All I seem to do is pop on to record a new baby, I’m 100% sure this no longer qualifies as blogging, but maybe, just maybe, if I at least keep my blog up to date on how many kids I’ve had, when I do find the time to blog things I’m interested in sharing, the transition will be smooth and we can all carry on.
I am currently pregnant with our eighth, s/he hasn’t arrived earthside yet, and we’re only 38 weeks today which means I still expect 4, or close to 4, more weeks of pregnancy.
The traditional baby painting was high on my to-do list entering this holiday season, I was a little stressed I wouldn’t find the time to get it done between all of our preparations for Thanksgiving, the quick transition to Christmas and hosting the annual Smith gathering, follow that up with New Year’s Eve, our New Year’s Day hike, and getting supplies for birth out and the room prepared for my midwife home visit - then squeeze in a baby painting between then and… the 5th, my due date, or maybe stretch that timeline out until the 18th or so, when I’m more likely to be actually having a baby?
It definitely started to seem like I wasn’t going to actually make time for it but then Wesley had to be out of town for two nights in a row and night is when I do my most productive personal projects, so, I put the kids to bed and told myself I’d just stay up and hour or so, just to get started, then I’d feel committed, and maybe I’d be able to make daytime progress. One hour turned into 4, 4 turned into 3 more the following night, and maybe I’m just a slow painter, but I still wasn’t done, but it was coming along nicely and now I knew it would get done.
With some of the baby paintings I have a great feeling of revelation, a story that needs told through painting, but sometimes it’s much more simple and light hearted, just a whim of an idea and I get to have some fun creating and that was the case for this baby painting.
This baby is actually my 5th winter baby (actually for real only my 4th, Ozella landing on December 2nds FEELS like a winter baby to me while that is technically still fall, although Jerusha on March 15th seems more like a spring baby by my accounting of the seasons, when she’s actually still a winter baby), and I have yet to make a winter painting. In the past winter due dates I must’ve had sunshine and summer memories on my mind (or horribly dreary fall for Estel), but this time I knew I wanted to do a winter painting for the winter baby. That was as far as my inspiration carried me, wintery, snowy, hoping for an early snow to feel inspired and I got just that. The older siblings on the other hand, they knew and insisted it not just be a winter painting but a skiing painting, because, after all, this baby is going to have to celebrate its first birthday in Colorado on a ski trip, and if the kids and Wesley all have their way, every subsequent birthday after that.
See, for all of two years, we’ve become a family that goes to Colorado on an annual ski vacation. Wesley loves skiing, the kids caught on quickly and love skiing, I used to ski, but that’s neither here nor there as I’m always going to be the official incubator of babies, wet nurse of babies, and nanny to the toddlers - the actual title would be MOM. I’m the mom so my place is going to be at the house, pregnant with the babies, or nursing and entertaining the babies and toddlers, fixing dinner for when the skiers make it home. BUT, I do love Colorado, so I’m game and take on the task surrounded by serene snow covered mountains with mostly joy and just a sprinkle of self pity. This year however, my due date lands smack in the ideal travel to Colorado timeframe, and since there’s nothing exact waiting on spontaneous labor and delivery, there was no way to plan a ski trip around me, newly post partum me, along with Wesley’s busier late winter work schedule, and our already scheduled March beach trip vacation.
No ski trip this year. But a baby instead, and if I had the choice, I’m going with new baby every time.
Even the kids did.
All of the children had begun praying for a new baby shortly after Donnie joined us. I think, in Ramona’s case it was the very day after Adoniram arrived she prayed “give us a new baby, Margaret June”, she was forgiving of God for sending a boy, she loved him, but wasted no time in putting the request back in for God to remember she was actually waiting on another little sister.
As a couple months of prayers went by and no pregnancy, I pointed out to the kids if I do get pregnant that month I’d be due in January and that would mean no ski trip, Emmitt loudly announced “yeah but that’s just one year, what’s one year? We can have a baby this winter and then ski the rest of the winters!” He had a plan, sacrifice one ski season for another baby; nothing will ever warm my heart as much as having the older siblings pray for another baby, this home lives and breaths and thrives on love for new life.
And sure enough, that’s the month I ended up pregnant. No ski trip.
We announced to the children immediately by staging an announcement photo; Jerusha knew almost instantly what was going on. We went out for our traditional celebratory breakfast, we rejoiced. This pregnancy, much like Adoniram’s, was not without scare, I had bleeding very early on which turned out to be another subchorionic hematoma. I took it easy, everyone in our lives prayed over us, and the Lord so graciously resolved the hematoma and has allowed me to continue carrying this precious life.
As we now enter the final weeks of waiting I started my wintery painting, heeding the kids’ request for it to be a ski picture, and added little Easter egg details that we know to represent Leadville, home of Wesley’s and my engagement, first date, and now the kids’ beloved ski slopes, but to the general public, it’s a simple ski scene, it could be anywhere.
Also pictures here is the beautiful cradle that Wesley gifted me at Thanksgiving. I had been dreaming of a traditional cradle and eyeing it in marketplace, so he made my dreams come true. Wesley also got me the cushy, Ruby Prima Didymos wrap pictured with the painting; I can’t wait to have the baby, wrapped up in the soft weaves, comfy and cozy through the winter.
And last but not least, here are the announcement photos for the sake of history.
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