The beautiful birth of Jane Ashley

Almost 3 months ago, a beautiful gift was given to my husband and I, our first daughter Jane Ashley. As a birth enthusiast and advocate for home birth and natural, drug-free labours, I had a very special plan on how I was going to bring our baby into this world! As many of you know, I was planning a home birth at my mother's place (who was/is also my doula!). I wanted a water birth in a birth pool with low lights and calming music, surrounded by those who mean the most to me. Peacefully and gently, I wanted to work with (not against) my body to do what it has never done before. I expected to be pushed to my limits, far beyond what I had ever experienced, into uncharted waters (as far as my body was concerned!). Plans got changed though towards the end of my pregnancy when we decided to have a hospital birth due to gestational diabetes. I will explain that journey in another post soon! This is how it all happened!

I had a great last weekend before having a baby. I was only a few days past my "due date" and feeling pretty good all things considered. I spent the Saturday with my mother, visited my previous church Sunday morning, enjoyed a wonderful afternoon with my best friends celebrating a soon-to-be bride, and spent time with the in-laws Sunday evening. This whole time I was having back aches which my mother warned was how her labours started...but I wasn't too focused on that idea! My husband and I got back home late that evening but I decided I wanted to finish up the dishes that were in the sink and figured I would dance while doing so! I danced, did the dishes, then went to bed. 

Not long into my sleep (2am!), I was woken up with a really sore back. I had a hot shower to try and relieve the discomfort, then attempted to go back to bed. As soon as I lied down, I had my first contraction, then another one 10 minutes later! I figured I would try to contact my momma (doula!) at this point. I tried to tell her to go back to bed and not worry, but she was already up and almost in the shower by the time I hung up the phone!! By 3am, my mother and I were sitting together in my living room (husband sleeping), watching shows on netflix. 

Contractions showed no signs of stopping, only increasing in length,  time, and frequency so we woke up the hubby! This made me so happy!! I was not in pain....my body was working hard, but well. I used my voice/long slow breathing to move through each tightening. Plus my husband, he had to hold/put pressure on my lower back through each one, I could't have done it without him!! 

By sunrise, my sister had joined us, bringing with her goodies (apple juice and cheese strings yum!). We were in contact with our midwife who told me a couple times to take a gravol and tylenol, have a shower, and try to sleep. (This is to slow down pains if it isn't active labour yet). I half obeyed and showered but that only brought labor on stronger! Around 9:30 or 10 am, my mom made the call that we should go to the hospital (a half hour drive). My team packed the bags, loaded the cars, and we were off! 

God blessed my husband and I with a beautiful moment on the way there. The song "Cowboy Take Me Away" by the Dixie Chicks came on the radio. We cried and held each other in the back seat (my mom was driving) and enjoyed one of our last moments of being just the 2 of us. (....thinking back to that always makes me teary!)

We arrived at the hospital around 11 (I think!) and my mother parked at the back of the parking lot! Her birthing motto is "gravity works!" so she saw it fit for me to walk as much as I could on the way to the maternity floor...and of course she was right! The more I walked, the more frequent my contractions happened! I believe it was 11:30 by the time I got into triage and met the midwife. She checked and I was dilated 5 cms ( another guess my mother had made, she is a birth genius!) and ready to go to a room! Yay! I sat up for the next tightening (lying down in the hospital bed was very very uncomfortable!) and sploosh! My water broke!!! 

**At this point my one sister called my other sister and told her to get to the hospital quick because it won't be long. Finally my team was complete!**

Bam, that's when things got serious. I entered the difficult part of my labour. Before that, it was all exactly what I was expecting and easy to manage with the tricks I had learned! But once my water broke, I entered a whole new level that required concentration, my husband holding my back, me holding my mom's hands, and lots of vocals! I took a quick walk (thankfully) to my tub room, had one contraction, then said "I can't do this". 

With all my previous researching and encouragement from other moms, I knew my body could do it. I had no doubts! But to me "I can't do this" meant something needed to change and change fast for me to be able to continue on! So into the tub I went!!!

Having a room with a tub was such a blessing, I could not have done it without the tub! It made it so I could lay down comfortably and gave my feet/legs a break. With my mom on one side and my hubby on the other holding my hands, my body started to push! My midwife was scrambling to fill out her paper work before she came and checked me again. My mother told me to do the "hee-hee-hoo" breathing so my body didn't push before it was ready!! It worked, but was the hardest part of my labour. Finally I got the okay from the midwife to push so I wasted no time. (it was probably around 1:15 at this point) I climbed out of the tub (not easy) and onto the bed (also not easy!) onto my hands and knees. I was just following my body, it was telling me what to do. Then we pushed, my body and I, my baby directing us.

In 3 pushes, 13 minutes I'm told, my husband was holding our baby! Our baby girl he announced! She was passed to me and my world shifted. The beautiful rush of hormones took over and all I could do was kiss and hold her and tell my baby how much I loved her. 

I was fully transformed. I became a new woman that moment. God and Jane changed me. 

The next couple hours were a blur (...literally). While getting stitched up (I had a partial 3rd degree tear from how fast the pushing went!) I used the laughing gas...that was a crazy experience. I got really out of it quickly because of how much I was breathing! The nice thing about the gas (entinox) is that as soon as you stop breathing it, it dissipates from the system so I was back to normal in 30 seconds! I also had some dizzy/blackout spells when I attempted to have a hot shower! Thankfully Jane was safe with Josh and the midwife and my mom were right beside me in the shower!

My labor was calm, it was beautiful, it was relaxed. I was able to be at home up until the last few hours. I used the tub to ease my discomforts. I got to control where and what I did. I chose the position to birth my baby. I felt empowered by the birth of my child!

I can not thank my team enough for the amazing experience! My husband, mom, sisters, and midwives. Also those people who have taught me so much about the joy of childbirth and bringing a baby into this world! <3 Thank you <3 

Here are some amazing pictures that are very dear to me!

Good Morning!

Look Look! I'm posting again! Yay!!

So what else besides baby has happened in my life/in the lives of people close to me????

Well I went to an amazing wedding of a friend which was gorgeous! Their ceremony brought tears to my eyes! One of the most beautiful things (Besides the Bride ;D) was when the couple took communion together during their ceremony. They turned away from the guests and had a private moment between them and Jesus, it was wonderful and very inspiring!





A couple days later one of my best friends came home from her YWAM trip. 6 months before I said goodbye to her at my wedding knowing she was leaving while I was on my honeymoon. The core four (Her, myself, and our two other best friends!) had one last big hug together and balled because we knew we wouldn't all be together again until 6 months later! And the day finally did come when she left England and China behind her and come home!! Unfortunately one of the core four girls was off working at a Bible camp so the c4 reunite didn't happen until a very special weekend later this summer!




The next weekend My husband and I headed off to Vancouver Island for an awesome family reunion at a beautiful group camp ground! It sure was a party!! I really missed seeing all my family, many of them I hadn't seen in a couple years! Also this weekend is when I had to start telling people I was pregnant starting with my mom! I had found out a couple days before our trip but hadn't seen her yet. I was going to wait and make it a special announcement for her but she kept talking about how she was going to make me drinks and we were going to party that evening (Yes, my family reunions might be a little different then most of yours!!) I finally had to tell the truth, there were a lot of tears on my part, I don't know why I was so nervous to tell her!! She was thrilled! I told some more family on the day we were leaving but it would be a long time until I would announce it to the world!!

This is a waterfall I hiked to with some family while we were camping...this isn't my picture, I got it off google :D





The next weekend was my 2 year dating anniversary with my hubby (and also kinda our 6month wedding anniversary!) so we decided to take a surprise trip to where it all started, Pines Bible Camp. This was also where Josh's brother was for the summer and where my best friend was so we wanted to visit and share the baby news in person!  Halfway through our 5.5 hour road trip up there, we got a phone call. We were given the news that Pines had just been struck with a huge windstorm and that the camp had been evacuated. Also that my friend's brother was at the hospital, a camper had been killed by the storm, and that the camp was basically clear cut of all the trees leaving it bare.  This was very shocking, very emotional news. This place was so dear to our hearts, and so were the campers and the staff! But we had a place to stay outside of camp that night and we were already halfway there, we both felt that God was calling us to continue the journey and He would use us when we got there. We arrived late that night at the church in town where everyone had been evacuated to. The staff were in a long debriefing meeting (which was greatly needed) so we waited a couple hours for them to finish. Then the staff came out, many faces still with tears streaming down. This was a traumatic event for everyone and we knew it. My best friend walked, I hadn't seen her in a couple months and she didn't know I would be there. We hugged and cried and I knew exactly why God needed me up there, for her. Josh's brother also saw us and he went up to Josh and did the same, that's why God needed Josh up there too. We were able to bring some light when we announced to them were were pregnant! My friend yelled out "Best Day Ever!!!! ....well worst day ever, best news ever!" The rest of the weekend was tough, we went up to the camp to see the damage and help some of the staff retrieve their belongings from their cabins, some of which had been flattened. We joined in at a pool party later that day, the staff all just needed to be together and the families in the area opened their homes and hearts to them. A pastor from the Trail Alliance church came the next night and spoke to the staff at another gathering, by this time Josh and I had headed back home.

 The healing is still going on for the staff and the families and all those connected to Pines, especially for the family of the young boy whose life was taken during the storm. But there was light in what had seemed like darkness. Later that week at a fundraiser BBQ back in my home town, the pastor who was the speaker for that weeks camp came and spoke to us. He talked about how this little boy asked him many questioned about God and his faith and how that week he had given his life to Jesus and accepted Him as his savior. There is no doubt in anyone's mind that this boy is now in heaven with His Father. The Hand of God was also seen in the destruction of the camp, meaning that the buildings with the most damage were the old gym and the old cabins which were to be replaced soon anyways. Insurance will cover the fixing of all the buildings that got hit as well as building new cabins that will be as nice as the others. (Old cabins were just thin walls, bunk beds, two light bulbs and a plug in, the new cabins have insulation and heat and can be used during the winter!)

This is the Pines website, they have lots of pictures of the camp, the storm, and the rebuilding of it. Plus ways you can donate or help out. http://www.pinesbiblecamp.com/


Pines 50th year anniversary is next summer! For the last 4 years, there has been a plan to upgrade all the cabins, have a brand new dinning hall (just completed), adding an RV park (done), a new staff lounge (done)...and many more things. With the camps trees being cleared by the storm (and then all the volunteers that helped clean up the grounds) Pines is getting a face lift. And I know that by next summer, it will be a brand new camp, better than ever, being able to accommodate more people/staff/kids/volunteers, and be able to run programs and host events all year round. There is always Beauty in the Broken, that's when God works the most!



Well I have so much more to say about this summer but I will leave it for the next post!! Have a happy day!! <3 <3 <3

I'm Back!

Hello friends!! It has been quite a looong time since I've posted but I have no reason why. So much has happened in the last almost 2 months of me not posting!!

As many of you now know, I am pregnant!! Baby Neufeld will be here next march! I am a couple days away from starting the 2nd trimester! I can't believe how fast it's been going by! My first trimester went pretty well! I was pretty nauseous for a month or so but compared to many others, I had it good. The worst part was a quick battle with food poisoning but with my husband and my mother taking care of me, I started feeling better by the next day.

Today I am just over 13 weeks (past 3 months) and I am feeling great! I have started to be able to eat full meals 3 times a day which is great! My craziest "craving" so far has been chicken mcnuggets which I am not proud of. It doesn't help that there is a McDonalds outside my window and the smell sometimes fills the condo making my cravings start up again! Thankfully my husband is good at denying me the luxury of fast food and encourages me to find good food in the house! My second craving has been for yogurt. I don't really like yogurt though. Except for this awesome thick greek yogurt I just bought! yumm! It is the perfect breakfast with granola or fruit!

So far I haven't heard or felt baby yet but hopefully at my midwife appointment next week I will be able to hear the heart beat! My energy levels are picking up which feels great and I am feeling more and more pregnant everyday! My belly is tightening as baby grows but I'm not sure if I am actually "showing yet". I do get up at least once a night to go pee, usually around 4 in the morning. But I can fall back asleep pretty easily so it doesn't bother me too much.

Sleep has been a whole different story. Suddenly about 2 weeks ago my body decided that getting comfortable would be difficult! But with an extra duvet underneath me and an awesome body pillow from a great friend, I have been able to sleep pretty well!!

Joshua is soooo excited for this baby and so am I! He loves to tell me about the things I don't even know are happening! He says my belly is starting to grow with baby a bit! He also has observed that I sway often when walking and standing and that I tend to rub my stomach a lot too! I love it!!


Well I didn't mean for this post to be all about baby because we have so many other things happening too but I will post about those next!!! Happy Friday!!!


Ps. I will be hitting up the MCC Sale tonight and tomorrow in Abbotsford! For those who know what that is, I hope to see you there. For those who don't, the MCC sale is one of the biggest Mennonite fests in our area. There is tons of yummy food! (perfect for a pregnant lady!!) And awesome sales on things at the garage sales, and auctions, and Ten Thousand Villages is there so you can buy things from all around the world. Anyways, I am not describing it well I know, I have only been once I think. But now that I have married into a Mennonite family, it will become a tradition!  I know I will see many people I know and also will meet more of my husband's family and friends. http://bc.mcc.org/getinvolved/abbotsford-festival


Okay, bye bye now!!! <3 <3 <3 I'll eat some watermelon and rollkuchen for you tonight ;D

New Recipes!

I feel silly sharing these because I don't think I am that creative of a cook to be sharing my simple style of cooking. But I was inspired and for my friends starting to cook their own meals and learning how to feed their men/future husbands, I would love to share some easy tips to make things taste good!

Over the last 6 months of marriage I have been learning to cook with flavor and using whole, unprocessed food and it has been fun!

I love my Crockpot! I cook roasts most often in it but have also done a lasagna which was great! When I season a roast, I pretty much just use whatever spices I have in my cupboard and fridge. Garlic is always good (my husband loves it!), plus some Worcestershire sauce! I also make pulled pork roasts often.

For a great pulled pork roast:
   - Start with a pork shoulder roast, cut the strings off of it! (this is important, last night I totally forgot to and the roast tasted great but didn't pull apart at all, so we had slice pork sandwiches!!)
   - Then add a whole bunch of BBQ (we have a Louisiana hot and spicy one that my hubby really likes but whatever you have in the house or what is on sale works...I find the spiciness adds something special to the sandwich!)
   - Add a bunch of other spices too! Last night I used some Epicure burger and steak spice! It always seems to turn out no matter what I add to it!
   - Put it in the slow cooker for however long, mine usually goes for 6 hours on low. When it is cooked, pull it apart in the Crockpot using forks and stir it up in the sauce! Add more BBQ sauce if you need to! I let it cook a bit longer after I have pulled it so the sauce thickens!
   - When the pork is done, toast your sub buns! And add sauce! I like a bit of mayo on mine but honey mustard sauce tastes sooo good too, or more BBQ sauce!  If you have a good amount of leftovers (which I always do), just freeze it and then when you go to use it again, fry it up in a pan with some more BBQ sauce. It cooks up real fast in my non-stick skillet!

Another area I have explored is a way to make my vegetables more exciting! I love to steam my fresh veggies...mmmm, steamed green beans and broccoli!

I recently prepared a dinner for some friends and I steamed green beans. I then (in a bowl) drizzled them with some lemon juice and sesame seeds! By accident, it cooled down by the time I served it and it was sooo good cold! Super refreshing for a hot summer day!  This works for broccoli too!


Another fave recipe that I have had requests for is mashed potatoes! To give your mashers extra awesomeness, use cream cheese! Yes, yum, creamy awesome potatoes! I also add spices! Yes, spice up your potatoes! Last time I used steak spices but I have also used a red pepper spice and it was sooo good!


If you really want to impress company this summer, make a batch of fresh baking powder biscuits (super simple and rather quick to make, only 30 minutes in the oven!). Also, making some real Iced Tea is sure to be a treat for guests! My new fave iced tea is iced rooibos (red) tea. Just brew your tea double strength or more, then add a bit of sweetener (lemon, sugar, honey depending on the tea), and either chill and then pour over ice or do a quick cool down and immediately  pour over a glass full of ice cubes and serve!

Can you tell I love having guests in my home??? :D


I think that is all I will share right now! Sorry there are no pictures, I should try to take some the next time I am cooking fun things! <3 <3 <3 I hope you are having a great summer day!!

Ps. I would love to hear about some of your recipes!!

Coconut Oil!!

I love coconut oil! It is the only oil I cook with now and I I enjoy it so much!. I use a virgin organic coconut oil from Trader Joes and I really don't notice (nor does my husband) any coconut flavors in my food. But we both love coconut and have grown accustom to the taste maybe.... 

Some of the things I have used coconut oil for: 

• Cooking/frying perogies, stir fry, potatoes, veggies, and much more....I use it in my pans too! No more Pam for me! 
• I've used it as an ingredient for my recipes too! 
• Moisturizing the ends of my hair! I did this a couple times before I stopped using shampoo
• Oil Pulling! (I have only done this a couple times but plan to continue regularly!) *See video below for a good explanation of it!*
• For dry skin (like under your nose when you have a cold and you are constantly rubbing it raw with a kleenex!) 
• And I think that's about it! But I know there are so many other things you can do with coconut oil!! If you have suggestions, let me know in the comments below!! 

Here are a couple links on the benefits of coconut oil!! 

• http://www.fitnessgoop.com/2011/11/benefits-of-coconut-oil-for-pregnant-and-nursing-mothers/
• http://www.fitnessgoop.com/2009/11/coconut-oil-%E2%80%93-an-essential-fat-for-weight-loss/
• http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html

I think that's all for today :D Enjoy the sunshine!!! <3 <3 <3 

JAM!!

Yesterday my mother and I spent the whole afternoon/evening together! It was great, I rarely see her anymore and now she is moving even farther away from me!  She came over to my house (after doing some shopping for our supplies) and we started the long process process of making jam! Strawberry jam to be exact!


I am so thankful to have a mother who spent her childhood in the kitchen with her grandma (my great-grandma) learning to bake bread, make meals for a full house, can fruits, and make jam! These are things I will pass on to my daughters for sure. 


We took about 30lbs of yummy local strawberries and turned it into 8 batches of jam, four for each of us! It was very important for me to make jam this year because my husband eats sooo much of it! I decided this soon after we got married! Every time I grocery shopped I was buying jam!!! So this was cost efficient and so much better because it is local fruit with no added preservatives. Just strawberries, sugar, and pectin. There is indeed ridiculous amounts of sugar, even when using the "light" more fruity recipe but my husbands body can handle it at this point and I consume it only on special occasions! 


I did promise to take pictures so here are a few off my phone :D 

Empty jars on one side, bucket of strawberries in the sink, and the full jars one the far side! Yes, this jam operation took up all my counter space! We didn't use all these jars, they were all given to me by my sister who had used them as wedding decor when she got married. 

MMMMM Skimming the foam off the top! That stuff tastes sooo good! 

My beautiful mommy wearing my apron! 

The foamy part is her favorite too!! 

These 11 jars are mine, so 4 batches of jam made this much! 

It might be hard to tell but I made 4 small jars, 6 regular size mason jars, and one gigantic jar which was almost a whole batch in itself! Josh called that one his "2 week jam jar"....I hope it will last longer than that!!! 

So there you have it. My jam. Yum Yum Yum! We have plans of canning pears and maybe making another kind of jam later this season! 

A Weekend of Fun and Adventures!!

This past weekend was stuffed full of family, driving, ferries, food, laughter, and quality time with my hubby! I tried to take pictures to share with you but I usually forget about taking pictures in the moment (or let other people take them!)! But Here we go!

My hubby had Thursday and Friday off work and I only had to work on Thursday until mid afternoon so after rapid packing, we headed out for a mini roadtrip/overnighter to a place we had never gone before! I managed to fix an awesome BBQ/tinfoil dinner and breakfast with all the things we had in the house already (woot for NOT grocery shopping). 

Yummmmm! 

We are slowly building our camping supplies this summer! I think our next big purchase will be a tent...sleeping in the back of our Tahoe was uncomfortable and way too warm!! 

Yay for campfires at free camping spots on the side of a gravel roads! This particular spot we found had a fire pit, a picnic table and two outhouses across the road! There were some other sites farther down the road but we couldn't hear or see them so it was just us and the loons! 

There were many mosquitoes that night...I had to cover up! 

The little train town of Ashcroft where we found our campsite! At this point we were at the gas station filling up before our trip home! This gas station (the only one we could find in town) also offered to take family, passport, and baby pictures; sold helium balloons and homemade sushi; and also did piercings and sold the necessary jewelry to occupancy the new holes! BTW, I read all of this and more on signs outside the store...I can only imagine what it was like inside!! 

After a long drive home from Ashcroft, we relaxed at home until it was time to go out for dinner and a movie! This was my husband's idea! So we went to our favorite restaurant, Montana's, right beside the movie theater and we were able to buy our tickets for $4 off each in the restaurant! Woot Woot for not paying full price for anything! We went and saw Madagascar 3, it was funny, crazy and random, but definitely funny! 

The next morning (at 4:30am to be exact) we woke up for another adventure! My sisters, one of their husbands, and both their babies picked us up outside our condo at 6 am and we headed to Vancouver Island for my dad's 50th surprise birthday party! I don't think all three of us sisters have been over to the island together since we lived there 11 years ago but we definitely hadn't seen my dad's side of the family together since then! It was a great reunion. The above image is of the stormy skies in the strait as we traveled on the ferry. 

While on the ferry, Joshua and I walked around and spent a lot of nice time together. we went outside into the stormy weather and found a sundeck (protecting us from the wind and rain!) and there was a man with a fantastically calming voice singing and playing his guitar! It was such a special time! I almost got up and danced!! 

We returned home late Saturday night and passed out right away! The next morning we woke up and went to the Chilliwack CityWide church service at the big arena! It was great! I love worshiping in a huge crowed, all the voices singing and cheering for Jesus together gets me really pumped!  

We then went to a car show in downtown Chilliwack which was huge! We finished off Sunday at my mom's campsite (where she is currently living before moving into her new house!). We swam in the pool and hot tubs and then had a great hot dog roast. It was so nice to have almost the whole family together outdoors! 

And now to the last picture! This is a view from part of a hike up Sumas mountain my sisters and I went on! (this was actually our first dead end/wrong turn but it was pretty!) Yes, my sisters strapped their babies into their hiking backpack things (weighing 30 lbs with baby and water bottle attached !!!) They are warriors!!! I was exhausted but so thankful they pushed me to go hiking with them! It was a great adventure!! And a great way to start off the week!!

That is all for today!! I have figured out how to take my pictures from my phone and put them in my computer so expect many more picture posts!! 

TTYL <3 <3 <3 

Ps. Shania Twain just came on the radio, like 90's Shania! "Whose bed have your boots been under...!"  Only my own bed Shania  ; D