Have you ever been flabbergasted? That happened to me a few times today. I’m not sure which moment tops them all, but it’s somewhere between the romper and going upside-down. This evening Jack and I went to Elijah’s last basketball game of the season. Afterwards, the boys wanted to go to the mall. This has been a twice or thrice yearly occurrence in our household, in my estimation. I’ve been wanting to try on a pair of jeans for a few weeks now, so thought I’d utilize this opportunity to do so. I grabbed what I thought was a super cute shirt to try on as well. Since I was there. It was super challenging to pull over my head and felt very twisted around. After taking it off and examining it a little closer I found out it was indeed a romper, not a shirt. I had stuffed my entire body through one of the legs. I kind of felt a bit flabbergasted to be wearing a romper. I think the last time I wore one, I was my daughter’s age. But it was cute and the red color made me think of another moment of shock I had today.
It was the afternoon chaos of snack time and getting myself ready to head out the door to Elijah’s game, when my cell phone rang and the caller ID read “Arizona”. I almost always answer my phone, because you just never know who might call. My surprise wore off about five seconds before I hung up the phone. So basically, for the entire call, I walked around with a big grin on my face while making wild and crazy hand motions at my kids. Harry was crying in the background. It was Plexus corporate calling to congratulate me on last month’s rank up to Ruby. There was a whole room of people cheering for me and I just stood there dumbfounded and shocked. I knew it had happened, but the past two weeks have zoomed past me like a bullet train and it hasn’t sunk in for real yet. What a special treat to receive such a fun phone call!
Every day I’m flabbergasted by the insane amount of growth I see in each of our kiddos. Harry especially makes me chuckle and sigh all in the same millisecond. He trots around with confidence and can’t decide whether he loves books or snacks best. 
He loves to drag things around, like heavy bags of rice, or his little toy train attached to a string. Ninety percent of his vocabulary consists of the word, “buggah”, with the inflection on the “a”. It means everything from hungry to bagel, to water, to milk, to every other food besides banana… which of course is “nana” or “noo-noo”. His lips make the most darling “oooh” shape and always get a kiss when he says it. His baba is his pacifier and his bobo is his elephant. His elephant which I hope we never lose, because it is no longer made or sold by the UK-based company. He takes after his brother Jack by eating a man-sized portion of oats every morning. I have never used soap on his skin before, since we only use water and everyone has their own special body cloth for all of their showering/bathing. This week he got a bottle of shampoo, which I thought was empty, and there happened to be some suds left in it. I peeked over to him crying in a pile of bubbles, unsure of what was going on around him and scooped him up laughing. Fifteen months old and he’s never had a bubble bath. 
Another flabbergasting moment today was when I found myself actually flipping upside down in the basement on our pull-up bar. It’s been a couple years since I did that move. The best part? When Elsie exclaimed, “Mommy’s still cool!” Then Jack looked at her and said, “She’s always been cool, Elsie.” Insert as many laughing emoji’s as possible here. What a way to make this mama feel amazing! Because at that particular moment, every muscle was yelling at me for the strange contortion I had put it through and my inner ear buzzed a little at the notion of being upside down. But this mama has goals, and they don’t happen by being sedentary.
There is always more to write, but I need sleep like I need that romper… or something like that.
Last night while I was out with Jack, Nadine pulled out the cookbook and made chicken parmesan from scratch. It’s difficult to describe the feeling of weariness and hunger being met by a delicious aroma wafting through the door, before you even open it, and knowing that aroma came from the loving labor of your own daughter. On the flip side, it’s strange for me to be in the thick of toddlerhood once again. I am swiftly being reminded how much disaster a tiny two-foot person can make in five seconds flat. It’s been six years since Betty was at that stage, and she wasn’t ever that messy. It’s been ten years since I had a little BOY that age, and I am getting daily flashbacks of how Jack used to be. From painting our freshly laid wood floor with white paint, to swimming in mud puddles, sometimes it’s hard to believe this strong, disciplined young man is the same person. Take hope, young mamas!
We’ve had a mild case of the stomach bug floating around our house. It seems to have worked its rounds thoroughly, and it’s wonderful to be feeling strong again! Betty had it last, and sometimes I wonder at her strength. She is a running commentary of hilarious tidbits and comical statements. She loves to help and has just about mastered making pancakes all by herself. All on her own accord, with the encouragement of Elsie, she decided to stop sucking her fingers. So they cut off all the “taggies” on her pillows, stuffed animals and blankets, to help her break the habit. It’s been a month, and she is doing fabulously. I’m so proud of her determination.
Elsie is beginning ukulele and voice lessons next week. She has been waiting a very long time for this, and we’re so thankful to at last be able to open this door for her. She practices constantly, and when she isn’t practicing, she is sweeping the floor. Ever since Matthew refinished our downstairs floors, they have remained spotless, thanks to this girl. She is the epitome of helpfulness. She can make Harry giggle (which is hard to do) and has a beautiful voice.
When Elijah gives me a kiss, I’m taken aback every time. Not sure how this teeny tiny boy grew up and surpassed his mama in height. How his soft baby cheeks have the hint of manly roughness to them. I am so grateful eyes never change. He still has the same gorgeous blues, so I can feel for at least a moment, the same way I felt the first time I locked eyes with his and was in complete awe that this little boy was mine. I say that loosely, because I know none of them are truly mine. They belong to God, and He has blessed us to raise them, then release them like arrows into whatever He has planned for their lives. Watching them get on the bus every morning has been a small taste of that letting go, and it fills me with the oddest concoction of feelings.
Matthew has had a whole round of doctors appointments this week. He had pre-op yesterday for surgery on Monday. When his doctor scoped him Tuesday, he found his sinuses to be clean and not needing any cleaning on surgery day. This was good news! The trouble he has been having catching his breath and breathing is all due to scar tissue and shrinking of the subglottic area of his throat. So he will be sedated (not put under!) and they will balloon open his airway and laser some of the scar tissue away. He has never had the laser done before, and the last time they did the balloon was 4 years ago. For it to have lasted this long is fantastic. All of his blood work came back great yesterday! So, even though he sounds and feels tight, thankfully (according to bloodwork and examination) the disease is not active right now. I don’t think either of us have been THIS excited for him to go to the hospital before. They said he should feel immediate relief. 
This year I have cried many times. There have been so many unexpected blessings, even through an intense month of work for Matthew. We haven’t even celebrated our 16th anniversary yet, but we will. I’m keenly aware of the battle for our marriage, and am so grateful for the challenges we’ve experienced which have brought us closer. This year my word is fearless, and his word is overcome. I am bursting to share more, but it will have to wait a little longer.
![IMG_4048[1]](https://amylynweldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/img_40481.jpg?w=530&h=706)
His hand is all healed from the last break, and he promptly did the trick which broke it in the first place. A living breathing example of not letting our fears of past failures paralyze us from action. Wrestling started up again, and it’s a privilege to have this one-on-one time with him when I drive him to practice. He has a favorite play list of songs and I can guess which ones he will pick for our drive. The other night he told me he wanted to treat me to a coffee after practice. So we drove through Starbucks and he bought me a drink with his own money. He’s practically my size, but how did it happen so fast? I’m sitting here on our living room couch with his baby blanket wrapped around my legs.
She cracks us up with her dry sense of humor. The other day I remarked about Elsie being my right hand girl, since she had been cleaning all day. Betty replied in her dry way, “She’s a lefty. I’m a righty.” I about died. She snaps her fingers too. This morning she woke up with a smudged rainbow sneaking out from under her bangs from the fair yesterday at school. She’s trying to “collect money” which is why she is “trying to loose teeth”. 
That’s not the only thing that’s white around here. As I type, Betty is brushing my hair. She keeps me humble with her honest chatter: “I just saw a GREY HAIR!”
Last night also brought some much-needed healing to a rough patch we were having. I’ll be honest. The last few months have held a boatload of challenges. The last fourteen days alone have felt like a few months worth of struggles condensed into two weeks. There is a war going on, and we are being distracted to death to try and forget about it. The enemy isn’t interested in messing with you if you don’t pose any threat to his agenda. And his agenda is pretty simple really: to make us ineffective. To get us to quit trying and to quit working hard on things which bring God glory. When we no longer feel like something is worth fighting for, we quit.
Thankfully no one was hurt, but I did start to cry. The second day of school, and we would be late. The van was a mess. To make matters worse, the party involved refused to take responsibility and mouthed off to the police officers. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. Now the insurance companies have to figure out what really happened since it is now word against word. At the police station, I obtained the report no problem. Harry was totally enamored with the receptionist. He is usually serious towards strangers, but something about her sweet face turned him into a sunbeam! It was darling. I think we will need to go back just to say hello.
It’s been a wonderful yet challenging summer for us! Living in a half-torn-up living area, and lots of doctors visits for Matthew. This morning was his 10th visit this year to his ENT’s. It included another tube put in the one ear, which should provide some much-needed relief from a ton of pressure he’s been having! In addition to the infusions last month, it’s been a lot. Frankly, it stinks. Because even though everything looks really clear (yay!) his entire ear nose and throat anatomy is not the way it was before Wegener’s. It’s not even the same as it was a few years ago! His body doesn’t have the ability to naturally move mucous from his nose and sinuses to his throat. He rinses 3-4 times a day with saline just to keep it as clear as possible. Even then, junk starts to collect, because there is only so much a couple pints of salt water can do. We take stock in sea salt, and (next to me) the neti pot is his best friend. We live in exciting times, where super smart people are inventing things and even surgeries he’s had done in the past are more laparoscopic than ten or two years ago! So, perhaps something will become available in the future to help repair the scar tissue and missing parts in his upper respiratory system that have gone AWAL from this disease. We are incredibly grateful for the good care of his doctors. We have been encouraged by them to keep taking our favorite supplements, which target gut health, balance and inflammation, and to stay consistent with an anti-inflammatory diet. What a gift to have doctors who have the incredible expertise and knowledge as they do, and who also encourage plant-based medicine as much as possible!
Our four oldest kiddos went to soccer camp last week. It was wild being a mom of two again. Betty couldn’t stop saying how “peaceful” it was. She cracks me up every day! Like yesterday, when I pulled up to the curb to park. Parallel parking in Silver Belle is becoming more second nature, but it’s still challenging to line up a 12-passenger van on a city street. As we got out she said, “Let’s see how you parked.” Thankfully, I “passed”, because she gave me two thumbs up. “Pretty good!”
Grow Old With Me 