Start Of A New School Year!

We woke to a crisp cold morning. Its the one time during the School year that I don't have to drag anyone's booty out of bed. They were up dressed and ready for their breakfast by 6:15 this morning. DK is off to 1st grade, Rocker 4th & Shaggy 5th. My morning is now silent and a bit peaceful. I must go pray for my guys that the Lord would truly bless them this year. Happy Back-2-School everyone!

Bumpaholics: Addicted to Pregnancy

This is a Good Morning America News feed about Bumpaholics. Basically it is a interview about how some believe there is a growing addiction to pregnancy. The births rates across America have increased and therefore it must alarm some. I laughed at some of their thought process but some were thought provoking not in the sense that I agree with them. It more or less made me realize that China's 2 child law isn't that hard to see becoming a reality in our own country.

In the end I wonder what they believe about women years ago when large families were the norm. Were they too addicted to pregnancy? I just can't believe we have come to this place. Go watch and tell me what you think. I am still a little speechless over the whole thing.



Bumpaholics: Addicted to Pregnancy

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A New Found Treasure

Last Thursday my dear friend Natalie sent me an email letting me
know that her husbands parents had a small loom in their garage
they were trying to find a home for. My heart started to pound with
excitement. I talked to my husband about taking the loom and to my
hearts joy he said yes. So Friday Natalie and her In-Laws dropped
the newly found treasure off. Here it is.

It needs some TLC but my Knight and I have been busily
repairing it. My Knight had to grind down some of the metal
parts that were rusting and I have placed an order for some
replacement parts already. The best thing is the history behind this treasure.

This was made by a relative of Natalie's on her husbands side. A man
named George W. Martin. I so wished I had met him. He hand made this
lovely creation. My Knight and I were fascinated by his workmanship
and ingenuity as we unpacked the pieces and put it together. The man
was a a genius. Each part painstakingly hand made for Kent University
of Ohio. This particular loom was made in a batch of looms to be delivered
to their Arts Department. Some how this one did not make it. I am ever
so grateful it did not. :)

Here it is some what set up. Again we are still working on restoring
some of the parts and waiting on some replacement parts. I can't tell you
how much this loom means to me. It may stay at our home or travel
some where else but it takes me back to my childhood. The thrill
and excitement of learning to weave on my first 4 harness loom.
It has reignited my passion for weaving and brought me
back to the reason I first fell in love with it. I feel like a kid.
This loom is beautiful in design and history. I hope that many a young
person will learn to weave using this amazing piece of work. I hope
to be honored to have the ability to teach many of those young people with
this loom.

I know, just something so simple and old brings me such joy.
I have fallen in love with this treasure. I will post later about
it's development and where it travels to later.

PPD - Postpartum Depression Discussion #2

PPD seems to be a very big area of discussion on the Internet right now. All I have to do is google PPD and sites, information, diagnosis and blogs clutter my screen. But how come in all our technology and thrust towards immediate information are we still struggling with making people aware of PPD?

Maybe one conclusion could be that women dealing with PPD at the time are less likely to go to the Internet and actually google their symptoms? Maybe they feel afraid of what they would find? I know when I was struggling with PPD googling my symptoms was not even a thought in my head. I hardly could get out of bed let alone think about using the computer.

The biggest thrust behind trying to reengage this H.R:20 Act is the idea we need more education, support & research out there. I agree but what I don't agree is the use of federally funded monies and programs. Let's just talk for a minute...what does education really do? It's important, I agree, but it just provides us with information. Great, now I know I have PPD but what do I do? Now lets look at support programs, would a new mother struggling with PPD really go to a support group for PPD? In my own personal opinion I don't think they would. I know personally I would never have agreed to go to a group with women I don't know dealing with something so personal.

Doctors are also not a help. When I finally hit my wall with my third child I remember driving myself into the doctors office with all three of my children. I had no one to help me at the time. I had a 2 month old, 2 year old and 3 year old sitting with me in the office. The doctor came in asked me what's wrong and then proceed to tell me "I hope your husband is getting fixed right now. The only way you are going to get better is stop having all these kids. You just can't have kids and you and your husband should know better." After that she prescribed me Zoloft and sent me home. I was only 25 at the time. Not only did I have the devastating reality of being diagnosed with PPD but also the humiliation from the doctor who was supposed to be helping me. So what type of support really works?

I see this as the opportune time for the Body of Christ to rise up and become Christ's hands and feet, to be Him with flesh on. PPD studies show that women who have had depression in their past will typically have PPD. I know that my PPD was caused by underlying issues in my life that had gone untouched for years. Yes the medication helped to stabilize my emotional state at the time but it was not really taking care of the problem. With each pregnancy my PPD got worse. The medication never helped it go away it just masked the pain for me.

I finally went to our Church for counseling and they introduced me to Inner Healing or Presence Driven Ministry. Basically someone prays for you and asks the Lord to heal you of your emotional wounds. I can say Jesus touched my life and brought such healing to me. I continue to recommend those struggling with PPD to seek out Inner Healing Ministry but I believe we as the Body can also help on a more interpersonal level. What if we just offer to pray for those new moms? Send them meals, make phone calls, stop them in the church hallways and really ask if they are OK. People who are going to make the biggest impact with new moms dealing with PPD are those who they are familiar with, those people and other women they have relationship with. I believe the Church and mom groups should talk and educate each other about PPD but don't stop there. Be the Body we are called to be. I can't tell you how many times I was struggling and my husband just offered to pray for me. It wasn't eloquent or memorized it was just him asking the Lord to meet me and carry me at that time. Those times of prayer brought refreshing and hope to me. Can we not offer the same to the new moms we know?

Education, programs, research are great tools to have but that's exactly what they are tools. We as the Body of Christ have the one thing no one else can offer and that's Jesus the Hope of Glory. Jesus can heal, set free, break the bonds of depression and set us unto a road of hope. Ladies if you know someone who is dealing with PPD don't shirk away from them but see how you can help. Be willing to listen and then offer to pray. Make sure they have meals being delivered to them for 2 weeks or more. Make sure they have ways to get to church or functions outside of their homes. Make sure they have people contacting them and checking in on them daily. That is how we will win the battle over PPD. I believe strongly that government will not help but it is the community and the Body who will overcome. We need to reach out. If each of us reaches out to those in our spheres of influence and community then the jobs won't be so overwhelming.

So what about you? Do you have some good ideas how to reach women with PPD? Have you had a person reach out to you in your time of need that really changed your battle for you? Does your church have any programs for new moms? What worked for you? Any thoughts getting stirred up about PPD as you read?

Discussion of PPD -Postpartum Depression

PPD is a subject that is close to my heart. After giving birth to my three amazingly beautiful boys I struggled with Postpartum Depression. PPD awareness is beginning to emerge but to get women fully talking about this issue is still hard. PPD comes with so many stigmas and judgments that women who have faced it or are facing it typically stay quiet. I know, I have felt the brutality of women who didn't understand the effects of PPD and judged me severely for it. They just want you to shake it off or just get over it but what they don't understand is the severity of PPD, the hold it has on your life. PPD is not "Baby Blues" which typically effects 70-80% of new mothers and typically runs only a few days. Here is a list of symptoms of Baby Blues, PPD & a more serious diagnosis called Postpartum Psychosis from the Mayo Clinic...

Baby blues
Signs and symptoms of the baby blues — which last only a few days or weeks — may include:

• Mood swings
• Anxiety
• Sadness
• Irritability
• Crying
• Decreased concentration
• Trouble sleeping

Postpartum depression
Postpartum depression may appear to be the baby blues at first — but the signs and symptoms are more intense and longer lasting, eventually interfering with your ability to care for your baby and handle other daily tasks. Signs and symptoms of postpartum depression may include:

• Loss of appetite
• Insomnia
• Intense irritability and anger
• Overwhelming fatigue
• Loss of interest in sex
• Lack of joy in life
• Feelings of shame, guilt or inadequacy
• Severe mood swings
• Difficulty bonding with the baby
• Withdrawal from family and friends
• Thoughts of harming yourself or the baby

Postpartum psychosis
With postpartum psychosis — a rare condition that typically develops within the first two weeks after delivery — the signs and symptoms are even more severe. Signs and symptoms of postpartum psychosis may include:

• Confusion and disorientation
• Hallucinations and delusions
• Paranoia
• Attempts to harm yourself or the baby

I was stirred to write and open up a discussion on my blog about PPD because of a Times Magazine (July 20 2009) article I read today in the dentist office. It was describing a new legislation a group is trying to pass about PPD called H.R.20:Melanie Blocker Stokes Mothers Act. I am not a Lawyer and to say I thoroughly reviewed this Act would be absurd but I did read it. In my research it seems that this bill has passed several layers of legislation but I was not sure if it has fully passed. Someone with greater legislative knowledge would have to confirm this for me. To me this seems to be a well meaning attempt by Melanie Blocker Stokes family to help others. Melanie Stokes Blocker is a mother who took her life after giving birth only a few months prior. The family feels if there had been sufficient help and screening their daughter would have been saved. I believe they are trying to get at the main underlying issue here that there isn't enough talk and discussion among mothers about PPD but to put into law another piece of legislation would be, I feel completely unnescarry. This act does seem to be leaving the door open for the government to mandate pre-screening for PPD which I think would be completely wrong. So what do you do?

I believe we need to talk. We need to make women realize that struggling with Baby Blues or any form of PPD is OK. It doesn't make us less of a mother or a women. Stop labeling one another. If you haven't walked in their shoes don't assume to know what to do just be willing to listen and help if you can. We need to embrace each other in this time of need not place labels on already struggling women. I could have used someone to talk to. Thankfully, I was given the amazing gift from God of my husband who stood by me and held me when no others would, but what about those out there who don't have anyone? They said in much of the research that I read that the numbers of teens having PPD are rising. Who is there for these young women? These women may already feel labeled and judged, why attempt to get help when more will just be put on them?

So what's going through your mind right now? Have you faced PPD to some degree or known someone who has? If you did experience PPD did you feel the effects of labels and judgments? Have you been quiet because of how others have made you feel? Do you think it would be good to speak to new moms or mom groups out their about PPD and bring an awareness to others?

Tomorrow I would like to share my testimony of God's faithfulness to heal and discuss how we as the Body of Christ hold the Light of Hope for others. Legislation will not bring an answer for those struggling with PPD only Jesus can, so as a Body lets start talking and sharing the Hope we carry with us.

Back 2 School

School starts here officially August 31st. We are gearing up to head back. Our teacher assignments have not come in but we have prayerfully sought the Lord out for teachers that would be a blessing and encouragement to the boys. DK is now a 1st grader and has really taken off physically this summer. He no longer has the preschooler look to him any more...snif*snif*. Shaggy welcomes his last year as an Elementary student as he enters 5th grade. We joke at our house about him being the Big Dog on campus this year just to turn around next year and become the peon again. I have my beef with middle school but that's another post. :) Rocker is hot on his heels entering 4th. Wow!! I just don't think I am ready for all of this. I just got used to the transition of everyone being in school and now I will soon transition into the middle school years.

The boys are ready for school. They are ready to have their friends back and schedules to return too. I know they may say they want to stay home a little longer but I can see it in their behavior. They did a great job this summer hanging with one another. We rarely have sibling rivalry here. It's been a blessing and something I pour hours of prayer into but you can tell they come to a point where they are ready for their space.

Every year we prayerfully consider where they should go to school. We don't put God in a box saying this is the only way to school or that is the only option. God has a plan and purpose for each child and He knows the best training ground for each of them. For our boys it's public school. Believe me there are days I would love to keep them home or send them to a awesome private school but I know the best place for the boys is in God's will and that for us is public school. So on that note I want to tell everyone that I hope your school year starts off with success in whatever way the Lord has you teaching your children. I will be praying for many of you this year, homeschoolers, CCA'ers(private schoolers) & public schoolers. Let's train up our children in the way the Lord would have them each be trained and see them thrive in the Lord!! Have a great beginning to a new school year everyone!!!

I want to leave you with a great group the boys and I have come to love called Reilly. If you haven't heard of them go listen. Its an awesome mix of Rock with what they have lovingly called Violin Rock! Enjoy!

How To Climb Walls

For those of you who didn't get to see it on fb have a good laugh!!!

When we get bored we really get bored!!