Hot Topics!!!

As many of you know, I am not one to stir up controversy or to firmly state my opinion when it's not the general consensus in the discussion. I tend to sit back, listen and quietly form my own opinion and keep it to myself for fear of offending someone. And that attitude has served me well. I let people assume I think the same way they do so I don't hurt there feelings. I have noticed that sometimes when I do voice my thoughts on any given subject, someone who dosen't share that opinion think that by me not sharing viewpoints with them I am in fact judging them. I have never really understood that. How is my choice or opinion affecting you so much that you take it personally. This has happened more then a few times and mostly centering around our decision to home school. I honestly, for  the life of me, can't understand why sharing my opinion can be seen in such a light. The only thing I can think of is I must have touched a nerve and they are feeling either guilty or worried about their decisions and my opinion is bringing out that guilt or worry so instead of dealing with those feeling inside themselves they feel judged. I could be totally wrong in my assessment of the situation but that is the vibe I get from these encounters. I do not judge others decisions, I think everyone has the right to do what they will. I just know what I think and feel about issues.

There are many topics I feel VERY strongly about that I have never really shared with anyone for fear of offending someone. But I have been thinking it over for a while and I have come to the conclusion that if I never say anything, nothing will change. I really feel like I am comfortable in my own skin enough to feel like I can really say what's on my mind and informed enough to defend my positions. It feels very liberating slowly figuring out my voice and standing up for what I feel is right. I have no problem sharing my testimony in Church or giving advice when asked but I really have not gone into a conversation and really stated my true feelings. Well, today I think that is about to change. I really feel that by sharing my opinions I can get a dialogue going and maybe even learn something.

hot topic #1 breastfeeding in public

I am a full time nursing mama! I have a 3 month old baby girl who is exclusively breastfeed. If I don't nurse her, she doesn't eat. I have absolutely no problem feeding her where ever I am. I use a nursing cover not only to maintain my modesty but to kind of shut out the noises and distractions so baby can get to the business of eating lunch. I REFUSE to feed her in a bathroom stall or hidden away somewhere. I am not ashamed to feed her and I don't think anyone else should be either. I have fed her in the park, in a cloth diaper store seated by a window, in the van, at my friends homes, in the waiting room at the doctors office, at the Urban Onion restaurant, at Famous Dave's restaurant, in my front yard... you name it I have nursed there! There are some times I do not feed her in public, those being in a grocery store or during church on Sunday. The reason I don't in a store is I can't balance a baby and a shopping cart! I am, lets say, well endowed enough that walking around and nursing is not feasible. I do not nurse in church meetings on Sunday's but I guess I could if I felt I needed to.  I don't have a problem nursing during the weekday activities. My church provides a mothers room with rocking chairs and changing tables. So on Sundays I nurse there.

There has been a lot of talk online about a town in Georgia that outlawed nursing children over the age of 2 in public stating nudity laws. Umm... that does not sit well with me for a number of reasons. Since when does any government body dictate how a mother feeds her child, or where. I firmly believe in child led weaning, that is letting the child decide when they are ready to be done nursing. However, I have never had a very long nursing relationship with my children yet but I am very hopeful too. The World Health Organization recommends that babies nurse until the age of 2 then longer as mutually acceptable between both mother and baby. Nowhere in that statement did I read that the government had any say in it. Women walk around in far less clothing and show way more skin then a nursing mother.  I know some people find nursing uncomfortable to watch. I think it stems for the oversexualization of a woman's breasts. The primary function of a woman's breasts are to feed her offspring. That is the very definition of being a mammal. I think if people see mothers nursing it will become normal and more accepted in society.


hot topic #2breastfeeding versus formula

This is an interesting topic for me. With my first I was not able to nurse, I had zero support after she was born and had no clue how to pump properly. She was sick and in the NICU for 7 days and I was not even given a pump until 4 day postpardem so my supply was not jump started. I never did get her to latch on and as a result she was 100% bottle fed. I can tell you I felt horrible that I could not feed her myself but I was so grateful that formula was there for her so she could be fed. With my 2nd I had major supply issues. She was jaundiced and was supplemented formula and my supply suffered. She got used to a bottle and I am not a very good pumper so my supply dried up and were it not for a dear friend donating  some of her extra breast milk my second child would not have had much in the way of human breast milk. In this debate I have a hat in both sides. With my little nursling I have now it is a whole 'nother story. She took to the breast and has been an awesome nurser. She has never even used a bottle once. I am so grateful that we finally have a good nurser in our family.

It is so sad to see mothers tear each other down for the way they choose to feed there babies. I think if a mother has a real issue with her supply and HAS to use formula then that is just fine. I have been there, I understand. But if I mother has a good supply and chooses not to for her own reasons then that is her decision but I don't agree with it. Breast milk is far and away better for baby. It is how babies were fed forever. It is not like 60 years ago when formula was invented breasts stopped there function and chemicals were to take over feeding babies. That being said, I am ever so grateful for formula but I would rather it were not so shoved in mothers faces. I would much rather see support and encouragement for mothers so babies get the best chance at a healthy future. my first, the one who only got formula has some major allergies and I think her getting formula has a lot to do with it.

hot topic #3 vaccinations

I am just going to say it... we vaccinate! I was totally gunge ho about vaccinations with my first two. I did my best to stay on schedule and make sure I was doing everything in my power to protect my babies from the disease and illness that is completely preventable. Even though I feel this way I still get a bit nervous when I have a new baby. They are so precious and tiny and I hate seeing them hurting. We do wait to start vaccinations until our babies are over 10 pounds and 4 months old. this subject it a really touchy one with some family members so we choose not the even bring it up. I think every parent need to make there own mind up as to what is best for there kids. I would be mortified if my kid were to get seriously ill from something that could have been vaccinated against. I know there are stories on both sides and there is a risk involved but we feel the risk are better then the death of our children.


hot topic #4 spanking


We DO NOT spank our children! We never have and we never will. There is not one single thing anyone can say that will convince me physical violence toward children will do any good WHATSOEVER.  I think if you can't hit another adult then why can you hit a child? "it's just one swat" "it was only with an open hand" "I only spank when it's really needed" I don't think these excuses would work if a husband said that about his wife "I only hit her once" " I used an open hand" " I only hit her when she needs it" Ummm that just doesn't fly with me. For me hitting my child is wrong. Period. I want my children to listen to me because they love and respect me. because they know the rules and consequences for there actions, not because they are afraid that if the make a mistake mommy is going to hurt them. There is nothing that makes me cringe more then hearing a child crying because they are being hurt by their parent and hearing that awful smacking sound. I get sick to my stomach just thinking about it. I have never seen a parent lovingly spank there child... it is always out of anger. I don't by the "well I was spanked and i turned out ok" line. If that were the case they wouldn't feel the need to take there anger out on the child. This is just MY opinion. If you spank that is your choice. I don't condemn you for it. but please don't do it in front of me or my children. We are not used to that and it is very startling to us. I have had more then my fair share of calming down my daughter after she sees another child being hit.

hot topic #5 Homeschooling

How naive I was back when we first decided to home school. I didn't know that choice would lead to losing friends and having people close to me stop talking to me for long periods of time.
It's not the entire idea of homeschooling but that pesky word "socialization" The one word that home school parents get the most annoyed with. I am more then a little frustrated that it is even an issue at least for my family. I make sure my kids are out in the town, surrounded by other people. we go play groups, homeschooling groups, team sports, library reading time, church primary classes and on and on. My kids do spend time at home but they are not locked away for weeks at a time never learning how to interact with others. When they grow up they will not just spend all there adult lives associating with people there own age. They will be around people of all ages. That is exactly how they are being raised, to be able to socialize with people of all ages not just 30 other kids there same age. We love homeschooling and really we are just beginning. Our oldest is not even old enough for kindergarten yet but we have already done kindergarten with her. We love moving at her pace and teaching her about the world around here. We most like teaching a Gospel centered education. Something you can not get at public school. This is where we are now in our lives, we may decide to put her in public school someday but for now this is what we are doing and she loves it.

I hope I haven't offended anyone but I think it is long overdue I state my opinions and let my voice be heard. I don't have many people who actually read my blogs anyway but I hope this blog post will help those of you who do read this blog understand me a bit more. I love my kids and my family and Jacob and I have one single goal, and that is the have a happy safe home and this is just the way we have found to do it.




 Just as I don't judge others for there opinions please don't judge me for mine. We are all doing what we feel is best. This is just my own opinion.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISABELLA!!!!!

Someone is turning 5 today!! Isabella Rose is our oldest child. She is such a fun kid. Isabella is home schooled and has completed her kindergarten work and has already started 1st grade!! She is learning to read, she can write, do addition and subtraction, AND is starting multiplication!! She loves history lessons and science too. She is not thrilled with learning phonics and is starting to learn Italian for her language.

Isabella is in the CTR 4-5 class at church and loves primary! This Sunday she gets to give a talk, I can't wait! Isabella loves church and already has such a testimony of the gospel. She loves reading her scriptures and is the first one to remind us to pray each night. She enjoys family home evening, especially leading the music! She has a good heart and a loving spirit. I learn so much from her.

Isabella is a wonderful big sister. She loves her sisters very much and takes great care to help them. She is not a perfect sister, being a big sister to Iyla is tough! Iyla is two and gets into everything!! Bella tries very hard to have patience for Iyla. Ginny is still very small (3 months) but Isabella can't wait until Ginny is crawling so they can play together. 

 Isabella is sweet!

 Isabella has a bit of a temper!!

 Isabella is goofy!!

 Isabella is smart!!

 Isabella doesn't always get her way!!

 Isabella loves holding the baby!

 Isabella is silly!!!

 Isabella is AMAZING!!!

Someone is turning 5 today!! And that someone is our

ISABELLA ROSE GIFFORD

Bikes and trikes

The girls are loving being outside. We love living in a small town! We can go on fun walks and they can ride there bike and trike around the town. Here is Iyla on her trike!

She is getting quite good at it too!

 I tried to get a picture of Isabella but she was gone down the road! I think we are getting close to losing the training wheels!

Our New Fence

We love this house and everything about it! Now the yard is another story. The back part that is fenced in is small and the girls love being with us when we are doing yard work. But as many of you know we have a 2 year old. And she is a runner! if she gets out of the house she runs for it and more then once she has left the yard for the neighbors or the street!! So, we decided to put up a fence to not only beautify our yard and bring more value to our home, but to keep miss "I-love-to-run" safe! Here is the before picture. The mess on the sidewalk is the moss I scraped up. I didn't know the sidewalk was so big until I did that! I also had to really trim back the bushes to make way for the fence. It was brutal but Jacob says it will grow back. I sure hope he is right!!



Before Front view







Before Side View



It was kind of a whirlwind week getting it all done. On Wednesday we went to the home depot store to get all of the supplies. On Thursday, we dug all the post holes, set and braced the posts and cemented some of them. On Friday we cemented the rest of them (27 in all!!) and hung some of the rails (stringers, in fence building talk) On Saturday we nailed up the pickets. We ran out of pickets so on Monday we had to get more. On Tuesday we installed the hardware, latches, handles that kind of thing.

cement set and stringers ready to get screwed on



After back/side view

  And ta-da! It looks amazing! I still can't believe we did it! My joints do however! Man that was a lot of work but so worth it!


After side view

  I love taking pictures of the house at this angle. Front view shots make it look so small but this angle you can see the HUGE addition in the back.


After Front View

 Here is the front view. The arbor in the walkway was a custom build but us. We designed it and put it together. It cost us 65 dollars in supplies to make it. It is 8 feet tall (before it was installed in the post holes) 5 feet 7 inches wide and 3 feet deep. to buy an arbor that size at home depot was easily 500 to 600 dollars. Huge savings by doing it ourselves. When the wood has a chance to dry out we are going to paint the fence white along with the pillars on the porch. I do not like them green. In fact I do not like the green trim at all!! Not this year but hopefully next year I want to paint them cream. i think it will go much better with the roof we had put on last summer. I love that we have a new fence. I love that it will keep my babies safe.

taking a Popsicle break!

They love being outside with us and getting dirty in the garden. With the price of food lately we are planting  HUGE garden. So hopefully we will have many fun times ahead in our yard.

Mommy Guilt is Getting to Me!!

I am sick!! I woke up yesterday morning feeling like crud. stuffy nose, burning lungs, sore throat, the works! It's my first time being sick since having the baby. It's so hard to try to rest when have 3 kids under the age of 5, but this is my life!! In my effort to be amazing this last weekend with Easter I seriously over did it. For some reason I keep forgetting that I just had a baby and my body needs time to get back to normal.

 But that is my pattern, I do too much too soon. I take care of everyone else but me. I think that is the biggest mommy guilt there is. Us moms take it upon ourselves to mother everyone but us. The kids and the husband, the pets, our friends and extended family, our church callings, everyone one is before us. Until we are literally and figuratively spent. Out of time out of money and out of energy. Every once and a while my body just poops out !! It's a struggle in my head battling between the guilt I feel for not doing what I think is enough and my knowing that I need to take care of me too. I know the old line "if mom does not take care of herself she can not do a good job taking care of everyone else" but I begged to differ, to an extent, that I could neglect myself and still get the job done taking care of what I needed to. One of the first places us mom's find extra time is in neglecting ourselves. Just like on Sunday I had allotted time to do my hair and make-up so I would look nice for Easter Sunday but instead I used that time to redo my girls hair after they messed it up for the second time. We still made it to church on time and everyone looked fantastic, except me. I am sure no one in the church noticed but I sure felt under dressed. I looked just fine but I didn't get to do what I wanted in terms of my hair and I never did get any makeup on.

 Going a bit off topic, that is another thing that bugs me a bit. If I wear make-up no one notices so I think, why bother, it's expensive, takes time out of my day, and it's rough on my skin. But if I don't wear any I have people coming up to me and asking if I feel ok or telling me "you look tired. Would you like me to take the baby for a while?" Ummm no, not tired, just not wearing make-up. I guess I just look bad with out make-up on. Which is not that great for my self esteem. Cause now I feel like I NEED to wear make-up to look presentable, but I just don't want to devote the time to doing my make-up every day.

But after thinking about this situation I, and many other mothers of young children get ourselves into, I have come to this conclusion... STOP IT!!!! Just stop it or you are going to wear yourself so thin there is going to be nothing left. What is the point of running around like crazy if you are running strait into the ground? I give and give to everyone but me. I seem to just take and take from myself without thinking of the cost. I remember hearing once that if we saw someone treating there daughter the way we treat ourselves we would be shocked and appalled at the mothers behavior. That is so true!! I have resolved to do better, to try harder to take better care of myself. I need to rest, to completely heal from having a baby, to give myself a break now and again. I need to realize that a few toys on the floor and a sink full of dishes is not the end of the world. I need to be ok with not being amazing 24/7. I need to mother myself as well as I mother my own children. In short this bout of sickness has snapped me out of it and helped me to slow down. Our bodies tell us things and it's time I listen. You too, moms out there. Give yourselves a break, it's ok to have off days. it's ok to not have a perfectly clean house at all times ( I am kind of twitching a bit at the last statement... It's a process!!) It's ok!!  Mommy guilt is just stupid. If our kids are safe, happy and thriving, well fed and nurtured, we can find the time to devote some energy to ourselves. Even if it's just long enough to brush our hair and put on a little make up!

Early Spring In Our Yard

Last fall we had fun planting bulbs! It was a lot of work but it was well worth it because this spring we are able to enjoy the fruits of our labors.

Here are the double Daffodil's... they are quite top heavy but so cool!

 Here is a close up and you can see the tulips in the background.

 These were a surprise to us. They came with the house. Grape Hyacinths! So pretty.

 These are giant pale daffodils. There are some tulips behind them but they are not up yet.

 Here are the tiny narcissus and the tulips. So lovely!

I forgot to take a picture of my primroses but they were very fun! We are really loving having our own yard! Look out spring! We have a lot of fun projects coming up!! Can anyone say picket fence!!

Our Valentine's Day

I am trying very hard to catch up on all of the stuff that has been going on in our family lately. One such thing was Valentine's Day. We love holidays around here and try to make them a big deal, something special. Well, this year valentine's day was just 13 days after Ginny was born and I was in no condition to do it up big. So instead I had the girls little valentines, decorated the kitchen and gave them a small gift. I think it was a big hit! Here are the pictures we took.

 I used all of the pink tissue paper fro all of the baby gifts to decorate the counter with and wrap the gifts.

I also made little boxes and we put little candies on them. Iyla LOVED that!

 Here is Bella opening her little box of goodies! we even decorated there plates!

 Iyla dove right into her candy!

This is the dining rood table all pink for the day!

The girls got pink and purple bath sponges shaped like butterflies!!

Daddy made pink oatmeal... Bella was not too sure about that!


Just for the record, Jacob got me a gift too. He's so thoughtful!

My Little Julia Child

Isabella LOVES helping me in the kitchen! She also loves watching cooking shows. We were watching Julie Child the other day (more like back in January!) and Julia was trussing a chicken to rotisserie cook it. Bella was fascinated! She watched the entire episode. I thought it would be fun for school one day to talk about the parts of a chicken and teach her how to truss the chicken herself!

Bella went with me to the store to buy just the right size chicken. We brought it home and prepared it for the rotisserie oven. We have a counter top oven that is pretty amazing. It bakes, broils, has a convection fan, AND a rotisserie!! That thing is amazing! It can hold two 12 inch pizzas on it's two racks or a 5 to 10 pound chicken or  roast, on the rotisserie! Jacob got some high marks for bringing that home!! He got it for me to replace our aging toaster oven. I love it but the ONLY thing it can't do is make toast!! Well, back on subject... Bella remembered that Julia rubbed the chicken down with butter, so that is what she did!

We used non dairy butter so Bella would not have issues.

She really had fun! We then salt and peppered it and trussed it up and stuck it on the metal rod and in the oven it went. 2 hours later we had one amazing chicken for dinner! Bella even went so far as to make microwave baked potatoes and canned green beans. She was so proud of herself for making dinner! Such a big girl!

Dinner Challenge!

My sister in Law challenged readers on her blog to try to not cook the same dinner for a month. I thought that would be fun so I started! Here is a list of what I have done and am planning on doing...



-chicken stir fry with homemade pot stickers

-spaghetti and homemade bread sticks and salad

-pizza and salad

-Corned beef and cabbage with potatoes

-chicken stew and rolls

-lentil soup and toast

-Chicken pot pie

-Chili and cornbread

-baked potato bar

-corn chowder and rolls

-chicken enchiladas and Spanish rice



On the menu for the next several days



-Chicken fried steak and potatoes with roasted veggies

-tomato macaroni (our Friday night tradition but only doing it once this month. It's just macaroni noodles, canned Italian style tomatoes and diced up string cheese) with salad

-calzones yep you guessed it... more salad! It's a big hit at our house

-chicken noodle soup and rolls

-tacos and Spanish rice

-turkey wraps and potato salad with cut veggies

-stuffed pork chops and mixed veggies


So that is over two weeks of dinner ideas. I have two more to go. The funny thing is, I never thought about it before but we rarely repeat meals around here so this is not so hard.I think if I go 2 months the real challenge will start. Should I go for two months? hmmm...

Thanks so much for the idea Amber! we are having a blast! You are the best!!

Love is...

Holding baby so mom can nap

Falling in love with baby sister

Reminding me daily of how blessed I am.

Isabella is everything I could ever hope for in an eldest child. She is funny, wise, spunky, bossy, opinionated, loving, happy, caring, smart, sassy, and kind.

She loves her sisters and her family. We are so blessed to have her in our family. I love her so much. She can say the funniest things.

-"Mommy, I like Tinkerbell and all but she is not modest is hottest so I don't think I want to be a fairy when I grow up"

-"Iyla!! you can have some of my candy if you give it to me!"

-"Mommy, if you eat the breakfast I made you baby Imagin will think your breast milk is yummy!"

-"Daddy, where does poop come from exactly??"

- to the pharmacist when looking at a display of reading glasses " I need glasses! My mommy told me I am blind so I need glasses." The pharmacist asked "why did your mom tell you you are blind?" "Because whenever she tells me to get something and I can't find it and she does she says I am blind... Mommy said daddy is blind too but he already has glasses!"

Bella is one amazing kid! I am so glad she is mine!!

Baby Photo Shoot

I wasn't feeling up to much and we didn't have a ton of money to get fancy pictures taken of the baby so we decided to do it ourselves. Jacob and I rummaged around the house for some props, fixed up a little studio on the dining room table and had some fun. I think they turned out amazingly wonderful. Imagin is all of 4 days old in these pictures.

I love the idea of babies in baskets. This was the smallest basket we had. All of the others looked funny with a baby.

The next two pictures feature hats made by my dear friend Stephanie. She is extremely talented and all of her hats are super cute. You can find out about her hats here.

 Babies with huge flowers in their hair are too precious! I lovethis picture because we actually gother eyes open. For a 4 day old baby that is quite the feat!

"Imagin had a little lamb"

This one I am going to get blown up to 11" by 13" in black and white for our bedroom. It is amazing. Jacob's hands look so big! His finger is the same length as her entire upper arm!

 We do cloth diapers with our kids and this picture was inspired by the ubber cute diaper cover a friend gave us.


                                                      "Jungle baby"

                                           "A Daughter is for Loving"

we have this pillow hung up in the big girls room. we bought it for Bella when she was a baby and I just love it. I thought it went great with the colors in the flowers.

I just love our newest  little bundle of joy. She is an amazing baby. What a blessing she is in our family.

Coming Home...

To understand the total excitement of this post I have to first tell you a little bit about the circumstances surrounding going home with my first two children. With Isabella I was released from the hospital 3 days before Isabella was. So I went from my room to the Special Care Nursery to be with her. We stayed in a room there for 3 days until we were finally able to take her home. I walked, slowly, to the car and home we went. It was really hard for me to see the mom's with there babies being wheeled out to there cars holing there new babies and I didn't get to do that.

When we had Iyla, again we had to go to the special care nursery. On our way there I was a little tired and really sore and a nurse asked me if I wanted a wheel chair. At that moment the lady in the room next to us was leaving with her baby in a wheel chair. I broke down in tears and said "I don't get a wheel chair" I was devastated that once again I was not getting to go home as scheduled and I had to do the walk of shame to the nursery. Luckily, It was only overnight. Jacob knew I really wanted my wheel chair ride so he talked with the hospital staff and arranged a wheel chair ride for me. It was so thoughtful for him to have done that for me but deep down I really wanted to go home with my baby on the same day I am discharged. I know it's not the biggest deal in the world but I was sure it would never happen for me.

Now fast forward to this time around. Imagin is one healthy girl! She never once had to leave my side to go anywhere. She does have a bit of jaundice but not enough to have to go under the lights like Iyla did. On the day I was scheduled to leave Imagin was cleared to go home too! I was thrilled, shocked and very excited!!

Here is a picture of Imagin getting her hearing tested. She passes with flying colors by the way!

This is a first for us, we have never gotten a baby ready to go home in our room. They didn't even do the car seat stress test cause we were not leaving from the Special care Nursery.

 She is so cute with that cupcake hat. My dear friend Stephanie gave us the hat she made herself.

We cut off the bracelets and were free to go home. And guess what... I got my wheelchair ride.

Meeting the New Baby

The morning after we had the baby Kelly brought the girls to meet baby Imagin. They both love there baby sister very much.

It took Iyla a while to warm up to the baby but after about 5 minutes she came over and wanted to hold the baby.

 Isabella has been looking forward to the baby coming for such a long time and she loves to hold the baby. She is such a proud big sister!