Our Little Burkling

Announcing the birth of Margaret Naomi Burk. She was born on November 17th, at 5:41 PM. She weighed in at 7 lbs, 9 ounces, and 20 inches long. She has long, dark brown hair, blue eyes, and a dimple on her right cheek. She hates getting her diaper changed, loves getting her hair washed and combed, loves sleeping on Mom’s chest at night, and loves to nurse. Did I mention that she already has a double chin? Pretty good for 2 and 1/2 weeks early!

4 days old... Ok so I love taking pictures, and now I have the cutest model...
Here is a prego picture 2 days before I had her:

It is really difficult to put into words and describe the day of her birth. It was the most difficult but also the most rewarding and the most beautiful days of my life. I had spent a lot of time researching the best way to bring her into the world- and had come to the conclusion that I wanted to go natural. I have had enough surgeries… and really wanted to avoid anything that might make it more possible to have a C-section. As I read and studied about epidurals and petosin, I was horrified at the effect that it had on the baby, and on labor in general. (A great documentary to watch if you are interested in this is The Business of Birth) I learned that these medical “helps” many time lead to an unwanted c-section- because they both lengthen, and intensify labor- leading to fetal distress…etc, etc. I could go on for paragraphs about this- but anyhow I felt that for me – I really needed to go natural. I do realize that everyone is different- and so for many people, and epidural might be the best option… but for me- I just had this gut feeling that I needed to go natural.

An hour or so after her birth...Dan picked out her bow.

In preparation for this labor- I spent a bit of time reading and studying the Hypnobirthing method and the Bradley method. I also spent a great deal of time doing pre-natal yoga- all of which made a huge difference in my labor. (essentially they deal with getting into a relaxed state so your body can labor without fear- which tightens your muscles and makes labor more painful and more difficult) I also had a Doula to help me during my birth (a Doula is like a birthing coach who is there your whole labor to guide you in different positions, massage and apply pressure, and just help be your advocate for a better labor)

But even with this preparation, my labor was a very intense 18 hours- and I progressed slowly. There were many times that I wanted sooo badly to take that epidural- but thankfully with my great support team, (Daniel, My mom, My doula Sarah, my friend Brittany, and my awesome midwife) I was able to keep going and stick to my birth plan. I walked around, got in and out of a birthing tub, used a birthing ball… and just tried to stay relaxed and calm. Finally after 16 hours of labor I was only to a 6.5…. and so my midwife decided to break my water…. And Maggie was born two hours later-. Those two hours were excruciatingly intense, and I was so focused that it all kind of seems like a haze now- but I pushed for 15 minutes, and she was out, very alert, and very calm….

Those are the details of the labor- but it is impossible to describe all the emotion that I felt. It was one of the most spiritual experiences I have ever had- it was so fulfilling and just so rewarding to be able to go through this process.

Moments after birth...
I was so glad my Mom was able to be there- Yay for flights!!
Nonna Bev with Maggie.
My Midwife Kathryn, a few minutes after birth.
After our first nurse..
Daniel in the Nursery with her.

My great labor support team- Brittany on the left, my Doula Sarah on the right.

5 Days Old.

She loves Daniel's voice.


She was born one 8 days before our year anniversary... what a crazy year!

The cutest little model in the world!


So there you have a little bit of my birth story. It still feels inadequate to describe that day, but I suppose it will have to do :)

lost count

I have decided that I love the third trimester. This has come as a relief, because I HATED the first two trimesters. I am sorry to be negative- but honestly, I was feeling like I was growing more of a large tapeworm from Brasil rather than a baby. I didn't know it was possible to throw up so many times. But I guess with suffering grows love, right? And let me tell you, I am quite attached to little Maggie already.

Here I am at ..... something weeks. I don't know, I lost count. It doesn't even help to count months because the whole idea of being pregnant for 9 months is wrong... its actually longer.. almost 10 months.... so let me just tell you my due date: December fourth. This last part has really gone fast, and I think the rest of it will go even faster. (please excuse poor quality of photo..)


Here are some funny things I have found about my pregnancy:

1. First 2 trimesters I LOVED baked potatoes, spaghetti, coca cola, mexican food, and scrambled eggs. Actually, eggs any old way... and that was about it. Any other food- including water- made me sick.

2. In deadly revenge from not having consumed any sugar for 6 months- right now I cannot get enough of chocolate. I have never craved chocolate like this in my life. Oh that and frozen waffles. Thankfully, I have returned to eating curry as well (my staple dish!)

3. Maggie has the hiccups all the time. At least once or twice a day, for about 10-15 minutes. It is quite funny, but I feel bad for her- she is so little and it seems to shake her whole body. I guess she takes after me.. we all know I have a problem with hiccups.

4. My already bad memory seems to have gotten worse. I forget things even more often than usual, which is scary. For example... I can't remember what else I was going to write about on this post. I only made it to point four... I was pretty sure there were other things.

There you have it. There isn't any more. Well, anymore that I can remember...

tetons and baja

I guess I am catching up on my summer posts. Here are some family pictures from this summer-especially featuring Sheralie's family.

Monroe Clan by Yellowstone lake.

Mr. Jeffrey on the boat- quite a happy kid.
Laird loved driving with my Dad.
The Whole crew who went white water river rafting on the Snake river. I passed- thinking that I was quite nautious on dry ground, and I didn't think others would appreciate me throwing up the whole time :) Jeffrey was quite courageous- Laird did not go, you can see he has his blanky which would not have made the voyage either....Did I mention Laird's love for weapons? Sheralie told me he recently named all of the kitchen knives (The weapon knife, the mango knife, the hunting knife... what a kid)I love this shot. Pete was quite patient getting Lucy to eat her yogurt.
I tried to teach Jeffrey about the dam... I didn't have too much to tell him, where is my engineering husband to explain practical things. I only know fonts...
Lucy on the boat... probably the happiest she was the whole trip.
This is more of how Lucy was the whole trip....

Baja...yum.

So yes, I feel like everyone is caught up on our summer... now that it is finally the end of September.

indiana pictures

In august we spent a week with the Dan's family in Indiana. It was lots of fun, we swam in Lake Michigan (as it turns out not Michigan lake...) looked at Amish people, went to some baseball games (yay!) and just had a great time.

Jonah and James (cute nephews)

Jared (who looked so cute with all this food on his mouth) and Kailey

Dan was the king of sandcastles and finally convinced me that Lake Michigan can have waves (although very tiny ones)

There were mudpits which I did not visit... but still got attacked

We saw the Cubs and the White Sox... I was so happy to get my summer baseball fix.


We also visited Aunt Mary who is 101... Incredible Lady- isn't she lovely?

Daniels parents- Bart & Judy. Thank you for hosting us!

feeling a little domestic are we?

Maybe its the nesting urge... maybe its the fact that I have finally felt healthy the last month... or maybe its the fact that I am home all day long working... and about 2 PM on some days I feel like I can't possibly think of another creative idea...

But anyways, with all of these things going on, somehow, I have started becoming more domestic. Its been little by little- I started a goal to do something each day (to keep myself from going insane) At first it was cleaning my house... going through piles that have just sat there...then organizing addresses... and then slowly, I started doing really crazy things. Such as:

1. I made freezer jam. (peach-rasberry...) I can't brag too much about this.. I was in Idaho and my aunt and grandma taught me... Freezer jam is the best! Its EASY. You just mash, mix, add sugar... done! Easier than cookies. (Pretty picture from Idaho this weekend:)


2. I canned!! I never thought this would happen. It was a lot of work. However, I loooove canned peaches, so I thought I would give it a go. It seems to have turned out alright... I only did half the peaches though... I only had enough energy to work on it an hour and half as it turns out.... so I have to finish tomorrow....or saturday... or just eat all of those fresh peaches. Its a toss up.


3. I made cookies and dinner today.. Lately it has been just dinner. I haven't been able to eat anything sweet this whole pregnancy- and I still have to be careful. But this recipe is for healthy cookies without butter, without refined sugar or flour.... bananas, oats, almonds, coconut... chocolate of course... pretty tasty.


I am exhausted. Time to get back to work and do some design... just one last lovely pic from idaho from this weekend:


ps. I can't brag too much.... Just last night as I was feeling so proud for being domestic I spilled a TON of freezer jam all over my floor. That was a pain cleaning... Its hard to get on your hands and knees when you are 7 months pregnant.....

Because I missed Africa today.

I have recently been reading a lot about Africa, ok let me rephrase that....( I always read a lot about Africa)

This summer I read a few more books about Africa that were just lovely. It made me miss Africa. Michael just got back from Mozambique and talking to him has reminded me a great deal of how much I loved being there.

Here are some quotes that I just loved from two of the books I read:

From the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (which I highly recommend)

"If chained is where you have been, your arms will always bear the marks of the shackles. What you have to lose is your own story, your own slant. You'll look at the scars on your arms and see mere ugliness or you'll take great care to look away from them and see nothing. Either way, you have no words for the story of where you came from-we are our injuries as much as we are our successes"


"I took a deep breath and told myself that a woman anywhere on earth can understand another woman on a market day. Yet my eye could not decipher those vendors: they wrapped their heads in bright-colored cloths as cheerful as a party, but faced the world with permanent vile frowns. They slung back their heads in slit-eyed boredom while they did each other's hair into starbursts of astonished spikes. I was pale and wide-eyed as a fish. A fish in the dust of the marketplace, trying to swim, while all the other women calmly breathed in that atmosphere of overripe fruit, dried meat, sweat, and spices, infusing their lives with powers I feared." (page 88)


And from Finding Beauty in a Broken World,
by Terry Tempest Williams:

"What is real to me is the power of our awareness when we are focused on something beyond ourselves. It is a shaft of light shining in a dark corner. Our ability to shift our perceptions and seek creative alternatives to the conundrums of modernity is in direct proportion to our empathy. Can we imagine, witness, and ultimately feel the suffering of another?" (page 199)


"If you do violence to me, you do violence to yourself because we are all human beings." (page 228) (writing above the door of a church where many were killed in Rwanda)


I finally, a quote that I think sums up much of what I feel for Africa:

"If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will."
Mother Teresa


There you have it. Read about Africa- those books are great, as well as the best website of all: allafrica.com

(All pictures, except for first one from Yellowstone 2009, taken in Mozambique 2004)

almost 7 months!

I am finally posting some prego pictures. Here is the picture you have been waiting for! At almost 7 months now....Here is that stunning profile, as promised:


Yes, Daniel doesn't show any of the wear of the pregnancy. Me on the other hand:


It's popping. Our little parasite kicks a lot. But we still love Miss Maggie. (Full name: Margaret Naomi)