Chickie’s stats and details

Thank you for your congrats last night everyone! Amelia, who will be known here as Chickie, is doing wonderfully, and so is Mama.

Chickie was born at home as planned, at 7:28pm, after about three weeks of prodromal labor and only three and a half hours of active labor. Three pushes and this big girl wanted out!

Chickie weighed 9lbs 14oz, beating big brother Pal by 5oz, although her chest was a bit smaller. (thank God!) She is 20″ long.

Although I would never call birth easy, her’s was absolutely beautiful. Being a record-breaking warm day for March, we spent a great deal of time outside, and much of my day prior to the birth was spent watching my older children play in their puddle jumpers outdoors. It was all just so right.

We are having trouble uploading pics from the phone, will work on that, and after some journaling I will eventually post her birth story, but I did want to share with all of you who have been praying for us and offered us your blessings, that Chickie is healthy, nursing well, and I am feeling great. God is good!

Mama

See you in April!

I can’t believe I’m already 38 weeks pregnant! But here we are, ready to meet our newest child anytime in the next 4 weeks or so. Our birth supplies are ready and our baby’s belongings are lovingly prepared. This weekend I will be celebrating with some women in my family at a Mother Blessing my mom is preparing for me, and then I’ll be ready to have this baby.

As I’m sure you can understand, I have absolutely no intention of blogging within the first few weeks of giving birth. So I have asked some friends to share on some very cool topics, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, until I return. Please visit and support my guest writers. I’m very excited about what they have to share and I know it will bless you!

Papa will probably continue to share his thoughts as he is inspired, and we will post an announcement with a picture of Chickie or Chap from Papa’s phone after the birth. When I return I will come bearing our birth story, and will probably have a bunch of other news to share, as often happens when I don’t post for any length of time. We are still hoping to have our new website up and running in April as well!

Thank you all for your support, I look forward to chatting with you again next month!

random December thoughts

Sun setting on the hills, big clouds in a big blue sky, beautiful naked trees. I wish I had my camara on me.

Pancakes taste better when the batter is made by little hands.

When the yard is muddy, and too cold to go barefoot, you must find somewhere else to run.

A quiet evening with hubby by radiant heating ~ delicious.

Screw logic! I think I’m having a baby girl. There, I said it.

Reliving Atlas’ first year in pictures and videos ~ oh those tears!

Yes Buddy, God made men with afros too, even if they do look silly to you!

Stupid chickens. My porch is not your house! Especially for you roosters at 6am.

“This cat sat on a rug. This cat got mud on the rug. Mom is mad at the cat.”

Cuddling with kiddos in fleece pj’s makes the cool season cozy.

Live worms make great pets. Frozen ones make for fascinating scientific observations.

Washing newborn clothes ~ who knew tights were made that small!

Potty training is from the pits of hell. But the reward is Grand.

Hanging six stockings this year…

Forget fans. A generator humming in the background is the new white noise.

Hot chocolate and Bingo are the perfect late-fall match.

Goodbye pacificer, hello teddy.

“Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King!”

Gone to the {Fryeburg} fair

Wow, it has been a crazy busy, but mostly wonderful week! I have so many things I could updated you on; like the class I taught this week to some middle school kids on making herbal remedies, or how we manage to get both our vehicles stuck in the mud (and still can’t get them out), or about my upcoming booth at a local women’s health fair for my doula service, how Girlie is potty training, Buddy is reading three-letter words, or how Pal is catching balls, but, after such a busy week I’m too tired to sit down and write much of a post.

Instead, I’ll share with you some of my favorite pictures from our trip to the Fryeburg fair yesterday with my Dad, step-mom, and two of my cousins. Enjoy!

Labor Day weekend

Ever since I can remember, and probably much farther back than that, my mother’s family has gathered on Labor Day weekend to camp together and enjoy each other’s company. Now that I am bringing my own family, camping has become even more of an adventure, and we are of course up to the challenge!

Last year we spent one night, and this year we stayed for two whole days. Two days of fellowship, games, good food, camp fires and smores, coloring, tenting, and all that goes with living outside for a short while.

The first day there were extra visitors, family who came to stay for the potluck, but couldn’t stay for the weekend. I should have taken pictures, but I just wanted to be in the moment without looking for the perfect shot, and waited till the second day to get my camera out.

There are lots of little stories I could share, fun moments shared with distant relatives, and even the kids found playmates their age. I think the overall enjoyment came from cherishing the good things in life, being thankful for the relationships we keep with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. So many stories, so many memories.

Probably the most memorable moment of the weekend for us happened during the second evening. Many of the 47 campers had gone home, and about 10 of us were sitting around the campfire; the kids in their pj’s. Songs were being sung of Jesus, heaven, and other favorite hymns. 

It dawned on Buddy as he looked around him that we were all talking of our faith, and he asked, “does everyone here trust in Jesus?” There was a pause of silence, and even a bit of awe, as we all noticed what we had taken for granted, and yet is so precious – everyone sitting at that campfire, and at least most of the campers that weekend, were all believers. And it was a young child who spoke. What a gift to be passing down to our collective children – to be so blessed by God to be a part of a family who will be with throughout eternity.

Next year we will return with yet another little one, and while I doubt we will have the spunk to stay more than two nights (some stay for as many as four nights), each one of us is looking forward to Labor Day coming around again. More fellowship, more fun and games, more memories and more stories to share.

a few changes

A whole week without posts, I can’t imagine how you have managed without updates from our family! (I do hope you hear the sarcasm) Even with the week off, I was in doubt for a few days whether I would have enough time to accomplish my short-term goals for blog development before the time I told you I would be back. Despite the craziness of the past couple weeks I have still managed to make a few changes and breakdown my goals into easy steps which I can take over the course of the next few weeks while still posting updates.

a friend comes to visit

 Updates to AFN this week include adding mentions of our newest baby and house updates on the Who We Are page and Q&A. The Store page has been updated with our current Sale on comfrey salves in prep for the release of our new remedies this fall.

 I also removed comment moderation, which means new visitors will be able to share a comment and not have to wait until I approve it to see their comment on the page. Spam will hopefully be caught by the WordPress program, but if not I will delete it as soon as it is spotted. The last of the noticeable changes is the option in the side column to add AFN to your RSS feed, which some blog readers prefer over email subscription. We want this blog to be convenient for our family, friends, and new visitors to enjoy.

 I can’t wait to put all my ideas in action, but it may take some time. Keep checking back to see what’s new. Don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already, and share your thoughts – we love comments!

We have a niece!

This week I had the honor of being my brother and sister-in-law’s birth doula as they welcomed their first baby into the world, and I became an aunt!

Baby A is so gorgeous, and right away she had such a pleasant personality. I am so thankful I was asked to be a part of the birth team, and while it didn’t go quite as hoped, my sister-in-law did amazing work, and we’re all glad she is finally holding A in her arms.

Today we introduced Buddy, Girlie, and Pal to A, and the older two got to hold her. How precious! And to think we’ll be doing this all over again in just a few months…

Anyway, congratulations M, E, and A! We love you!

Playground Fun

After checking out the Borders’ going-out-of-business sale a couple weeks ago, we stopped at a nearby park for some exploration. It was great fun and now I’m finally getting around to sharing it with you!

Here we go again!

I never expected to be saying this. Recent posts have expressed quite the opposite. We are happy being a family of five, ready to move on to new adventures, but one little miscalculation later, love wins and well, we are expecting baby number four!

That’s right, I am pregnant, and come next March we will be expanding our family. I only took the test to reassure myself that I was not pregnant, but when two lines appeared all I could say was, oh my, oh my, oh my. Really? Another little person? But I was done! I am not ready for this!

Sometimes though, it doesn’t matter what you planned; a baby is conceived anyway, and that’s just what happened with us.

After a day of coming to terms with the reality of this new life in my womb, Papa and I decided we are adaptable, and we have chosen to be happy about this baby. Plans change, and that’s okay. We had originally planned on four kids anyway, so we’re just following through!

Really though, it is a blessing to be carrying another baby, and part of my smiles at the thought that I will yet again snuggle with a newborn. I was ready to be done, but my heart has plenty of love for another child.

So, ready or not, here we go again! More first heart beats, first kicks, a big belly, giving birth, and seeing each other for the first time. Moments and milestones we will cherish forever. Welcome little baby! May you grow healthy and happy. We love you.

A season for coziness

Life is made of seasons. You have major life seasons; childhood, adulthood, the golden years, etc., and there are seasons in between. In our very early parenting years, from Buddy’s birth through Pal’s, one ritual of that season was attending a mom’s group started by friends of mine. Every Friday morning I packed a bag with diapers, wipes, and my nursing coverup, and faithfully walked or drove to (or hosted) a get together with my young mom friends.

It was a safe place to gather with women I could relate to, refresh after a week by myself with babies, and just do something different. While I treasured this time, the season for this fellowship seemed to be passing. By the time Pal was born, my social needs were changing. Not that mom’s group wasn’t fun, or that I didn’t appreciate my friendships there, but as sleepless nights passed and the preschool years approached, I sensed that I was needing something different.

Now, I still connect with my friends on occasional Friday mornings, but much of my social time is now spent hosting friends and family for dinner, going on little adventures with my husband and kids, and developing our homestead.

The focus seems to be more inward this year, another aspect of my appreciation for going off-grid. It almost seems wrong saying this, like I’m becoming anti-social or something, but that’s not the case at all. Instead, as our babies are growing into little people with their own personalities, our time is spent on interest-led learning, farming, and opening our home to guests.

I will always have fond memories of my regular visits to connect with other moms in my neighborhood, and I’m glad I can reconnect anytime, but I’m also excited about entering this new season, and welcoming its adventure and its coziness with open arms.

(These pictures were taken with friends of ours at a local pond recently)