Sixteen Years

 

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Ok. 

Actually, just 16 years ago, we said our “I Do”s and pledged “through sickness and health”. 

We had NO IDEA. 

I remember, specifically, the nun who was doing our marriage preparation accusing us of being in “LalaLand”. She stopped short of saying we’d never make it, but she made it very clear she was against “children getting married”. 

I believe we took it more as a challenge than a warning. 

Now, sixteen years later. 

Three babies in Heaven. 

Eight babies on Earth. 

Finishing college. 

Leaving the hospital to be a stay at home mom. 

Three houses. 

Two different states. 

Five different jobs. 

Homeschooling.

 Juggling bedtimes  

From teens to tots and newborns. 

Dance and dirt roads. 

Crayfish and country living. 

Old houses and drafty basements. 

Hospital visits. 

Labors and deliveries.

Losing loved ones.

Leaving family and friends. 

Changing churches. 

So many birthdays. 

New cars. 

Bigger cars. 

New friends. 

New family. 

It’s been a whirlwind. A crazy trip through Lalaland. 

There’s no one else I’d rather have by my side. 

Migratory Messages

 As I was walking around the yard yesterday, I saw that Esther had taken chalk to most of the large boulders in the landscaping  I saw a good number of hearts, a few of her signatures, and then this...  a message meant for those in the sky to read as they are looking down. A greeting, albeit slightly foreboding, for the Monarchs passing over our home in their annual migratory travels.  

Sunshine

We LOVE to be outside. The children, especially, would choose to be outdoors from sun-up to sundown. The weather here in Michigan is especially sunny and has been pretty dry this summer- conducive to lots of outdoor time.

The children spend hours running through the sprinkler, playing in the kiddie pool, rolling around in the mud and sand, climbing the pine trees and crabapple trees that line our property, and playing fort and any sports- real or imagined. 

A few weeks ago, we had a good number of chores to complete inside and the weather was simply too hot and humid to allow the kids out to play safely. It felt strange keeping them inside, but when our neighbor came over and asked Matt if we were all ok because he hadn't seen us outside that day, I had to laugh. 

We are THAT family.

 

First Day of School 2020

This is Joseph's Lesson Plan book. The stickers are his special addition to Delaroche's famous painting of the Madonna. He must have had a firm grasp on parenthood because Mary's face is PRICELESS.

 

Sarah Ellen, age 14. Grade 9.

Q:"What do you hope to learn this year?"

A: "I hope to be able to find my calling in life. I want to be organized and not stressed out so easily. I really want to learn Spanish and piano better."

Q: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

A: "I don't know. That's what I'm trying to find out. Maybe a Ghostbuster."

Joseph Matthew, Age 12. Grade 8.

Q: "What do you hope to learn this year?"

A: "Spanish...and how to serve God better."

Q: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

A: "Either a scientist, priest, or go back to my old job of being a Maverick hunter."

Thomas Stephen, Age 11. Grade 6.

Q: "What do you hope to learn this year?"

A: "Everything I can about aquatic animals, advance in math and learn Spanish."

Q:"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

A: "A dad/deacon...And probably work with Dad at GM."

Nathan Samuel, Age 10. Grade 5.

Q: "What do you hope to learn this year?"

A: "I want to memorize some songs on the piano."

Q: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

A: "A train engineer or an engineer like dad."

Esther Katherine, Age 7. Grade 3.

Q: "What do you hope to learn this year?"

A: "I want to get good at the violin and learn more songs on it. I want to learn strange, interesting and new things in school."

Q: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

A: "A mom or a nun."

Daniel Benjamin, Age 6. Grade 1.

Q: "What do you hope to learn this year?"

A: "I just want to finish it!"

Q: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

A: "A train engineer"

Charles Francis, Age 3. Grade K.

Q: "What do you hope to learn this year?"

A: "I just want to learn with Tom."

Q: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

A: "I want to be a nun."

.

Lucy Dale Elizabeth, Age 1. Grade: Teacher's Assistant/Terrible Apprentice. 

Answers to all questions: "DAD!"

Danny

Daniel Benjamin turned six this past week. Matt and I both rejoiced because every new year with Daniel marks another 365 days of survival. 

He doesn't make it easy for us...

Or for himself.

Danny's voice is, by far, the loudest in our home. I'm not sure why this is. Usually, and especially in a large family, the loud ones are loud because they do not get enough attention. Since this is far from reality, as Danny demands attention with every breath and movement, our little guy has me stumped.

The good news is that his newest rival is completely undeterred by the noise, and revels in a good challenge. Their relationship is one for the books. I've never seen a more fascinating display of sibling rivalry/love.

Danny has spent most of this year getting into scrapes. This first picture is supposed to be showing his first lost tooth, but also focuses on his ear that SOMEHOW contracted dermatitis. He spent a few days on antibiotics and steroids, as his entire face and one hand blew up...we think it was a reaction to the poison ivy he played in when I told him not to go in the forest. Or it could have been from the drainage mud that he fell in after I told him not to go near the water.

 Either way.

 He lost his first two teeth within days of each other. 

This next story about that silver ball bearing you see in my hand really isn't quite funny yet. My friend Mary tells me that someday I will laugh about it. 

Today is not someday, but here goes.

We had put the younger boys to bed. Our usual routine takes about 1-2 hours. It consists of brushing teeth to the song of their choice, bathing, getting them into pajamas, one dance to the song of their choice, prayers as a family, drinks, snacks, brushing teeth again, another song, reading maybe 1-7 books, rubbing their backs, holding their hands, telling them to stop talking for ~15 minutes, and then running out of the room and saying that it was NEVER THIS HARD FOR OUR PARENTS. 

This particular night, I was EXHAUSTED. Danny had managed to fry me by 10am with 4 timeouts and 7 meltdowns, so I was excited to have some recharge time. We flew through our routine and ran down the stairs. Matt served a couple bowls of ice cream and we tiptoed into the basement to play a video game with the older kids.

About 10 minutes later, Esther came down crying. She said that Danny was in the library crying and that he had been choking on something.

I don't know that I have ever run that quickly. Up the stairs, two at a time, my heart racing. Danny was standing in front of Matt's computer desk, with his hands on his hips, tears streaming down his face.

 He was angry...and scared.  

So was I.

He told me that he saw a silver ball in the library and it was shiny and he wondered what it would feel like in his mouth. Whiiiiiiiile it was in his mouth, he ended up choking on it and swallowing it on accident. 

"WHAT SILVER BALL?!?!?" I screamed.

He told me it was just laying on the floor. 

We scoured the floor for more balls. I sent the kids downstairs to search through Lego bins to identify what size sphere it was that was traveling uninvited through Daniel's esophagus. 

OH MY HECK! WOULD IT MAKE IT THROUGH HIS SYSTEM?!?!

I started speaking in a pitch and tone that they reserve for new Army recruits.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!? WHERE EXACTLY DID YOU FIND IT?!?! WHY WERE YOU OUT OF YOUR BED? DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES ME TO GET YOU IN BED?!?! DOES YOUR STOMACH HURT? DID YOU DRINK ANYTHING? WAS IT MAGNETIC? HOW HEAVY IS IT?"

After we determined that it was not a Lego and not one of Sarah's earrings, I gave Daniel a drink of prune juice and one of Charlie's laxatives. 

THEN I PUT THE CHILD BACK IN BED.

For the next two days, Daniel could not go to the bathroom alone. I searched through his bowel movements and gave him daily prune juice and worried about what exactly I would be telling the doctor when I call him to take an x-ray.

It didn't help that every hour, on the hour, Daniel would come to me and give me an update about where this silver ball was in his body. 

"Now, it's about here," he would say, pointing to his chest.

A couple hours later, it was in his knee.

Then, in his brain.

Every time he used the bathroom, he would make me wild promises.

"THIS IS GONNA BE THE TIME, MOM! I JUST KNOW IT!"

When it finally passed, I heard a metal clank in the bowl of the toilet.

We laughed.

We cried.

I lost ten years of my life.

We are all fine here.

It ended up being a ball bearing from the library closet door that had fallen out unnoticed. 

A BALL BEARING. 

“I don’t know why, but I really like sugary things.”

 

Daniel is our resident Calvin.

He dreams of growing up and being like Uncle Rob.

He would like to get married and have between 1 and 17 kids and professionally ride a bike.

Matt and I just celebrate that he made it through another year.

It's the Little Things

 July has been full of simple things. Normal things. Regular, delightful, painful, enjoyable, frustrating, EVERY-DAY things. I have been so grateful.

8/8 asleep = V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!

Sarah, all ready on the wardrobe end for her Confirmation. 

Now awaiting the sacraments to be rescheduled.

Esther made her First Reconciliation, and is eagerly awaiting the date for her First Communion.

My gardens are so beautiful, three seasons out of the year. The previous owners of our home were excellent at landscaping and gardening. Everything is so colorful and well-planned. I know there will come a day when the flowers will remain in the garden for more than 24 hours after they have blossomed so that we can enjoy them for longer periods of time.

It is not this day.

Lucy will need some pretty hefty malpractice insurance if her technique doesn't improve soon.

She takes no direction and will not allow anyone to help her during surgery. 

Matt, working on our ever-growing list of repairs. In this particular picture, it happens to be a stringer of steps that lead off our porch. Joseph put his foot clear through them just a couple months ago. This project has been slow and painful. Most of the wood has split, the concrete for the footers didn't set properly, nothing is lining up...you know, the usual.

 Matt is working hard on building character.

There is never enough beer for projects like this.

We've been spending immense amounts of time outdoors. Walking, running, biking, digging, playing, and swimming.

One of our favorite times during the day is when the "Packagery Man" arrives. He brings packages, obviously. Boxes. Boxes containing who cares what...and PACKING PEANUTS OR BUBBLE WRAP!

The package above contained strawberry jam, sent with love from Mary and Art in Syracuse. 

Lots and lots of jam. It has been heavenly!

Catching crayfish in the yard. This crayfish is named Anne Marie.

It's strange having a crustacean named after you.

Really strange.

Kind of unsettling, really.

I've asked them not to do so, but the children insist it is a compliment of the highest magnitude.

Matt, fixing more things. I would get into a deep story about this one, but that belongs on a post about the Recent Doings of One Daniel Benjamin. So, I'll save it.

Our neighbors went on vacation and allowed us the use of their pool while they were gone. It was perfectly delightful.

Charlie has been most helpful with the steps coming off the porch that have broken. Matt has been working on replacing them for the past 5 weekends. It is slow and frustrating work. Having extra (small) hands around doesn't usually help as much as you'd think. But they DO bring much needed comedic relief when things aren't lining up properly...

As I look back on July, I am filled with gratitude for the slower pace, positive visits to the doctor, things getting done, and finishing up school. We are taking turns going back to Church now. Matt occasionally goes back to the office. Things seem to be progressing to a new normal. I never want to lose sight of the challenges that God has brought us through or of the slow summer days that keep our emotional tanks filled.