Mercedes’ First Birthday! from Hache Homepage on Vimeo.

A little insight into her name…

Shiloh:
It is of Hebrew origin, and its meaning is “His gift”. Also possibly “he who was sent”.
Biblical: a prophetic name for the Messiah.

Genesis 49:10-12
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
Binding his donkey to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
He washed his garments in wine,
And his clothes in the blood of grapes.
His eyes are darker than wine,
And his teeth whiter than milk.

Shiloh is also the site of an ancient city in the Ephraim hill-country and the religious capital of Israel in the time of the Judges. It is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as an assembly place for the people of Israel where there was a sanctuary containing the Ark of the Covenant.

Shiloh was the center of Israelite worship. The people assembled here for the mandatory feasts and sacrifices, and here lots were cast for the various tribal areas and for the Levitical cities.

Hesed:
I think the following is a good, working definition of hesed: the consistent, ever-faithful, relentless, constantly-pursuing, lavish, extravagant, unrestrained, furious love of our Father God!

Also…
“In the Hebrew Scriptures, hesed refers to a sort of love that has been promised and is owed—covenant love, that is—as in Hosea 1:1: ‘When Israel was a child, I loved him and out of Egypt I called my son.’ Covenant love is the love God promised to give to his covenant people, and which they in turn were to respond with in kind, loving the God of the Bible with all their hearts, minds and strength. Hesed does not suggest some kind of generic love of everyone. Like marital love, covenantal love is given within the context of a relationship where it is already promised and where the recipient is commanded to respond in kind. Covenant love, like marital love, is neither optional nor unconditional; it is obligatory. This is not to say hesed is compelled—just as in a marriage, love cannot be forced—but it is commanded. This love may be freely and graciously given, but, from the biblical point of view, there is no such thing as free love.

It is sometimes difficult for a modern person, who associates love with uncontrollable feelings, to understand how the Bible can command love of God, neighbors, even enemies. But in the Bible the many terms translated as ‘love’ do not refer primarily to feelings. They refer to decisions of the will. This voluntaristic notion of love is recalled in modern wedding services, where the bride and groom say ‘I do’ and ‘I will’ when they are asked to make their vows, not ‘I feel like it.’ In the Bible, when God’s people are called upon to ‘love,’ they are being asked to do something loving and responsive to the love of God, whether they feel like it or not. Consider Matthew 5:44: ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.’”
An Excerpt From This Article

Want to know more about the word Hesed? CLICK HERE

One last definition: our beautiful daughter!

Wounded Birds

I recently made these three birds to be flying over the ocean in my Humboldt County Quilt…

With two little ones in the house, I make a point to keep my scissors and rotary cutters up high, out of their reach.  It looks like Jakob just climbed up and grabbed them off the shelf… looks like it might be time to get a lock for my sewing room!

PS – Two of the birds aren’t even cut, the “sky” fabric with be easy to replace… I just need to mend the other bird a little…

Jakob is a Super Star!

It’s Friday, day five of potty training with Jakob – and he is doing wonderful!!!  He has had one or two accidents a day, but the other %75 of the time, he had gone to the bathroom great!  He even goes on his own, without being asked, jumping up saying, “I have to go, I have to go!”  He hadn’t had any successful “number twos” in the potty until today!    He again, went on his own volition and did great!  I am so grateful and SO proud of my little (I mean big!) boy!!!

After starting potting training with Jakob on Monday, I started cloth diapering Mercedes on Tuesday!  I have been wanting to make the switch for a few months now.  But I was nervous about trying something new, that could possibly be really gross and messy!  But with multiple kids in diapers, the money drain was really starting to bother me.  Also, a hesitation with cloth diapers was investing the cash into them.  It’s not the same cloth diaper world as when I was a baby!  It has really taken off with the green movement and there is a whole market out there, some are quite pricey!  Now, I know there is much long term savings, but still – not sure what to buy, not wanting to waste money on diapers I didn’t like all while not even sure if I could handle cloth diapering!!!

Flannel Cloth Diaper Prefolds

So, as in line with my personality, I avoided “taking the plunge” and I am stepping lightly into the world of cloth diapers.  My mom bought me a bolt of diaper flannel through her store, and generously gave it to me to begin my journey.  I have decided to go a bit of the old fashioned route to start, and not spend $100-$500 dollars on a set of cloth diapers (really, they are so fancy these days!).  So she brought me the flannel late this Spring and I looked online for instruction on how to make “pre-folds” (I just learned this term myself as I searched online).  I spent just

The "Snappi" fastener

over $10 buying one “snappi” (a stretchy clasp to hold the diaper closed – no more need for pins!) and two different kinds of “plastic pants.”  Just the white, crinkly pants that I remember from when I was young.

It’s been going surprisingly well with Mercedes, no major explosions or anything!  As I am cautious, I am still using disposable at night time.  But saving money all day long with cloth!  It’s funny too, how once I started looking to cloth diaper, I realized how many people I know here that do it.  I had been surprised actually beforehand, asking my friend why no one here did it?  But I guess you just have to start asking!  At a baby shower last month I got a bunch of tips from friends and felt like I could actually do this!

So for now, I like that I’m saving money, filling the landfill less, and the latest reason I found – the possibility that disposable diaper use may contribute to infertility issues when they grow up (yikes!).

Maybe one day down the road, when I find some extra money (Isn’t it supposed to grow on trees somewhere?), I’ll invest into some fancier diaper systems.  Or just maybe I’ll even learn how to make some of those diaper covers on my own!

But then I’d have to choose; “All-in-One,”  or “Pocket Diapers,” or “Fitted Diapers,”  or “Diaper Covers,” or “Flats,” or “Pre-folds?” (I told you they get fancy!)

There are so many brands and styles to choose from!

It’s been a long journey of no success, filled with Elmo’s “Potty Time” dvd and a little sister who now seems more interested in the potty than her brother!  I’ve tried to stay patient, listening to so many who say “He’s just not ready.”  While I doubt myself a lot (I’ve never potty trained a child before) I do feel that I know my son best, I spent the most waking hours with him.  And I think he’s ready!  The problem?  I think he’s too comfortable in his diapers.  They have great design, whisking away moisture and are very comfortable to wear.  But to the parents – diapers are expensive!  And I don’t want to buy them any longer than necessary.

Jakob is now 3 years and 5 months – and I’m ready to do what it takes to get this job done!  So today we started with underwear (again) and we’re going to go all week with underwear.  I don’t know how many days it will take until he really catches on, but I want to stick this out.

So it’s day one, and at 10:30 am we’re on pair two of underwear.  I asked him every 20 minutes or so if he needed to use the bathroom, each was answered with a no.  Then after I turned Sesame Street on, I asked him again.  He just gave me a funny look.  Turns out there was already a puddle on the floor!  Oops, but at least it was the hardwood floor.  I’m doing my best to remind him he is not allowed on the couches while potty training!

I kinda feel like I should just put him on the potty every half hour, but Jakob doesn’t like to get up until he has done the deed.  In our past attempts, he’s spent hours (literally) sitting there, not wanting to get off.  But then after I finally convince him to try later, he gets up and pees on the floor within a few minutes.

This blog may sound complainy, I am definitely a little frustrated.  But I’m trying to remain patient and kind towards Jakob, encouraging him in the right direction.

Hoping I’ll have a good report tomorrow!

Baby Bean is laying down, head on the left (dark in the head is the brain), and legs extend out to the right. (click to enlarge photo)

But today was my favorite part of the pregnancy – an ultrasound that let us peak into the womb where God is knitting together a precious little one to join our family!  I’ve never had an ultrasound this early before, but they wanted to figure out the due date, which turned out to be February 13, 2010.

I loved this early ultrasound, because even as our baby is the size of a blueberry – we saw the heart beating fast (151 bpm), the yoke sac that is feeding the baby until a placenta forms, the technician showed us the forming brain, and this little one was wiggling all over the place!  Already, while still so tiny, this baby is amazing!

Jason affectionately called he/she, “Baby Bean” as we look lovingly at our fuzzy blob picture the ultrasound technician sent us home with.  It’s funny how exciting a little black and white blob is!  Because this picture is so much more than a blob, it’s our baby!  And the picture doesn’t do it justice, see the baby squirm and wiggle is so much fun!

Here is a little more about what is going on with our baby this week:

pregnancy: 7 weeks

How your baby’s growing:

The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you’re daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that’s the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

If you could see inside your womb, you’d spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby’s brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby’s growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.

7 more months until we meet this new little one – stay tuned!

Then on Sunday morning, Jason got up early with the kids to make me my favorite breakfast – pancakes!

Jakob joined the “big kids” in Sunday School last month after he turned three.  In addition to lots of play time, they make a craft, have snack, take an offering for orphans, etc.  So this mother’s day I got a beautiful card from him that he’d made in class!

Mercedes gave me the best gift, one I have been waiting for months now!  She started walking, unassisted, unprompted all around the house!  Jakob first walked at 15 months and I was sure Mercedes would walk sooner than he.  But no, she joined her brother and waited until age 15 months also!  What can I say?  My kids are relaxed!

The day ended with a lovely dinner made by Jason for me, and a chat on the phone with my own mom.

I thought I loved my mom, but then I became a mom myself.

Now I really love my mom!

I do love watching Jakob learn how to draw!!! I thought this guy was especially cute! Jason drew the circle for the head and then Jakob drew the rest – doesn’t he look like he’s running whimsically?

I’m so proud of our little boy, and I think he’s proud of himself too!