Dr. Lara Knudsen

Hello my lovely friends! I wanted to take a brief moment to share with you how amazing Ruby's doctor is. Neither Brian nor I have a primary care provier due to us having different insurances. So for now, Ruby is the only one with a primary physician. Her name is Dr. Lara Knudsen, and she is wonderful. If you are ever looking for either a doctor for your child or for you, please look into partnering with Dr. Lara. She has a private practice, and her own small office. She has no other staff besides herself, and makes a point to have long appointments with her patients. She does this intentionally to really get to know her patients, and give them plenty of time to ask questions or express concerns. Check out her website here to get a little more information about her.

The main reason for this post is to share how much of a blessing Dr. Lara has been to us. One huge thing is that she has not been super pushy with vaccines, knowing that we carefully weigh out our care choices for Ruby. While she is in favor of vaccines, she is very respectful of our wishes, and that has been such a huge relief.

ALSO, she is willing to barter or trade with patients for her services! This is my favorite part! Ruby is currently off insurance (I know, bad us), but Dr. Lara has offered to do trades with us to help with the cost of Ruby's recent visit. Either this will reduce our bill tremendously, or completely. I wanted to share with you what I have decided to barter with her...

-small bouquet of roses from our yard
-fresh baked loaf of spelt bread
-3 local, fresh picked zuchini
-1 pint homemade canned apple sauce
-1 pint homemade canned apple butter
-1 pint fresh picked black berries
-1 batch homemade granola
-1 batch homemade oatmeal raisin cookies
-1 gallon homemade laundry soap (not pictured)

I am so excited about this, and the best part is, so is she! While I don't have much to offer, I can bake! So I did, and I cannot wait to deliver her basket of goodies today. Brian also has offered to help her a little bit with her website. Her willingness to barter with me has truly come at a perfect time. Please check her out if you need a doctor, she is gentle and kind.

Thanks for reading. :)

Morning Glory

I woke up only about 20 minutes and I wanted to capture my thoughts before the day becomes busy. It is Monday morning, our favorite morning of the week. Brian's day off! Early this morning - about 5am - Ruby woke up crying in her room because her binkie was on the floor. Normally I would just give it back to her and she would fall right back asleep. However, this morning I wanted to snuggle our little girl. I had a bad dream last night about not being able to find her, so I was glad she woke me up when she did. We snuggled in bed, then once 8am hit, I could not sleep any longer. In some ways I would say I am a morning person. So, I got up, started some diaper laundry, tidied up the kitchen a little bit, and am currently cooking steel cut oats for the family when they awaken.

Little Miss Cora has been actively kicking since I woke up this morning, and that gives me such joy. I think she is telling me it's time for breakfast. :)

Brian and Ruby are sound asleep at almost 8:30 in our bed. It's one of my favorite sights to see. The morning is still cool, the sun is shining in my kitchen window, I have a burst of energy, and all is well in my world. I am feeling very thankful for this day.

Psalm 118:24 "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."