Baby wearing

I love to wear my baby! When I was pregnant I had a friend who breastfed and wore her little girl. She seemed so content that I started to research different slings, etc. My first sling is one that I found though ebay. But Noah is starting to out grow his sling! So I would like to go with a mei tai type of sling while he is older but still wearable! Sleepywrap has a giveaway for a sling here. And here is their website:) Go check it out.





On a side note. Noah and I had some good times last night! Isn't funny how you can be having a bad day and feeling a little ugh, and one little smile from your child can make your whole day worth it!? We were rocking before bed time and (he gets reallllly slap happy when we is sleepy) he would be laying down with his eyes closed then pop up and have the biggest grin, and then we would just laugh and laugh about it!

Spending Time With Noah

This has been a extra day weekend. Meaning I get one day off because of the national holiday. So I get to spend more time with Noah. We have had fun this whole weekend, this is usually why I don't blog on weekends, because I'm busy having fun with my family. However since Noah is napping right now and I am caught up on laundry, housework ,etc. I will take some time to blog. I was looking through some past pics that I have taken of Noah and I decided that I was going to learn how to make a montage! So here is may first attempt. Noah has been walking for about 2 months now, but he still does some funny stuff! Check it out!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Low Iron and Lead Poisioning

We had a consultation with the WIC nurse yesterday. It is a nutritional program for kids and I found out two things that were of interest. First of all she said that the children who are testing positive for high lead is really high right now because of toys coming in from China and other countries who have not ban lead paint. Lead paints are cheap, and they produce vivid colors (just what kids love). She said she could give me a list of toys but that it changes so much that her list is already outdated! So I found a list of popular toys that have been recalled for lead. The list goes on forever it seems! What I noticed was that many of the things listed the "cheap toys" like toys that only cost a dollar, or are dispensed in one of those toy machines. She said that you can test some things at home with a "Lead pen". Also don't let them chew on toys, and wash their hands to get the lead off of them for when they do put their hands in their mouth. You can buy special wipes for this, but soap and water work as well.

If you don't know about lead poisoning it can cause kidney and brain damage. Here is a great article on what parents should know.

On to the second thing that she told me. She said that Noah was a little low in iron, and that it is common for kids his age group because they are no longer getting iron from breast milk or formula. So we need to increase his diet of iron rich foods. And if you serve them along with a vitamin C food it has better absorption.
Iron rich foods/Vitamin C:
Beef / Orange juice
Chicken / Tomatoes
Turkey / Grapefruit
Broccoli (has both)
Eggs (has both)
So we are going to try and bring up his iron! Even though she said it was so close to the line that it could be brought up with one meal, I want it to stay up:)

Also, I had posted earlier that the Dr. was concerned about Noah's weight. He is now 22lbs. So she said that he is on the low end but still healthy and she was not concerned at all and that he has some genetic factor to that. I was impressed that she even took Kurt and I's BMI. Which were both healthy. I felt like I defiantly got a more in depth opinion from her than the Dr. but I guess I am getting used to that!

The Swift

I just got this CD, and I would highly recommend it. I love listening to Christian music, I always have, but it seems like with little ears around you need to watch what you listen to more than ever! It is praise and worship, but also a little more contemporary. Here is their MySpace where you can hear some of their songs.

OSU & New Family

We went over to by older brothers house last night to celebrate his birthday/watch the OSU game/say goodbye to Lanay (his new fiance, but more on that later). It was so warm in his house because not only was it 60 degrees outside, but also because he still had a fire going in his woodburner! So little Noah was wearing only his jersey! So even though OSU lost (much to my husbands dismay) Noah was still a cute fan!

We had a lot of fun. Noah and Hiram built a Log Cabin and then destroyed it. We relaxed, and ate some snacks, and played games.

Now onto Adam and his new fiance Lanay. Lanay is from Nebraska and they met through a mutual friend. They are getting married next year. She has visited here twice now, and she was leaving early this morning. It has been awesome to get to know her and I feel that her and Adam are a great match. I am very happy to see Adam so happy. Since we were young we have been praying for God fearing spouses for all of us siblings, and now we are all (but Hiram, and he is still pretty young for marriage) married to Christians. God is great. I can't wait until the wedding:) I am glad to have her as a new sister (to be).

The Son is Shining

So much has happened in the last few days and I have not posted so I will try to fill everyone in. First off myhusband Kurt has been layed off since June. This has been very difficult for us financially as will as emotionally and mentally. This time has taught us a lot. We have tried our best to have faith that God had a plan for Kurt and he was going to use him for his glory. It was like a rollercoaster ride. We would come across a job and have hopes only to have not get the job or he would get ideas for one direction, but they would not come to fruation. We have finally found what he is going to do and we both feel that the Holy Spirit has given us confermation that this is what he is to do. He is going to go back to school for his teaching degree! I feel that a huge weight has been lifted.
Our sermon this past sunday opened with the song about how God gives and Takes away. "You give and take away, You give and take away, my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be your name. While we were singing, I just felt like "Yes, Lord you have given us all that we have, or dont have and we should bless your name either way". Even though we have had a break through with what God's will is for Kurt, it will be a hard road from here until he graduates. Then the next song was, "I'll never know how much it cost, to see my sin upon that cross". This go me thinking, God made the ultimate sarcrifce for us so that we can have eternal life, isnt my family worth me making sacrifices, like working full time? Eventually I want to be a part-time or even stay home mom, but right now that is not an option until Kurt is done with school. So I am willing to work for this to happen. Of course he is going to need to work part-time somewhere to make ends meet, but I just feel a peace about the whole thing, that has not happend for many many months.
The sermon went on and we watched two videos, one was about AIDS in Africa, and the next was about the child prostitution trade. Both play off of eachother. I want to get involved and I will be praying for guidance as to how to help, but I just made me see that we think we have trouble here in our small little bubble. I am not saying that not having enough money isnt a big problem, just that these children had worse problems. So here are some things that you can do: Go to the organization Remember Nhu Website and Coffee and Conversations Website and become aware of the problem. There is also a song you can download that will send procedes to the right places.
Truly I feel that we will be used for God's glory through Kurts talents and through these websites. Not only is the sun shining outside but the Son is shining in our lives.

Abstinence- why I do what I do

My job at the health department is to go into the schools in Huron County and speak about abstinence. For those of you that may not be familiar with what abstinence is, it is the factually based stance that -"You choose not to have sexual intercourse until marriage". The reason that I say that it is factually based is because we have study after study that shows that abstinence works for lowering pregnancy rates, STD rates, and depression levels in teens and young adults.

In the classroom the students teach me as much as I teach them. I teach them how to make better decision based on looking at the consequences. I teach them about what the consequences are and how they can determine their future. I teach them that they have control and ownership over their bodies. I teach them how to resist peer pressure and how to keep out of bad situations. I teach them that healthy relationships fill your emotional tank and bad ones drain it, etc.,etc.,etc.

The students teach me more. They teach me that they are not learning this at home. They teach me that they are getting more of their views of sex and what a relationship is from celebrities and movies than from their parents. They teach me that they crave for someone to tell them that they don't have to have sex because they can and will anyways. They teach me that they are smart and they can (after the class) see that having sex outside of marriage only hurts them and in no way helps their future. They teach me that parents and other adults in their lives need to step up and help them learn how to guard their hearts from those things that would harm them or give them wrong views of sex, since the media and other sources of "entertainment" are only going to continue to damage our kids more and more.

It makes me so upset when I hear our politicians and activists speak up against things such as global warming and the environment, the economy and budgets, immigration and other policies, but no one is speaking up for the moral standards of our nation! I think these things I mentioned above are important, I am just as much a cloth diapering, trash-pick -up, energy saving person as the next, but when it comes to the purity of my family and my kids, this takes priority!

My theory as to why adults are not stepping up to protect our children against sexual impurity (and it is showing with the number of molestation & rape victims increasing) is this. We as adults are NOT living pure lives, and we feel that "well if I like the R-rated movies, and I am living with my partner outside of marriage" then I cannot be the one to be a moral compass for my child. Yes, I know that no one is perfect. I now that I am not perfect, but I do know that will not stop me from protecting Noah and giving him knowledge on how to remain sexually pure. This is ultimately not my decision, but his. However, while he is still a child I will prepare him and give him the tools to make an informed decision. AND I will try to remain a good role model for him.

I am a huge defender of the family unit and this is why I do what I do.