Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Introducing
Our good friends welcomed their newest addition today and I just couldn't help share. Here he is: Levi Justis. He's absolutely beautiful. Mommy and family are doing great. As I held him today I couldn't help but think of welcoming our own new little blessing in September.
Monday, March 9, 2009
AC Moore Trip
Last week we went to AC Moore for a creative field trip. The kids explored colors, shapes and how to incorporate those into a memory board. Here are some pictures for the trip.
Our tour guides leading us through the store.
The kids spelling out "DREAM"
They kids were asked to find beads that were different colors and what they remided them of.
Elijah found these green beads and said they reminded him of grapes.
And these bright red/orange reminded him of lava.
The kids playing with blendy pens.
In the classroom creating their memory/dream boards. My kids thought the room smelled like peanut butter.
The crew showing of their memory dream boards.
Our tour guides leading us through the store.
The kids spelling out "DREAM"
They kids were asked to find beads that were different colors and what they remided them of.Elijah found these green beads and said they reminded him of grapes.
And these bright red/orange reminded him of lava.
The kids playing with blendy pens.
In the classroom creating their memory/dream boards. My kids thought the room smelled like peanut butter.
The crew showing of their memory dream boards.Saturday, February 21, 2009
Some Party Pics
So Elijah had is big bash today. The theme..."Costume Party" It was a blast. I didn't take too many pictures because I was very busy with all the kiddos. But here are a few. Elijah said later on in the day "wow Mom that was the best party ever, you always make it fun" I'll be tucking that in my treasure box for sure.
Elijah went as Optimus Prime, and Isaiah as Bumble Bee (Transformers for those of you who don't know)
I went as a banana. It was a big hit with the kids
My boys talking with their friend the pirate
The kids coloring their masks.
The little horses!
Make a wish!
I accidentally bought those candles that keep relighting. Elijah kept blowing and blowing and they kept relighting. So I helped him out. He turned to me and said "Phew thanks mom"
Elijah went as Optimus Prime, and Isaiah as Bumble Bee (Transformers for those of you who don't know)
I went as a banana. It was a big hit with the kids
My boys talking with their friend the pirate
The kids coloring their masks.
The little horses!
Make a wish!
I accidentally bought those candles that keep relighting. Elijah kept blowing and blowing and they kept relighting. So I helped him out. He turned to me and said "Phew thanks mom" Happy 5th Birthday Day Elijah!
First I just have to say how adorable Elijah is. I just can't get enough of him! So 5 years ago today we welcomed Elijah into our family. From the that first day Elijah has brought such joy into our lives. Elijah loves to hear the story of the day he was born. So I will share the shortened version with you today. It was a Saturday, and there was a snow in the forecast. I knew I was in labor that morning but it was really easy and not at all painful. I took my time, taking a shower, doing my hair, eating a good breakfast. I called our friends who offered to take Isaiah that we might be dropping him off. About 9:30 we decided to head to the hospital. We were all checked in by 10:15. Peter and I walked the halls and joked how mild the contractions were. About 11:00 I got back into my bed and my midwife suggested some medication to help make the contractions stronger. That wasn't needed because it happened on it's own. Just before noon we had our new son. We had debated on the name Peter wanted Micah, I wanted Elijah. While Peter was holding him I said "how is he?" and Peter responded "He looks like an Elijah" and so it was settled. It was snowing by that point and it was beautiful.
The name Elijah means "The God is the LORD" and that has been our prayer for Elijah. That he would know the true and living God as his Lord.
Elijah has grown into the most amazing kid. He has the silliest sense of humor. He is the ultimate cuddlier. He is such a faithful friend to his brother. He is truly a joy to have. I am so thankful that the Lord has given him to us.
Happy Birthday Big Boy! We love you!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Made in His Image
Baby at 7 weeksI read this article in the recent issue of Institute for Creation Research. I was really blessed by it. It is humbling to realize that the little life growing inside of me is just that, life, his or her own individual life. I think I have even said "I am growing a little one" but in reality God has designed this baby to grow itself. AWESOME!
Made in His Image: Human Gestationby Randy J. Guliuzza, P.E., M.D.
Admittedly the prospect of pregnancy only applies to half of humanity, but the other half should find the process equally astounding. The real star of the show, however, is the developing baby, who was once viewed as a passive object being built by the mother's body. Nothing could be further from the truth. In terms of guiding implantation into the uterus all the way to breastfeeding, it is the baby/placenta unit that is the dynamic force in the orchestration of its own destiny.
The baby is a completely new individual, with unique genetic material that expresses foreign markers on his cells that are not recognized as "self" by the mother. The mother's immune system should destroy the new baby's first cells within just a few cell divisions, but substances secreted by the placenta and baby promote a complex suppression of the maternal immune response only within the implantation site of the uterus. The placental tissue that touches the uterus has decreased expression of markers that would provoke an immune response, and the mother's body therefore accepts it. Without this immunological acceptance, no baby would ever survive. And if the suppression of the mother's immune system were not localized, her health could be compromised. The maternal immune system helps control implantation of the embryo at just the right depth into the uterus. Without this exact balance of immune responses, the developing placenta could invade tissue all the way through the uterus and be fatal to the mother.
The mother's body is now under the control of a new person. A hormone produced by the baby's earliest cells travels in the mother's blood stream back to her ovary, causing a part of it to produce progesterone, the very important hormone that will calm uterine contractions and maintain the pregnancy. Later, the placenta will produce progesterone at even higher concentrations. Other hormones produced by the baby induce adaptations in the mother's body that are absolutely necessary for the baby's survival. These changes include a sizable expansion of the mother's blood volume, an increase in cardiac output, agents to modulate blood pressure, increases in blood flow to the kidneys, and cranking up the mother’s metabolism. The placenta also extracts nutrients from maternal circulation so efficiently that the baby's needs are met first, then the mother's.
In the last weeks of pregnancy, estrogen produced by the baby reaches its highest levels in the mother's blood. This causes abundant receptors for the hormone oxytocin to form on the uterus' muscle cells, and slowly opposes progesterone's quieting influence. At term, certain cells of the baby produce oxytocin, a powerful uterine muscle stimulant. Since the uterus is now highly sensitive to oxytocin, labor begins. As the baby descends, a pressure sensor in the birth canal sends a signal to the mother's brain and triggers her body to produce even more oxytocin--which causes stronger uterine contractions. The placenta produces the hormone relaxin, causing pelvic ligaments and the skin of the birth canal to relax, widen, and become more flexible. This increased motility allows a birth passage for the baby. And while in the womb, the baby made hormones that helped prepare the mother's breasts to produce milk. After delivery, newborn suckling induces episodic oxytocin secretion by the mother, which acts on breast ducts to cause milk let-down.
So it is the mother who is essentially passive, responding to signals emanating from the baby--even at times to her own detriment. Scientific research has shown that while the woman's reproductive organs and body are indispensable, they are not enough; it takes a baby to make a baby. The evidence is pretty compelling against speculations regarding a step-by-step evolutionary process leading to the complex systems that produce a baby. These systems were placed by the Lord Jesus in the first mother, Eve, fully functional right from the beginning.
Made in His Image: Human Gestationby Randy J. Guliuzza, P.E., M.D.
Admittedly the prospect of pregnancy only applies to half of humanity, but the other half should find the process equally astounding. The real star of the show, however, is the developing baby, who was once viewed as a passive object being built by the mother's body. Nothing could be further from the truth. In terms of guiding implantation into the uterus all the way to breastfeeding, it is the baby/placenta unit that is the dynamic force in the orchestration of its own destiny.
The baby is a completely new individual, with unique genetic material that expresses foreign markers on his cells that are not recognized as "self" by the mother. The mother's immune system should destroy the new baby's first cells within just a few cell divisions, but substances secreted by the placenta and baby promote a complex suppression of the maternal immune response only within the implantation site of the uterus. The placental tissue that touches the uterus has decreased expression of markers that would provoke an immune response, and the mother's body therefore accepts it. Without this immunological acceptance, no baby would ever survive. And if the suppression of the mother's immune system were not localized, her health could be compromised. The maternal immune system helps control implantation of the embryo at just the right depth into the uterus. Without this exact balance of immune responses, the developing placenta could invade tissue all the way through the uterus and be fatal to the mother.
The mother's body is now under the control of a new person. A hormone produced by the baby's earliest cells travels in the mother's blood stream back to her ovary, causing a part of it to produce progesterone, the very important hormone that will calm uterine contractions and maintain the pregnancy. Later, the placenta will produce progesterone at even higher concentrations. Other hormones produced by the baby induce adaptations in the mother's body that are absolutely necessary for the baby's survival. These changes include a sizable expansion of the mother's blood volume, an increase in cardiac output, agents to modulate blood pressure, increases in blood flow to the kidneys, and cranking up the mother’s metabolism. The placenta also extracts nutrients from maternal circulation so efficiently that the baby's needs are met first, then the mother's.
In the last weeks of pregnancy, estrogen produced by the baby reaches its highest levels in the mother's blood. This causes abundant receptors for the hormone oxytocin to form on the uterus' muscle cells, and slowly opposes progesterone's quieting influence. At term, certain cells of the baby produce oxytocin, a powerful uterine muscle stimulant. Since the uterus is now highly sensitive to oxytocin, labor begins. As the baby descends, a pressure sensor in the birth canal sends a signal to the mother's brain and triggers her body to produce even more oxytocin--which causes stronger uterine contractions. The placenta produces the hormone relaxin, causing pelvic ligaments and the skin of the birth canal to relax, widen, and become more flexible. This increased motility allows a birth passage for the baby. And while in the womb, the baby made hormones that helped prepare the mother's breasts to produce milk. After delivery, newborn suckling induces episodic oxytocin secretion by the mother, which acts on breast ducts to cause milk let-down.
So it is the mother who is essentially passive, responding to signals emanating from the baby--even at times to her own detriment. Scientific research has shown that while the woman's reproductive organs and body are indispensable, they are not enough; it takes a baby to make a baby. The evidence is pretty compelling against speculations regarding a step-by-step evolutionary process leading to the complex systems that produce a baby. These systems were placed by the Lord Jesus in the first mother, Eve, fully functional right from the beginning.
Friday, February 6, 2009
100 days of homeschool
Last friday we hit out 100 day of homeschool!
WOOOO HOOO we did it. We made it to our 100 day of homeschool!
I got the boys a special suprise to celebrate the day.
"Space Buddies" Isaiah said "no way did you really get this for us?" and Elijah said "wow mom you are so kind" Too cute!
WOOOO HOOO we did it. We made it to our 100 day of homeschool!
I got the boys a special suprise to celebrate the day.
"Space Buddies" Isaiah said "no way did you really get this for us?" and Elijah said "wow mom you are so kind" Too cute!
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