasn't my bag of water, but something was different. I turned off the water and the pain from my contractions did a 180. I went into the bedroom, told Dh, "We need to go now", and started throwing on some clothes. I would have to stop doing anything with the contractions. He called his mom and we were in the car by 5:10. The clothes washer hadn't even made it to spin cycle. :) The ride over wasn't terrible, we averaged 80 mph and had the opportunity to pass the slow Joes. I can tell you just about every place I had a contraction. I had the tightest grip on the door handle--I'm sure you can see fingernail marks! When we got there, Dh went in to get a wheelchair (funny how the following Fri night I was not getting into one and this time I demanded one to be brought to the van) and a guy came out and wheeled me in (stopping when I had a contraction). I signed my name to one paper and a nurse wheeled me on up (seeing my urgency). Of course I had to get into my gown (working like a madwoman between contractions) and they hooked me up and checked my dialation. I was between 4 & 5 cm. I was pretty devastated because I knew I did not want to be in pain all the way to 10cm. I started asking for something for pain. The nurse said she would let Dr. S know and that I had to get at least a bag of fluid in before I could get an epidural. Ugh, this seemed like it would take forever, but by the time they wheeled me to the L & D room, put in my IV, asked me some questions,ugh... Oh, this is funny now, but I remember the no personality nurse asking me, in the middle of a contraction, when was my last bowel movement. I didn't say anything because I could.not.talk and she proceeded to ask me again in the same monotone way, when was your last bowel movement? I remember looking helplessly at my Dh, whose hand I am squeezing so unmercifully, and him looking like, "I don't know when it was" and then his looked changed to understanding, "Oh, yeah, you want me to tell her to please be quiet until this passes". :) Before I knew it (thanks to 'anticipating' contractions every 2 minutes), my fluid bag was out and also the antibiotics (GBS +) and immediately Dr. S came in to start the epi (he deserves a golden crown in Heaven!). It takes a while and thanks to my curvy spine, he had to reinsert a couple of times. Finally, the numbness enveloped my legs and ahhhhh, blessed relief. This was 7:30am. I had been in intense pain for 2.5 hours and I hadn't lost control! I was so proud of myself and so was Dh (last time I had asked him, in between my screams, to kill me). I will go ahead and say that I contribute my ability to make it through this time to my husband--he never left my side and allowed me to break his hand through each contraction--and the relaxing environment of the room. I had a great, great nurse that came on duty during shift change and the doctor and midwife were absolutely wonderful!! Nobody was panicky this time and everything was at my own pace.
Okay, now things are progressing, my mom is with me, my granny comes in, and my former pastor and his wife. We chat and chat and before long, it is time for them to check me. I am between 7 and 8 cm. Wow! I'm getting excited. The only bad thing I'm experiencing now is the shakes and itching (allergic to the Fentanyl? in the epi). I have a small bag of waters left (I had been leaking w/ each contraction) so my midwfe gently breaks the bag. Around 11:15, I am ready to begin pushing. My midwife gears up and asks me if there is anything special I would like to be done, like immediately have her placed on my chest, etc. I have never been asked what I wanted before!! I said yes, I did, and I also wanted us to wait until the cord stopped pulsing before cutting. No problem. We start pushing and there is noone saying, "Push, push, push, push, push" while I'm pushing. The nurse just calmly counts to 10 while I push. The head is out after just a few pushes and then she tells me to stop, the baby needs a little suctioning--she has already had a bm. There was no, "We've got to get this baby out NOW" deal like I had last time my baby had a bm while in utero. Everything was calm and relaxed. Next, the shoulders got stuck (shoulder dystocia), but again, there wasn't panic. We all worked together to get the shoulders out. After that, the baby slid out and simultaneously, I felt a huge gush and my stomach go flat. I don't think there is a word to relief like that. Oh, my epi had started to wear (off on the left side) about 15 minutes before pushing, so I did get to feel the actual exiting of the baby. While the nurse and MW cleaned up (they didn't anticipate such a gush of fluid), I got to hold my new baby. Wow! After the cord stopped pulsating, Dh cut it and the baby was taken to the warmer. The MW started to work on delivering the placenta. There was no tugging or pushing down on my stomach or anything to hurry it along. After it came out, I got to see it--which I had never been able to before--and that was amazing.
The baby had to be taken out to be weighed and it took awhile to find out, but we knew she was another big un'. 9 lbs. 7.5oz and 22 & 1/4 inches long. The baby nurse was very slow and they kept her in the nursery wayy too long, one time for over 4 hours, but I think that was the only downside to my birth. After that evening, I had her in my room all the time.
The Lord's hand was all in my birth, from the timing (my MW had not been on call that wk end should I have delivered) , to the health of the baby, being with me through the pain (oh, there had been no anesthesiologist on call the Fr night I had gone in for false labor), and just all around, He was with us. The MW and nurses respected our decisions about no vaxxing and we never had any trouble with that. God was good. God is good.
We now have 4 children, how about that?

'Additional' News

My dear husband has the three oldest children outside and I'm supposed to be sleeping, but it seems I have to take by force my blogging time, so here I am. It has been 2 months since I've put up a blog, and I don't even know if I have any readers now (who likes to read a dead blog?), but I will try to attempt to restart my blog. I decided to change my URL since I have 4 kids now instead of 2. :) Makes sense, doesn't it?
Our newest addition made our family a family of SIX! Can you believe that? It is really unbelievable. We are sooo blessed to have our newest baby, Ella Annabelle, join our family this week, 9/8/09. She was a hefty 9lbs. 7.5oz. and 22.25 inches long. She is a real beauty and we are so in love with her. The kids love her and ask to hold her constantly! I feel that my heart is bursting over with love. Having a new baby is 'just what the dr ordered' for our family. :o)
I will try to get my birth story on here ASAP as it really was a wonderful experience. I'll leave you with a picture of my beauty and then I must go obey my husband and rest....... :o)
Thanks for reading!