Welcome and Blessings!

Thank you so much for stopping by! I have named this blog "Running to the Cross" because that is what I often find myself doing...running to be with my Lord Jesus! I often cover many aspects of life on my blog, as it is my journal. I used to write things down in all sorts of notebooks, but my writings would soon be lost. So I decided that it was time to start a blog and share my thoughts and ideas with others. Many topics you will find here are prayers, homemaking and organization, children and pregnancy, funny stories, and the challenges of parenting and motherhood. If you enjoy my blog and leave me a comment, you are likely to have me visit! I love meeting others and gleaning from the lives of others. May you be blessed! Your friend in Christ, Heather

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Grandma's Coming!!!

Yes! You heard it right! My mom is on her way to visit me right NOW!!! We will be picking her up at the airport in a couple of hours and I am very anxious to see her! It has been over a year since I last saw her, so I am about to bubble over! She will be here for a week, so if I don't post for a week, don't be surprised.

On another note...

Amity, I have used my Ergo baby carrier the last couple of days AND I LOVE IT!!! I didn't have it until my last baby was about 6 months or so, so this is the first time I have used it with a newborn. It not only takes the stress off of your back, but it leaves your hands completely free to do whatever it is you need to do!

I was wearing my baby girl on my front yesterday and I made meatloaf, meatballs and got everything else ready for dinner. It was funny seeing her on my front, though, as she is so tiny that when I walked out to show my hubby, he thought I was wearing the carrier empty!!!

Anywho, I must stop now!

See you later!
Blessings!

Heather

Monday, August 27, 2007

Menu Plan Monday!


Here's the plan:

Monday: Breaded chicken, tator tots, baked beans, corn on the cob, fresh tomatoes.
Tuesday: Meatball sandwiches or chicken salad sandwiches, potato salad, green beans from the garden, & fresh tomatoes.
Wednesday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes or mac & cheese, green beans, salad.
Thursday: Breakfast Or Quick & Easy meal.
Friday: Spaghetti & meatballs, salad, green beans, garlic toast.
Saturday: Grilled hamburgers & hotdogs, fresh green beans, tomatoes.
Sunday: Crockpot baked beans, salad or dessert.

Not much time to chat, baby has been very fussy today and I am finally able to get something done so I'm off!


Blessings!

Heather

Our First Official Day of School!!!

Today is our first official day of school (actually second, but first day with baby!).

I am going to be typing out my journey throughout the day. You may have to come back several times to see the updates (if I get to them) throughout the day.

Here is what my day looks like so far...

  • 4:00 a.m. Baby girl wakes up and starts nursing while I am still in bed.
  • 4:30 a.m. I get up because baby girl is awake and wiggly...she also needs a diaper change. After diaper change I plant myself on the couch and nurse her to sleep (as well as myself...nursing makes me extremely sleepy!).
  • 6:30 a.m. 5-year-old girl is up and running around...I am still groggy and on the couch.
  • 7:15 a.m Hubby is up making coffee.
  • 7:30 a.m. I get up (from the couch), get dressed, and start making lunch for my hubby and his apprentice (since they will be gone today). I also made my hubby a breakfast sandwich to take along.
  • 8:00 a.m. Change diapers and then I nurse and get breakfast for children (yes, both at the same time!).
  • 8:30 a.m. Still nursing (she likes to nurse for a long time), and I eat breakfast & have my coffee.
  • 9:00 a.m. Blog time & cuddle time with baby until she falls asleep for morning nap.
  • 9:30 a.m Clean-up & get ready for school.
  • 10:00 a.m. First load of laundry in washer & start school. Change diapers, if needed.
  • 11:00 a.m. Things not going as planned...printed up some things from Tapestry of Grace, "The Loom" CD, & gather the children to clean up mess they made.
  • 12:00 p.m. Baby girl wakes to nurse.
  • 12:15 p.m. Gather children around the table for lunch.
  • 1:00 p.m. Clean up lunch mess.
  • 1:30 p.m. Change diapers & potty time. Take younger girls up for nap & sit with them until they sleep & nurse baby. Also work with other children on math/handwriting upstairs while girls going to sleep.
  • 3:30 p.m. Nursed baby & she is finally asleep!!! If she is not sleeping, she wants to be held or nursed!
  • 4:00 p.m. Planned weekly menu. It took forever to get baby settled down and girls to sleep...and the idea of having the boys do math during nap time didn't work either! With tears and frustration, I am at my whit's end! Oh, and the girls just got up from their nap!!!
  • 4:10 p.m. Load dishwasher, wash dishes, start dinner, and pray while doing so.
  • I will end at this, as I feel that today was very unproductive and the more I write, the more frustrated I feel.

Stay tuned as I will be adding more as I get it done!

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Do You Need a Good Laugh?

My Brother-in-law sent this ebay auction description to us. It is VERY funny, so if you go to read it, make sure you have already used the bathroom! Go HERE and make sure you read the description!!!

Enjoy!
Heather

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

I AM AN AUNT AGAIN!!!!

My brother and his wife had two healthy babies (twins) by C-section today!!!

The little girl is 5 lbs. 5 oz. and 17 inches long.

And the little boy is 5 lbs. 7 oz. and 17 1/2 inches long.

As I said before, both babies are healthy!!! My sister-in-law, the new mommy, was trying to nurse the baby boy when my brother called.

God is SOOO good!

Blessings!
Heather

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

A Week Old TODAY!!!!


A week has flown by!!! She is nursing very well. She sleeps pretty well too! And when she cries...she screams pretty loudly so that she can be heard!!!

Today she woke up very contented, very precious, looking around and drinking in the sights and sounds around her. This first week of having her here has blessed my heart. I thank God every day for my healthy baby girl!

Each child has blessed my heart, Thank you LORD!!! THANK YOU!!!

In Christ Alone,

Heather




Sunday, August 12, 2007

Birth Story #7

As you can probably imagine, I am still in shock that I already have a baby in my arms. I have never gone this early and I entered this labor feeling unprepared and surprised. I think that I went into labor partially because I have been so incredibly busy this last month (July). The last two weeks of July were especially busy for me, so I blame part of the early delivery simply on stress. Here are a few things that went on 2 weeks prior to delivery:


  1. We had a surprise birthday party for my oldest son, which means that I cleaned my entire house (with the exception of 3 rooms) and did this without my son's help.

  2. I had an appointment with my midwife (where I took all the children).

  3. I weeded two of my flower gardens at the end of a busy day.

  4. I went to Sam's Club with my husband and children and walked around on hard concrete floors for two hours.

  5. We had a sleepover guest for my oldest son the weekend of August 4th.

  6. I went grocery shopping one last time before I went into labor (another two hours on the concrete floors).

  7. We had extra guests for dinner a couple evenings.

  8. We went to a friend's house to go swimming (that is, me and all the children).

  9. We did a "test" run of our first week of school.

  10. I did my first day of real school on Monday (August 6)...last year the same kind of thing happened, only I went to the hospital for an ectopic pregnancy and heat exhaustion (after the first day of school).

And the list goes on....


I really wanted to be prepared, but with all the busyness, I wasn't. (O;

And with that said, here is my birth story.



I complained all day Monday of my back hurting, I usually don't complain, but it was VERY uncomfortable that day.


Monday night was a normal night. I didn't do anything different than I normally do before bed. I just took my normal bath, took my supplements, brushed my teeth and went to bed. However, after being asleep for a couple of hours, I found myself getting up to use the bathroom several times after having, what I thought was, a Braxton-Hicks contraction. I got up like 10+ times to go to the bathroom.


At 5:30 a.m., I got up for the last time to use the bathroom. What made me get up was the slight pain that I felt with the "Braxton-Hicks contraction". I figured I would get up and take a hot bath so I could get the baby out of my pelvis...she was really low and I figured a bath might make her move up out of my lower pelvis. I didn't think I was in "labor," but I was in denial that I could be also. I ate a granola bar and drank a large glass of water at that time, as well, as I was very thirsty.


After my bath I decided to watch "House of Babies" and load the dishwasher during the commercials. At one time, I had a contraction that really made me think that I might be in labor, as I stopped to lean over the dishwasher while I had it. At about 6:30 a.m., I went up to tell my husband, with tears in my eyes, that I thought I might be in labor (I was a little frightened at the thought of having a baby this early). Then I went back downstairs and rested on the couch, still in denial, but questioning the thought that I might ACTUALLY be in labor.


At around 7:20 a.m. I began to feel a little cramping in my pelvis, and then it happened...my water broke all over my new couch! I wanted so much to tell my dear readers that I was officially in labor, but I couldn't move! I sent my son upstairs to tell my husband that I needed him NOW, and that my water broke and we were having the baby today!!! I also sent one of my other children for a towel.

I then proceeded to call my midwife and tell her that my water just broke...she was also shocked! I called my mom to let her know that I was in labor (so she could pray as she lives about 1000 miles away) and the I called my friend who was to come over to experience her first live birth (however, she was asleep and did not answer her phone, her husband ended up having to drop in between jobs to wake her up!). We then called a family from church and they came to get the children.


I had all of my birth supplies and such, and I had planned to have a homebirth, but due to the fact that I was only 36 weeks, my midwife and I decided it would be best to go to the birthing center (where my midwife was trained). So off we went (after my friend arrived). My husband stayed back to gather some other things and pick up some things at the store.

I was having mild contractions on the way down to the birthing center, but nothing major.

When we arrived at the birthing center, I was dilated to about 2 cm and I was still not having strong contractions. For a while, time seemed to creep along with the contractions staying about 7-8 minutes apart. My husband arrived about 11:00 a.m. with something to eat for everyone but me (I actually ate a little of his sandwich). I was spilling protein into my urine, so I needed to eat.

I occassionally had a really good and painful contraction, but they seemed too few and far between. Then, at around 2:30 p.m. or so, my contractions stopped completely. It was a nice break, but unwelcomed at the time.

My midwife asked me at about 3 p.m. if I wanted some herbal tinctures to help speed the labor along and I was all for it. She gave me the herbal concoctions along with an herbal tea at 3:00, 3:30 and 4:00 p.m. and let me tell you, they worked!!! Almost immediately after she gave them to me, I began to feel my contractions and they hurt!!! With each contraction, I began to say the Lord's prayer to help me through the pain. Focusing my attention on the prayer instead of the contraction helped tremendously!

I was supposed to take the herbal concoction every hour after the first three doses, but after taking the first three, I opted to stop because they had done their job.

By the time I took the third dose of herbs, I began to enter transition. My contractions were very painful and every 2 minutes. I had never experienced transition before, so this was all new to me. My husband and midwives also noticed that all the color had drained out of my face which typically means that I will be at the pushing stage soon.

It was about 4:50 p.m. when I finally felt the urge to push. I got up on the birthing stool and the midwife checked me and I just had a little cervical lip left, which diminished with my first push. I pushed for about 5 minutes or so, and she began to crown.

Once she crowned, I felt the "ring of fire" and with that I pushed out her head. Then I paused briefly, cord was slightly around her neck. Once the cord was removed, I gave another strong push and out she came! The midwives untangled her from the cord, and in the process I learned that we had another beautiful girl. She began crying almost immediately, so I knew that she was okay. Besides being a little blue around her fingers and toes, she was perfect.

As I now reflect on the whole birth experience, I feel very blessed. God took care of me and my baby girl. She came in God's perfect timing!

My children have all been more than willing to hold and cuddle our new little girl. And the boys have graciously accepted the fact that we had ANOTHER GIRL!

I look forward to the years ahead, when I begin to teach my 5 dear daughters to cook, sew, and joyfully serve the LORD.



OUR NEWEST BABY GIRL!!!

Born: August 7, 2007

Time: 5:04 p.m.

Weight: 6 lb. 1 1/2 oz.

Head: 13 1/2 inches

Length: 19 3/4 inches

Blessings!

Heather

Thursday, August 9, 2007

A Message From Amy at Blessed Motherhood

Amy has requested me to send you to her blog. She has a Baby Shower Guest Book that she is working on for me (*blush*). If you would like to sign it, please go here: Blessed Motherhood.


A note from me:
I apologize for not getting around to pictures yet. Not much time. She is nursing better, though. I just got a new digital camera and I DO plan to get some pictures soon.

Blessings!
Heather

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

She's Here!!!

Yesterday I unexpectedly went into labor and delivered a healthy baby girl!!!
She was born at 5:04 p.m, August 7, 2007.
She was 6 lbs. 1 1/2 oz. and 19 3/4" long.

I will post pictures soon and a birth story!!!

Although she was 4 weeks early, she is healthy and has not had any breathing difficulties. Please pray that she will get the hang of nursing.

I am very thankful for the safe delivery and I thank each one of you for your continued prayers!

Blessings!
Heather

Monday, August 6, 2007

Menu Plan Monday!


Time flies when you are as busy a I am!!! With the trial run of school last week, a swimming pool visit at a friends house on Wednesday, stay-over company on Friday, extra meal guests Friday and Saturday evening, special breakfast and a final trip (for me) to the grocery store on Saturday, I feel as though last week didn't even exist...not only that, but I can't remember if I wrote down EVERYTHING!!! AAACCCKKK!


Anyway, Menu Plan Monday is here again!!! I took a little longer making my menu today because I couldn't think of what to make for Tuesday, but I managed to pop something out of my busy brain!!!!


So here is the plan:


Monday: Corn dogs & little smokies, tator tots, corn on the cob, fresh tomatoes.
Tuesday: Meatball sandwiches or chicken salad sandwiches, crockpot baked beans, salad.
Wednesday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes or mac & cheese, corn, salad.
Thursday: Breakfast Or Quick & Easy meal.
Friday: Spaghetti & meatballs, salad, green beans, garlic toast.
Saturday: Grilled hamburgers & hotdogs, fresh green beans, tomatoes.
Sunday: Quick & easy pizza subs, chips, salad.


If you would like to join us, you can visit Organized Junkie and sign up!!!


Planning your menu is worth the frustration you feel when you don't plan!!! Trust me!


Blessings!

Heather

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Home School Open House



Tiany at LESS OF ME, MORE OF HIM is hosting a Homeschool Open House!!! All are invited to participate! Go HERE, to participate!
So here is a little about my homeschooling:
  • OUR FAMILY
I am a wife to one and mother to six, going on seven children. My oldest just turned 10 (he is in 5th grade this year). I have been homeschooling him since he was 3-years-old, so I have been homeschooling for 7 years. I also have a 3rd grader, a 1st grader, a kindergartener, two preschoolers (ages 2 & 4) , and a baby on the way due on September 3rd.
  • OUR CURRICULUM

At first we used very little curriculum books. I basically taught colors, shapes, letters, writing, and other important skill. I still do this for kindergarten and preschool.

However, we start out with phonics, writing, counting, letter recognition, number recognition, and Bible. I have often used the book How To Tutor: For Parents and Teachers - A Manual That Works, by Samuel L. Blumenfeld. I have also used the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I also use my Bible, lots of paper and crayons, & markers. I will write out the alphabet for the child to copy in pen and then I give them a marker or highlighter to trace the letters, this is a treat for them!

I use the Saxon Math curriculum to teach all levels of math.

We are using Shurley English for grammar.

For science, we are using Apologia Science.

And for history, writing, literature, geography, fine arts and activities, Bible Survey and Church History, government & philosophy (both of these are upper level grades), we are using the Tapestry of Grace curriculum...this is our first year with this curriculum.

For handwriting, we often use scripture and Keach's catechism.

And for physical education....our children get plenty of exercise and eventually we will teach them about sports, I'm sure.

  • MY HOMESCHOOL DAY
I am not a "scheduler". I have tried to schedule my day in the past only to get frustrated with the fact that I can't get everything done quickly enough.
My "Schedule" basically looks like this:
  • Get up & dressed.
  • Breakfast for all (Hubby works at home).
  • Clean Up.
  • Homeschooling until lunch.
  • Lunch for all.
  • Clean Up.
  • Naptime for littles, and more homeschool for others.
  • Finish up school, littles awake.
  • Afternoon Chore time.
  • Freeplay/Outside for all, except littlest & Dinner prep for mom.
  • Dinner for all.
  • Clean Up.
  • Freeplay/Outside time.
  • Devotions/Bedtime.

I have a basic "to-do" list that I have memorized and I do as much of it as I can each day. If it doesn't get done one day, it will be there for me the next!

  • WHERE DO WE HOMESCHOOL?
We homeschool at the kitchen table, in the living room, outside on the deck and anywhere we have a quiet place to study.
  • MUST SHARE TIPS?
  1. Relax! Don't stress if you don't get everything done that you had intended. Your children will learn regardless and they will someday amaze you with all that they have learned.
  2. Need a break? Find a video for your children to watch that will teach them a thing or two and give your brain a rest.
  3. Make it fun! For crafts you can make cards to send to others. Teach your children about math in the kitchen by making something yummy!
  4. If you have something to read to your older children, give the younger children a picture to color while you are reading. Maybe you should purchase a special coloring book for them for such an occasion.
  • QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS

I have many of these. I often feel overwhelmed by the task at hand, I guess I need to take my own advice and RELAX!

I often feel unqualified as a teacher, even with a college degree. There are no manuals that teach you how to parent, and homeschooling is much the same with me. No matter how much I read, I am finding that I am learning how to homeschool as I go. It all involves experience. I was not homeschooled myself, so in a sense, I am a pioneer in my family to homeschooling.

Some days go wonderfully, while others are a flop.

My main questions are:

How do you get it all done?
Where do you get the energy to do housework after a full day of school?

I know I probably have more questions, but I must stop for now. I have homeschooling to do!

Blessings!
Heather