The Children

Matthew 19:14 "But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 18:3 "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Mosiah 3: 16-19 " And even if it were possible that little children could sin they could not be saved; but I say unto you they are blessed; for behold, as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of Christ atoneth for their sins. And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent. For behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent. For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

My children are forever teaching me the importance and truthfulness of these scriptures.  They forgive me daily (if not hourly, somedays) and are patient in their attempts at trying new things and in waiting for me to become a better mother.  Their innocence and faith inspires me to try harder...and to yell less.

Preschool at Home

I need to come up with a new term.  Rico isn't doing preschool, because we don't plan to send him to a school.  So, do I just say homeschool? 

Anyway, we started homeschooling in September.  I got excited about it because Adrienne mentioned she was going to start and I realized I wanted to be in the habit before the baby came.  This turned out to be a smart move.  Although we are taking things slowly since Little Miss was born, Rico is constantly asking if we will be doing school.  It's nice that he WANTS to do school and he is also always asking what we will be learning next.  

So far we have learned (and I do me we because I have re-learned almost everything besides the name of the Earth... Ok, slight exaggeration,  but only slight):
The continents, the oceans,  land vs water, vegetation - trees-shrubs-flowers, people of different cultures including - Guatemala - France - Australia, rockets, satellites, planets, stars, sun/time, moon and now we are on the human body and we are starting with our bones. 

Keep in mind,  he is only three and a half and the lessons can only be so deep.   Right now he loves memorization games/songs and he loves pictures and art.  He also loves sensorial activities. 

With a new baby,  there is only so much I can handle and at this stage her needs change quickly every day so our main focus is bonding and taking care of her. 

Questions

Since there are two of your who read the blog...is there anything you would like me to post about?  Questions you want direction on?

The Birth of Little Miss

Her birth was wonderful.  It was the most relaxing and calm labor and birth I've had so far. Please note that I did not say least painful or shortest. 

I had contractions for a couple of weeks leading up to her birth.  They were sporadic and didn't ever get progressively closer or longer.  I was pretty tired after a couple of near sleepless nights.  We went to the pumpkin patch and when we got there I thought how funny it would be if we rode in the tractor that pulled you to the patch and I went into labor.  That is exactly what happened.  All the bumps triggered something in her and she decided it was time to come out. 

They were so mild that I didn't pay too close attention to them.  When I called J on the way home to tell him he dismissed it.  It had happened too many times before.  I ended up on the phone while the boys napped that afternoon and so I didn't get a chance to nap. 

J had piano that night and after we hung out and I think we may have watched something but now I don't remember.  I was hoping that if it was really labor that I would be able to sleep until about one and then wake up and have her about 6.  Not too much to hope for.

I did wake up at 1 and noticed they were still there but was able to go back to sleep until about 2:30.  I laid in bed for a little bit then I decided that I could either get up and see if movement would stop them or speed them up.  If they stopped, I could go back to sleep.  If they sped up I could have her soon!

I walked around our room for awhile and then decided to walk up and down our stairs a few times (I wasn't counting--it seemed like a lot of times).  Then I walked around the living room and sang hymns while keeping and eye on the clock to time them.  They were coming about every 5 minutes.  I assumed this was the real thing and at about 4 I woke J up.  He was really excited.  We decided that the boys should probably leave because I wasn't sure how much longer I would be in labor.  Dad and Donna came over quickly and got the boys.  Deddy and Dad fell back asleep until 8.  Rico laid awake and eventually Donna decided it would be easier to just get up with him.  They ended up having a really fun day together and it was nice to focus on the new baby for a few hours.

The contractions stayed between 3 and 5 minutes and I asked J to stop telling me when they were coming because I didn't want to focus on that anymore.  Best thing I could have done!  Usually contractions continuously speed up and get longer.  These never did.  Once I reached the 3-5 minute mark, they stayed like that for the rest of the labor.  Really weird.  I'm glad I didn't watch the clock and I'm glad J never told me--I would have felt so discouraged. 

I labored in the bath for a little bit and that was nice but not the best place for me.  I laid against Jo for some pretty tough contractions and I think feeling his calmness helped me feel calmer.  It was also nice to sleep while resting against him.  Eventually I ended up standing beside the bed leaning over onto a pile of pillows while swaying my hips.  This was where I was for most of the rest of the labor.  J continuously put hot cloths on my back and that felt amazing.  He does so well with me during labor.  He does everything that I ask him to do and his presence is so calming. 

During transition I cried.  I did that with Deddy's birth.  I just cried to cry.  I couldn't tell where the tears were coming from but I kept hearing that it was transition and I was almost done.  I also had a very distinct thought that all the pain I was experiencing was completely worth it to bring one of Heavenly Father's daughters to the Earth.  There was no other person who would bring her to Earth and I know that it was part of the plan Heavenly Father has for me to raise her as my daughter and to provide a body for her.  I also had the very strong thought that Christ went through the atonement for me.  Not just for me, but for everyone.  But during labor, knowing that he thought that I was worth any pain and suffering was very consoling.  It made me feel loved and deeply grateful for His sacrifice and for the Plan of Salvation.

I moved to the end of the bed.  We had a shower curtain laid on the ground and I felt like I needed to lift my leg up and rest it on the bed during a couple of contractions.  I did that and then my water broke.  I felt like my body was starting to push and I had wanted to let it do it on its own until her head was out.  After a few small pushes during contractions I sat on the ground with my arms behind me and gave a push.  J said he could see her head and I asked if it would be out on the next one.  He answered no but that he could see it and that was a good sign!  I had the thought "her head will be out on the next one."  We waited and then during the next contraction I pushed her head out.  Right before the last contraction I felt her body rotate and I pushed her out.  At 10:02am she slid fast into J's hands and he handed her to me.  There was a very strong spirit in the room and we were both so happy she was safely here.  J gave her a blessing and that moment bonded us.  She started nursing immediately and about 40 minutes later my placenta delivered. 

Each time I give birth I receive a greater understanding of Heavenly Father's Plan for us.  I have been blessed to take part three times in creating bodies for his spirit children.  It is my privilege and responsibility to take care of them.  I also gain a greater understanding of the Atonement and of my worth to our Heavenly Parents.  I love the sealing covenant that J and I agreed to in the temple and I love the knowledge  that our sweet babies are sealed to us for time and all eternity.  They will be our children forever and our family can never be broken if we continue to keep our covenants. 

Linda K. Burton, Relief Society General President stated in this last conference, "Why was the Savior willing to keep His covenant with the Father and fulfill His divine mission to atone for the sins of the world?  It was His love for His Father and His love for us.  Why was the Father willing to allow His Only Begotten and perfect Son to suffer pain beyond description to bear the sins, heartaches, sicknesses, and infirmities of the world and all that is unfair in this life?  We find the answer in these words: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.”

'If we fully appreciated the many blessings which are ours through the redemption made for us, there is nothing that the Lord could ask of us that we would not anxiously and willingly do.'  According to this statement by President Joseph Fielding Smith, covenant keeping is one way to express our love for the incomprehensible, infinite Atonement of our Savior and Redeemer and the perfect love of our Father in Heaven."

We felt led to this birth by Heavenly Father.  We were helped through it because of the Atonement.  We followed very direct personal revelation and we have been blessed.

Eloise:
6lb 12oz 19 1/2 inches
Total Labor: 24 hours
Pushing time: 3 Pushes