Twelve years ago. I had a little baby boy growing inside me. But for seven months my body wasn’t acting how it should. Abnormal bleeding and on bed-rest, I spent most of my days doing absolutely nothing. Looking back, I regret not using that time for reading piles of books and crafting great and glorious quilts or blankets. But that’s the thing with age. We grow and hopefully become wiser and use our time more productively because we see how precious it is. I remember moving into Matt’s parent’s house so they could help care for Nadine. She turned one, and I didn’t get to take walks around the neighborhood with her, or chase her in the leaves. It was bumpy chapter in our life. For almost seven months I woke up every day wondering if I would ever be able to hold, snuggle, and watch this boy grow. Then, at 31 weeks, my water broke. Matthew rushed me to the hospital, and we were even more aware of how possible it was to lose this wee boy. I was given shots to help develop his lungs and there was a whir of activity in the hospital room. I don’t remember much of that week in the hospital. Nadine learned to walk that week, and I remember her walking into that room in shiny black patent leather shoes, white stockings and a sweet corduroy dress. My mom brought me a bisccotti container to decorate my room. She also brought a boombox, because I didn’t have things like ipods or iphones or even a portable CD player. There was this CD I listened to over and over, and whenever I hear this song, I am transported back to that hospital bed, hand on my belly, praying over this boy. My prayer was always that he would be a man of prayer and faith, like Elijah in the Bible. Tomorrow the next chapter of his life began, on the day he was born. Early to us, but to God: right on time.
Elijah
Mangoes, Heartbeats, & IV’s
School is always in session, even when it’s not. Take for instance last night when Elsie looked at me while drinking from a little milk container, straw stuck in her mouth while she talked: Mom? Am I drinking a cow’s pee? I then had to explain the anatomy of a cow. Fun stuff, really.
We almost managed to avoid visiting any doctors for an entire week. My wrist has been acting up (has a lot in the past) and I thought it was finally time to get an x-ray. At the urgent care, I was told it was nothing but a ganglion cyst. Ganglion is one of those words I really don’t like saying. I don’t mind the word “gang”, it’s kind of cool-sounding, really. A lion is so strong and majestic. Put them together, and ganglion is just plain awful. It feels dreadful too. Thankfully I didn’t need an x-ray, but Elsie is bummed we won’t have matching casts. I’m amazed at how she has had zero complaints about her pink cast. She rides her bike, jumps on the trampoline, plays on the playground, and has a personal assault weapon on her at all times. 
We had a fun time with Matthew’s family last night. Jack learned how to use chopsticks. He loves China, including its food. Notice the concentration:
This week, Matthew was able to bring Elijah to work with him one day. He had an excellent report from the boss, and was a big help!
Besides being good with the drill, he is also a handy taste-tester. What’s an African girl to do when she has a few mangoes on her hands? Make mango sauce, of course! That, right there, is a small taste of my childhood in a bowl. I’m always happy when I can share a piece of Africa with my kids on this side of the planet.
Nadine’s love tank is always full whenever she can hold a heartbeat with fur on it.
She has also been incredibly helpful watching Betty each day for slots of time so I can write, cook, and do school with the short crowd.
Today marks the second and last Rituxan treatment for Matthew. Since I couldn’t be with him, I bugged him for pictures. I know he wouldn’t post them himself… but… I would, because I love him so very much! His voice is still weak, and sometimes he still is a bit tight, but he “feels” good. We continue to pray for strength and healing! I am so incredibly thankful for a man who never sits around (except if there’s an IV pumping through him!) and is never lazy. He simply follows Jesus in his attitude, actions, and mindset. I’m not married to a perfect man by any means, but he is a real man. There is nothing remotely fantasy-related in his life. He is all real-life and hard-core. Grow old with me, my love!
The Snow Angels Declare
All week I’ve been watching my little geranium about to bloom on the kitchen window sill. This morning it was fully open. It’s simply breathtaking to see a burst of living color in the dead of winter. My eyes look at it, feeling starved. I can’t stop drinking in its color and life!
Now the snow is falling. Of course the boys went right outside to play in it. I happened to look out of the laundry room window to see them smiling at a pair of snow angels they just made. I gave them a thumbs up and they grinned even bigger. A few minutes later I heard their voices at the front door asking me to come and see something. My first thought was, No thank you, I’d rather not risk being bitten by the snow. However, an excitement in their voices drew me past even my annoyance of the cold.
Mom! We made snow angels down the WHOLE sidewalk! Sure enough, they did.
When I turned to come back inside, Elijah said, Now everyone can see how great the glory of God is!
I am speechless. What a way to look at everything we do. All for the glory of God, so everyone can see how great and awesome He is!
Nine Years and Thirty-Two Weeks Later
I woke up and our bed was soaked. Something wasn’t right. We had been living in my in-laws attic for a few months. The baby inside of me kicked and squirmed, but something still was not right. The bleeding I had experienced for six months straight took its toll on my body. My water had broken, and it was time to go to the hospital. Once there, they gave me shots to help his lungs develop. I prayed he would cook a little longer. Thirty-one weeks wasn’t enough. As I lay still in that hospital bed for a week, listening to Christmas music, our baby boy grew . A week later, however, things started to change. Matthew and I had just ordered food from TGIFriday’s. I had a huge BBQ chicken salad, and enjoyed every single bite. A couple of hours later, I started to feel funny twinges. Having had a baby only 13 months previous, the feeling was recognizable. The twinges became more painful and significant. I watched the clock, and let Matthew sleep in his little pull-out cot next to my bed. He had spent every night with me, thanks to his parents who were watching Nadine. She had learned to walk that week, and had come toddling into the hospital room with a pretty new dress, white stockings, and shiny patent leather shoes. A lot had happened that week. Now these birth pains were beginning.
I finally called a nurse and told her was labor. She assured me that the monitor wasn’t showing anything significant. Awhile later I woke up Matthew and reassured the nurse that I knew what I felt, whether or not the monitor did. They finally believed me enough to wheel me down to the labor and delivery unit. Sure enough, on the newer monitors the contractions showed up sky high, and I was already 7cm. He was still breech, so they prepped me for a C-section, not wanting to risk anything. Everything happened so fast, and before I knew it, I was in the OR, Matthew leaning over my head. Then they showed me this precious tiny baby, and I kissed his small nose before they whisked him away to the NICU. By then, Matthew was looking very green. He eventually had to leave the room, and the anesthesiologist kept me up to speed on what was happening on the other side of the curtain.
Nine years ago, in the wee hours of the morning, Elijah Watt Weldon became a part of our family. He was 3lbs 6oz, and Matthew’s wedding band fit around his ankle. He spent five weeks in the hospital before we were blessed to bring home our special Christmas present on December 18th. What a love he was and is! Our Mr. Fix-it. The person who almost knows where anything is that is lost. He is so sweet with babies, has a great ear for music, an incredible memory, and makes us laugh. Thinking back to his birth, I chuckle about the salad I ate a few hours before he was born, because he absolutely loves BBQ sauce. Happy birthday, Elijah boy! We love you.
Magical Dream
“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.
Dreaming in Horse-Colored Glasses
So, when the boys play outside, they get their imagination helmets on… or goggles; whichever you prefer. They have a fort in the backyard, tucked between the alley way fence and the pine trees. They have it decked out with old car mats (trash-picked from a neighbor) and other special treasures.
Here they stand, on either side of the fence, working on the burglar trap. Not sure how it works, but Jack is testing its effectiveness.
There is so much to consider and laugh about when building a fort.
Nadine has been taking horseback riding lessons for a few weeks now. She is in her element while touching any animal, especially horses. Her teacher is terrific, and Nadine loves to tell us everything she has learned.
Last week we had so much fun watching her in the ring. Elsie entertained herself by doing things like jumping from heights and picking dandelions.
Betty was thrilled to have her Daddy close-by.
There is nothing cuter than a father-daughter conversation on a bench. It is exciting to watch them imagine, learn, and enjoy doing what they love to do. It is so satisfying to do what you have been created to do. Speaking of, in the near future we have many changes coming to our family… no, I’m not pregnant, and I will share more soon. For now I must go and do something I’ve been created to do: fold laundry!
The Law of Disorder
It’s inevitable. The messes. The laundry piles. The law of physics which says that even when things are left perfectly alone, they will eventually deteriorate. Order must always decrease. It should be called the law of home-making. This is a typical laundry day in our house:
That doesn’t include sheets that have been accidentally wet during the night. Thankfully those sheets and blankets were already on the laundry room floor when I heard Elijah frantically yelling, “Mom! Mom! The sink is doing it again!” The sheets were quick to soak up some of the gallons of water rushing out of our small sink in the bathroom, but the flood was pretty extreme. The plug will sometimes fall into ‘closed’ position and is very difficult to pull back up again. Unfortunately, the water was left running at the same time. So… an extra little mopping was done here today. Ah, entropy.
Speaking of things being left alone… yesterday we had somewhat of a scare. Again, I heard a rather desperate call for me from upstairs. Betty was in the bathroom with the door closed (she can do that too) and she had reached the lock with her little hands and locked the door. The lock is only able to be opened from the outside of the door with a skeleton key, as the doorknobs are those old-fashioned giant diamonds. I immediately freaked out and called Matthew. I needed the skeleton key, which both of us saw recently but couldn’t remember where, or a locksmith. With visions of disaster speeding through my head, I prayed and then did the only reasonable thing I could think of doing quickly: climb onto the roof. So, out the boys’ bedroom window I crawled, walking carefully to the adjacent bathroom window, the hot slanted rooftop toasty under my sandals. I pried open the screen of the bathroom window and gave Betty a startle when I called her name. She was sitting in front of the door, playing with the other kids’ fingers under the door, looking unfazed by the whole ordeal. I unlocked the door and everyone cheered. Jack said, “Mom, that was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen you do!” I really, really hope that I never have to climb out on the roof again. The kids all had a crash course on why putting Betty in the bathroom is NOT a good idea, and we are on the lookout for our skeleton key in case anything like that happens again. Thankfully it was such a warm day, so the windows were all open!
My fourth load of wash is on the clothesline, school happened, and we have laughed entropy in the face by all of our vacuuming and putting away. I’m desperately hoping to do better than cereal for supper tonight. Cooking is one thing that does not fall into any law of physics. This is called the second law of home-making: supper, if left completely alone, will not just happen.
Lemonaide Friday
The outdoors calls me so loudly that I’m completely tuned out to the inside mess. Winter coats still hang, abandoned on the coat rack. Winter boots, sporting spring mud, lay on the laundry room floor, making dust piles as they dry. Forgotten toys spill onto the living room rug, traded for much more useful objects like sticks, rocks and freshly plucked flowers growing in the crab grass. I barely coaxed the two older ones to finish their school reports today, but they’re taking a break from the sweat of the wild to glue their bottoms to their chairs for one last time this week. Pencils scratch quietly, Betty makes background noises, and the other two littles are busy with their own thing. Jack colors in his book in a detailed manner. Elsie talks to Betty and makes her laugh. Betty wants to go outside, but Elsie tells her, “Betty, you’re going to be a grown up like me! See? I can reach this thing!” as she touches the door handle to go outside. Betty is impressed.
Betty has done some of her own impressing today. She learned how to crawl back down the stairs! She is also into wearing necklaces and loves to get dolled up with hair bands and shoes and sunglasses. Breakfast always includes saying hi to herself in the mirrored tray of her vintage highchair.
Elsie loves to read. She “reads” from memory with great inflection and pronunciation. When she was telling me her memory verse (which was Genesis 1:1), she said, “God created the heavens and the sun!” (instead of earth). It was cute. She writes her name perfectly and loves to copy how to write other words. Her eyes are bright and her smile is huge when she brings me the clipboard with the words she has copied, neatly sprawled across the white page. She is on the verge of really reading, which is the earliest any of our kids have ever been ready. It’s so exciting to watch.
Nadine has a pink little vest for her bunny, Toby. He gets walked every day. It is really funny to watch people do a double take on what they think is a dog… until they see it hopping down the sidewalk. Between Toby and Jack, we go through about two pounds of carrots in a week.
To celebrate the first day of spring, Uncle Jon & Aunt Capri, along with Grandma Weldon, took us to the Philadelphia zoo! 
We had a blast seeing all the animals. I despise snakes, but couldn’t quite draw myself away from the rattlesnake, whose tongue kept hissing at me through the glass. The hippos were also in on the action, giving us huge yawns with jaws that kill. 
We joked that Matt would have to compete with the turtle on how much salad to eat for lunch. The otters were fun, but watching Betty grin and squeal and point at their antics was the most fun of all.
Elijah let me in on a little secret this week: “You know what, Mom? When you play nicely with Elsie she’s really fun to play with!” I’m glad he discovered this so early on. He truly is a great big brother. Lately he would rather be playing with legos than eating, drinking, or sleeping. Well, maybe not sleeping. That boy likes his sleep. He amazes me with his creations and makes a good convincing argument that to buy him more legos would be very educational! This shot of him at the zoo in one of the play dinosaur eggs cracks me up. No pun intended.
His outfits as of late are something to behold. He & Elsie both have no qualms about not matching in public. That means Mommy must also have no qualms. I’m getting there. I usually don’t notice until we’re getting out of the car at our destination, anyway.
Today Jack learned how to make oats all by himself. He was so thrilled as he measured the oats into the pot, squished up the bananas in the bowl, stirred in the water and then mixed it all together. “Now I can make oats whenever I want!” he told me proudly. Of course, after you ask. That boy is either munching on oats, apples, or carrots. He is also usually airborne. He is constantly learning new flips on the trampoline, and even though his skin may be tough, his heart is tender. He is such a little boy at heart.
On the way home from the zoo, it being the first day of Spring and all, we decided to stop at Rita’s for some free water-ice! After waiting a half hour in line, it was pointless to drive away at that point. So we stayed a whole hour until we cheerfully received our free treat.
To be honest, I’m not a huge water-ice fan, and I had a splitting head-ache by the time the whole ordeal was over. But, the kids were happy and we made a fun memory.
Well, the reports are finished. School is done for the week. The kids have squeezed the entire bowl of lemons to make lemonaide, and I’m going to go play outside.
A Growth-full Week
It’s been the inevitable low after the high. A great weekend, followed by some real-life hard times. What better way to break up the monotony than taking a field trip to a local farm/veterinary clinic? So, yesterday we headed out to some friends’ farm for some animal fun.
Nadine was in her glory, feeding the baby goats and petting the horses. Betty wasn’t as sure about the goats at first, but soon warmed up to them. She also got licked many time by one of the dogs until she giggled. It was so adorable.
Jack was super brave to ride the horse bare-back in his crocs. He’s brave in other ways too. The other day I was watching him from the bathroom window. He was outside, tying a karate belt to a tree branch. Next, he climbed the tree and tied the other end to a higher branch. Then he jumped down and grabbed hold of the loop he just made. After a quick tug to make sure it was tight, he confidently hoisted himself about four off the ground and started to pull himself up by the rope. All of a sudden, one end came untied and he fell flat on his back with a thud. I expected tears, but he lay there for a second before brushing himself off and standing up. I came outside to make sure he was okay, and before I could ask him, he said, “Mom! Guess what? I just made a trap and it works!” Pause. “I tested it.” Oh, my.
I know the Lord has great plans for that boy. When he’s not being tough, he is super sweet. He’s been diligently working on his letters and numbers. I found that counting to a hundred while pulling out a measuring tape is right up his alley.
Betty has been changing so much this month! She still gives us “the look” with wrinkled nose, furrowed eyebrows and a loud squawking sound to accompany it. We are working on our manners and today she learned how to give high fives. Her favorite thing outside is to collect rocks, put them into something and give a high five after each rock. She’s sporting seven teeth, with more popping through very soon. She loves to talk with her hands and tell stories with much inflection. Perhaps a linguist?
There is something satisfying about watching boys whack things with sticks. Their language isn’t with words, but rather with loud noises and a mutual understanding of sounds and war-like cries.
They are very different than girls.
Girls are pretty and sweet. Even with a drooly mouth, this one still looks beautiful.
So, even though I’ve been challenged to my core this week on wife-hood and mother-hood, I’m so thankful for the rewards each day. Hugs, forgiveness, love, smiles, and little glimpses of growth in hearts and minds.
Monday Crunchies
Monday. The day when it feels like every cracker crumb is stuck to the bottom of my slippers as I crunch across my kitchen floor. The day when school sneaks up and says, “Boo!”and scares me every time. The day when the contents of my fridge force my creativity to expand to un-natural proportions just to think of something with which to feed my tribe. The day when an extra cup of tea is in tall order. I honestly don’t dislike Mondays, mostly because there is nothing too drastically different about them than every other day in the week. I still cook, clean, change diapers, do laundry, make three meals, sweep dust bunnies, wipe mysterious stickies off the floor, play referee, and plop into bed exhausted. True, Monday follows our one and only guaranteed family day, which is always a bit of a letdown. I guess that is why my kitchen floor feels more crunchy than usual and school seems a bit harder than other days. Today Betty also seemed to turn a corner in her tiny growing-up life. She has a snotty nose and a sore throat, but there was more to her wee little crying fits than just all that. They definitely left me swirling a little bit. I’m bracing myself for a new year, new Betty.
Is there anything cuter than a heart on the bum? Perhaps, maybe, that heart sneaking away up the stairs in a flash…
I had a lot of girl time this weekend while Matthew took the boys rock-climbing among other things. It is rare that I catch all three playing so sweetly together. Nadine was pushing the littles in the clothes basket, which was just as exciting as any boardwalk ride, let me tell you!
Betty weighed in a whopping eighteen pounds at her one-year check-up. She loves to walk, assisted. Some of her new tricks include blowing kisses and giving away real-life, sloppy wet smooches on your cheeks. She climbs the stairs in a jiffy and then lays on her belly at the top and squawks for help to get back down again.
On Saturday when she was starting to get feverish, Nadine rocked her right to sleep while humming “Silent Night”. It was precious.
Speaking of sleep, this is my favorite part of Monday and every day. Sneaking into the kids’ bedrooms and watching the way sleep transforms their darling faces. Betty snores and is always in a different position. Sometimes on her tummy, sometimes her back, sometimes with her feet straight up in the air on the side of her pack n’ play. Elijah generally is sprawled out across his bed and can’t be woken up for anything. Just like his daddy. Jack is usually curled up into a tight ball, sometimes his entire body underneath the covers. Just like his mama. Nadine is almost never asleep before I go to bed, but when the rarity occurs, she is on her back, straight and tall, or half way under her covers and half-way on top of them. She’s somewhat haphazard when she sleeps. There is frequently something funny about how Elsie has fallen asleep. She doesn’t have any one special thing which she likes to sleep with every night. She almost always is asleep on her back, like a statue, sometimes hands folded across her chest. The other night, unbeknownst to me, she fell asleep holding a balloon she had received that day. It is pretty tricky taking pictures in a dark bedroom, but the flash didn’t even make her flinch.
This Monday Matthew got his third out of four infusions. He’s feeling so much better than three weeks ago, and next week we’ll see where he is in a bit more detail. When he got home from work, I was sitting on the dirty kitchen floor with Betty on my lap, banging spoons onto a metal bowl. He knew about my challenges of Monday. Then he handed me pure gold: my favoritest tea ever and German chocolate. Now there is a sweet way to end a Monday.
Grow Old With Me 