Author: amylynw

Another Day in The Life

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It’s pretty awesome when it’s been a few months since something like this has happened, and then it happens when I least expect it.  Let’s just say I love surprises.  Matthew called me to say that I had to be ready to go out with him at 5:30 tonight.  “Wear work-out clothes, but bring something to change into as well.”  Oh boy.  That is what happens when you go on dates with a personal trainer.  SO, thanks to our amazing friend and pastor, Jon, who watched our kids, Matthew and I took off for an evening of fun.  I fought the urge to get grumpy about part A of our date.  We went to the cross-fit gym and my nerves stopped fidgeting once I got moving.  It was hard not to think about anything other than my shaking legs and the uncomfortably close feeling of about to puke.  But, like everyone said, after finishing I felt great.  It was also pretty cute seeing Matthew’s beaming face when I was all done.  Afterwards we grabbed something to eat and enjoyed some uninterrupted conversation.

That, coupled with another sweet friend bringing us dinner, made up for the especially tiring morning  I had.  After we finished school, I  finally caved and went to the grocery store.  It is pretty bad when the kids are eating graham crackers for breakfast… and lunch.  Despite low blood-sugar levels, everyone was especially energetic it seemed.   We were one of those families today at the store.  The boys were ninjas who were hungry for everything they saw and pretended to consume each item on every shelf.  Then somewhere between when I was paying attention and when I was reading labels on shampoo bottles, Nadine had been chasing Betty down the aisle and fell and skinned her knee on the linoleum floor.  It’s pretty hard to skin your knee on linoleum.  She started crying and saying she broke her knee, and the next thing I knew, there were people around us and someone fetched us bandaids.   She hobbled her way around the rest of the way, but it just seemed to fit the category of crazy-things-that-rarely-happen-while-you’re-shopping.

We also had to go to the dentist to get some cavities filled, (thank you, Grandma for your help!) which added another dose of real-life excitement to our day.  Tucked in there were our everyday messes and tears,

 

along with sweet moments and smiles.

Tomorrow we head to the shore.  Hopefully this time we won’t be plagued with the throw-up bug!  I am really looking forward to no agenda but family.  I was planning on packing tonight, but since I got whisked away by my lover-boy, it can all wait until tomorrow.  Good night.

Thursday Quotable’s

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When food is low, but you have one can of whipped cream hidden in the back of the fridge… tada!   Dessert in a can.  The kids had fun squirting it into their mouths.  Elsie preferred spooning it out of the lid.

Elsie says very funny things.  For instance, after watching the older two playing a chess game, she came up to me and said, “I want to play chest!”  Oh my.

Then she came downstairs wearing panties and a sweatshirt.  I asked her why she wasn’t wearing any pants.  “Uh, because I’m hot.”  Then why are you wearing a sweatshirt?  “That’s because I’m cold!”  Of course.

Upon having a little friend over who wanted to jump on the trampoline, Jack said to me, “She’s the customer!”  He proceeded to go jump on the trampoline with her.  The customer is always right!

I’m not the only one lamenting summer’s farewell.  Nadine said sadly to me, “But I haven’t even finished growing my tan skin yet!”

We have started school this week, and everyone has been super excited about the new books, new approach, and new year!  Before we step into our last day of school for this week, I have to share this cute sight that is sharing the kitchen table with me:

  Happy Thursday!

Getting Summer

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I find myself saying “Gotcha!” a lot whenever I pick up Betty.  It can be in a reassuring voice after she’s fallen, or in a fun voice as she is being tickled.

I didn’t realize this until today when Nadine said, “Gotcha.”  Then she paused before exclaiming, “I’ve never said that word before!”  Then she went on to say, “Would someone please explain what that means?” Seeing as though I was the only one in the room at the time, I took the liberty of explaining it to her.

She was unloading the dishwasher at the time.  I had just sat down after teaching school all morning, cooking lunch, and doing some other things.  Nadine said, “It must feel good to take a break!”  I chuckled at her comment, nodded my head, and sipped my tea. I had just started my lunch.  Somewhere in between scrounging up five lunches with very little food left in our cupboards (I’m determined not to go shopping this week), cleaning up multiple spills, cleaning up one messy baby, laying said baby down for her nap… I finally sat down for my lunch.  This is what often happens after the feeding frenzy we call lunch.  Our kids are eating machines.  I can pretty much honestly say that our fridge is empty.

There is a little milk left, 4 eggs, one block of cheese (which is odd to still have), and a bag of peppers,which has now been roasted and pulverized into salsa.  There is a jar of jam, a few olives and some mustard.  Oh, and relish and garlic!  We have some ice-tea too, but that is about it.  We’re out of cereal, bread, and fruit.  We have many tomatoes and butternut squash.  It’s so adventurous cooking only with what you have!

Speaking of cooking with what we have, our garden has been such a blessing this year!  For the past few days, this is what I get, plus some squash:

Every dinner includes tomatoes.  I find that if I just roast them up, blend them up, or cut them up right away, not one goes to waste.  They are just pure loveliness.  Elijah took these pictures of the gardens this week:

I relish every color, every flower, every taste of summer.  I will be hanging on to it with my last bit of strength, even while fall sneaks up to take its place.  The changing of seasons is like a game of musical chairs, except there is only one chair.  As the music of summer starts to fade, and the rhythm of fall is about to begin, I feel badly for the one about to get kicked out into the march of time again.  I just want to grab summer forever and say, “Gotcha!” and never let go.

Jack’s Treasure Shelf

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Climbing onto the top bunk is like climbing into another world.  A world full of imagination and intrigue.  Jack is organized, precise, and treasures memories as much as shiny things.  His love language comes in the form of gifts.  He keeps everything special on his shelf.  I had to capture it.  His pockets used to fill to overflowing with treasures.  Now he keeps them more contained in a box or on his shelf.

Oh, sweet Jack.  I hope you always treasure life.

 

Second Annual Kids’ Day

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Our second annual Kid’s Day was a huge success!  It began with a breakfast of waffles, chocolate ice-cream and bacon!

Our first stop was the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia!

The kids have been begging to go there for a long time.  First, we explored the giant heart!

Nadine and I also rode the “sky bike” high above the atrium!  It was scarier than I thought!

Then we sat on the front steps and ate popcorn.

 

 

The highlight for me was when Matthew bought me cotton candy!  I looked at the street vendor with the same longing as a little kid.  Something about never getting it growing up, makes cotton candy, chocolate chips, and m&m’s all things that will never grow old for me.  Cotton candy.  Oh, my heart.

Our next stop was Grandma Weldon’s where we dropped the little two girls off, since they aren’t super restaurant savvy yet.  Then the five of us went to Red Robin for supper!  It was delish!  Their choice of eats.

Our last stop was a mini-golf place, where the three of them played 18 holes.  Elijah was most consistent, and Nadine came in second.  Jack was the winner of the most holes-in-one and his first two shots were both a hole-in-one.  On the second one, Elijah’s ball actually bumped Jack’s ball, which ricocheted off the edge and then rolled into the hole!  It was exciting!  

It was a great day.  We’re so thankful for our five amazing blessings.  It’s exciting to celebrate our family together and make memories in this way.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Curiosity Almost Killed the Cat (If We Had One)

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Curiosity killed the proverbial cat, and in my case, curiosity makes my house look the way it does.  Sometimes curiosity makes it smell the way it does.  This morning when I smelled a hint of smoke, I thanked God for my nostrils.  A child had indeed lit not one, but six matches.  They were flushed down the toilet, said a reliable source.  Not that this happens a lot, because it doesn’t, but at the same time I can say, “Just another day in the life.”  If it’s not matches, it is a great many other things.

The other night as I was about to flip on the lamp beside our bed I noticed that every square inch of it was coated in a thick layer of vaseline.  Oh yeah.  That one is fun.

Soap on the wall.  Marker on the wall.  You-name-it on the wall.  All things I silently told myself, would never happen in my home when I was a mother.  Really?  Sharpie on the piano?  How could any good mother allow her children to do such a thing?

The reality is, I definitely don’t allow them to do it, they choose to do these things.  The other reality is, childish behavior does not reflect our mothering.  I can not be in five places at once.  So unless I extinguish their freedom to explore, and always keep them within eye-shot, these things will happen.  Notice I said “childish things”, because as I am learning, there is a difference between childishness and foolishness.  Childishness is often just immature curiosity without common sense.  As we mature, we may wonder if sticking a screw-driver into an electrical socket will do anything, but common sense (or experience) will stop us from trying it.  Childishness thinks, “I  wonder how this color would look on that white wall?”  Children are naturally curious, but often their curiosity leads to mess, which we as mothers often translate as:  bad, bad, bad.  I’m saying this more to myself than anyone else, but mess doesn’t always equal bad behavior.  Mess means life, learning, and children abound!  That is not a bad thing!  They are learning to clean up behind themselves, but not every shoe out-of-place or smudge on the wall means that they are out to get me.  Every day I struggle to keep our home from looking like a demolition derby ran its way through each room.  I often complain about it.  I often compare myself to others who seem much more put together than myself.  This takes away the joy of all the life being lived within these walls.  So, as I anticipate starting school soon, I know there will be messes galore.  I really want my kids to remember, though, that life and living was more important than a perfectly clean house.

What Really Happened

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Out of all the comments posted, trying to figure out why we were laughing so hard in these pictures, only one person was close to being correct.  Indeed, there was some bathing suit slippage going on for my dear husband.  The poor guy is still wearing the same bathing suit he wore on our honeymoon, over ten years ago.  Let’s just say, it’s lived a good life.

In order to keep it up, he figured out that by handily hooking the elastic band around his neck, it effectively kept up his suit.  He’s a handy guy!

There.  Now your curiosity is abated.  I hope you get a good laugh.  We sure did!  Now I think it’s officially time for some new drawers.

Magical Dream

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“Last night I had a magical dream,” Nadine said this morning.  When she tells us her dreams, it is best to get comfortable.  Sometimes it can take the entire length of breakfast, as she picks apart every detail that she can remember.  Underneath all of those curls, there is a very active mind, which doesn’t even really stop thinking while she’s sleeping.  Her description of her dream went on, “It was also interesting, weird-ish, and strange-ish.   Santa gave me a magical spray that made everything invisible.  I tried it on everything, and it never ran out!  I even tried it on a witch, but it didn’t work on her and she told me to try it on someone I didn’t like.  Then I was a lifeguard at girls’ camp!  We went up the hill and the car was cardboard so we kept falling out of the car.  The witch came back, and she did kung-fooey on me but I kicked her with my legs.”  Kung-fooey.  That is my favorite part of her magical dream.  Like Kung Fooey Panda.

Other early morning conversations have gone like this:

Nadine and Elijah were discussing different colors that portray different holidays.  Some were quite obvious, but then they moved on to more difficult ones.  “What about April Fool’s Day?  asked Elijah.  “I think Green, purple, and tan?”  “Presidents’ Day?”  he asked next.  “Brown, black and white.”  “Why?”  “Because their hair is brown, black and white.  Some are blonde and bald too.”  Of course!

Then Nadine told me a very vivid dream that gave me shivers up and down my spine, “I saw Jesus and He said, Follow me, and I will show you something wonderful.  Do you think it means something?  Like that Jesus is about ready to come and get us?”  Elijah answered, “I don’t think so, but I hope it!”

That would be beyond magical.  It will be perfect in every single way.

Funny Freeze-Frame Moments

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Betty just makes me chuckle.  Her accessories now include fuzzy hello kitty slippers.  It doesn’t matter if it’s 90 degrees with 99 percent humidity outside, she loves to wear them.

The other thing she loves to do is be with her big sisters.

 

My first attempt at shooting a picture with all three girls in their matching dresses that Grandma made.  Betty kept walking towards me, and I don’t realize how very tall Nadine is, until trying to stage all three of them together.  Every time she would kneel down, so would the other two, which still made for an awkward angle.  I love how Betty gives her cheesiest grin whenever a camera, or a phone, or anything resembling either of those things, is pointed in her direction.

On Sunday, we had a fun family picnic with the Weldons and my sister-in-law’s parents.  It was so much fun!  Betty loved the pool, and actually swam in just swimmies and without me holding her!  She doesn’t mind water in her face.  My all-time favorite moment of the day was putting her into this get-up.  Thanks to Capri for shooting this picture with her camera while I was in the water.  I couldn’t stop laughing!  The swimmies kept her little body from slipping down through the tube, and she just floated around the pool, jabbering away and loving it.

There were other really funny moments, which we’ll leave out of print.  But I’d love to know what you think we’re laughing about.

 

If at least twenty people comment about what they think is so funny, I will tell you.  Those of you who were there, are not allowed to say!

The Quality of Endurance

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Twenty-three minutes later, I’m drenched in sweat.  My second cross-fit workout is in the books.  My new coach, long-time friend, and husband of ten years, is planning out daily workouts for me to do.  I was terrified of the burpees, but did all 45 of them, in addition to the other things on my list.  I was afraid of what people would think when they saw a crazed mother in a bright orange shirt, running around the block yet again.  But I did it anyway, and it feels good… now.

That wasn’t the only tough thing to swallow today.  This morning Matthew went to his ENT doctor to see what’s going on inside his ears and nose.  He’s been having a wicked ear infection, related to the other issues in his sinuses, brought about by Wegener’s disease.  The news wasn’t exactly good.  For a few years he’s had a hole in his septum, which has stayed the same, never getting worse.  Today, however, the doc said it is considerably bigger, and Matthew will be needing reconstructive surgery within the year to repair the damage.  What this looks like, exactly, we don’t know yet.  He said they will probably use a part of his rib!  It is all a lot of new stuff to take in and think about.  We have had our tears.  Not necessarily tears of discouragement, as much as feeling worn out with it all.  It’s like a race that you know isn’t over, but this particular loop is just super tiring.  More medicine.  More surgery.  No improvement.  It’s a vicious cycle.  It’s amazing how such a tiny part of his body can literally be eating away at itself, even though the rest of his body is in excellent physical shape.

When troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  These muscles in my body don’t have a chance at growing unless they are put under some serious pain and suffering.  I will never endure more than a walk around the block unless I subject myself to two blocks, and then more.  In the same way, when our faith is tested, our endurance to hold on, grows.  Our Heavenly Father is not just concerned with the end result.  He’s very in tune with the process of getting there.  A process which doesn’t always make sense to us.  But we trust Him and do another set of burpees, so to speak.  Because we want to be like Jesus.  He set the example very high, of what true endurance through trial is like.  He trusted His Father, and so must we.  As we relax into His strong arms, there is little room for anger.

As Matthew prayed today, “We are not children of a poor man.”  No, our God is very rich.  Tonight we choose to believe His promises, and we choose to sing:

…Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the Lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship Your holy name

You’re rich in love and You’re slow to anger
Your name is great and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
10,000 reasons for my heart to find

Bless the Lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name

(-Matt Redman, 10,000 Reasons)