Why so many kids?

For those of you who know me personally, have you ever asked yourself "Why do they keep having children? It is so much work and so expensive. Don't they know what "causes" that?"

Many years ago, just before baby #2 arrived, God spoke to my heart about his love of children and how he would like to bless the world though godly people. This was quite scary for me, as I couldn't imagine myself with 10-12 children. If I let God have control over my fertility I may have so many children I'd be worn out. Or, maybe it would mean just two - and I'd have to be content with that as well. I was hoping for four. Could I give the "control" over to the Creator of the Universe? Yes, I could, and I have.


We are just about 4 weeks away from meeting our 7th child.I recently read a Bible devotional sent to me by Above Rubies editor Nancy Campbell that really blessed me. She reminded me of some great verses I'd like to share with you.

Genesis 1:28 "And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it..."

After the flood when it was just Noah and his family, God repeated the same command again, TWICE in Genesis 9:1,7, "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth..."

So, why does God want to fill the earth with people? Because "He wants them to fill the earth with His glory--His love, peace, truth and salvation." (Nancy Campbell)

This really is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to why our family has chosen to let God continue to bless us with children. Someday I'll blog more about it. Yes, it is a lot of work and I feel tired. But, these precious children are Eternal Beings! I am investing in Eternity!

If you would like to read more from Nancy Campbell and Above Rubies, go to www.AboveRubies.org

Having a baby in Istanbul?

If you are living in Istanbul and just happen to find my blog and are going to be having a baby, I highly suggest you take a childbirth class with Julia Steils at Full Circle Healing. I just attended part of her class and really enjoyed it! She has a lot of great learning activities as she helps you prepare to welcome your precious one into the world! http://fullcirclehealing.org/

Mike & Stacey

We are just a week away from celebrating 16 years!!!!

Oh, and me at the park, about 33 weeks

Infant Potty Training

As I was beginning to research some cloth diapering options I ran across some information on Infant Potty Training.

http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/5-diap/42-infant-potty-training.htm

I'll post more when I find more information. Until then, check out the link above.

Baby Bed - aka PackNPlay

We were very excited to find this at a Rummage sale a few weekends ago for only $25. Yeah! What we love about it is that it is also works as a bassinet and has a changing table/place. And who doesn't love Pooh Bear? AND, it matches the colors of our bedspread, so it fits well into our room for the time. PTL!!

Planning Your Birth

A friend just wrote to ask if I knew of a website to help her with her birth plan.

I found one at Childbirth.org.

http://childbirth.org/interactive/ibirthplan.html.

It asks lots of questions and gives some sample answers as well. When you are finished you can print it out with your specific plan. Let me know if it works for you.

Infant CPR

I've been wanting to know how to perform Infant (less than 12 months old) CPR. So, I decided to ''google" it and here is what I found.


A video by Univ. of Washington:
http://depts.washington.edu/learncpr/videodemo/infant-cpr-video.html


And from About.Com
http://firstaid.about.com/od/cpr/ht/08_Infant_CPR.htm

This comes from
www.firstaidweb.com/infant.html
and is different from the above video and written info concerning the number of chest compressions.

What to remember when giving an infant CPR:
1. Check for responsiveness by patting the infant's shoulders or chest.
2. Remember your A-B-C:
Airway: an infant's head should be tilted into the "sniffer position". Do not overextend an infant’s neck as this may close off the airway.
Breathing: cover the infant's nose and mouth with your mouth and use gentle puffs, breathing from your cheeks, not your lungs.
Circulation: check for pulse at the brachial artery, in the infant's inside upper arm. If there is none, perform five compressions - 2 fingers (approximately ½ the size of a hand), ½ inch.
3. Perform rescue efforts for 1 to 2 minutes before dialing 9-1-1.
4. Continue performing rescue efforts, checking for pulse every minute until help arrives.

Though I never hope to have to use Infant CPR, I'm glad to know a little more now!