Pathways and Highways

Some Hospital Pics

2007-09-25T20:14:00.000+02:00

Visitors

2007-09-24T20:37:00.000+02:00

Here is a wee collection of some of Jonathans family when they came to visit.

Some more people came to visit but I wasn't able to catch it on camera.

Pops & Bar

2007-09-24T14:49:00.000+02:00

Lets go Dutch!

2007-09-24T13:15:00.000+02:00

Over the next couple of days, I began to regain my strength, and I was able to getup and go to the bathroom by myself without a nurse standing by to make sure that I was going to be ok. I was also able to carry the baby for short amounts of time slowly but surely the progress made it's way up and up till I was pronounced "ready to go home".

Something special that happened during my stay at the hospital was that my Dad was able to visit from Holland along with Aunt and Grandmother. It was very enjoyable and it was sooo good seeing them again!

They brought me some Indonesian snacks that I was super craving and having that was a taste of my youth without the blemishes that sometimes accompany one when they walk down memory lane.

Even though their stay was short it was filled with laughs smiles and good times. Below are some pics from their visit .. enjoy!

Sleeping like an angel

I have made you a Grandpa.

Home at last!

Four Generations!!

P.D.T

2007-09-18T18:10:00.000+02:00

Yup! Thats muah! Completely knocked out of my mind. PTL!

.. And all the nurses in the hospital that day rejoiced cause they delivered another soul into the world safe and loud! I don't have permission to share the lovely video clip of him being weighed and all that other very sweet & endearing footage of him in the first wee hours of the morning.

After giving birth to my dear boy, I was trying to figure out how to calm the dear lad, I tried giving him suck from my bossom and .. nothing! He didn't know how to suck, either that or he was to angry about er, well something I'm sure. I'm not very enlightened as to what babies get mad at, so we shall leave it at that. So then I asked Jonathan to try holding the baby and after telling the baby that it was Daddy holding him, he right away calmed down and became at rest.

The nurse aid put a towel that she had just dosed with warm water and put it on my, umm birth canal area, ahem! And oh my, did that ever feel so good, such relief from pain! And after that, I had to get ... yup, you guessed it! Stitches!! Well, this will probably only take 10-15 mins max, I comforted myself with that (ahahah, little did I know) and settled back down to rest, as I had been doing in between contractions during the last stage of childbirth, everyone else excused themselves from the room so that the procedure could begin.

I took a little walk down memory lane and remembered when the nurse said she was going to cut me, I remember thinking, "Oh that person said that I would be so happy when they say that, so .. I thought, ok now I'm supposed to be happy" .. and happy I was! (The mind is a very powerful thing, indeed!)

On with the stitches, they had to cut so that I wouldn't tear but tear I did, and in such a way that it took the dear lady doctor (I'm still thankful that it was a lady doctor and not a male one) about 1 whole hour and a few long minutes to finish up (that's why!). They had to use about two bottles of 30ml of pain killers on me as well as four big needle injections.

The stitching up wasn't so painful, thank the Lord! Due to the pain killers and also the fact that I was so tired and numb feeling after the whole thing. I was able to sleep during most of that long hour, I was so thankful for that. I would only jerk and stir a little bit when I'd start to feel the needle and thread .. thus the amount of pain killers that they used on me

My upper back was shot out with pain because of the standing position during labor, so I could hardly stand upright much less carry the baby. But the Lord was very much in control, and sweet Maria and Jane helped to carry him for most of his first day.

Next thing was that I was going to move to another section where new Mommies stay after delivery, but first I needed to take a shower, so with as much help from the nurses as they were able to give I was able to get up from the bed and was wheeled to the bathroom, where I then proceeded to shower.

I was really worried about using the bathroom, but they (the nurses) were very reassuring and helped to alieve the fear by saying that if I let some warm water run on me while I go/use the bathroom, the pain wouldn't be so intense, they also reminded me that I was still under effect of pain killers so that it wouldn't hurt so bad. And God be praised .. it didn't hurt one bit.

After the shower I started to feel a bit faint, I hadn't eaten anything since the birth (mistake no.2), and I had the water a bit to warm in the shower (mistake no.3) so as I came out of the bathroom, I said to one of the nurses (I asked one nurse to stay with me because I didn't feel very strong, one of the few things I do admit to doing right, thanks to Jesus and my spirit helpers) that I felt a little dizzy and might faint.

She was an understudy and probably thought that people say this all the time but nothing ever happens, so she sorta just stood there feeling awkward then to add to the awkwardness I limped over to her and sorta leaned/hugged her for support. She muttered something squeamishly and kinda looked around embarrassed at having a brown naked and bleeding lady holding on to her, poor thing, I hope it wasn't her first day! LOL

Anyways, BLAAM! It hit! The black out over came my consciousness and I blanked out, my knees had buckled and I hit the floor and landed on my butt. The poor girl nearly joined me in my semi conscious state as she called and rang for back up, when the nurse came it happened to be one of the head nurses and she right away took control of the situation, while the poor understudy whimpered and wailed out the story of woe.

Thank the Lord (and I really do mean that) that my stitches stayed intact and that there was no damage done .. to me. Not so sure how the other girl took it, she remained very apologetic and extra caring for the rest of her time of taking care of me.

They then took me in my state of nudity to the room where I was moving out from, at that point in time I really didn't mind who saw me, not cause I thought I looked great, I just wanted things to get rolling and moving so that I could catch up on sleep.

I got to the ward and had something to eat, still couldn't carry the baby so Maria and Jane continued to help me with that. And the nurses would help me to the bathroom. This state of needing that type of assistance continued for three days. I had only packed for 2 days and I ended up staying 8 days.

Here is a nice blurry pic of me and the baby. I'm sure you understand why it has to be blurry .. definitely not one of my finer moments but for sure one of the most monumental ones.

After the night of being at the hospital, I woke up shivering and shaking, and had to have help going to the bathroom. The next day when the nurse came to check up on me, she saw me shivering and shaking so she right away took my temperature and saw that I had a fever of 39.7 so she asked me if I was sore in my breasts or anywhere else, I told her that I felt like I was carrying a 10 kilo weight with the muscles that are a tad bit lower down than the lower abdomen muscle.

She said that was normal and usually doesn't cause a fever, so she came back with some anti-biotics that rung alarm bells in me, stories of my Mom's near death experience ran through my mind as she prepared the needle and and the sacs, I was also asking what kind of side effects could arise if I took this medicine, she didn't really know and said that this medicine was pretty safe, but I still wasn't sure so I asked to wait while I quickly tried calling Jonathan but there was no answer, I then rang my Dad and he said that he would be praying for me and to trust the Lord.

So after putting it in the Lords hands I complied to what was happening, after she put the needle in me and hooked me up. I right away started tuning in to any weird and not normal feelings, but thank the Lord, the only thing I felt was something cool running into me. Not an unpleasant feeling altogether.

This anonymous infection along with the blazing fever lasted for 4 days, I had all these kinds of tests taken for the doctors, from samples of my insides to taking x-ray pictures of my lungs and still nothing showed up. I was getting slightly fearful by this time and had everybody I could contact at that time praying for me. After all that time, they found out what this infection was that was making me almost delirious with fever and my sheets wet from sweat breaks.

Through out this whole time, I wasn't able to carry the baby so for everything and anything I would have to ring for aid. I want to say thank you to Jane & Maria for carrying my baby for me as well as visiting me.

Jonathan came everyday to visit me at the hospital. He changed his diapers and walked around with him in the hallway so that I could catch up on sleep and eat my food so that I could fight the infection and fever I had.

The infection that I felt was so ominous at the time was only a urine infection, after that I felt confident that I could beat this thing, from feeling like I would be a sickling all my life it changed to I know I can get better in a day or two, by drinking water and other kinds of liquid at every awake moment that I could.

I still can't go home until I get healed and stay that way till the next day. Here are some pics of Jonathan and the baby.

Sleeping happily with Daddy

Sitting up for the first time

In hospital garb

P.D.T = Post Delivery Trauma

I T is done!

2007-09-15T14:47:00.000+02:00

Psalm 30:5b

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

And that's exactly how it happened, I looked at the clock and it seemed to be taking forever and I wanted the baby to be born right away, but then I thought ... whenever his birthday would come and if I ever wanted to do the whole wait till you were born till we pop the champagne tradition, we would have to wait sooo long. (I know its fanciful thinking.)

So I thought maybe in the morning would be nicer along with having back contraction instead of having the contractions in the front ... and I got what I asked for! But first let me share with you a bit of my labor story, here is how it went.

• We arrived at the hospital at 9pm.
• I came to the hospital 6cm dilated.

• My contractions continued at approximately the same intensity for about 2 close to the 3 hours (some of which were spent in a tub of warm water, very nice, but I think I stayed in the water a bit to long which resulted in me being extra tired later on) .

• It took a whole 2 hours for me to dilate 1cm.
• The nurse said (in Swedish, a language I'm still trying to master) that she wanted to induce the labour so that the contractions would be more 'effective' (a.k.a more painful).
• Around that time, I was feeling a little exhausted from the contractions, also because the night before I wasn't able to really sleep well.
• I had enough! I wanted the epidural; although I said that I would have a natural delivery. The pain was getting to be a little bit to annoying and to prolonged and I wanted to have that baby NOW!

I told the nurse that I wanted an epidural, to which she agreed and started to get things ready to do so. But I heard the Lord tell me not to and that I didn't really need it as things were progressing and He was taking care of me. He told me to move my hips like a see-saw with the next contractions, so when the next contractions came, I leaned over slightly supporting myself on the bed and did just that .. I told the nurse that I didn’t want the epidural anymore, then I asked the nurse to check me to see how much I dilated in that space of time which was only 15mins. She did .. and I dilated 2cms!!! She was so shocked as was I! Thank the Lord I listened to Him.

• I went on having contractions for another hour.
• Then I heard those words that you long to hear when labour first begins

“You can push now!”

“Oh Wowie!! This is great!” I thought. Then we tried getting me in a comfortable position to push. We tried the squatting with a little “u” shaped bench wood underneath me. No, that’s not it! Tried on my side .. still not it! I did not want to give birth laying down on my back! So we tried standing .. the thing with standing (and I regret I did it!) was that I would hold on to the support but then whenever I would try to push my legs would cramp up and then I would be left supporting my whole body weight with my shoulder muscles .. so after all that. It was on the bed, on my back, for me to have the baby. I didn’t want my legs in the stirrups (my legs would have been far to stretched to reach the foot holds anyways), so the mid-wife and her aid held my legs, they propped me with a big pillow and with Jane on one side and Maria on the other, I puuussshed!!!

“Oh wait a minute! This is the part where Jonathan is supposed to be with me.” So they traded places, and Jonathan would help say/shout “Puussh!” when it was time to push. I was doing two pushes per contraction, so I wasn’t making much progress.

The midwife checked to see how far the baby was away from crowning then encouraged me to try doing more pushed per contraction, so we (as in my coach [Jonathan]) agreed and when the next contraction came, I pushed four times. Whew! Whatta work out. Don’t get to excited reader .. the baby is still in the birth canal, hasn’t even descended fully yet.

So the pushing went on for about an hour, I was having to push the baby through the birth canal (Something I wasn’t expecting, after reading the CCHB on childbirth >:P). After that, the head finally showed, and then came the actual pushing part, the part of pushing out the head.

Someone told me that when you think you just can’t bear it, that when it [the baby] comes out. So after an hour of pushing, I felt that that was the end of my rope and I couldn't do it anymore. So I was thinking, that the baby would like come out like pronto, cause I couldn’t push anymore cause I was to tired. But the Lord knows me better than I know myself is all I can say, cause the head of the baby kept playing peek-a-boo with the nurse for about half an hour more till it came out, in the meantime, Jonathan was an excellent help and encouragement in helping me push the baby outta me.

He held me and my hand in his, and would literally push alongside me, even scream with me. Ahh, the memories! From watching youtube, I learned that sometimes it’s the shoulder that the hard part of pushing out and not just the head. So I prepared myself mentally for that, so after the head came out, I gave my last ounce of strength in one final push.

I then experienced the weirdest feeling I have ever felt in my life, kinda like one big squishy jelly bean coming out of my very own birth canal.

After 17 hours of labour, my baby boy was born at 3:26am on September 15, 2007.

So far his name is Raphael .. still not sure of spelling.

Maria and Jane. The two angels who helped me during this monumental time.

Jonathan, proud Father & the only one who could calm Raphael in his first hours of life.

The big I T starts ..

2007-09-14T20:35:00.000+02:00

Last night, try as I might to get some sleep. I couldn’t! I tried switching positions and tried different angles but couldn’t quite find my niche. So I tried to catch up on some sleep, Jonathan had to go out early to get some more legal work and other business things done, so I figured I would have a lovely indoor day making up for the rest that I wasn’t able to get some short 8 hours ago.

“Just a short trip to the rest room, and I’m set” I thought. But to my shock when I got up from the toilet, I saw something that meant .. NO SLEEP! I called Isabelle (who thankfully was home at the time) to ask her what ‘that’ was, she said that ‘that’ could mean that my labor was going to start.

I first felt shocked then happy, giddy and excited. I didn’t know what to do, so I started walking around in excitement, then I was told that maybe I should rest, so I tried but felt so happy that laying down didn’t my emotional state justice so I continued walking around.

I also noticed that walking around brought on the same back pain (but stronger) that I felt last night. (Looking back it's like .. duh!!!) Anyways, another sweet miracle that the Lord did was that Suzanna and Lisa were online at the time, so I was in contact with them about how far apart my contractions were and they were both loving and encouraging, my Mommy (a.k.a Mary Meek) called and we talked and she was very supportive.

I also called Jane (Jonathans Mother) and she said that she would come over after she was finished doing some chores and business. I sms-ed Jonathan, and because of the little scare I had earlier, he didn’t seem too alarmed.

So I continued walking around happily feeling the peace that only comes when you’re about to go through something very magnificent and almost humanly impossible.

Around that time, Peter and Isabelle had to go out to do some work on the car, which meant that I was home alone. I started to wonder what would happen if things all of a sudden escalated but those thoughts were kept at bay by the constant communication between Suzanna and Lisa, who at the time were busy with some drilling and work on the new house that the Lord provided for them.

I called Jonathan after making sure that my contractions were coming in a steady flow, it was around 10am that I saw that I was going to have the baby within the next 24 or so hours, and the contractions after I saw the light were approx 10-15 mins apart, but in only a few short hours; at around 12:30ish I was went down to 10 mins apart. During the effacement and beginning of the dilation period I was estatic and on cloud .. I don’t know.. all I know was that I was soooo happy that the baby was coming.

He didn’t believe it at first until I told him to expect his baby within the next 24 hours, then he got the point and said that he would be coming home ASAP. He came home around the same time as Peter and Isabelle did from their work on their car.

It was so funny, I can still remember hearing him come home and hearing his footsteps come to our room door, anyways, he comes in the room while I’m pacing slowly and happily and is like, complete with hand motions, stern expression, and a slightly raised voice. “Calm down, everything is going to be ok!” I started laughing, and tried to calm him down while reassuring him that I was ok and that I wasn’t scared or freaked out.

Hrmm, I know, it should have been the other way around, but what can I say .. us women have God given strength in times of peril and distraught.

I still hadn’t eaten anything and was quite hungry, so (mistake no. 1) I ate a little something instead of following counsel of sticking to liquids. Anyways, we had heard different things about girls going through contractions but that the contractions weren’t able to or could open the person like they’re supposed to. We were determined not to have that story in my book, so we went out (in the cold) for a nice brisk walk up a 70 degree hill. I wasn’t able to walk brisk, so I just did what I could while my coach [a.k.a Jonathan] coached me with my breathing whenever a contraction came.

The transportation to the hospital was quite confusing, first our midwife said that we would have to pay for the taxi, that the Government pays for that, then when we called the hospital they said that we would have to pay for the taxi.

Peter and Isabelle just got their car service so they offered us their car, and Isabelle’s brother, Jackie offered to drive us to the hospital after he got off from work which at that time was around 4pm.

After walking for about .. not really how long but it felt like a long time. We went back home and I tried to pack a bag to take with me to the hospital, I thought I would only be staying there around a day or two so I decided not to take so much, just the bare essentials.

At around 8:30pm Jane arrived.

Now we are off to the hospital.

Relationship Glitch = Jesus shows HIS Love

2007-09-13T23:07:00.000+02:00

I went out with Jonny to do some business as well as for my every other week check up, some unexpected things came up that Jonny had to attend to, so I ended up going home by myself which I did most begrudgingly until I forced myself to listen to the track that was on my MP3 player which was "Greater Faith Pt.1".

Instantly my mood began to change to one of faith and trust, instead of moaning that I would probably have to walk home I cheered up at the thought of being picked up from someone back at home, instead of thinking that the Lord didn't love me, I started to have faith that He did. And I really tried to believe that the Lord would "do it" and let someone pick me up so that my back (which was hurting) wouldn't get any worse. (We live up on a hill.)

By that time I was at my stop and was really enjoying the Word, I was so engrossed into being enlightened at what I heard that I didn't hear, "Can I help you carry anything?".

At first I was super skeptical about this girl offering her help to me, I thought maybe she was going to rob me of some of my newly bought baby items, but I decided to trust .. "I can carry your purse if you want." "Uh, no thanks. I'll hold on to it." I gingerly replied. Thoughts like I wonder where this woman's accomplices are were running through my tired mind.

After a tiny while she asked, "How are you getting home?" she asked. "I'll ask one of my friends to pick me up." I replied. "Oh no!" she gushed, "let me pay for a cab for you." She stopped at a cash machine to get out her some money while I thought. "Hrrmm, I really don't know what to make of this." I thought .. then it registered, of course, she wants me to get into the cab, and of course the taxi driver will be "in" on it and then they'll take me to some God forsaken place and then it will be the end of me. What could be her motive? .. She already has a child. I kept up with this silent monolog in my mind until she cut in with, "Well, my card doesn't seem to be working right now, so here, you can have all the cash that is on me," Now I started to feel that the tables had turned.

The walk to the taxi stand was a quiet one which made the walk seem allot longer, "By the way, my name is Maria and this is my son Elijah." She blurted out after she asked some ladies to make room so that I could sit down. "Ohh so she's Christians .. how nice!" I thought. "My name is Vida." I said after praising the Lord that I was not in the presence of a killer.

She then called up a taxi on her mobile and then started to talk and ask some questions, she was very reassuring about the delivery (in a good realistic way) and told me that there was "great joy" to look forward to after. Hearing her speak with such faith about the delivery and taking care of the baby afterwards sparked a flame of faith in me that everything would be ok and that the Lord really does take care of His own.

After all that mental anguish, I started to think that maybe this now lovely Maria was actually an angel sent to help and comfort me. The taxi came to which she instructed the driver to treat me like a princess, we then exchanged numbers and the taxi took off, I dared myself to look to see if she was still there .. and to my wowie -zowied-ness .. she was!!

"Hmm, maybe the Lord has to still let me see her so that I don't go into such shock and induce myself into labor." I silently thought while giving a little chuckle to myself. The taxi driver was very sweet and really made sure that I was comfortable, offering to help buckle my seat belt etc. We arrived at the apartment and he pulled up right up on the side walk in front of the door, then he got and opened the car door for me like a proper taxi driver .. (ahem!) and wished me a pleasent evening then was off.

I really did feel like a princess after that!! I went home totally thrilled and excited that the Lord really does love me and thinking in the back of my mind that maybe the Lord let this happen because I'm about to give birth soon. I shared the testimony to ones back at home, and they were all just as thrilled as I was. Isabelle kept asking if she [Maria] was Swedish, to which I kept confirming and reaffirming.

I then thought of trying to call Maria for one to thank her for her help and second to make sure she was still human. I didn't have the .. whatever you wanna call it .. to call her so I smsed her and .. lo and behold I got a sms back from her, all very sweet and very encouraging, I told her my name was actually short for Davida which comes from David, she was so happy to hear/read that I was a Christian to. She went on to say that David was a man after Gods heart and the Lord has a really special love for me, all of this really encouraged me.

After eating and chatting a little bit more, I am now off to bed.

Kisses and Good Night!

A little scare ..

2007-09-09T20:03:00.000+02:00

Thank you Daddy, Mommy, Mims, Patty and Nicky who prayed for me!!

The Scare:
I saw a bit of blood while using the bathroom, so I went to the hospital for a check up to make sure nothing was wrong.

The Miracle:
And NOTHING was wrong, the baby was in a good position and was healthy. The heart beat was good and strong!!

Because He loves me:
To really make sure that nothing was wrong, the Doctor took an ultra sound .. YIPEE!!!! .. We saw our baby alive; boxing, kicking & exploring his surroundings. Thank the Lord for those blessings in disguise :-D. We weren't able to see the sex of the baby but just seeing it on the screen was so thrilling and bonding for the both of us.

.. coming along now TG!

2007-08-29T14:01:00.001+02:00

Today, well actually just a couple of hours ago I got word that my residence permit came through. I am excited about that! That was the last paper (in the arena of becoming semi-Swedish) that I needed, I need some other papers but that was the major one that I needed because (of the financial state we're in) that means I am eligible for Government financial aid.
Jonathan has been the one that has been taking care of this whole legal puzzle, and he's done such a good job. He's had to do it practically alone since the laws and everything is different now than they were twenty or so years ago, it's been allot of running around and then waiting for months, but that fight is over.
We are now ready for the next phase (with the Lords help and your prayers), this next part is supposed to be not to hard, I think, more like keeping the material wrinkle free and staying on top of things (now that we have things to keep on top of).

Answered Prayer!

2007-08-28T13:50:00.000+02:00

Thanks to EVERYone that prayed! When the Doctors came to check on Jonathan the next morning, he was doing much better, and they didn't need to remove his tonsils, he had another minor operation, nothing to major.
He's now up and about and has an easier time talking, eating and laughing. Before all of these he could barely do, he had a hard time opening his mouth, talking & eating, he sorta sounded like Sean Connery, he also couldn't really move his head without it being painful for him.
So thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for praying!!!

Prayers can do mighty things, it's not how much you pray but how much you believe!

Thank you for believing .. muahzee doodles ya'll!

Please pray for Jonathan!!

2007-08-27T12:29:00.000+02:00

Hi Everybody, this is Vida. I just wanted to ask if you could pray for my boyfriend, Jonathan who is in the hospital right now, his tonsils got infected so he went to the hospital where they right away performed a little operation on him, they are keeping him overnight to see if he needs to get his tonsils removed or no. Could you please pray and claim key power that this does not have to happen. Thank you so much, they will check him tomorrow (28-09-07) at eight and decide from there. Thank you all so much for your prayers, I really believe and know that the Lord will do it if we just ask Him and expect Him to by holding Him to His promises .. Nothing Is To Hard for Jesus!!

C.U.I* - 8 months (Part 2)

2007-08-25T11:22:00.000+02:00

I went for another check up this month, and things seem to be in order. The baby is fine and I am too, good stable blood pressure, the baby's heart beat is strong. The size of the baby is acceptable and nothing alarming .. anymore, Praise God for that!!
The baby might be a little late says the midwife according to my menstrual cycle, (I'm sure my Mom is glad for that! She wants the baby to be a Libra.) about two weeks or so .. of course she's not predicting anything, but she says could possibly be.
My iron count is good, before I was on my way to being an anemic but thanks to people's prayers for me and a conscious effort on my part to remember to take my iron supplements and to eat food with Iron, I am doing good compared to my last visit and I feel stronger as well.
People tell me different things about the sex of the baby, some people say it's going to be a boy and other people tell me it's going to be a girl, I haven't gone for an ultra sound so I really don't know, but no worries, I'll know soon enough and there are other things to be excited about and look forward to; my Mom's coming here for instance, she needs to raise 30,000 Euros for health insurance for her to be able to come down here for .. well, I'm not sure for how long. But still, it's exciting to see how the Lord will do the miracle of supplying the funds that she needs. (Your prayers are welcome for this situation, BTW.) And there's also my Popsi coming to visit along with my Oma & (only) Aunt from my Dad's side, not sure if there are any other people coming from my rellies in Holland. Oh well, I guess we'll see!
*C.U.I = Check Up Info

Big ol' G

2007-08-20T15:25:00.001+02:00

Remembering the God factor has been a big test for us, but thankfully we're learning along the way. Sometimes it just seems like there is so much to do that we don't know enough of; our legal work, having a baby, trying to fund-raise in the right way to pay off a debt (your pro-active prayers are welcome!! *hint hint*).
We're making progress, TTL! It's slow but sure, and hopefully we'll be done with it all very soon. So far the only "thing" we're sure of completing is the birth of the baby, and we sorta have a time line on that. Everything else is purely in the Lords hands and bound to the effect of your prayers for completion.
I (Vida) haven't talked to the midwife about the delivery yet, that conversation will either take place on my next check or sometime soon. When I know I'll let you know ;)! The baby is moving allot and making my tummy weird shapes and adding some odd looking curves as well. But all is well, thank the Lord and thank you for your prayers, I just need to learn to trust the Lord more as well NOTHING Is to Hard for Jesus.

"I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for Me? (Jer.32:27.) No! Nothing! I can do everything, I can do anything. I can save you from any battle and bring deliverance in any situation."

Thank the Lord for His promises to hold on to!!

Break Dancers

2007-08-15T00:16:00.000+02:00

From all over the world they came to break, and break they did, not only dance but limbs as well. And I was there amongst the cheering throng of people to see the action and energy that they (the whole breaker*, that is) brought with them from each of their individual countries.

with the crew (minus the only girl breaker in the whole competition) from España

Finland showing Russia what they got .. and Russia answering back.

I guess I wasn't the only one excited, the camera was also going through emotional highs of its own as you can see with the constant blurring.

And so ended the "battle" with Finland being taken to the next round, but alas God was not pleased with that decision (I have to say I absolutely agree with Him on this one), and so the heavens did open and it did rain causing the grand finale to be postponed aaaallllllll the way to next year.
I would have had more pictures, but due to lack of a camera and then there being rain, this was all I was able to get, I hope you enjoy on screen what I got to see in person, :P hee hee.

*breaker: in this case it means .. break dancer (just in case I lost you on that word).

Check up Info - 8 months

2007-08-13T23:26:00.000+02:00

At first (August 3rd) it seemed that the baby was not growing so I went in for another check up within a week (August 10th), and the progress was ok .. not really what the midwife was looking for. I know the Lord knows, I mean for my size the tummy and everything is big, I started showing and getting uncomfortable in my clothes at three months.

I know the Lord is in control and prayer definitely changes things, thank you to those who prayed for the baby to grow, and thank you to those who are continuing to pray, it really means allot and is very encouraging to know that you are praying for me, you know who you are, and from the depth of my heart ... THANK YOU!!

My Birthday

2007-07-30T16:55:00.001+02:00

The day that marks the timeline of my ever aging process started with ...

Counting the Roses ..

23 .. correct!!
And then cutting my un-official birthday cake

It was mui delicioso!! Thank you Popsi dear!!!

And spending some time with my Popsi in the rain, we didn't do any singing .. saving that for later!

And then the celebrating began ..

with some of the Munsel Dudes

More shots

Cake Time

As is tradition (not sure if it's Dutch or just a Munsel thing), at the end of the evening you're supposed to hand out candy to the little ones ...

And so ended that lovely evening; all that to say it was a full and fun day.

That evening I felt my first (I think) contractions, it was interesting enough, more of that coming and maybe in documented form .. just kidding.

Benny and Luca

2007-07-13T13:47:00.001+02:00

Some of Jonathan's relatives .. which make up the rest of the home.

Their parents are in this post.

And that makes up our home for now ..

Check Up Info - 7 months

2007-07-12T10:12:00.000+02:00

I went for my first official check up, and everything is in order, Praise the Lord!! The baby(ies) is/are already in a head down position, with a strong heart beat. He/she/they are taking what it/they need and it's all going good! Thanks to everyone who prayed for the check up to go well and also to those are continuing to pray for everything to go well and stay fine and dandy. He's/she/they (are) growing, filling up my uterus and there doesn't seem to be any complications or anything wrong with the baby. I will be going for another check up on the 3rd of August. Thanks again for praying, I will keep you posted!!

Some 6 Months Pics

2007-07-11T13:28:00.000+02:00

Some ..

Laughs & ..

Smiles.

The concentrated facial expressions are because I'm taking the pics on the computer instilled camera so I'm trying to fit without hurting myself :-).

For Fun:

Our Home in Sweden

2007-07-09T14:34:00.000+02:00

Here are some pictures of the Lords supply of fruits and vegetables

Faithful provisioners & picker-uppers of the fruit & vegetables

More of the Lords Supply

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Here are some before and after pics of how the apartment is coming along.

Parents Room

Before

After

Kids Room

Before

After

Our Room

Before

After

5 turning 6 & ANNOUNCEMENT!!

2007-07-07T22:22:00.000+02:00

Sorry, I can't give you head this time, hope you appreciate the times that I am able to.

This is the day of my brothers birthday, he's turning seventeen!! Talk about the sevens being in there, I wish you a happy birthday and a lovely year ahead of you. Sorry I don't have a pic ... when I do get one, I will post it.
So dear female readers, I say unto you, "Fear not to return unto this blog, for in due time your patience will be rewarded!!"

Back to Sweden

2007-07-04T23:56:00.000+02:00

So it's back to Sweden, to have the baby and work out our other legalities in both The Family and the secular world. That means that it's time to really let ..

Jesus take the Wheel.

Jesus recently told me to let Him take the wheel .. of everything, life, love, family & friends, and to stop pushing so much in my own strength, which is why this song spoke to me so much. It's something that I'm (still) learning, I guess it also goes hand in hand with Resting in the Lord. This song in many ways has become my heart cry to Him.

Some of the Lovelies in Iceland

2007-07-03T21:05:00.001+02:00

Starting Alphabetically;

Anna:

A classic classy spunky Brit! It was great meeting you for reals, I wish we could have gotten to know each other a bit better. But for the time that we did meet and spend together, it was fun and I hope to be able to do it again sometime. Praying that the Lord continues to lead and guide you along the way. God bless and keep on having those fun times with the Lord and those you love, it means allot to them!!

Anj:

She was always busy and seemed almost over worked but also ready (time permitting) to just sit, chill, have a beer and relax and enjoy the living part of life. We almost always saw her in the fast lane of work and trying to keep up with the millions of to do's. This pic depicts her in one of her rare moments ... relaxing!!!

David:

Gentleman kind and true, always loving and forgiving. Great sense of humor and one of the best people I've worked with to prepare classes with, he's always ready with a hug and a warm boomerang smile. This is the photo that I like to call "The Advertisement of the Prune" by artist, David Ryley himself. He made my visit to Iceland a happy one with his caring thoughtful ways and manners.

Gabe:

I really liked the song you wrote and hope to see it coming out soon, one thing that I remember is that you were always willing to stand in the gap and fill the need. I think that that is one of the traits of a good and true disciple. God bless you and keep on winning those souls!

Lisa:

She makes me wanna shout! Throw my hands up and ... yea, you know the rest of the song. Anyways, seeing Lisa was so great, because not only is she a cool & completely lovable person, but she's also my sister!!! It was like a mini family reunion going there to Iceland .. because of this soul with the stretched smile. It was great having a sister to talk to, I never knew life could get me so bottled up until I spent some time talking with you about the different things that we talked about. Thank you for listening and for the advice given, they (your time and advice) are both treasures that I think of fondly and happily.

Sarah P:

I am so happy that I got to see you again!! I hope you don't mind me putting up this pic of you, I think it looks fabillioso!! I touched it up cause it was a bit to bright to begin with, entonces ... Anyways, back to my speech. It was great seeing Sarah again because it just was! I remember that she was very caring and concerned about me being properly fed and that the baby was getting enough food from Mommy, that was super sweet! And I can honestly say that I miss that pampering!! Thank you for that!!!

Suzanna:

Last one but not at all least (that I am posting about, because I don't have pics of the others) is Suzanna, she was an inspiration to us both as well as a prayer warrior that helped us to fight through our spiritual battles. She was and still is considered like a Mother to us, standing by us during our difficult moments and also there to laugh with us during our happy times. Thank you Suzanna for the love that you shared and for the time that you made to listen to us and to pray with us. It will always mean allot to us and we will remember you for that.

This post may be updated if pictures are attained of the other individuals, but until then hope you have memories or introductions of these lovely souls!

3 turning 4

2007-07-02T22:44:00.000+02:00

Here are some pics of me when I was finishing my three months, I'm now almost done my sixth(!!) and I am officially freaked out!!

This pic is one of those, "Ohhh, stand there and smile!!" and then .. click, so explains the scruffy hair and the look I have on my face. (I did what I could to fix up the pic so that I could have a belly pic with my face in it, just in case you're wondering why I didn't just post it the way it was taken.)

Our Day Out

2007-06-11T22:36:00.001+02:00

Here are some pics of Jonathan and me on our day out with Mommy Meek. We went to this place that overlooks the city of Reykjavik. You can also see other cities in the distance but the day was a little bit foggy as well as bright so I wasn't able to take pics of that.

The Icelandic Golden Triangle

2007-06-11T11:36:00.000+02:00

While in Iceland I got to go on "The Golden Triangle" tour, it was most enjoyable. Sadly, Jonathan wasn't feeling so great so he stayed home which will explain his absence from the pictures that follow, anyway without further ado, here are some pics of that fun day ... again everyone who went on that trip was DUTCH! I hereby present you the colors of benetton .. heheh! (Well, some of them at least.)
I'll try to plut the pics in order of what we did ... but we did quite a bit that day so I'm not sure if I'll get it all right, but anyways ..

Our first stop was a tourist store/green house called Eden

The Water Filled Crater

Some of the view along the way

The Happenings of the Geysirs

The Enormous Double Waterfall

The ever growing gorge between the two splitting plates of Earth

More view pics

And of course this trip wouldn't have been complete without the Fritz en Mayonnaise. "They have rather big potatoes in Iceland!!" says Lisa holding up a fry to demonstrate.

It was a lovely day with lovely people to share it with. Glad I did it!! Hope you enjoy the documented lovely sites that I got to see ... which part of the trip did you like best?

Night Walk in the Parks

2007-06-09T09:29:00.000+02:00

The story begins with a trip to Iceland, where we did many things ... one of them was to test the playground equipment in every single park in our wee neighborhood to see if it was kid proof. Me being pregnant, I had to ask some of my dear friends to help me try out some of the rides, (this was a historical event) others I was able to manage.

Yep! The swing seems sturdy.

Hmmm, do you think he/she/they could get stuck in here?

This slide seems a bit tacky.

"I think the trick is to try to hang on .. I'm sure they'll manage fine."

Uhh .. Houston, we have a problem. The swings don't have backs on them! If your child should ever tire on the swing .. well, need I say more?

Awww bless!

On the same night ...

I got to meet the exclusive impersonater of Jonny Bravo ... ever so smashing! sigh ...

.. and was rescued in a dramatic theatrical play by my very own love!
(The play was inspired by the statue in the back ground, if you can't make it out, then just picture Jonny as the knight, me as the damsel, and Lisa as the dragon that was just slain by the Knight.)

And so concludes our lovely walk in the parks.

Mount Esa in Iceland

2007-06-08T18:27:00.001+02:00

The brook that met us at the base of the Mount

The water tastes funny..

Dutch Mamasita's

Happy in nature ..

with my baby!

Enjoying the moments...

Some of the beautiful scenery

to begin with

2007-06-08T11:15:00.000+02:00

This is the continuing story of both our lives and the little lives that are to come in written words and captured moments .. enjoy!