Captivating.....A book review..

Have you ever felt alone and unloved? Have you ever set aside your hopes and dreams unsure if they will ever come true?
In captivating John and Stasi Eldredge tell women why we feel these things. Why we feel and listen to the lies of the enemy. How Satan wants to destroy our beauty created by the L-rd Himself.
We look for the answer to the question are we loved and cherished by behaving certain ways. Letting our environment shape us into who we are, instead of listening to what Elohim says to us of our loveliness. We listen to the world and the lies perpetrated by the one who wants to destroy us.  
Stasi Eldredge explains to us how to see our true beauty. That we are created to be the beauty in this world. She tells us as women how to ignore the lies of the enemy and to let who we are to come out and to let ourselves be vulnerable; feminine and lovely, but all along being strong in the L-rd! 
You will find hope and courage to be the woman G-d created you to be in this book!
I recommend you read Captivating! You will not be disappointed!

Daily Life..

I am taking advantage of the small bits of time when I am feeling a little better to type up this blog post..
I have an infected tooth that has caused the right side of my face and under my chin to swell up. I am on penicillin and motrin and vicodin for pain. It is day 3 and I think the penicillin is finally starting to take effect. I am still swollen but it has went down a tiny bit. Still in pain but every 4 hrs I am taking motrin and every 6 hours vicodin..
Once again the couch has become my best friend.. It seems to be one thing right after another here since baby was born. I tend to get sick one way or another after I give birth to a baby..I am just so worn down and tired that my immune system can't seem to fight off stuff so well..
I am praying in the next few days its better and the swelling is gone..but for now I am spending most every moment on the couch...resting and then resting some more..
*************************************************************
Quentin has been busy crocheting again and this time he has started to make his own creations. I am always impressed by what he makes. He is talented!

This is the purse he made without a pattern for his sister Gabriellia..

He is now going to be making purses of different colors for girls in our home fellowship and he tells me he is going to add a pocket on the inside. :)
Gabriellia made a burp cloth for a lady in our home fellowship that just had a baby and even put the initial of the baby's first name on it..:) I wish I would have taken a picture of it before we sent the gift to her! :( 
I am always impressed by the wonderful things my children can create! :)
I don't think I ever put on here a picture of the blanket Gabriellia made for our new blessing Kian Adley..

This past Saturday was my oldest's graduation open house. It went well and she enjoyed it! It's bittersweet for this mama..I am so happy and excited for my dd in this new phase of life but sad that the years have flown by so quickly. I am excited to see what the L-rd's plan for her life is. Excited to see where He will lead her!
Our graduate!

 
And some new pictures of baby Kian Adley..

 

Josiah holding Kian Adley..

Blessings!!

Herbs..

Sunday afternoon I spent harvesting my herbs. They have grown like weeds :0 and gotten so big that I got out my clippers and chop chop went the herbs.
My home smells very herby..:)

and after being washed and bundled we hung them up to dry...

and a few left over pieces and loose leaves I dry on drying racks..

Herbs are my favorite part of gardening and bringing in the harvest!!

   

Diapers...

This post will be all about cloth diapers and plastic pants...with a few added things..

They are just the cutest things on baby bums..

 We have various plastic pants or covers here..
The green colored one above is a wrap style and the one above that is a plastic pants made locally.. .I LOVE them!!
Here is what they look like when they aren't on baby..

Here is a front view of them on baby..

I LOVE my kissaluv cloth diapers too!! They are snap diapers and so soft...and they look so cute on Kian Adley..

Kian Adley's diaper stash..

Micah and Gabby made peanutbutter cookies this past week and had fun doing some fun things with the dough..

This is baby Kian..

and my sweety baby..much cuter than his cookie..:):)

Kian Adley is 16 days old...
Often after he eats even after I have burped him he gets squirmy and fussy and acts like he needs burped again. He does this off and on all night and thruout the day..
He just isn't a happy baby boy..
Does anyone have any ideas on things I can try?? 
If i remember right with one of our other babies we gave them some drops that were for gassy babies and it seemed to help a bit. Could try that again..

Would love any tips any of you have??

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a nice Memorial Day Weekend. Saturday we ran some errands and hit a few garage sales. Sunday we went to home fellowship. It was nice coming back after awhile of being gone..
After we arrived home on Sunday afternoon the children had alot of fun running through the sprinkler..

ZaraLayna suntanning on the porch...

Monday we spent our day at a state park here in IN. We are exploring this great state every chance we get! We really do LOVE it here and want to see all the beautiful places it has to offer.

The lake..it was beautiful...

Josiah holding Kian Adley .....

Gabby is king..er..queen of the table...:)

My muddy big baby JaidenNoah...(we call them little baby; Kian Adley & big baby; JaidenNoah..)

My loverboy!! :)

Zeke teasing JaidenNoah....

The children swimming and having lots of fun...:)

Other recent pics...
Kian Adley nursing...

JaidenNoah posing for the camera...he is just so stinkin cute!!:)

One above is my dd Morgan-Britney who is 18 and is graduating this month..this is her casual graduation pic..She is a beautiful young lady inside and out!

   

Postpartum musings..

13 days postpartum today...for the last few nights as I lay in bed I can literally feel the spirit of despair come...this "thing" would love to be my friend but as I feel it I pray and I just do not allow myself to give in. I go over in my mind all the good things and why there is no good reason to feel this way or allow this to overtake me.
This is familiar to me..after my infant dd RuthAnne died despair visited me for the better part of two years. It was my friend and my enemy...but through it all I held onto the L-rd's hand and was able through His power and His word to push despair away and back where it came from.

I know the baby blues and know its normal after birth.. but I also know the tendency I could have to sink into a much deeper place and that's just not something Yeshua wants for me or that I want for myself!

Not just hormonal baby blues but the pain I have physically; the hurt caused by someone meant to help my body heal, and feeling so alone; all of it could easily drag me down into a pit..a pit too deep to climb out of for a good long time..

It means I have grown that I can recognize the enemy in all its forms..it means I am more His than I was..that I can know victory over defeat.. It means that I am no longer bound...I am unshackled..

Growth sneaks up on me until its smacking me right in the face and I see how obviously I have changed! I am different..that new man comes shining through...I am more content; more at peace; I trust more and have many new experiences in my experience box to draw from during times of testing and trial..experiences that prove my Saviour is true and faithful! Trials that show His goodness and that he alone provides..

Who is this woman? This is me; a new creature; the old is gone and now?? All things have become new!!

 

My sweety baby...

New pics of Kian Adley:

after his first bath..don't you just love his hair?? :)

his cord fell off at 3 days old..fast this time..