LDS Draper Temple Open House

Yesterday I went with my in-laws to the Draper Temple open house (which is when a temple is open to the public before it is dedicated). I'd never been to an open house before and it was a beautiful experience. Jon had to work and had class so he couldn't come with us, but I took Asher with me. I tried to tell Asher about what the temple meant and sang "I love to see the temple" with him, and then I just prayed that he would 1) feel the spirit in the temple and know that God loves him and 2) behave well enough so that we wouldn't ruin the peaceful feeling.

I think God answered both my prayers. Not only did Asher behave pretty near perfect-- except for one time in the sealing room when he wanted to get out of the stroller-- but I could tell he knew he was in a special place. The temple was absolutely beautiful. It is kind of small compared to most of the other temples I have been in, but the small size makes it feel more intimate and I really liked it-- I think it makes God feel closer. The ordinance rooms have THE MOST beautiful murals painted in them. There is one that makes you feel like you are sitting in the middle of the woods. The Celestial room was stunning. The ceiling is so high that it makes you feel like it goes on forever, and the crystal chandelier was amazing-- seeing it immediately turned my thoughts to God and his ever enduring light. Asher really liked the Celestial room, everyone was quiet in that room, looking upwards and pondering. Asher was quiet for the first few minutes and then he saw the chandelier. He leaned waaaaaaay back in his stroller, looked up, pointed and in an awed voice said, "baaaaaallllll....... bi baaaaaallllll (translation: big ball)" and then made motions to me that he wanted to touch it. Well that was out of the question since it was suspended 20 feet above us, but he was so cute. It was almost silent in there except for our squeaky stroller and him pointing at the "bi ball".

I am really glad that I had the opportunity to go to the temple open house yesterday. It was my first time in an undedicated temple and I was really struck by the feeling that it had compared to a dedicated one. There was definitely a strong spirit in the temple, even though it wasn't dedicated, but it still didn't feel like a temple. I'm not quite sure how to explain what I mean by that, except that it was so apparent to me as I went through the rooms that something was missing. The spirit was still present and I could feel it, but compared to the normal amount of peace, joy and spirit that dedicated temples have... it was nothing. It really made me realize that once a temple is dedicated God REALLY does dwell in it, and that it is His presence that gives a temple the overwhelming peaceful feeling it has.

As I thought about this yesterday I realized that I have really taken for granted what an amazing privilege and blessing the temples are in my life. It is such a great privileged to enter one of God's temples, to dwell in His presence, to commune with Him, and to serve Him. As I sat with Asher in the sealing room I was overwhelmed with gratitude that my husband, my son and I are sealed together for eternity and that as long as I live up to my promises to God, no power on heaven or earth can separate us. How different the world would be if every person realized how much God loves us and how many blessings He has for us if we will only obey and follow Him. Going to the temple yesterday gave me a spiritual boost, and made me want to be a better disciple and realize that I need to make a better effort to attend the temple-- which I hope will happen ;) The temple open house goes for a few more weeks and then it will be dedicated the middle of March. Then the Oquirrh Mountain Temple (just across the valley) will have an Open House in June. How exciting to have two new temples so close to us! Temples truly are the most amazing places on earth.

The Order Is In!!!!!!

For two of these,



Golden Sex Linked-- which lay big brown eggs

two of these,



Rhode Island Reds- which lay bigger brown eggs

two of these,



Ameraucana-- which lay GREEN eggs (like in Green Eggs and Ham:)

two of these,



Silkies-- which lay small white eggs
but I am mostly getting them because they are cute and funny looking

and two of these,


Frizzles--
I didn't know about these ones until the lady at the farm store saw I was interested in Sikies and said I would probably like these ones too. They, like the Silkies, aren't great layers but they are nice and funny looking-- they look like they stuck their beaks in electric sockets!

I am SO SO SO SO excited! My flock of 10 should be arriving around March 20th! I'll get them when they are day old chicks-- they overnight them in the mail (can you believe that!) to the farm store and then I just have to go pick them up! So exciting. It will be too cold to keep them outside so they will be living in a box in our kitchen or basement for a few weeks. Then we'll get our chicken coop built and they will go outside. They should be old enough to lay eggs in about July! I am so excited to start getting eggs. Actually I'm just excited to have birds-- I think some people are cat people, others are dog people but think I must be a bird person!
Oh Joy, Oh Joy!

Women in the Wilderness

Sorry, no Wednesday Woman today but instead I want to share with you what Jon's cousin gave me for Christmas. It was this poster entitled "Daughters in the Wilderness" from the "Real Heroes" collection which has posters depicting various Book of Mormon heroes like Nephi, Ammon, Captain Moroni, Samuel the Lamanite, Mormon, etc... I think it is WONDERFUL that these women were included in a collection of heroes, because their courage, faith, and strength was equal to what many of the male Book of Mormon heroes endured. Ever since I got this poster I've been thinking ALOT about the 7 (at least) amazing women who traveled for over 8 years in the wilderness with Lehi and his family-- Sariah, Ishmael's wife and her five daughters, who married Zoram, Laman, Lemuel, Sam and Nephi. The Book of Mormon tells us that these women "...suffered all things, save it were death" (1 Ne. 17: 20) including toiling while big with child, bearing children in the wilderness, starving at times and not having enough to feed their children, loosing loved ones, and many other hardships. I wonder if the reason Nephi makes a big deal about the women finally getting meat and being able to "give plenty of suck for their children" (1 Ne. 17: 2) was because before they had not been able to due to starvation or sickness. Who knows how many children these women lost in the wilderness or what other heartaches they had to endure. We also have to remember that these were women from wealthy Jerusalem families and probably weren't use to physical labor of any sort. True, they all had their moments of murmuring and doubt when they wanted to return to Jerusalem, Sariah's came when she thought her sons were dead and the daughters of Ishmael's came when they lost their father. Yet despite all they suffered these women persuevered, endured to the end and as Nephi said of them, "...were strong, yea, even like unto the men." (1 Ne. 17: 2)

These women really were heroes and the more I think about all they endured and the amount of faith they showed in the Lord, the more I admire and respect them. I'm excited to hang this poster somewhere were I'll be able to remember them more often. I espceially love the fact that these women look so stunningly beautiful after wandering in the desert for years, being dressed in animal skins and carrying babies on their hips! Now that's my idea of a Real Heroine!

A Breath of Fresh Air

Check out this month's editorial in the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing. I just about did a handstand after reading this nurse-midwife's (who only has done hospital births and has a daughter who is an OB/GYN) defense of home births and plea to the American medical community to stop attacking midwifery. It was SO wonderful to read something from the medical community that was cooperative and open minded about midwifery. Yippee! I SO hope that there are MANY more editorials like this in major American medical journals-- then things might start changing sooner! Did you know Canada's socialized health care system just added home births as an option for birthing women--- how come the US is SO far behind?!!! Here are some of my favorite quotes-- I bolded my favorite part :)

"... in our current health care milieu for childbearing
women, the protection of normal is not valued or
supported, except in a very few locales. Those who
support normalcy are usually swimming upstream
against a system that treats every laboring woman
as a surgical case. The idea that a normal spontaneous
birth is by design the best outcome for a
healthy woman and her infant is neither believed
nor entertained as a basic concept. Most U.S.-
trained physicians and sadly most U.S.-trained
nurses have minimal experience with normal labor
and birth.Without fetal monitors, intravenous lines,
infusion pumps, epidurals, pitocin, endless charting,
and rules theses individuals are helpless and
unskilled to provide the kind of informed human
support and wise guidance that a laboring woman
needs while the normal process of labor and birth
unfolds.

... the very core of my being, my
scientifically trained brain, and four decades experience
in the business of mothers and babies tell me
it is our system that is not serving mothers and babies
well. There is not some inherent danger lurking
for healthy American women who desire to give
birth at home. The primary danger is that the ‘‘system’’
does not support this choice. To pretend that
a normal healthy woman cannot give birth safely
without the trappings of a U.S. hospital is not only
audacious but also uninformed. Perhaps it is time
for a new woman’s movement, one that embraces
the normalcy of childbirth and puts mothers and
babies back on the center stage rather than the
system’s need to defend the interventionist subculture
it has developed and that it must financially
support. This system has not improved outcomes
for mothers or babies while the cost of care has
continued to escalate keeping pace with unnecessary
intervention. The recent initiatives of our
medical colleagues, the ‘‘authorities,’’ simply highlight
the painful reality that the ‘‘Emperor has no
clothes!’’

Fast Feet

Asher's new favorite thing to do is "fast feet" and to dance-- which happen to look almost exactly the same. Here is a cute clip of him showing off, and also you can get a feel for how "ball obsessed" my little boy is. He made up the game of "shooting" the ball into the "basket" by himself, but I have to get it back out for him-- over and over and over and over again. :)

Wednesday's Woman

Anna


"Saint Anna The Prophetess" by Rembrandt

Luke 2: 36- 38

Here's something to think about--- Every time a significant event happens in Christ's life women are present and are central to the event (ie. Mary, Elisabeth, Anna, Mary Magdalene, etc...) Why do you think that is?

Meeting Time Change

For all those interested:

The Health Department has rescheduled the meeting originally set for Wednesday, February 18th, to Wednesday, March 25th, at 9:00 a.m.

HOWEVER! We are still getting together for an information meeting this Wednesday, February, 11th from 6 - 8 p.m. here at the birth center. Please join us to learn why the Health Department is having meetings about us in the first place, and what we as a community can do.

Clarifications

I feel like I need to clarify some of what I said in the previous post about birth centers. But first I do want to apologize for the "sharpening their teeth" comment I made about the medical associations, because it wasn't fair and I shouldn't have let my frustration get the best of me. The comment was mostly a vent of frustration about last year. The AMA hires a full-time lobbyist in the Utah Legislature and last year one of her main jobs was to get a bill passed that would greatly limit midwifery care in Utah. I don't mind that so much-- she was just doing her job, but it was VERY frustrating when the medical community (physicians and the Utah Medical Association) wouldn't sit down and work out a compromise bill. Instead they kept pushing their own agenda (and creating new bills) without being willing to sit down and discuss the issues with the other side. If fact, the physicians and medical association representatives who were told by the legislature to meet with the midwives and work out a compromise failed to show up for the meetings-- twice. As a citizen, it was really frustrating to feel like just because I didn't have the money to hire a full-time lobbyist my opinions and rights were being pushed aside.

So that is where the comment came from, and I am VERY sorry if I offend any physicians or medical personnel because I didn't mean to. I realize that physicians and nurses always have their clients well-being and health as their first priority and just want to make sure everyone is receiving optimal care. I respect that and admire that. I realize that doctors and nurses have really hard jobs and I don't think they spend all those hours just to make money. All the medical personnel I know are wonderful, intelligent, kind and giving people and I appreciate what they do. Again I apologize if I was rude or ugly.

The frustration I feel about the conflict between the midwifery and medical communities mainly springs from the fact that it seems like some members of the medical community are not willing to give midwifery a chance or to look at it with open eyes. They are VERY passionate in their opposition to out of hospital births, especially home births, but I know of very few OB/GYNs or nurses who have ever attended a home birth or a birth center birth. All they ever see are the less than 10% of births that are transferred to the hospital because the birth was no longer going smoothly or normally, or they see women brought in by lay midwives who aren't certified and who don't have the credentials to be delivering babies. It isn't fair to base ones opinion of midwifery care on the exceptions rather than on the 90% of women who have successful out of hospital deliveries with qualified midwives. I just wish that there was more of open minded discussion going on in Utah--there are in some other parts of the country-- but in Utah it seems like it is hard to get the medical community to sit down and talk about midwifery as a viable option. Which is why I think it is so important for people, on both sides, to attend the meeting next week!

There were several comments on the last post that I wanted to address. It was mentioned that my logic was bad because I said that hospitals were opposed to birth centers because they were competition, but then said that Utah only had one licensed birth center-- therefore making that argument illogical. I guess I should have clarified better and said that I wasn't just talking about Utah. The birth center battle is a nation-wide battle and lots of birth centers around the country have been forced to close. I don't really think it is a matter of money or competition, but rather a matter of clashing birth philosophies-- I'll talk more about that further down.

Also it was asked if I had looked into the reasons the medical associations were challenging birth centers, which I have. Here is a link to the document outlining the birth center representatives proposed changes and here is the Utah Hospital Associations proposed changes. They are pretty much in agreement except over three things:

1) The hospitals want a hospital transfer agreement for every client, rather than a written transfer plan for the whole facility. Which doesn't seem like a big deal, but would greatly limit birth centers ability to operate normally and smoothly. There are 22 states where these agreements are requires and half of them no longer have operating birth centers.

2) The birth center wants to allow Certified Nurse Midwives (midwives who are nurses first and then have two years of midwifery training) and Licensed Direct-Entry Midwives (midwives who are not nurses but who are licensed by the state and have 3-4 years of midwifery training) to deliver at birth centers. The hospitals say that only Certified Nurse Midwives should be allowed to deliver at birth centers.

3) Birth centers want to be able to do vaginal births after cesarean (VBACs) under certain conditions, which are the same ones already in place by the Legislature for LDEMs delivering at home. These are the conditions:

1. Client has had only one prior cesarean section
2. Client has a documented low transverse incision
3. Ultrasound demonstrates placental location is not anterior and low lying (ie, not over an old scar)
4. Client has signed a VBAC-specific informed consent
5. Client has had one or more successful prior VBACs
6. Client meets all other risk criteria of the birth center

I don't think the argument really is about safety or money, because numerous research shows that out-of-hospital births, when attend to by a trained midwife, are just as safe for low-risk women as birthing in the hospital. And only about 2% of women in the US have their babies outside of hospitals, so they really aren't that much competition to hospitals. I think what the debate mostly comes down to is a difference in philosophies of birth. The midwifery philosophy is that birth is a natural, normal and non-medical event in a woman's life and the less you interfere with a natural process the smoother it will go. Unless of course it isn't going normally and then medical actions should be taken to help. The medical philosophy of birth is similar in that birth is a normal, natural thing but that it is a medical event and that a woman's care needs to be managed and handled with medical interventions-- even if everything is going normal. Both of these philosophies have their ups and their downs, and research supports both sides-- it is up to individuals to decide which one they believe in. It doesn't really matter to me which philosophy a person believes in, I just believe that women have the right to choose which type of care they receive. And with the current lack of cooperation between midwifery and medical communities in Utah, a woman's right to choose a midwifery model of care is being threatened, and that is what I am passionate about.

Thanks for giving me the chance to better explain myself-- next time I will watch myself better and not let my passions carry me away. It doesn't do either side any good to sling mud, it just makes the gap harder to bridge. I REALLY do appreciate all the opposing comments I got (even though it would be nice to hear from you who agree with me:) because I think it opens up an important conversation, and hopefully helps both sides understand each other better. So, I really do appreciate the opposing opinions and hope that we can all still be friends, even if we disagree! :)

Mother's Choices Are Being Challenged

I've been meaning to post this for awhile but haven't had time. I am REALLY grateful to Naomi who sent me an email about it-- reminding me that I really need to share this because women's right to give birth how they choose is under attack--- again.

All around the country the right for free standing birth centers to remain open is being challenged by medical associations. Hundreds of birth centers around the country have been forced to close because of pressure and lobbying against them from the American Medical Association (AMA). Hospitals and the AMA want to see birth centers close because they are becoming big competition for the hospitals. More and more women around the US are choosing to birth naturally, and turning to birth centers because they offer things that many hospitals don't--like water births, fully naturally births with much fewer interventions, comfortable home-like rooms, one-on-one nursing, VBACs (vaginal births after cesareans), midwifery care and continuous labor support while still providing many of the "emergency procedures" that hospitals do. Birth centers are a wonderful medium between hospital and home births, and keeping the option open for women to birth there is VERY important if maternity care is ever going to improve in the US.

Utah currently only has one licensed birth center, The Birth and Family Place run by two Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM). Women who have given birth there always tell me that their experiences were amazing-- so different and much better than their previous hospital births. But right now this birth center's, as well as other birth centers in the future, right to exist is under attack by the Utah Hospital Association, the Utah Nurses Association, and the Utah Medical Association. I guess that since the Legislature told them that they can't challenge the LDEMs (Licensed Direct Entry Midwives-- home birth midwives) for two more years, they are keeping their teeth sharp by chewing on the birth centers for awhile.

Women deserve to have choices about how and where they birth, whether they want to birth at a birth center, or at home with a qualified and skilled midwife. Both of these options have been proven to be just as safe, if not safer, as hospitals for women with low-risk pregnancies. Women have the right to make decisions about their bodies and their babies, and deserve to have options open that aren't a "one-size fits all" package designated by people who have monetary interests. When women are educated about their bodies and their choices and when they are taught to trust and listen to their bodies and their babies they will make the best choice for themselves, whether it is at home, the hospital or at a birth center. No matter what a woman chooses she deserves to have a choice in what type of care she receives.

I know several of the women who read this blog have birthed at birth centers, in Utah and other States and I'd encourage you to speak out in favor of birth centers and see what actions you can take in your community to make sure the option remains open.

If you live in Utah your physical presence at a meeting concerning the fate of birth center licensing is VERY much needed!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

9:00 a.m.

Utah Department of Health

Cannon Building ~ 288 N. 1460 W.

Salt Lake City

Go here for more info

Even if you haven't birthed at a birth center or at home I hope you will still think about attending. Every woman who has had or will have a baby in Utah is affected by these decisions, because they determine the level and quality of care that all women and babies receive, whether in the hospital or out of it. The more people who show up to the meeting will help send the message that there are lots of people who care about women's rights and about improving the quality of maternity care in Utah! If you need someone to sit next to-- I'll be there!

The Jabberwocky

I am aware that there has been a shortage of pictures of Asher on this blog lately, and I guess my only reason for that is because I haven't been taking very many pictures of him lately. Gasp! How could a mother forget to take pictures of her first child, a third or fourth child perhaps, but not the first! Yup, I've been negligent. But I guess it is because I've just been enjoying this new stage he is in, because it is SO much fun. It seems like since he learned to walk his personality has grown up so much and I am really enjoying it. Let me tell you what he has been up to, oh and the pictures don't nessarily go along with the stories-- so I'll explain those too:

• He is a COMPLETE ball hog, I mean the kid is OBSESSED with anything round and rolly. He spends hours picking up balls, throwing balls, kicking balls, hiding balls, chewing balls (if they are small enough), carrying balls around and even snuggling balls. The other night Jon was putting Asher to bed and he wouldn't go to sleep until he had his soccer ball, he snuggled right up with it and fell sound asleep. I don't know if this is just a developmental stage or if it is a sign of things yet to come, but really... you should see the kids face light up when he sees a ball. Yesterday my mother-in-law said that she cut some grapes in half for Asher to eat because she was afraid he'd choke on the whole ones, but he wouldn't eat them. He pointed to her plate and said "ball" meaning her whole grapes. She gave him some whole "ball" shaped grapes and he ate them just fine!

Everyonce in awhile I find the little jabberwocky eating things he shouldn't-- like batteries-- yikes!

• Not only is he a walking pro but in the last week or so he has learned to run. This new skill has made making it through church in one piece a monumental task. Luckily we have lots of wonderful people in our ward who don't mind chasing him, playing with him or letting him rummage through their purses.

Bundled up for x-country skiing-- we go on nice days with my friend and her little boy (who is 4 days younger than Asher). They both tend to fall asleep, in the most uncomfortable positions!

• He's become a little Jabberwocky. He babbles ALL the time and recently his babbles have started to make sense. He repeats most anything you say, but his favorite words are:
• ball --- oh man is this his favorite word, he says it at least 30 times a day and it can refer to anything round
• Ba ba (meaning something to drink)
• dog
• Brow Baa (Brown Bear-- as in the book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do you See", he brings me the book, says Brow Baa, and then sits in my lap to read it. How can you say no to that-- even if it is the 10th time you've read it that day!)
• Baaa (for a sheep)
• Dad
• Mama
• Gimpa (Grandpa)
• mo (more)
• oooh, oooh, eeeeh (which is how he counts one, two, three)
• nu nu unch (nibble, nibble, crunch-- which is the end to finger play about a bunny who eats a snowman's nose)
• na (no)
• yeh (yes)
• rock
• diaper

• Lately he has been really interested in books. Up until now I haven't been able to get him to sit still for a story, but the last few days all he wants to do is read. He brings me a book and wants to sit on my lap. I am LOVING it! Except for the fact that he wants to read the same 5 books over and over and over and over again. His favorites are "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See", "Do You Want to Be My Friend," by Eric Carle, "Good Night Moon", his baby Peek-a-boo book and anything with real little kids in it. I got him some new books from the library today in hope that we might be able to mix things up a bit-- so far it hasn't worked-- but I am still holding out hope!



• He has been a teething machine. He got his other front tooth so he is no longer a 3 toothed chomper and is working on his other two front teeth-- at the same time! Poor guy. He's been kind of miserable, he's had a fever and been really irritable, but they are almost out so hopefully he'll start feeling better soon. Oh, and he REALLY loves ketchup-- on everything.
  

All in all 13 months (almost 14 months) is turning out to be a really fun age, yes it has it's challenges but that is half the fun! I just can't believe how much more I love this little boy every day! My life would sure be dull with out his funny little smiling face.

Wednesday's Woman

Damaris

Acts 17:34

I think that Damaris is a really beautiful name, it is too bad that it isn't more popular because she was one extraordinary woman!

Do You Celebrate Ground Hog Day?

My husband's family are the only people I know who truly celebrate Ground Hog Day-- I mean beyond the token action of watching the movie by the same name. They have Ground Hog Day traditions, which as much as I dearly love them, I thought was completely bizarre when I first joined the family. The first tradition isn't that strange, they eat "ground hog" (sausage) and pancakes for dinner. I can understand this one. But the second tradition is the strange one. After eating dinner they take all the leftover pancakes, which are usually a lot because they make extras, and throw them on top of the fridge. Yes, really. The rules are that you have to make a wish, then stand about 10 feet away from the fridge with your back turned and throw your pancake over your shoulder and try to get it to land on top of the fridge. If your throw is successful then your wish will come true, if not you keep trying till you succeed. It is a really fun tradition that usually ends up in lots of giggles and flying pancakes.

I really have NO idea where this tradition came from or why it is associated with Ground Hogs Day, and Jon and his sister didn't know either. So if anyone happens to have any insights that might explain it, I would be interested to know. But it does leave me curious to know if other people have Ground Hog Day traditions, besides just watching the movie, or if my in-laws are just wonderfully and beautifully unique?

Oh and Happy Ground Hog Day!

A Moment of Silence Please...

To commemorate the passing of my most recently favorite pair of jeans, which tragically tore out at the knee yesterday. Sob. There is still a small hope that they will be able to be saved by a patch, but in my experience patches are just the beginning of the foreseeable bitter end-- the scrap box. Sob.

Really, these were the best jeans, not only were they a bargain deal but they also happened to be beautifully one size smaller than my normal size (I don't know why) and when ever I put them I felt instantly slimmer and taller. Magic. They also were the perfect color, and went good with all my shirts and shoes. Which why they are now completely worn out-- imagine that.

Really this is a sad day because now it means I have to go on a hunt for another favorite pair of jeans, and that can be a long, frustrating, and self-esteem shattering ordeal. Wish me luck. Sob.