Day 6: Professional Lemonade Makers

It is going on week two of not having a working vehicle and for a family of 8 it has been most empowering! We hardly ever use a mechanic, as Hubby is usually able to get our vehicle up and running. This time however,  it has taken a little longer than usual, so in the mean time we have been riding on our bikes where ever we need to go.  Life continues as meals must be cooked, laundry must be done and one must be on time for work. Though we are working to have my mate work from home,  I am thankful that where he is employed it only 20 minutes away by car and 40 by bike. Already he is on a mission to cut that time down and committed to riding in on nice days even after the vehicle is repaired.  Our children love riding to the stores to go grocery shopping. Their enthusiasm reminds me my attitude when my family and I had to carry our weekly groceries by bike in the Bahamas before our vehicle arrived on the island.  Not having a vehicle has made us spend less, eat healthier and be more active as a family. Though I am looking forward to getting our vehicle up and running for planned spring events, I am sure glad to learn we are a family of professional lemonade makers!

Day 5: Walk it and birth it

Today we celebrate the birth of our last child, who was born at home surrounded by her siblings and caught by Baba.  It was a hard labor, unlike her brother's who was our first home birth. During our labor with her brother, I walked and walked until I could walk no more and eventually HAD to stop and give birth.  I am still tickled as I recall my Doula telling me let me to let her know when I was ready to push, I asked her "When will I know?"  but before she could answer I told her " I NEED to push!"  During our first home birth, I did not necessarily want to walk but I knew I needed to walk until the pain told me to stop, squat, sway and recite affirmations until the intensity of the pressure and pain would subside and I could then move on to walk again. Well, I stopped walking during my labor of my last birth. I usually go to bed early but I was nesting and went into labor at 11 p.m.  Initially, I walked back and forth in the upstairs hallway and by 2 or 3 a.m. I just wanted some sleep.  My Midwife, Birth Worker, and Mate kept asking are you sure? I was only able to snatch 3-4 minutes of sleep before my intense labor pains would jar me upright and I would have to  get up to walk and whistle, moan and breath through the labor pains.  Obviously, I was willing to settle for a few nips. Finally a few nip was NOT enough,  so I rose and walked and walked and walked and around 8 Baba caught a beautiful baby girl weighing almost 8 pounds.  I knew my labor was as long as it was because I choose for it to be long and hard.  Birth is going to happen. It maybe a live birth or a dead birth but it is going to happen, but you choose the walk. I choose a live healthy birth and to walk it out how 'bout you?

Day 4 Sun Child

Yesterday was filled with so much sunshine I am still basking in its warmth this cool morning.  A day filled with bike riding, hanging clothes to dry,  scratchin , washing and combing heads, making banana coconut smoothies, taking long naps outside and getting so dirty you can be sure Mama or Baba is scrubbing you down and buttering you up before bed. I love days like this, Mama Nature knows I do! 

Day 3 Be Not Discouraged

Well, the fair trade had begun and I am on my way to removing a bag of unused goods from the kitchen and completing in my herbal studies course 1 lesson 1.  I will have the kitchen completed this weekend and now have only 9 more lessons to go before submitting course 1!   I am pretty excited about this forward motion on these two fronts.  I had begun these studies but stopped after I lost my completed work when the computer's hard drive was damaged. I was a little discouraged but not about the time spent gathering and writing the information down but  whether I could rewrite all the writings that came from my heart.  I have since come to the beautiful awakening that what came from my heat is still written in my heart. So, be not discouraged. 

Day 2 Moving at the speed of life.

As a house wife and home schooling mother of 6, I find that there have been more days that I have only been able to manage the daily maintenance of my household and nothing more. This is quite frustrating as I have had BIG plans to clean the house of unused items to bring in income and make room for much needed space for a family business and craft activities.  My daily maintenance usually involves cooking meals (everything usually from scratch), cleaning (washing and putting away clothes and clothe diapers), floor scans and pickup, overseeing the purposeful learning environment, focus and structure of our children.  To accomplish the goals set in day 1 of this blog I realize I am going to have to make a fair trade of sleep to manifest  life/heart dreams coming true.  That is the only way I will have more time to clear out the unused items we have collected over the years, learn and implement some new tools like meal prep and planning, house hold scheduling to make room for getting my family moving more at the speed of life towards their divine purpose and calling.

Day 1 My Journey Begins

Breathe and type, breathe and type,...I tell myself as I begin my blogging journey whose sole purpose is to  break through my clutter of fear, excuses, procrastination.  There is so much in my heart I want to do (create a family business so my husband can quit a job he hates), be (a holistic healer, doula and midwife to serve my community) and  accomplish (support my 6 children in their purpose and passions) but I have found myself trapped by my clutter.  So this day after striking out with my friend and accountability partner I say "enough is enough!" It is time for the journey to not only begin but be recorded as well. So, day1 is just one step in not allowing fear to overtake me (by sharing with you), removing excuse, and doing the dang gone thang by bloggin and thus become Imaniful.