Moriah Faith

   As I reflect on the birth of my beautiful baby girl Moriah Faith I am full of joy and peace knowing that God has blessed us yet again with so much more than I could ever expect.  This is the story of her birth and how she has been sent to our family in such a special, peaceful way.

  As I woke up on Tuesday, Feb 19th (only a day before my 2yr old son's birthday) at 41 1/2 weeks pregnant and eager to begin labor due to the fact that I needed to go into labor before 42 weeks in order to still have a home birth VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean).  This is pretty much the same thing that happened with my son Judah.  My body likes to cook these babies a little longer than some.  When I woke up and sat on the excercise ball and spent some time on Facebook I kept feeling more intense braxton hicks contractions and they were becoming more regular.  I then decided I would like to eat a good protein filled breakfast, but I didn't have much in the way of that.  I called a friend to bring me something and about an hour went by with the contractions being about 1 minute long and 5 minutes apart. I was comfortable on my hands and knees with the contractions and my 2 year old thought it was fun to climb on my back and "ride the horse", lol.  I actually thought it felt good to have the weight on my back. Then I texted my midwife and told her what was going on and to start packing up.  While I was texting it got even more painful and just told her to come on over.  I asked my husband to come home from work as well and texted my doula and birth photographer and they were on their way.  I had a feeling this was going to be a quick labor.  

  When people started to show up I was pretty much in the living room floor on my hands and knees and hugging the birth ball rocking back and forth.  I didn't want to walk or anything. I just wanted to stay close to the floor.  I was feeling  a lot of pain up front with this labor and contractions grew very intense very quickly.  I actually found myself worrying a little because my water hadn't broke yet and I was hoping labor wouldn't get worse once that happened.  My husband was so great at taking me down during contractions because I would tense up so much and he could tell I needed some encouragement to relax down from the peak of the contractions. My doula was also great at helping me relax and at one point she prayed for me and the baby and it really help me focus.  My midwife Rebecca also came to me quickly with her calming voice and lavender ice water washcloth and warm pack and I was immediately feeling much better after that.  

   I couldn't wait for that tub to get filled and when it finally did I went strait in and it felt great! What a relief! the next few contractions were so much more bearable.  I switched positions a couple of times and ended up with an extreme urge to get into a squatting position and boom! Water broke and in that same contraction I felt the urge to push.  I began actively pushing around 2:11 and at 2:22 she was born into the hands of my husband and I.  We pulled her up onto my chest and I couldn't believe I delivered her in that position.  I remember seeing a video of this birthing position and marveling at the ability to do that.  Here I am instinctively doing the same thing.  The whole birth lasted about 4 hours total although it was a very packed 4 hours! We didn't know if it was a boy or a girl, but we felt very strongly it was a boy.  We were pleasantly surprised at this dark haired, pink skinned, beautiful baby girl!

   This birth has really solidified the faith I have in God and in my body and mind.  I didn't see this birth as a VBAC, but instead as a natural vaginal birth.  I had no fear of not being able to deliver her.  Judah's birth was a huge milestone for me as a woman and this birth truly showed me just how far I have come and how my faith has grown.

   My birth story would not be complete without honoring my support team.  First, my husband who has been through so much in the past couple of weeks was able to put everything aside and be there for me in such a sweet way and has done a great job taking care of me postpartum as well.  Second, to a woman I have grown to adore not only as an excellent care provider, but also a close friend, my midwife Rebecca Finklea.  She has been everything I needed throughout the whole pregnancy including a shoulder to cry on, a calm voice during rough contractions, and she still knows how to be hands off so that I could experience my own strength.  My doula Renee who is just a ball of love and compassion and who has been more moved by the birth of my children than even I have : ) She is a true birth junkie and I love her! Kim Fulford, my photographer and friend who has been able to capture everything I wish I could see for myself at my birth.  She captures the love of our family so well.  We are a pretty good team and we share something so special. Life. Love. Worship.

   Moriah has come into our life at the perfect time.  Our family is going through some faith testing times and her name describes the blessing she brings.  Moriah is the name of the mountain that God has used to meet his people (Abraham, David, and one day will be Mt. Zion)  So she is our mountain of faith and her birth was surely a place where we all had a meeting with our creator.  Here is the verse that I was given early in my pregnancy from the Lord:

 ^{(Psalm 84, NIV)}

¹ How lovely is your dwelling place,
       O LORD Almighty! 
 ² My soul yearns, even faints,
       for the courts of the LORD;
       my heart and my flesh cry out
       for the living God. 
 ³ Even the sparrow has found a home,
       and the swallow a nest for herself,
       where she may have her young—
       a place near your altar,
       O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. 
 ⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
       they are ever praising you.
       Selah 
 ⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
       who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. 
 ⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
       they make it a place of springs;
       the autumn rains also cover it with pools. 
 ⁷ They go from strength to strength,
       till each appears before God in Zion. 
 ⁸ Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
       listen to me, O God of Jacob.
       Selah 
 ⁹ Look upon our shield, O God;
       look with favor on your anointed one. 
 ¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts
       than a thousand elsewhere;
       I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
       than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 
 ¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
       the LORD bestows favor and honor;
       no good thing does he withhold
       from those whose walk is blameless. 
 ¹² O LORD Almighty,
       blessed is the man who trusts in you.

New Heights, New longings...

Ok, so my last post was quite a while ago. I tend to get busy (Pregnant) and not follow up on things... lol. I will not promise a ton of blogs, but I will do one at a time in an attempt to communicate some of the things this thirsty girl is going through from time to time. Hopefully something is inspirational to you!
I looked back at my last post and I am still that thirsty girl in need of my Lord constantly, although over the past couple years after having a new baby, I noticed my attention and my affections were less on God and more on all the petty details of life, some important, some not so much. I realized that I can't possibly have peace, joy, patience, kindness, self control without Him, and I can't have Him unless I actually spend time with Him.
With all this being said, I have been working hard to seek God and focus more on him than all the things in this life. Everything else has been so much sweeter. I have been doing some bible study on numerous topics including Parables of Jesus, and Parenting. Both have been so wonderful and I have grown immensely through them. I have also Been reading Radical by: David Platt. This book sure has thrown me for a loop! I have been very aware of the fact that our culture has really twisted the gospel to fit the "American Dream" so this wasn't a shocking truth for me, but I am very happy to know that I'm not alone, and that others in the church are also reading it!
Another new thing with our family is that we are now homeschooling our daughter Savannah and it has been good/hard/confusing/a journey! More posts on that to come. I guess that's all right how. I will be posting more. I feel like this is the first chapter of a loooooooong book!

Blog #1

This is my very first blog. I thought I'd try this out and see if I like it. I frequently have an urge to put my experiences on paper and share it with everyone. I think blogs also can inspire others to think differently... sometimes outside the box, which is where I basically live. There is a reason behind my title and that is because I find myself in a place where I frequently feel parched and displaced in this life. I frequently feel like my life needs purpose and quenching! When this happens It is time for me once again to not sip, not gulp, not chug, but dive head on into the water that brings me life. This is a place I long for, and the only place I feel whole. Some people like to ease into the water and test the temp before they decide if they want to go all the way............. i say, "run and jump right in"