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Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Matthew 7:7-8

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:01:00 +0000

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Psalm 37:4

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Colossians 3:12-14

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Psalm 90:2

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Tony & Kirsten Hill: Menu Plan Monday, June 29th through July 5th

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:06:41 +0000

I’m trying to keep it simple for this Menu Plan Monday. I’ve got an editing deadline for the Faithwalkers Journal this week, so I don’t want to get bogged down with any complicated meals.

Fun link for the week: If you’re looking to eat more salads this summer, you might want to check out this article with links to fifty different pasta salad recipes!

Here’s what we’re having:

Monday: Spaghetti, green salad, garlic bread

Tuesday: Whole chicken in the crock pot, sweet potato fries (my double coupon bargain from this past week at Rainbow), frozen veggie du jour

Wednesday: homemade pizza or possibly a casserole from the freezer if I don’t even have time to make pizza. If we do make pizza, I’m going to try a whole-wheat or partial-whole-wheat crust for the first time!

Thursday: Chicken and Dumplings in the crock pot

Friday: Dilled Salmon Pasta Salad (found this recipe from the list of 50 pasta salad recipes linked to above!)

Saturday: Happy 4th of July! We’ll probably grill out…maybe some steaks that I got on sale this past week at Target!

Sunday: Stir Fry and Egg Rolls

You can find great menu ideas every week in the Menu Plan Monday post at Orgjunkie.com

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Mark 13:31

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Psalm 94:12-13

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law, to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.

Matt and Nancy Heerema: Elena is a songwriter

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:50:44 +0000

Apparently my 3 year old (nearly) daughter is a songwriter.

I was playing my guitar earlier today, and as usual Elena walked over and asked to start strumming the guitar. The difference is that this time, she started singing along. The tune was indiscernible, so I assume she was inventing it.

I think I captured the lyrics fairly accurately. Here they are.

Once upon a time
there was a happy little lady
and her name was mommy
and her name was mommy
and her name was mommy

And she was playing with her magic ball
and she was going to the potty
but she was not going in her pants
she was going all by herself
she was going
she was going
she was going
she was going
she was going
but not forever and ever.

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Romans 12:1

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Luke 6:37-38

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

"Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."

Tony & Kirsten Hill: Bargains: Tales from a Double Coupon Novice

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:53:20 +0000

For a long time (at least the few months I’ve been couponing any way), I’ve downplayed the value of doing Double Coupon Wednesdays at Rainbow Foods. Rainbow is the only store in the Twin Cities that consistently does double coupons. But it is only on Wednesdays. And you have to spend at least $25. And you can only double five coupons. It sounded like too much work for too little benefit.

But, the more I’ve been reading about using coupons (and the better I’ve been getting about finding higher-value coupons), the more I realized it might be worthwhile. After all, wouldn’t it be better to save up to an extra $5 without spending any additional money? I also have learned that customers may do more than one $25 transaction in order to double more than five coupons…though I think if I tried this at my regular Rainbow at the times I often find myself shopping when it is really crowded with long check out lines, I might incur the wrath of both the cashier and the annoyed customers behind me!

I’ve wanted to give this a try for several weeks, but this was the first week when it was both practical for me to go to the grocery store on a Wednesday and the sales at Rainbow matched up with some of the items I needed. It worked out especially well because I was able to go in the evening (our Rainbow is really quiet at night, hence less waiting in line and easier shopping in general), and Madeline was at Grandma’s house so I only had to take the boys. They are pretty easy to shop with…Madeline on the other hand talks incessantly and it makes it difficult to look for the right products to get the good deals.

I’d consider my first attempt to be a moderate success. I did find five $1/off coupons to use. One resulted in a stellar deal — free peanuts. Three were moderate deals — frozen sweet potato fries for a little over a buck (I’ll use them as a dinner side dish for next week), and two 4-pks of yogurt for $0.60. The last of my five doubled coupons resulted in a great deal on a “treat” — $0.50 for a box of Oreo Cakesters. Not something we “need” at all but a treat is nice every now and then, right?

Overall it was a pretty good shopping trip. I finally managed to “save” more than I “spent” — in other words, the total I paid out-of-pocket was a couple bucks less than what the receipt said I saved when store sale prices, store coupons, and manufacturers coupons (regular and double) were taken into account.

I’d like to try this again on a week when there are some better deals to be had. I don’t think I can realistically plan to do double coupons every week at Rainbow. Wednesday shopping doesn’t always work with my schedule. If this trip would have been during the day with all three kids it would have been a lot more difficult, and that is how I shop most of the time.

I think I might also have to hit more than one store more often in order to both get the double coupon deals at Rainbow and also come out ahead on our groceries overall. On the items I buy regularly, my best “overall deal” is often not at Rainbow. Being able to double more than one transaction’s worth of coupons might change that, but I’m not sure I am bold enough to try it if the lines are long!

Finally, I think if I do double coupons more often at Rainbow I’ll have to watch out that I don’t add in too many “extras” and treats. I am usually pretty good about only buying things I need even when things I don’t “need” are a good deal. But when double coupons can bring the price of junk food to a few cents or a buck, the temptation is much greater! Even if it’s a good deal, junk food needs to be a tiny part of what I buy at the grocery store each week!

For Further reading: I’ve really been enjoying the blog “Dollars in the Pocket.” It’s a local “deal blog,” and the author posts grocery lists for several stores each week including Cub, Rainbow and Target. These lists match up sales with coupons and other deals so you can see where the best grocery deals are each week in the Twin Cities.

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Romans 12:11

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Sarah McClanahan: Iowa's Underrated

Sarah.J.McClanahan@gmail.com (Sarah Jayne) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:15:25 +0000

I love Iowa. I never appreciate it until I'm away for a while and realize how great it is. Well, I was just away for a while and now I am reminded of why it is so great. Here are some good ol' Iowa pics I took from my family's farm in SW Iowa.

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."

Tony & Kirsten Hill: Menu Plan Monday — June 22-28, 2009

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:24:16 +0000

After a week of vacation (and a crazy, busy short week right before that), it’s time for another Menu Plan Monday. This is the first week of summer on the calendar, and the first week that’s really going to feel like summer weather-wise all week here too.

This summer I’m going to try and have salad for the main course of our dinner once a week, and I hope we can grill at least once a week as well. What was once a nice gas grilled hooked into the house’s natural gas system is now merely a charcoal grill in a gas grill shell, ever since the grill burner disintegrated. It makes grilling much more complicated (to me anyway) so I am guessing most of our grilling will take place on the weekends when Tony is home to manage the charcoal.

I also like to use the crock pot a lot during the summer, since it seems to heat up the house a lot less than the oven, and somewhat less than certain stove top methods of cooking. This summer we do have the opportunity to use the basement kitchen though, so I may try my hand at cooking dinner or baking down there and see how that works out in terms of practicality and temperature!

Here’s what we’re having this week:

Monday: Tonight we had a Pepsi Pot roast with mashed potatoes and California blend mixed veggies.

Tuesday: Tropical Chicken Pasta Salad (recipe to follow)

Wednesday: Pad Thai…maybe with shrimp (I haven’t been to the grocery store yet since returning from vacation, so it may depend on what I find is on sale!)

Thursday: Roast Lamb (a cut of meat given to me by my mom — apparently it is pre-seasoned) and maybe Indian Crock Pot Curry (I’ll make this recipe without the chicken it calls for…or maybe I’ll find a different veggie/rice side dish)

Friday: Pork Tamales (using leftover pork filling and other leftover items from the last time I made tamales). Or if I am feeling too hot/tired/lazy by the end of the week I’ll make it more casserole style instead of wrapping the tamales individually.

Saturday: Pizza

Sunday: Grill burgers/hot dogs

As always, lots more great menus can be found in the Menu Plan Monday post at orgjunkie.com!

Mike and Jackie Biang: Just a few Caleb pics

nospam@example.com (Jackie Biang) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:20:00 +0000

This was Caleb on his due date 6/14.

This was about a half a day after we brought Caleb home from the hospital. Joy is trying to be like Caleb--brought her chair and blanket over right next to him in his chair and blanket. :)

Cartagena Familia - Jensen and Autumn: cartagenafamilia

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:45:31 +0000

This past weekend, Jensen, Amber (my sister), my dad, and I ventured up to the Wisconsin Dells for a weekend family vacation. This was our first attempt at a family vacation and I was a bit nervous. I ended up as the designated planner and per usual, I was concerned about it being an economical trip that included something fun for everyone. Mission accomplished.

The Hotel

We stayed at an EconoLodge in Lake Delton. Originally, I had looked into renting a cabin. The Econolodge won out because I had an Expedia.com coupon that I could use for our rooms there. The positives: great location (close, but out of the main drag hustle and bustle), check-in was no problem, nice size pool and hot tub, decent rooms, great air conditioning. The not-so-positives: UNCOMFORTABLE mattresses, lack of promised fridge/microwave/hair dryer. Thankfully we had brought coolers and our own hair dryer. Next time, we’re going to figure out how to cut corner some other way and rent a small cabin.

The Food

The hotel had a continental breakfast (although they needed to hire an industrial engineer to rework the traffic flow) and we packed our own food for lunches and snacks. Our first night in town we went to a local brewery called the Moose Jaw. It was a really fun place and we got seated immediately (at 7 on a Friday night–woo hoo!). Since we were in Wisconsin and because I’ve recently fallen in love with the movie New in Town, I had to have some beer cheese soup. It was actually pretty good! Amber had a giant bratwurst and Jensen had something called the Capone. We finished off our meal by splitting a gigantic piece of carrot cake. I had found a coupon for 10% off the total bill for this place, so we basically got the cake for free!

The following night we went to Paul Bunyan’s Cooking Shanty. I had vaguely fond memories of this place as a kid, but unfortunately, this visit wasn’t that great. Jensen wasn’t feeling well so he didn’t eat much, our waiter was way too busy (even though he did a good job trying–we felt bad for him), and all the loudness/chaos made you (aka me) feel like I was in the way. I just wanted to eat and get out of there. For the price (no coupons), we could have had a really nice, quiet, take our time meal elsewhere.

Entertainment

On Friday night, we walked downtown and went to Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Once again, this had been a vaguely fond memory from childhood. As adults, it just felt cheesy and touristy. If you go down the other main road, there are many better attractions. We did end up five miles outside of town on a country road as the GPS tried to get us to an indoor amusement park. We only ended up finding the park as we were leaving town (the opposite direction) on Sunday.

Saturday was the best. THE BEST. We went to Noah’s Ark–”the world’s largest water park.” We had heard about this place, but had never been and I was somewhat skeptical. But, it was military day on Saturday. Military members got in free and family members half price. With Jensen and my dad being free (he’s a Veteran), we got in 4 for the price of 1! This was my biggest money-saving find for the weekend.

AND if that wasn’t sweet enough… as we were getting out of the car, I opened up the side pocket of my purse (that I had purchased at a garage sale a few weeks earlier but had yet to use) and found $20! Yay–we were able to use this to rent a day locker and to splurge on some end-of-the-day park food (funnel cakes, pretzels, and dipping dots–oh my!).

Anyway, back to the day… Jensen, Amber, and I had gone to Adventureland about a month back and it was no fun at all so I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to handle the rides at this place either. I could definitely tell Jensen was skeptical as well. But by the end of the first ride, I knew it was going to be a hit! We arrived at the park around 10 a.m. and probably didn’t have to wait more than 5 minutes for most rides in the morning. Jensen and I rode every ride with the exception of the Plunge and the Point of No Return. We were even able to go on 3-4 rides as a whole family!

Some of my reviews…

Black Anacoda–definitely worth the wait! But beware–several waterfalls will leave you coughing and sputtering if you inhale!

Jungle Rapids–I’m NOT all about wrapping myself up like a little sausage on those mats to fly down a tube!

Sting Ray–I’m still wondering how you end up with a wedgie after that. Beware–lighter rider has to go down the big drop backwards!

Witches’ Gulch and Twin Sisters–I’m a MUCH bigger fan of twin sisters–though somehow I managed to fly off my tube at the end!

The Lazy Rivers–wonderful IF you don’t have a husband and sister who are trying to soak you at every opportunity.

At the end of the day, we went minature golfing (free as part of our admission) and were able to dry off. I don’t know if I could have justified the expense if we had paid full-price, but for a bargain, it was an awesome day.

On Sunday, we stopped at the House on the Rock for a tour. All of the Hares had been there before, but it had been several years and we thought Jensen would enjoy some of the weapons collections. Advice: don’t stop on your way home and wear comfortable shoes. It took us over 3 hours (and that was with skimming several exhibits) to walk the tour. Seriously, those little signs that say “tour continues” that you look forward to seeing in the beginning, you DREAD by the end. And there’s nowhere to just stop the tour–you have to keep going!

All in all, I think it was a great attempt at a first family vacay. We all made it home safely despite a run-in with a storm somewhere along HWY 20. Hopefully I’ll stay energized to make it through the work week!

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Ephesians 4:26-27

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Matthew 18:21-22

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven."

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): John 6:51

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Proverbs 15:1

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Revelation 22:20

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Hebrews 13:15

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): John 14:2-3

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Matt and Nancy Heerema: Rhubarb extravaganza!

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:38:26 +0000

Since rhubarb season is drawing to a close (experts say not to cut it after the summer heat hits the 90’s) I thought I’d post my favorite new recipe this month: Grandma Stribe’s “Talk of the Town” Rhubarb Muffins. (I gave the recipe this name because Grandma was raving about this recipe and told me that her friends and neighbors just loved it :) I’m a big fan, too!)

“Talk of the Town” Rhubarb Muffins

1 egg, beaten
2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. oil
1 c. buttermilk (OR 1 T. lemon juice mixed with 1 c. milk, let sit 5 min…I used this and it worked well)

1-1/4 c. brown sugar
2-1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1-1/2 c. rhubarb, finely chopped (so you get a rhubarb “kick” in each bite :))
1/2 c. nuts, chopped (optional)

Sugar topping:
1 T. butter, melted
1/3 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon

Mix wet ingredients and add to combined dry ingredients. For sugar topping, mix sugar and cinnamon before adding melted butter. Fill 20 muffin cups and sprinkle on sugar topping. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, using toothpick test to determine “doneness.”

This is a great recipe to share with friends and neighbors since it makes such a big batch (20). Maybe it’ll be the talk of YOUR neighborhood soon!

Mike and Jackie Biang: The Labor Story

nospam@example.com (Jackie Biang) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:41:00 +0000

This is for all of you who like birth stories. For those of us who have had them, you know that each one is special. It’s amazing how a day can be one of the scariest days and one of the best days at the same time. Strong emotions seem to run down the same pipe.

I woke up on Sunday, June 7 a little after midnight—only about an hour after going to bed. Now, at this point my Braxton-hicks are pretty frequent, and I generally wake up about every 2 hours (at least) to go to the bathroom. But when I woke up with painful cramping at 1:30, and lay in bed waiting for and experiencing more cramping regularly, I started to think “Today’s the day!” I resisted the urge to wake Mike and tell him, and between trying to sleep and being too excited (or uncomfortable) to sleep, I made it to 8am, when I told him and we started our day of waiting and watching.

Contractions came and went for most of the day—between 8 and 20 minutes apart. My doctor told me to come in at 10 minutes apart so they could check me; that is earlier than most people would go to the hospital, but since I was attempting a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) they wanted to monitor the baby early. Mike and I tried going to the hospital a few times, but like my doula said, adrenaline can slow or even stall labor contractions. We’d head towards the hospital, and the contractions would stop, so we’d kill time somehow to see if the contractions would pick up again. We got hot dogs and sat at a park. We ended up going home for a while, at which point I started to feel uneasy, so around 6pm we headed for the hospital again, stopping first to walk around a little pond across the street from the hospital (with baby swans and turtle eggs!)

When we arrived at the hospital, the painful contractions were few and far between. Little did I know that we wouldn’t be leaving for a while. We are admitted to “triage” around 7pm. I must admit, I felt pretty stupid walking into “labor and delivery” when I wasn’t really acting/feeling like a person in labor at the moment. The nurse “checked me” and told us I wasn’t dilated at all. Major bummer! I was thinking I’d have to keep experiencing contractions like that—every 15 min.-ish for days, and not really getting any sleep. The nurse told me they’d probably send me home when some freak thing happened with the baby monitor on my belly. Some pretty rapid baby movements made it hard to tell if the monitor was picking up his or my heart rate (which is much lower) but at any rate, it looked like the baby’s heart rate took a dive. After that, the nurse told me I’d be there for at least 2 more hours for monitoring. Right after she said that, my water broke. Pretty odd—all this happened in less than 5 minutes. With the baby’s heart rate possibly dropping and me not being dilated, it looked for a few minutes like I might not even get a trial of labor—that I’d just have to have another c-section. But then my water broke (which is what really gets labor going. Most babies are born (or helped to be born) by 24 hrs after the water breaks.) So I get wheeled up to a labor room.

My contractions pick up right away—every 2-3 minutes. We called the doula and start laboring. I had “thigh labor”, meaning I felt my contractions mostly in my thighs—my quads, mostly. So with each contraction, Mike and the doula would sing a hymn (primarily "How Great Thou Art") and massage my thighs, which was a HUGE help. It was neat that most of our nurses were Christians and the singing got them talking about church, etc. By midnight, though, I had only dilated 1 cm. This was pretty discouraging to me. I had been up 24 hours at this point and labor was only beginning. I had wanted to try natural labor, but I was exhausted and discouraged; and although I had told myself that if I got an epidural, I wanted to wait until I was at least 4 cm dilated, I requested one at barely 1 cm. I was just too tired and I’d heard of people who got the epidural and then were able to sleep. At the rate I was going, it looked like there’d be at least 12 more hours of labor.

That’s when things got interesting. Right after getting the epidural, both my blood pressure and the baby’s heart rate dropped, which started some pretty frantic actions by the nurses (flipping me onto my hands and knees and trying to stimulate the baby to get his heart rate to go back up.) So they gave me oxygen and blood pressure medicine after that. They also switched from an external monitor on my belly to an internal monitor (which is attached to the baby’s scalp), to more accurately access how the baby was doing. The monitor would go “beep beep beep…” at the rate of the baby’s heart. So I would lay there listening to the beeps and when they’d slow I’d look towards the door to see if the nurses would run in. If it got low enough, about 7 nurses would run in and do all sorts of crazy things with me to try to get the baby’s heart rate to go back up. This was always really scary, but each time they thought the decel. was for a different reason and they let me continue to labor, which I appreciated--it didn’t seem to me that the baby was in distress. If I moved onto my other side and the heart rate went back up, they thought that maybe the baby was pinching his cord somehow and it was a positional problem, rather than a fetal distress problem. And if the baby’s heart rate was able to stay up for a while after the decel., they knew that it wasn’t that the baby was “giving up”, it was just more of a one-time thing. The only thing I thought I could do was breathe deep of my oxygen. When I get nervous I tend to stop breathing, so I was extra cautious to breathe when his heart rate would drop.

I was thinking with the epidural I’d be able to rest/sleep and get my energy up for pushing, but with the blood pressure medicine and the decelerations, my heart was beating so fast I couldn’t sleep. The doctor came after the first 2 decelerations and would watch the monitor to see how the baby was doing. Around 2:30am I was almost 3 cm dilated and we were encouraged. At 5:30am, however, I was only slightly more dilated than I was 3 hours ago and the contractions had slowed to one about every 7 minutes. When you’re having a VBAC, doctors are hesitant to use pitocin to augment contractions, but my doctor was going to give it a few more hours then gradually try a little pitocin and see how things went.

At 7am I got a pretty interesting nurse who started suggesting a few things I could do to pick up labor contractions. I tried it and it worked—bringing strong contractions close together. But around 8am, the baby had a gradual heart rate deceleration that lasted for about 6 minutes. The doctor came in, got real close to my face and said, “Jackie, I think we should do a c-section.” I asked if Mike and I could discuss it, and she, acting kinda stressed, expressed that she wished we didn’t need to take the extra time—that this needed to happen now. So Mike and I looked at each other, both pretty shocked and scared and disappointed, and said, “Okay”.

The nurses were moving really fast to get me ready for the c-section. One shoved this liquid at me and said, “Drink this—it will coat your stomach.” She shoved the liquid at me so abruptly that it seemed like a bunch of it spilled out and it clicked in my head that they’re giving me the liquid so that I wouldn’t asphyxiate while under general anesthesia, which is what they’d use for an emergency c-section. This was one of the scariest parts of the labor for me; I really didn’t want to be knocked out and miss the birth of my baby. As they wheel me into the OR, the nurses and doctors are still moving and talking quickly. When we got there, I was relieved to hear that the baby’s heart rate had gone back up, and happy to meet the anesthesiologist who said he was going to ramp up the medicine in my epidural.

Pretty soon, 11 minutes after the decision to to a c-section, we heard the steady cry of healthy lungs. He was born at 8:21am on Monday, June 8th, weighing 7 lbs. 15 oz., measuring 22in. long, with a 13 in. head. The doctors said our baby boy was very healthy—high apgar score—and that they didn’t know what was causing the heart rate decelerations. Mike got to go with the baby while they stitched me up; I didn’t get to see the baby until we were in the recovery room. We agreed right away to name him Caleb--the one name Mike and I were both excited about; we like the name and the biblical figure. He is middle-named after my father, which is conveniently the name of his father, too. Our baby Caleb just seems so beautiful to me. I'm so happy for a healthy baby boy.

I felt like we saw God’s hand in and through the process, which is what I had been praying for. It’s amazing to me how we got to the hospital right in time for my water to break, even though I wasn’t “really” in labor. I am also really glad I got the epidural, even though it’s not the way I’d wanted to go initially. If I hadn’t had the epidural, I probably would have been knocked out and missed the first several hours of my baby’s life. So maybe God orchestrated the labor so that I would miss so much sleep and ask for the epidural.

Part of me keeps wondering how the labor would have gone if I had continued through the pain and hadn’t gotten the epidural. It probably would have gone a lot quicker, but I guess one doesn’t know. I asked my doula if seeing the baby’s heart rate drop with contractions is normal and she said it isn’t. Moreover, that if my baby’s heart rate dropped with the strong contractions under the epidural, that’s probably what would have happened without it, too.

Finally, I don’t know why this didn’t “click” with me, but a few days later I discovered that the reason my doctor was pushing for the c-section so fast was because she thought my uterus may have ruptured. (There is less than a 1% chance of uterine rupture when you try a VBAC, but the consequences of uterine rupture are pretty bad.) The only reliable way to tell if the uterus has ruptured is that the baby’s heart rate will decrease and stay down. Moreover, the way the baby’s heart rate decelerated the last time was a gradual decrease, unlike the other ones that were quick drops—it definitely fit the picture of uterine rupture. After uterine rupture, doctors only have minutes to save the baby’s life. Praise God that’s not what happened!

Now, a week later, I look back on my hospital experience fondly. When I think of those hours of watching the baby monitor, I would not relive those. But afterwards, holding my baby, and all of the support and help I’ve had as I am recovering has been such a blessing. It’s such a picture of God’s love for me.

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Sarah McClanahan: Hawaii

Sarah.J.McClanahan@gmail.com (Sarah Jayne) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:04:16 +0000

I just returned from a trip I took to visit my friend Kayla in Hawaii. It was a blessing of a trip, as I had airline dollars to use up by the end of May and it was pretty much the exact amount for a plane ticket to Kona, Hawaii.

It was the most inexpensive vacation I will probably ever take. Here are a few of my highlights from the trip (many more on facebook):

-Going on a hokule’a. It was a huge honor to be given the opportunity to experience this, as it is such a historical and cultural part of the Hawaii islands. Not many native Hawaiians ever get to experience this, let alone tourists. It was amazing!
-Going to Pearl Harbor. What a humbling experience getting to witness where this disaster took place. Words cannot quite describe it.
-Going to the Polynesian Cultural Center. It is usually $50 for the cheapest admission to this center, but we were fortunate enough to meet a guy who was sitting next to me on my flight who worked there and got us in for free. It was so great to be able to learn more about the Polynesians and their discoveries.
-Going snorkeling and swimming with a couple of sea turtles. While we were leaving the same beach, we stumbled upon 4 sea turtles that had crawled up the beach to take a nap. It was incredible to be able to touch their shells and see them up close. Even Chris and Kayla who both live in Hawaii, were amazed that we stumbled upon them, as they are a very endangered species.
-Going to the Volcano Nat’l Park. We were able to get close to an active volcano. It was also neat to hike through some lava rock and find the pictographs carved in some of the lava rock by the Polynesians.
-Exploring the ranch where they film the TV show "Lost" and where they also have filmed such movies as "Jurassic Park" and "Mighty Joe Young".

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): 2 Timothy 2:22

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Hebrews 13:15

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

Sarah McClanahan: A Laugh from my Grandma

Sarah.J.McClanahan@gmail.com (Sarah Jayne) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:03:29 +0000

I got this in an email from my grandma. Thought I'd share:

LETTER FROM THE BOSS: As the CEO of this organization, I have resigned myself to the fact that Barrack Obama is our President and that our taxes and government fees will increase in a BIG way. To compensate for these increases, our prices would have to increase by about 10%. But since we cannot increase our prices right now due to the dismal state of the economy, we will have to lay off sixty of our employees instead. This has really been bothering me, since I believe we are family here and I didn't know how to choose who would have to go. So, this is what I did. I walked through our parking lots and found sixty Obama bumper stickers on our employees' cars and have decided these folks will be the ones to let go. I can't think of a more fair way to approach this problem. They voted for change, I gave it to them. I will see the rest of you at the annual company picnic.

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): 1 John 4:9

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

Cartagena Familia - Jensen and Autumn: cartagenafamilia

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:36:05 +0000

True confessions. My favorite lyrics to a song on the radio right now are “bad mamma jamma from down in Alabama.”

::shame face::

Can I help it if I was raised on country music? Is it my fault that I didn’t even KNOW where people heard other music from until junior high? When other kids were bringing in New Kids on the Block (who I never listened to) and Paula Abdul, I was bringing in Aaron Tippin and the Statler Brothers.

Country music and I have gone back and forth, back and forth over the years. Once I discovered other music, I gave country up completely for awhile. A long while. I think there were times when I would be rocking out in my bedroom in high school (adolescent angst) that my mom would think, “Whose child IS that?!”

Then in college, there was some point (I think during my sophomore year) when people starting admitting again that they too had been raised on country music. Eventually we were all listening to it together, making plans to go to rodeos, and watching 8 Seconds.

I’ve heard some people say that country music is like mold–it grows on you. Well I must have been raised on a particularly resistant strain ’cause it’s still hanging around!

Haha, I have to admit that I feel sort of like an abomination to some folks (yes, folks) when I drive around in my Honda Accord with country music blaring. But what’s a girl to do?

I have taken a couple trips around in our new-to-us truck just to feel more in my skin

That said, I don’t think Jensen’s going to let country music rule–he grew up mold-free.

Daily Bible Verse (ESV): Lamentations 3:22-23

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Cartagena Familia - Jensen and Autumn: cartagenafamilia

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:22:23 +0000

So, I’m trying to do this bike riding to work thing, right?

Well, first of all, yesterday I finally decided to branch out and try a different route. Normally, I go from my house, down 24th St and then take Stange straight down to campus. The problem is that it’s a super public route and there is a TON of construction going on. I’m usually freaked out that some person on a bobcat is going to swing around into me or that I’m going to wipe out and fall into one of the many holes they’ve created. Call me paranoid, but I wanted an alternative route.

So I decide to find out what would happen if I cut through SUV instead of going around it. It was wonderful! So much more quiet and less dangerous I didn’t have as much momentum to get up the other side of Stange as I typically do, but I made it!

Now the ride home.

All throughout the work day yesterday, it was sunny/partly cloudy in Ames. When I get ready to leave my office, I look outside and notice a few rain drops. No big deal I think. By the time I’m leaving Curtiss, it’s a steady downfall.

DANG IT.

You see, I’m such a bike riding amateur that I was completely unprepared. I knew there was a chance for rain today but was optimistic (an unusual state for me) that it would miss Ames. I’m fairly certain that the logo for biking amateurs has got to be a pair of jeans with a bikeseat shaped wet spot right on the butt. I HATE that.

But if that wasn’t bad enough, I foolishly also wore sandals to ride my bike to work. I know this isn’t a good idea anyway, but I thought, no big deal. That is, right up until the intersection of University and Stange where my wet sandal came flying off as I tried to stop to push the crosswalk button. DANG IT.

Well, I certainly learned my lesson.

1. Always have a plastic bag on your bike seat.

2. Always wear shoes that are strapped to your feet when biking.

3. If there’s a chance of rain, wear your contacts. At least until they come up with windshield wipers for glasses.

Oh and you’ll be glad to know that it stopped raining about five minutes after I got home