The gift of milk!

  Its pretty obvious by now I have been a little obsessed with my journey with breastfeeding.  It hasn't been a very pleasant ride, and once I made the decision to stop the insanity and just give it up, I have felt better emotionally.  I am still sad that I can't be the one to nourish my child like God intended, but I am comforted by the fact that I did quite seriously try everything to help it work for us.  I have also been immensely comforted by my friends and family who have shared their stories of trials and triumphs with breastfeeding.  Its lovely when women can breastfeed successfully, and its also nice to hear the stories of other's struggles and feel not so alone.  If you were one of those people who shared, cared and encouraged, thank you. 

  The best part about stopping breastfeeding has been a huge reduction in my stress level.  I have still been a little misty-eyed about the situation, but merely accepting the situation for what it is has really been a big stress relief.  Add to that, Carl has been able to be even more hands on and share the feedings with me, which is nice in the middle of the night.  We also were blessed with quite a few sample cans of formula from the doctors office, so we haven't had any costs there yet.  Even better has been the gift of an amazing best friend.   I am lucky to have lots of good friends in my life, and four people I would list as my best friend.  One of these people has given us a great gift.  She has been blessed with an abundance of breast milk for her 9 month old son Jude.  She came to our house last night with three bags full of frozen breast milk and jokingly called herself the breast milk fairy.  Breane Breidert has been my best friend since the day we met in October of 2000.  She is such a special person to me, and I don't know if I will ever be able to repay her for this great gift!  I am so grateful that she has been willing to share with Avery the best nutrients nature makes!!  We are so lucky!  Thank you Aunt Breane, from the bottom of my heart!! 

A Lifetime of Thankfulness

I didn't take part in the whole "30 days of thankfulness" that seemed to sweep through my Facebook feed this month.  This was not because I don't have 1,000,000+1 things to be thankful for, its just that I am a slacker when it comes to keeping up with such things.  It also seems to me, its important to be thankful for all my blessings year-round, not just during the month of November.  That being said, I thought I would jot a few things down that I have to be thankful for this year.

A roof over my head and a working heater to keep us warm.  A husband that works hard to pay for said home and heater, amongst other things.  For his friendship, partnership and love.  Beautiful, healthy, intelligent daughters who brighten my life.  Wonderful friends and an even better family.  A new church family where we feel like we belong and are slowly learning and growing our faith!  A love and appreciation for all the simple things in life.  A 26 week old baby girl growing in my womb.  A loyal boxer and onery kitten that round out our lives.  And more important than all of those things, I am thankful for the One who loves me enough to let me have all these things, who loves me despites all my faults and short comings.  Jesus Christ, whom I am still learning to lean on more and who makes all these things possible!