Gabe's Baptism Announcement

St. Patricks Day

In our little town of Twin Falls, we have a St. Patricks Day Parade! WOW! I had no idea! This year, the kids were out of school for the day, so we went! We met up with our great friends, the Johansens. It was great fun. But really cold!

It's Coming!!!

You might get jealous of these fancy floats....

We have this amazing bridge to our town over the Snake River, and this kinda represents that...

My little artist!

Ok, so one day we got out some watercolors. Bea is sitting on my lap and so that is why some of these photos look the way they do. Do you think she has some talent?

major concentration!

just cute!

I havent posted anything is so long, so I thought I'd start by just looking through some photos and see what I could come up with.

These few photos are of Beatrice eating a cheese tortilla. I can get some good shots of my kids when they are sitting still strapped into their dinner chair! HA! They are just so fast! Anyway, these are cute.

AMAZING!

I just saw an amazing documentary called The Business of Being Born. It is AMAZING!!! It is a MUST see for anyone that is pregnant, will ever be pregnant, anyone that knows someone that might ever be pregnant.... ok, so for EVERY woman! I don't "make noise" about many things, BUT, this I will! The documentary is about all the information you really need to know about giving birth and what your choices are! Amazing! Lots of my friends didn't even know that they actually had choices, even after 3 kids! I don't judge people that choose what they want, but AWARENESS is power!

Here is a bit about my experiences:

So, I gave birth to Isabel in a hospital in Utah with a doctor. The doctor induced me and I had an epidural and there were lots of interventions. I felt like it was not natural for me to do it this way. I didn't really have any choices. After my experience, I knew that I never wanted another baby the same way. I dont think it was a bad experience, I know I was lucky. There was something missing and I knew I wanted to FEEL something different.

So, I used a Midwife for Gabe in a hospital using no drugs. It was a great delivery! Loved my midwife!! But, we were fighting for our rights and birth plan the entire way. Then, he was born and was whisked off to the NICU for unnecessary reasons and kept there for 6 days. Later, we talked to many resources telling us that the staff were told to get as many babies to the NICU as they could to PAY for their new Woman's Center Wing. (that was St. Luke's in Salt Lake City) and our pediatrician said that there was no reason Gabe needed to be in the NICU.

Then we were pregnant with Adeline and knew we hated hospitals! So, we decided to go to the freestanding Birth and Family Place in SLC using a midwife, whom I loved! http://www.womenandbirthcare.com/ It was also an amazing experience! A comfortable place. I loved it! The insurance took 3 years to pay my midwife. Sick! Currently, the Birth Center is under attack. Sad stuff.

So, here comes Beatrice! I have taken "baby steps" for this moment. A HOME delivery!!! WOW! There is absolutely nothing that compares to being at home and delivering your baby! I was so comfortable! It was hard work, but the experience wasn't something that needed to be numbed! It needed to be experienced and felt. She was a healthy baby and she came when she came. (shortest delivery of about 4 hours! 6 days late! HA!)

Adeline holding Beatrice right after she was born!So Cute!

Beatrice, 2 days old. Dec.17th, 2007. She was so alert!

This is what my body was made to do! Oh yeah, I am not the only one. Most woman that can have children can do this too! Heavenly Father has made us and we can do so much more than we think we can!! It's totally AMAZING! If I can do this, I can DO ANYTHING!!!

70% of babies are born with Midwifes in every other developed country except for the USA. 1 out of 3 babies are born by Cesarean section in the USA. That is not because we have different woman, it's because one intervention leads to another. Dont get me wrong, medical assistance is there for a reason, when you actually need it. It is just sad that having babies is more about business than a fact of life here in the USA.

There, that was my "noise".

RENT THE DOCUMENTARY OR WATCH IT ON NETFLIX!! http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/

My Homemade Bread

I make bread every week. I got this recipe from a friend from New York. BUT I did some adjustments to it and this is what it is now. I like that all of the ingredients are things that are easy to keep in my food storage.
People have asked for the recipe and those that have it, like it. It's one of those fool proof recipes. I am certainly not a chef, so it's perfect for me! SO, I just thought I would post it. Also, I grind the wheat almost every time for the wheat flour because it just tastes better and boy, is it more nutritious! If you try it, I hope you like it! Enjoy!
I found this photo on the web and liked it, so its not from me, but it works!

Wheat Bread
Makes 2 loaves

1-2/3 cups warm water
2 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 egg, beaten
3 TBSP Extra Light Olive Oil
1/3-cup honey
3 cups whole wheat flour (I usually grind the wheat right before I make it)
2 cups whole wheat white flour
1 tsp salt

Combine the water, yeast and sugar in mixer. Wait until foamy. Add eggs, honey and oil. Mix well. Add the wheat flour and beat on high speed for 5 mins. Then add the white flour and salt and beat on high for 2 more mins. The dough should be sticky. Let it rest for 10 min. then beat on high for 5 more mins. Put dough in greased bowl and let rise until double in size about 45 min. ( I often skip this step. I do not see a difference in the bread and it saves me LOADS of time. If I counted up the time that I will save for my lifetime, it maybe be up to a year of time saved! :) ha!)

Divide dough into 2 pieces. (I use oil on my hands and counter when I roll the dough out. I don’t use flour. Any additional flour will dry out the bread.) Roll each piece into a rectangle working out all the air bubbles. Turn over and roll tightly into loaf. With the seam side up, pinch the ends into the loaf. With oil on hands, lightly coat loaf and put in greased loaf pan (seam side down).(I like to use the long loaf pans, they are perfect for sandwiches!)  Let dough rise to top of pan or double in size.
 Bake at 350* for 24-30 mins. After baking, remove loaves to cooling racks and completely cover with damp cotton cloths or paper towels until cool.

Note: This recipe fits a Kitchen Aid mixer.

Christmas with a baby!

I love it! Beatrice is super cute and so much fun. She never even looks at the gift! It's sooo funny! Our Christmas morning was long and lots of fun. We had the best Christmas this year as it was just our little family. It was quiet and relaxing!! Thank Heavens!!

the girls have bdays

Wow! Winter is really crazy for us. Well, anyone has crazy months, but Beatrice and Isabel's bdays are in December and Adeline's is in January! So, I'm kinda crazy about Birthdays. I LOVE THEM! So, here are a few pics and videos. I know I should have done a slideshow for these Chels, but it's late and I just couldnt remember. HA!

Bea's FIRST bday!

She is into just crazy faces. This was taken right before her nap. Serious business.

NO CROWN! please

I'm not really the best cake maker, it's okay to laugh. But it was fun! A fun tradition to have a cute doll cake for the girls first bday. Keep in mind that I was not the only one decorating the cake! I had LOTS of help from Addy, Is and Gabe.

Yummy!

Bea's favorite time! BATH!!

Isabel's Bday!

Isabel's bday was fun with her first real sleepover with her gal pals! A hair streaker, makeup and glitter was first on the list. I didn't have to do much, Isabel is her own party planner now. She loves it and she did a great job with keeping her friends happy and having fun celebrating her birthday! YOOHOO! But, I was having so much fun getting my hair streeked that I forgot to take pictures!! These were not all the girls that came to the party, just the ones that spent the night.

When did they grow up?

I remember doing this!

Addy's Birthday!

Adeline had a ballerina birthday! I made all the girls TUTUs! even for Bea. We had fun doing a little mini dance class. Colored ballerinas print outs. Then just danced! I was amazed at how long little girls just want to DANCE! They loved it! see video! notice even Bea in the corner of video! SOO CUTE!Then Chris's mom made an amazing cake for her Birthday. A million THANKS GRANNY!!! The top is in Adeline's room. She thinks it's AMAZING! Thanks! Also, a fun little note is that the candle holders were given to me by my Gma Arba forever ago. Vintage! Fun!

what is a little crayon in her diet???