The Kids

Some new photos

Earlier this week Asa ran into the closet where I was hanging clothes and said in an out of breath voice, "Who won?!"
"Who won what buddy?" I asked.
"The president! Who won the president?"
"We already talked about this, remember?" I said. "Barak Obama won."
"But who won after him?" he asked with anticipation.
"Nobody, Ace. He gets to the president for a few years before someone else can win."
"Oh." He looked a little downcast.
After a few minutes contemplation he began again.
"Mommy?" He said with a look of defiant determination. "When I'm president will Obama still be president?"
"No buddy", I replied with a smile, "You'll be running against someone else when you become president."
"Do you know what I'm going to do when I'm president?" he asked.
"What?"
"Give all my money to God, take care of the Earth, share the Earth with everyone because it belongs to all of us, and rule the world."
"That's a great plan, buddy," I assured him. "You can count on my vote."
"Thanks Momma!" he called as he skipped away.

Asa in '44

Anyone want to preorder a bumper sticker?

This week we started a study on Colonial times. The kids have really enjoyed learning about how different things were when our country first began. They've even decided that Daddy should go out and shoot our dinner, just like the colonist Daddies did!

Today we learned about all of the trades and shops that made up a Colonial town. We learned about the blacksmith who pounded out hardware and tools, the apothecary selling remedies for ailments, the cobbler making shoes, the joiner providing furniture, and all the other places people who lived back then went to purchase the things they needed.

When we got to the end of the lesson there were questions to ask the kids to see how much they had learned. The instructions were:
Fill in the blank with the name you might give a colonial store today

"Okay guys", I began, "Think hard. You might call an apothecary's shop a--- what?"
Blank stares.
"Remember, the apothecary sells things like medicines...so what might we call that place today?"
Ethan looked at me with one eyebrow raised and ventured, "Wal-Mart?"
I stifled a giggle and replied, "Well, ok, I can see that. Wal-Mart has a pharmacy so that makes sense. But you also might call it a drugstore."
"Oh yeah, that's right", Ethan agreed.
"Next one", I said. "You might call a blacksmith's shop, where they sell things like tools and nails a---what?"
Ethan thought for a second. "Ummmmmm...Wal-Mart?"
I sighed and allowed a small giggle. "Okay, we do get those things at Wal-Mart, too. But we can also find them at a place called a hardware store."
"Here's the next one. You might call a silversmith's shop, where JEWELRY is sold a---what?" I asked, sure that my deliberately spoken hint would lead them to the right answer.
"Mom," Ethan huffed, slightly exasperated, "That one is Wal-Mart, too!"
I couldn't contain my amusement any longer. I burst out laughing and it must have been contagious because the kids joined in, even though they weren't quite sure what was so funny.
Needless to say, after that I couldn't get any answer but "Wal-Mart" out of them. But at least all their answers were right!

Hey guys- Just wanted to note that I took off the last post about the kids pick for president. Seems that not everyone finds it easy to see that kid's perspectives are just that...their young perspectives...which are often strictly based in black and white thinking and frequently formed from snippets of what they hear...and don't necessarily accurately reflect the exact views of their parents or the reality of the issues and the candidates stances on them. I apologize for any misinterpretation of their analysis of the topics at hand.
Thanks for reading my humble little blog...

Yummy Feet- starring Ezra



Astrid Forlorn

Equal Rights for Chickens!

Yesterday we passed by a big truck hauling cages stuffed with live chickens. Feathers flew through the air as the chickens struggled for some comfort in their close quarters.
"That's funny," Ethan said with an amused smirk.
"That's NOT funny!" Asa retorted. "That's sad! Ethan, those chickens don't get to live on a farm anymore. Now they have to live in those little cages on that truck!"
"No they don't Asa," Ethan replied in a slightly condescending tone, "that truck is taking them somewhere so somebody can kill them and fry 'em up!"
Asa gasped in shock and horror. "You mean they're going to kill them to death?!?"
"Yep," Ethan said matter-of-factly, "what do you think we're eating when we eat 'chicken'?"
"But that's sad," Asa argued, "and it's bad. You should never eat animals. Or fry them! Mommy, when we get home, I want you to throw all of our chicken away that's in the freezer. I'm never eating chicken again!"
"What will you eat when we go to Chick-Fil-A?" I asked him.
"Just french fries."
"Are you sure about that....no more chicken strips for you?" I asked, just to clarify.
"No. I am never eating chicken again, not even if you make me!" He crossed his chubby little arms, set his face to a defiant frown, and squinted his eyes at me in the rearview mirror.
"And I'm not eating eggs either," he added as a point-enhancing afterthought.

I'm curious to see how long this conviction stands. And how long it takes for Ethan to tell him where hamburgers come from...

Christmas card photo shoot preview!

Asa and Julia on: Being Green

Asa is my little budding environmentalist. I have to carry around a large bottle of hand sanitizer just for him because wherever we go, he picks up trash. Styrofoam cups, plastic bags, cigarette butts, gum wrappers, bottle caps...anything. This morning, he found two cups and a couple of straws in a parking lot and promptly plucked them from the ground and deposited them in the nearest trash can.
"Great job, buddy," I said, holding my hand up for a high five, "You're a very responsible citizen."
""Mommy, why do people put trash on the ground?"
"I guess they just didn't feel like walking all the way to the trash can," I replied with a shrug.
""But that hurts the Earth!" he adamantly exclaimed.
"You're right. How does that make you feel?"
"Sad." He paused. "And it makes the Earth sad, too. People shouldn't do that."
"You're right."
"I'm always going to pick up trash," he said firmly. "I don't want the Earth to be hurt. I want people to stop hurting it and it feels good to clean it up."

This is where Julia piped up and chimed in...

"AND," she stated loudly, "if people keep putting trash on the ground, then there would be more and more and more trash, and it would fill up the Earth and cover the grass and get higher and higher until we wouldn't have any place to walk and then we'd have to move to another Earth...or drive back to New Jersey!"

Apparently, according to Julia, Arkansas and New Jersey aren't just worlds apart...they're not even on the same planet!

I walked in while Justin and Asa were watching Monday Night Football...

Me: Hey guys.
Asa: Hey
Me: Who's playing?
Justin: Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. There aren't any kids shows on.
Asa: Daddy, are they called the Steelers because they steal a lot of stuff?
Justin: Uh, no. (Insert long explanation of "Steelers")

Me: Who are we going for? Steelers or Ravens?
Asa: Ummmm.....the yellow team.
Justin and Me: Pittsburgh
Asa: Nevermind. I like the white team.
Justin: No. I don't like Baltimore.
Asa: Ok then, we'll go for the Pittsburgers.

Long pause to watch a few plays...

Me: So, Asa, who's your favorite football team of all?
Asa: The Pittsburgers.


A few more plays go by...

Me: Who's the best team in the NFL?
Asa: The Pittsburgers.
Me: Yeah? What makes them the best?
Asa: Mommy, I don't know. I don't really think they're the best team, I just keep saying the Pittsburgers because they're the only football team I know.

Clearly, football is really high priority in our house...

Seeing You

Every day after lunchtime, with full tummies and droopy eyelids, I send my 4 younger children off to their beds for an afternoon nap. And every day, they complain until their complainers get sore then they succumb to an hour and a half of sleepy refreshment. Yesterday, Astrid was having an especially difficult time coming to terms with the reality of naptime. She cried, she moaned, she yelled, "Hoe me peas Momma", over and over again. In an effort to fast forward to the actual sleeping part of naptime, I gave in and Ezra and I snuggled up beside her. Astrid loves to snuggle, and for her it's not enough to just lay down together, or even to be held. She wants to be wrapped up in your arms, nose to nose, forehead to forehead, breathing the same air, inhaling and exhaling in unison. We lay there that way together until her tears were dry and her cries turned into intermittent sniffles. After a few minutes she relaxed, reassured that I would not leave until I had seen her safely off to dreamland. Ezra was restless, though, and I decided to nurse him on the opposite side, which meant releasing my hold on Astrid and turning my back to her. Immediately, she became frantic, sitting upright, and pulling my shoulder in an effort to turn me back to face her. "Momma, Momma! I can't see you! Turn ober Momma, I can't see you! I needa see you, Momma!"
"It's ok, baby", I reassured her, "You can still see me, just a different side of me."
She sat there for a few seconds, whimpering, then took my arm, pulled it behind me, and wrapped it around herself the best that she could.
"Ok, Momma", she said softly, "Just hoe me peas....."

As she drifted off to sleep, I thought about the things my baby girl needs. To be held, breathed on, to see me and, when she can't, to be reassured that I am still there, with my arms around her. And I do all of those things for her, because I love her. How much more does our Father love us and do these for us? My love for her, though enormous, is finite and imperfect. His is infinite, flawless, unconditional. There are times when we feel so alone. We can't see Him and we cry out in desperation, fear, anger, or panic. But He's there...holding, breathing on us and into us, and wrapping His arms around us. Do you feel it? Have you felt it? I have. I have known what it's like, in recent years, to frantically search for that security. And I've found it. When I calm my screaming to a whimper long enough to say..."Hold me...please."

5 month old Ezra






I plan to shoot Julia's 5 year photos next week, so those will be up soon!

Check out the new link on the right to our Picasa web album!

Like squirrels to a suburb kid, street rats to a city kid, and crabs to a coast kid, so are COWS to my kids. They don't even notice the herd of black angus as their barrel shaped bodies dawdle across the pasture directly behind our house.

As we passed by yet another field of big eyed bovines while we were out today I heard a deep sigh escape from Asa, followed by...
"Mommy, can we go to the city tomorrow?"
"What city?" I asked, knowing exactly what city he was missing.
"New York City!" he responded emphatically.
"Oh, Buddy, we can't go to New York City anytime soon, it's too far away."
"But I want to meet new people...see new places!" he exclaimed with typical Asa conviction.
"You can meet new people and see new places here," I offered weakly, knowing that "here" was not the kind of new place he had in mind.

My suggestion was followed by an icy silence as we passed yet another pasture littered with cow pies and their owners.

"Hey, look at all those cows!" I said in an effort to make a cheery transition.
"Yeah, yeah, more cows, blah, blah, blah....." he mumbled, with what I'm sure was an eye roll to rival any teenager.

I guess now is as good a time as any to teach the old adage "Bloom Where You're Planted".

Cow manure, after all, does make great fertilizer.

The Meaning of Spit-Up

Ezra is a spitter. Ethan has likened his little brother's regurgitation habits to both a fountain and "milky flood". The poor baby goes through at least three outfits a day because he just can't seem to contain himself. At any given time, if you were brave enough to venture a sniff at his neck or at my shirt/shoulders/hair/arms/back/ankles (you get the idea), you would likely be overwhlemed by the pungent aroma of sour milk. (Anyone out there feeling the urge to snuggle up real close to me right now?)

Not too long ago Ethan was being extra helpful with Ezra and was holding him while I tried to make dinner. I say "tried" because wih five kids 7 and under most everything I do is merely just an attempt to accomplish something without any real hope of actually getting it done. As Ethan bounced Ezra in his lap (note to future parents: rule #1 with a spitter...You must NEVER bounce) the hour old milk in his little tummy became understandably disturbed and his digestive system responded with ire by gifting Ethan with a splash of curdled milk which landed on his neck and trickled down onto his arms and shirt.
"EWWWWWWWWWW!" came the startled cry of a totally grossed out 7 year old, "HE SPIT UP ON ME!!!"
I rushed over, arms outstretched, ready to catch the flying baby that I was sure Ethan was about to eject from his arms. Fortunately, he had enough presence of mind in his crisis to hold on to Ezra as I belly flopped face first at Ethan's feet in a slide that would have made any baseball fan applaud.
"It's okay buddy!" I said quickly, "Babies only spit up on people they love. This is a good thing. It means he really loves you!"
"Oh", said Ethan, as if that made complete sense, "okay....but can I go change my shirt?"
"Sure!" Whew! Crisis averted with nothing lost but some laundry detergent.

So, yesterday, Asa was begging to hold Ezra. I situated our little doll in his big brother's lap and the two of them sat face to face, smiling at each other. Something about holding a baby seems to bring out the bounce or sway in all of us and Asa is no exception. It took just a few bounces and another gift was spewed forth, this time right on Asa's shocked face.
"MOMMY! MOMMY!", he screamed.
"It's okay, Ace, let me-"
"HE LOVES ME! EZRA LOVES ME!"
I tried to stifle my giggle as Ethan and Julia raced into the room to find out what all the commotion was about.
"Ethan!" Asa exclaimed, pointing proudly at the sour white liquid dripping down his cheek, "Look! Ezra spit up on me and that means he loves me!"
Ethan wrinkled his brow...considering...comparing
"Yeah, I guess." he finally conceded.
"But he loves me more," he added quickly, puffing out his chest, "My whole shirt was covered!"

And that, my friends, is true brotherly love.

Finally, some new photos! I plan to start uploading more to the web albums, so check here often:
http://picasaweb.google.com/theallenfamilyof7

It's been a tough first week in Arkansas. Really tough. Lots of challenges, homesickness, and tears. Most of them mine. After an especially emotional few hours this afternoon (picture me sitting on the bathroom floor crying) I composed myself enough to walk into the family room of the apartment, where I had planted the kids in front of the TV with Fritos so I could have a few minutes to myself (yes, I have relaxed my rules temporarily in these times of turmoil). Ethan looked up at me and, seeing my red eyes, damp cheeks, and puffy nose, he rose from the floor, wiped his salty hands on his jean shorts, and wrapped his little boy arms around my waist. He looked up at me with his soulful chocolate eyes brimming with compassion.

"Mommy, I know you miss New Jersey," he began gently, "and we can't go there right now. And since you can't go to New Jersey, I would like it if I could bring New Jersey to you. If you want me to I'll send a note to all your best friends and tell them to get on a plane and come be with you. And then I can get some of the kinds of trees that they have in New Jersey and plant them for you here."
He searched my face with anticipation, waiting to see if his words had healed.
"Thank you, buddy", I said, leaning down to kiss him on the top of his head.
"I want you to be happy," he replied.
I hugged him tightly and, thinking about what a great kid I was holding in my arms, responded sincerely, "I am."

I do miss New Jersey. But at least I got to bring the best things in my life here with me.

A couple of new snapshots of Ezra

 
 

"Mommy, do trees shrink and that's where broccoli comes from?"

- Meditations on Vegetable Origins by Asa Allen

"I SEE A COW!"

-Astrid's most used phrase since arriving in Arkansas

Fast Food?

A couple of days ago I took the kids to McDonald's for lunch. I was really busy at home, packing for our move, so we didn't even take the time to go inside. We were sitting in the line at the drive through, which was taking a lot longer than it should have, and suddenly Ethan said with loud exasperation,
"Oh Great!"
"What?" I asked, a little startled.
"We're going to be in this drive through for 24 hours!" he exclaimed, rolling his eyes.
"That's crazy, buddy," I said, "we'll only be here a few more minutes."
"No Mommy," he said matter of factly, pointing at the building, "look at that sticker right there on the window. It says '24 Hour Drive Thru'!"

"It's time for me to go
But I really want you to know,
That you're the one I'll miss.
So, I'm blowing you a great big kiss"

-Laurie Berkner Blow a Kiss

I am sitting on the 6th floor of the Newark Airport Marriott. Outside the doublepaned window the girls and I can see the place that we will likely never again call home. New York City shines in the early evening sunlight...IKEA shouts it's name in bright yellow lettering...people hurry here and there in cars and on foot.

Justin took the boys to the hotel pool and now the girls have scurried off to the adjoining room to watch WordGirl. So I sit here, listening to nothing but the hum of the air conditioner and Ezra's steady breathing...letting myself feel the full force of leaving. Leaving people we love, places we know, and memories that are some of our very best. Just 4 years ago Justin drug me up here, kicking and screaming. I never imagined that leaving would be this hard.

To our friends (you know who you are!): Coming here was painful, and leaving hurts even more...but you were worth it all. Thanks. We love you!

 
 
 
 

Train Tracks, Tears, and a Little Trouper

We came up with the wonderful idea this afternoon to try to have a family photo taken before we move. My Understudy, Kori (didn't know you had a title, did ya Kori?) agreed to accompany us to an old abandoned train station she found and attempt to cajole smiles out of all 7 of us at once (Kori is not only generous with her time, but also a bit crazy...oops, i mean optimistic).

We took a few posed shots first. Charming snaps of my 5 little goobers...Asa standing behind me with his hand down the top of my dress, Astrid with her signature "I don't want to smile and you can't make me" look pasted on her chubby face, Ethan looking oh so "pretween" with every other shot catching him either mid eye roll or bored out of his mind, Ezra slumped in Justin's arms or rooting on his shirt in search of milk that he hasn't quite realized does not dispense from just any chest, and Julia with her dimples flashing but leaning a little too far to the left and covering half of Justin's face with her hair. Needless to say, you will not be receiving any of these photos in the mail.

We decided to give the kids a break to do a little caterpillar catching. We are infested with gypsy moth caterpillars right now and the kids love to turn themselves into caterpillar jungle gyms and see how many of the furry little creatures they can get crawling on them at one time. Bug catching quickly turned into big stick finding, which then turned into running with big sticks, which became chasing each other with big sticks, which is when IT happened. Ethan was in the lead and Julia was right on his heels, wielding a tree trunk (ok, maybe not an actual tree trunk, but it was a pretty big stick). They rounded the corner of an old train car and for a few seconds we couldn't see or hear them. Suddenly, the cheerful chirping of the birds was interrupted by a scream. Ethan and Asa quickly emerged from behind the train car but Julia was nowhere to be seen. Another, more urgent scream sent Justin into search mode and he took off running. I followed behind, carrying Astrid, and wincing as Ezra's head bounced in the crook of Justin's arm. Julia appeared on the muddy hill ahead of us. Justin and Kori reached her first and although I was still about 30 yards away, I heard Kori gasp, then saw her motion frantically for me to hurry. Justin handed Ezra off to Kori and swept Julia up in his arms as I rushed to them, the heels of my shoes catching on rocks and digging into the soggy terrain. I arrived at the scene panting and distressed and saw Justin tending to a huge gash on Julia's right leg, which was covered in blood, as crocodile tears rolled down her cheeks. Ethan was distraught and crying, fearing that his sister's injury was all his fault (she had been following him onto a train car, slipped, and sliced her leg open on the metal steps). While Justin cleaned the deep oozing wound, I tended to Ethan's emotional needs, and asked Kori to drive Justin and Julia to the hospital while I took the rest of the kids home.

Two and a half hours later Justin and Julia arrived home and I got the full report. On the 15 minute drive to the hospital Julia had not shed another tear for herself, but instead had spent the time worrying about how upset Ethan was. At the hospital she sat through the sewing of 14 stitches, without flinching. And when she and Justin had to go right back to the emergency room after being home for just 5 minutes (they had not given her a tetanus shot the first time) she returned with a smile and extra large character stickers for each of her siblings.

Now it's 9:52pm. All the kids are finally in bed, asleep. Although I regret that we didn't get a spectacular family photo out of this adventure, mostly I am just thanking God for the safety and sweet spirit of my cheerful little trouper.

Ezra, 4 weeks

"You know those Piggy banks that some people have that you have to break to get the money out?"

"Yeah."

"You know what I wish?"

"What?"

"I wish Satan was one of those. Then I could get a hammer and SMASH him to pieces!"

(Thoughtful pause)

"Wouldn't that be cool?"

"Sure would, buddy...sure would...."

My 5 beautiful babies

I haven't had time to do a real photo session with Ezra yet, but here are a few I took of him this afternoon.

birth day photos

I was beginning to think this baby would never come. 39 weeks 1 day was the longest I had ever been pregnant up until this time…and here I was 39 weeks 2 days and the little one still seemed content to be staying put.

Then, at about 10:00 on Tuesday night mild contractions began to ache my abdomen. By 11:00 they were 5 minutes apart and quite uncomfortable. At about 11:30 I decided to get into the tub, labor there awhile, and see if they would continue or subside. So, with a tall glass of lemonade, a good book, and a clock, I sat in the bathtub for the next 3 hours, doing a lot more concentrated breathing than reading or sipping lemonade. When the contractions were about 2.5 minutes apart, I called Justin in to start timing them for me, as I could no longer pay attention to both the clock and the pain that was gripping my midsection with painful regularity. About 30 minutes later my mom came in to do the timing so Justin could prepare to leave for the hospital. When they were 2 minutes apart and lasting about a minute each, we went ahead and put a call in to Lisa, my midwife. I was still feeling like I could labor at home for awhile longer but Lisa thought it was better for me to go on in, since the contractions had been so close together for so long by that time and there was a good chance that the baby was getting close to coming.

When we got to the hospital at around 3am, I asked Lisa to check my dilation, just because I was curious. I was only 6-7 cm so I got into the tub and worked some more. I had not slept at all so far that night and actually found myself falling asleep between contractions when I laid my head on the edge of the tub. Lisa suggested that I lie down on the bed to see if I could get a little rest before the harder work ahead. I was able to doze between contractions but when they became so intense that I could not lie there any longer, I just gave up on resting. Lisa checked again and I was 9cm, but my water had not broken yet and the baby was still floating around up high, not yet engaged. In hopes of using gravity as my ally, I walked around, got into the shower, sat on the birthing ball, did some squats, even pushed some, trying to get the baby to start moving down. After some time of this and seemingly little progress, Lisa suggested poking a small hole in the sac so that the water would begin to slowly leak out and make room for the baby to drop further into my pelvis. So, at 8:30 am, she poked the hole and Cindy (another midwife) pushed on my belly, prodding the baby to move down and over. When I finally got back into the tub after some more walking, the contractions were becoming fierce. The baby descended pretty quickly and by 9:00 or so I was in the throes of the “I can’t do this/I’m going to die” stage. After about 4 screaming pushing contractions the head emerged and on the next push, the rest of the body entered the water. Lisa quickly unwrapped the cord from around the baby’s neck and pulled the little purple body up out of the water and into my arms. I patted and talked, willing the little one to make a noise. When that first bold cry finally erupted, someone asked , “So, what is it?!?” I had forgotten to even look! I pulled the slippery body away from me and announced with surprise, “a boy!”

It took us almost 2 full days to name him. I wanted Jasper, Justin and Ethan wanted Caspian. In the end, we compromised on a name we had discussed but not even seriously considered until that point.

We are proud to introduce you to our 5th child and 3rd son:

Ezra Jude Allen
April 23, 2008, 9:26am
7 lbs 12 oz
20 inches
Beautiful

We are so blessed.

ASTRID IS 2!!!
A few photos from her birthday lunch.

A few more