Dec. 1, 2007 - With a Little Help from My Friends

Mama Archer has started a QuiverFull Blogroll that I am joining.  I am looking forward to seeing blogs of other QF families.  The internet is great!  We know very few people where we live that are following the same journey. 

Although we know very few people where we live who are QuiverFull families, we have been so blessed by friends who have been so supportive of what we feel is God's plan for our family.  There are two ladies in particular who helped bring us here through prayer.

After First and Only Husband had his vasectomy, he and I both knew that we had made a bad decision.  I cried when he walked in the door after the deed was done and he just about did, too.  Our tempraments are a bit different.  When a decision is made,  First and Only Husband does not want to turn right back around and change it the next day.  I do!  ;-)  So began three years of me forwarding him articles I found on the web, nagging, and downright begging for him to get a reversal. 

I finally gave up talking with him about it and did what I should have done in the first place.  Prayed about it!  I had two really great prayer partners at the time and I also brought my request to them.  These two ladies are MAJOR prayer warriors and within a very short time, my Husband had agreed to a reversal.  Here is a link to his side of this story if you're interested.

You know, I'm not even totally sure how my two prayer partners felt about this prayer request I brought to them.  Did they think I was insane?  ;-)  I'll never know, because they never questioned me about it.  They just prayed with me about it.  That is an incredible kind of support for which I am eternally grateful.  Because of their care for me and my concerns, whether they agreed or not, they committed themselves to pray for what was on my heart concerning our family, and it has brought such great results for our family.  Third Son would never be here, and Second Daughter would not be days away from being born.  Our older three would have missed out on the fun they have had being big brothers and sister to these little ones.  Believe me, they have enjoyed it so far and the enjoyment will only be increased when Second Daughter is born.  And because of my Husband agreeing to go through the reversal, and his reasons for even beginning down this path, our relationship has been stronger.  Not to mention our faith in God has grown so much!

I am so thankful for you, friends!  Thank you for encouraging me with your prayers and strengthening our family in ways we three could never have imagined. You were doing more for us than praying for more babies for our family. 

"...May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent from one another."  Genesis 31:49

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Nov. 28, 2007 - Women Who Won't Have Babies & Update

Thankfully the contractions have stopped!  I had a "contraction hangover" all day today, but no more contractions.  We just worry what we would do if the baby came before my parents got here.  It would be a lot more stressful for my husband to try to juggle everything and keep things running on both ends.  So here's to hoping and praying that God answers our prayers and keeps this sweet baby in utero for a few more days.  We only need to get to next Wednesday afternoon!  ;-)

Thanks, Tori and Reb for your encouraging comments!  I do want to say that I appreciate anyone who leaves a comment, especially if you consistently read my blog.  It is so nice to hear from everyone.  Tori, I love your comments and reading your blog!  And Brenda......pointing out my "dangling issues" got a good, long laugh out of my husband and me!  Reb....what happened to your blog??????

Sorta, kinda on another note, a hat tip goes out to Crystal at Biblical Womanhood for pointing out an article that I found very interesting.  Here's an excerpt:
"Through my job I made many friends who, like me, were more interested in campaigning, trying to change society and save the planet rather than having families of our own.

"We used to say that if ever we did want children, we'd adopt, as there are so many children in need of a loving family.

"At least then, we'd be doing something positive for the world, rather than something negative."

Toni was happy, at last, with fellow environmentalists who shared her philosophy. But when she was 25, disaster struck.

"I discovered that despite taking the Pill, I'd accidentally fallen pregnant by my boyfriend.

"I was horrified. I knew straight away there was no option of having the baby.

"I went to my doctor about having a termination, and asked if I could be sterilised at the same time.

"This time it was a male doctor. I remember saying to him: 'I want to make sure this never happens again.'

"He said: 'You may not want a child, but one day you may meet a man who does'. He refused to consider it.

"I didn't like having a termination, but it would have been immoral to give birth to a child that I felt strongly would only be a burden to the world.

"I've never felt a twinge of guilt about what I did, and have honestly never wondered what might have been."

Waaaah.  It breaks my heart to hear anyone talk this way.  In another part of the article, she says that couples who have children are selfish.  WOW.  The last thing I feel at this point is selfish.  Yes, it's true that I ask God for children.  Even now, when I am so uncomfortable with Second Daughter, I still pray for more children, and at my age (39), I wonder how much longer I will even be able to have children.  But living life with our children has broken First and Only Husband and me of MANY of our most selfish attitudes and behaviors.  We have learned through day-to-day life with our kids that we have to give up things we want to do for them - for the good of our family.  And it never gets easier because we constantly are confronted with issues that reveal how self-centered we really are.  It's especially lovely when it's the same issue that we struggle with over and over.  ;-)

It's hard to believe how far Satan has gone to mislead so many in the world, and all because he wants no one to obey God.  "Be fruitful and multiply."  And of course whenever we obey, blessings come and so many miss the blessings and the calling that God has placed on their lives for a higher purpose than our own.

Go here to read the entire article:
Meet the Women Who Won't Have Babies - Because They're Not Eco-Friendly

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Sep. 16, 2007 - I'm Awake Now....

Well, it's been a wonderful weekend.  My Husband has been able to stay home all weekend, and we all feel good.  :-)  He'll have to work late Monday and Tuesday nights, but hopefully will be done with this project by then.  We can't wait!  So after some R&R this weekend, I feel refreshed and ready to go!   Re-reading the quote from the article below that I cut and pasted into my blog entry:

In general, a country's per-capita emissions rise as it becomes more prosperous, while its fertility rate declines. In other words, fewer babies are born, but each one emits more CO₂. (That's why the economic boom in China will create a massive increase in greenhouse gas emissions even if its population remains stable.) In fact, the birth of every additional child in the developed world can have a major impact on the cost of keeping global warming in check. According to studies published over the last decade, this amounts to as much as $10,000 to $20,000 per baby.

I see the quote a bit differently.  It seems he is saying that yes, when a country becomes more prosperous, fewer babies are born.  To me, that seems sad.  But he goes on to say that every new birth hurts the globe, especially  in developed countries, and could potentially cost big bucks in controlling global warming.  He seems more concerned about global warming than about a way to bring new life into the world.  He likes to live in a prosperous nation.  He is willing for his own comforts to take precedence and nullify what God says are the true blessings in life:
Psalm 127:3-5
Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
       children a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
       are sons born in one's youth.
Blessed is the man
       whose quiver is full of them.
       They will not be put to shame
       when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

I guess I can understand his worry.  He agrees that there is an issue with global warming.  Because of that, having children is a deadly enterprise.  But I don't take any stock in this issue of global warming and put more stock in what God says.

hsmomof2, I left you a comment in the last post.  :-)

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Sep. 13, 2007 - Double Minded Man

I don't know if I'm just fried from this week or what.  My Husband has been working on a big project at work that is due next Tuesday.  He has had to work until 10:30 or 11 p.m. ALL week.  We are all feeling the pain of this separation from such a wonderful Husband and Father.  Wednesday was the day when I felt as if I was done with the situation, and I can tell that today the kids are ready for life to go back to normal.  They were grouchy with each other all day, and tonight after putting them in bed, they have come down about 50,000 times with issues.  Poor First Daughter.  She always feels things the most.  She came down crying for her Daddy.  I let her give him a call, held her while she cried and sent her to bed to read Psalm 23 and to pray for her Dad.  That seemed to make her feel better.  God bless her.  The hope is that First and Only Husband will be able to come home at the normal hour tomorrow.  :-)

ANYWAY......

All that to say I don't know if I read this article wrong because I'm fried out of my brains, but maybe you all can verify for me.  I came across this article titled Global Swarming: Is it Time for America to Start Cutting Our Baby Emissions?  You can tell from the title what the article is about.  You know our family is a full quiver kind of crew, so I clicked on the link to this article with a nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I didn't really want to read it, but decided I needed to get over it and read some stuff from the "other side" every now and then.  So I plowed through.  The article started out, to me, sounding as if yes, we should limit the number of children we have.  Then about halfway through, I came across this:

In general, a country's per-capita emissions rise as it becomes more prosperous, while its fertility rate declines. In other words, fewer babies are born, but each one emits more CO₂. (That's why the economic boom in China will create a massive increase in greenhouse gas emissions even if its population remains stable.) In fact, the birth of every additional child in the developed world can have a major impact on the cost of keeping global warming in check. According to studies published over the last decade, this amounts to as much as $10,000 to $20,000 per baby.

Doesn't it sound to you as if the author is saying that having more children is a GOOD thing for the environment????  Again, maybe I'm fried.  Maybe I'm just not reading what he wrote correctly, because by the time I got to the end of the article he wrote:

Whether it's eating vegetarian or wearing organic eye shadow,  we're all shopping for absolution. We know that babies add more to global warming than anything else in our home. Isn't it time to cut back?

Am I going insane, or does this man sound like the double-minded man from James 1:8?  He says one thing, and then seemingly contradicts himself.  It seems that if this is the best he can do, he should have come up with a better argument.  Something like, "Common man and woman just doesn't have the patience to have all those kids."  Or "The average couple just can't afford that many kids."  Or "The world needs love, but who has that much to go around for a passel of needy little ones?"

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Mar. 5, 2007 - Full Quiver

My husband and I are latecomers to the "full quiver" crowd.  We went through the vasectomy/oops, what did we do/vasectomy reversal thing, and had our first reversal blessing almost one year ago.  We would not take back the reversal for anything.  We believe that God has shown us through scripture that children are a blessing that God decides to give or not give.  The stories of Rachel, Leah, Hannah and others are perfect examples of how God controls the womb.  Psalm 127:3-5 are also some great verses:

Sons are a heritage from the LORD, 
      children a reward from him.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
       are sons born in one's youth.

Blessed is the man
       whose quiver is full of them.
       They will not be put to shame
       when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

When my husband and I were going back and forth over whether or not we should get a reversal, we read this verse and decided to take it literally.  We looked up what a quiverfull is.  From a Google search, we discovered that a quiverfull is 8-12.  :-)

We are learning firsthand how God is in control of the womb.  I don't want to gross anyone out, but this month, with the timing of things, it seemed to DH and me that there was no way that we were going to make it out of the month without pregnancy news.  We were kind of excited, and a lot nervous, because to be honest, we still struggle with this decision.  We understand that God has led us here.  We understand how He has blessed us through our children and because of our children.  But I guess it takes awhile to get away from the world's thinking on how many children are "enough."  Especially when our days are filled to the absolute brim with the four we already have.  The thought of a fifth seems daunting, and DH and I have found ourselves praying for the strength to LIVE the things we have talked so much about concerning children, and God being in control.

So we have no pregnancy news this month, but either way "we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe (1 Timothy 4:10).  We leave our family to Your will, God.

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