A short birth story of Veritas Grace Penton

at 39 weeks pregnant, I did not think this would be the last belly pic! 

Birth Announcement

Vera was my 2nd natural birth 1st natural birth at a hospital. She is our first girl and first 'before due date' baby! I worked out by doing CrossFit the entire pregnancy 3-4x per week, and I ate "Trim Healthy Mama." I gained 25 lbs.

Labor started at 2am the morning of the 15th. Contractions were every 12 mins and I didn't sleep. At 8am they slowed to every 20 mins so I decided to take the boys to CrossFit open gym. (see videos below) I did a light workout and after that from 11-3 contractions became more consistent to about every 10 mins. Around 2-3p we began making phone calls and arranging to get to the hospital. We arrived and were admitted at 4pm, I was 4-5 cm 90%effaced. I labored w my midwife until 5:30 when the tub was finally full. From 5;30-6:30 I labored in the warm water and it felt amazing!! At 6:30 I got out of the tub for my midwife to check progress, I was only a 6 but 100% effaced. She suggested breaking my water and then did so on the bed. In 3-4 excruciating pushes Vera arrived only 13 minutes later!!

She was 7#10oz 20.5 inches, head covered In black hair and body covered in thick, white, vernix. Loud set of lungs on her too. We prayed and rejoiced in thanksgiving to the Lord and spent the next 2 hrs cuddling and nursing and taking pictures.

A question I've gotten a lot - 

How has this pregnancy been different for you? and to what do you attribute those differences?

This pregnancy was remarkably better and more enjoyable in every way. I attribute this to 3 things - 1. CrossFit 2. Trim Healthy Mama and 3. Carrying a girl

First of all I cannot answer this without mentioning that I've prayed and prayed for God to help me and allow me to have not only a great pregnancy but a great labor and delivery experience.  It is only due to Him and His provision that we have and can do anything.  I thank Him for answering this prayer, as I know He controls everything.

1. CrossFit - CrossFit helped me to get into incredible shape before the pregnancy which I believe was essential to a healthier pregnancy.  My hormones were functioning beautifully, my metabolism and immune system were strong. I was very fit.  During the pregnancy, CF helped me to remain strong despite fluctuating hormones, weight gain and fatigue.  CF also helped me to sleep better throughout the pregnancy - this helped my mood, energy level, and overall health.  At the end of the pregnancy I was able to function like a 'normal' mom - lifting my boys, squatting to pick up their dirty socks, vacuuming,etc.  Don't get me wrong - I was huge and uncomfortable, and I would ask Joel 3 to help me pick things up off the floor at every opportunity, BUT, it was much less horrible than the end of my other pregnancies.  CF also helped me mentally more so than I would have thought.  Throughout the pregnancy I was able to accomplish goals and I felt more confident about my body. This helped my overall attitude and mood.  Most of all I think that CF helped me mentally during the actual labor and birth.  Although this natural birth went relatively quicker than my last one, it was mentally more challenging to be in a hospital and not get an epidural (my last natural birth was at home, where an epidural isn't an option;) Throughout the laboring process, I was able to make rational decisions with perspective.  I knew that even though the pain was so horrible I literally wanted to die, I knew it would be over at some point and that I didn't have to make decisions based off of how horrible I FELT in that moment.  

2. Trim Healthy Mama - I credit THM for my 25 lbs.  Yes, CrossFit helped, but eating happens all day every day, not just 3-4x a week for an hour. I have gained 50 lbs, 35 lbs, and 50 lbs with each baby and this has happened while actually trying to NOT gain.  I was NEVER one of those "hey, I'm pregnant, Its my excuse to eat everything!" But, yet, somehow I gained a ton of weight.  I felt helpless and depressed.  There was nothing I could do... when pregnant, I would just gain a lot and that was just me.  THM helped me to 'figure out' why my body so easily gains during pregnancy, or at least one of the reasons-  The first 2/3 of pregnancy, my blood sugar dipped very low, very quickly after meals with carbohydrates.  This causes me to have headaches, feel flightheaded and have some serious irritability. Bringing my blood sugar back up (by eating) helped me feel better. I believe this happened with all of my pregnancies and caused me to eat more than I needed to because, instinctively, I knew that eating helped me feel better.  Trim Healthy Mama focuses on the composition of the macro nutrients of meals.  I noticed that meals with carbs (THM calls them "E" meals) caused the dip, Protein was always included but adding a small amount of fat didn't seem to help too much.  Eating meals with high fat and protein but almost 0 carbs (THM calls these "S" meals) helped stabilize my blood sugar well, but actually I gained more weight, faster, on these types of meals.  I found that a combination of about 15 carbs, 20 g protein, and 25-30 g fat was best for me (THM calls these "S Helper" meals) and I continued eating that way throughout the pregnancy. 

3. Carrying a girl - who knows how much or how little this affected my overall pregnancy.  I do believe it probably was a factor for me.  Perhaps, hormonally, my body does better with girl pregnancies.  Who knows.

Vera is welcomed home by the crew

Handstand push ups, burpees, and butterfly pull ups at 39 weeks 4 days pregnant. I was actually in labor during this workout and so decided to 'take it easy' and take a few videos! Contractions started at 2am but were only every 10-20 mins until around 3pm. The contractions hurt during this workout but I was still able to move around and do things.  The biggest difference was that I couldn't wear my support belt, it felt extremely uncomfortable to wear during 'real'contractions.

It's ANOTHER ....

I realize many of you have seen this video already, but I couldn't neglect making this official by putting it into the family blog.






Pregnancy
We are still shocked that it is a girl and trying to get used to the idea.  It is very encouraging (and kinda funny) how excited others are for us! It is such a change to pray for "her."  The boys ask questions about the new baby constantly and they always say things like "Where is he laying right now?" and I have to remind them that the baby is a "She." We are very grateful for this little blessing and thankful that she looks healthy and all is going well so far.

I"m about 5 months along (21 weeks) and feeling very good.  I have some lingering issues from past pregnancies (hernia, diastisis) that aren't causing me too much trouble... yet.

I am still doing CrossFit about 4x a week and those workouts are feeling great!  Some movements (body weight, mostly) are much more difficult, but others are, or at least seem to be.. about the same!  I've even had numerous PR's throughout the pregnancy, which I guess I can attribute to hormone surges... or something.  I wear a support belt during the WOD (workout of the day) and while doing any lifting movements.  There are only a few movements that I don't do (snatches, hand release push ups, fast burpees, sit ups), so all in all, I feel pretty good about things.  I know it will just get harder and harder but at this point I am very encouraged.

Prior to pregnancy, I was eating small amounts of gluten and feeling fine (no symptoms).  However, once I became pregnant, I noticed more GI symptoms so I decided to go back to avoiding it as much as possible.  I am still eating "Trim Healthy Mama" and have been for about a year.  I've changed things up a little bit, mostly on my workout days.  For instance, I need to incorporate more fats combined with carbs on workout days.. and I need to eat more frequently.  If I don't do this, I have some symptoms of low blood sugar.

It has been very interesting being so in tune with my body this pregnancy.  My routine hasn't changed much at all, yet I notice on certain weeks I am waaay more hungry, or waaay more sluggish, or waaay more sore (muscle fatigue) and I sleep like a rock.  And other weeks I have a huge PR in the gym, and can go longer between meals.  I honestly think that sometimes I can 'feel' her growth spurts.  Or, it might be related to something completely different, but it is very interesting to me!  The swings keeps me humble and grateful.  I know soon the energetic days might be few and far between. ;)


Gearing up for the School year 

Stand for Truth
Joel has spent a lot of time getting the ministry ready for the upcoming school year.  This year we have two interns working with us (Kyle and Matt) and another new addition to the team (Jessica) who is helping with administration and bookings.  It has about doubled the size of our team, but we for sure need the help.  The wives (Emily and I) have taken on a lot of work the first 5 or so years of the ministry but then when the kids began to arrive (There are now 6 soon to be 7 between the two of us. In less than 6 years!) We all quickly realized we needed more help!

We are thankful for these fellow laborers in the gospel, and excited to see how this year unfolds!

Homeschooling
Joel III (5 yrs) will enter his second year of Classical Conversations.  This year we will cover 'Cycle 3' which focuses on America.  I am so excited for Joel. Knowing that this year will be much easier for him, helps.  This year we may try to incorporate supplemental reading (going along with the historical content covered each week in CC) along with some Math and Handwriting.

Although Judah is eligible to start the Classical Conversations (he would be in the same class that Joel took last year) since he will have just turned 4 (he has a September birthday) and is incredibly active and still very content playing with toys and other kids, we will have him start the CC program next year.  Judah and Luther (2 yrs) will be working together with Mommy on letter and number recognition and perhaps some phonics. Although, I"m not embarrassed to admit, this loose plan might go out the window once baby #4 arrives.  Reading out loud is a priority to me and Bible reading so at the very minimum we will consistently be doing those things.


Our Summer
This summer was a blast.  We were on the go so much that I literally NEVER put the boys suitcases away! Here's a few pics..

Trips to Graeter's with Daddy. Socks are a requirement at Graeter's.  

Luther ended up with mittens on his feet. 

Bug watching was perfected this summer.  Here's a large and lonely 

cicada at the Dublin splash pad.

Library trips resulted in computer playing time. 

RV trips to random cities.  This one had a nice park right where Daddy was speaking. 

(if you have amazing eyes and perfect zoom capability you can see him in the background, 

wearing red) Luther very loudly, kept saying, "I hear Daddy!"

RVing it in the Summertime

NY RV trip
Yes, we are crazy. Yes, we took the RV to New York. And, not just anyplace in NY. The Bronx. Yes, we are crazy.  After much debate and calculating pricing, we figured we would save the ministry close to $1000 by NOT FLYING to NY (yes, this is true even with the high gas costs of the RV). So we made arrangements, and took the whole family to NY.  Fortunately, Joel and Ryan had just taken the RV to New York a few weeks ago and we learned from their experience;) Our RV experience in the Bronx involved a few new 'rules' 1. bring LOTS of cash for tolls. (RV tolls are higher and NY tolls in general are outrageous. 2. don't spend the night in the Bronx. (even if the pictures online look perfectly safe!)  3. call the school and make them arrange a parking spot for the RV. and finally, 4. While large husband is absent, speaking in the Bronx HS and pregnant wife with 3 small children are stuck in RV, keep RV doors locked and window shades pulled.  Do not open door for anyone unless its a police officer who shows a badge.

Whew. We survived.  Joel had 2 days of speaking and we planned to visit a friend on the way there.  Our trip was a blast and our visit with longtime friend, Sue, made it even better.

We stopped at a campground on the way there. It was absolutely gorgeous!



We also visited Hershey Park briefly....



VBS
This year was Joel's 2nd year of VBS at our church. Northwest Bible really does it up for VBS.  Its incredible.  There are so many hours, volunteers, dollars, donated items, and prayers put into the week and it really shows.  The kids just LOVE this week! Like ALL of them, not just mine.  This year my volunteer role was different and it allowed me to see a different perspective of VBS.  I came away with a true appreciation for our church and specifically how much NW Bible loves kids and celebrates the joy of children!!

Judah was very excited to be given a VBS shirt this year even though he's not officially part of VBS.  Luther got an impostor shirt.


Camp Marengo
After a church speaking engagement, we stayed at a nearby camp in Ohio, Camp Marengo.  It was a bit hot and humid but one of the highlights was that Joel learned to ride a bike!!!

Here's a video of it.




In the RV, there's a lot of video and 'electronics' time. Especially on rainy days or days where Joel speaks. Here's a pic of the boys watching an Elmo video in the upper bunk together.

Of course we do try to get some reading time in as well...

The 'Ease' of things now... and an announcement!

Holy cow.  Well, I definitely broke a promise made long ago to you guys.  Something about shorter, more frequent posts.  haha.  That didn't pan out.  We've been up to quite a lot the past 5 months or so.... I'll try to get to it all!


One particular library trip resulted in a serious treasure - a HUGE Star Wars pop up book! Score!

Our Schedule Fall and Winter
M - Classical Conversations 9am-12pm
T- Crossfit 945-1045
W - off in the am, 4:30-530 Y bootcamp
Th - Library or off
F - Crossfit 945-1045am
S - Daddy take boys out in the am (Mall, Graeters, home depot) Mommy grocery and laundry.
Sun - Church in am, Awana in pm 6;00-7:45pm

The Fall was kinda hectic with Joel travelling a lot. This was the routine we fell into.  It worked.


Judah receives his Awana award for completing a year of Cubbies.  This year, his teacher, Lydia in the orange said, "it was fun to see Joel is more like a 'normal' boy when Judah is around. You know, instead of being a perfect angel like he was last year." Oh boy.

Joel just loved his "CC" class on Mondays and we have already re-enrolled him for next year.  This particular class was so fun...full of boys! Lots of energy but very inquisitive and impressive with their memory work!


Joel's "End of the year Celebration" or "Recital" for Classical Conversations.  He did well and looked cute. what more can you ask?


Bethany is Speaking? AIA Christmas Coffee & "Rise up" Women's retreat
I was asked by a dear friend of ours, Julie Rode, to speak at the AIA women's Christmas Coffee.  It was challenging to prepare and deliver, but ultimately I am so glad I was forced to depend on the Lord.  I do believe He used me to clearly explain his Word.. Which is funny because most of the time I don't understand it!  This particular talk was 25 mins explaining scripture and included a gospel and invitation.  The student athletes were very polite and attentive and I heard later that there were many first time decisions for Christ! Wow.

The 'Rise up' Women's retreat was a weekend retreat held by a church who partners with us in our ministry, Ebenezer Baptist Church.  This talk was a 40 minute talk explaining scripture to largely a believing audience.  All Women.  It was a VERY easy crowd, they were super ready to listen and laugh at my jokes.  In this talk I used a lot of the same material from the Christmas talk, but chose to relate Jesus' example of humility in Phil 2 with our calling to humility as women.  The ladies were very complimentary and it was a great environment!   I was also able to speak to the young Awana girls at my own church, Northwest Bible.  It was an energetic group, and a fun time.  I'm thankful for what God has taught me through these challenging experiences!

Christmas

 Christmas was a lot of fun, as always, visiting with family.  This particular Christmas the boys were on the fence about either going full fledged into 'Super Heros' or 'Star Wars' Mommy got them lots of Super Heros and literally about 1 week later, J&J both decided they were going to be obsessed with Star Wars.  The Star Wars obsession continues to this day and I don't see it easing up any time soon.

Mommy did (thankfully) purchase two lightsabers to go into the boys stockings.  They wasted no time entering into a fierce battle.

Away from home for about 2 full weeks for Christmas produces lots of "stuff." This pic was taken the moment we returned home.

Joel's BDay
Joel turned 5 on January 17th.  We went 'ice skating' at Easton Town center where they had an ice-less rink set up.  it was actually kinda perfect for little kids.  kinda frustrating for adults, but fun nonetheless. Then we went out for Pizza.  Joel truly has been a different child since turning 5.  He is disciplined WAAAY less, he is actually very pleasant and obedient.  He has such an interest in spiritual things and prays OFTEN.  He is constantly reminding me what it is to have 'childlike faith.'  I feel so grateful that after 4 years of 'difficult times' I can finally enjoy Joel's personality.  Not to say years 0-4 aren't enjoyable, because they are :) It is just a nice stage now. I"ll leave it at that. :)

"ice skating"

My attempt at a Star Wars cake

Wuerfful
Every February we attend the Wuerfful Trophy banquet and spend the weekend with some of our now dear friends.  This February, we were able to take the whole family and an awesome sitter and famly friend, Linnea Huck.  Linnea was so incredibly helpful that Joel starting doing calculations in his head to see if it was mathematically possible for us to have about 12 kids and a live-in Nanny.  (answer - no its not possible! haha). But seriously, she was amazing, and the whole trip was much more enjoyable for us with Linnea there to help.  The boys had a blast with Linnea and enjoyed lots of trips to the beach.  The most pleasantly surprising aspect of the trip was perhaps how well the boys did on the 12 hour drive.  With ample videos and snacks, of course.


The CrossFit Open
Every once in a while, in this life, you get to find out that you are actually really good at something that you didn't know.  Its an empowering experience.  This is what the CrossFit open was for me.  I knew I could do CrossFit, but it was just a blast to find out my true capabilities. The CrossFit open was a 5 week 'competition' where thousands of athletes from around the world all competed in the same workouts (different weights for men vs. women)  Workouts were completed at your home gym with a judge watching and counting reps.  Every athlete (whether beast-like, fit, fat, or frail) was given the same workout.  As an example - higher level athletes would have much higher scores (reps) than lower level athletes given the same amount of time.  Scores were tallied and the 'leaderboard' was watched obsessively by thousands.  I ended up placing in the top 11% of women in my region, which way exceeded my expectations.

Joel and the boys "cheered me on" for the last workout .. 14.5.  Which was, interestingly, was my highest placement of all 5 workouts! Coincidence? I think not!

Penton Family RV Trip

Our ministry, Stand for Truth, now owns an RV.  This particular trip, the whole family traveled with Joel to a few of his speaking engagements in Missouri.  We prepared a detailed schedule ahead of time and bought all necessary items.  The first two days the boys struggled to sit in between meals and naps.  They tried to run around the RV, press all buttons, and pull out all drawers.  Eventually either they got so tired, they were able to sit on the couch and color or play with electronics during awake, non-eating time.  As you can imagine, it was super useful to be parked right next to a park, and we utilized that position about 5 times throughout the trip.  We even went back to the same parks on the way home that we hit on the way there! We stayed 1.5 days at Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City.  I don't think I've ever seen the boys so exhausted, but they stayed positive with no complaining.  I think they were just shocked that we kept going back to the waterpark! By the time we left, the 2 little boys were able to go down the baby slide and swim in the baby pool without being scared, and Joel 3 went down an ADULT SIZED water slide, which shocked Mommy.  (In fact, I think there was a bet placed between Mommy and Daddy about this very issue and Mommy lost.)  Meal times and sleeping time was fairly easy and even enjoyable in the RV.  Each boy had his own space with a hanging blanket as a visual barrier.  We used a loud sound machine when the generator wasn't on.  When the RV was moving, J&J were awesome.  Luther was rather difficult, though.  He actually did better in the mini-van on the way down to Florida.  We attributed it to the fact that I was 'allowed' to roam around the 'house-like' structure and he didn't understand why he couldn't also do that.  But we still aren't sure why he was so cranky.  After a few days we figured out that it was actually pretty easy to get driving done after the boys went to bed (7pm) and during naps (1-3pm)  Boys needed to be strapped in while the RV was moving, but if they were laying down and asleep, I was ok if they were in their beds.  We utilized lots of DVD's and the Ipad and IXL.  A LOT.


There's always time for a Lightsaber fight! Plastic spoons make the best Lightsabers!

Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City, the boys just LOVED it and swimming progress was made!

at Great Wolfe Lodge in KC, Missouri.  The boys hang out with the iPad "reading" them a book, while Mommy and Daddy rest. Everyone is exhausted!

California

The Groskopf Grandparents got lucky and spent 4 long days with our 3 little boys as we enjoyed our time relaxing in California:)  Joel had a few speaking engagements out there and we spent an extra day to enjoy ourselves.  Highlights included - dinner with Ian and Crystal Penton, Dinner with David and Anansa Patterson at a Brazilian Steakhouse in LA (driving there was not a highlight), riding bikes along Venice beach, "The Grove," and In-N-Out Burger (Specifically their 'protein style' yes, there's a name for no bun/lettuce wrapped cheeseburgers out there. :)

Our lunch.  My mouth is watering just looking at this again.  

"The Grove" The highlight of this place was eating cupcakes at "Sprinkles Cupcakes" Mine was gluten free and sugar free because, well, its California and everyone eats like that there!  

Taken on a pier very close to Santa Monica pier.  

You can't leave California without a little Slackrope.  It's like tightrope walking but more like 2-3 inches of width.  Its incredibly difficult, I was very sore the next day, and this pic was taken very quickly in the mere 5 seconds of balance that I accomplished.

Sunset on Venice Beach. After this, we literally ran back to our car because 1. it was cold. and 2. we feared for our safety.

Because of the beautiful weather and agriculture the grounds in California are (no joke) littered with Strawberries and flower petals.  I am not kidding.  No, you won't find trash on the street, but you might find a lonely, juicy, luscious strawberry! (This actually happened and Joel had to physically restrain me from eating it)   I wish I had a picture of that actual strawberry, but this one had to do. (it was taken the next day after stopping at a strawberry stand on the side of the road.


Luther's Birthday and Easter

We had a great weekend celebrating Easter and Luther's birthday which is April 19.  He has turned into a very talkative and emotional little guy!  He is a blast to be around, very funny, cute, and amazingly smart, but he can be EXTREMELY exhausting.  "What's that sound?" "I NEED dat." "Don't DO DAT JU-DA" and my favorite.. "I WUFF YOU!" While leaning waay forward to hug you even if you are far away.

Luther gets excited pretty easily!

If you look closely you may observe several Star Wars gifts in the boys Easter Baskets.  They were delighted!!


The 'Ease' of things now...

I thought I should comment on how much easier it is to parent these boys now.  Since Judah has been around 3.5 years old, he stopped pooping in his diaper, and is now able to get himself up, take his PJ's off, put his clothes on and even put his shoes and socks on! Joel 3 can of course do the same thing (no pull up involved) and even matches his clothes!  Joel can also get Luther out of bed, and Judah buckles himself into his carseat.  Pretty soon, Joel 3 will buckle Luther into his carseat and I wont have to do anything!!! Well.. at least for a while. :)

Also - Luther is potty trained!! He took to it pretty easily.  We did the same "naked below the waist" method and this time we only had about 1.5 days due to other activities.  I was most shocked by how chill he is sitting on the 'big potty'  The Big Potty scared my other two boys so much that it was like another whole phase of potty training to get them to go on it.  We usually use a small baby bjorn potty for the first phase of potty training.  Luther sits on the big potty like its no big deal and goes immediately.  Sweet.

We finally splurged this Spring and bought all the equiptment needed to go biking as a family: Two adult sized bikes, a two kid trailer, and a larger bike for Joel (not pictured).  Its fun, but Joel is still pretty slow. We are hoping he gets faster soon.  The little boys LOVE the trailer though.

Less chaos at home means Judah can finally go on special 'trips' with Daddy. This one was a trip to the movies to watch 'Frozen.'  Judah did not move a muscle the entire time and ate this entire box of popcorn all by himself.  You would have thought he died and went to heaven.

AND FINALLY.....

We are so pleased to announce that we will be expecting Penton baby #4, Lord willing, around Christmas!!! Thank the good Lord for this amazing little blessing. Although, Luther doesn't look too happy about it...