5 Minute Friday | Community

It's confessing. It's healing. It's the feeling I get when I'm too tired to entertain so I just sit down and relax with family.
Family.
Sometimes there are still pretenses; when we are around less familiar faces. But when I think of community I think of truth. I don't have to hide myself. I look around at people who know the secrets I thought I'd take to the grave and I am so thankful. I've never known anything like this. I've read about it, but I've never known it to this scale.
It's also those people you can't let go of. Beth is my community. It should be abundant and full of different personalities, backgrounds, perspectives... But sometimes it's just one more person so you know you're not alone. When our husbands were gone that's all I had.

A Thousand Tears (from the people who have to listen to me learn the guitar)

So, inspired by my awesome neighbor/sister Tessa and the other people in our community who can just pick up the guitar I have owned for 2 years and make beautiful sounds that I have yet to comprehend in said amount of time, I am finally learning to play! The final push was the image of playing and singing to my beautiful daughter as she grows up; expressing to her the beauty she brings to our home and teaching her about music. I look forward to watching her swim in rhythms and harmonies, discovering the strict structure and free abstracts which complement each other so well in such a rare way.

My little Darling... The Hippy Babe complete with
an Amber Teething Necklace... Yeah, I'm that mom... 

I decided to pick a song to learn on that would be special to RJ and I as she grew. I've heard A Thousand Years by Christina Perri on the radio and it makes me think of my little girl: how I've longed for her since I was a girl myself, how she is so worth the wait, how my insecurities about being a mother climaxed and melted when she showed up, how I want more than almost anything for her to know, no matter what she experiences in this life, that she is so incredibly loved and wanted and important.

Folk Tales | Doula

Labor was here. I was in denial, but the contractions were not. Gabe was being an incredible "Birth Coach" despite the quick progression he had not been expecting. When we called Brittany the first time we had no idea we would soon be picking her up on the way to deliver our child. We just wanted to get through that minute, that second. It was, especially for my sweet husband, chaotic.

Not for Brittany. Over the phone she was calm and pleasant. She brought a sense of peace to our home through the little speaker. She advised us confidently while maintaining her cheer. When we realized that we needed to go to the Birthing Center and that our planned doula would not be there, Brittany jumped into our birth team with enthusiasm and skill. We picked her up on the way and without any formalities she was massaging my back, calming my fears and reminding us that this was an exciting, happy event.

She even knew what to do in case I started pushing in the car. I didn't, but she was prepared.

That is why I recommend a doula.

Folk Tales | Placenta

*Folk Tale Disclaimer: These are simply the reasons we chose to do the things we do. We absolutely do not condemn any other parenting decisions as we fully respect that God put specific kids with specific parents and those parents are the only ones fully responsible for their children. These posts are merely meant to be a window into our lives for those who'd like to peer in and to offer some first hand knowledge for people researching these subjects themselves. :) *

So when I consider all the things we do and the way we must be perceived, this topic probably tops my list of Crazy.

Pain in Childbearing

Giving birth is daunting.

"To the woman he said, 'I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.'" {Genesis 3:16}

It was physically the most exhausting work I have ever endured. It was the most emotionally draining. It was the least pleasurable experience of my life. It was by far the most painful.

Yet here she is. "In pain you shall bring forth children." In pain you shall bring forth Raychel Joye. For all intents and purposes, God told me well ahead of time that the daughter I so desired would not come to be without suffering.

I suffered. She is worth it.