Homemade Symphony: December 2012

So, the flu season is upon us! I remember having the flu every year growing up and disliking it as much one year as the next. Now, as a mom of a newborn, the thought of handling the flu times eight is overwhelming so I am trying to do everything I can think of to boost our immune systems and keep us healthy. I have always known garlic to be good for your immune system but have always had a tough time figuring out how to take it. I have used garlic and cayenne pills but as I am not sure what sort of method is used to process them, I can't be sure that all of the good properties are present. I have tried taking it crushed up on a spoon with honey to soften the blow but my stomach tries to reject it so I am often hesitant to take it, especially when I don't feel well which is right when I need it the most. A few months ago I picked up a cookbook at a local store, "Healthy Choices" from the readers or Keepers at Home, and happened upon a simple recipe for a garlic glycerite. We have made it a few times and are finding it to be both an easy (yes spicy but easy) way to eat lots of fresh garlic and effective at speeding the recovery period for runny noses as that is all we have had to contend with thus far.

I have been watching our little lady as she does chores around the house and have noticed that she is often demonstrating how to accomplish the chore to an unseen audience. :-) I decided to tap into the budding teacher in her and have her demonstrate for you how to prepare the garlic glycerite. Enjoy!

If you haven't heard, on Sunday morning we welcomed Jonathan Trigg to our family! As I sat tending him this morning, my thoughts began to wander across the last few days and I had a great time realizing just how blessed we are!

I guess saying my thoughts were wandering would be a misstatement as I have had a plan since his birth to intentionally practice thankfulness as a part of each day. :-) If it sounds odd that I, a new mommy of baby number six, would need to be intentional about thankfulness, let me explain. When my last little guy (baby number five) was born, I was very surprised to experience some degree of the baby blues. It seemed very real to me at the time and something I was concerned about again with little Jonathan. As I was reading through the No Greater Joy magazine about a week ago, I happened across an article encouraging thankfulness. It was one of those articles that seamed to be speaking rather pointedly at me. It didn't coddle, smooth over, or comfort those who struggle with anxiety, feeling down or even depression in a sweet talking sort of way but addressed it from a Biblical point of view. The main point, or at least my boiled down version of it, was that if I do happen to struggle with baby blues, I am not being thankful. Reading the article was definitely both an "Ouch!" and "Wow! Thank you for being so frank!" moment for me.

Philippians 4:6

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understand will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

So, without any great effort, here are some of the ways we have been blessed!

I am blessed with a little man who waited to arrive until after 37 weeks so he could arrive at The Birth Center rather than at a hospital.

A huge blessing was that not only was Nathan home when I went into labor but we were all in the car at the end of the driveway heading to church... or so we thought! How much more “ready to go” can you be?

I had a wish to have Jonathan during the day and was blessed with a 10:29 am delivery. Yay!

Awesome dad!

I was blessed to have a wonderfully normal morning prior to going into labor during which dinner was put in the crockpot and waiting for us when we got home from the delivery.

I am wonderfully blessed with a great husband who safely and quickly drove me to Wilmington and concealed from me how many miles were left as I struggled to not have a baby in the car. He just kept cheering me on and reassuring me that we were getting close even though we were just passing the Monster Mile in Dover.

I was so blessed that God heard my desperate and loud prayers during each contraction and that Jonathan did not arrive in the car. Praise the Lord! Thankfully, he waited until 10 minutes after we arrived at The Birth Center.

Although I love the thought of little babies, I have been blessed with another big one who is totally content, happy and easy to take care of. (8lbs 15oz)

Family photo - day one

I have been blessed with a houseful of young men and one little lady. This has taken some getting used to! I have always thought I would do great with a bundle of daughters but God has had other plans. Looking at Jonathan along with his four brothers, I realized I had better get on the bandwagon and start loving the plusses! I will not have to kill anymore spiders! I will be quite safe even if Nathan is away with so many young men to protect me. There should be plenty of strength to accomplish almost any task. Once they all learn to hunt, I hope they think of me so I can have plenty of game to eat. And these are just some of the fun plusses I came up with.

I have been blessed with wonderful friends and a wonderful church family here in Delaware who threw me a surprise shower and have been bringing some mighty delicious meals over the last few days!!!

Special times with Mommy - day four

Last, but not least, we have been blessed with Jonathan Trigg Schauermann and we are so very thankful!!!! If you are wondering, Jonathan means "Gift of God" and is our family name for him as it contains “Nathan”. We spent a good deal of time the last few days before he was born trying to find a name that meant integrity, faithful, true, or trustworthy. Trigg means "trustworthy", "faithful", or "true" depending on which name book you are looking at. We love him so very much!