For over 12 years I've been fortunate enough to have worked with many wonderful midwives.  Midwifery is indeed a special calling and a gift.  There is always something to learn about the role of midwives as well as the natural birth experience.

Below is a wonderful documentary my friend shared with me about a special midwife in the south in 1952.  For those who may be intrigued with midwifery, you may enjoy this 53 minute film:

And for those who may have missed my previous post about the documentary, "The Business of Being Born," here is the trailer: http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/trailer.php

A few days ago we ventured 1 ½ hours south for a fall camping during the Biblical festival called Sukkot (also commonly known as the Feast of Tabernacles, Leviticus 23)  Originally ,we were going to join friends in Texas for the feast, but we ended up staying out west and had a wonderful time . 

I imagine most camping trips take days , if not weeks, of planning and preparation.  But in our case, we had less than one day to quickly research and pack for our trip.  We watched a few helpful YouTube videos, made a couple trips to the store, and did some last minute packing.  We were excited and determined as we embarked upon the adventure.

As we began travelling to our destination, I began to think of a few forgotten details.  It was too late to turn around, so I was just going to make the best of it and learn from the experience.  Once we settled in, everyone kicked into creative mode and made things work.  For example, I used the griddle to heat our water & coffee since I couldn’t find last minute firewood in the city.  Thankfully, we didn’t go long without wood because we were able to buy fire wood from the visitor center .  Even though we all enjoyed cooking on and heating up by the fire pit, the griddle definitely came in handy for preparing some of our meals (like instant oatmeal, noodle cups, hot cocoa).  Honestly, I know that using electricity while in the wilderness may be considered cheating by camping enthusiasts, but it worked well for our family  and simplified things greatly. Perhaps, as we get more camping experience we’ll go more rustic.

As always, there were many lessons learned:

• Camping with a toddler has a few challenges, but it can be done successfully & create great memories
•   Next time when camping in the desert, I won’t be alarmed when I’m awaken by the howling coyotes after midnight
•  The temperature in the dessert may be pleasant during the day, but be prepared for an extreme drop after sunset (it got down to at least 42degrees when we checked in the middle of the night, then we were too cold to check again)
• If you’re brave enough to experience fall/winter camping, a good quality/safe heater is a great investment if temps drop below 50 degrees at night
•      Even though you may check the weather before your camping trip, be prepared for a shift in conditions (we got some rain and wind on the second morning despite the weather forecast just stating “cloudy”)
• \ If you’re like me and have a fear of heights, perhaps climbing sand dunes is a good option to get to a good scenic view 300+ft in the air. As we climbed, our feet sunk a few inches in the sand to give better footing than regular mountain climbing….this eliminated much fear for me
•    Children say the funniest things sometimes—I told them we were going to climb the “sand dunes” and our 4 year old stated we were on our way to “the mountain of doom” (doom, rather than dune...lol)
•  Playing in sand dunes is like having a big sandbox and may bring out the kid in you, (consider trying it if you’re feeling a little stressed and need to tap into your adventurous side)
•     Leaving the city and spending time in the wilderness is a great way to decompress from the hustle and bustle of everyday responsibilities—I am refreshed!
• YHWH has created so many amazing landscapes and we are fortunate to be able to enjoy them by visiting our state & national parks—Consider getting out of the house & experiencing a little nature  (the park rates are pretty reasonable if you prepare in advance, save a little here and there)

Eventually, I do hope to prepare a little slideshow from our trip, but in the meantime, here are a few pics  from the trip:

This month I'm adding a year to my life experience & I was reflecting about my childhood.  I thought it would be appropriate to re-post the little video tribute to my poppa who actually carefully served to help deliver me some 3+ decades ago.  Here goes:

Today we did a little exploring and I feel so refreshed!!  I was telling Marlon that I'd love to experience the river floating that we learned about and perhaps some bicycling through the trails. 

I guess it's safe to say that I'm feeling a little adventurous these days :-)

"The best defense is a good offense."
This is in the last paragraph of an preparedness article I just read from my inbox:
http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/emergencyprep.htm

Now that we're temporarily dwelling in the Northwest, I'm anticipating a "real winter" experience and need to be diligent with our preparations.  Picking up our bulk order and reading this article is a good start, but there's much more to do before I truly feel prepared.

Any tips you Northerners may want to share are welcome :-)