Season of Rest

 

I deeply desire for these next few weeks before our son makes his debut into the world to be restful and peaceful. Help me, this is hard!

Today in yoga I was reminded how busy I can get with things that will not make a lasting impact on my soul. I tend to run around from place to place and miss the opportunities to be quiet and still. I had a hard time catching my breath and S-L-O-W-I-N-G down to be fully present when we started the class. after about 10 minutes of panic I was finally able to breath deeply and invite myself into a place of peace. It was so relaxing to be able to move with my breath and remind myself to fully engage with my body. I feel like this day at yoga has been a metaphor for how I feel EVERY day.

Who knew resting could be such hard work? I feel like there are a million things to do before this little dude comes and yet I want to enjoy these last few weeks before John and I become a family of three. Balancing everything is tough! Quietness and stillness are what I crave and I hope that I can be reminded that God desires rest for me more than I might desire it myself. He takes pleasure in watching me rest and be still. 

On another note I was so blessed this weekend to have family and friends travel near and far for my baby shower! I will post more on that in a few days, but here are a few teaser pictures of the weekend of fun-filled celebration! 

10 Things About Pregancy that Surprised Me

Don't we all wish we were the glowing, beautiful pregnant woman who only gained 7lbs of baby, had no symptoms, and had the perfect dream pregnancy? Ha! Every woman will experience different challenges and body changes during pregnancy, I just wish I had know some of the unique things that would happen to me before I started experiencing them! I knew about morning sickness and didn't get it so I thought I was in the clear. I wasn't abnormally tired and I haven't had too many problems falling asleep like I heard so many women talk about. Yet these next few things really surprised me about my pregnancy. Hope you get a laugh, some insight, or can tell a preggo friend they aren't crazy!


1.  You might pee yourself

This has happened to my twice. Yep. Once in the morning when I got out of bed and the other time when I was clearing my throat doing dishes. Just a few drops came out but I couldn't believe it! I thought this would happen after I give birth! Apparently the expanding uterus puts pressure on the bladder and the position of your baby can add some too. Baby Sorenson loves to be transverse (sideways) right now so the peeing myself thing only happens when he squirms into a head down position. Eeek! He is supposed to be head down by 36 weeks so I might have 4+ weeks of this ahead of me.


2. Spider veins

This is a picture of my actual leg, and I still wear shorts and rock a bikini. It doesn't really bother me that my legs look freakishly strange, like Frankenstein. I started getting spider veins on the back of my right leg and on the bottom of my right shin around week 23. They freaked me out! Of course I became a google doctor when I looked up what could be causing them and thought I had a liver disease or maybe a blood disorder. Nope! With an increase in blood volume comes all sorts of great things, this included. My midwife suggested I apply Butcher's Broom Cream daily and this has helped slow their spread and growth.


3. Clothes Suck

I have never disliked putting on a cute outfit until now. Maternity clothes are fine but never fit quite as perfectly as my old time favorites. Wearing a ruched maternity tank top itches my sides, pants that go over the belly make me itchy, and pants that go under the belly are uncomfortable. I ditched bras around week 16 for padded sports bras. Ahhhh, free the ta-tas. At this point I would like to be naked or partially naked all the time. I know its not acceptable to go out of the house like this and I desperately envy the National Geographic women who bare it all and their culture says its cool and dandy. I am excited to be able to wear my old clothes and things with buttons once again!

4. Your child will have a personality in the womb

Our son is definitely not a show off. I think he is rather shy. Whenever he is moving and grooving and I have someone try to feel my belly he stops. Its like he knows I am trying to make him into a circus act. He also kicks harder when John touches my belly than when I am just lying down. I swear he is trying to kick in Morse code. He calms down when I talk to him and gets excited when worship music is playing (specifically at church). He is a very good listener (so far!) because I will tell him to more off of my right ligament or something and he will move his body totally to the left! Such a mama's boy already. Nobody ever told me they have such character!

5.  Itchy Belly

My belly is itchy, oh soooo itchy in the afternoon! I don't have stretch marks (yet) on my belly but man does it itch if I don't apply my homemade concoction. It is worse with the over-the-belly maternity clothes. Read back to number 3, I am considering boycotting clothing. I try not to scratch but sometimes I sneak one here and there. I am really thankful I made this homemade belly butter because it relieves the itching instantly and its supposed to prevent and heal stretch marks. John steals it for his dry and cracked hands and it works wonders.

6. Relaxin

I was shocked when I dropped more glasses than I have in my life, I bumped into every possible wall in our house, when I put the cooking spray in the fridge, when I didn't poop for a day, how I suddenly became a yoga goddess with all of my new-found flexibility, and when I had a bad a spell of heartburn for a few days. Oh yeah and when I got super bad sciatica for three weeks. The hormone to thank? RELAXIN. Relaxin helps your ligaments stretch and make room for your baby. With this can come clumsiness, back pain, greater flexibility, slower digestion, forgetfulness, and heartburn.

7. Your Boobies are Freaks of Nature

First they got tender. Then they got bigger. Next they got darker. Lastly they erupted in stretch marks overnight. Literally overnight! I woke up and thought I had a rash where my sports bra sits. It didn't go away after a few days and upon closer inspection I realized I had bright red stretch marks on the underside. I now apply my belly butter to help them heal but I know I will get more when my milk comes in. I heard about stretch marks when your milk comes in but nobody told me it could happen before your baby was born!At least you get a great rack out of the whole ordeal.

8. You drink water like its going to dry up

On the plane yesterday I thought I was going to have a panic attack when I realized I ran out of water and the fasten seat belt sign was on. I have always been a huge fan of staying hydrated and all that good jazz but now I drink more water than I ever have in my life. Your body is creating a ton more blood and fluid, and you need water to make that happen. I probably drink about 160 ounces of water a day compared to my usual 75-100 ounces pre-baby. I can't get enough water these days!

9. You look like a giraffe 

My face looks like I have giraffe spots. I guess it goes with my height. I thought I had some sort of skin issue when my cheeks started developing what looked like big, light freckles. Apparently this is referred to as the “Mask of pregnancy”or melasma and it causes splotchy spots to appear on your face.  When you become pregnant your body produces more hormones, which causes an increase in your pigmentation. I never knew that about 50% of pregnant women show some signs of the “mask of pregnancy”! I wear 50 spf every day otherwise mine could be a lot worse and way darker.

10. Shaving Sucks 

I hate shaving now. I only do my legs about once a week and am reminded of my tapering swimming days when I would go months without shaving for a big swim meet. Shaving started to be a huge hassle when I was about 25 weeks and my belly got in the way of my arm and bending over. I started to sit in the bathtub with a few inches of water and this has helped a ton with my attitude towards shaving. I hate waxing my legs so I might turn into a cave woman before you know it. If I shave my legs for you you know you are special.

Alive and Powerful

This has been such an amazing weekend. Advocare Ladies Alive was such a fun-filled weekend!

It all started out with Fitness Friday, let by the beautiful Jodi Mamula. I volunteered at registration and got to welcome all of the beautiful ladies coming to work out with us. It was so fun to watch women of all shapes, sizes, ages, and ability levels have a blast working out together! God made everyone unique and I am so glad I got to watch everyone have a blast feeling good in their own skin.

Working out and feeling fabulous

Me and Taylor the workout champ!

Me and the beautiful Isa

Transformation from the 24 Day Challenge

Something that I am really excited to share is my before and after pictures of my 24 Day Challenge results from 2010. I lost 10.5 body inches, 4 inches off my waist, and 3lbs. When I submitted the pictures I couldn't believe how different I looked! My tummy and face completely changed and I cleared up so many digestive issues.  I am so thankful I have Advocare products during this pregnancy to help me put on HEALTHY weight in the right places. 20+ Lbs. heavier than before I was pregnant and my face looks better still than before Advocare! 

The event was AMAZING. Imagine 1,100+ women at La Costa Resort and Spa getting poured into by phenomenal leaders to go out and impact their families and communities. About half of the women there pursue Advocare as a business opportunity and the other half came to have a blast and leadership poured into them. 

Jodi Mamula, beautiful leader and champion!

You had to be there  to understand how this event impacts women. No recap I could give could express the level of transformation and impact this event had on the ladies who attended. I will try my best to express what hit me and landed on my heart this weekend. Here are some quotes from some of the the ladies who spoke. I wrote them down in my journal and chewed on them a bit. Such awesome Advocare leaders!

"Our life is made on a series of decisions" -Judy Ikard

This was something that I resonated with because I want to be able to look back on my life and say "I am proud of the decisions I made".  I love the slight edge principal and want to be able to make the right small decisions on a consistent basis to achieve the goals and dreams I have for my life!

"Commitment without a plan is only a good feeling" -Judy Ikard

I love commitment. I love being able to say "I will be there!", "I will totally do that!", "I'm all in, you can count on me!" and then after a while without a plan in place, no action is taken and my commitment looks like a great wish instead of a reality. I didn't get married without a plan in place for how John and I were going to stick with that commitment and grow in love and relationship. We planned to join a married community group, do marriage enrichment courses, and spend time on vacation investing on our relationship. Why should I expect a plan-less commitment to succeed?

"Fear will keep you in mediocrity. Stop acting according to how you feel because fear is false." Jeniffer Bishop

I never feel like getting out of bed. Yet I do because I have things I need to get done. We do things we don't feel like doing every day. Especially with our business there are days I don't feel like talking to someone new or sharing my story with a person who is desperate for a change. I let fear and anxiety get in the way of their brighter future. When I stop to think about how my fear is holding others back from experiencing freedom I can see the mediocrity creeping in. Average is never something I aspire to be! I desire greatness. I desire to step out of the feelings of fear and into a life of greater impact!

If you knew who you really were, you would be in awe of yourself. Isn't it time you stepped into your power? Today what would courage have you do? -Kristi McGihon

God created each of us uniquely. If I really knew who I was in Christ I would be in shock and awe. I am ready to step into that knowledge and step into the power that He was given me to be ME. It takes courage to do this and I am excited to step into a place of bravery. Only I have been called to be who I am. Nobody can be that for me. I am called to change people's lives according to how I am made.

"You have two options. The pain of regret or the pain of discipline" -Christine Baker 
WHOA.  This one hit me like a ton of bricks. Discipline is not something I get excited about, but when I look ahead to what a life without discipline will look like I KNOW the pain of regret will be present. I want to look back without painful regret. I want to change people's lives and be changed in the process. I desire to be disciplined in the actions I take to share the message of hope with others because my freedom is freeing to others.

"Accept and obey your strengths. People are waiting for YOU to live in your strengths" -Jodi Mamula 
The most important thing I took away from Ladies Alive was Jodi's message. I realized that I am not living and operating in my strengths. I took Strength's Finders  for the second time about a year ago and have not taken the time to understand my strengths and how I can operate in them better. Jodi shared her journey embracing her strengths after trying to act and operate like other people did in their strengths. I find myself having strength envy and connected with this a lot. The team I lead and the people whose lives I impact are waiting for me to live in my strengths. 

Jodi and I are going to meet later this week to go over my strengths. She is going to help me learn how I can better access how God has created me so that I can use my strengths to pour into our Advocare business. I am super excited for this but there is a part of me that is fearful of who I really am. I am almost scared of the potential God has created within me. What if I really am powerful beyond measure? What if being brave  in my strengths changes everything? What if it is painful to let go of my old self? Stay tuned for more on this, I have a feeling God is going to take me on quite the journey.  

Photo booth fun with the girls!

 

Our room at La Costa Resort!

My ladies! Melissa, Me, Jessie, KT, and Taylor

Baby Kicks

Baby Sorenson is officially head down! Hopefully he will stay there but who knows. So I am supposed to officially count movements/kicks now at 29 weeks. My midwife gave me a sheet and I tried it out this morning. I guess the baby will cycle between sleep and play for 30 minutes each and I am supposed to feel movement every hour if I am paying attention closely.

I tried it out because she wants 10 kicks in 30 minutes. I document the time the 1st movement was felt and the time the 10th movement was felt. It took our dear baby boy 3 minutes flat to give 10 solid kicks. Yeah.... The way he has been kicking is hilarious. Spread eagle at the same time both feet are going at it. It reminds me of a kid doing a handstand and kicking his legs out. John thinks he is doing jump squats. Haha!

  

Tonight for Halloween John and I are going to be a zebra and a lion. Throw back from our second year of marriage because I don't want to come up with another costume this year! 

Better Together

Life it better when you are together. I love doing the simple things with the people I love!



I love it when John comes home from work and we just sit next to each other and chat. Or when we need to go somewhere and we sit next to each other in the car. I love just BEING with him and enjoying the pleasure of his company. Simplicity in time spent together is a beautiful thing. Sometimes I like to be creepy and just stare at him. Or maybe that's what quiet love really is. Being comfortable to stare without words and to be stared at without looking away.




Today Stephanie and I did some errands and it is so much fun to just be together doing the mundane things that we all need to do. Her two kiddos are so sweet and they make life hilarious whenever we hang out. She picked up her laundry, we went to Subterranean Coffee Boutique because they have an option of using almond milk, she ran into Sprouts while I hung out with her sweeties in the car, and finally we went to pick up a fire pit from her mom's place to use for Halloween. When we got back to her place she nursed her little one while her son tried to open her car door properly by putting the key in the key hole of the car. So cute! She felt my belly and was able to tell me the position of where our son is (as I suspected, his favorite spot, transverse with his back facing downward). My favorite part of our short day together is just being able to do life side by side. Great friends make great company, no matter what you do together! I am missing Danielle who is in New York visiting her sisters but this is a pic from a while ago for my birthday. This was the night I told Steph and Danielle I was pregnant!

Dinner tonight was a real winner! Paleo chicken nuggets!

Ingredients

coconut oil for "frying"
1 large egg
1/4 cup almond milk or water
1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper (optional)
2 large chicken breast, cut into  2x2 inch pieces 1/2 inch thick

Directions

1. Whisk egg and almond milk (or water) in medium sized bowl 2. Combine all dry ingredients in large bowl and mix well.
3. Dip chicken in whisked eggs.
4. At this point heat 1/4 cup coconut oil in large frying pan and preheat oven to 400 degrees
5. Coat/cover chicken in dry mixture and place in hot oil.  Allow both sides to brown (about 2 minutes each side).
6. Place browned chicken on a cookie sheet, make sure there is space between all pieces.
7. Put chicken in oven for 10-15 minutes, check to make sure they are cooked through. There will be a lot of water run-off from baking, you can let the chicken drip onto a few paper towels. 

Remove and serve with ketchup or BBQ sauce

Best Pizza Ever

Our birthing class got canceled last night because our instructor Nicole was at a birth today. She's a midwife and a little baby decided it was his day to make his entrance into our world! I am really excited because she will be at our birth as our Midwife Vickii's partner midwife. They always work in teams of two and it's going to be awesome to have our birthing instructor at our birth! Since class was canceled we jetted over to Sprouts to get ingredients for pizza dinner. This is the best "pizza" ever. Seriously. Can you just see the ooooo soooo yummy melt-in-your-mouth goodness?

How to make it might you ask? Is it gluten and dairy-free? WHY YES! I use Sprouts gluten-free Ivory Teft Tortillas as "crust" and Daiya "cheese" shreds. This soy-free, gluten-free, dairy-free cheese is amazing. It melts like cheese, tastes better than cheese, and most importantly it doesn't send my husband to the hospital (been there twice, done with that). Toppings are essential and since I can't do ham with nitrates I am so thankful Trader Joe's and Sprouts offer uncured meats free of nitrates! Mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, avocado, and tomatoes top it off. Mmmmm melted goodness.

I am really enjoying this weather change in San Diego. Its overcast and rained last night. It reminds me a little bit of the NorCal winters I grew up with. It's perfect cuddle-snuggle weather. It was hard to pull myself out of bed this morning to go to TRX at 8am but when I woke up and saw that John has already left for his 6:30am CrossFit workout I knew I didn't have any excuses. It is kind of nice to drive with a light drizzle and I am really glad I went to work out, I needed to do SOMETHING after that Saturday morning WOD. I forced myself to walk (BLAH) for 20 minutes on the treadmill and watched A Baby Story on TLC. The hospital the woman being featured delivered at must be pretty awesome because not only did her midwife let her labor in a tub, she was able to deliver her baby boy in the water! Hospitals are finally starting to catch on and allow water births, but most of them are on the east coast. We are planning on having all the home birth supplies to deliver in the water but we will see when D-Day gets here what I feel like doing. I took an amazing bath today after my workout and it did wonders for my joints and muscles. We shall see!

Things I love about fall/winter in San Diego:

1. I can be all bundled up and still wear flip-flops
2. The beach has good days still, even close to Christmas
3. Rain is a treat and I enjoy it instead of loathing it
4. No ice on my car in the morning
5. Most of all, my family comes to San Diego every year after Christmas for the Cru Christmas Conference and I get to see them all after Christmas with John's family!

I would love to start crafting for our son (outfits, blankets, hats, baby carries, ect) but I need to remember....

The Gift of a Nap

I had glorious plans to fold the laundry, clear out some things in the living room, finish washing the dishes from last night, and I had this smokin' hot baby back ribs recipe I wanted to try again with all those FREE hours in my day to let it cook to sweet, fall-off-the-bone perfection. My achiever strength was going to be so tickled and fulfilled. And then... I indulged in a 2 hour nap while John went to help a friend finish roofing his house. And it was amazing. SO much better than all those things I could have done. It is hard for me to be OK with resting but this pregnancy has taught me to listen to my body and let it take the lead. Naps are truly a gift and I think God smiles when he sees his children being as he created them: at perfect peace and without worry.

WHY was I so tired you might ask? Well yesterday was a bit full yet amazing. The CrossFit WOD was tough, and afterward John and I took it easy at home shoving our faces with leftovers and taking care of some things at home.

John was waiting in eager anticipation or his Reebok Crossfit Nano 3.0 shoes. These things were literally flying off the shelves and since I married a GIANT he had to wait every day for them to restock the gray/black size 14 at Reebok.com. John gets a 40% discount on all their products so it was a steal for the guy who has had the same pair of shoes for 2 years! I think the 6 hours or research he did on the shoes and all the neat tricks he told me about them made him even more excited than the typical average consumer who buys stuff. I started tuning out when he told me about how the sides of the shoes are reinforced because the biggest complains about the 2.0 version was that rope climbs tore up the sides of the shoes too easily. Of course the shoes came an hour after we left for Advocare business training.

Training was AWESOME. Best quote of the day came from Kyle McComb,

"Life is obligated to test your vision as soon as it is announced."

I love this because it is so true! How many times have you had a clear path, a clear direction, a clear vision of what you are called to do and to live out. And then the same day you share that special vision with a spouse, a friend, a mentor, or post it on facebook life throws you something to try to say, "Nope, that's foolish! You don't have time, energy, the schedule, the skills, the passion, or the perseverance to do THAT." Persistence is key in times when your vision is tested in life, and support from those who love and care about you goes a long way.


After training we went to have a little date night. We picked up Thai food and took it to the Fashion Valley theaters to buy our tickets then eat out in the courtyard. Last weekend we tried to watch Captain Phillips but it was sold out so we tried to plan ahead this time! This movie was great. It's based on a true story about the hijacking of an American Cargo ship by Somali pirates. I highly recommend it! The movie made me really think what it must be like to live in another country and to have such different daily worries and needs than we have in America. The movie depicts the pirates as unique characters who have a fierce determination to bring back money for their village so that the war lords overseeing them will leave them alone after they "pay up".

We went to bed past midnight and this morning went to the 11am Flood Church service. I love hearing Andy Kelly bring it!

I am really excited about out Birthing From Within class tonight. It is class 5 out of 6 and we are going to be talking about interventions and how to advocate for yourself. Our home work was to look up the benefits, risks, and alternatives to cesarean birth, external fetal monitors (belts), IV fluids, induction with Cervidil, Cytotec, and Pitocin, using Pitocin during labor, Epidural, breaking water during labor, breaking water to start labor, stripping the membranes, internal fetal monitors on the baby's scalp, episiotomy, forceps, and vacuum. Even though three of the couples in our group of 6 are going to be delivering our babies at home it was such a great exercise to be able to look up the information for myself and see what those who elect to have a hospital birth are faced with. And in the even that our Midwife transfers us to UCSD medical during labor I will already know the different interventions that will be offered to me.

Our instructor shared an amazing poem that makes me well up with tears every time I read it. I will share it for you all and let you know how our class goes in tomorrow's post!

Invitation to Birthing From Within Mothers
 
It doesn't interest me how many prenatal books you've read,
I want to know if you hear your child whisper to you
when you lie awake at night.

It doesn't interest me who you are
or where you came from,
I want to know if your authentic mother warrior will awaken
when you birth your baby with all that you have.

It doesn't interest me if you have a birth plan
or where you plan to give birth.
I want to know that you will meet your birth
with an open mind and open heart.
I want to know if you can fully embrace the path
you must journey
to birth yourself as a mother.

It doesn’t interest me if you birth in silence
or as a lioness roars.
I want to know if you are willing to do
whatever it takes to birth your baby,
regardless of how you look,
how you sound,
or what others may think.
I want to know if you are willing to journey
to your depths and through the unknown.

It doesn't interest me how many stitches you get,
I want to know how you are moving in your body.
I want to know if you can take each movement
of your achy dripping body
and know that it has done a marvelous, miraculous thing.

It doesn't matter to me how you feed your baby.
I want to know if you are willing
to nurture your baby
from the depths of your soul and with
unconditional love.

I want to know if in the dark of night,
you can raise your tired bones and weary spirit
and do what needs to be done to care for your children

I want to know if you are willing to give up
your judges and ideals of a perfect parent
and surrender to your heart
and belly
to love your baby until you ache.

(This work was compiled and edited by Juji Woodring with contributions from Alejandrina in AZ, Lia from South Africa, Alisa from Texas, Charlene, and Tamara D.)