I will grit MY teeth in agony while waiting for photos to load and I will be happy while doing so! Because afterall it WAS my fumbling fingers that clumsily dropped my dear laptop which in turn led to it's untimely demise.
We just returned from a mini trip to visit family out west. It was an 8 hour drive each way and miraculously, we LOVED every moment of it. It took us a couple of hours to get out of town as we had to make a stop at the doctor's office and pharmacy(such is life with kids). But once on the road we stopped to see Multnomah and Horsetail falls, listened to Adventures in Odyssey and thoroughly enjoyed having family close with little distractions.
We celebrated Grandpa Jim's 90th birthday while there! One of my favorite moments of the trip was when he opened a handmade gift from his son and grand kids: a paper cut-out of a boat and fisherman with his pole and line out with 90 fish trailing behind. One for each year. All 90 of the fish were hand cut, unique and got bigger in size as you got the end of the line, symbolizing his legacy, influence and family among other things I suppose. Such creativity, thought and time went into a gift like that... those are the best kind.
I stabbed a can open this morning with a sharp knife while my oldest daughter held the phone poised to call 911 if needed... I do believe it is time to buy a can opener.
My son looks like a who from Who ville. Seriously! He fell off of our bar stool gouging his top lip with his teeth. It's massively swelled up, and well... when he smiles, he almost resembles the Grinch! Hahaha, poor guy. We're all trying not to laugh around him.
I have tons of pictures that I am so very eager to edit, stories that I JUST CAN'T WAIT to post, a house that needs cleaning, dentist appointments that need scheduling, soccer games wanting attendance, dirt that needs raking, an attic that needs finishing, lattes that need steaming, friends I'd love to be visiting, family I'd enjoy calling, clothes that need washing, windshields needing repairing, papers waiting grading and meals that warrant making... I'm quite busy.
I have discovered I am not a wimp after all. A friend, after having 5 kids naturally, recently underwent her first c-section with her 6th child due to complications in her pregnancy. She went on to tell me she doesn't know why I did it more than once, and that the recovery is so hard, especially with other kids in the house needing her, and much more painful compared to having her others naturally. This was news for me!
Having had five c-sections myself and then
My first daughter was breech, so born via c-section. My four subsequent babies were also born via c-section as well due to other complications and just plain poor planning i.e. babies 12 months apart(*wink *wink God knows ALL!). So I haven't a clue as to the comparison between natural birth and c-sections. Now I am aware enough to know that every woman experiences different pain levels in natural childbirth and if you throw in their different levels in pain tolerance, it really is hard to compare. It is quite easier though to compare c-sections to natural childbirth, especially in the recovery process. I would love to hear from other women who have gone through both to get even more input into which process is preferred.
God made our bodies to become pregnant, carry the baby to term and then deliver the baby naturally from our body. No cuts, no stitches, no surgery. All natural. The way God planned it from the beginning of time, with the exception of pain... unfortunately the fall of man changed the fate of that! After we give birth, as we nurse our baby, our body amazingly bounces back and begins to go back to normal right away! Within hours or days, besides exhaustion from sleep deprivation, our bodies begin to feel energetic and better than we have in months! In a matter of hours, we go from being pregnant, to pain in labor, birthing baby and to having a beautiful new life in our arms to start nurturing and loving on. It's God's wonderful design, simply stated.
I have never had that exact experience. With each pregnancy, the excitement and beauty of pregnancy and a new baby has always had the looming surgery and recovery tacked onto it. With a c-section, you are cut open, stomach muscles divided, uterus brought up and out of your body and baby and placenta is extracted... then they stitch you up and put you back together again. It's a harrowing process, one that doctors have perfected over the years with technology to where there isn't much risk at all anymore. I would always have a blood pressure dive down to 60 over 40 during surgery(which feels like something I can't explain but I'll try... like your drowning and your eyes are darkening and rolling back into your head, your lungs are seizing and you are passing out.... anyways, no fun!) before the anesthesiologist would get me medicated and my blood pressure back up to normal, but other than that it was a breeze during surgery, just a bit uncomfortable and worrisome. After catching but a glimpse of their sweet little face once they we're born, I wouldn't get to hold baby until about 45 minutes after birth and wouldn't be able to feel my legs for at least 6 more hours after that. The next few days and weeks are hard. No only because I have a new baby to take care of but because being able to walk takes a few days and being able to roll over in bed takes at least a week to be able to do. My overall energy is sapped in trying to heal my cut up body. After five c-sections, the toll on my body can be felt. Scar tissue, nerve issues from the many spinal epidurals and overall tiredness from having had 5 major surgeries in 7 years has caught up with me.
That being said, I am thankful, beyond words that God holds us up in times of trial and hardship... even though things in this fallen world don't always go according to plan, we can rest upon His promises that He knows. He cares. He is always here for us in out time of need. He has proven Himself faithful to us, many times over. I wouldn't change a thing that He has brought us through!
Okay, marching on into our busy day I must go. My second in command and I made muffins to sell to daddy's co-workers this morning and we must get them there while still warm and steaming!
Good Day!
