To Sniff or To Blow!

There are days, like today, when I wish I could trade my nose in for a new one and yet, if this is the sum total of my problems, I'm well aware I get of lightly!

After dreaming of what might make an interesting blog yesterday, I've spent almost the entire day with a box of tissues at my elbow and have done rather little in the way of anything constructive today except, perhaps, look after my daughter, fire-up some neurons in that growing brain of hers and entertain the debate of whether I should sniff or blow everytime my nose ran!

The highlight of my day you ask? Feeding Cholae a chocolate biscuit! ....oh Plunket Schmunket to all of you who can hear your plunket nurses saying, "You do realise, you're setting up habits for life!" It was a chocolate wheaten afterall - there's nourishment in that isn't there?! And in defense of plunket nurses everywhere, my nurse is fantastic!

For every other mother out there who feeds the ocassional chocolate biscuit, I hope you enjoy this....!

And to add to my parenting skills for the week, someone has just learnt to pull herself up...on everything!! Do you think this is too close to the TV even if it is The Wiggles??!

And as far as sniffing or blowing is concerned, I have to say I've ended the day not really caring just as long as it doesn't drip!!! :-)

Our Baby Girl!

Wow! How time flies and how things change...I simply can't believe it's been so long since I've written. It feels good to let my fingers fly over the keys for no other reason, really, than my own selfish need to unwind a little!

After all my ranting and raving in the last post, Cholae Julienne Baker was born on the 22nd January 2009 - not the way we planned but she came out with 10 fingers, 10 toes and a pretty healthy cry so we were happy! She was 7 pound 5 ounces and we have to confess - she is the apple of our eye! This smile says it all...

She is such a delight and there is always something that we're learning as parents. I have to say that I feel at times that my choice of parenting style goes a little against the 'kiwi norm' (if there really is such a thing!) but as I see the results in Cholae and as I see her personality and character traits starting to take shape, I'm pretty happy with what we're doing! You're all probably wondering what the heck we do differently but in a nutshell, we just don't let her 'cry it out' when it comes to sleep and I'm still breastfeeding after a year (and quite happy to keep going at this stage!). Might not sound like much but the advice to do exactly the opposite can at times be overwhelming!

Anyhow, Shaun and I are almost fully settled in Pukekohe - just a few more boxes to go this weekend...or next weekend. I hope to be able to write a bit more but no promises! We really have hit the ground running here and there doesn't ever seem to be a dull moment! Now I'm thinking through my to-do list for tomorrow wondering what moment might turn into a good blog....til tomorrow - or another day!

P.S. - more photos of Cholae on facebook :-)

How's this for interesting...

The bump is growing fantastically - 33weeks now. I regularly have all this movement where my tummy takes on a life of its own and there's all this squirming going on just under the surface. It's just the most amazing thing! An absolute miracle that's going on inside - I'm looking forward to when I can grab a foot or an elbow sometime in the last few weeks!

Anyway, the midwife was over the other day and we've been talking waterbirth/homebirth etc and going through all the information and options. Of course, when you mention this to others (after the silences or the gasps!), you get every horror story around - when you go on your own hunt for reliable information, stats and personal experience, the idea is not so scary, precautions and all!

Because of the different reactions I've had (which I haved weighed up with everything else!), in passing I asked the midwife why so few people outside of birthing/pregnancy circles were confident in natural birth and her response was, "You're a Christian right?" (to which I answered yes!) ...she then went on to say, "Well, that belief in God gives you and other Christians a confidence that your body can do what it was designed to do. It's like with everything you have to think about, you have one less worry because of your faith in God."

I was pretty impressed with that answer but I have to confess to a bit of a struggle as I've thought more about it all, for a slightly odd reason...most of the people who have reservedly tried to convince me that 'hospital is best' are Christians!

Now don't panic if you're one of them because I wouldn't have talked so much about it if I wasn't prepared to hear the good, the bad and the ugly - that's real life with friends and family! If you're also one of those women who went to hospital and cried, "Give me the drugs now!" or had some type of intervention through circumstances that were out of your control, you are still up there in my books - hey, you've actually had a child!! I'm still just planning to have one...although the reality is creeping closer by the day!

The real challenge for me in all of this was the perception of my midwife that there's a link between Christianity and confidence. I think that the confidence she was talking about is not just in support of labouring as naturally as possible but that she is also alluding to the ability to be able to make a decision confidently as a Christian and then relax, knowing/having a peace that God is ultimately in control.

The decisions there are to make around having a child seem to be endless as the time draws closer - there's always some new research to consider and a few more 'dos and don'ts' added to the invisible 'Responsible Parenting of a Newborn Baby' list but the challenge for me is clear - I have to do my part to make an informed decision and then confidently rest in the knowledge that God is in that decision and ultimately in control of the whole situation.

I hope that I'm one of those Christians that carries a Godly confidence in all that I do to the point where people wonder where it comes from and I get the chance to share.

...and until the due date, enough talk about how this baby is going to arrive!! I'm going to continue to wash all the little gifts of clothing and nest to my hearts content! I never thought I'd bake so much in my life...not that that alone is nesting but it is great to be able to be home and to have the time to do it all the same! If you happen to be around, drop in and enjoy the latest treat sitting in the pantry but be warned, Shaun may just beat you to it! :-)

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Man - where has this last year gone?!

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since we were married!

The actual day of our anniversary (20th), we were away with about 50 other Salvation Army Officers at a 3 day fellowship/retreat so after some clever scoping, I found a little cafe out in Whitemans Valley, Upper Hutt and off we went on a sunny Saturday morning. It was seriously gorgeous! Child friendly even, so we will definitely be going back again!

After a year of marriage though, I can report that we are happily, happily married and can't wait for our first little one to arrive! Here's to many more years of fun, laughter, good times and challenges shared.

The bump is here!...

It has taken a while but somewhere about week 20, I popped!...
and here's the result!
I have a much fuller face than I'm used to so when I'm brave enough, I might put a full body shot in... watch this space!
Rest assured, I'm enjoying it all the same - especially now some movement has started. The baby loves to flip-flop at some odd times through the day!

In general, it has been a shamefully long time since I have blogged and I've had some cracker attempts in my head. I've been a bit of a shocker at taking time for myself though so again, watch this space - I fully intend to write more!

SOS - A Tribute to 'Uncle Bob'

It's been a shamefully long time since I've posted anything but I was moved to write today. I'm on holiday but in order to avoid the huge stack of emails in my Inbox on return, I've logged in and waded through them every couple of days.

Today, I was shocked to read of the passing of a great Salvation Army Officer - Major Bob Millar. I've only known Bob and Evelyn a few years but what a great impact they've both had on my life. It's funny reading Bob's blog (http://www.millarbug.blogspot.com/) as I've missed his stories!

While I was in Christchurch on out-training, Bob and Evelyn took me under their wing, looked out for me and treated me like a child of their own. I love catching up with them when I can. While I was there, Bob got me involved in the street ministry (SOS) and I learnt some of the biggest lessons of my life. I had my theology challenged to the very core and Bob barely said a thing - it was simply what he did.

He had a heart for 'the least of these' and his life challenged me to change and to action.

Evelyn - my heart goes out to you and your family. Thank you for all you did for me - you were my saving grace, your attention and encouragement were both timely and a gift from God.

Red Hot

Dear 'Anonymous' (aka 'too-chicken-to-leave-a-name'!!),

Regarding the post below, if you are referring to these...

...I would have to say I much preferred these!

Although at least our MC (some cagey guy from Blenheim hiding behind those other shoes!) waited until the reception to break the colour theme of the day...wise man!

Your sister in Christ

Mrs Baker

In a sleepy little town called Nelson...

...on the 20th October 2007, I donned some pretty cool shoes and...

...well, I walked down the aisle to the man of my dreams! Oh, sappy I know but it felt like a fairytale - it really did! From start to finish, the day was fantastic - everything went off without a hitch and, even though we're both back at work, we're still living the high which is great!

There are just so many photos to choose from I really couldn't narrow it down so, check out the photo blog over the next couple of days and I'll keep adding, and adding, and adding!!

In the meantime, here's a little something to keep you going!

Thanks to all those who shared in our day whether in thought or actually with us at Nelson - you all made the day that much more special!

Whizbang Weekends

Wow! - I've had a pretty packed weekend just gone by.

Shaun was over and our time started with dinner on Friday night with friends straight after picking Shaun up from the ferry. We spent the night at a cute little Italian restaurant right in the middle of town - it was a such a good time of catching up. Livi & Bronwyn are great friends for us here in Wellington!

Saturday started with a photo-shoot of sorts they are for a surprise wedding present we know nothing about other than it requires some pretty specific shots from us... made for an interesting photo shoot at times - tempting to share those photos... but I won't!! Then we rushed to a Tupperware party where I ooo'd and aaaah'd with some friends over the latest kitchenware and decked out our pantry with a few plastic containers (only those that truly know me will know how soothing that afternoon was!).

From there, we raced back into town and went to the rugby (Tasman Makos vs Wellington) and caught the second half. Then... (yes there's more!)... we had a light dinner at Roxy's cafe in town again and went to see the Bourne Ultimatum and I LOVED it! I did get a bit of motion sickness with all the fast action shots, but it's awesome! If you liked the first two - this will just complete it all!

Sunday went by at a rate of knots as well! We had the service at Kilbirnie in the morning, then went for a drive around the peninsula and stopped at The Chocolate Fish Cafe briefly for ice-cream, wound our way back to Elements for another stop (it was Hot Chocolate time by then because it was so windy and cold!) and then, after dinner... here's the big thing... we went to the Ten Tenors and it was FANTASTIC!!

I just love tenor voices - Andrea Bocelli being my favourite - and this was like listening to 10 of him! They had a whole stage show which took you through the ages of music from some of the great classical songs to Cheek to Cheek to Rock'n'Roll and Swing numbers - even Hotel California and some modern day songs. And, of course, their encore finished with Nessun Dorma - just brilliant! It was a surprise for me from Shaun - this is where you all sigh! - not bad huh?! I'm thinking I'll keep him!

By Monday, all I had ringing in my ears was Nessun Dorma...ALL DAY!

Signs, Sponges and the Word

Ok... so I'm getting jibes about not writing for ages - again! I thought you might enjoy this then - just a little something I had to write for the Division:

Hanging Up Signs, Wringing Out Sponges and the Word

I’ve been bombarded by analogies and illustrations of late and to say that they have left me challenged would probably be an understatement of sorts so let me share!

I wish I could sit here and describe a typical ‘day-in-the-life’ of a Corps Officer or a Social Officer but, alas, that is not yet my privilege! I can however, describe an all-too-familiar day from my desk at DHQ. The emails roll in, the days just seem to disappear, the ‘interruptions’ are a plenty and the to-do list grows – candidates need ‘processing’ (horrible word that!) and as one event fades into the distance, the next grows, looming ominously around the corner…and the tendency to hang up the ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ sign is tempting to say the least!

It wasn’t until someone said, “You’re just way too busy to stop for me,” that the penny really dropped. I realised that it is all too easy to hang up the ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ sign, whether we mean to or not, and I NEVER wanted to become the type of officer that did that!…Challenge Number One!

Then there’s my kitchen tap at home. It drips. Constantly. Relentlessly. And believe it or not, there’s just no solution! As I’m the type who can’t drive peacefully if my keys are rattling in the ignition, you can understand how a dripping kitchen tap in the quiet of the night nearly sends me over the edge!!

How did I get challenged from a dripping tap you ask? Well, my life-saving answer to the dripping tap is the kitchen sponge - it acts as my silencer and absorbs all the drips but then something else happens. It gets so full that it can’t absorb another drop and then it just seeps into the sink.

When we receive spiritual food week after week, month after month, year after year, we can become like the sponge. We can absorb so much that we can’t take anything else in… unless we start giving something out. And that got me thinking – when was the last time I wrung out my sponge – even just a little? Am I giving out or just constantly wanting to receive and be fed?…Challenge Number Two!

And then there’s the Word. How many miracles happened when Jesus was ‘interrupted’? How often are we encouraged to do things for others? Here’s what has been playing over and over in my mind since Livefire...

Matthew 25:34-36, 40 (NIV)
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' …'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

…Challenge Number Three!

If there’s a sign up in your life what would it read? If your life was a sponge how full would it be? Is it time to soak up some more or is it time to be wrung out? Wherever you are in your week – flat-out busy, humming along nicely, burdened or energised by your people, may God’s Word refresh you as it has me and continue to encourage and equip you for the journey ahead.