Japan 2015

Well.....Considering it's been 5 YEARS since I have written a blog and The Shields have had quite a lot going on lately, I thought I would finally get to answer everyone's question to me, "So, how's Japan???"

First of all, this is a long one. With the move, birthdays, traveling, refreshing and refining moments with my God....it's all exploding out in this one, peeps. 

For those of you who do not know, Thomas' job moved us to Nagoya, Japan for one year. We arrived January 6th and will return home the same time next year. The first three months of our time here brought birthdays to all my sweet babies! 

While we were still recovering from jet lag, culture shock, and just plain exhaustion our baby, Scarlet Hosanna, turned the big ONE.

We were so out of it and had no idea where to get anything fun for her birthday. Thankfully, Thomas found a sweets shop just down the road from out apartment. We couldn't decide on just one or two things, because EVERYTHING in there looked so yummy. We had a sweet family moment celebrating her and watching her dig into her first bit of sugary sweetness. 

I still look at her and have no idea who she looks like. I think she is probably a mix of several family members. Her hair color throws me for a loop every time I look at it. She has this red, strawberry blondish hair. What!! 

She has been our "surprise" baby in more ways that one. From the moment Thomas had to deliver her in our living room, to her doing everything in her own time, very differently from her siblings, she has kept us on our toes.  Honest moment...I cried when I saw the words "pregnant" on the pregnancy test with her. I don't think I have ever been more shocked as I was that day. Life had been really busy the few weeks before. I attended 5 births as a doula within a two week span of time, I had been traveling, and didn't realize I was "late" until I was "really late." I knew I wasn't pregnant. There was NO WAY I was pregnant. I took the test only because I needed to see the words "not pregnant." After I took the test, I actually forgot about it. I was downstairs playing in the basement with the kids, when I finally remembered. I ran upstairs, and it was like I had the vision of an eagle when I walked into the bathroom. I was standing at the bathroom doorway, the test was on the window seal, and I saw those tiny little letters across the room. I just stood there with my mouth open. 

"What! We were so careful."

"Not another surprise pregnancy."

"This is not my timing."

"How did this happen! (obviously, we know how it happened.)

"I'm not ready to be throwing up for the test three months."

"Shepherd just turned 3 and we ALREADY are pregnant again."

I immediately called Thomas and was crying so hard I could barely speak. Thomas thought me and the kids had been in a car wreck and that there was a tragedy. THAT'S how bad I was crying. I told him the news and he was like, "that's why you're crying. This is a good thing!" 

I tell all of this because, the timing of my pregnancy was God's, not mine. MY plan was to possibly start trying for another baby the Fall of that same year. However, it was Fall of that year that Thomas sprung the big news to me. "So, how would you feel about moving to Japan the end of next year??" At that moment, I was so thankful to be pregnant with our third baby. Because, here's the thing, if Thomas would have told me about Japan and we had been thinking about trying at that time, WE WOULDN'T HAVE. I would have probably said, "no way are we having two kids and a newborn in Japan." I know I would have been stubborn. I know I would have put off another baby for a long time. So Scarlet is my present from the Lord. God "squeezed in" another baby for us before we left. She is the perfect addition to our family. If someone would have told me, "Hey, you are going to have 3 kids back to back." I would have laughed and politely replied, "that's not my plan." So that's the common denominator here: God's timing is perfect. His timing is what is best for us, even when we don't see that at the time. 

"A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9

Having Scarlet has made me submit to HIS timing in a much sweeter and easy way. Always thinking "Lord not my will buy Your's." 

"You know best and I want to trust You with all that I am."

Olivia Mai is just a hoot. She turned 3 the end of January. Last year when she turned two, she was sad because she said, "I don't want to be 2, I want to be 3." And of course this year, she says she wants to be 4!! She is constantly falling down. Only because she is always trying to keep up with Shepherd. Most the time, before a fall, you'll hear the words, "Shepherd, wait for me!" Then CRASH!. I know having to keep up with her older bother is going to make her a strong and independent, young lady. She loves being with Shepherd and loves family. She prefers for daddy to be home from work so we can all be together. I see the gift of discernment in her already. She is fearless! She runs towards danger! Makes me nervous. She has a little obsession with "treats." Sweet tooth, like her daddy. I think she is just beautiful. 

Olivia means "olive tree." Before we had children, me and Thomas took a trip to Israel with our church. We had a sweet time of worship and communion in the garden where Jesus was praying before he was arrested and crucified. We sat under an olive tree praying for our future children. It brings tears to my eyes thinking about those moments of talking to the Lord as one and offering our hopes and dreams of a family up to God. We prayed that we would lay solid foundations for our children to KNOW Jesus and know they are loved by Him with an unconditional love. We prayed for God to help us as parents to seek wisdom and cling to His Word in raising our children.

This kid is the coolest kid I know. He is obsessed with wrestling matches with Thomas, he loves ninjas, he is in constant motion. Always running, jumping, karate chopping...he's the most agile kid I have ever seen.  I don't know how he has as much energy as he does. He just turned 5 which is crazy. Time flies when you're having fun. He has had a teenage mutant ninja turtle obsession for quite some time now. He loves to be around other kids and makes friends quickly and easily. I don't know if he is a natural leader, but kids are drawn to him and want to be around him. I'm excited to see how that will play out when he is older.

 I love this picture of Shepherd so much.(click on it for a close up) He is running with everything he has. He loves to run! It makes him so happy to just let loose in wide open spaces. 

"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it." 1 Corinthians 9:24

Run! Run! Run, my son!! 

He loves having sisters, but he wants brothers too. He asks me all the time when we are going to have another baby. He has always been so sweet and gentle with Scarlet. She loves him and he makes her laugh. I felt the Lord speak to me with a specific characteristic and gift Shepherd would have when he was just a baby. Encouragement. It has been such a blessing to see the Lord confirm that through others. Parents tell me all the time, "He is such an encourager." He doesn't like for kids to feel left out, so he is quick to make other kids feel welcome and comfortable. He is very tender-hearted. I'm just crazy about him!

A few interesting things about Japan...

-The elder kick bootay here. Always walking, biking, exercising. I'm always impressed to see an 80 year old lady walking to the grocery store and carrying all her groceries home.

-The blood alcohol level here is ZERO. If you get pulled over and have ANY alcohol in your system..automatic DUI. (Also, you automatically get fired from Thomas's company if you get a DUI) They don't mess around!

-Japanese people are tiny. I'm in XL leggings here and they are high waters!

We have grown very close as a family. Less busy here and less distractions. It has been good to regain my focus on marriage and raising children. The first few weeks here were rough. Everyone had jet lag and trying to get 5 people on a new schedule took a while. I had a lot of wife and mommy failures for sure. I remember one day I tried to find a karate class I had signed the kids up for and I got lost big time (while still learning how to drive on the opposite side of the road.) We didn't make it to class and I felt like I had let the kids down because they were so excited about it. It seemed like every time I tried to go somewhere fun with the kids, I would get lost. My most glamorous moment came one day when I had just had enough. I didn't know how to cook anything here, no oven, no dryer, no dishwasher, I had almost burnt our apartment down twice, getting lost everywhere I went. Thomas came home that night, and I was like "I'm done" and I slammed the door to our bedroom and had a pity party. Real mature, I know.

But I have been humbled and I am being refined. The refining of gold is a long, HOT process. It has to be heated up enough for the dross (impurities) to float to the top and then the dross is scoped off. That's how the gold is made beautiful!! 

Zechariah 13:9

 " I will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon My name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people, and they will say,'The Lord is my God."

I've got a long way to go. But my cry to everyone who feels like things are "getting a little toasty"...STAY IN THE POT! DON'T GET OUT! It is a necessary process that far too few choose to endure. We are a people of bailing out when things get hard. But there is such beauty in the end. I'm already seeing life differently, my kids and husband in a new way. 

Thomas started reading through the book of Job to me at night before bed. One thing that hit me like a ton of bricks was that Job rose every morning to pray for each of his kids by name. And he had A LOT of kids. Ten I think.

Job 1:5 "...and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt sacrifices according to the number of them all.."

How can we not rise early every morning and pray for our kids?!

The day before Thomas read that particular scripture to me, I had had one of "those mornings." Nothing was going well, the kids were insane, and I seriously kept having to clean up spill after spill. At one moment, Olivia spilled the biggest class of milk onto the floor and I swear that milk spilled from sea to shining sea! I was down on my knees cleaning up the ocean of milk on the floor and totally stewing with frustration. The Lord  gently spoke to my heart, " Start your mornings on your knees. It will make the times you have to get down on your knees to clean and pick up toys easy and joyful. " I can't believe He loves me so much to instruct me on how to survive this journey of motherhood. I'm not super spiritual by any means. I just ask (more like cry out half the time) for help and he loving gives it. So I'm trying to start my days on my knees in prayer for my family. 

Being a mom is like totally hard! But worth it. Our house is filled with so much laughter and fun. Most days are far from glamorous. There are days that the most in depth, philosophical  conversation I have is how eating boogers is really bad for you and gross. I'm like "seriously ya'll, why are you questioning me on that! I have a nursing degree from UT!" I fail all the time. I have to ask for my kids forgiveness all the time. I've found when you're having a bad day sometimes you just need to have a tickle match or see who can make the loudest fart noises with your hands. 

Life is hard, but so good. I am thankful for what God has given me and feel very content. 

A few random thoughts....

The Parks here are seriously AWESOME!! Me and Thomas are always like, "there's no way people would build this in the States."

An Evening at a Cherry Blossom Festival

Sometimes people ask what I do for "school." 

Nothing, really until they are older. I started a level 1 pre-school curriculum that takes up like 30 minutes, when Shepherd was 3 1/2 years. Before that, it was just play, puzzles, flash cards, and lots of time spent reading to him.

I love love love this Pre-school curriculum. EVERYTHING comes in the box. All if have to do is go to the library and get the weekly book. Shepherd is doing the Level 2 Pre-school kit now and Olivia is doing level 1. 

http://readymadepreschool.com/

I also, started teaching Shepherd to read last Fall with All About Reading. 

http://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/all-about-reading/

And...this mama just had her 34th birthday!!

"Never in my wildest dreams..."

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!!

What an amazing year 2010 has been for The Shields...new job, new baby...you know, nothing big. Ha Ha!! As we look back at this year, it has been full of adventure and a lot of new beginnings. Thomas was finally hired on as a full time mechanical engineer at Denso Manufacturing. It was a long, hard journey in finding a job in this type of economy, but FINALLY, it happened. Praise the Lord! It was a time of learning patience and trusting in God's plan for our lives. We are so thankful that I can now be a stay-at-home mom...what a dream come true for us.

Shepherd is now 8 months old and such a blessing to us. He is so precious. We love watching him "discover" all the little things. Who would have thought that clothing zippers could be so fun to play with and that pureed green beans were oh so good!!

I have found a passion for educating women about pregnancy and childbirth. I am working on my certification to teach Bradley natural childbirth classes and hope to start teaching sometime next year. So needless to say, along with studying for my certification, church, and taking care of Shepherd, I keep my plate full.

We hope everyone is well and we wish you a Merry Christmas...

Isaiah 9:6

"For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Shepherd...He's killing me with his cuteness!!!!

After 4 months of maternity leave, it was back to work (thankfully, only part-time). Children truly are a blessing from the Lord. Shepherd has brought so much joy to our lives. It's amazing the amount of love you can have for someone you haven't even known that long. Shepherd is growing and growing too fast!!! He looks like a completely different baby since he was born. Most of his hair has thinned out, except for the back of coarse. Business in the front, party in the back..yep...Mullet style!!! His smiles and laughs have us in stitches and him and Thomas are working on developing a book of father/son dangerous tricks. Really....they're giving me a heart attack already! Thanks to wisdom from seasoned moms, he's sleeping through the night and is a napping champion. It seems like I get more sleep now than I did before I was pregnant. We are loving where we are right now, and get even more excited about the things to come...giving him food, crawling, walking, playing with things like train,trucks, lincoln logs, and legos!!

I have found that I am very passionate about educating women on pregnancy, labor/delivery, and motherhood ( from what I've learned these 4 1/2 months). I hear so many negative things these days. For example, when you're pregnant, lots of people say, "enjoy this time while you can, because once you have a baby life is hard." Or when you have a newborn, "enjoy this time before they're crawling all over the place and getting into everything." I mean REALLY! Can I get one positive thing about having kids. I know I'm totally new at this, but so far, it's been amazing. Of coarse, it's challenging in the beginning because you're learning your baby and there is some sleep deprivation going on. But, even through all of that, there has been no greater joy!! What an awesome privilege God has entrusted to me and Thomas to raise and train a child (and hopefully children). The Bible says, "

Behold, children are a blessing from the Lord,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

So are the children of one's youth." Psalm 127:3-4

So what does that mean? Children are a BLESSING not a BURDEN. They are precious gifts. God likens them to arrows. It is our job to sharpen and shape them. Sharpening, whether it be a knife, rock, or whatever, is not easy. You sweat, it's hard work, and sometimes sparks fly!! Yikes!! But the end result is a beautiful, sharp weapon. I have a dear friend who I look up to very much tell me, "if I'm not enjoying my kids, I know I am the one doing something wrong."

I just want to encourage mom's, whether seasoned or new, to be encouraged. Seek advice and wisdom from women you look up to and pick their brains. We need to help and encourage one another.

I few of my favorite "mommy things."

Cloth diapers are awesome...and a great way to save lots of money. But I know what you're thinking..."gross"..it's not gross at all. You just rinse them with a cloth diaper sprayer and put them in your cloth diaper bin. I was extremely intimidated at first but I just eased into it a day at a time and now it's easy as pie. Not to mention..they are way cute!!

Another great tip on saving money..just use baby wash clothes for wipes.

For all of you mom's out there that have summer babies, these sleeveless teas are great. Because, let's face it, summers in Tennessee are horrible..the H is O baby!!

And instead of having to put Desitin or other messy, gooie stuff on your baby, just use a diaper ointment stick. No more getting diaper ointment all over you, your baby and everything else when you're changing them.

If you're interested in making your own baby food, "Super Baby Food" is a great way to learn how to make and store it and when to start what foods. There is a little redundancy in this book, but otherwise is good. "The Vaccine Book" informs you what is in each vaccine and the reasoning for those vaccines. Gives an alternate schedule if you want to delay vaccinations or give only one shot at a time. You don't have to take every single thing to heart from these books. I have just found them very helpful as a new mom.

Our First 7 weeks of Parenthood!!!

I cannot believe 7 weeks have already past. Man, how time flies by. What a whirlwind it has

been. I think I have experienced every emotion ever created the past 7 weeks: frustration,

overwhelming love, extreme exhaustion. Crying for no reason was a pretty common thing in the

beginning as well.

I was totally shocked about how "green" I felt once we brought him home from the hospital.

I mean come on, I'm a pediatric nurse and even worked as a nanny for 2 months with twin infant

girls. "Only having to be up at night with ONE should be easy, right."

I believe the first week I was just living off adrenaline. Once that wore off, I started to feel how

tired my body actually was. NO ONE can prepare you for how tired you are. "How do people do

this. How do people ever have more than one child!!"

I would consider myself a little bit of a "psycho-mom" the first couple of weeks. "Thomas I'm

scared to go to sleep, what if he stops breathing...what if he spits up and chokes...what if..what if.."

I would just cry at the thought of it.

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills—

From whence comes my help?

My help comes from the LORD,

Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to be moved;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep."

Psalm 121:1-4

Thank goodness He doesn't sleep so I can. While I sleep, the Lord is still

watching over the precious gift He's given us.

Every little thing he does just fills me with joy...every smile,coo,toot...I love it all. He is such a blessing!! Now I have emerged from the exhaustion fog, I'm feeling good and realizing I can do this...and excited about continuing to grow our family. Not ready to add another in the near future at this point. It's just nice to realize Having multiple kids is possible..Ha Ha!

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

So are the children of one’s youth."

Psalm 127:3-4

PS:If you are expecting, I would highly recommend reading the book "Baby Wise" toward the end of your pregnancy. I wish I would have done that. I'm reading it right now and it's amazing. It talks about breast feeding, getting your baby to sleep through the night and that the best thing you can give your baby is a healthy marriage.

My best friend Bethany had her baby,Beck, 4 weeks after Shepherd was born. This is the first time they met. They don't know it yet, but they have to be best friends no matter what.

We go them matching onsies that say "best buddies"

The nursery..it's the most peaceful room in the world!!

Our little Shepherd is here!!!

Hello Everyone,

Shepherd Thomas Shields surprised us by comeing 9 days before his due date on March 27 at 8:19am Saturday morning weighing 6lbs 9oz and 19 3/4 in long. He was due on my birthday, April 5th, so I guess he just didn't want to share his birthday!!

I've had a lot of people ask about my labor experience since most people knew I really wanted to go "natural" with no medication. So I thought I would share the craziest thing my body has every gone through!! (Boys....if you're uncomfortable with words like "dilate,effaced,...you may not want to read.)

I just want to start with by saying, I had a great pregnancy. Other than having morning sickness the first trimester, everything went pretty normal. I went through about 3 bottles of tums, 1 bottle of mylanta (nastiest tasting medication in the world), and like a million bottles of zantac battling the nasty heartburn I had. But that can be explained by the head full of hair my little one has!!! I worked the entire pregnancy and found myself loving to swim every chance I got.

So....The day I went into labor was actually a great day. I went swimming that morning, ate lunch at my favorite coffee shop, finished up at 10 week Bible study with a friend, and was finally able to get my pedicure. For some reason, I had it set in my mind that I HAD to get a pedicure and have pretty feet before I had a baby!!! That night (Friday night) I was joking with Thomas that he was lucky that I didn't have any weird food cravings and that I never made him get up in the middle of the night for a grocery run for ice cream and pickles. However, I told Thomas, "I'm really craving a chocolate milkshake from Baskin Robins, I have to have one now!" So we set out to fulfill the only food I just "had to have" during the entire pregnancy. As soon as we ordered, I noticed that I "just wasn't feeling right". I was having some of the practice contractions I had been having for weeks, but these were hurting just a little bit. We got home, I drank about 4 sips of that milkshake and had to put down because my contractions were not going away like they normally would after a few minutes. I went to lay down in bed to see if that would help and after about 30 minutes they still weren't going away. They weren't really hurting, it was just more frustrating than anything that I couldn't get them to stop like I normally could.

My husband, being the wonderful labor coach that he was, suggested that I take a hot shower. Brilliant!!! That always made them stop before. So I took my hot shower, brushed my teeth, and laid back in bed. All of a sudden, I'm having to breath through the contractions and they were starting to take my breath away. I got up to walk for a second and next think I knew, I was laying on the floor during the contractions screaming, "Thomas help me, I can't do this, make it stop!!!" Every contraction at that point put me on the floor screaming!!! I remember thinking, "What happen to just easing into labor!!."

After about an hour of intense back to back contractions, I told Thomas to call our Doula, Tamisha, to start making her way to our house. Thomas apparently wasn't convinced I was in labor for some reason, "I don't want to call her unless we're sure you're in labor, it's 12:30am, I don't want to wake her." Are you kidding me!! Let's see, yelling for almost 2 hours now during contractions...how could he not think I'm in labor?? "Thomas, this baby is coming," I told him. I think he needed to hear those words for some reason. He called Tamisha and she told me to get in the tub until she got there.

I had heard by women who had had natural births that being in hot water was the best thing and you don't want to get out....so true!!! Everything still hurt but I was able to relax a little better. My doula finally got to our house around 1pm. What a relief. So pretty much for the next 4 hours Thomas and Tamisha made me walk and get in a lot of different positions to keep things moving. They let me get back in the tub and it was at that point that I felt that whole"pressure" thing. This may be T.M.I., but I felt a bowling ball was trying to make its way out of my bottom!!! The contractions weren't the worst of it but the pressure. I had that feeling for a couple of hours, then I told them " I feel like this baby is going to come out every time I have a contraction." Tamisha finally mentioned that we may need to start heading to the hospital. " I'm not going," I stated. At that point, Thomas who was just as exhausted as I was said, " You don't NEED to go to the hospital or you just don't WANT to go." I told him, " I don't want to go, I'll just have him here at home." As quickly as I said that, Thomas was up and loading up the car. I begged them to not make me go.

The ride to the hospital was just as bad as I dreamed it would be. I felt every pot hole on Chapman Hwy. It seemed like an eternity before we got to the hospital. They wheeled me up and put me in the triage room. The nurse checked me and said I was 9cm dilated and his head was right there. I had an out loud praise party when I heard the number 9!!! "Thank you Jesus, Praise the Lord!!!" Next thing I knew, they rolled me into the "ready room" (the room they keep reserved for women who come in and the baby is ready to come out). It was shift change at this point and my 2 favorite doctors where there. The doctor offered to break my water and said I could start pushing once he broke it..."Break it please, I'm ready to push!" He broke my water, and I sat up and started pushing. Fifteen or so minutes later, there he came. Just to add, once he broke my water, I felt no pain, not even when I was pushing. I did feel that "ring of fire" sensation right when his head came out but other than that...no pain.

9 hours of labor...and here he was...so perfect...with a head full of hair. I fell in love instantly with Shepherd and fell in love with my husband all over again. Look at our precious gift from God!!

I was extremely scared about natural child birth, but I had a friend tell me to relate it to what Christ endured while he was on the Cross. Jesus suffered and felt pain to give life. So I knew I was going to have to endure pain to give life. The Bible says that when Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem he "set His face like flint" b/c He knew He was going to suffer. "It was for the joy set before Him." So I knew I was going to have to set my face like flint and endure the pain, but there was going to be so much joy at the end....and there was,Shepherd Thomas.

looking rough..I know...I did labor all through the night!!!