Micah Bug

To say that life has been busy since having our third child – would be the understatement of this galaxy!
I’ve never been more tired, but more blessed.
More worried yet more encouraged.
More preoccupied yet more focused.
I’ve never known a day where I wasn’t grateful to be mom to these three crazy boys.

Micah is like the icing on our family cake. Sweet, silly, cuddly, affectionate, knows no stranger, loves being in the nursery, awesome traveler, bright and as cute as a bug! In fact, that’s his nickname – Micah-Bug.

From the moment of conception, this childs hair has known no stunt of growth. It. Is. Out. Of. Control.

Let me be he first to tell you, however, that the amount of attention that this child receives from perfectly good strangers is the highlight of his life at every grocery store, market, retail store, gas station, zoo and church! They rub his hair as though it’s a rabbits foot or some other form of good luck. It’s quite entertaining.

The amount of pictures I have accumulated over the course of this last year far exceed my computers capability to withstand in a single post – so I will resist. I WILL be – however – posting lots of them on here – in high hopes that you get a small taste of what I get, everyday, here at home with him. Enjoy!

37 Reasons

For Tim’s birthday this year, the boys and I made him a card …. a 8 x 12 card 🙂

The boys drew things that they love most about their dad …

This one is from James

(his favorite thing he did with his dad is going to COSI)

(his favorite food that dad makes is his breakfast sandwiches)

(he loves dad most because Dad loves him!)

(and the picture to the left of the page is a picture of Tim throwing James in the air …. another favorite activity that James loves)

This one is from Peter

(his favorite thing that he did with dad is make his Awana race car)

(he loves when dad makes tacos – his favorite food)

(he loves him most for being his Dad!)

For my card, I came up with 37 reasons that I love Tim most ….

1) You love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength

2) You love our kids and desire them to love Jesus

3) You love me more than yourself

4) You change poopy diapers

5) You see a need and meet that need (whether that means giving a quick massage or bringing home a pizza)

6) You love your parents and still respect them

7) You put US first, before the kids

8) You take me to our favorite bed and breakfasts’

9) You fix our cars and things around the house, saving $$ on repairs

10) You love others and want their cars to run as smoothly as possible

11) You have a heart for missions

12) You let me listen to Christmas music during the ‘bers’

13) You teach our children to respect our things and others

14) You have a sincere hatred for Walmart just as much as I do

15) You helped breed three children, instead of the original plan of two

16) You saved up and shopped wisely for our Pacifica, only to let it be ‘mine’

17) You are consistent

18) You love cooler weather

19) You ride all of the crazy rollercoaster rides that I won’t go near, with our boys

20) You love vacations

21) There’s no dollar amount you won’t spend to make sure our boys go to a Christian school

22) You have good taste in clothing – well, in MY clothing

23) You enjoy taking family walks

24) You love my family – all 327 of them

25) You are a loyal friend – even, sometimes to a fault

26) You love giving others a chance to ear money and/or serve

27) You’re the first one to volunteer to help someone out, no matter how difficult the task may be

28) You’re picky with painting

29) You call me beautiful when I’m in my yoga pants and a spit-up covered t-shirt

30) You call me all sorts of names of endearment – all created by you

31) You love cabins

32) You have patience with the children

33) You love our youth group and go to extreme to interact with them

34) You pay and keep track of all of our bills

35) You go Black Friday shopping with me – no matter what time the doors open

36) You find it the upmost importance to see that your family attends church and Sunday School ever Sunday

37) No matter how many games they may loose – you are still the most dedicated Viking’s fan

Happy Birthday to the Love of My Life!

Our Journey through Preggo Land

My sweet girlfriends and I just ‘happened’ (by God’s grace and amazing goodness to me) to be pregnant and due within weeks of one another. Here’s our journey – in our months of pregnancy …. super cool, if I do say so myself! And, what an honor to be expecting with these amazing momma’s!

(left: Emily, second baby – middle: Kaitlyn, first baby – right: Me, third baby)

Emily had a little boy (Quinn)

Kaitlyn had a little girl (Lois)

and we had our third boy (Micah), all within 2 weeks of one another.

blessed.

beyond measure.

Welcome Baby Micah!

Here’s our latest installment of the Weldon Household …..

Micah Benson Weldon

Micah was born on July 18th (2 weeks early).

He weighed in at 5 pounds, 11 ounces and was 19.25 inches long.

He is PERFECT!

The boys are super excited and love being BIG brothers!

We are on cloud 9!

(more details to come soon!)

Funny Convo’s with James

James: Mom, why do you have to go to the eye doctor?

Mom: Because, that’s just something people have to do when they get older.

James: Well, I don’t think you’re old, Mom……you’re not even DEAD yet!

– – – – – – – – – – – – –

James: Mom, where does the baby come OUT?

Mom: (silence) Um …..

James: Does he come out of your MOUTH?

Mom: I can honestly tell you that babies do NOT come out of Mommy’s mouths.

James: Then, where do they come out?

Mom: God created Mommy’s with special ….. body parts to give birth to their babies … parts just for Mommys

James: So, boys don’t have them?

Mom: No, they sure don’t.

James: So ….

Mom: (interrupt) How about mac & cheese for dinner?? (distraction successful) 🙂

– – – – – – – – – – –

James: Mom, was there a punishment for Adam and Eve when they sinned in the garden?

Mom: Oh, yes there was. Man was told that he would have to work really hard, and sweat while he works to make sure there’s enough food to feed his family and he would have to do that all of his life. The woman was going to have pain during delivering her babies.

James: So, they were the only ones that got in trouble …. the serpent didn’t get in trouble?

Mom: Oh, no … he got in trouble too.

James: What was his punishment?

Mom: Well, he was told that he was going to be feared by men, they would want to kill him (snakes), he would try to bite people and also he lost his legs and had to get around on his belly from then on. Can you believe that snakes used to have legs? If you think about it, all of God’s creation has legs …. giraffes, elephants, tigers, cats, dogs …..

James: (thinking) ….. So, did the SNAILS sin too?

(of course, he thought of the OTHER animal that crawls around on his belly!)

– – – – – – – – – – – –

I picked out a shirt for him to wear to a church event, just a solid color shirt with different colored stripes …. his response to the shirt I picked out, in his words, were ….. “Mom, can I wear a shirt that’s a little more predictable?” (he’s 5, by the way!) 🙂

– – – – – – – – – – – –

(Passing a large cemetery)
James: Wow, Mom! A lot of people died here. It almost looks like a garage sale.
Mom: What?
James: You know, if garage sales sold stones.
Of course.

– – – – – – – – – – – –

I could hear violent page turning coming from the back of the car, so I asked James what he was doing …. he said, “I just love Jesus SO much that I wanted to find ALL of His pictures in my Bible book!”

– – – – – – – – – – – –

James, after seeing the baby’s ultrasound picture said to me,

James: “Mom ….. the baby looks stripey”

Mom: …… the baby looks STRIPEY? What do you mean?”

James: “Look at all of those black and white stripes”

Mom: “Oh, yea … you’re right. It does look a little bit like that”

….(pause) ….

James: “Mom??? Are you going to have a baby ZEBRA??”

Micah’s Journey]

This pregnancy has, most definitely, been the most interesting, challenging, emotionally straining, exciting and most exhausting thing I’ve ever experienced. I was only 23 when we found out (by surprise) that we were pregnant with Peter, our first child. Looking back, almost 10 years later, it seems like a lifetime away. The differences of my pregnancies are staggering. With my first born, I had some dry heaves ….. sure, a little nausea …… I remember feeling restless near the end of that pregnancy, but then once I was pregnant with our second child, those things seemed so silly. I was much more sick with my second one. I had MAJOR motion sickness. I couldn’t be driven anywhere without feeling or getting sick, at some point. I got sick in airports, on vacation, in the shower …. it was pretty miserable for a time, but ….. then it was done. I had tons of energy with my second baby. I remember the night we were supposed to go to the hospital – for my induction – and I dusted and vacuumed the entire house …. at 38 weeks, and without loosing my breath or immediately regretting that decision.

Even the birth, itself, was entirely different. I was induced 9 days early, with Peter, due to low platelets. I was forced into labor, all night and all the next day. They had to break my water, and still, he didn’t want to come. I was in labor for nearly 20 hours. Nothing. Epidural. Pushing for 3 hours. Nothing. Episiotomy. Nothing. Finally, they used a suction cup and forced this stubborn child out of me!! Interesting experience for a first-time mom.

My second one was MUCH easier. Induced, again, but only this time 14 days early. Lower platelets. Later epidural. Less than 10 hours of contractions. 20 minutes of pushing. Done.

I am SO curious to see how this one will go. Not only has each pregnancy been completely different from the other ones, but there will be 6 years in between the last two pregnancies …. I’m also 20 pounds lighter with this child. I felt this baby move, the earliest. I had morning sickness, with this child, the longest (27 weeks solid, and then every couple of days following). I have been the most active, still, with this one. I have had the flu, two sinus infections and a kidney stone with this one. And, with each one of those things, being pregnant complicates each one. Medications aren’t as available, or allowed to be taken. Doctors are hesitant in prescribing anything. And, then there’s the high chance of those things making you feel sick, anyway (as do my prenatal vitamins). My platelets are still low, in fact, I’ve been seeing a hematologist from the get go. He has been closely monitoring me, which has made some months filled with doctors appointments, weekly. I have been poked and prodded more than the Phillsbury Dough Boy. Thankfully, I’m completely used to it by now, so it’s not even a big deal. The boys think I’m super mom, though, with all of the needles and blood work I’ve had to do. But, praise the Lord, my platelets have stabilized (though they’re still low, they’re not at a dangerous level).

So, here’s our journey with baby Micah, so far …. all in pictures! 🙂

It all started with a test. 😉

My 12 weeks baby bump

18 Weeks

23 Weeks

Almost 30 Weeks
Almost there!!! (33 Weeks)

So, with the Lord’s provision, I am almost there!!! It’s been a long journey, but I am so excited to see what little Micah will look like. How his personality will differ from my other boys. How the boys are going to interact with him and how much they’ll love on him and help out! We’re all pretty stoked!

Last Day of School

The boys attended two different schools this year. James had his last year of Preschool at the Preschool that I teach at and Peter attended Dayton Christian for the third year. I was one of those moms who refused to send my kids to preschool. I figured it would be such a waste if I could do it from home! I mean, come on …. it’s PREschool!! How hard could it be? So, that’s why we didn’t send Peter to school until Kindergarten. However …… then we had James. He was so different from Peter, in every way. I knew right away that he would benefit tremendously from attending a Preschool, and a dear friend of mine offered to help with the cost if we were interested. It was a perfect match!

So, for the last two years, our little James went to Preschool – and loved every minute of it! I’m SO incredibly thankful for the help and guidance of my friend who made it all possible!

These are pictures of James’ last day. He got a certificate that had some of his best contributing character qualities on it and each student received a special gift from their teacher (Mrs Trick) …. whom I had the privilege of working with this past year. She sure loves James!ecua

Peter finished 2nd Grade this year ….. and, as God’s providence would have it – he had the great honor to have the SAME teacher he had for Kindergarten, again, as his 2nd grade teacher. Mrs Ruth has been such a godly example of patience, guidance, grace and love. We just could not have asked for a better teacher for our Peter.

So, as to be expected ….. Peter had his fun with his classmates on their last day of school. Nothing excites little boys more than having the opportunity to take full advantage of being as goofy as possible with their friends. No matter how close they actually were during the entire school year …. they are ALWAYS best friends on the last day of school.Peter’s ‘BFF’ (as they call each other) … Matt Our dear, sweet, Mrs. RuthPete’s 2nd Grade ClassWe couldn’t have asked for a better school year for both our boys. We are blessed! With the next school year just around the corner, we look forward to having both our boys attending the same school (sure makes it easier for travel) and having new opportunities with new teachers.

Nephew Owen!!

James has been in that stage of ‘you’re too young/little to hold him’ for a while now. Thankfully, the one thing he CAN do is feed Owen his bottle. So, he does it like a champ!

This is one of my FAVORITE pictures of all 3 cousins …. my sister and I (apparently) only produce BOYS ….. and with one more on the way …. it’s going to be super fun!

A ‘James’ Story

There are many things that have now been referenced to as a ‘James’ – as though it were a verb instead of a noun. For instance …. falling off of a chair just by sitting still, eating a yogurt and spilling the entire thing all over his clothes before his first bite, cutting his own hair just 3 days after a professional haircut, throwing a ball into the air to kick it only to have the ball hit him in the face (knocking him over) …. such things as those examples! It’s become quite the ‘household’ name!

Recently, my hubby asked if I wouldn’t mind going to a parts supply store to pick up a part we had special ordered for our sink, a week prior. Now – for you moms – you know, ‘wouldn’t mind’ has a completely NEW meaning when you know for a fact that you’ll be taking the kids wherever you ‘wouldn’t mind’ going! That puts things under severe consideration in my house. Mostly, because we are blessed with an obstacle, named James. However hair pulling, mind blowing, jaw-drop-embarrassing things may get with him …. I look back over these kinds of posts – MUCH later – and laugh to tears! It’s TOTALLY worth it in my book! Anyhow, after much ~~pleading~~ threatening the children to PLEASE not touch ANYTHING ….. explaining to them that this is a ‘man store’ ….. all they sell is parts. No toys. I even described to them the smell which they will experience with a man-operated storehouse. As we walked in, I instructed the kids to just sit quietly and wait while I pay for the part. While the man is writing up my receipt, James puts both hands on the counter and tilts his head and says to him, “So, is it really true that ALL you guys sell here is BOY PARTS?” Now, I’m not sure how ‘mans store’, ‘no toys’, ‘only parts’ and ‘bad smell’ turned into ‘they only sell boy parts’ …. but, it sure got the entire store into an uproar of laughter!

After 23 different shades of red, my face did eventually turn back to it’s normal-pasty-whiteness and we were ready to hit the road ….. but, not until James – in attempting to get off his seat – fell WITH the chair, tumbling himself and chair together in one fell swoop. Instead of crying, being embarrassed, complaining of being hurt or turning around to PICK UP the chair …. James jumps to his feet (as though a sergeant had yelled, “Atten – tion!”) and quickly spits out, “That was an accident, right mom, right? I won’t be in big trouble, right mom? Because that was just an accident, right mom, right?” My, oh my. I have my hands full. But, I sure love it!