For the love of sauerkraut

I've known about sauerkraut being a superfood for a couple years now, but haven't gotten around to making it until now.  Well, actually I did attempt it once, but it turned out all soggy so I was rather nervous to try it again.  I do buy the Bubbie's now and then, but the kids have learned to love it so much that they were eating wayyy too much of it.  (Not too much of the benefits, but the cost was too high!)  I figured I'd better buckle down and try it again.  I do have a shredder, so the work wasn't scaring me, but just the fact that *things*can*go*wrong*, if you know what I mean.  What if it molds?  Is soggy? Tastes weird?  I looked into what causes these things and learned a few things that I'll share with you down below.

What's so good about sauerkraut anyways, you ask?  Here's a list to get you started from Probiotics- Love That Bug

"If you still need convincing on the benefits of sauerkraut just take a look at what Lactobacillus plantarum - the biggest group of bacteria in fully fermented cabbage - has been proven to do.

• Provides (lots of) Vitamin C - Captain Cook prevented his crew from catching scurvy by taking barrels of sauerkraut with them
• Reduced incidence of diarrhea in daycare centres⁴
• Especially effective in reducing inflammation in inflammatory bowel; e.g., enterocolitis in rats, small bowel bacterial overgrowth in children, pouchitis⁴
• Reduced pain and constipation of irritable bowel syndrome⁴
• Reduced bloating, flatulence, and pain in irritable bowel syndrome⁵
• Positive effect on immunity in HIV+ children⁶
• Drastically reduces the phytic acid, polyphenols and trypsin inhibitor activity in grains and soy which significantly increases the digestibility of starch and protein⁷
• Contains the antioxidants glutathione and superoxide dismustase which can help fight off free radicals.
• Turns hard to digest lactose into easily to digest lactic acid.
• Helps generate omega-3 fatty acid and GTF chromium a trace mineral that help with digestion"
• Reduces cancer too (link)

"Nature provides the most effective stomach acid regulator, which is unpasteurized sauerkraut. Sauerkraut is unique because it raises stomach acid "if" it is too low, and it lowers stomach acid "if" it is too high. Eating 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sauerkraut with meals is one of the best ways to improve digestion." (source)

Here's what I've learned about making it-

#1. Use an airlock.  These are a one-way valve that have water in them to let the oxygen out and ensure that your kraut stays anaerobic (this is the reaction that takes place that turns plain old cabbage into probiotic heaven).  You can buy them online or at a homebrew store.  I bought a couple and Greg fitted them into a plastic wide mouth mason lid with a bung (rubber stopper with a hole in the middle), that you can also buy at the same place.  Mold likes air, so keeping air out of the jar will keep it out of your kraut. (huge peace of mind for me)

#2. Make sure your cabbage is under liquid.  If needed, add a bit more water.  This is your best bet at reducing mold.

#3.  Don't get bogged down by a million different recipes.  There are MANY ways to do it, so pick one and go for it (from a reputable source, of course).  Mother Earth News, Cultures for Health have good information.

I've only made it a few times, so am no expert, but here's what I do.  I found this recipe in a book I have, and the woman said to just make sure you have at least 1 T. of salt per quart jar of kraut (that tastes right to us, but you can use up to 3 T).  Don't use more than 3 T. because you can inhibit the probiotic effect if you do.  I use a 2 qt. jar, so use 2 T. of salt.  The reason for the salt is to keep bacteria at bay until the lactic acid takes over and converts the cabbage into sauerkraut.  Non-iodized salt is necessary as iodine can change the condition of cabbage and inhibit good bacteria growth.  Sea salt or pickling salt is fine.

The whey is optional.  Yogurt and kefir (and anything with liquid whey) can be used to give your sauerkraut a jump start.  It is filled with the exact good bacteria you're looking for, so adding it speeds up the process.  I haven't used it, but you sure can.

Sauerkraut Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 medium head of cabbage
• One of the following:
  • 1 to 3 tablespoons non iodized salt or
  • 1 to 3 tablespoons salt and ¼ cup whey or
  • (A starter culture such as Caldwell’s Cultured Vegetable Starter or Body Ecology Starter Culture and salt as indicated by the instructions for the specific culture you are working with)

Instructions

Our shredder (hire your kids to do this part), a food processor would work good too

Jamming it down into the 2 qt. jar (1 medium head)

1. Chop or shred the cabbage depending on the desired consistency of the final product. Sprinkle with salt. (the salt pulls the liquid out of the cabbage, so add salt, leave it and then move onto #2)
2. Work the cabbage with clean hands or potato masher until there is plenty of liquid and the cabbage is a bit mushy. This portion of the process usually takes about 10 minutes.
3. If using whey, add the whey and mix well. If using a starter culture, add the culture as specified by the instructions that came with the culture.
4. Stuff the cabbage into the fermenting container, pressing the cabbage underneath the liquid. If necessary, add a bit of water to completely cover cabbage. (don't fill the jar more than 2/3-3/4 full as it expands over time)  I found 1 medium-large head filled a 2 qt. jar just about right. 
5. Culture for 3 to 10 days at room temperature. A longer fermentation period can be used if desired. (I did just 3 days each time, the warmer the temperature, the faster it will ferment)
6. Once the sauerkraut is finished, move to a storage container, if desired. Store the sauerkraut in the refrigerator or in a root cellar after the culturing process. Many people find that aging the sauerkraut in the refrigerator or root cellar for 4 to 6 weeks improves the flavor (it also increases probiotic activity the longer you leave it, but we end up eating it too fast!)
7.  Eat as desired.  Try to eat some with each meal (we usually forget, but try to get some in at lunch and supper if we can).  Use a clean utensil each time to keep bad bacteria out and the good stuff in.
   
   
   

   

   These gadgets are from my applesauce maker, but they work great to put it into the jar.

   

   2 quart jar with airlock

   
   

Makes approximately 1-2 quart.

 (PS.  My photos are no Pioneer Woman's, as I'm a mom of 5 little ones.  Lucky to even get them here!)

Dental discussion - part 2

Quick update here on James' teeth.  Yesterday we had to go and get the first cavity filled.  Unfortunately the cavity was right through the nerve, exposing it.  There was no infection present, but can still happen.  The dentist ended up doing a pulpectomy (baby root canal?) and then filling the remaining area open.  I wasn't too happy to have to have this done, but didn't know of any other options.  Having an exposed nerve is not a good thing, nor is an infection/abscess.  So, that's that.

Anyhow, the dentist was wondering a few things.  All of his cavities are on the back sides of his first molars (top and bottom, both sides).  She said that she's never seen that before.  She said that most often cavities randomly show up here and there, without a consistent pattern.  These are all in the exact same spot on 4 different teeth.  The other weird thing is that the newer molars that are touching these ones are completely healthy, no decay at all.  She said that often doesn't happen either.  If a molar has a cavity between it, then the touching molar often is decayed as well.

It got me to thinking and I came up with 2 different theories.   

1)  His health problems began with jaundice at birth along with his allergies and eczema.  We did elimination diets and tried all kinds of creams, but didn't actually get any real information on what was wrong nor what to do about it until he went to the Herbalist when he was 18 months old.(Read about it here)  These first molars would have been in by then, and because his digestion was so poor, he likely wasn't absorbing near enough vitamins and minerals to maintain healthy teeth.  Thus the cavities in his 4 major molars.  He also wasn't nursing anymore, so didn't have that back up easy-to-digest nutrition either.  By the time those second molars came in, we were doing lots of specific diet changes, probiotics and digestive enzymes which helped him get a lot more nutrients out of his food.

2)  He may have had silent acid reflux as I wrote about in part 1, and we didn't know about it.  Being his digestion was so poor, this very likely could have been true, since the decay is on the back side of each molar.  Many people have silent reflux, causing stomach acid to come up their throat in the night and causing it to eat the enamel on their teeth.  Adding in the above changes may have very well taken care of it. (better digestion)

The third thing (this was mentioned to me by a friend) was to look into a Tooth Meridian Chart.  This is kind of like reflexology, in that each tooth corresponds to a body organ.  On James, his cavities are in the "liver" area.  Hmmm.  I haven't looked into this any further, and our dentist had never heard of it, but makes me wonder.  

Our bodies are simply amazing, and this tells me how much we think we know about how they work, and how much we really don't know.  What I do know is this- cavities aren't caused by brushing/flossing or lack of it.  This isn't the main cause anyhow.  We are faithful at brushing, in yet he got these 4 and the other kids have none.  Does that make sense?  This tells me that it is an internal factor in the health of the teeth.  I know sugar is a main component in many ways (bacteria decaying on the outside, calcium/magnesium/phosphorus balance from the inside (link here) )  I've quoted this before too, but it's worth repeating, from Sally Fallon in Nourishing Traditions, "Last, but not least, sugar consumption is the cause of bone loss and dental decay. Tooth decay and bone loss occur when the precise ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the blood varies from the normal ratio of 4 parts phosphorus to 10 parts calcium. At this proportion, all blood calcium can be properly utilized. Dr. Melvin Page of Florida demonstrated in numerous studies that sugar consumption causes phosphorus levels to drop and calcium to rise. Calcium rises because it is pulled from the teeth and the bones. The drop in phosphorus hinders the absorption of this calcium, making it unusable and therefore toxic. Thus, sugar consumption causes tooth decay not because it promotes bacterial growth in the mouth, as most dentists believe, but because it alters the internal body chemistry. Orthodox nutritionists admit that sugar causes tooth decay, although they may be mistaken about just why this is so, but their warnings to avoid tooth decay by limiting sweets are disingenuous. Most people would be willing to pay the price for bad teeth as long as they did not have to stop eating sugar. After all, teeth can be repaired or replaced. But poor teeth are always the outward sign of other types of degeneration in the body, degeneration that cannot be repaired by mechanical means."

I also know what I'm going to focus on now.  Getting healthy new adult teeth for these kids so that they can have healthy teeth for life.  Greg & I have decided to try to stay as much as we can on the diet we've been doing.  We are allowing a few grains in here and there, but have also upped our sauerkraut intake because probiotics->better digestion->better absorption of all those important vitamins and minerals.  (Sauerkraut blog post soon to come!)  Also, when the adult teeth come in, ages 12-16 are the most critical for focusing on healthy diet to avoid cavities.  This is the time when the adult teeth do the most hardening (of enamel), and if you can avoid cavities/decay during this period, you are pretty much good for life unless your nutritional status is totally low.  Greg recalls that was the age was when his eating habits were the worst, and also when his cavities all showed up too.

I regret not getting those first 2 cavities filled when they were tiny (it's a long story why we didn't), but have learned a lot about teeth since then! 

How about you?  What have been your experiences?

Random acts of thankfulness and prayer

Do you ever do things habitually and not even notice that you do?  Things you've done so long that you don't even remember why or when you started?  Some of these may end up being bad habits, but some are good, and one of these is what I'm writing about today.

I have a habit of giving thanks when I'm doing mundane tasks.  I know there was a big fad (if you can call it that) a couple years ago about deliberately counting and giving thanks for every little thing.  This is a good thing to focus on, but I realized at that time that I already did it many times every day.

For example, every morning when I'm making my coffee I am thankful for petty little things.   Like electricity to heat my water (and for my cute little tea kettle to heat it with).  And then for ground coffee so I don't have to take time to grind it (that's what happens when you buy the cheap stuff!)  I then go to the cupboard and pick out my favorite mug-of-the-day.  I am thankful that I have so many favorites (I only keep the ones I love), so every morning it's exciting to pick out what coffee cup to use that day.   I'm thankful each day that my French press is not broken (the kids unload it from the dishwasher rather carelessly most days).  And I'm thankful that I'm getting my essential fatty acids as I put my coconut oil in it and drink it away.  Most days it's cold before I get a chance to drink much, but the thankfulness is still there for the ritual of it all.

 

Another thing I do each day is give thanks for my dishwasher.  Every day as I'm loading it I say a few thankful prayers to God for having a dishwasher (because of the amount I dislike doing dishes).  And for each dirty dish because they mean that my kids are healthy and able to eat.  And that we have enough food to feed them.  I give thanks that we're able to share so many meals together as a family, as seen by the many dishes that get washed.  I'm also thankful that I'm not pregnant, as dishwashers are NOT made for a big pregnant belly.  When I've been pregnant, I give thanks that the discomfort while loading a dishwasher doesn't last forever!  I realized recently that I do this each day, and I have no idea how long I've been at it.  A good habit to keep up on.

I also pray thankful prayers for friends and family while changing diapers many times each day and while mowing the lawn and hanging clothes on the line (maybe that's why I enjoy them so much).  It always happens to be the same people who I pray for, so some people get prayed for a lot more than others, I'd say!

Recently (about 3 weeks ago), we seemed overwhelmed by bad news.  Greg's Grandma fell and broke her hip.  His uncle had a heart attack.  His aunt was also hospitalized for various health concerns.  Another family we know lost their 5 year old boy in a tragic accident.  My cousin was in ICU intubated with pneumonia and the prognosis was not good for quite some time.  A young family we know has been struggling with cancer.  A few more friends have injuries, terminal illness, marriage turmoil and perils of different sorts.    Although we were doing okay ourselves, we were reminded that we should, "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."  Galations 6:2.  When I would notice that I was worrying (about situations that I have no control over), I would try to turn it into a prayer instead.  Greg and I both felt the weight of their struggles, but were reminded "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep." Romans 12:15.  It was okay to feel that burden.  It is actually an honor and a privilege to pray for those we love.  Especially when they may not have the strength or faith to pray themselves some times.  

The time was rather dark, but God is always faithful.  He has reasons for all that we go through.  Pain and suffering are part of this fallen world, even if we may not understand it.  Tough times often draw us nearer to God, which is such a good thing, but none of us would wish it on anyone.  I think of many of the saints in the Bible, and none of them had it easy either.  Even God's own children were not very obedient to Him throughout the ages.  There certainly is nothing new under the sun and this is how we can rest in His promises and put all our hope and trust in Him!

Saving jeans, one pair at a time

Now that I am the proud mother of 3 boys, I've been pondering ways to increase jean life.  I normally would peruse garage sales and thrift stores for them and snatch them up whenever I could.  This worked well except for two things.  1) they didn't always fit right and then I'd have to get rid of them  2) they would wear out "prematurely" in my estimation (because they'd already been worn). 

With 3 boys, I can see us going through a lot more jeans in the coming years.  So, I began to think of how I could stretch out the life of the jeans we already own, as well as keeping them looking tip-top on most occasions.  I don't mind jeans with holes in them around the house for playing (another bonus to homeschool), but prefer hole-less jeans for town and such. 

I know they make double front jeans for men, but as of yet have not found them for boys.  New jeans are expensive especially x3.  Buying patches for so many jeans gets expensive too, and they are so thick that it makes the knees not bend very easily either.  I've also tried sewing old jean pieces as patches into the new to make my own double layer knees, but it didn't work very well either (they still wore out rather quickly).  My solution came as I was folding some Dickie's pants that one of the boys has.  They had interfacing ironed into the pants around the knees straight from the factory.  Eureka!  I tried this at home with a couple pairs, but it wore through right away.  It must have been too thin (I just used ordinary interfacing).  I then went to the fabric store and found the sturdiest iron-on interfacing they had (the actual cotton fabric with glue on the back for putting in collars of shirts) and bought some.  If I could patch up the jeans before they wore out, maybe they'd look better for much longer.

I then came home and tried it out.  I ironed the interfacing on the inside of the new jeans and then ran a row of stitching around the whole "patch" to reinforce the corners. (I have tried putting on iron-on patches in the past and the glue loosens at the corners after a few washings- not good!)

Here's what it looks like from the inside.  It's still a bit of work to add to my day, but I think it's such a shame to have to throw jeans away so soon after just the knees wear out and the rest of the jeans are fine.  I'm certainly not up to making crafts out of them and you can only use so many pairs of cut offs!  I do wish I had an "arm" on my sewing machine which would make stitching around these much easier, but I don't, so I just bunch it up as necessary and go sewing along.

So far I've been happy with the results.  The jeans that I've done it to look great and the fibers stay stronger as they stay intact much better.  It'll take a few years before Isaac is wearing the jeans that Luke is in now, so I can't tell you if I'll get 3 boys through them or not!  I still shop for second hand jeans when I can, but have also found a fairly good deal on new jeans at Old Navy.  They go on sale for $10/pair.  Dark wash (which shows less stains and the stitching from the patches) and an adjustable waist (necessary for skinny boys!)  Makes me a happy Mom.  Now to do the same for shoes...(please help!)

How do you stretch your kids clothing life with your budget?  Where do you find the best deals?

The good, the bad and the newest normal

Having a baby definitely brings out the best and worst in people.  I've heard it said that having a baby brings a family closer together, yet I've witnessed it also pulling a family apart as well.  It's so uplifting to see a miraculous being created by God Himself and being given to us as a free gift.  How amazing is that?!  But, it also brings out the worst in even the meekest of saints.

Right now I am sitting here nursing a (fussy) baby who is supposed to be napping while I attempted to plant my pathetic garden.  This morning we went into town to meet up with the farmers of the CSA (community supported agriculture) we are planning to join to get fresh produce for the summer.  I've wanted to join one in the past, but the cost scared me.  Turns out this one will be 2/3 the price I normally spend on (mostly non-organic trucked in) produce from the store.  And it's fresh picked.  And it's organic.  Hooray!  We'll see if the quantity works out to be similar or not.  

Speaking of my pathetic garden, I have no idea how women of the past with babies had gardens.  "Just tend it while baby naps," they say.  Umm, yeah.  I have million things to do while baby naps.  One of them would be to take a nap myself, which rarely happens because of those million other things to do!  Of all the seeds I planted, it's not looking good.  No carrots came up.  A few meager beets did (out of a whole package).  1 pea plant out of 2 packages of seeds.  The beans are up but I accidentally bought bush beans instead of pole beans which will take up way more room and the leaves are looking like a slug has been eating on them.  I planted a bunch of seeds in the sun room which are half transplanted in the garden before having to come in and tend to baby.  We'll see how they do.  I haven't had much luck in the past with them, but am trying again.  Tomatoes just got transplanted, so don't know their status either.  Last year we got a few snow peas (maybe 2 small bowls), one meal of green beans and although the tomatoes were plenteous and delicious, they froze before we could harvest the majority of them.  Sigh!  I'm going to keep trying though, because it's worth it.  I know our lovely chicken Bridget has been down in the garden, so I'm hoping she hasn't eaten all my seeds.  That would be quite the situation.

This kind of frustration absolutely brings out the worst in me.  I'm normally a pretty patient person.  With the fussiness I've dealt with with our other babies, it's definitely taught me not to get my hopes up too high as to what can get done in a day.  But, I still have expectations.  I'm told by outsiders to lower my expectations for this stage in life.  That's fine, but I really don't know how to bring them any lower without resorting to sheer chaos around here.  Meals are pretty hodge podge, although consistently so!  The weeds have completely taken over our yard, which would be a hard yard to keep up on even if we were retired and had nothing but time on our hands.  It is kind of a kick in the teeth when our next door neighbor faithfully mows his lawn each Sunday morning as we're heading off to church, while our weed patch is waving in the wind.  I try to have a few flower beds with perennials, but they are absolutely covered in weeds too so you can't see the flowers.  And spraying the weeds just doesn't sit well with me.  We tried mulching, but obviously didn't put a thick enough layer down, as the weeds are heartier than even this year. 

To lower my expectations any lower would be cause more trouble rather than less.  You need to have some joys in life, otherwise it just gets to be complete drudgery.  I try to pick simple joys and these help me through the not-so-fun tasks.  Simple joys (tasks) to me are things like hanging clothes on the line.  Cloth diapers, while I hang them on the line (double savings).  The ritual of making coffee in my French press and then picking my favorite mug of the day and savoring my coffee out of it.  Yes, these all take more time than the conventional ways, but they are the enjoyable time in my day.  

Dishes on the other hand, are not.  I procrastinate on dishes far too often, which leaves me with way more dishes than if I did them regularly.  Although I dislike that about myself, I haven't been able to change it yet.  No matter how many dishes I do, there's always more within (usually) 15 minutes.  Or less.  Getting dishes done is never an accomplishment, as there's always some that I forget on a random counter, or a dishwasher to unload (the kids do it, but it still nags at me to make sure it's done).  If I wash them all, then they need to be dried and put away and that just never gets done.  My dish rack is always full.  Ugh. Not my idea of a good time. 

Having more kids also makes me realize that each child needs more time for different needs, which is difficult to give when a newborn needs a great quantity of my time.  This (in the long run) is not a bad thing, as children from larger families make better spouses and get along with others better too.  But, at this stage of the game all I see is the areas lacking that need my attention.  Behavior issues.  Discipline.  Attitude adjustments.  Potty training needs.  More reading time (me to them, them to me).  More memory work.  More Bible time.  More time with my husband.  But, it just ain't happenin' right now.  And that's just the way it is.   I guess I don't see how all those things draw a family closer together as some claim.  I do have to make my other kids work harder, which is good.  I try to appreciate the time I have with each of them separately and our time as a whole.  I do have a good attitude most days (thanks to B vitamins and green powder) up until about 7 pm. and then bedtime often gets a bit messy!  I try to have a basic routine each day to keep us on track which helps immensely.  

But...I'm still looking forward to the day when a child takes initiative for something and just goes for it.  Picks up a toy without being told.  Starts schoolwork before I tell them to.  Helps out a sibling without being asked.  Brushes their teeth without a huge mess in the bathroom.  Things like that.  I do have hope, as I've seen that each child does get older.  Our older 4 do sleep through the night, much as I never thought they would.  They can eat by themselves and are good eaters for the most part.  They do know how to do most jobs, even if I have to regularly motivate and remind them to stay on track.

I realize these years are fleeting.  And I'm okay with that.  I love interacting with my kids each day.  3 meals each day where we can visit and enjoy each others company and learn about something new each time (whether a story, an imagination gone wild, a question needing an answer, a Bible devotion or whatever it is we're talking about that day).  I love enjoying my baby.  Cuddling, waking up with her next to me, rocking her to sleep and just smiling at her and her smiling back. I love it when a toddler climbs into bed with me and cuddles before taking on the day.  And rubbing the kids feet or backs when they're having a rough time (or if I have an extra few minutes at bedtime).   Those are the moments not to gloss over.  And I love them.  But they don't make up the majority of the day, even if they're interspersed throughout.  

The majority of my time seems to be nagging and cajoling young'ns to do (minimal) chores, nursing a baby while looking at the cobwebs and messes I can't reach, and tripping on 100's of miscellaneous items on the floor.  Legos and paper scraps from crafts seem to be the worst culprits around here and they drive me batty.  It simply amazes me how much paper can be snipped up into a million pieces in an incredibly short time.  And the scraps are obviously too big to vacuum up, but too small to pick up one by one.  I think paper scraps are the bane of my existence around here.  Not sure what to do about that one, since that's about the only crafts that the kids do.  They just love cutting up paper and boxes to make "projects", and I do love the creativity it brings, but oh, the mess, the mess!

Anyhow, that's what's going on around here lately.  A bit of this, a bit of that.  A bit of the good, a bit of the bad and mostly just trying to get used to our new normal in life.

A Chicken Tale

Last summer we added 6 more chickens to our flock of 6.  These 12 hens gave us plenty of eggs and entertainment all summer and fall.  Until the coyotes moved in.  Then the raccoons.  One by one, our chicken flock dwindled.  We had them fenced in all day and locked in their coop at night, but still chickens were going missing (sometimes in broad daylight while I was home).  Greg got on the lookout with the shotgun, but didn't get a coyote until 11 were already dead.  The raccoons left telltale paw prints in the snow where they had broken into the hen house at night, left 2 dead inside and then escaped over the fence to get away.

Needless to say, our lone chicken Bridget (named for a Busytown character) was a little spooked to sleep in her coop.  We thought she might be lonely, so we sent her over to live at our neighbors who have a flock of their own (although also dwindling due to coyotes).  After a few days, we see Bridget strutting her way back home to our house.  She settled back in and has been spending her days digging up my garden (ugh!) and her nights up in our other neighbors holly bush (a pretty safe choice).  She's stayed alive for now 5 months longer than the rest, and faithfully gives us 1 egg each day.

We'll probably get more chickens someday since we love the fresh eggs and scrap eaters, but for now she's the lone ranger!

Missing family - Found!

There's always been some questions in our family history. We have a great-grandfather who disappeared, never to return.  The story has been that my maternal great-grandmother Briita Frederiika Charlotta Pell (Lottie, as she was known) met him (William Charles Smith) at Oaks Park in Portland (where he was working as a carnie), then they married.  When Lottie was 3 months pregnant with my Grandma (Ada Margaret Smith); WCS (as I'll refer to him from now on) took all their money out of the bank and left in the night never to return.  It's always been a question what happened to him.  This happened in 1914, exactly 100 years ago.

Lottie then returned to her parent's farm in eastern Oregon (she had been living and working in Portland) to give birth to my Grandma and raise her there.  Eventually Lottie filed some sort of divorce for desertion and did remarry when my Grandma was about 6 or 7, but the new marriage never resulted in any children, so my Grandma remained an only child. 

Great Grandma and Grandma

Because of the time this happened, Lottie always wondered if WCS had gone back to England (where he was from) to fight in WWI.  Maybe he was killed in the war.  Because she was quite hurt by him leaving, neither she nor my Grandma ever looked into it too deep what may have become of him.  But, now that they are both gone, my aunts and Mom have wondered and started looking into it.  They did find some possible family members names before Grandma died, but had no way to find out where they lived (they only knew they were in Canada).  Grandma thought it was interesting that she might have 2 half brothers, but didn't really want to know much more than that.  She was 90+ at the time, and had lived her whole life without them.  She passed away at 92 in 2008.

Kurtti siblings now- Beth, Ruth Anne, Susie, Hilkka (Jim's new wife), Jim, Becky, Julie Mary, Phebe

Fast forward to now.  My parents live in Alberta, Canada and one day they were having coffee and visiting with their neighbor, an Englishman (or it may have more likely been tea!)  The neighbor had been mentioning that he was doing some genealogy on his wife's family, through his hometown of Aldershot, England.  My Mom's ears perked up, as that had been where WCS was from (there is an army base there, apparently).  She asked if he'd mind checking into what he could find out about our great-grandfather.  He said that he'd love to.

Great Grandma cooking in the farm cook shack when Grandma was 5

He found out this:  Yes, WCS had gone back to England serving in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (status: single).  But, he had not died.  Records show that he remarried and came back to Canada after the war with a new wife and young son.  He settled in Vancouver, BC and had another son there.  He had raised his family just a few hours away from where my Grandma lived her whole life.  My aunts were able to then look up family members through Facebook and make connections with a step-grandson and a granddaughter, both living in Canada (the step-grandson only 45 minutes from my parents in Sylvan Lake, of all things).  The granddaughter lives in BC and has been emailing my aunt as well as has pictures of him in the mail as I write, of her grandfather, who is also ours.

The granddaughter (Beverly is her name) said she never knew of us or Grandma, nor does she think her parents or grandmother (WCS's "new" wife) did.  She was surprised, to say the least, but also intrigued.  When she saw pictures of my Grandma, she said, "Well, we sure can't blame this one on the milkman, lol"  She apparently saw some strong family resemblances.  They also wondered how WCS kept that secret all those years.  We also wonder all the other unknown details of their relationship which we'll never know, because everyone is now dead and gone.

My great-grandma burnt everything they had owned except his Bible and his boxing medal (which he did as a side job/hobby), which my uncle has now.  My aunts have found their marriage license online and printed it off too, as the original was destroyed.

-William Charles Smith marries Briita Frederiika Charlotta Pell (m. July 4, 1914)

  -Ada Margaret Smith (b. April 1, 1915) (marries Rafael Kurtti)

    -James, Susan, Ruth Anne, Stephen, Mary, Rebecca, Elizabeth (Mom), Phebe, Sara, Julie

-WCS remarries Eliza
   -Frederick Frances Smith (marries wife with previous children, thus step-children as mentioned above)

   -William James (marries)

       -Beverly (married with children)

Grandma as a teen

Grandpa and Grandma as I remember them

WCS and his two sons are all deceased now, so Beverly and her children are the only true other descendants.  There were relatives left in England, but they are all deceased now too.  Beverly has been to England and met them in the past though.  My aunts and parents hope to meet her and visit her when they go through BC next time.

Grandma often said how amazed she was that what started out to be a bad situation eventually led to a very blessed family.  They have 100+ descendants now, and the strong Christian faith is such a blessing to have been raised with.  Grandpa & Grandma were such an example of a strong Christian marriage, and Grandma's parenting tidbits of wisdom have helped me immensely.

Fascinating stuff, if I do say so myself!  (There may be details that I have wrong here, please correct me if I do, as I'm writing this from memory, which is rather distracted these days!)

Dental Discussion - part 1

If you don't know this about me already, I love to research.  Random topics come up, and I just HAVE to know more about them.  In nursing school, my instructor routinely said, "Rachel, you don't have to know that!"  ("But I want to," I would reply.)  Then she'd stay after class and explain whatever it was in more depth.  There's a few blogs I love to follow because they're the same kind of people that I am.  They read good books and then summarize the information so I don't have to.  Even better!

Lately the topic has been dental health.  A cavity (or more) has arisen  in our house, and I want to know why, how, and what can be done to prevent/heal/make better that cavity.  I read Dr. Weston Price's book Physical Nutrition and Degeneration  and Cure Tooth Decay last year, and this got me on the journey.  I know that teeth can heal, and I know that nutrition has a lot to do with the prevention of bad and promotion of good oral health.  So, I perused our local library system and here's more of what I learned.

The first book I read is called Elements of Danger, (Protect Yourself Against the Hazards of Modern Dentistry) by Morton Walker.  It mostly is a book about the hazards of mercury (amalgam) used in so many dental procedures and what steps you can take to avoid it, and what other options are out there.  It goes into much depth as to the health problems that can be linked to mercury toxicity.  It tells how to find a holistic or biological dentist who can remove those type of fillings, and procedures to take before any dental work is done (things like massive amounts of vitamin C, etc).  The one thing I did not understand was that the dental diet in this book was completely opposite that of the other 2 diets I read about in the above books.  Both diets eliminated sugar and eat lots of veggies, but everything else was opposite.  I have to believe that Weston Price's diet makes much more sense, and was proven over a much longer time frame with a much bigger populace.  The biggest factors in healthy teeth/gums is to be getting enough good stuff (fat soluble vitamins A & D namely, minerals (calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, boron and silicon are essential for teeth/bone formation) and eliminating the bad (sugars and starches which keep bacteria alive in the mouth and throughout the body and rob the body of nutrients).  He also goes into the fluoride debate, which I won't get into here, and also talks about how homeopathy can be used in dental health.

He feels strongly that 85%+ of illness in this country is a long term result from poor oral health.  The state of a person's mouth is indicative of  the overall health of a person.  Since most germs/pathogens enter through the mouth, either through food or just the mucus membranes, keeping our mouth healthy is vital.  He also says that many people claim that their teeth (for good or for bad) are genetic, but more often it is nutritional (in the womb for the most part).  The health of our teeth is greatly dependent on the nutrition (or lack) we received in the womb.  Through a healthy diet we can reverse damage to a great extent, if the damage is not too extensive.  I know this is likely true, as my parents and grandparents have/had horrible teeth, but all 4 of us kids have good ones.  That would be nutritional not genetic, with those odds.

The next book was a quick read, but good stuff.  It is called, "Stop the Rot" by Dr. Garth Pettit.  This dentist worked with low income Aboriginal kids in Australia and discovered something very interesting.  The teachers were telling the kids to "brush your teeth and rinse" and "rinse your brush under the tap."  The kids instead were "brushing their teeth" and then "rinse and rinsing the brush under the tap."  They took the instructions literally (and got them wrong), and instead halted their cavities and didn't get any new ones.  The key was that they were leaving the toothpaste in their mouth to let the active ingredients work.  Otherwise you just rinse all the good stuff (and the bad of course) down the drain.  There were only 2 classes who were doing this, and no one else in the school.  The rest of the kids' cavities continued at the same high rate.  So, his lesson is this:

1) Put toothpaste on your toothbrush and brush all surfaces (teeth, gums, cheeks, tongue)

2) Spit out germs and grime

3) Rinse and spit

4) Put more paste on your brush and "paint" it all over inside your mouth and leave (spit excess if necessary)

Easy peasy!

Using a toothpaste with healthy ingredients is even more helpful.  There are many "natural" toothpastes out there.  Look for essential oils (such as myrrh, tea tree, cloves, cinnamon), sea salt, xylitol, food grade bentonite clay, minerals (calcium, magnesium).  If you want to remineralize teeth since you have a cavity already, find one without glycerin.  Glycerin coats the teeth so that they can't get the minerals needed to heal themselves.  Most toothpaste has glycerin in it, the only one I've found without is Earthpaste.  I've also made my own when I run out of it.  There are many recipes online.  I use flavored stevia for the kids to make it taste better. 

The next book is called Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye by Ellie Phillips, DDS.  The caption on the front reads, "A Do-It-Yourself Mouth Care System for Healthy, Clean Gums and Teeth."  This lady is a dentist who has a mouth care system to eliminate tooth decay/ mouth degeneration by eliminating bacteria in the mouth.  Her questions are the same as mine: If we spend so much money on dental education, programs, care, etc., then how come more than 1/2 of all first graders have cavities and 3/4 of teenagers do.   It's a sad state of affairs in our country!  She doesn't go into diet at all, which I believe has a lot to do with poor oral health, but instead focuses on just killing bacteria in the mouth.  She does this through using xylitol many times each day (a mint or gum after each meal) and then oral rinses morning and night to assist with germ fighting.

Her website Dr. Ellie  describes the whole process and the products can be mostly easily found.  She believes in oral fluoride but not internal (in mouth washes and toothpaste but not in water sources).  She believes that in 6 months of her protocol, your bacteria should be greatly diminished and health can begin.  Although I'm not convinced that using a ton of xylitol is healthy (it is still a heavily processed "sugar"), I will try to halt the cavities we've got with it for now.  She also recommends eating "teeth healthy" foods at the end of your meal to reduce bacteria (milk, cheese, chocolate (helps sugars in it not be absorbed as much), apples, tea, bee propolis).

Another couple of interesting things in that book was that she says that 84% of preterm birth could be avoided with healthy gums/mouth.  Gum disease is a huge risk factor in low birth weight babies too.

So, what we're doing is this: (source)

No grains or nuts (phytates inhibit mineral absorption), sugar (feeds bacteria and lowers immunity)

Lots of good fats, bone broth, veggies, meats, nutritious eggs, raw dairy

Added grass-fed butter (Kerrygold)
Oil pulling when we can

Added fermented cod liver oil (the best source of easily absorb-able vitamin A & D)

Extra calcium/magnesium

Extra digestion herbs to facilitate better absorption

Xylitol mints/gum after each meal/snack

Cell salts (calc phos) for increasing absorption of minerals into the body

Update:  We did go to the dentist last week, and there are 4 cavities.  One will need filling for sure (it's almost to the nerve, but not quite), but I'm hoping the other 3 can be halted or reversed.  Once a cavity is past the enamel, remineralizing is not possible.  I have 1 more month before our next appointment, so we'll see what we can do in the meantime.  This child is a mouth breather due to allergies, and thus the cavities (saliva normally bathes the teeth keeping them continually remineralizing).  Without the saliva, the pH alters causing acidity (and growth of bacteria -> cavities).  I'm hoping by having him chew gum all day, then at least he's getting more saliva working through his mouth all day, even if I can't do anything for the nighttime. 

These books all tie into another book I'm working through called Pottenger's Prophecy-How Food Resets Genes for Illness or Wellness.  Pottenger was a pediatrician and scientist in the 1930's who tried feeding cats different diets and meticulously charted the results.  Within 4 generations of poor diet, the cats quit reproducing and were extremely unhealthy.  This book tells how this relates to the SAD diet that many Americans eat today and how their health is suffering in the same ways.  But, the hope is that if we can reverse the poor eating, we can "reset" the genes for wellness that have increased our risk factors.

Here's a summary from elsewhere:

"With the current poor state of health in the United States, the country which spends the most on medical treatments, we know that we're obviously missing something important when it comes to being and staying well. This research shows why proper nutrition (not that dictated by corporate interests via government) is vitally important for not only our own survival, but that of our future children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. It's amazing and frightening to think that our poor nutritional choices now may damage our grandchildren, but science is showing that to be true. A very interesting and enlightening travel into the world of epigenetics! "

"The Pottenger's Prophecy" is as much a comprehensive resource of health information as it is a guide for how to live a healthy lifestyle. In addition to the countless research studies that reveal just how the American diet is negatively affecting our health, the reader will also learn:

The Ten Green-Gene guidelines that contain a list of the best foods you can eat for health.

-How to reset your genes for health, healing and longevity

-Nutrition secrets you can pass along to your offspring

-How to reframe your relationship to food and eating

-What invisible nutrients are and how they help

-How incompatible today's Western diet is for our health and genetic makeup

-The positive effects that stress-reduction behaviors and exercise can have on our health. 

PROS

-Backed by more than 400 research studies

-Diligently written and researched

-Shows the correlation between today's food supply and its influence over our health

-Provides practical solutions and strategies for healthy eating that is safe and beneficial to our health and the health of the environment

-Advocates a whole-foods and unprocessed diet"

Any thoughts or experiences?

•  researched
• Shows the correlation between today's food supply and its influence over our health
• Provides practical solutions and strategies for healthy eating that is safe and beneficial to our health and the health of the environment
• Advocates a whole-foods and unprocessed diet

Read more at http://www.dietsinreview.com/diets/pottengers-prophecy/#yBvpOiHeuXS1D3dB.99

"The Pottenger's Prophecy" is as much a comprehensive resource of health information as it is a guide for how to live a healthy lifestyle. In addition to the countless research studies that reveal just how the American diet is negatively affecting our health, the reader will also learn:

• The Ten Green-Gene guidelines that contain a list of the best foods you can eat for health.
• How to reset your genes for health, healing and longevity
• Nutrition secrets you can pass along to your offspring
• How to reframe your relationship to food and eating
• What invisible nutrients are and how they help.
• How incompatible today's Western diet is for our health and genetic makeup.
• The positive effects that stress-reduction behaviors and exercise can have on our health.

PRO

• Backed by more than 400 research studies
• Diligently written and researched
• Shows the correlation between today's food supply and its influence over our health
• Provides practical solutions and strategies for healthy eating that is safe and beneficial to our health and the health of the environment
• Advocates a whole-foods and unprocessed diet

Read more at http://www.dietsinreview.com/diets/pottengers-prophecy/#yBvpOiHeuXS1D3dB.99

"The Pottenger's Prophecy" is as much a comprehensive resource of health information as it is a guide for how to live a healthy lifestyle. In addition to the countless research studies that reveal just how the American diet is negatively affecting our health, the reader will also learn:

• The Ten Green-Gene guidelines that contain a list of the best foods you can eat for health.
• How to reset your genes for health, healing and longevity
• Nutrition secrets you can pass along to your offspring
• How to reframe your relationship to food and eating
• What invisible nutrients are and how they help.
• How incompatible today's Western diet is for our health and genetic makeup.
• The positive effects that stress-reduction behaviors and exercise can have on our health.

PRO

• Backed by more than 400 research studies
• Diligently written and researched
• Shows the correlation between today's food supply and its influence over our health
• Provides practical solutions and strategies for healthy eating that is safe and beneficial to our health and the health of the environment
• Advocates a whole-foods and unprocessed diet

Read more at http://www.dietsinreview.com/diets/pottengers-prophecy/#yBvpOiHeuXS1D3dB.99

To sleep or not to sleep...that is the question

While I've been pondering the future with baby #5, I'm again refreshed (in not such a good way) of how little our babies have slept, and trying to remember what we did about it.  I'm the least worthy to write on this subject since we've not been very successful, but I do admit we've learned a few things along the way.  I have utmost sympathy for parents of bad sleepers, since we've had 4 so far. (2 of our kids woke up at least 15 times each night until they were about 1, and I recall spending 8+ hours out of a day getting a baby to sleep over and over as she'd wake up every 15 minutes still tired and crabby)  I know the pains of not getting much sleep!  But, I offer hope too, as now all of our bigger kids are great sleepers, and those days do end.  And, you can live on alot less sleep than you think you can. 

I'm just going to list some of the things we've done and why we've done them.  Not that it'll be the best for someone else's family, but these have worked for us.

Worked:

-Co-sleep until at least age 1.  I do put the crib/bassinet by our bed and start moving them into it gradually so it's not such a big adjustment when it's time for them to move into it full time.  This gives me a better sleep also if they sleep a bit further away for at least part of the night.

-No crying it out.  My kids always swallow air while they're crying, which causes more crying and it is just a vicious cycle that never ends.  (Our oldest also whacked his nose on the crib while crying it out and caused a nosebleed that bled everywhere.  Not worth the potential benefits.) 

-For naps I rock them to sleep.  I nurse them first and then rock them until they're asleep and then lay them down.  Sounds cushy, but there's no crying and they go to sleep.  When I lay them down I pat their back/bottom until they're soundly asleep.  It also works to lay with them on a bed and pat them on the back/bottom too until they're asleep.  It also may mean laying with them through their whole nap until they get used to napping properly.  Plan for that and bring a book.  Or shut your eyes too. 

-White noise.  Lots of it.  Loud.  Use the vacuum if necessary.

-Let them sleep on their stomach if it helps.  They seem to sleep deeper and longer this way.  My kids are such light sleepers that I'm really not too concerned about SIDS.  Their burps come up easier also if they're on their stomach (this is for older babies that can lift their head on their own, of course).

-Dark room.  Goes without saying, but sometimes easy to forget.

-Get all burps up before nap (which has been absolutely necessary with our babies).  Otherwise they wake up from a burp after 10 minutes and think they're "well rested".  Keep baby as vertical as you can to facilitate this (a baby carrier is awesome).

-Make baby sleeping your top priority.  Dishes will wait, laundry can wait, older kids must learn to be quiet at nap time.  Must!  (My rule is that whoever wakes the baby must put the baby back to sleep.  It only takes 1 time to teach this lesson to a loud preschooler!) 

-Prayer.  I used to pray (endlessly) for more sleep and then would get discouraged when I wouldn't get what I thought I should, day after day.  A friend (who struggles with insomnia) suggested praying for "enough sleep to do what God wants me to do for that day".  Changing my prayer perspective helped immensely (and not tallying my lack of sleep).  I'll be in debt for the rest of my life anyhow, so why even keep track of it?  It only discourages me more.

Didn't work: 

-Laying them down while drowsy (they just wake right back up and scream).

-Crying for any reason.  Reasons mentioned above.  Once they're big (1-2ish) they will fuss more at bedtime, but I don't allow any endless crying.

-Any Babywise or other such methods.  Tried them, and they just didn't work for us.

For Mom

-Our Naturopath was telling us that a baby only has the coping abilities he/she is given by the nutrients given from Mama's milk.  A Mom lacking in B vitamins is going to have a baby who can't cope as well in any given circumstance because the baby is then also lacking in B vitamins (teething, sickness).  Upping B vitamins is beneficial all around.  I like NutriCalm as it's full of B's and also has some relaxing herbs to sooth a frazzled mother's nerves (take in the morning for best effect).

-Calcium/magnesium.  This can really help everybody be more settled.  Most of us know about the importance of calcium, but are more vague about magnesium.  I find this very calming and helps me handle stress better, sleep better and helps baby be more calm as well.  Natural Calm is one I like.  This one has calcium in it too.  Take it in the evening after supper so it has time to work before bedtime.  Magnesium is also great for keeping digestion moving along, which can get stopped up during pregnancy.  An epsom salts bath is another good idea for getting magnesium in.  Magnesium is also great for teeth and teething, so taking extra will help both mom and baby's teeth be stronger and healthier.

For babies and Mom

-Probiotics.  These help immensely with digestion and looking back, our fussiest babies had the worst digestion.  I wish I'd known to supplement to help them feel better.  Alot of their lack of sleep was from tummy aches, which they were too little to be able to tell me.  I used gripe water and gas drops (we went through bottles of it!) but didn't specifically use probiotics until later.  We also were doing lots of diet modifications too, which helped but didn't solve the puzzle.  Since then I've tried to diligently eat more myself so that baby gets more too.  We now drink water and milk kefir every day (at least I do) for the benefits.

The two books which were most helpful have been:

The No-Cry Sleep Solution

The Happiest Baby on the Block (more for newborns, but also information for older babies)

I'm sure I'll think of more stuff, but that comes to mind right now.

Isaac and the Mickey Mouse piggy bank

I don't know about you, but I happen to think that 2 year olds are just the cutest ever.  They are just learning to talk and communicate effectively, and I just love their curiosity and observations on the world around them.  This little guy is no exception.  He has us chuckling all day long.  Terrible twos, what are those?

For some reason, he's taken to Mickey Mouse.  We got a book from a thrift store with him in it, and ever since then, Isaac has been in love.  He calls him Mi-Mow.  We then found out that Isaac also did not own a piggy bank to store his hard earned money in, so I suggested that we start looking for one for him.  He put two and two together and thought a Mickey Mouse piggy bank would be the perfect solution to his problems.

Due to pregnancy, snowstorms and new babies, our shopping time has been nil.  Every time someone would mention going to town, Isaac would remind them to "buy Mi-Mow-pi-ba"  (buy Mickey Mouse piggy bank).  Or that he'd be fine with getting one for his birthday too (in September).  Many times each day he'd remind us about his needs in his cute and loving way.  

We had looked online for banks, but hadn't found one that met the need.  Greg's Mom talked about how her kids used to have them and how neat it'd be if we could find one like that.  This went on for a few weeks.  Then, the other night, Greg says to me, "Where is that Mickey Mouse piggy bank from when I was a kid?"  I really had never seen the thing, but told him that if we did own such a item, it would be in his keepsake box in storage.  He pulled it out and low and behold...the much talked about Mickey Mouse piggy bank from his childhood.  Isaac was ecstatic!  He couldn't quit showing us, all the while telling us who and what it was.  Just too cute!  He's been a happy boy since, playing with it each day, and putting any money in it whenever he can!

Celeste's birth story 2/14/2014

Baby Celeste Marjorie was born slightly after midnight on Feb. 14.  Her name means "heavenly, celestial" and is referred to in 1 Corinthians 15:40 "There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another."  Marjorie is my paternal Grandma's name, and fits with our tradition of "M" as the middle initial for our girls (same as me).  Our boys all have "W" as theirs, which is the same as Greg's.  Marjorie means "pearl", which is beautiful too (in my opinion, of course).

Anyhow,  the day of Feb. 13, I somehow knew that was baby's day.  In the morning at breakfast I told the kids, "Well, today looks like a good day to have a baby."  They agreed.  We then all went to the library to get our stack of ordered books and movies (which had been waiting for us through our big snowstorm and that was the last day of holding them for us).  We dropped Grandma Somero off at Walmart, went to the library and then while waiting in line there, I had this "I've got to get home" urge.  I didn't know if it was that I was still weak from being sick the two previous days or what, but I figured I had better listen.  We had talked about getting a coffee from Red Leaf on our way out of town, and so I stopped there and nothing on the menu looked good.  That had NEVER happened before!  So, I got a coffee for Grandma and a smoothie for the kids to share and we went back to pick up Grandma from Walmart.  We got home, had lunch and then I laid down for a nap.  Except I didn't nap.  Baby was kicking me so furiously that there was no way to sleep, but I did rest.  About 4 p.m. I knew something was happening, but still no active signs of labor.  I thought perhaps I should call Greg to get off work early (he's never got called home for any of our babies, and wishes he would for once) but didn't, since things were still pretty slow.

When he got home at normal time (5-ish), we had supper (I had no appetite, but knew I should eat) and then we laid out a plan since it looked like baby was coming that night.  I was dreading the inevitable so had trouble knowing what to think/do.  Grandma suggested taking all of the kids into her bedroom and having a movie night with them and then Greg could just put them in their own beds once they fell asleep.  Then nobody had to go anywhere and the house would be quiet and the kids contained.  Plus, we had just got that whole new stack of movies from the library that needed watching!  It was then that the contractions did start.  They were pretty slow, but turned steady at about 7 p.m.  They remained consistent at 10 minutes apart, so we called the midwife (she wanted them consistent before she came).  We later found out why they were far apart.

The midwife (Laura) got to our house about 8 p.m., and then checked me.  Only 3 cm.  That was kind of discouraging.  I was hoping we were further along than that but, oh well, what can you do?  After that I rested for a while and then started walking through the house again.  Laura had been up the whole night before with a challenging birth, so we told her to nap while we just waited for things to progress.  Greg got a bit of a nap too, since he was tired from a long week.  I just walked and focused on getting through the contractions.  The house was quiet and dark, and very peaceful.  By 10 p.m. the contractions were getting quite a bit stronger, but still remained at 10 minutes apart.  I could feel progress happening, but didn't want to get my hopes up in case it was slower than I had hoped.  

By 11 p.m. the pains were pretty intense so I got into the bath, which helped immensely.  I didn't want to get in too early, but instead use it as my last resort for the pain.  I was in there for an hour with the pains getting incrementally stronger.  Greg was pouring water over me when I would have a contraction and that would help diffuse the pain a bit.  Finally I asked him to go and wake up Laura so she could check and see where we were at.  He did, and she came back and was going to check how dilated I was (and break my water if I was at 7-8 or more) on my next contraction.  When that happened, the water broke and she said, "Oh, the baby is right there.  Push her out!"  So, in that same contraction I pushed and baby came out.  And then a second push to get her body out.  Done.  Whew!  So relieved that I just held Celeste and cried for the longest time.  Then we checked the clock to see if she had been born before or after midnight, to see if she was a Valentine's baby or not.   It was 12:15 a.m.

I couldn't believe we were actually done.  This Bible verse has given me alot of comfort with all of our babies.  I dread the process, but when it's done, the joy is unspeakable and the pain is gone.  Not just less, but gone!   John 16:²¹  "A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world."

Laura then was telling us how God orchestrates each birth so uniquely and that the reason my contractions were so far apart was because of the knot in her cord.  Because of the knot, the longer rest between contractions gave her body time to recover without going into distress.  She told us that many times a birth doesn't make sense when she's in it, but then when it's all over, the pieces come together.  It's best to just let the process unfold in the perfect way that God wants it to, to His honor and glory.  She calls babies with a knot in their cord "angel babies" since at any time during pregnancy or birth that cord could be pulled tight and the baby not survive. 

We then took care of the rest of the details and then settled into bed for a few hours of rest before morning.  The midwife left at about 2 a.m. (on her way to go grocery shopping, as is her tradition) and we (Greg, myself and Grandma Sue) tried to sleep and marveled over the events of the night.  The kids awoke to a great surprise, which was quite fun for them. 

All in all, a beautiful experience.  And now our sweet baby Celeste is finally here!  It seems like it takes forever waiting on the other end of things, but is so nice when it's all said and done.

photo by Aunt Julie Crites

The weeks prior to her birth were rather chaotic, I must say.  Grandma Sue came early as things were kind of crazy.  The kids each got sick one by one.  Then Grandma got sick.  Then our washer broke (the drain pump quit, leaving a washer full of half washed clothes).  Then we got 8" of snow and the roads were horrible.  Then I got sick to finish it off.  Thankfully mine was more of a head/sinus cold rather than the flu/fever that the rest of them had.  Then our washer part finally arrived so Greg could fix it.  Then Greg got all done with his pressing jobs at work (his boss wasn't too happy to let him have time off if that certain job wasn't finished, although he would have done it).  Then the snow melted.  And Grandma got better.  And then Celeste was born.  Things just fell into place in their perfect time, but before the birth we couldn't see how they could.  God's hand was over all and we are so thankful for that!