Updated on March 27, 2013
I am just a few weeks away from having our 12th baby. This will be our 3rd home-birth and it is right about this time that I start “nesting” and getting everything ready for the baby to come.
My preparations for the babies I had in the hospital were much different than my preparations for the home- births. With the hospital births I only needed to prepare for bringing a new baby to our house, with home-birth, I have to prepare for a new baby to be born in our house.
Not only do I want a clean and organized home to deliver my baby in, but my midwife and her assistant will be coming in our home. Plus, my other children will be hanging out in the “waiting room” (normally referred to as the living room) and it helps everything to go smoother if the house is organized and clean.
So, I’ve put together my to-do list of things to get done before the baby comes:
1. Deep Clean My Bedroom – (aka the Delivery Room)
I already got a head start on this project, but I need to do a little fine tuning, like washing the baseboards. Plus, a lot of the organizing I already did has been undone by some of my “helpers”.
2. Bake Cookies
I have never been good about baking and cooking ahead of time so that we have things in the freezer ready to pull out after the baby comes, but that’s my goal for this pregnancy. I’d say since I’m on baby #12, it’s about time. So, on my to-do list is baking several batches of cookies to have on hand in the freezer.
3. Make Meals
Along those same lines, I am also planning on having some meals prepared ahead in the freezer. Again, something I’ve never done in the past. We’ve always been so blessed to have church family bring us meals after we have had a baby. With one of our babies we had meals brought for 2 weeks! But, I thought it would be helpful to have some ready in the freezer.
4. Deep Clean Kitchen
The job I am dreading the most. All the drawers and cabinets really need a good cleaning as well as the oven (but thankfully I can just push a button for that job). It always makes me feel good to have a clean kitchen when the baby comes. Plus, my midwife bathes the baby in the kitchen sink, so I better have it scrubbed well.
5. Gather Supplies
My birth kit came in the mail the other day, which has most of the supplies for the delivery. However, there are a few other things needed for the birth, most of which we have on hand, such as: ibuprofen, cookie sheet, extension cord, laundry baskets, bath towels to name a few.
The things I need to purchase are: washcloths, shower curtain liner, paper towels, box of Kleenex, boyish receiving blankets, boyish baby socks, newborn diapers.
I never thought about all the things the hospital provided until we did our first home-birth. Now, we are the “hospital” and have to make sure we have everything on hand.
6. Get Activities Together for the Kids
I try to have something to occupy the kids while I’m having the baby. Usually they watch movies. Normally I get some new ones for them at the library. I was planning on getting a few activity books and maybe a new game too, but my sweet mother-in-law provided all that in a Valentine’s Day package she sent!
7. Snacks for Midwives
I’ve learned to get these pretty close to the due date , in the past I have bought snacks ahead only to have them eaten up before the baby came.
8. Overall House Cleaning
In the last couple of weeks before the baby is born, the kids and I clean the house good and then I try to make sure everyone keeps up with their area so that when I go into labor there is not a mad rush to clean the house. With our first home-birth, we had a little bit of time to pick up and prepare, but with the second one, she came too fast so there was no time to prepare.
I will keep you posted on how the list is coming.
Do you have certain things you like to get done before a new baby arrives? I’d love to hear in the comments section.
[social_share/]Updated on March 27, 2013
Quote of the Week: John Piper on Marriage
Updated on March 27, 2013
Candlelight Family Dinner
posted by Nicci
A couple of years ago, our family started putting candles on the table as a centerpiece at supper time. At first it was just an occasional thing, but it eventually became a nightly tradition.
The kids enjoy gathering different candles from around the house to put on the table on any given night. The older ones like lighting them before the meal and the younger ones have fun blowing them out when supper is over.
It’s a simple thing, but having candles lit on the table creates a nice atmosphere for family dinners and makes fond memories for the children.
Do you have ways you make supper time or other meals special? I’d love to hear!
[social_share/]Updated on March 27, 2013
Quote of the Week: On “The Word and Prayer”
Posted by Jim
“It is a common temptation of Satan to make us give up the reading of the Word and prayer when our enjoyment is gone; as if it were of no use to read the Scriptures when we do not enjoy them, and as if it were no use to pray when we have no spirit of prayer.“
George Müller (1805 – 1898); Bristol, England.
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Updated on April 13, 2013
Stubborn Stains
posted by Nicci
Grease stains are a constant battle at our house. Sometimes stains seem like they appear out of nowhere.
One of Jim’s shirts for work had a couple of grease stains on it for quite some time. We tried on numerous occasions to spot treat them before washing and still the stains would not come out. He was really needing this shirt for work, so I went to the store in search of something new that I hadn’t tried.
Shout Advanced caught my eye because it was a foam spray instead of just a regular spray, and it stated on the can “Formulated For Greasy Stains”. My daughter (who is our gracious laundry lady) sprayed the spots and let them sit for about 10 minutes. Then she washed the shirt in cold water and to our amazement the stains were gone.
I couldn’t believe it, after so many other attempts…finally, no more stains! I was very pleased with Shout Advanced and highly recommend it for tough stains.
[social_share/]Updated on June 5, 2013
Your Quiet Time Doesn’t Have To Be Quiet
posted by Nicci
My favorite time to be in God’s Word is early morning. And there are certain seasons that I get to do that. But when you are a mom who is up in the night with a little one (or several little ones), morning isn’t always practical.
Any other time though, doesn’t seem to work either because the kids are up. Can anyone relate?
Years ago I read a book by Jean Fleming called Feed Your Soul, in it she stated that “your quiet time doesn’t have to be quiet”. Just because the house isn’t perfectly still doesn’t mean you can’t read God’s Word and pray. That realization was so freeing to me. I had always had the idea that you should be sitting down, totally uninterrupted in order to have a meaningful quiet time. To hear that doesn’t have to be the case was such a relief to me. I could still have a profitable time in the Word and prayer while the kids were awake.
If you think about it, that’s not really a new concept. You’ve probably heard the often told story of Suzanna Wesley. When she needed to go to the Lord in prayer, she would pull her apron over her head, whatever time of day it was, and her children knew that meant she was praying and they were not to interrupt.
So, I started having my time in the Word in the late morning. I would get the kids settled with something quiet to do, then I would read my Bible and pray. Sure, there were interruptions and I had to learn to be able to concentrate in the midst of background noise, but that was ok.
One day all my children will be grown and I will have plenty of “quiet” quiet times. Besides, many moms whose children are already grown have told me that I will miss that precious “noise”.
My times in the Word have changed a lot over the years depending on what season of life I am in. They became much sweeter and more profitable though once I learned to be flexible with them.
Do you have a good idea for having your time in the Word with little ones around?
This post is linked at: The Better Mom, A Mamas Story, Walking Redeemed, Raising Arrows
Updated on April 24, 2013
In the Word: “Our Fathers Have Told Us”
posted by Jim
Are not these the words, in the end, that every Christian parent would long to hear their children say about them? “O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us,…” And, is this not the testimony that God has purposed that every son and daughter should be able to share?
Indeed it is. Again and again, throughout Scripture we see this divine arrangement – the call for fathers, and mothers, to faithfully teach their children God’s Word and His ways.
Moses declared God’s instruction to the people of Israel,
“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Deuteronomy 11:18&19
The Psalmist proclaimed,
“We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.” Psalm 78:4
The prophet, Joel, declared,
“Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation.” Joel 1:3
The writer of Proverbs exhorted the younger generations,
“Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.” Proverbs 1:8&9
The apostle, Paul, instructed,
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4
Clearly God has purposed that fathers, and mothers, would faithfully and diligently teach their children about Him, so that their children will teach their children, and so on. In this regard, Charles Spurgeon said, “In this simple way, by God’s grace, a living testimony for truth is always to be kept alive in the land...”
May we be faithful, as parents, to speak of God to our children, when we are sitting in our houses, and when we are walking by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise. Continually…day after day, month after month, year after year – telling them of the “…glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that He has done.” Psalm 78:4b
One of our greatest helps in this work will be our own, steady intake of God’s Word. We cannot teach what we do not know. And, it is as our cup is filled spiritually, through the intake of and meditation on the Word, with prayer and the accompanying ministry of the Spirit, that God’s truths will most naturally overflow into our homes, in all that we do and say.
Is that not, after all, what we desire, and what God has intended? – not a forced, mechanical teaching of God’s ways to our children, but instruction that pours out of a heart where the Word is already vibrantly abiding. You will recall, Moses first told the people of Israel, “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul,…” and then, “You shall teach them to your children,…” Deuteronomy 11:18&19
Oh, Heavenly Father, grant us grace that we might know You more, through your Word and by your Spirit, and that our children and their children, and their children’s children, would come to know You, as we speak of You in our homes – today, and every day.
May the testimony of our children be that of the Psalmist, “Oh, God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us,...”
[social_share/]Updated on March 27, 2013
Quick Tip: Coffee Filter Snack-Bowls
Posted by Nicci
Years ago, I started using coffee filters to serve popcorn in. They are very inexpensive and a lot quicker to clean up than traditional bowls. After I discovered how great they were for popcorn, I started using them for all kinds of snacks!
Do you have any quick tips for snacks?
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Updated on March 3, 2013
Quote of the Week: “Train Up Your Child With All Tenderness”
Posted by Jim
Mondays are “Quote Of The Week” day at Family, Faith & Home. Each Monday you will find a quote pertaining to some aspect of the Christian life and home that we hope will be an encouragement to you as you start off your week.
Today’s quote is by JC Ryle of Liverpool (1816-1900); writer, pastor and evangelical preacher.
“Train up your child with all tenderness, affection and patience. I do not mean that you are to spoil him, but I do mean that you should let him see that you love him.
Love should be the silver thread that runs through all your conduct. Kindness, gentleness, long-suffering, forbearance, patience, sympathy, a willingness to enter into childish troubles, a readiness to take part in childish joys, – these are the cords by which a child may be led most easily, – these are the clues you must follow if you would find the way to his heart.
Now children’s minds are cast in much the same mold as our own. Sternness and severity of manner chill them and throw them back. It shuts up their hearts, and you will weary yourself to find the door. But let them only see that you have an affectionate feeling towards them, – that you are really desirous to make them happy, and do them good, – that if you punish them, it is intended for their profit, and that, like the pelican, you would give your heart’s blood to nourish their souls; let them see this, I say, and they will soon be all your own. But they must be wooed with kindness, if their attention is ever to be won.”
Quote from The Duties of Parents by John Charles Ryle; Old Gospel Press, P.O. Box 318, Choteau, MT 59422.