Getting Back To It

Sorry, Blog. I've neglected you.
Getting used to life as a family of five has been a crazy ride in these last eight months. I've thought of writing often, but the thought comes at inconvenient times. I'm hoping to get back into it. Here's a brief update:

- Our eldest daughter, Esther, has turned a whopping FIVE years old. This is insanity. She's suddenly so...old! So mature, taking on new responsibilities and pushing the limits set for her. Each day is a new adventure, for sure. She's my sweet, forgiving child. Fun loving and generally goofy. She continues to thrive in her last year in Cubbies (Awana for itty-bitties) and also started ballet. Recently, Madame Dorothy (her instructor) invited parents down to witness the progress. In a room full of girls wearing black and pink, Esther wore a pink and purple swirly leotard with sparkles and a purple sparkle tutu. Absolutely hilarious! It was a proud moment for me to see her doing as well as I would expect and having so much fun with her little friends.


- Our second daughter, Abigail, is due to be three years old on April 16th. Again, insanity. She's entering into the 'I'll do it myself' stage and it's quite hilarious. For the most part, we let her figure things out. Which leads to more laughing than anything. She's full of energy and joy. She's absolutely hilarious! She loves playing with her big sister and loves singing to her little sister. She's quite the singer, constantly in tune about something. Although it's now April, we're still hearing "In Excelsis Deo," as well as other favorites such as "Away in a Manger," "Rock-A-Bye Baby," and "Hush, Little Baby." Oh, and anything from Veggie Tales. She recently fell from the shopping cart at the grocery store and gave us a serious scare, but is healing well.

- Our most recent daughter, Lydia, is already eight months old! I seriously cannot believe time has flown so fast in this little one's life. Her first birthday is seemingly so close! She's getting big and doing well. We've continued to supplement her with donated milk, which has been a continued blessing. I'm so thankful we've mostly had one donor. On her low points, a few other friends have kept us in milk. We've only had a few days here and there where I was a bit nervous as to where her next meal would come from. I'm seriously still in shock and awe as to how selfless these women have been. I've been breastfeeding for 8+ months, which is just simply amazing!!! I'm so blessed!! Lydia's started eating some table food, too, which is super fun this time around! We're following the Baby Led Weaning method of introducing solids and, I've got to say, I'm a little peeved we didn't know about this with the first two!! She loves trying new things, but her favs are yogurt, banana, avocado, and pear. She's absolutely beautiful and is such a blessing!

- The husband is doing well - he continues to finish up his plumbing apprenticeship; he'll take his journeyman test this summer. (Let the cramming ensue!) His current loves are his 1991 Dodge Ram and pottery. Really joys for me, I love watching him work on the truck and there's nothing quite like the sound of his pottery wheel turning in the basement.

- As for me...golly! The past few months have been a whirlwind! I've decided, reluctantly, to postpone my schooling to become a midwife. I'm trying to remain patient and wait in the Lord. I know He knows the perfect timing. As my amazing midwife says, I'm a "spring chicken" and I do have time ahead of me! I'm also still struggling with which type of certification I'd like to use, between Certified Nurse Midwife and Certified Professional Midwife. More on that later. In the mean time, I continue my work as a doula - including three births in the last two weeks! - and started training to become a midwife's assistant. I've done one birth with my midwife and her apprentice, which was amazing and a wonderful learning experience. I'm also enrolled in a class taught by another wonderful midwife in my area. I'm pumped for this leg of my journey while I long for the next. I'm also continuing to work in my local birth community: I'm on the board of the Quad Cities Birth Coalition, a local group committed to educating women and empowering them to have the birth right for them and I just recently joined the board of the Illinois Friends of Midwives, a group working to pass legislation recognizing the CPM licensure.

So that's where we all are! We continue to work towards selling our house and are actually seeing the light at the end of that tunnel. We've started searching for the right location for our growing family, which is pretty exciting! The last time we moved was when I was pregnant with Esther, so the thought of moving us, three kids, a dog and eight hens is a tad overwhelming. I'm excited about the next part of our journey, though, and especially about purging our material processions.

I have lots of ideas on things I'd like to write about and share, so stay tuned!!