My Top Ten Moments In LIfe

#1 - Of Course Marrying my perfect match Joe Wisley!

#2 - Our Wedding night and the honeymoon! (brownchickenbrowncow)

#3 - Finishing our 2200 mile journey on the A.T.

#4 - Finding out I was Pregnant for the first time!

#5 - Moving to Rainbow Christian Camp

#6 - Adopting my Dog Maximus

#7 - The Rock Week (Summer 2006)

#8 - Playing with my sister's and cousin's when we were little girls!

#9 - Being baptised by Joe

#10 - Feeling baby Wisley move inside me for the first time!

Think of the things that give you joy today! God Bless!

Just an Update

Life certainly hasn't slowed down for us lately. I have spent the last couple of weeks working out in the yard pulling weeds and redesigning our landscaping for a little more curb appeal than the way it was before. I love working out in the yard! Guess I get that from my dad, but I love working in the house too, cooking, cleaning and organizing which I for sure inherited from my mom. Summertime is my favorite time of the year, even though it means I have to suffer through some major sinus issues from all the pollen. I would trade any other season, especially winter, to have summer around for a few more months.
The baby's room is no where near being started. I decided not to repaint the room and stick with the neutral taupe that was in the room when we moved in. I hate painting and figured the baby doesn't care about the color so why bother. I do have my crib, rocker and dresser in the room ready to be placed and a few other items for the baby that I have found at resale shops, garage sales and craigslist. I am still looking for a white or natural, unstained wood colored changing table although I may change my mind on getting one since it will only be one more piece of furniture that I will have to store away when I don't need it anymore.
I am going on my 27th week of being pregnant and starting to feel more and more tired the closer it gets to August. It is so hard to listen to my body and take naps when I have so many other things I would rather be doing. Don't get me wrong, I love naps, especially on rainy days or during the cold winter months. I spent most of today relaxing, reading, doing some light yoga, napping and walking Maximus around the camp so I had my fair share of rest today.
Speaking of camp! The busy season is here for Joe and all the other staff. Our college summer staff arrived for training a little over a week ago, which means Joe's day starts at 8am and usually isn't over until 9-10pm, but only for these first two weeks. They have been working hard to get the camp back into summer shape, CPR and lifeguard training, as well as high ropes training. Our high school summer staff will arrive early next week and then the fun begins with week #1. I am so excited to see all the kids arrive and watch the camp come alive again.
My mom and dad came down for a visit from Chicago this weekend. It was so nice to have family around and a little help with some house work and advice about yard work from my green thumb of a father. They brought my cute little cradle with them that I found in Chicago as well as a few other cute baby items which included a Chicago Cubs onesie, bib and booties! I will not force my kids to be Chicago fans but as long as they don't know any better I will dress them in Cubs/Bears outfits when Joe isn't looking. :)
Well I think that is about all for now. I will post some pictures of my growing belly soon. Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day!

So Why a Home Birth?

I have been reading frantically and praying a lot over the last couple of weeks about where I wanted to have our first child. There has always been something about Doctors and hospitals that had made me uncomfortable. It all started about 3 months ago when I began to question the drug industry in why drugs are almost always the answer to people's illness and pain. I asked myself if drugs were truly the way to a ill-free/pain-free life? I came to a conclusion that drugs are not the way for me to deal with illness and pain and I wanted to live in such a way to avoid the toxic side affects of drugs and other chemicals. An example from my own life stems from the effects I saw in taking birth control pills for almost 5 years and my story is nothing compared to others I have heard. I began to notice my emotions taking a turn towards the worst. I became numb emotionally and rarely did I ever feel happy or sad. I was an emotional zombie per se. I also noticed that my desire for sexual intimacy with my husband had faded away to nothing. This was frustrating for both he and I. I spoke with my OB/GYN about the issue and the only thing she could recommend was trying a different pill or using hormones as a way to deal with the problem. I decided against her recommendations and went off all birth control and within a month felt like a completely different person. One other thing that bothered me about the situation was I had also asked my doctor about Natural Family Planning as a way to prevent a pregnancy. The only answers she gave me were discouraging and still made me feel that some form of drug was my only option for preventing conception. So, I made the choice to take a risk and stay off the pill. After a year of being off the pill I was able to control when I wanted to conceive and became pregnant without any troubles. I have heard and read of so many couples having a hard time conceiving and I feel many of those cases result from the side effects of the chemical hormones in birth control that mess with a women's body. That brought me to wonder about medicated birth experiences. Why do women get epidurals? Is it really safe for the baby? Does it slow down labor and lead to more drugs and/or C-sections?
This raised my curiosity and through lots research and asking lots of questions of mothers who have had both hospital and home births, the info I given was eye opening! Therefore I am choosing to have the baby at home with the assistance of a midwife from Wabash IN. If I had the space to write all I have learned about hospital vs. a home birth or unmedicated vs. medicated births, I would explain everything I have learned. I encourage you to look into it yourself. I am so glad that I did because it has empowered me to feel in control and confident in my own body and I no longer fear the upcoming event of bringing this baby into the world. I have always feared being in labor and not knowing what to expect when the time came. Now that I know what I want and what to expect I feel confident and prepared. A few books I found to be very helpful are: "Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way" by Susan McCutcheon, "Gentle Birth Choices" by Babara Harper, and I am now starting to read "Husband Coached Childbirth" by Bradley. I also highly recommend that you find the dvd called "The Business of Being Born." It is a documentary by Ricki Lake who had a hospital birth for her first and a home birth for her second. Talking with my midwife last week and looking at her stats made Joe and me even more at peace with the decision. Our first appointment with her was 2 hours long and it was free! She had an 18 page Informed Consent Form that we went over together and she shared her stats and philosophy of care. I found out that each of my prenatal visits with her will last an hour because she really wants to get to know us and make us feel comfortable with her. The average time a male OB spends with his patients each visit is 7 minutes. For a Female OB it is about 10 minutes! Isn't that crazy? Midwives attend over 70% of births in Europe and Japan, but less than 8% in the U.S. The U.S. also has one of the highest maternal mortality rates than anywhere else in the world and 95% of women are giving birth in hospitals in the U.S. Hmmmmmm? In 1900, 95% of births in the U.S took place at home. By 1955, less than 1% were at home. It remains that same number today. I could go on...
After all the reading and documentaries I have watched I also learned that all of the medical technology (fetal monitors, meds, forceps, vacuums, surgery, episiotomy, etc.)that doctors use during a women's labor are most of the time unnecessary. Doctors simply don't let a women's body progress on it's own time before they decide that they need to intervene to get the baby out on their own time versus the mother and baby's time. Most doctors have never attended a natural delivery before they started their practice and most have never attended a home birth that was done completely natural without all the drugs and technology. 1 out of 4 women have c-sections and 80% have had some form of drug during labor today. Those numbers are just way too high! My philosophy now is that women were created by God to give birth in their own time and can be in complete control of their labor. I understand that having a midwife, or a home birth is not for everyone but I still encourage you to look into all of your options before you decide on where you will have you first, second or third baby. Since I haven't had the baby yet I have nothing more to go by than what I have read or heard from others. When the time comes I will be more than happy to share every detail of my experience with you. Have a wonderful day and God Bless!

Price Comparison for Cloth vs. Disposable Diapers

If you were curious about the money you can save by using cloth diapers here is a little incentive for you to start using them. This info comes from toastybaby.com. I am registering for my diapers from nickisdiapers.com because I feel they have more a of selection to choose from. I am doing prefolds with diaper covers and a gracious friend of mine is passing on around ten all-in-ones for me too. Cloth diapers are not like they used to be so check em out.


Amercians spend about 7 billion dollars on disposable diapers every year. The cost of cloth diapering can easily be less than 1/2 the cost of buying disposables.Cost Savings: Cloth Diapers vs. Disposable Diapers

Disposable Diapers = $2,214.00
1st 3 months ($270.00)
30 days/month x 10 diapers/day x 3 months = 900 diapers a month
900 diapers x $.30 = $270.00
4 - 30 months ($1,944.00)
30 days/month x 8 diapers/day x 27 months = 6,480 diapers
6,480 diapers x $.30 = $1,944.00

Chinese Prefold & Bummis Super Whisper Wraps = $734.00
Chinese Prefolds ($132.00)
36 infant prefolds @ $2.00 each = $72.00
24 regular prefolds @ $2.50 each = $60.00
Bummis Super Whisper Wraps ($242.00)
8 small covers (white) @$11.00 each = $88.00
8 medium covers (white) @$11.00 each = $88.00
6 large covers (white) @$11.00 each = $66.00
Laundering Cost
24 months x $15.00/month = $360.00

Bumkins All-In-One = $1,807.95
Small (White)
36 @ $15.99 = $575.64
Medium (White)
30 @ $15.99 = $479.90
Large (White)
24 @ $15.99 = $383.76
Doublers for overnight
3 @ $2.95 = $8.85
Laundering Cost
24 months x $15.00/month = $360.00 Assumptions:

Average cost of disposable diaper = $.30. Based on price review at local area Kroger.
Laundering Cost is estimated at $15.00/month. This may vary based on the age and style of your washing machine.
Babies who are cloth diapered are potty trained on average in 24 months versus 30 months for those who wear disposable diapers.
Wipes & other accessories are not factored into this comparison. There would be further costs for both disposable and cloth and could vary greatly depending on the accessories used.

Having to Keep a Schedule Sucks!

Ever since Joe and I returned home from the hike life seems far to hectic with crazy schedules and feeling like the months go by so fast because we are either gone all the time or have some sort of event going on. One of the hardest things to make time for is visiting all of our dear friends who we left when we moved to the camp. I miss everyone so much but you don't know how hard it is trying to keep in touch and making visits until you are the one moving away from everyone! It is not easy, especially when you have to work around other people's crazy schedule's as well as your own. Don't you just wish life could slow down enough to where you felt like you had one week out of every month to throw out your schedule book and enjoy the comfort of home? I know I would, so as a result of that wish I am inventing a month out of every year where Joe and I do not go anywhere unless we really want too. I don't know what we will call that month yet, something like, "Stay at Home Month" or something like that. During this month, whatever month we decide on, the schedule book goes out the window; we don't travel anywhere, only to the necessary places like the grocery store, church, bank, work, going on dates, etc. We also don't make plans with anyone unless they want to come out to hang at our crib. I have really enjoyed being home and not having an out of home job, but still feel like the schedule book fills up and life gets hectic. I guess hiking 6 months in the woods has changed my perspective about the hustle and bustle of life and how I can learn to slow down and smell the roses. Anyone else out there feel the same way I do?

Kids are kind of like dogs.

I once had a friend tell me that babies are much easier than puppies. If that is the case then my up coming responsibilities of training my kids will be a breeze. Ha! I am so sure that I won't fall for that lie but if I can train my kids to listen to me and behave as well as my dog Maximus than I am actually looking forward to being a parent. For the longest time I put having kids at the bottom of my list of adventures to pursue. I have always loved kids, other people's in particular since I have never had my own, but I could always give the kids back to their parents when I had my fill. I will admit there are many kids that I find very unpleasant to be around, and very few that are so well behaved I could take them for my own. Based on that I am making it my goal to have children that my friends will enjoy just as much as I do, just like my awesome dog Maximus. He is only 6 months old and the handsome little guy steals peoples hearts with his precious face and his near perfect behavior. I am so glad that we decided to give up our other demon possessed dog, Sadie. She probably would have ended up having one of our kids for dinner, even though she never showed any kind of aggression towards any child until we got back from our hike as went after my nephew. I think dogs are a lot like kids. Either you like them or you don't, or, they are either annoying and not cute or pleasant and adorable. There are very few times that I don't like my dog and that is usually when he has smelly farts. Now I know some of you may be thinking how silly that comparison sounds but I think it all comes down to how consistent a parent or dog owner is in training their child or pet. So I have a few resources for you all if you like to read or if you have a pet you would like to develop better behavior patterns. First, go to nogreaterjoy.com and buy the book "To Train Up A Child." It is a very short book but very helpful in the biblical truths of training up an angel rather than a demon. Now, if you don't agree with spanking than I still recommend you read it anyway. If you still disagree with spanking after you have read the book than pass the book onto me and I will pass it on to someone that does agree with spanking. Second, for your pet, google The Perfect Dog and order Don Sullivan's training system. Well worth the money! We used his techniques with our three year old dog Sadie and with Maximus who we started training at 9 weeks. I only wish we were able to work with Sadie at a younger age. We made a lot of mistakes with her which is probably why she was so aggressive and protective. Maximus however, is proof that Don's system works. I have never had so many complements on how well-behaved he is and have even had people ask us if we would sell him to them. I would never consider selling him for any price. He is the best dog I've known! Well, there's my two cents worth of advice.

Happy Training!