Last week, while having dinner with some classy friends and a fellow chiropractor, I did not loose half of my sandal.  I was not sitting at the table, feeling a bump under my foot which I thought was something wrong with my friend’s floor.  When I finally looked down, I did not see half of my sandal gone and start laughing hysterically.  As I showed JB, he did not glance behind me into the kitchen and say, “Oh my gosh, there is half of your shoe lying on her kitchen floor!”  I mean how embarassing if I would have had to throw my shoes away at their house and walk out barefoot, but I didn’t, not me!

Harper and I walked out to the mailbox last week, and we were met with a great surprise (for mommy).  When I ripped open the letter from the Registry of Midwives to find out I had passed my licensing exam, I did not wait to get back in the house to start jumping up and down and dancing in the street.  My neighbors did not think anything of this crazy behavior, if any of them were watching.  And, I certainly did not carry on so much that Harper started crying…  Nope, not me, mommy’s crazy behavior did not make Harper cry at all!

When JB called the other night to tell me he would be home shortly, I did not hang up the phone with with him only to have Harper walk up between my legs and bite the middle of my thigh, for no reason.  I did not call JB back and yell into the phone, “Come home now!”  And, I definitely do not still have a big purple bruise in the shape of Harper’s teeth on my leg…  Nope, not me!

What about you, care to share what you did not do?!  Head on over to MckMama’s Blog and join the fun!  Happy Monday!

Well, the babies have not stopped coming, and for that I am very blessed!  Exhausted?  Yes, extremely!  But, blessed?  Yes, even more than exhausted!  Please bear with me, as I go through this season and my blog seems seldom updated at times.  I love blogging, but often times, sleep just wins out!  My poor readers, I am so sorry. 

I am reading a wonderful book right now; in fact, it is our new book for Mom’s Bible Study.  Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow has given me a lot to think about.  Dillow talks in the book about the light in which we see and paint our circumstances.  And, before I turn into bed for the night, I felt like I needed to share some of the thoughts in my head on my blog.  I know I have shared before about being thankful.  This subject was brought to mind again tonight.

It would be very easy to complain or feel frustrated about some circumstances in my life right now.  However, I keep going back to something that was spoken over me while I was pregnant with Harper.  It is so sweet to me how even though I serve a big (infinitely so) God, He still cares about the little details in my life.  He knew that I would need this word of encouragement as I raised Harper; and, He picked someone to say it to me at just the perfect time.  What they told me is: “Don’t despise the season.”  What did they mean by this?  Well, the explanation came from the book of Esther, chapter 4, to be specific.  It was so neat- as the Lord often does- because I had been reading through Esther at the time that I was given this word.  However, the person saying it to me did not know that I had been studying Esther.  Basically, they were trying to tell me that even though we go through situations we may not appreciate at the time, there is a greater reason for them.  And, instead of complaining, we need to look for that reason.  Don’t despise, but rather appreciate the season.  I could ramble on go so much more in depth with this explanation and all this word has meant to me, but I will suffice it to say just this little bit.  After all, it has been a busy week, and I am tired! 

It boils down to this though:  We have a choice!  We can despise our season, or we can appreciate it.  How many circumstances has God allowed me to walk through that He has used in my life later that I never could have foreseen Him using?!  I could make so many posts out of that one!  Or, how many times have I been caught complaining about a season, only to really miss that season when it is gone?  Or worse yet, how many times do I complain about my circumstances, failing to stop and look at the big picture that it could be so much worse?  My dad’s trip to Haiti sure did put that into perspective, as did many of my friends and acquaintances who have lost babies lately. 

How does this look on a practical, daily life level?  Well, the whole reason I am posting this is that as I was putting Harper to bed tonight, it didn’t go as easily as I would have hoped or was imagining.  It had been a long day- I had another birth, and haven’t gotten much done or much sleep.  JB normally puts Harper to bed, but wasn’t available tonight.  And of course, as often goes when there is so much to be done and I really need him to sleep, Harper took forever to be put to bed.  As I laid next to him, with my eyes shut wishing he would catch on and do the same, he climbed on me, practiced all of his vocabulary, and poked me in the eyeballs.  I could feel the clock ticking away, and I kept having to remind myself that even though my eyes were shut I needed to stay awake and get things done once he fell asleep.  His vocabulary recitation grew louder and louder, and sleep seemed more and more evasive, I could feel the frustration starting to rise up inside me.  All of sudden, I heard the words, “Don’t despise the season!” in my head, and my perspective changed in an instant.  I had been away from my precious baby and missing him all day.  Although outside my bedroom walls the world waited on me, I decided in that instant that the world could do just that- wait!  It can be very frustrating sometimes that my little boy doesn’t love sleep, and I don’t have the freedom I once enjoyed.  But, much more than that, it is so rewarding to be blessed with a little boy that loves to climb on his mama.  I get to come home and smell his hair, cuddle him and listen to him babble on and on.  One day, I know I’ll go in and peak in on him sleeping in his own bed, the co-sleeping days will be long gone, he’ll be the teenager who then loves to nap, and I will miss these ‘hard’ days and wish I had cherished the season more. 

Therefore, I choose to be content in my circumstances because I am so blessed!  Hopefully this will encourage you, as it has me.  What things in your life do you need to appreciate and view in a fresh perspective?  It is a short season, don’t despise it.

I apologize for the long blogging break, it has been an extremely busy past couple of weeks (to say the least!).  I have been to 4 labors this week alone, and have 2 other moms in early labor.  So, in honor of all the babies, I thought I would come back to the blogging world by posting about one of my most memorable recent births.

After doula-ing and training to be a midwife for several years, I have always bragged that I get my moms where they want to be before they give birth, and I have never had to catch a baby by myself.  Well, a couple of Tuesdays ago ruined that bragging streak for me…  Mr. M had his own plans, and I was so blessed to be along for the ride!  I am still smilling as I think back on this birth story, and I asked his mom if I could share it with you.  She blogged her version here, and told her story on the radio last week.

I was blessed to get to know D during her first pregnancy.  She had hired a really good doula friend of mine, and birthed with a great doctor at an area hospital.  When she told us she was pregnant for the second time last year, she informed me that she wanted me to be with her this time around.  Needless to say, D is such a precious patient, that I was very excited to oblige!  In January, we sat down to do her birth plan.  Again, she was going to use the same doctor and hospital that she had used with her daughter.  But, this time, she wanted to go into labor on her own (she was induced last time), and she wanted me to help her labor at home.  We discussed how she wanted to leave right before transition hit because she knew this part of labor wouldn’t be easy while riding in the car.  I told her that I would watch her signs and help her as much as possible to distinguish when she needed to leave.  My only problem about being with D at a February birth, was that I was set to be in Austin for a couple of days to take a big licensing exam.  I told them the dates- a Tuesday and Wednesday- I would be gone, and gave them my backup doula’s information.

As my test approached, I was really bummed that D hadn’t called me yet.  I prayed that she would hold off until I got back in town.  When I took a study break on Monday morning, I was really happy to read her Facebook post that said she had gone to the doctor and found out she had made very little progress.  “Good, maybe this baby will hold out for me.” I thought to myself.  Imagine my surprise when she called me late that afternoon, I was packing and stressing out over all I had to do, and I picked up the phone to hear a very excited voice.  “We have contractions!” D exclaimed with excitement on the other end.  “Great!”  I replied, acting as happy as I could about this wonderful timing.  I asked her the usual questions, only to find out that this probably was the real deal starting up.  When I hung up with her, I tried to tell myself it was going to be okay.  Afterall, how do you bring up your schedule and refer one of your moms to a backup when she is so very pumped to finally be in labor?  How do I?  I don’t!  So, I just went about the rest of my day, a little more stressed.  I had told D to get done with her errands, go home and nap and call me back with an update.

Well, as the evening got later and later, I decided to take a study break and text her to check in.  I thought to myself that surely nothing was going on anymore, since she hadn’t called me.  I was wrong- she quickly texted back that she could still work through contractions on her own, but they were getting closer.  At this point, I decided I better wrap up my late study sessions and packing and head to bed.  I was under strict orders to be off call for births, but D didn’t know this.  I decided I would play her birth by ear, but I knew in my heart I’d be going.  Afterall, I just couldn’t miss this one!

Imagine my surprise when I was awoken around 11:30PM by D’s phone call and what seemed to be a party going on in the background.  Yes, D had listened very well to my nap suggestion completely ignored my earlier suggestion to rest, and had invited a bunch of friends over.  She was calling me to ask how long this early labor could last, and letting me know that her party was winding down.  I made her promise me she would go get some rest and keep me posted.  A short half hour labor, K- her husband- called back.  This time I could hear a different kind of party D working hard through contractions in the background.  K would pause on the phone, as every good husband should, to help her work through contractions.  It was killing me to sit on the other end, I wanted to be over there right then!  But, you don’t want to go to a client’s house before you are invited and interrupt their labor by making them feel watched.  So, I waited to be asked.  As soon as a contraction ended- they were coming pretty fast- I could hear D yell to K, “Tell her to come now!”  Thank goodness!  “I am on my way!” I informed K, as I hung up the phone and jumped out of bed.

A little after midnight, I was knocking on D’s door.  K let me in and led me to the bathroom, on my way I saw their toddler peak her excited head over the couch to welcome me.  I love children at birth, such excitement!  I found D relaxing beautifully in the tub during contractions.  She surprised me because she was a lot more relaxed in person than what I had heard over the phone.  As I observed what was going on, her contractions were strong, but they were very short.  She didn’t seem as far along in the tub as she was acting over the phone.  Music blarred from her i-phone, and you could hear her daughter’s precious voice in the living room.  I encouraged her to relax, keep changing positions, drink her juice and pressed on her back during contractions.

Shortly, her best friend (birth photographer) arrived.  The three of us sat in the bathroom, chit chatting through contractions.  I made a comment about her perfect timing, thanking her for doing this before I went out of town in a few hours.  She looked at me with a confused face, ”I thought you didn’t leave until Wednesday.”  As soon as she finished that sentence, she went into another contraction.  When that one was done, I encouraged her to get out of the tub and empty her bladder.  She didn’t want to move, but I told her that if her bladder was full it would make the contractions hurt worse.  With that information, she quickly jumped up and dried herself off to get out.  After a short while out, back in the tub she went.  Then, K came in to brag that he had finally gotten their daughter down  to sleep.  In between D’s contractions, all five of us chatted with excitement.  However, as D’s contractions kept getting longer and stronger, I had a dilema in my head.  She wasn’t bringing up the hospital at all.  I didn’t want to scare her away from laboring more at home, but I wanted her to be thinking about heading to the hospital.  Afterall, she adores her doctor, and I knew that is who she wanted to have catch her baby.  So, how do I bring up the hospital when she isn’t talking about it?  Here is how I put it, “D, you are doing really well, and it’s not too late.  However, you probably want to start thinking about when you want to head to the hospital.  You aren’t going to be able to ride very comfortably in the car if you wait much longer.”  To which she replied, “I was just thinking about that, we should probably start heading that way.” 

She stood up in the bath, and towelled off.  The plan was to empty her bladder again, quickly change clothes and load up for the hospital drive- about 20 minutes away.  Normally, I follow clients in my own car to the hospital.  But, I had a strong sense that I needed to change this plan and ride in the backseat with D.  This would be a problem though…  How would I get back to my car to go back home?  This could mean hours more at the hospital after the birth was done, waiting on a ride.  So, I decided I would ask D if I was okay to take my car and follow them.  This would be perfect because D is so nice and wouldn’t want to inconvenience me with my upcoming trip and all.  She would tell me to take my own car and I’d be free.  Imagine my surprise when she quickly replied, “I need you with me, I can’t do this without you!”  There was my answer, I would be riding with her.  After answering my question, she was sitting on the toilet facing me, she grabbed me and pulled me in close.  Squeezing tightly as a contraction hit hard, she said, “Cindy, I can’t do this!”  D hadn’t complained throughout her entire labor, up until this point.  “Good” I reassured her, “everyone says that as they get to the end, this means you are really close.  We should head out quickly, D, your baby is trying to help you finish this.”  Everyone else was hurrying around outside the bathroom door.  We all knew D was finally moving really fast.  I instructed K to make sure he had towels and plastic bags in the car, just in case D’s water broke or she got nauseous on the way.

D was finally dressed and heading to the door.  I stayed back in the bathroom to quickly pack up my things.  As I finished up and headed to the door, I heard my name hollered from D’s bedroom.  What was she doing in her room?  She was supposed to be in the car!  As I turned the corner, I saw herstanding and leaning over her bed.  She couldn’t relax, and was on her tiptoes contracting.  “I think my water is breaking!”  She yelled.  I pressed on her hips and encouraged her to work through this contraction.  Contractions were coming really strong and fast now, only leaving her seconds to try to relax in between.  “Will you check me to see how far along I am, before we go?”  She questioned.  “No, I really don’t want to waste time doing that.  You are really far along.  I will if you absolutely want me to, but I think we should head that way.”  I responded.  Her family and friends agreed.  D waddled to the garage, and we followed to help her load in the car.  The frigid outside air met us.

D climbed in K’s car, the leather seats were really cold.  She got in on her hands and knees in the small backseat, facing the back passenger’s window.  I crowded in, facing her back so that I could continue to do hip squeezes during the car ride.  As we pulled out of the drive, I instructed K to call the hospital and give them a head’s up that we were heading that way.  Before we could turn out of the drive, D told me she felt like she needed to use the bathroom, then a contraction hit strong.  I could feel her body slowly start pushing, and I squeezed hard and encouraged her to breathe deep.  ”Don’t push, just breathe.”  And, we made it through that contraction.  We merged onto the highway, and here came another strong contraction.  We passed the first of several hospitals on the way, and I thought to myself, “Should I ask them if they want to exit?”  I was just feeling we weren’t going to make it.  I chose not to say anything.  K was driving really slowly, what a calm dad!  Then, we passed the exit to the birthing center, and again I wondered if we should exit.  But, I continued to say nothing because I knew how badly D wanted to make it to her hospital and doctor.  Then, as we passed the second hospital, I could feel a strong contraction start and D really couldn’t hold back her pushing.  “This baby is coming!”  She screamed.  I pulled down her underwear, and I could feel the top of the baby’s wet, warm head meeting my hands.  I never get tired of this feeling, it is the most incredible feeling in the world!  What an honor and a privilege to be the first to help welcome a precious new life!!

I didn’t know how K would react from the front seat, and I didn’t want him to panic.  So, I said as calmly as possible, “We need to pull over.”  To which he questioned, “Are you sure we can’t make it, you really want me to pull over?”  D and I screamed back at the same time, “No, pull over!”  Pretty soon, we were coming to a halt on the side of the highway.  “I need you to push.”  I instructed D.  She was holding her knees closely together, in order not to fall off of the small backseat.  The baby wasn’t sliding out easily, and I was praying in my head, “Please let this baby come sliding out, and let him yell as he comes.”  As soon as D let her legs open a little more and pushed, out came a perfect, wet crying baby, his cord was wrapped around his neck and laced around his body.  My hands were covered in fluid and baby poop.  I laughed to myself, as I looked down at my bag, which held my gloves, on the floorboard.  So much for those gloves!  I passed M between his mom’s legs into her arms.  K was running around from the frontseat to the back of the car and opened the back door at this point, and the photographer had parked behind us and was running up to meet D too.  I laughed to think what was going through everyone’s head, as we had pulled over.  Everyone laughed as we listened to the precious cries, and the world stood still around us.  D announced that they had a little boy!  I was very thankful the towels and plastic bag were brought along.  Who would have guessed we would have put them to such good use?!

As D nursed M, I asked them what they wanted to do.  Did they want me to call a midwife and go back to their home or the birth center?  Did they want to go to one of the nearby hospitals?  Or, did they want to continue on to their hospital?  They chose the later; and, instead of driving on, they chose to call an ambulance to take them there.  Everything was perfect, mom was not bleeding and baby was bundled up and happily eating. 

When the paramedics finally arrived- 2 firetrucks and an ambulance, I updated them that mom was ready to deliver her placenta.  Her cord had stopped pulsating.  One of the paramedics had me hold his flashlight, as he pulled out a small barf bag to catch the placenta with.  I thought to myself, “Has he ever seen a placenta?!”  There was no way a placenta would fit in that little bag!  Watching him trying to deliver it answered my question.  I offered to help him, as his hands shook.  He followed my instructions, and out came the placenta.  He grinned and gave me a big hug, “Thanks so much for all of your help!”  When we arrived at the hospital, the nurses asked him if he was scared to answer the call, knowing that it was a birth.  “It was only my second run out.”  He said, “But, it was okay because she had a nurse with her.”  He pointed to me.  Ha, ‘nurse Cindy’.  What a hoot!  I got another thank-you hug before he left, as he congratulated the family. 

D’s doctor came in, and wanted to hear the full story.  She was shocked to have missed the birth.  D’s family arrived shortly after us at the hospital, they were so happy to meet Mr. M!  Later, D’s mom and K and I walked out to his car.  They were shocked as they got a look at his backseat.  I reassured them that I could clean it and get it back to its ’pre-birth’ condition.  After cleaning it, I returned to D’s room to chat with the family some more.  Soon after, we were moving to a recovery room, and I was telling the family bye.  As I hugged D, she thanked me and said, “If you don’t ace your test after that…” 

I drove home with a huge smile on my face, amazed at such amazing early morning events…  Have I said how much I love what I do?!  I am so blessed!

Because of the way that we eat and the habits we practice, I often get asked if I was raised this way.  The answer is- no.  I wasn’t raised on the “SAD” (Standard American Diet); we ate just a little bit healthier than that.  But, this was probably mostly due to my being raised overseas.  Americans eat a lot more processed foods than the rest of the world.  And, Jim Bob was raised on the typical west Texas diet of meat and potatoes.  Actually, our parents have now changed a lot of how they cook and eat too off of what we have learned over the years through school and practice.  And that last phrase, “Over the years” is what this post is all about.  JB and I do not take for granted that this healthy lifestyle, we attempt to live, did not happen overnight.  In fact, even during graduate school, we lived quite an unhealthy lifestyle.  However, over the years, as we learned new ways, we slowly began to change. 

From time to time, I would like to share that change with you.  Realize please, we are NOT perfect!  We are definitely still growing and changing our ways to become healthier.  I know it is overwhelming to change your life- especially in an area where food is involved.  If there is one thing I know from the cleanse:  Food is a very touchy, emotional subject.  And, as with anything, the key to permanent change is to change slowly over a period of time.  Be encouraged by your small moves towards health and wellness.  We all have set backs, it’s okay, just keep moving forward!

Hopefully, this post will help you get started and implement some small changes to help you and your family.  I will tell you one thing, Harper is being raised eating a lot differently than either of us ever did growing up.  That is something we are so very proud of!  He is reaping the benefits of all of our efforts to change our eating habits; and, every time he eats something healthy that the typical American kid wouldn’t touch (or many adults for that matter), we just smile.  He is our proof that our hard efforts are paying off in a big way.  After all, shouldn’t each generation be and do better than the last?  That is what this is all about:  Changing slowly so you can not only be healthier, but you can teach those after you how to do it right.

Here are some small steps:

1) Drink clean water.  We buy reverse osmosis water (this is really cheap), and we don’t really keep other drinks in the house.  If there aren’t other options, what to drink is a really easy decision!  Make it fun by adding fresh orange, lemon or lime slices- even try some fresh mint sprigs from time to time.  Most people walk around dehydrated and don’t even realize it; the more water you give your body, the more your body will crave water (trust me on this one!). 

This one can be hard, especially if you (or your kids) are used to drinking a lot of juices or teas or sodas.  An easy way to transition, start by drinking as much water as you plan to drink of the other beverage before you drink the other beverage.  You won’t drink as much of the other liquid if you start with water first.  Then, especially with juices/teas (doesn’t work so well with sodas), start diluting the other beverage with water until over time all you are drinking is water.  This last step is a wonderful way to transition kids.

2) Add a little raw vegetables to lunch, dinner and most snacks.  Why?  Raw foods contain enzymes which help you break down and digest your other foods.  Also, you will absorb nutrients better from raw than cooked because these foods are living.  And, just like with adding water, when you add vegetables to your body, your undernourished body will eventually realize it needs this, and you will start craving them!  I know some of you think you could never crave something as healthy as a veggie, again, trust me on this.

3) Replace all of your salt with sea salt.  We use Real Sea Salt, which is sold in many stores and very easy to find.  Real Sea Salt is very different from the salt most people are used to.  Why?  First of all, it looks different, it is not bleach white and is quite colorful.  This is a great sign because it lets you know it hasn’t been bleached and processed and it tells you all of the minerals have been left in it.  This salt has so many wonderful nutrients in it, which are healthy for you.  Yes, now you can use salt without worrying about the harmful side effects.  Even if you are pregnant, because of all the essential nutrients this salt contains, you can salt to taste and not worry about the side effects.  You may be surprised, but this salt tastes so much better than the salt you’ve been used to all of your life.  And, it takes a lot less of it to bring out wonderful flavors in your food.  This company sells many flavored salts and seasonings, start trying them out.  I’d love to hear what you think.

4) Join an organic food co-op.  We belong to Monica Brown’s Healthsource Group.  I know I have said a lot about how much I love this in previous post.  This is such an easy way to transition, try it!  You can buy a member’s share when they are out of town, you can split a share with someone until you decide you want a full one, and/or you can try the co-op for a few weeks to see what you think.  Why is this so essential?  Several reasons:  It forces you to try different types of organic produce that you may not usually buy.  Do you know how many ”weird” things we eat/do because we first found out about them through the co-op.  And, don’t let this scare you.  First, you choose how “weird” you want to be .  No, seriously, in the co-op you will find most of the produce are normal things you would eat (salad, tomatoes, potatoes, oranges, apples, onions).  You get a lot of the usual things you pick up at the store, but at first, there are usually a couple of things which you have never seen before.  What a great opportunity!  And, everyone on the co-op board shares their ideas/recipes.  Google is a great recipe tool too.  Many things we now love to eat, and “have to have” on a weekly basis got their start in our co-op bin, as we would question, “What is that?!”.  Try it!

5) Find one new, healthy recipe to try every other week.  Again, many of these have become our staple meals.  And, what’s the worse that can happen?  None of your family, including you, thinks the recipe is edible so you get to enjoy a meal out after cooking.  See, it’s worth the try just for the possibility of getting to dine out.  Pick a recipe from my blog, or from the Nourishing Traditions book or from any of the other cooking sites I have mentioned.  Have fun!

There you have it, some tips to get you started.  One more thing, notice how every trick I have offered mentions adding something in or replacing it?  If you start with taking everything out and thinking, “I can’t do or have this.”, you will never stick with it.  It is human nature to run away from pain and towards pleasure.  Don’t make this a painful process!  Start slow and have a worthy goal! 

Any ideas you wish to share on how you transitioned?  I would love to hear them!  And, check back often, I will try to share lots more ideas.

A crowd of people waiting to see what is brought out from the cleanup. Please pray for these people and their overwhelming losses!

Dad’s Facebook status last night read, “Saw too much today – really overwhelmed by it all. Good night. I am, well…”  This made my heart really heavy for him.  On one of the pictures of the rubble he had posted, his comment said that they were starting to do some burning to cover up the smell of all the dead bodies.  It is very easy to write a blog post, say a quick prayer, call dad throughout the day, and forget quickly what he is going through as I pick up and go about my daily business.  But, then, I see the pictures and read the comments.  That changes my heart and my prayers.  It breaks me for the Haitian people, and breaks me for workers, like my dad.  The picture at the top of this post is just one of the many, many heartbreaking ones he has posted.   

They moved to work on the Presidential Palace and the police station.  Many groups are camping out on the roofs of buildings.  Before moving, he reported to my mom that they had been bitten by bed bugs and that the hotel was quite infested.  Lovely!  So, for those of you who read my prior posts and thought my mention of a “hotel” meant dad was vacationing in Haiti…  Ha!  Not quite the hotel most of us would envision staying in. 

Every time I talk to him, he is extremely busy.  You can hear noise in the background, and he says the whole city is buzzing, as everyone works really hard.  They have had trouble on and off with the chlorinators on their water systems.  Please keep this specific situation lifted up in prayer.  Also, they are working so hard and quickly running out of supplies.  He said the world is there- there are Chinese and Germans, along with others and the Americans, of course.

Again, you can follow dad’s updates on Twitter @52bharper or on Facebook- Bob Harper.  Here are the latest pictures:

Dad- the facial hair is growing

Clean water for the police station- 400 gallon tank

Notice it says "Self Heating" and "3 yr. shelf life"?! Looks like someone will need a detox when they get home...

Dad was able to translate for her, and got her into the doctor faster.

Federal Building. They pull bodies out and bag them, and search for tax papers. Taxes won't be collected. Citizens may be happy about this, but this means no means of income for island.

Here is an example of the handy work of dad's team.

Youth With a Mission tents- they are camping out in front of the Presidential Palace

Dad in front of the drip water bucket filtration systems. Texas Baptist Men sent them, 10,000 have arrived!

On a side note, for those of you who miss the “health” aspect of this blog.  Know what we sent dad with to make sure he stays healthy while in Haiti?  Colloidal Silver!  He is using it as his hand sanitizer, and spraying it in his mouth, ears, nose and eyes several times a day.  He also takes it orally.  Colloidal silver is great when you go on trips and when you come down with something at home.  So there is your tip for the day .

I can not tell you how much my family appreciates the outpouring of support- emails, Facebook, blog comments, tweets, phone calls- for my dad while he’s ministering in Haiti.  I am glad that you- my readers- feel more connected to the situation by what I am sharing.  I agree, until dad went down, I was quite removed from the situation too.  I love the excitement I hear in my dad’s voice when he calls us.  It is contagious!  Today in church, our pastor said, “There is no better feeling in the world than when the Holy Spirit uses YOU to minister to someone.”  Isn’t that the truth?!  I think that’s exactly why dad is so excited, and why his excitement is absolutely contagious.  I am telling you, I want to be there!

It’s sad to me that when you are on a trip like Haiti, you look for the miracles in everything.  Do you realize how many miracles happen on a daily basis that we loose sight of or simply ignore?  I’ll share the latest pictures, but NBC provided my dad’s team with cases of water today.  A total miracle, and yes, they noticed it as such.  Also, the navy came in.  Say what you want about our country, but God bless America!  Seriously.  They brought in enough meals to feed 20,000 people for 3-4 days.  And, they gave them to dad’s team to distribute.  Can you imagine the joy of handing out food to hungry families who haven’t eaten in days?  I bet the Bible story of the disciples feeding the crowd fish now has an entirely new meaning to dad.  Dad also said they got the water filters up and running.  You should have heard his voice (I could hear him even though he was talking to my mom- yelling with excitement, rather).  “There is nothing better than the site of clean water!”  He said the people were so happy about the water, that they were jumping up and down with excitement.

Something that makes me laugh, dad keeps showing all of the Haitians Harper’s picture.  I guess the proud grandfather in him doesn’t change no matter where he goes.  He says they keep saying, “Il est tres beau!”  Which translates:  He is so handsome!  Isn’t that precious?  By the way, how amazing is God that my family went to language school 21 years ago to learn French?  Who would have ever guessed how handy dad’s French would be for such a time as this.  God is so good!

Here are the latest pictures.  Please keep all the comments coming, dad (and my whole family) is reading them and is so encouraged!

Water filtration system up and running- 6,000 gallons cleaned a day.

The water NBC donated to dad's team- 2 cases!

Does this break your heart, or what? One of the many, many orphans.

They gave the guards their Texas Baptist Men's chaplain vest. They wear them proudly!

Navy and Marines releasing food at port to dad's group. What a blessing!

3 truckloads of food from the Navy

Haiti boy proudly wearing his vest. The little things become the biggest blessings, look at his smile!

I am itching to be down in Haiti serving with my dad!  However, that is simply not an option at this time in my life.  I can support him and pray, though.  I guess that will have to suffice for now, although it doesn’t change the ache in my heart.  My dad has been sending me short tweets and Facebook updating throughout the day today from Haiti.  I am so grateful for technology.  AT&T is supposed to reimburse him for all calls/texts made from Haiti.  How nice!  It is so wonderful to know he is okay.  I asked him tonight, now that he is there if he is as scared as he was before he left.  He told me he was not, but is definitely just heartbroken for the country and the people.  I am so thankful that we are able to get reports from “the horse’s mouth”, and know truthfully what the situation is down there.  Jim Bob and I have really prayed this year, “Lord, please break our heart for what breaks Yours.”  My conversation with my dad tonight was a definite answer to that prayer.  I just truly can’t imagine.  He picked up the phone when I called and the first thing he said was, “Man, Cindy, if this was Harper.  I just don’t know what I’d do if Harper had to live like this, in these conditions.”  He had told my mom he didn’t really sleep well last night; who could sleep with what is going on outside their tents and the stories they are watching firsthand?

So often we watch the news or read the stories, and we don’t react.  We are numb.  I think it is good to put ourselves in these people’s shoes.  By the grace of God, I am not walking through this!  If I was, though, I would hope there would be a Bob Harper to minister to me!  I would hope people would pray for me, as if I was their family member.  I have a new perspective after reading “Crazy Love“.  I highly recommend this book, especially in light of all that has gone on in our world these past few weeks.

Dad left DFW Wednesday morning, and after a long day of traveling, he arrived in Florida.  He and his team were there for two nights, as they waited for all the paperwork and clearance to be on their way to help in Haiti.  A private owner of a jet allowed them to use his plane to get to Haiti.  People’s generosity amazes me!  Here is the article that made the Dallas Morning News today of them boarding the plane.  The news is down in Haiti following them too, so I am watching closely for other stories.  Also, CNN is there.  Here is a picture (he has a better one of him with her that he hasn’t uploaded) my dad took of Christiane Amanpour, a CNN reporter, who asked to board their plane as they were getting off so she could leave Haiti:

This morning, he said he woke up at 4:30AM to a group of Haitians singing praise and worship songs acapella outside of his tent.  How convicting is it that people are that devoted to the Lord that they would wake up to praise him amidst all that they have experienced.  He was extremely blessed by their faith and convicted by their dedication!  The heat was almost unbearable, and he had a headache all day.  They are working on water filtration for a children’s hospital and an orphanage.  Here are some other pictures he shared:

This is the station where they charge their phones.

This is one of their filtration system, it will provide 6,000 gallons a day of clean water.

My dad and his team (dad on far left)

 They drove through the capital tonight to survey all the damage.  They are staying in a hotel, tonight, instead of their tents.  Although the view out of their hotel window is definitely not what you would see on a typical vacation, as you can imagine.  He said that the presidential palace looks like something you would see in a “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not”; in fact, he said all the buildings either lean and look like this or they are simply rubble.  He told me there are 6 story building lying everywhere in shambles, saying, “there must still be thousands of people buried under all this rubble, Cindy.”  He met a filmmaker who lives in Canada but is originally from Haiti.  He told my dad that he had dreaded coming back to his country, but the Lord had really laid it on his heart.  He was so glad he had obeyed because he was able to pull 5 of his family members’ bodies out of buildings.  

Homeless Haitians camping out around the pool outside dad's hotel.

He also said he had to step over human feces in the street tonight as they walked to dinner.  A football field is nearby where they are staying, camped out on it are at least 15,000 homeless.  He said they are starting to sell off what little possessions they have left.  They are constantly experiencing aftershocks and electricity loss.  Generators run around the clock. 

Beam at dad's hotel, most of Haiti's buildings- if still standing- look this way.

Girls at an orphanage in Carrefour, Haiti

He said he spoke to a Haitian man who told him that he knew the Lord was allowing them to go through this tragedy because they are strong, hard working people.  “Tomorrow is another day”, the man told my dad, “and we will keep rebuilding.  We are going to get through this, so we can be of help if another nation has to go through something and needs us.”  Isn’t that amazing?  People’s faith and determination!  

Dad said the faith based organizations are working so hard, there are so many of them helping, and they are accomplishing a lot.  Unfortunately, he reported something that angered him and broke his heart.  This morning he said the UN personnel pulled up in their air-conditioned vans.  He said they pretty much sit in their airconditioned cars all day, not doing much to help.  One of the ladies was yelling back to her colleagues in the car, asking them what cold drink they would like to order.  My dad walked up to her and told her that she should strongly consider giving their drinks to the Haitian guards who are guarding their compound.  He explained to her that they are working so hard to protect the personnel helping, and that they do not have food or drink.  How sad to see this dichotomy! 

Survivor!

Normally, when they are not in the middle of the capital- like they are tonight- they are staying in a compound with other medical personnel.  They will be working on assembly water filters so that the people can have clean water.  They brought MREs with them to eat, and are camping in tents.  I asked if he had plenty to eat today, he told me yes but that he had not had enough water.  It breaks my heart as I type this:  He said as he experienced the effects from not drinking enough, all he could think of were all the thousands of Haitians who have little to no water, and what they do have is not clean.  Hopefully daddy can change that for them this week!  I apologize for the long post, but I am just so amazed and proud of him!  I love my dad, and miss him very much.  He covets your prayers.  This is definitely an experience of a lifetime!  I asked him to journal daily so that he could blog when he returns.  You can friend him on Facebook- Bob Harper- or follow him on Twitter @52bharper.  His journey will bless your heart!

I have a great birth story to share that I am honored to have been a part of, even if I would have changed a couple of things along the way .  I told this mom early this morning that I would have to share her story on my blog, as an encouragement to other moms like me (and so that you could get a good laugh out of how I spent my night).  See, this mom had had a very long first labor- very similar to mine with Harper.  And, like me, she was able to finish it out, have her son where she wanted, and totally natural at that (so proud of her!).  When she asked me to be her doula this time around, with son number two, I was very honored and excited.  And, I began encouraging her about how second babies come so much faster than the first ones do.  We both agreed we hoped this would be the case. 

This week, she called me to tell me her midwife had checked her at an appointment and said she was pretty far along already.  She wasn’t really contracting, but expected when she started that things would probably move fast, and she just wanted to give me a heads up.  She lives outside of west Fort Worth and was planning to birth at a birthing center in Denton, but wanted me to support her in labor at home before going to the center. 

Last night, after being out late with a friend in the hospital, I came home to finish up some work before heading to bed.  At 12:29AM, my phone rang, while I was sitting at the computer.  It was my client on the other end, telling me she had just woken up to her water breaking, and although she wasn’t contracting that much or hard yet, she was ready for me to head to her house.  I quickly gathered my stuff, and headed out the door.  This was easy, I hadn’t even gone to bed yet!  But, when I got in my car, the temperatures had dropped quite a bit and it was raining heavily.  As I got on the highway, there was ice in patches and it was hard to see.  I prayed for safety, protection and for my client to have a wonderful ”butter birth”.  I asked the Lord to put everyone at the right place at the right time, and that I would be able to do what my client needed.  Then, I called my client to check on her and let her know the road conditions, and warn her that I may not be able to get there as fast as I wanted to.  She said things weren’t really bad yet with her contractions, but they were definitely picking up and were stronger and closer together.  Then she asked me if I thought we should go ahead and go to the birth center.  I told her she would have to make this call, but that there would probably be some ice no matter when we went.  She quickly responded, “No, just go ahead and come to my house.”  I was hoping she was progressing nicely, and quite surprised at what long conversations she could have with me without having to put down the phone for a contraction.  She wasn’t even acting irritated in between contractions, as we talked.  We hung up the phone, and I kept driving as fast as I could to get to her, all the while very curious to what the situation was I would find at her house.

Two minutes after we’d hung up the phone, my phone rang again.  “I just spoke to the midwife”, my client reported, “and because of the weather and what’s going on, she wants us to head up to the birth center.  Do you know how to get there, can you meet us there?”  At this point, I was probably very close to arriving at her house.  “Yes”, I replied, “I’ll see you there.”  I turned my car north instead of west, and continued to hurry to my client.  I knew they were behind me, having not left yet, but I knew they’d probably be driving pretty fast. 

The weather definitely got worse as I drove north, and the visibility with all the rain was poor.  It felt like it took forever to get to the center!  I do not like driving by myself in bad weather very late at night!  As I was exiting to the birth center (finally, I had made it!), my phone rang again.  “Cindy, this is ____, ___’s husband.  Where are you?”  His voice was hurried and excited and nervous, all at the same time.  “Turning into the birth center.”  I replied.  “Well, we are at a hospital in southwest Fort Worth.”  I was very confused at this point.  “Okay.”  I replied, thinking whether or not something had gone wrong and why they were still so far behind me.  “We had the baby a few minutes ago.”  He replied, again with excitement.  I was so confused at this point; again, I have had a long day and been driving for quite some time.  I took longer to process what was going on.  It was 1:48AM, only about an hour after her labor had barely started!  “Did you make it into the hospital?”  I questioned.  “Barely.”  He answered.  I could not believe what I was hearing!  All that driving, and I wasn’t going to get to enjoy helping welcome this precious baby boy into the world.  But, as much as I was disappointed to have driven so far and long and have missed the birth, I was so elated for my client that she had had such an incredible, fast birth. 

Still in disbelief, I turned my car around to head back near where I was originally trying to go.  After a lot more driving, I finally arrived at the hospital.  When I walked into my client’s room, I was blessed by her sweet warm smile and her precious baby boy nursing away!  She had the priceless look of love, “I did it” and “I can’t believe it’s over.”

I soon found out that as they were driving to the birth center, she felt a lot of pressure and knew the baby was coming soon.  Her husband asked her if she needed him to pull over at the hospital exit.  She said yes, and then she changed her mind and told him to continue on to the birth center.  But, no sooner than she decided that, she changed her mind again and said, “Just take me to the hospital.”  As they drove up to the emergency room, the baby was crowning.  She barely made it into the ER, and her precious baby boy was born.  Totally different in every way than her first birth!  I told her I was glad she was able to pay attention to what was going on.  I knew she wouldn’t have made it to the birth center, and she would have delivered in her car on a very cold night. 

I was able to enjoy a few hours with them, and got back home at 6:30AM this morning.  We all agree we definitely like birth centers much more than hospitals; however, we are so glad she had such an amazing birth!  As I drove, I couldn’t help but smile and feel such joy and hope.  Maybe my second birth will go that fast…  That was definitely a night to remember, and we will all have something to share with that little boy about the night he was born!

This cleanse has been a lot harder on me this time than last time.  I am struggling with the emotional aspect of food addiction.  Until you eliminate things, I don’t think you realize how much you depend on them for various reasons.  I have come to learn how much I truly enjoy a nice cup of coffee, and the warm, cozy feeling I get while hanging out in coffee shops.  I have to keep reminding myself that I am giving my body a break and choosing not to have those things for a little while, it’s hard!  And, this is especially difficult when Harper chooses not to sleep well and I have a busy day ahead.  I keep asking the Lord for strength and to help me practice self control.  I feel like I am really being stretched as a person and growing.  It’s weird because I have never struggled in this area.  But, I am grateful for this experience because I feel like I can better understand my patients and friends who struggle with this.  And, I am so happy that I have people in my life who are cleansing with me…  Do you know what accountability it is on the days I think to myself, “I could just pull into Starbucks, one week of cleansing is good enough…  I can quit early, no big deal!”  Then, as quickly as that thought runs through my head, I see the faces of my fellow cleansers and think how they would feel if I quit.  And, I press on!

Something else that is really neat that has been a huge motivator this time around…  And, I doubt when my dad shared this that he understood how much this made me cherish and want to better care for my health.  My dad left today to go to Haiti.  He will be doing water filtration.  But, out of the thousands of men who could have joined him to help, only a hand full could pass the criteria needed to go.  You know why?  Because only a handful were healthy enough!  You can’t be completely out of physical shape or on blood pressure medication and qualify to be on certain teams to go help in a crisis.  How sad that our society is filled with willing people who don’t value their health enough to take care of it so that they can help out in a huge time of need.  People will use the excuse, “Yeah, but they are old and retired.”  Hello!  I would kill to be in a retirement position (money, no children depending on me, no job holding me back, free time) and able to serve.  But, what is the point of working hard to make it to that position if your body is in no shape to serve others when you are available?  How terribly sad!  We have an entire society who is putting food and self gratification ahead of others; and, most don’t even see that as a problem.  With that in mind, I keep my goal ahead of me, and I press on to whip my body into shape and choose foods that are going to help my health not hinder it.  The Lord had a huge plan for us when He told us that our bodies were to be temples.  That is taking on a whole new meaning!

We got creative tonight and tried a new recipe, which we loved:  Stir Fried Spinach and Oranges

2 large bunches of fresh, organic spinach (I used more)

1 orange, peeled.  Remove seeds and cut into bite size pieces

1/4 cup chicken broth (I use fresh stock- Sally Fallon’s recipe from “Nourishing Traditions”)

Sea Salt to Taste

Sesame Seeds to Taste

Tamari Soy Sauce (I left this out, would use it when off cleanse)

Saute spinach in coconut oil until wilted.  Add in remaining ingredients, mix and heat through.  Serve over brown rice.  This would also be delicious with caramelized onions and/or garlic added. 

This recipe is wonderful for those dealing with iron issues or who are pregnant/nursing.  Spinach is a great source of iron and eating it with citrus (oranges) increases its absorbency, enjoy!

I can’t seem to get something off of my mind this morning, so I thought I would share.  You know, as some food for thought.  Yesterday, a friend of mine posted something on her Facebook status that she had learned at a class she’d taken.  She was asking other people to share their thoughts on a common procedure that is done on infants in the United States, as she was forming her opinion but didn’t quite know what she would do in the future once this decision might be hers to make.  I thought she would get a variety of responses, sharing different views and opinions on the post, because she had posted a very open ended question to a controversial yet interesting subject.  However, to my surprise, the views were all quite the same.  Of course, there were the couple of unique, opposite views.  It saddened me to read the same, uneducated answer over and over again.  Here was the gist of the matter, the overall opinion went something like this: “Yes, it is a painful, sad procedure at the time…  But, I have done/would do it to my child because it doesn’t really matter, after all they won’t remember.”  Some even went so far as to state, “I asked adults who had it done, and they don’t remember.  See?  It’s fine.”

I posted research that shows the opposite of their views.  None even responded or gave me any notion they had read the research.  All kept coming back and saying because there was no memory of it, it didn’t really matter.  I am curious, dear blog readers, do any of you see a problem with this?  Let me pose the question another way (the way one of my blog readers and Facebook friends responded to me via text message when she read the discussion):  “So, if a child is raped and doesn’t remember it, does that make it okay?”  I know this is a very harsh question to pose, and a crude way to put it.  But, seriously, it paints it in a different light.  I am sure a lot of things could be done to a child and they may very well not remember (or say they don’t) them later in life.  But, I ask you, does this make it right, does this make it okay?  Just curious…