Cool Breezes

Without air conditioning, there's no escaping the warm stickiness that pervades everything from morning til night all summer. After a week of triple digit temperatures, it's been lovely to wake up to cool breezes and a few raindrops blowing in the window. It's been more than lovely. It makes me smile as soon as I'm conscious and thank God for the little blessings He sends my way!

Tomorrow it's supposed to be 102 again. I'll thank Him for a long drive in an air conditioned car. :)

In other news, Jemima is going to be off bed rest next Wednesday! After that, her baby can arrive whenever it wants to.... between then and early September.

Of course, we're all just a little bit excited and everyone is eagerly anticipating finding out if it's a....

Girl

or

Boy! :)

Abe and Sam have been in Africa for a few weeks. They say that everyone only gets one meal a day there because of lack of food. Abe says that he's sure Sam will gladly eat anything we serve him for the rest of his life when he gets home! Sam flies home next week, but Abe has been asked to stay longer. We hope he won't shrivel up on one meal a day!

As for me... I shouldn't blog at 2 am. I should go to bed. I think I will....

109 Degrees

The thermometer on the back porch reads 109 degrees today. That's out of direct sun.

Jemima asked me today if I'd like to be her - pregnant, on bed rest.... in air conditioning.

It made me chuckle. Well... maybe.... today! :)

Thankful....

Tonight I'm thankful for

So very many dishes to wash

16 little children, mostly under the age of 8, at our house for the day

All the cheerios, pineapple, peanut butter sandwiches, yogurt smoothies, chicken nuggets, mulberries, strawberries, and cherries they ate all day long, leaving crumbs all over the floor and juice dribbling down their chins and arms

Sweaty, dirty little 2 year old arms encircling my neck and squeezing me tight when I'm already hot and sweaty and don't want anybody to touch me

A dad who says "I love you" every time he calls me or sees me leaving for the day.

A mom who says, "Let's stop and pray about this right now" every time a conversation involves someone else's problems.

A sister who does hard things without complaint

A teenage brother who isn't afraid of long, long hot sweaty days of work

Dinner with my family and friends all around the table.

Cold water gushing out of garden hoses as I plant tomatoes

Piles of clean sheets and laundry, preparing for the next friends' arrival

Quiet nights all by myself with chances to hear myself think after everyone's gone to sleep

Summer breezes drifting in the open windows when I awake

Being mostly off-call.

Life in August....

It's been nearly a whole month since I last made a peep here.

Many days I've thought wistfully of trying to get on and blog a quick update, but alas, life has rolled on and the blog, while not forgotten, has been left in the dust! I'm sorry about that. I'm trying to get back to some sort of a schedule (that will include blogging) as September comes, and I switch gears from studying to living life in some sort of "normal" way! :)

August has been so busy, sometimes stressful, but really, really good in so many ways.
The first half of the month, I tried to do nothing but absolute necessities and studying for my midwife national board exam. Most days I tried to study, but a stream of constant interruptions kept me from getting much done.

Then I took the exam. I think I've been asked about 150 times since then, "So, how did it go? How do you think you did?!" So, I'll answer that question right here, before you all start asking. I don't know the results yet. I'm hopeful that I passed, but I'm not holding my breath... yet. I will let you know when I know something. :)

The day after I took the exam, our good friend, Ellie, and her four darling babies arrived to stay with us for a month so she can have a bit of rest and relaxation. Our house has had a steady stream of additional visitors coming through every day since. Yesterday we had 13 extra little kids from three families at our house. Today, we had 8 little kids under the age of 4 here, four kids a bit older than that, and a handful of teens/young people. I walked in the door from church and four little ones ran screeching towards me and grabbed my legs as I stepped over the boiled eggs that they had smashed all over the floor. Thaddeus wiped his runny nose across my cheek and CarolAnne shrieked, "Hold CaaarooolAnne first!"

To be honest, the dinner time sounds tonight over smashed biscuits and gravy all over the table made me feel like I was living within a monkey cage rather than a house inhabited by humans. :)
But I love them an awful lot. I just have to have a few moments to think occasionally. :)

And now these darling babies hanging over my elbows while I type are becoming a bit much to allow me to continue blogging. I think I'll try to finish another time... Goodnight for now!

Hot Summer Days and No Time for Rest!

My blogging seems to be getting more and more infrequent these days. It certainly doesn't mean that nothing is happening in my life - rather quite the contrary!

In recent days life has been filled with lots and lots of company, canning spaghetti sauce and peaches, sharing the gospel at the fair, campaigning across the state, and long sweaty days in the garden. Usually, those things all kind of run together. Like, picking tomatoes at 7 am, canning peaches at 10 am, then leaving for the fair to do an afternoon shift at our gospel tent, picking up a friend or two along the way who needs a ride back to our house to stay for a few days, then hammering in some yard signs, and door knocking with some campaign fliers, then coming home to sisters frantically setting the table for several families who have spontaneously showed up for dinner (this summer we've been averaging about 5-10 people per day stopping by for a visit!), washing dishes, visiting with whoever is hanging around, canning some more, finding sheets and beds for whoever decided to spend the night, frantically replying to a few emails at midnight, starting a couple of loads of laundry, and then dropping into bed!

Year in Review, Part 18

The Midwifery Law Goes to Court....

Soon after Governor Blunt signed the midwifery bill into law, we began to hear rumblings that the state medical associations were thinking of taking the state of Missouri to court over the midwifery law that had been passed. We thought they must be bluffing... after all, a case like this would cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars. Surely, they didn't think legal midwives were that big of a deal. But apparently they did (and do)!

In late June I got the fateful call from a Missouri newspaper reporter saying, "I'm sure you heard that the medical associations just filed a lawsuit alleging that your midwifery provision was unconstitutional to be included in that bill... What does your organization think about this new development?"
I had to call him back, because I honestly had no response except shock at that point.

My life changed forever that day. Summer became one long blur of interviewing attorneys, learning what words like "amicus curiae" and "Brandeis brief" mean, talking to the media over and over and over and over again, finding homebirth families who were willing to be interviewed to be on television and in the newspapers, and then, once we hired one of the best constitutional lawyers in the state to defend our law, coming up with tens of thousands of dollars to pay him every month or two! The whole court case has stretched my faith, my brain, and my abilities.

The midwifery case was set to be heard on August 2nd in the local circuit court where it was filed. National Fox news as well as practically every media outlet in Missouri planned to cover the story, so along with educating our attorneys on midwives and helping with the case, we planned a huge rally at the Capitol and begged supporters from all over the state to be there on the day of the hearing. The night before the rally and court hearing, a couple dozen people came into town to help with planning and preparing for the rally the next day.

Planning meeting over dinner

After dinner, and figuring things out for the morning, we headed over to the Cole County Courthouse where other supporters were holding a candlelight vigil from 9 pm - midnight.
When we showed up, the crowd was scarce, but there were several reporters there, shooting some film for the 10 o' clock news. Once they left, everyone relaxed a bit more and discussed what might happen in coming days. I enjoyed the chance to just sit quietly and think about all that had happened and muse on what the future might hold. Truly, it was and still is both scary and exciting, especially as my life has become so intertwined with the whole cause.

Year in Review, Part 17

Random Summer Happenings...

Many hands make light work!

Moving Joanna's playhouse/turned lemonade stand!

Visiting with the Barlows and holding their babies!

Picking rocks in the soon-to-be wheat field. We filled a whole gully with all the rocks, and felt very accomplished a week later when the overgrown field was smooth and seeded!

Year in Review, Part 14

I'm trying to hurry and finish my "year in review" that I started before it's March!
There were so many things that happened over the summer and unfortunately (sometimes fortunately!) some of them just didn't get documented with the camera!

The creek and a nearby small lake were favored places during the summer, since we don't have air conditioning and many times the mercury hit 100 degrees!

Adam B, Jemima, CarolAnne B. and Ellie B.

Sam and Abe at the lake

Jemima with Adam and CarolAnne in Sam's homemade "boat." : )