Elisabeth Charity Clementine
born September 23rd 8:12pm
9 pounds 9 ounces
18 inches long

If you are a Christian, and are really considering voting for Obama
this is the issue

"The way I understand it, the Infants Born Alive Bill was introduced to the IL Senate and Obama voted against it because he wanted it to have the same language as the Federal Born Alive Bill. When the bill was re-presented containing that clause, Obama voted against it again. So, given the chance, twice, to vote against infanticide, Obama voted for.

He also lied about all of this earlier in the campaign, before admitting that he was lying.

Obama has the most liberal voting record you can have on the issue of abortion. He does not, like Joe Biden, draw the line at the savagery of partial-birth abortion - he sides with the scissor, the vacuum and the death. He does not draw the line (as Nancy Pelosi and even Hillary Clinton do) at infanticide. He says, “that baby was supposed to be dead; let it die.”

Sen. Barack Obama doesn’t seem comfortable, at all, straying from the side of death.

None of us is God, none of us has perfect wisdom…but for that reason alone, if you’re not “morally” sure about something, if you really think that theologically and intellectually it’s all “above your pay grade,” then shouldn’t you err on the side of life? Not on the side of death?

It occurs to me that in this election - more so than any election in recent memory, we have the “clear choice” that Moses also gave to the people:
I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. (Deuteronomy 30:19-20a, New American Bible)"
found on The Anchoress blog site

My girls

This is Aelfgifu and Andrea, my primary doula client(s) right now.
She is pregnant with twins, and due in August,

I found this on a blog I was reading called "at your cervix"
written by a labor and delivery nurse and wanted to repost it.
Very good advice.


How to have a natural birth in a hospital setting

Natural births are my favorite "type" of birth. However, giving birth in a hospital and giving birth naturally seem to not co-exist on the same plane sometimes. As an L&D nurse, I can give you some handy hints and tips on how to achieve a natural birth in a hospital setting, if that is what you desire.

1. Find a good practice that has midwives. Ask for referrals from pregnant friends for natural birth promoting midwife and/or obstetrician practices. Yes, there are some awesome doctors out there who promote natural birth.
2. Do not allow your doctor or midwife to talk you into a medically unnecessary induction. Most inductions are medically unnecessary (post dates, baby is too big, baby is too small, blood pressure starting to rise but you're not preeclamptic, advanced maternal age, maternal exhaustion, convenience, elective inductions, social inductions, diabetic mother, hypothyroidism, etc....I could list more).
3. Educate yourself on pregnancy. Read books about pregnancy. Join a support group online.
4. Take childbirth education classes that focus on preparing you for natural childbirth.
5. Practice breathing techniques.
6. Learn how to preform self-hypnosis (also known as Hypnobirthing).
7. Learn about focal points and visualization. Pick some focal points or have some images handy to focus on during your labor. (My personal favorite was imagining a rose slowly opening with each contraction, the rose symbolized my cervix.)
8. Although you have pain with contractions, the contraction are over in about 60 seconds. You can do anything for 60 seconds.
9. Each contraction brings you closer to seeing and holding your newborn.
10. Plan to labor at home as long as you possibly can. The sooner you arrive at the hospital, the greater chance you have of medical interventions.
11. Formulate a birth preference list that is sensible, and reasonably thought out. Do not just cut and paste a cookie cutter birth plan from the internet. Be open to changes as deemed reasonable. Your birth preference list should be no more than a half page of paper.
12. Let your provider know of your intentions for a natural birth as soon as possible. If they make you feel uncomfortable in any way of your choices, find a different care provider.
13. Learn ahead of time what the "standard protocol" is on your labor and delivery unit for laboring patients. Usually, they require a minimum of a reactive non-stress test on external fetal monitoring, which can be done in as little as 15-20 minutes.
14. You can refuse anything offered to you, but be reasonable - periodic fetal monitoring is for your baby's well-being. Continuous fetal monitoring is more for your care provider's ease in doing their job (because your nurse is usually caring for more than 1 laboring woman at a time).
15. An IV is not needed to give birth naturally, provided that you do not need IV antibiotics for being group B strep positive. Even with antibiotic treatment, make sure you are unhooked from the IV fluids and left with only a "hep well" or "saline lock" left in place.
16. Ambulation in labor is important. Keep moving in early labor, with periods of rest. Stay upright as much as you can in active labor.
17. Use of hydrotherapy helps with labor pains, and can also help make your labor progress. Use the shower or tub (if available). Stay hydrated with oral fluids (water, juice, etc).
18. Believe in yourself and the power of your body!
19. Make sure that your partner supports you emotionally, as well as physically for your plans of a natural birth.
20. The birth process is a very empowering time period in a woman's life, and it can and will leave lasting impressions in your mind.
21. Speak up for what you believe in. Don't be afraid to say no if you don't agree with something. Ask questions.
22. Hire a doula, if so desired, to help you achieve your natural birth.

this is a grateful dead song, but i reminds me of the time leading up to becoming a Christian and, the time after, at the Land.


There were days, and there were days
And there were days between
Summer flies and August dies
The world grows dark and mean
Comes the shimmer of the moon
On black infested trees
The singing man is at his song
The holy on their knees
The reckless are out wrecking
The timid plead their pleas
No one knows much more of this
Than anyone can see
Anyone can see

There were days, and there were days
And there were days besides
When phantom ships with phantom sails
Set to sea on phantom tides
Comes the lightning of the sun
On bright unfocused eyes
The blue of yet another day
A springtime wet with sighs
A hopeful candle lingers
In the land of lullabies
Where headless horsemen vanish
With wild and lonely cries
Lonely cries

There were days, and there were days
And there were days I know
When all we ever wanted
Was to learn and love and grow
Once we grew into our shoes
We told them where to go
Walked halfway around the world
On promise of the glow
Stood upon a mountain top
Walked barefoot in the snow
Gave the best we had to give
How much we'll never know
We'll never know

There were days, and there were days
And there were days between
Polished like a golden bowl
The finest ever seen
Hearts of Summer held in trust
Still tender young and green
Left on shelves collecting dust
Not knowing what they mean
Valentines of flesh and blood
As soft as velveteen
Hoping love would not forsake
The days that lie between
Lie between

Surprise, surprise, we're having another girl!!!!!
This is Elisabeth Charity

Grief

Debbie's baby passed away this morning, before a scheduled c-section.
Please keep her in prayer-and pray for me, that God would give me wisdom and grace to minister to her exactly what she needs.

I have a new doula client. Her name is Debbie. I met her through my business card, and her therapist, who was calling to pre-screen doulas for her. She needed that buffer because she doesn't know when her baby is going to die. She was diagnosed with trisomy 18, and life expectancy is at a very small percentage-and the ones who do survive are severely handicapped. I am still shell-shocked, i think, and haven't had time to fully let the weight of this hit me. Life is so busy, and it's so important that I just be focused on serving Debbie and her needs, i have been keeping a tight rein on myself. But the tears threaten to overwhelm at the oddest moments. This lady is so brave, so loving and accepting of what God has given her. She wakes up every morning thanking Him for another day with her baby. This will be her first and last pregnancy-she is almost at the age for menopause. I can't even put into words how that rips at my soul. She's been through a lot-intense pressure to abort, a divorce, her dog died; and she is now living in a maternity home. I am writing this to beg anyone who reads this to seriously pray for this lady-to join me in praying that God would miraculously heal her baby. Thankfulness really is a state of the heart, not of situation.

Trapped

I'm in need of serious prayer right now. I don't know what changed this week, for me-or if this has been growing for awhile, and is just now noticeable, but I feel trapped. Trapped, by my beloved Santa Cruz. My home, my dream, the place i always longed to be, is strangling me. Maybe, i tell myself, it's just a mood, maybe it's because you are pregnant and scared-scared of how expensive this place is, how the price of living here just keeps rising, and rising; and the thoughts tumble through my brain, chokingly-how are we going to raise 4 kids here? How are we going to have ten kids here, like I hope? I was looking through the classifieds at rentals and realized the futility-what use would it be, to move to another two bedroom? Which is at the very limit of what we can afford. And then I come back to faith-the realization that we have never lacked here, that God has led us here, that He has used us here in mighty ways. We have touched lives and forged heartstrings and there are friends here i dearly love. I need the peace and trust to look around, to stay in the moment, to rest in the fact that right now, this moment, this month, this year, we have everything we need. We always have everything we need. Never more or less. I need to stop looking at the needs of the future and freaking out. Jesus is taking care of us.

Grammie Fix
Church on Easter

I passed my blood glucose tolerance test!
In other words, diabetes free-yay!

I thought this was funny

The Pitch *


It's late in the winter of 2005. Hillary and Obama are having lunch in the Senate Dining Room, brainstorming campaign ideas to pitch to the Democratic National Committee.

Obama: Why don't they have salsa on the table?

Hillary: What do you need salsa for?

Obama: Salsa is now the number one condiment in America.

Hillary: You know why? Because people like to say "salsa." "Excuse me, do you have salsa?" "We need more salsa." "Where is the salsa? No salsa?"

Obama: You know it must be impossible for a Spanish person to order seltzer and not get salsa. (Angry) "I wanted seltzer, not salsa."

Hillary: "Don't you know the difference between seltzer and salsa?? You have the seltzer after the salsa!"

Obama: (Just throwing it out there): This should be the campaign.

Hillary: What?

Obama: This. Just arguing. Arguing about nothing.

Hillary (Dismissing): Yeah, right.

Obama: No I'm serious. That sounds like a good idea.

Hillary: Just arguing? What's the campaign about?

Obama: It's about nothing.

Hillary: No real policies?

Obama: No, forget the policies.

Hillary: You've got to have policies.

Obama: Who says you gotta have policies? Remember when we were voting for... for that Senate resolution that proclaimed 'making good people feel good is a good thing' that time? That could be a whole presidential campaign.

Hillary: And who is running in this campaign about nothing? Who are the candidates?

Obama: I could be a candidate.

Hillary: You?

Obama: Yeah. You could run for President as a woman who is not really a woman, except when you cry, and I could run for President as a black man who is not really a black man, except when I go to church. Democrats would buy it. They really would. They're Democrats!

Hillary: So, on my campaign trail in 2008, there's a candidate following me around named Barack Hussein Obama?

Obama: Yeah. There's something wrong with that? I'm candidential. People are always saying to me, "You know you're a quite a candidate."

Hillary: And who else is on the campaign trail in this campaign about nothing?

Obama: That poof Edwards could be a candidate. Kucinich....

Hillary: Now he's a candidate..... So everybody I know is a candidate in the campaign?

Obama: Right.

Hillary: And it's about nothing?

Obama: Absolutely nothing.

Hillary: So you're saying, I go in to the DNC, and tell them I got this idea for a campaign about nothing.

Obama: WE go into the DNC.

Hillary: "We"? Since when are you experienced enough?

Obama (Scoffs): Experience. We're talking to Democrats.

Hillary: You want to go with me to the DNC?

Obama: Yeah. I think we really go something here.

Hillary: What do we got?

Obama: A concept.

Hillary: What concept?

Obama: A concept for a winning presidential campaign.

Hillary: I still don't know what the concept is!

Obama: It's a campaign about HOPE AND CHANGE. It's about nothing!

Hillary: Right. Who does HOPE and who does CHANGE?

Obama: I'll do HOPE and CHANGE because I can do nothing about them. You can do EXPERIENCE because you don't really have any. All these Republican candidates are going to campaign on something. We'll campaign on nothing!

Hillary: So, we go into the DNC, we tell them we've got an idea for a campaign about nothing.

Obama: Exactly.

Hillary: They say, "What's your campaign about?" I say, "Nothing."

Obama: There you go.

Hillary (After a moment of pause): I think you may have something there.

Diapers

I had resigned myself mentally to diaper duty for many many years. It's the only drag for me, as a parent. Well, I was wrong. My diaper changing days are OVER. Gone, stolen, disappeared forever. Well, at least until Bella loses interest. I let her change one of Abby's nasty diapers the other day, after days of pleading every time i changed one, and that girl won't even let me near the diapers now. She checks her diaper at lest 4 times an hour. In addition, she rinses the dishes for me, and does all the vacuuming. All on her own. It's so sweet. And Hannah washes the floor. I don't think I will have to change any diapers when the baby comes. I'm so glad I get to be around my kids all day-seeing them grow and bloom and become responsible.

I work on Sunday nights at my churches coffeeshop. I work pretty late, i get home around ten. Anyway-this is what i came home to last sunday night. Isabella made it for me.

Couldn't have said it better

Angelina Jolie's view of Iraq.
when i think i can't respect her any more than i do.....

"My visit left me even more deeply convinced that we not only have a moral obligation to help displaced Iraqi families, but also a serious, long-term, national security interest in ending this crisis.

Today’s humanitarian crisis in Iraq — and the potential consequences for our national security — are great. Can the United States afford to gamble that 4 million or more poor and displaced people, in the heart of Middle East, won’t explode in violent desperation, sending the whole region into further disorder?

What we cannot afford, in my view, is to squander the progress that has been made. In fact, we should step up our financial and material assistance…

As for the question of whether the surge is working, I can only state what I witnessed: U.N. staff and those of non-governmental organizations seem to feel they have the right set of circumstances to attempt to scale up their programs. And when I asked the troops if they wanted to go home as soon as possible, they said that they miss home but feel invested in Iraq. They have lost many friends and want to be a part of the humanitarian progress they now feel is possible."

Scary

Barack Obama WILL REQUIRE YOU to work. He is going to DEMAND that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation and that you move out of your comfort zone. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage.


Barack will NEVER ALLOW YOU to go back to your lives as usual – uninvolved, uninformed – you have to stay at the seat at the table of democracy with a man like Barack Obama not just on Tuesday but in a year from now, in four years from now, in eights years from now, YOU WILL HAVE TO BE ENGAGED.

-Michelle Obama

first of many, i'm sure!


I'm so thankful to be having another baby. God is so good.

Hello, Crompton Baby number four
we've been waiting for you

I found this picture on the internet, to show what little baby c looks like right now.......
Bella really hopes you are a little brother, but Hannah is holding out for another girl
Nathan's just pissed I'm not pregnant with twins!

Only on TV

Nathan's results


97%

Free Maine Dating

41%

Looking for payday loan?

i found this on a blog i've been reading-'wife and mom of two"
it really shook me up-it's everything i want to say, but couldn't find the eloquence to express myself. Well, here it is-my heart, expressed by another sister in the Lord

The Horrid Facts
Abortion is murder. If we believe abortion is murder, we should act like it is murder.
As of 2007, nearly 50 million innocent babies have been slaughtered in America’s killing fields — the abortion mills — in ways too gruesome to describe, and horrifying to behold. The blood of innocent souls cries out for justice asking, “How long, oh Lord?”
Perhaps more horrifying is this: this holocaust has continued because of the compromise, cowardice, and outright treachery of the Christian community. Our response to murder is woefully unequal to our rhetoric.
If those who claim to be Christians from the Catholic and Evangelical worlds would simply have obeyed the dictates of their faith, this holocaust would have been vanquished decades ago. Our Simple Duty…
We must solemnly declare that we will no longer quietly coexist with the killing fields. We vow to end the slaughter in concrete ways, such as:
By boldly speaking out for the unborn in every arena available — private conversations, e-mails and blogs, literature, letters to the editor, call in radio shows, TV shows, and any other means available.
By running for office; helping in a political campaign; volunteering at a pregnancy center; sidewalk counseling at abortion mills; and a hundred other hands-on activist ways.
By not giving money, time, or effort to any candidate, party, or organization that promotes the murder of the innocent.
By only voting for candidates committed to move our laws toward protecting the unborn, and are committed to bring an end to child killing.
By – and please forgive our bluntness – by making life hell for the murderers of the innocent — the entire of abortion industry. We must protest, expose, confront, challenge, stigmatize, and humiliate them in every legal and non-violent way possible. We treat abortion mills as they are: death camps; the portals of hell; and we refuse to let them commit their foul and grizzly deeds in peace.
We create a crisis, and replace the child-killers in power, until it is totally illegal and undesirable to murder unborn children anywhere in the U.S.A.


amen, Lord. Please let this resonate with the people that read this blog.