kids; fun

Snap-O

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Today, after a wonderful morning with my kids, unexpectedly meeting delightful friends in a parking lot, and filling our fridge with much-needed food… something went snap.  Was it the thirtieth time of stepping over that puzzle on the dining room floor?  Maybe the crunch under my feet of the seventh goldfish meeting it’s demise.  Perhaps it was the picking of the the lock in the front door with a jack knife.  No, I bet it was that last time someone said they were hungry, even though they just ate eleven minutes ago.  Whatever the case, this mama went “SNAP-O!”  Snap-O.  Sounds like a fun game!  It’s not.  It’s dreadful, really.  It’s when your mouth opens and things rather loudly come out that aren’t nice.  It often leads to tears.  It must be followed up by apologies, or snap-o becomes contagious.

A wonderful admonition came when I was talking on the phone to Matthew and he reminded me (again) that they are children.  I thought maybe I got that by now.  Sometimes I forget, though.  Sometimes I expect so much out of them or myself and before I know it, “SNAP-O” comes flying at me like a deck of cards being released and I stand there blinking and confused.  I get tired of picking up the cards again, but thankfully forgiveness deals me another turn.  God is so gracious.

Then there was rollerblading through the kitchen,  a crying baby who wanted to be held, and multiple requests for food.  Relief came when Matthew walked in the door and offered to take the kids to the park so I could finish making supper.  I didn’t realize how much I needed that break until it came.  Peace reigned supreme as he called from the front door, “I have all of them!”  Even Betty?  Even Betty.  Twenty minutes later they came back with rosy cheeks and Betty was all smiles.  She knows she’s hot stuff doing big girl things like playing at the park with her brothers and sisters.  Her grin couldn’t be erased.

This weekend was fun and relaxing at the Weldon’s.  We enjoyed a walk, good food, and being together.Outside, the sidewalk chalk scrawled out just one request: snow, please.
The snowman lights echoed the request.

Cozy warmth beckoned me back inside, where the sound of Adele filled the kitchen and the sight of busy little chefs were hard at work.Elsewhere, the boys found things which their hearts enjoy.


Family is so incredibly special to me.  I have to focus in on these amazing moments of love…especially when I feel the Snap about to fly.

What on Earth???

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The other day Elsie said something so funny, yet so profound.  Matthew was working on something and instead of asking him, “What on earth are you doing?” she asked, “What are you doing on the earth!”  It is a valid question, you know.  One that we all should answer.  What am I doing?  Besides the obvious course of survival mode we all habitually travel to remain alive?  There have been definite days in my life where I barely survive.  Days with little feeling of hope, excitement, or feelings of fulfillment.  What am I doing on this earth?  Is my purpose far-reaching, even eternal?  Was I merely put on this earth to wipe babies’ bottoms and cook one-thousand-and-ninety-five meals a year?  Or is there a deeper purpose for my existence?

Yesterday was one of those days when it was pretty hard not to feel the breath of heaven wash over my soul.  I know that sixty-two degrees in January, in Pennsylvania, is not normal or to be expected.  I also know it is fleeting.  My entire being craved the sunshine and warm air so intensely that I feel like it was a gift from my Father sent to bless me personally.  I also know it blessed many other people as well!  I had the privilege of sharing the afternoon with some friends from church, and we took a nature walk through a near-by park.  The outdoors called our names and we just hollered right back, “Coming!”  And we went.


Betty was so cute with her little friend, Will.  She is one month older and liked trying to hold his hand.  They were so sweet together!


We explored the water and soaked in our fill of Vitamin D.

This is one reason I’m on this earth: to love these amazing kids who love life and the God who made them.

Oh to see more clearly that when I love them… what I am doing on this earth is making a difference in eternity.

I am so thankful for every moment on this earth.  There are glimpses of glory and heaven when the sunshine kisses my skin.  Then there are glimpses of how temporary our time on this earth is.  On our way home from the park we were almost hit head-on by someone speeding around the corner of a tight turn.  A flash of how fleeting and wonderful each moment we are given flew through my mind in an instant.


This morning when I got up, the kids had been awake for a little while and told me they had a surprise that I would really like.  Yesterday they had made me breakfast, so I was pretty curious what they had up their pajama sleeves this morning.  I shuffled downstairs to my chipper children who had finished two subjects of school already.  Neatly and correctly.  This has never happened before!  It touches my heart when they think of these kinds of things on their own.  It gives me hope to counter attack the doubt that sneaks into my thoughts sometimes.  My kids are messy, loud, and don’t always make the right choices.  Guess what?  Neither do I.  But they are also growing, learning, and come up with the most brilliant ideas!  I learn from them every day, and even though I love them so much, I need to tell them so better.  Hug them often.  Say, “You’re so smart!” more.  I can’t take it for granted that they’re alive!  I believe God created them to do unique and awesome things while they’re here.  Somehow He entrusted me with this crazy huge job called Mothering.

So, what are you doing on earth?

Highlights of Color and Love

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Last night I was playing through the events of the day and picking out my favorite ones.  One of the highlights of my day definitely was when I was playing the piano with Betty on my lap and she kept laying her head down on the keys.  That is her signature move for love.  In words, if she could speak them, she said, “Mom, I love the piano and I could sit on your lap and listen all day.”  The second highlight came while I was sitting at the piano and turned to see a dear friend standing at my door and hoping to find the tea pot on.  Friends, my tea pot is always on.  It was 2pm and I was still in my PJ’s:  red fleecy pants with valentine hearts, and a green Ocean City sweatshirt.  I looked like Valentine’s-Day-still-clinging-to-Christmas.  It was groovy.  For an instant I felt embarrassed, but that quickly left me when I remembered that real friends step inside your house, no matter how it or you look.  And somehow nothing matters except their presence blessing your home.  It was truly a highlight.

Sometimes I want to jump inside of Jack’s head.  He thinks deep thoughts, but can’t always express them.  Like yesterday when he told me he just can’t wait to get to heaven.  He is pretty sure that God is going to lower a sheet from the sky and haul us all up there.  I just listened as his wiry strong body tried to fit on my lap.  I like to talk about heaven with my kids, because they have such peace about how good it is.  The unknown is fearful and a bit insecure for us.  Often our “knowledge” gets in the way of our faith.

Jack thinks in straight lines.  He thinks a lot like how he laid these cards out on the table the other day.


Methodically.  Carefully.  A bit wildly at times.  Notice the sword at the ready in the backpack?  Have I mentioned before how big his hands are?  They’re almost my size.  Carrots and the color orange rock his world.  Why not turn them into works of art?  Yesterday he did just that:


Yes, he did that with his teeth.

Another highlight of my day was cozying the whole family up in the living room to watch Kung Fu Panda 2.

  I love my kids.  I love that all four of their blankets are from when I was growing up.  I love that Jack’s special Pooh blanket was actually a baby gift for Nadine and that he somehow adopted it for himself.  I love that Elsie has the most ginormous blanket and the littlest bed and that her Aunt Heather had it on her bed before she got married and moved away.  I made Jack’s blanket when I was about 13, my first and only attempt at quilting.  I was going to give it to my brother for Christmas that year, but thought maybe the roses were a little too feminine when it was all said and done.  Sorry, John!  We have never had the whole matching nursery/bedroom ensemble and it’s pretty obvious with the medley of colors hugging the kids in that picture.

Our color scheme is a coordination of memories and love.  That makes me want to do a Betty move and put my head down on each cozy nook in that picture and say, I love you.

December Rain and Some Sparkle

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It’s raining outside.  I’m fine with that.  We got our farm run in today, returns done, bananas bought, and everyone is finally asleep.  I say finally, because usually they do well going to bed, but tonight the boys decided to be silly and put on almost every pair of pajamas they owned.  I know they miss their daddy, and things get a little hairy around here when we miss our daddy.

As said yesterday, there was something special planned for our date last night.  Someone’s wish came true.  Nadine has been hoping to get her ears pierced for a long time.  On our date, we did just that.  Her excitement was through the roof!  She looks so grown up and stylish with her new bit of sparkle.

It’s been a challenging week with Matthew gone in Philadelphia.  Despite the fact that I’ve been getting a lot accomplished, it’s been crazy.  Today alone, I had something extremely painful land on the bridge of my nose and now I have a nice cheery red mark and a bruise.  Then Jack fell head-long onto the sidewalk while racing at an insane speed on a toddler car.  I’ll give you a little tidbit of his conversation with Matthew on the phone:  “Daddy,” he said through tears, “I fell and hit my head and my brain is bleeding!”  I could hear a very concerned voice on the other end ask if I was there.  Jack handed the phone over to me and I reassured Matthew that it was just a bump, and that his skull was infact still intact and there was just some skin bleeding.  Jack is such a strong little guy, that when he gets hurt for real, he doesn’t really know what to do with himself.  He rested for a bit, enjoyed the undivided attention from mommy, and the last brownie, then perked up just fine.  He was pretty thrilled too that his hair covers the bump just right, because he doesn’t want anyone to see it.

Some moments today I felt a little overwhelmed, a little crazed.  I overheard Elsie say, “I’m freaking out!”  Yeah.  That’s about how I felt at some moments today.  Not sure where she heard that, though.  I’m trying to hold down this energetic fort, but at the end of the day, I feel a ton exhausted.  There is always someone needing me, that sometimes I go outside and sit in our van for two minutes.  Today I tried that trick.  Ten seconds later, a little happy face peered in the window at me and said very loudly, “The door is locked!” while she tried to open the car.  I smiled back and did nothing.  A minute later I went back inside feeling better.  I find that works better than locking myself in the bathroom, because in the bathroom I can still hear everyone, and inevitably someone always has to desperately pee at the same exact time I am desperately trying to have a time out.  All you moms out there, I understand.  I understand that even though you’re constantly surrounded by chaos and voices and little people, you can still feel lonely.  I understand that sometimes you talk to yourself, because it’s as close as you can get to an adult conversation.  I understand that two minutes of seclusion can be more priceless than a clean home.  I understand the vicious cycle of laundry, and the feeling of victory at folding the last shirt, only to realize that the bin you thought was empty, has magically re-filled with dirty clothes yet again.  I have first-hand experience with the dust bunny mystery.  It’s no mystery!  They hop out of the dust pan and back into the corners the moment my back is turned.

Yeah, this week has been challenging.  I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Christmas is in two days.  Speaking of wrapping, I haven’t even started.  But, unlike my three-year-old, I’m not freaking out.  I’m enjoying the sound of rain in December.

My Five

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Elsie loves to sing.  I love it when the other kids notice things about their siblings.  Today Nadine said to me, “You’re right, mom!  Elsie does like to sing!”  Apparently she sings every night in bed after I go downstairs.  Her current favorite is, “Zaccheus was a wee little man…” Except that she calls him “Ikea-us”.  He used to be just “Ikea”, but that changed to “Ikea-us”.  It’s too funny.

She also loves to sing, “A joyful heart is good medicine”… and she is truly good medicine.  She is swiftly changing from a toddler to a big girl who loves to help me clean, change diapers, and cut onions.  She still doesn’t like to go upstairs by herself, but she sure likes to roll up her pant legs by herself.  She would prefer that I get her a drink of water, but when it comes to washing her hands, I take a step back.  She is morphing into a beautiful butterfly and she loves her pretty wings.  I treasure the moments when she’s still tucked in the cocoon of baby girl; when she barely folds onto my lap and we snuggle close.  Her hair is almost never done, mostly because there is some sort of thing in my brain that doesn’t think that way.  When I do dial in to the fact that it’s time to do something with her little mop she prances in front of the “mee-ya-your” to admire her “hair cut”.  Sometimes she even has “two haircuts” or pony-tails.

We have funny little dialogues like this one:  As I was looking at some zucchini and wondering what to do with it for supper, Elijah said, “It’s a pickle!”  Elsie then said, “No, it’s an olive!”  I chuckled with, “Actually, it’s a zucchini!”  Of course, since it was funny at the time, it remained funny for the rest of the day and at supper Elijah declared that he didn’t like pickles.  Sorry, mister!

Betty seems to know that she is going to be a big one-year-old soon, and is doing all sorts of big girl things.  She loves to pull herself up on everything and grin, proudly showing off  her three teeth.  The second her diaper comes off, she crawls as fast as she can go.  She loves to play with Elsie.  They cook together with the play dishes and have a grand old time in the kitchen.  In my kitchen, she loves to bang pots with wooden spoons.  She also brushes her hair whenever she is holding a brush… just when do they figure these things out??

Jack learned how to read the book called, “Mat” this week.  It was such a huge accomplishment for him.  He looked like he won a thousand dollars when he got through it the first time.  His desire to read is the strongest it’s ever been, and that encourages me so much.  Most of the day is spent dueling bad guys and balancing mid-air between two chairs, but the moments he takes his time in his books, are fruitful moments.  He challenges me so deeply, but he also tugs my heart so strongly.  His bed is the one cozy spot in our house that gets sunshine, so I sometimes hide on his top bunk with a book when I need a few minutes alone.  It remains my best-kept secret.

Nadine was recently given an early Christmas present of a bunny.  She tends to it very carefully and thoughtfully.  She is reading in bed every night, which is new for us.  It’s exciting that she is starting to love to read.  At a recent church function, she surprised us all by grabbing the mic and singing “Silent Night” solo and a capella!  She does a very good job babysitting Betty while I make dinner, or if I need to do something.  Whenever we get to hang out by ourselves, I will take a good look at her and feel like this little baby girl I used to know took flight, and a beautiful young lady is standing in her place.

Elijah is also reading up a storm.  He would rather be on the computer, but we’re pretty strict with the time spent in front of screens, and encouraging time spent in front of pages!  He is diligent when he sets his mind to it, and I love how his eyes light up whenever he learns something.  He has a way of standing very close to me, multiple times a day, and clearing his throat and snapping his fingers right before he wants to ask me something that he’s pretty sure I’ll say no to anyway.  His persistence is astounding.  He is thrilled when he gets a chance to listen to the ipod, and he dances like no one’s business.  Sometimes he’ll send me questions inside a paper airplane.  He gets so tickled whenever Betty does something cute, and I’m constantly reminded of his babyhood when I see her grin.

These children are amazing gifts.  I’m constantly figuring them out and discovering more about them.  One thing that is consistently true for each one, though, is how much they love to spend time with me.  Today it meant setting up the play kitchen in Betty’s room so Elsie & Betty could pretend together, and I had a few plastic sandwiches to eat.  It also meant cleaning the boys’ room with Jack and guiding him through the process.  He loved it.  It means listening to them read, or actually looking at what they drew.  It means sneaking up to their bed at night before they’re asleep and telling them they can go to the store with you all by themselves… in their PJ’s.

This mommy thing drains me to my very core, while filling me up to the brim.  My energy might be gone at the end of each day, but my heart is full.

Giving Strays a Purpose

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Last year I saw this idea on a friend’s wall and tucked it away for twelve months.  I even had a special basket where I collected those stray socks all year long.  Now a basket of stray socks has become a unique advent calendar for our family!  In each sock I have put special surprises for the kids.  The rules are: whatever is in each sock must be shared.  If there is complaining, I get the surprise.  Simple!  Today Jack got to go first, and the surprise was a little paper Christmas tree.  That’s right!  Today we’re going to get our tree!  Stay tuned to see what is inside each sock this month!

Right now we’re going to get on our Christmas groove and find a tree!  I have an uncanny ability to pick much too large of trees, so this year I’ve been instructed to please be mindful of the height.  I’m stoked!

Thirty Thankfuls

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The last month has been full of fun memories and thankfulness.  Thanksgiving day morning began a new (hopefully) tradition for our family.  We went over to the local highschool track near the Weldon’s house and ran a 5K.  Our own free turkey trot.  It was even complete with Indians and a turkey (i.e. Nadine).

Things I am thankful for:
1. Healthy bodies and the ability to run 3 miles with my kids and family
2. My amazing husband, who pushes me to get over just how I’m feeling and inspires me to do what’s hard, real, and lasting!
3. Monkey Bread

4. Enough mashed potatoes to go around for 29 people… twice… with leftovers.
5. Cousins who make the world brighter, happier, and more fun!
6. My own, personal barista, whom I love not only for his good looks, but also his finesse in coffee-beverage-making-skills.

7. My sisters, because my world would be all grey without them!
8. The laughter that comes at funky hours of the night when parents should be storing up energy for the following day, but instead decide to make memories together.

9. Boys who are warriors at heart.  I would feel safe in any dark alley with these guys.  (Notice the turkey bone weapon)

10. Gorgeous weather to take family photos!

11. Five healthy children with such distinctly different personalities that there are never boring moments throughout each day.

11. Imaginations of boys with sticks in tall grass.

12. Creative photo ideas!

13. Betty with her 3 teeth that make me grin and want to kiss her a million times!

14. Clothes to wear.
15. Family times.
16. Nadine Ruth, my tall girl who wears my shoes and loves life.
17. Elijah Watt, who figures out how to fix stuff for me, and asks me questions through writing notes to me.

18. Heather who lives so close now, and is a constant source of encouragement and inspiration to me as a wife, mom, and homemaker.
19. Sherry, who doesn’t live that close, but doesn’t let distance get in the way of staying close in heart.  She too is a huge fountain of inspiration and encouragement to me.

20. Re-enactments of battles long ago.

21. I will mention cousins again, because they are so special to us!

22. Elsie Rose, who smiles and sings and laughs so much each day, the world is truly a happier place because of her.
23. The way she sings, “Who broke the ark?  No one, no one!  Who broke the ark?  Brudder, no one!”  Instead of, “Who built the ark?  Noah, Noah.  Who built the ark?  Brother Noah!”

24. Betty Ann, who sits in leaves and still smiles.  She loves life.  She loves food.  She loves to be loved, and it’s such a privilege to love her.

25.  The way cousins interact with eachother, no matter the age.

26. Food to eat.
27. Jack Taylor, and his strength, twinkly eyes, and desire to conquer.  He’s tough, but his heart so wants to do what’s right.

28. My husband.
29. Our home and every inch in it, because we use every inch!
30. Above ALL of these things, I am thankful for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  I am thankful for His written word, the Bible, and that it is becoming more alive to me as I grow older.  Thank you, Lord, for this month, and for every day and hour we are given to live for you here.

Special Twenty-One

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Yesterday was the 21st, which means “date day” in our house!

It was Elsie’s turn to go out with me.  I was so excited to take her to the bookstore, drink hot chocolate, and do puzzles.


The first thing she told me when we got out of the car was, “This is a beautiful date!”  Her chatter didn’t really stop from there on out, unless her mouth was full of hot chocolate.  “Look at that big boy!  He’s eating a cookie!”  “Look at that big man, he has cake!”  We stuck to our hot chocolate and coffee.


Her favorite thing were the train tracks.  She probably was thrilled to have each and every train to herself.  We had fun pretending to get lost in the tunnels and run out of gas… or whatever trains use to fuel themselves.


This girl has an uncanny ability towards puzzles.  She has done and re-done her two puzzles countless times now.  We found this block puzzle that was pretty fun.  Not as fun as “regular” puzzles, though!  After reading a few books it was back to the train set!

I loved our date.  It touched a part of our hearts that doesn’t always get touched when there are four other kids, messes that need cleaned up, and the daily grind getting in the way.  Elsie is really funny.  I’m learning this more and more.  She loves it when she says something that makes me chuckle… which is often.  She loves to help.  She loves pink.  She loves to wear as many different patterns at once that is humanly possible.  I am so thankful to have had some special time together.  It was a beautiful date!

The Three-Minute Tour

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It took me a year to walk to this place.  That is, it has taken me a year to actually do it.  It really only takes about three minutes to get there.  So, today, for the third time in one week, we headed over to the baseball field that is on the next block.  This time we pulled the wagon.  Yes, it is as dirty as it looks.  The girls obviously didn’t mind!  Betty was chomping at the bit with her two little teeth.


After discovering this place which has fences to scale and a big field in which to run, the kids beg every day to go to “the park”.  About one minute after we got there, Jack discovered his hidden (or not so hidden) Ninja self.  After all, it is what he wants to be when he grows up.


Not to be outdone by her big brother, Elsie scaled right up the fence.  She was so proud of herself when she succeeded in going up AND down without any help.
 Here is another face of accomplishment.  Jack hopped on Elijah’s big bike and took off with a grin.  He zoomed around the field like he’s been riding big bikes his whole life, promptly pushed it up to the top of the highest hill he could find and raced down without a flinch.


Then he discovered that riding with one hand is pretty cool too.


I think I see his manhood seeping out of this picture.  He so proudly showed me the hair on his legs the other day, and thought they looked like a man’s.  He’s still a little boy, though.  I don’t know too many men who would walk around with used bubble wands attached to their belt-loops like it’s the coolest thing in the world.


Elsie is a little runner.  She runs back and forth tirelessly, with just her shadow to spur her on towards faster speeds. 
That and her fancy shoes:


Then there’s my not-so-little girl who is wearing my shoes now and borrows my jacket because the ones from last year go up a few inches from her wrist.  


Elijah and Nadine love to play kickball, soccer, or whatever they think of at the moment.


Elsie is so close to mastering the two-wheeler.  She had me in fits of laughter with all her giggling and accidental slamming on of her brakes.  It is a really good workout to push a three-year old on a teeny bike that requires a constant squat while running.

Then there’s this little munchkin who just goes with the flow.  If the flow happens to hit the decrepit swings for a few minutes, then she’s all smiles.  She doesn’t care how nasty the chains look, or even if they hold her up.  She is consumed with smiles and the new feeling of her tummy tickling inside her as the air whooshes by her face like a big breath.  
 
Every single day the kids remind me to make time for fun.  Hold all calls until the book is finished.  Turn up the music and dance.  They don’t care if they have matching shoes, matching clothes, or a beat-up soccer ball.  They do care about feeling loved.  They want us to notice how cool they are with their imaginations.  Like when playgrounds become castles and bubble wands become keys.  They want us to see them in action, laugh at their silliness, and cheer their accomplishments.  So leave the clothes pile stacked high and grab the dirty wagon.  Don’t wait a day, a month, a year… remember, it might only take three minutes to get there.

I Heart Fall

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I wish I could peel back the roof and turn my walls into glass on certain days like today. The sky is stunning again and the leaves are in a crescendo of colors, almost ready to max out to their peak performance. What is it about this weather that makes me want to bake cinnamon rolls and apple crisp and wear orange and brown? I didn’t have this growing up as a little kid. When I was an older kid, fall pretty much just meant I had to rake leaves until my hands were blistered. Now that I have my own kids, fall isn’t that bad. I still prefer to sweat while sitting down and don flip flops my entire existence, but I’m embracing fall more and more. It’s something special that God made for me and I’m looking at it that way.

We’ve been visiting the farm each week, and it’s so fun to plop Betty down in front of the baby bunnies and see her smile at them. We got to introduce Daddy to the farm last week.

 

Yesterday the baby donkey took quite the shine to her and kept walking back to the fence and putting her nose right next to Betty. It was darling.

 


What wasn’t so darling was when we got home from the farm an hour later. Elijah went to the bathroom downstairs then bellowed, “MOM! There’s a flood!” Floods are never good. There was certainly no rainbow with this one. Some little person had decided to plug the drain in the sink while washing their hands… and left the water running. Elijah and I had a pile of dirty towels and we mopped up the flood and squeezed the water right into the washing machine. Never a dull moment!


A heart-shaped butternut squash .  I heart fall!

We also baked bread last week for a school project. We were learning about Jesus being the Bread of Life, and also the scientific properties of yeast, and so we made bread! It was a lot of fun and tasted great! What helped me deal with the mess was knowing the day before that I would be baking bread with the kids. I mentally prepared for flour all over the kitchen. You know what? It all cleaned up just fine. The kids made a memory. They learned a skill. It was worth the mess.


Since Betty was born, I’ve been on the look out for a rad highchair. Something vintage and cleanable and with a shiny tray that makes a fabulous noise when little hands bang on it. Well, this weekend I found it. It was a sweet $12 deal. She loves it and bends her head way over to look at her reflection in the metal tray. Pancakes even taste that much better in it.

For some reason, ever since we went away for the wedding weekend, I just haven’t gotten my act together in the laundry department. Something happened. I’ve been washing clothes, but they don’t really get through the entire cycle of wash/dry/put away. Everyone’s drawers are empty. Today I am determined to remedy that. I will not sleep until everyone’s clothing is PUT AWAY. I have four perfect little helpers for that. Since school is finished, I think we’ll walk to the baseball field for a catch before Betty’s nap. Then it will be time to fold and conquer!