Love. Like. Delight. Joy. Enjoy. Cherish. Love. Love. Love. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.
LOVE.

I want to love my children. I don’t just want to be their “trainer”, their teacher, their food preparer, clothes washer…I want to honestly, genuinely, AFFECTIONATELY LOVE my children. To DELIGHT in their uniqueness, to HURT in their sorrows, to join in their PLAY…

And yet, I feel like my day is so filled and focused on the tasks of life. Get dressed. Eat breakfast. Clear the table. Make them do chores (after all, they need to be responsible!). Keep them busy while I do MY chores. Discipline. Correct. Train. Say, “No!” so they are not spoiled (besides, it’s “good” for them). Feed them. Put them to bed. Start again.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with this…it’s missing my heart. My affection! My DELIGHT.

“For the LORD delights in the son whom he LOVES!”

Somewhere along the line, I have lost my delight in motherhood. My LOVE! Instead it has turned into a task…a chore.

Lord, renew my heart. Rekindle the JOY of mothering. That our days would be filled with LAUGHTER, DANCING, CHILDLIKE pleasure, COMMUNION, with shared sorrows…I often pray for change in my children…now I pray for a change in ME. That I could lead them in the OVERWHELMING JOY and ADVENTURE of knowing the God of this universe, Savior, and LOVER of our souls!

CHANGE ME ~ I PRAY!

Selah Marie Louise

She's Here!!!
Selah Marie Louise
8lbs 1oz, 20.5"
Friday, June 10th

Our Story:

Thursday 4am: Got woken up with contractions and was losing my mucous plug! Yahoo!
6am: Told Kiely I was having contractions...He said, "Oh, I better get some more sleep then!" and rolled back over. : )
8am: Kie stayed home from work....
And NOTHING!
10pm: Mom/Midwife came and stayed the night...just in-case : )

Friday 3am: Woken up by contractions again!
8am: Sent Kiely to work...embarrassed he had to tell his boss we STILL hadn't had our baby!

11am: Friend Amie came with her 7month old son Zander (so cute)
Ate lunch and sent the boys out to play.
Chatted with mom and Amie, relaxed during contractions. (about 10 min apart)
4pm: Contractions were about 5 min apart on average and lasting around 90sec. We were still chatting though, I felt pretty good during the contractions and I didn't want to get excited too soon.
My mom told me to call Kie and have him come home...I was hesitant since he had stayed home the day before with no baby, but mom knows best!
5pm: Took a shower and spent some quiet time relaxing. Then Kie showed up.
Next hour and a half I spent walking, relaxing, rocking and resting my arms on the sink or bed during contractions and just letting my belly hang down. Probably the BEST pain relief I've experienced during labor. In between, I was still able to chat and "hang out".
6:30: The mother instinct must have set in, because I really wanted my older boys to come in from playing and just have everyone close...even though I still didn't think I was super close. I was still pretty comfortable.
7pm: No more chatting, no more "relief" during contractions! My mom had to get me refocused and talk me through relaxing and breathing through my belly...even though I didn't want to. IT HURT! I got to lean back into Kiely though...a wonderful way to finish a birth.

7:10: As soon as I felt the urge to push. I went for it! No waiting! No Fetal Ejection Reflex...I didn't want to have any more contractions!!! (usually, I'm more patient and I recommend waiting...rushing it made me quite a bit more sore afterwards)

7:12pm She was here! IT"S A GIRL!!!

Almost there.
Trying to stay relaxed even though I wanted to escape my body at this point.
Any other mom who's been through birth can probably relate?

Oh, Sweet Love! We did it!

Talking to our new little girl...she wasn't breathing too well at first.
(Just a little gurgley)

Guess what?! It's a baby sister!!!
This time, I got to do the honors of being the first to check!

Meeting baby sister!

Amie and Zander!
Their FIRST home birth experience!
(This was after she was born...it just looks like I'm still preggo : )

Daddy and his little girl!

A little face time with my new Sweetheart!

Ben's first meeting...He was sleeping when
she arrived!

Proud Big brother

Healthy LIttle Eaters

Here are some tips I've found lately to encourage my boys to be "Healthy Little Eaters"
They're already pretty good at eating their veggies and such, but are TERRIBLE at sneaking treats and getting into food in the kitchen. And even though it seems I spend about 5 minutes out of the kitchen before it's time to start a new snack or meal...I figured a new cheat-sheet would keep me ahead of the game and from always defaulting to peanut-butter anytime my children ask for food! ; ) Here they are:

Snack Foods:
Crispy Nuts (soaked and low-roasted)
Homemade Trail Mix
Cut up Fruit with dollup of sour cream(my favorite)/yogurt
Olives
Peanut Butter balls
Hard Boiled eggs
Cheese cut into cubes or fun shapes
Popcorn topped with butter or coconut oil
Yogurt Dough Crackers (recipe in Nourishing Traditions)
Waffle Squares (add a little more sweetener to batter and cut into squares)
Healthy muffins (great if carrot, zucchini, squash, etc)
Baked Tortilla Chips with bean dip or guac
Raw Veggies with Dip
Celery or Carrots with nut butter

Sandwhich Ideas:
Sliced Turkey
Apple Slices, bacon, dijon and cheddar cheeze
Grilled Cheese, add shredded meat and veggies
Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato
Meat or Turkey loaf with mayo and lettuce
Cream Cheese with jelly or meat and pickles
Chicken salad with grapes, celery and mayo
Egg salad with pickles
Mashed avacado with chicken and veggies, stuffed in a pita

Quick Tips for SWEETS:
Don't emphasize, just incorporate into regular eating...hmmm, how many times have I bribed my kids into eating their meal...only to reinforce the "forbidden fruit"?
Serve healthful sweets in proportion to other foods, along WITH meal. Not as a reward. Child may eat first, middle or whenever. Make small enough, they will still be hungry for other food.
Bake healthful cookies or muffins. Serve with yogurt or cream for snacks
Find ways to appeal to sweet-tooths with regular foods:
Fruits
Yogurt(plain) with honey and vanilla
Smoothies
Cream Cheese and Berry spread
Fresh or frozen berries

Well, That's what's on my Fridge and Table these days. If you have any added tips, Please share!

Patience...

I have spent much of my life being in a bit of a frazzle.

Over different things of course: homework, sports, my VERY unruly hair, growing up, being here, being there...etc.

And yet I have always (seemingly anyways), romanticised the contentful life "At Peace". At peace with the unexpected, the uncontrolled, the imminent, the tragedies, the suprises, the joys, the messes...At Peace with LIFE!

And for some reason, it seems that the more I seek this, the farther it seems to be. Having 3 BOYS for instance, sure doesn't seem condusive to such a state of being. Right?!

Well, it seems only recently have I realized the role that PATIENCE plays. In general, I've realized that I tend to be a rather impatient person. Impatience with myself, impatience for changes, impatient in the cold...or heat, impatient to go, impatient to stay,impatient to start, impatient to get done...and so I spend my time planning and rushing and doing!
And that end-line of rest and peace seems never in sight!!! Sigh!

So, here I am, nearly 4wks into life practicing PATIENCE! Sitting at the breakfast table long enough to talk to my munchkins before our day begins. Taking the time to clean up from each meal before charging into the more "important" task(s) of the day. Sitting. Reading with the boys. Taking a walk in the afternoon. Picking up and talking instead of rushing to get boys in bed. Realising that toys on the floor mean "healthy life happens here" and they are going to be there the MAJORITY of the time!!! That my kids will say "NO!" and have fits and make trouble sometimes and that doesn't mean I have failed or that they are rotten...they are people, learning along with the rest of us...

And somehow accepting these things instead of FIGHTING them or HURRYING them up, has added a much desired amount of PEACE to each day!!! Thank you Lord for Your FAITHFULNESS!

Here's a little bit of the "Peace" that's been happening lately : )


Who could resist such a giant ice-cycle?

Mr. Serious on our first snow day!

My little Jaguar showing off the snow!

A train/play table I built for Christmas...adding the distress "before"

the boys : )

Baby "Boo" (the baby's name for the time-being),

at 20wks

Back..I hope!

It's been ages since I've posted...And not that I haven't wanted to or thought about it, or even had time for it. We have been computerless for the last few months and as of yesterday...No more!!!

My iphone was filling in, but didn't quite cooperate on the blog website.
Ahhhhhh.... So, I'm back! And I'm hoping to get more pics up as well : )

For this particular moment though, I'm in my pajamas, haven't even gotten out of bed yet and need to feed my little men breakfast before the morning riot begins from hungry bellies.

Here's hoping I'm back...and soon!

Busy Days

Fall is here! Crisp winds, sunny days, leaves starting to fall, sweaters, scarves, boots.

I LOVE IT!

So, what exactly has kept me so busy I haven't made it to my computer?

These 4 reasons called,

Kiely, Justus, Gabriel and Ben!

Good reasons if you ask me.

One of the "biggies"....

Justus and Gabriel have learned how to ride bikes!

No training wheels!

They love it and spend every minute they can riding around.

Grandpa and Grandma bought a little
"KaZam" balance bike, and now Ben isn't far behind!

I started homeschooling Justus a few weeks back, still unsure of our choice, but not wanting to just send him off to school...he's really showing an interest in "going" to school and almost seems a bit lonely/bored being home.

There happens to be a Montessori school in town that is very flexible with our "plan" and would still

allow me to "school" some as well.

Even for mothers that are not homeschooling, I will be continuing one of our "curriculum's" called

Five In A Row.

It's great and has already given us many hours on the couch reading and discussing great topics from history, to art, science, and definitely character development!

I've just been checking out the books at our library, and many of them, we're not ready to give back when they're due! : )

We've also been exploring the Midwest some.

Ventured into Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa, including being able to see the Mississippi River!

That was fun!

I am continuing my quest/discovery of herbs.

Plantain (not the bananas), and White Pine trees are on the top of our list right now and have aided us in many

"First Aid" situations lately

(a regular occurrence in the Bondurant home : )

Oo-La-La

For a while now I have surmised that we (ladies) should periodically have "Refresher" lingerie parties...such for anniversaries or perhaps after having babies and wanting a little "Pick-me-up" for our intimate times.

WELL, to my complete suprise, my WONDERFUL sister-in-law planned a party for me while we were in Astoria. There were at least a dozen ladies there, family, friends(new and old). And we had a BLAST!!! There was quite a bit of chocolate and desserts involved, as well as some "fun" conversations and a couple rounds of the "Things" game.

(No worries, both my mother and mother-in-law attended, so nothing was TOO racy)

My lingerie wardrobe at least doubled and I now have quite a nice collection of "cotton-free" panties, if you know what I mean. ; )

SOO, here's hoping the LOVE will spread...Get together with your girls and plan some fun. Certainly there is some "special" occassion coming up you can use...birthday, anniversary, your hubby's birthday???

If you don't want to ask for one yourself, throw one for your friends FIRST.

I'm sure they'll catch on.

If you care to follow suit, the SUPRISE factor was fantastic!

Blessings and FUN,

Melody