Hurricane / Tropical Storm Isaac | Pray for Haiti, Dominican Republic and New Orleans

(Our toddler baby in his life jacket. He can finally fit it now).

We had quite a scare this weekend. They said to prepare for a hurricane! It ended up being Tropical Storm Issac ...

At first, Bay News 9 said that we were to expect a hurricane over the next few days. They said that "Hurricane Issac" would go through Florida and might end up as strong as Hurricane Katrina; they just weren't sure how bad it would be.

My heart dropped to my feet in fear while my husband went into MEGA survival mode. He filled like 30 gallons of water from our water filter; he had my 13 year old son get into geer and they ran to the store to buy candles, diapers, batteries, canned food and junk foods that did not need cooked. He was worried that our water might become contaminated again (happened earlier this summer) and that we might end up without electricity (as always happened when we have bad storms).

I worked hard to hide my fears. We watched the Lorax while my husband stayed on the radar website.

Our greatest fears came from memories of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Those thoughts alone had my husband glued to Klystron 9 reports while chatting live with them online. I tried to make sure everything was organized enough to handle a toddler that does not swim and a teen that is not as strong of a swimmer as I would like him to be. I was REALLY worried that a hurricane would be the first and last time our baby would wear his life jacket. I felt sad that this might be his first experience. I started to think that if the hurricane was not too bad, we could all camp out in the bathroom until "things" settled down. Yet, what would we all do in there with an energetic toddler? Read by candle light while the baby bathed for hours? How would be keep a toddler entertained during a hurricane? The kids and I ended up watching Dr Seuss's The Lorax to take our minds off of things. Cute movie!

Hurricane Issac became Tropical Storm Issac ...

Fortunately, the radar predictions shifted from Hurricane Issac to Tropical Storm Issac, and they were still not sure what we should expect. I felt a little relief as we had a tropical storm this summer and we managed just fine. Regardless, some of our local counties shut down schools for Monday and some post offices were closed (depending on which county). All of this going on while the Republican National Convention was taking place in Tampa, FL. I prayed to God, though was still scared. There is always the ULTIMATE wonder about "THAT" time being here. I went to bed resolved that "thy will be done" ... it felt Titanic like until I fell asleep.

I was relieved to wake up and find just a few cracked tomato branches in the yard. It was breezy and cooler outside, though nothing even close to what the last tropical storm was like for us. I watched the Klystron 9 weather radar soon after waking and saw that Tropical Storm Issac would go up the gulf coast to the west of Florida, though my heart felt burdened by the fact that the storm will end in New Orleans. I am equally sad for the people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. There were more deaths as a result of this Tropical Storm Issac.

I am asking all of my friends to pray for the families in Haiti and Dominican Republic, and that God will protect those in New Orleans. Pray that Tropical Storm Issac will not be a category 2 hurricane once it hits New Orleans.



In Motherly Love,
Mother Baby Child

Babys 1st Time Playing In Sprinkler w/ Brother (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) "Love Is" ... Wordless Wednesday

This was our baby's 1st run in the sprinkler and he loved it!



Water in his face, grass on his shoes and legs, toddler baby having a wonderful time playing in the water ...



Big brother making the water sprinkler experience even more special for our baby. I watch and appreciate the beautiful relationship between brothers that are so far apart in age! Their love and my love for them ... it overwhelms my heart and reminds me that this is the love our Father in heaven has for us.

Happy Wordless Wednesday

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8


In Motherly Love,
Mother Baby Child

Happy World Breastfeeding Week (August 1 - 7, 2012) Pledge Information & Support

Celebrating the 20th World Breastfeeding Week

I am writing this a quick blog post to share some information, that is important to me and I am sure will be important to other mothers (moms to be), too. August 1 to 7, 2012 is World Breastfeeding Week (WBW); an occassion that is celebrated in 120 countries at different dates during the year with 2012 being its twentieth anniversary.

"Twenty years ago the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) launched the World Breastfeeding Week campaign to focus and facilitate actions to protect, promote & support breastfeeding. Since then, each year, WBW has put the spotlight on various breastfeeding issues. This year it focuses on the progress that has been made on the implementation of the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding (GSIYCF) which was adopted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF ten years ago. Implementing the Global Strategy effectively is essential to increase breastfeeding rates: especially exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and to reach Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 (which aims to reduce under five mortality by two thirds)."

OBJECTIVES OF WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK 2011

1. To take stock of lessons learnt and achievements from the past 20 years on
infant and young child feeding (IYCF).

2. To assess the status of implementation of the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding (GS) globally.

3. To celebrate successes and achievements nationally, regionally, and globally and showcase national work at the global level.

4. To call for action to bridge the remaining gaps in policy and programmes on breastfeeding and IYCF

5. To draw public attention to the state of policy and programmes on breastfeeding and IYCF

READ THE POSTER AND CONNECT TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

WHY DO I SUPPORT WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK 2012?

As a mother of children that are 5 1/2 years and 17 years apart, I know and have experienced the changes in acceptance and medical support for breastfeeding. In comparison to when I had my first 2 children, I was asked about whether I planned to breast feed  handed tons of information, everyone was encouraging about breastfeeding and I was given a lot of support for my decision to breastfeed over and over again during my pregnancy and birth processes. The change in acceptance and the confirmation of the natural health and nurtering beenfits was breathtaking! So many young mothers, that I chatted with in the waiting rooms, were excited about their decisions to breastfeed and I was happy for them. Even my mother (who was always anti-breastfeeding) changed her tune about the health advantages and bonding importances of breastfeeding. THAT was when I knew that society was changing for sure. I have always supported this natural and much needed process of life, and nursed with all 3 children as long as they wanted.

DO YOU SUPPORT BREASTFEEDING

If you support breastfeeding (which I hope that you do) and the work that is being done to increase awarenes, acceptance and breastfeeding in general, please make sure to click the link below and claim your position on their global pledge map.

SUBMIT YOUR PLEDGE FOR WORLDWIDE BREASTFEEDING WEEK

For every pledge that is received, the World Breast Feeding 2012 Logo will appear on the world map and listing the names of celebrant(s). You can participate by completing this pledge form and sending it to wbw@waba.org.my by email attachment.

I invite you to leave a comment with your experience with breastfeeding, nursing blog posts or why you support World Breastfeeding Week!


In Motherly Love,
Mother Baby Child