Christmas time is coming!

Christmas time is near!
Growing up I was a Grinch. My poor mother. We didn't get a lot for Christmas and I think as a teenage girl I was easily disappointed. I hated going to school the next day and looking at all the neat things everyone else got and feeling sorry for myself. I was always taught the true meaning of Christmas!
I was so oblivious to the true Christmas spirit. Which was no ones fault but mine!
After I got married and had my own kids I started becoming quiet curious about this Christmas stuff. And what everyone felt when they pranced through Walmart humming their Christmas songs and wearing Santa hats. *jingle jingle* I watched from a distance. Not really getting to into it. I watched friends make cookies, and kids sell wreaths. I just watched.
Then we had kids!
Every year that passed I after that i craved a beautiful magazine picture perfect Christmas. (my husband says "complete with puppy") and every year something happened that left me more disappointed then the last. We moved. We had to all of a sudden leave on Christmas eve. We didn't have any gifts. The list goes on.
And then......... Last year came around. Our house was under construction. We just moved here. One day someone knocked on our door and offered us Christmas! I was so excited! And it was wonderful! I cannot tell you how excited I was! I was shocked at the selfishness. That someone would just give us this amazing gift.
This year my girls have given over three garbage bags of toys, books, games, and cloths that we are bringing to the free store so others can find Christmas gifts.
I have found the true spirit of Christmas.

Sunday Mornings

Oh Sunday mornings. Why do you have to be so hard?
The day my body begs me to sleep in. The day I feel like I can't move fast enough to get to church on time. The day I'm trying to bounce my husband out of bed. The day I can't find matching shoes for the girls. The day tights disappear. The day I realize I should have washed more laundry.
Oh Sundays. I do love your quietness though. The feeling as though for a whole day you can just rest and visit. I love listening to the words I hear on Sundays. I love the peaceful feeling of belonging.
Have a great day. A great Sunday.

Birth

Birth. One word that can describe a mountain worth of emotions. Society views it as painful. It's viewed as dangerous and something you NEED a doctor for.
Now don't get me wrong the medical field has it's place. However I think birth is viewed all wrong. Birth is not a medical process.
Birth is something women have instincts for. It is something that a woman can do when left alone without interventions.
Interventions are almost always unnecessary. Interventions snowball. First it's, for example, an induction. Then medication to speed up a process that the baby and mother are not ready for but the induction is forcing. Then there is medication for pain brought on by strong medication forcing your body and baby into stress. Then there is a cesarean that was totally avoidable and caused only by an unnecessary intervention. It is a rolling snowball. And it leaves a negative birth experience in many women who don't realize they have every right to decline anything they are told to do by their care provider.
The most liberating feeling is when a woman realizes her body is her own and anything to do with her body, pregnant or not, is her decision. It's a moment that says I am my own person. I have instincts. I am strong. I will listen to my body. I am empowered!
So  mothers empower yourself! Educate yourself! Make your own decisions based off your instincts! And many of us will stand beside you while we fight for a better birth.
Peace*

One of those days!

You parents know what I mean when I say I'm having "one of those days!"
Those days where breakfast "accidentally" gets fed to the dog by a certain toddler who's still hungry. Those days where you don't wake up to baby smiles, you wake up to the "I'm teething" grimace. Those days where somehow the garbage is overflowing. that dish you gently put in the sink broke all over your sink full of dirty dishes. The laundry you forgot to dry needs to be re-washed.. Maybe a few times. You get peed on in public. You forget you scheduled your doctors appointment at nap time. You catch #1 carrying #4 around by the armpits, more then once. Where you run out of toilet paper. Those days where they baby smacks herself in the forehead with a rattle, continuously, and its never funny. Those days. Yes those days.
Those are the days I need to remember.. At least the dogs fed. At least my baby will snuggle me all day. At least my garbage is overflowing because I had lots of company, who I enjoyed very much. I have more dishes that are not broken, and clean. At least I'm not still washing my cloths in my bathtub. At least I know my kids are hydrated when I get peed on. Everyone is healthy! Everyone loves each other even if we have to work on expressing that without dragging each other around by the armpits! And at least I can throw the rattle back in the toy box when it smacks me!
Its important to remember that some things are only exactly as we view them.
Positive thoughts!

Life {interrupted}

Life has a funny way of getting around to good & bad. Everyone gets their turn.
My whole life I was going to leave home and start a career in the east. Photography? Child education? Interior design? Criminal justice? I had every intention in finding a path I loved.
I never thought life would led me here. A mother of four girls. Married to someone who drives me crazy, in a good way, of course! Someone who supports breastfeeding, natural birth, and attachment parenting. Someone who is anti circ. Someone who cooks gluten free food and loves organic. Someone who's stash of cloth diapers grows with every baby. Someone who owns and loves a Moby and an ergo. Someone who loves "Car Seats for The Littles" and "Birth Without Fear" Someone who takes photos for people as a hobby.
How did I get here?
I got here through years of learning, accepting I'm not always right. I got here through some extremely tough times. Through martial problems, through a storm that brought the biggest rainbow.
And so here I am. Blogging. Blogging about life!  :-) enjoy!