The Mobley Look

All of the Mobley children have the Mobley look, whether it be a blessing or a curse! Recently, David compiled this group of pictures of the kiddos. It is amazing how strikingly similar they look! In fact, before posting this, I had to ask David to double-check my identification!

MARY

MARY

MAGGIE

MAGGIE

MATTHEW

MATTHEW

JONATHAN

JONATHAN

JOSIAH

JOSIAH

Update on 2013 Goals

Well, it's time for a confession.  I fell behind in meeting the goals I set back in December.  The goal I set for April was to plan our backyard landscape. I really don't know what I was thinking!  In April, I pretty much just tried to keep my head above water, but I did have lots of time to think about the backyard.  Every time I even thought about it, I got completely overwhelmed, so I suggested to David that we just pour concrete everywhere!  This idea was quickly vetoed!  So, we had two companies come out to give us estimates.  Both companies came up with the same solution, one would have cost $15,000 and the other $20,000!  YIKES!  I think we'll do it ourselves, thank you very much!  So, we have a rough plan, which is still awaiting approval from our homeowner's association. 

On the image below created in painstaking detail by David, the dark grey areas represent existing concrete, and the light grey areas represent where we will put pavers of some sort.  The green areas are raised beds for vegetables.  The blue areas are in ground planters.  Inbetween the raised beds, I am hoping for an area of plants that attract hummingbirds and an area of plants that attract butterflies.  All the kids' play equipment is going to go on the side of the house with grape vines and citrus trees behind it.  The only other plants we are 100 percent sure about are Western Redbud and Bougainvillea, both of which are attractive and drought tolerant:)  We also hope to invest in a patio table, a bbq, and a retractable awning for shade.  I think this is going to be a BIG summer project!


My goal for May was not so lofty: begin to teach Mary and Maggie how to play the piano. I started last week.  So, now I can declare my goals for April and May complete! 

Sweet Big Brothers

Matthew and Jonathan are the sweetest big brothers in the world! They absolutely love Josiah and are eager to spend every possible moment with him. They like to help me with everything: diapering, burping, bathing, you name it! And they can't possibly go to bed without giving him at least one goodnight kiss. These boys are surprisingly affectionate with Josiah, that is, when they aren't trying to poke his eyes out, pull his limbs off, or tenderize his bulging belly!

Affectionate Jonathan

Affectionate Matthew

The Runway Dash

This past Saturday, the whole family went to the Orange County Great Park to run The Runway Dash, a one-mile race. Mary and Maggie both ran in the race and ran the whole time, although Maggie did take two spills! David pushed Matthew and Jonathan in the stroller and won first place in the stroller division!  Josiah and I cheered everyone on at the finish line! Afterwards, there were lots of recovery snacks: fruit, granola bars, granola, ice cream and milkshakes and a PANCAKE BREAKFAST! Each race participant also received freshly picked strawberries, zucchini, summer squash, and cucumbers!  I think we found a new Mobley tradition!  

Maggie's Earrings!

It's official: my Maggie is growing up! A few weeks ago, we all took a trip to Claire's, and she got her ears pierced! Not only that, but she even paid for it herself! While there were many different earrings that could be used for the piercing, we encouraged her to choose one of the $20 options, which included balls and stars, either in silver or gold. Although she really, really wanted the $40 Hello Kitty earrings, she settled on the gold stars.  To help her arrive at this decision, I had to pull out the "stars, balls, or nothing" strategy.  It worked, whew!  Maggie is such a girly girl, she frequently asks me if her earrings make her look beautiful.  She is also very conscientious about caring for them and reminds me to clean her ears after breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

In this picture, she is also trying to show you her two wiggly teeth, too. Sigh...she really is growing up!

Now, thinking about the ear piercings: Mary was almost six when she got her ears pierced; Maggie's 4 1/2, so I guess I'll be taking Matthew and Jonathan to get theirs done this fall. Ha, ha...just joking, everyone!

Happy Birthday, Mary!

Back in April, Mary and I celebrated our birthdays together! As usual, we celebrated at home with chocolate cake and presents. You can tell from the pictures that Mary enjoyed herself...A LOT! 

Per Mary's request, I made a Texas sheet cake with chocolate frosting and purple decorations.

It took a few tries for Mary to successfully extinguish all SEVEN candles!

Mary was delighted with the sewing box and supplies from Nana and Papa!

She was also delighted with SEVEN pairs of earrings from Grandma Nancy!  She now enjoys changing her earrings every day!

I think she's excited about the DIGITAL watch from Gramps and Grams!  (We'll let her have one now, since she can tell time:))

We saved the best for last--a PURPLE swimming cap and PURPLE goggles from the whole family!  It's pool time in SoCal!

Baby Josiah Is Here!

On Monday of this week, we welcomed our fifth child into the world.  His conception was a complete surprise and miracle, which you can read about here.  In light of this, we chose to name him Josiah, which means "God has healed."  Josiah was born on Monday, March 25, 2013, at 1:04 pm weighing 9 pounds, 6 ounces and measuring 21 inches long.  Certainly, he is the heavyweight of the Mobleys, weighing almost as much as Matthew and Jonathan combined at birth!

I always like to chronicle the birth of our children, so if you'd rather not read the gory details, you should stop reading this post now!  I was particularly excited about this birth experience because I was finally going to be able to deliver a baby at home!  I've always been a strong supporter of natural childbirth, simply because I believe God designed the birth process, and we don't ordinarily need to interfere with God's perfect design.  Women have been giving birth naturally for years, but the idea that birth is a medical emergency requiring medication and tools and monitors, etc. is a relatively recent concept.  These convictions are what led us to pursue a home birth.  (I will write another post at a later date about the benefits of a home birth from my perspective.)

And now for the gory details:
Palm Sunday marked the tenth day past my official due date, so many people at church wanted to know when, if ever, the baby would be evicted from the womb.  Good question.  At 42 weeks (Thursday), the midwives would have to try to induce labor, by breaking my water. On Sunday, I was content to wait a few more days.  Monday morning, I was not!  I woke up feeling incredibly uncomfortable after a not very restful night's sleep.  I think my first words to David that morning were, "I (sob) don't (sob) think (sob) I (sob) can (sob) make (sob) it (sob) until (sob) Thursday."  And, David, who knows me so well after almost twelve years of marriage said, "Well, let's just see what the midwife says at your appointment today, okay?"  We didn't even make it to that appointment.  I started to feel more pressure than normal just after breakfast, so I adjusted our schedule of Easter week activities and made resurrection rolls with Mary and Maggie, anticipating that I might be busy with a newborn later on.  By the time the rolls were out of the oven, I was sure that I was in real labor.  David's parents, who have been visiting for two and a half weeks eagerly waiting on this baby, arrived and took all the kids outside to pace up and down the cul-de-sac.  David paged the midwife on call and began to fill the birthing tub.

Mary and Josiah

The birth team arrived at about 10:30 am and found me already in the tub probably looking too comfortable.  The warm water had actually slowed down the contractions, so I got out and moved around a bit.  This got things moving again, and I really wanted to get back in the tub, but they encouraged me to keep moving and changing positions.  I walked.  I stood, leaning on the exercise ball.  I laid on my side.  I squatted.  I showered.  I vomited.  (I have to say that vomiting during labor is really unpleasant.  Your body is pushing up and down all at once!)  Finally, I got into the tub again with David sitting behind me.  Up until this point, I was apparently uncommunicative, so no one else even knew that I was continuing to have contractions.  I was praying a lot, silently, asking God to help me relax with each contraction and not to resist.  I was thanking him for the baby about to be born.  I was asking him for strength.  In the tub, I leaned against David and squeezed his hands every time I began to feel a contraction coming on.

Maggie and Josiah

I felt some really strong contractions, like I seriously thought my back was going to break.  I looked at the midwife and told her, "It feels like it's so out of control!"  She was so awesome and confidently assured me that I was safe and that I didn't need to be afraid.  Instantly, I knew it was time to push, so the labor assistant called for Mary and Maggie to come in.  They came in quickly, sat on our bed, and witnessed Josiah's birth.  I gave a really strong push (accompanied by really loud groans) and Josiah's head was out.  I rested.  I gave another really strong push (again accompanied by really loud groans) and he was born.  I cannot even describe the mixture of emotions at that point.  I was so happy to finally meet my baby boy.  I was thankful that God answered my prayers.  I also felt a big sense of relief that it was over and that my almost nine and a half baby was out of my body!

After spending a good bit of time cuddling with Josiah, who was not at all happy about being born, I moved from the tub to the bed and delivered the placenta.  Afterwards, the midwife quickly repaired two small tears and gave me a shot of pitocin in the leg because I had experienced excessive blood loss.
After cuddling with Josiah again for a good bit of time, the labor assistant helped me to take a shower, while the midwife examined Josiah and the placenta.  Josiah was born at 1:04 pm, and the birth team left our home around 2:30 pm.  We spent the rest of the day together as a family celebrating Josiah's birth in the comfort of our own home without the intrusion of  even well-meaning doctors and nurses.  And, my March goal is now complete!

Our midwife, Brooke, labor assistant, Ashlee, and Josiah