35 Weeks!

Some of these pictures don't come out too well. Hmm. But, thankfully, all still seems well with baby and me!

That's All They're For?

This post should perhaps be rated PG. Just thought you might like to know ahead of time. :-)

Yesterday, I received So that's what they're for! by Janet Tamaro in the mail, thanks to paperbackswap! It's supposed to be a humorous and helpful book on breastfeeding, and I've heard it highly recommended. As cute as the title is, however, John and I both bristled a little at it. Breastfeeding may be the long-underrated best way to give a baby complete nutrition and then some, but surely that's not the exclusive, or perhaps even the primary, purpose of breasts, right?

Last night after reading the prefacing remarks and getting almost through chapter 1, some of our early suspicions were confimed. Tamaro discusses how breastfeeding fell out of fashion in the middle of the last century when formula companies convinced America that their product was superior to God's product (hee hee). But she goes on to say that "they [breasts] were no longer needed to feed babies, so they went out and got jobs in commercials and Playboy. Now, we're so used to seeing breasts tap-dancing and lounging around, we have a hard time remembering what they were for in the first place! But the way we feel about breasts is simply our perception of their function" (p. 6).

Really? Were breasts really over-sexualized simply as a result of women no longer breastfeeding? Tamaro tries to support this assertion by recounting an incident where Muslim women covered up their heads but not their breasts in the presence of men. What she's assuming is that all cultures are equal, and I will venture to say, controversially perhaps, that this is simply not true.

As a side note, my mom traveled to Asia as a single young woman and learned a lot about breastfeeding there just by being around women who were doing it. She married my dad in the early 80's before all the research on the excellence of breastfeeding had taken place, but because of her visual experience in Asia (and because they had no other real financial choice!), she successfully gave my siblings and me that wonderful gift of mother's milk. I'm thankful for the role that the Asian women played in her life!

Still, I was reading a discussion board lately where one girl pointed out what the Bible has to say about breasts. Yes, there are beautiful references to mothers nursing their little ones, but there are also passages like Proverbs 5 and the entire Song of Solomon.

"Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth. As a loving hind and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love." (Proverbs 5:18-19)

There's no way that breasts were merely over-sexualized in recent times by a culture which forgot what they were for. Breasts are inherently sexual. The Bible says so! And that's why I believe, as the same girl pointed out, that we ought to be concerned about modesty during breastfeeding. (I look forward to breastfeeding in public with the beautiful cover which my friend Debbie made me!) To be abundantly clear, I don't believe that women should concern themselves with modesty in breastfeeding simply because that's the way our culture has become, and we ought to be sensitive to others. I believe that all cultures at all times should practice this kind of modesty because of what the Bible clearly teaches.

Guys I've talked to would agree. One claimed that he had figured out that breasts were awesome on his own by about fourth grade. :-) I don't have too much more to say about cultures not being inherently equal, but let me just ask one question: would Tamaro wish for American women to be treated by men as strictly as Muslim women are treated by men in their countries? We have the freedom to vote, travel freely, speak our opinions in mixed company, and to show our faces, to name only a few. Undoubtedly Tamaro was not arguing that Americans should adopt Muslim culture, save in respect to its openness toward breastfeeding. But do we really want to be taking our cultural cues from a society where women are not allowed to show their faces? No, I believe that years of sin and false religion darken more than hearts; they can darken entire cultures.

Still, I am looking forward to finishing So that's what they're for! and expecting it to be truly helpful in practical ways. I'm thankful that the research on breastfeeding has been done, that our culture is growing more supportive of it, and I'm excited about learning how to bless our little girl with perfect nourishment just as my mother blessed me!

Making "Old" Things New

Looking back at this old post, from before we started our office-to-nursery transformation was quite encouraging to me! We're making definite progress!

Today, I finished re-covering the red lamp shade (in this picture) in a pink toile printed with nursery rhyme scenes. It took some alternate trimming and hot glue-ing and not very much time, and if you don't look at the inside, it looks great!

And last week, I made a simple curtain from eyelet to cover the lower shelves of the green shelf in the same picture. We managed to find space for all the books and items on the top two shelves in the sunroom downstairs, so they can be decorated for baby and the rest can be hidden away.


It was just barely too short! And it sticks out kind of funny on one side because the photo albums behind it are so big. Still, I'm happy with how things are coming, and liking these girly touches to our otherwise neutral nursery quite a lot.

34 Weeks (and a half, by now!)

34 Weeks

How has it been over a week since the last post? I'm not quite sure, but time is going quickly.

In nursery news, the most exciting developments have been the acquisition of a rocking chair, changing table and baby swing, all from Craigslist. I guess once I got over the hump of having never used it before, I just took off! And now I'm going to have to refrain from even looking at anything for a while. But we did get some good deals!

The rocking chair we bought more for its beauty than its price (but it's something I'll love having in our home for years to come!)


This we bought more for its price than its beauty. I'm not crazy about the particle-board shelves, and I'm thinking of painting the whole thing white to give it a clean, fresh look and maybe seal in some of that particle board. John thinks we should leave it, since the color of the wood does basically match everything else in the room. We'll see who "wins" . . . :-)


This little swing made me happy by both its price and its beauty! Its neutral colors will look nice in our house, plus they'll work if we ever have a boy someday. And it even folds up a little bit.

The goal for the week is to finish the painting on the wall! I haven't done any more of that since the last update, but I have washed and sorted all the new baby things we were given at our showers and written all my thank you notes! Can you tell I like affirmation? :-)

33 Weeks!

Baby girl is head-down!

On Trials

A few years ago, my pastor's wife led me and two other young women in a study of Nancy Lee DeMoss's excellent book, Lies Women Believe. The heart-searching that ensued changed my life and ultimately opened my heart in preparation to marry John! Some time later, I started writing down another "lie" from my own perspective . . .

Lie: "God won't give me more than I can handle."

Before you bristle or despair at reading this, hear me out. I have heard well-meaning Christians tell this to other Christians who were going through hard times more than once. They mean to comfort them, but I believe that they are deceiving them and in so doing depriving them of real comfort which comes from a truth far better than this.

See, there are a few implications which come with this lie, and all of them are wrong.

1. God allows trials to come into my life and then leaves me to handle them. This kind of assertion leads one to think that God may push me right up to the edge but won't push me off. Now I'm here dealing with this by myself, and even though I'm staring down into a pit of misery, death, or the unknown, I'm somehow supposed to be comforted because God didn't let me fall in.

2. If I can handle them, then the trials really won't be that bad. They won't overwhelm me. It is rarely a comfort to someone to downplay their trials, because often we do feel overwhelmed. We do think that we can't get through something on our own. Telling me that I can is the same as telling me that I've got to academically change my feeling of being overwhelmed. I have to somehow psyche myself into thinking that I can, you know, the power of positive thinking? This is not what it means to exercise faith because it's all about ourselves. And, believe me, when I'm really down, mustering up the energy to say "I think I can" is at best a meager and short-lived kind of comfort.

3. Whoever says "God won't give you more than you can handle" is going to be tempted not to pray for me because, after all, they're thinking that it will all work out find for me.

This lie is a spin-off of something true. In the Bible tells us that "God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able . . . " (1 Corinthians 10:13). This verse has to do with the temptation to sin, not with the experience of trials. It means that God never forces us into sin; even though the world is evil, there is always a way out of sinning when tempted. This is a comfort, but it is also a reminder that we are responsible to watch and pray. There is no blaming God for our circumstances if we succumb to temptation and fall into sin.

The Bible is full of far more relevant verses for God's people who are simply going through a hard time. God does not leave us at the edge alone, only promising not to push us off, for it says in Isaiah 43:2-4:

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,

Nor will the flame burn you.

For I am the LORD your God,

The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I have given Egypt as your ransom,

Cush and Seba in your place.

Since you are precious in My sight,

Since you are honored and I love you,

I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.

The comforts go on and on. I encourage you to read the whole chapter, but verse two is a pretty good summary--"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine." He is with me. He loves me, in fact. He has given up other nations just to have me. This is your real comfort, O trembling child of the new Israel. Say it to yourself over and over when you feel alone, and remember also this second comfort:

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

This is what Paul learned when he was going through a trial which God would not take away. The truth is that trials are hard and we often can't handle them on our own, but sometimes the whole point of the trial is to teach us that very fact. We're supposed to look outside ourselves for the abundant grace which Jesus has to offer us and with which He fills up our weaknesses. Paul goes on to say,

"Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (:10).

Notice also that in verse 7, we learn that Paul's trial was from Satan. Let's not allow ourselves to think consciously or subconsciously that God comes up with these trials for us. They're hard, sometimes they're awful, and they're the kind of things that Satan loves, not God. But we know that God is much more powerful than Satan and allows him to work--for a little while, not forever--all the while turning them into good.

Fajitas for Supper?

I was thinking of posting about our two beautiful baby showers from this past weekend! But facebook, whence I was hoping to get some pictures, is acting funny for me, so perhaps that post will be coming soon. Instead, here's a post which I've meant to share for a while.

Fajitas! They're soo yummy and healthy, and although they may be ideal for summer-time because the insides get grilled, it's still quite warm here on Cottage Lane.

First of all, I make my flour tortillas, although this can be done in advance. Tortillas aren't very expensive to buy, but every package I've checked so far has listed some form of hydrogenated fat among the ingredients--one good thing to avoid. I basically follow a recipe from the More with Less Cookbook, and here it is:

Combine in mixing bowl
2 cups unsifted flour (I've been using half unbleached and half whole-wheat, and they come out great!) 1 tsp. salt

Cut in with pastry blender (I usually just zap it all in a food processor, and it's very fast and easy!)
1/4 c. lard or shortening (I use butter)

When particles are fine, add gradually:
1/2 cup lukewarm water

Toss with fork to make a stiff dough. Form into a ball and knead thoroughly on lightly floured board until smooth and flecked with air bubbles. (I toss it into my Kitchenaid and let it knead for 5 minutes!) To make dough easier to handle, grease surface, cover tightly, and refrigerate 4-24 hours before using. (Sometimes I just stick it in the freezer for one hour!) Let dough return to room temperature before rolling out. (I don't!)

Here I'm going to stop using their directions because I just do it the way I do it . . . :-) I now preheat my largest frying pan (since I don't have a griddle) to medium heat, though the recipe calls for "very hot." Next, I roll the dough into a log with my hands and slice into the recommended 11 disks.


And roll one out on a floured surface until it is very thin.



Then I drop it onto the ungreased pan and let it cook until it starts to bubble up!


This one is ready to flip! While it is cooking, I start rolling the next. As each one finishes, I set it in a towel to keep warm. The whole cooking process takes a little while, but the results are not only healthier but much more tender and delicious than store-bought tortillas!

For fajitas, I marinate some chicken breast in lime juice and cilantro at least a few hours before supper, and chop up some colored bell-peppers. (You're supposed to include sweet onions, but onions have sounded terrible to me for most of my pregnancy!) While the chicken breast cooks slowly over low heat on the grill, the veggies get wrapped in foil and steam until tender on the grill's upper rack. They're usually done when the chicken is done.

At some point, I mash up an avocado with lime juice, chopped cilantro, some salsa or preferably diced tomato, and a little salt and pepper. My brother learned how to make awesome guacamole when he was in Costa Rica, but as long as it has lime juice in it, my mouth is happy. :-)

It all gets served with salsa and shredded cheese (and sour cream, if you like), and, boy, do they hit the spot!

Happy Birthday, dear niece

The latest knitting project is done!

I used a pattern from ravelry (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hetty-2) and Patons Organic Cotton, and I think it's quite darling. :-)

Some Nursery Progress

The hand-painting I've been planning is started, though I'm not sure if it needs more sheep or not. (For those of you who know BLBC, yes, I was inspired by the beautiful job Rachel did on the nursery there!) The curtains have also been bought!

31 Weeks

At our latest appointment, the midwife was able to determine that our little girl is head-down! It's possible she may still flip around, but encouraging to think that she's already found her way to the right place. And now I know that the hard little lumps which I feel squirming most often are baby feet!