Validation

To anyone that knows me, you know I am anything but conventional. I have always been the person that did my own thing and pretty much cared less what others thought. That sort of thinking got me into a lot of trouble and produced a lot of heartache for me and family. If only I used that spunk intellectually instead of just by "feelings". "Feelings" get women into a lot of trouble. I have let people get to me when I could have just let it roll off of me like melted butter. When we moved here I still thought pretty much unconventionally (anti-mainstream) but I started to let what others around me affect my mood and change my beliefs on certain things. Well, all that did was create frustration for me and my family. Now, I let other's think what they will. There is nothing I can do to change what they think so why should I bother. I can present the facts and if they are disregarded, they are disregarded...simple. It isn't but that is what I have had to do to keep my sanity. People used to tell me all kinds of things like:

"Why are you breastfeeding?"
"Are you still breastfeeding?"
"You need to leave them with a baby sitter so you and your husband can be alone. If you don't go on a date your marriage is doomed for failure."
"You don't vaccinate them?"
"You use cloth diapers?"
"You had a homebirth?"
"You are having another homebirth?"
"You are having a vaginal birth after a c-section?"
"You homeschool? I couldn't be around my kids all day."
"Are you going to put that baby down?"
"You make your own bread?"
"She is shy because she isn't in public or private school."
"They sleep in the bed with you until they are 2!? They will never sleep in their own bed."
"You haven't spanked them in how long?"
"Time-outs don't work".

That is just the tip of the iceberg. Do most people get barraged with questions like that all the time? I guess some do . All of that got to me a lot and I secluded myself. But now, for some reason again, I got the gumption to not care what other's thought. My mom told me last time we visited that she didn't exactly feel ok with the homebirth thing but she knows me and knows that I am going to do it whether people liked it or not. That is true. The only exception this time is that when I do things whether people like it or not I do it with knowledge and conviction not rebellion against the status quo. All of those things I did and still are doing are WORKING for our family. Here is something VERY prominent that happened last night. Last night was the last night of VBX and the children that were there all week received a gold dollar coin. Rachel walked up in front of the entire church (probably about 200 people were there) and received her coin when her name was called. If anyone knows this child they know that is a HUGE step for her. It was just last month at Awana awards night that she made me walk up there and hold her hand when she received her plaque. Next week she starts sports camp at church and has been participating in the games at VBX and that is HUGE too! She will be 8yrs old at the end of Aug and it seems like yesterday she was a baby. Elisabeth is finished with ballet camp and starts ballet in September. She LOVES it! I have another pic to post from her last day at camp. Sarah, well what can I say about Sarah. She is potty trained, for the most part and will be 3yrs old in 6 days! She wants to do ballet too but we are probably going to wait a year or so to put her in (if she still is interested).

Our children aren't perfect but they are healthy, happy, fun, intelligent, well-behaved (most of the time) and people love to be around them. What else can a mommy and daddy ask for?