Spring 2012 milestones in the Welch household

This spring has been rich for us in significant milestones. May 11 was our 10th anniversary. It is hard to believe Brian and I have been married for this long. This period of time has been life-changing for us, particularly, due to the fact that we have become proud parents of our three girls who came into our life within the last seven years. During this time both Brian and I discovered how deeply, madly, and unconditionally we, as parents, can love our children, as well as experienced how much our children love us. This is an incredible feeling that I lack the words to describe.

This spring also brought an important milestone in the lives of our two older girls, Veronika and Erika. On the 5th of May they accepted Jesus into their hearts and lives as their Lord and Savior. That day Brian and I had a conversation with them, which we also illustrated by drawing, helping the girls understand the Gospel better. I think this conversation, followed by the girls’ prayers was the final step in our daughters’ spiritual journeys leading to their acceptance of who they were without Jesus and who they became in Him. Our children are extremely blessed to have many Christian friends and mentors in their lives who have been demonstrating and explaining God’s love to them for many years now. Sunday school, English camps, CCX conferences and just a multitude of personal interactions with people in whom they obviously saw Jesus helped them fall in love with Him. [I hope Brian and I also contributed to their spiritual development and their desire to follow Jesus].

During Easter this year both Veronika and Erika reflected on the death and resurrection of Christ in a special way, as we, as a family, did a creative project together. We planted an Easter garden and then the girls took turns watering and taking care of it. The grave is empty because Jesus is alive. This little garden helped us remember the meaning of this holiday for weeks. 

Easter garden 2012

Today, the 19th of May, Veronika was baptized at our home church here in Kyiv, Ukraine. She was baptized in the Dnieper river by our pastor Paul Pierquet, with Brian assisting. This was her short testimony, which she was too shy to share loudly and basically whispered it right before she was baptized when the pastor asked her to tell everybody how she became a Christian: “My dad and mom explained to me and my sister Erika what sin is and what Jesus did for us on the Cross. I believe that Jesus died for my sins and rose again on the third day. So I prayed to Jesus and invited Him into my heart as my Lord and Savior”. She is such a sweet little girl that her two younger sisters look up to. I hope she will continue to be a godly role model for them and a faithful disciple of Christ as she grows up.

Brian and Veronika before baptism

Veronika [quietly] sharing her testimony

Once upon a time, seven years ago...

Our firstborn is seven years old today. It is hard to believe she is already seven. I remember the day when she was born still so vividly. 

It was not an easy delivery: several complications and two surgeries afterwards within six hours of each other. So pretty much for the whole day of Veronika's birth, I was either in labor, or put under, or coming out of anesthesia. I got to see her briefly when she was just born and then they gave her to Brian while the doctors dealt with me. So here they were - our firstborn and her father - bonding in a post-surgical care room. I think she became her Daddy’s girl right there. 

[Since it was a public hospital where they usually are short of personnel, they brought somebody else’s baby in that care unit, too. In Ukraine, at that time, and still now, it was/is not as common for fathers to be present at their babies’ birth. So this baby’s Dad was not there, and her Mom was probably in a situation similar to mine. Well, the nurse asked Brian to watch that baby, too. I guess he looked trustworthy and made an impression like he knew what he was doing. Too funny! And only in Ukraine!]  

So when I was finally transferred to my hospital room and reunited with my baby, I remember the first look she gave me. Her eyes were dark blue, big and curious. I don’t think she blinked when she stared at me for the first time! What amazed me the most was that she KNEW I was her mother. I could tell it by that unforgettable first look she gave me. And I fell in love with her right there... There is nothing, nothing like giving birth to your first baby and becoming first-time parents!

Mother’s Day 2011

Today is Mother’s Day. This is my first Mother’s Day as a mother of three beautiful daughters. I am blessed to be their mother and it is an honor to be a significant part of their lives - to watch them grown and mature, relate to each other and to the world. I often doubt myself whether I am doing a good job of raising them up as godly, wise and grateful little ladies. So glad I am not doing this alone - and I do not only mean Brian. I am glad that ultimately God takes care of them, using the love, kindness and care of us, first of all, but also many, many other people whom they encounter in their life and who leave an eternal imprint on their little hearts and souls.

Re-posting an article that stretched my concept of motherhood..

All women share the gift of motherhood—whether they have children or not.

I will not be attending church this Sunday, because it’s Mother’s Day, and I choose not to be present at that inevitable moment when all the mothers of the congregation are recognized.

I have nothing against mothers; this is about my life. At many churches, there comes a point in the service where the pastor says, “I’d like all you mothers to stand,” and everyone applauds as women of all ages rise and smile. In some congregations, prizes are given for those with the most children, those who are oldest, those who are the most recent mothers, and so forth.

I don’t think we do anything like this at my church, but there is always the Mother’s Day brunch after the service, and during the meal kids from the youth group scatter throughout the crowd and hand a carnation to every woman. At that point I must decide whether to be annoyed by it and refuse to take the flower, or to be gracious and carry around the bloom while feeling completely fraudulent in doing so.

For this reason, I don’t attend church on Mother’s Day. I was able to stand up one year, long ago, in another church, the one and only time I was pregnant. But I lost that baby just a couple of weeks later. Today I am past the age of childbearing, and I am happy with my life. I accept it as a gift from God, and I do practice gratitude and recognize the many graces of my days. But I would have preferred motherhood, and so this single boycotted day of the year is my simple protest against the imperfection of life.

Enough of my story. This article is for every woman who is childless. I have decided what I would say if I were the pastor on Mother’s Day. I would ask the mothers to stand, because they deserve applause, by all means. But after they were seated, I would ask all those women to stand who are not mothers. And I would say something like this:

Some of you are not mothers by choice. You personally have determined the wisest course for you. Maybe the reasons are medical. Or maybe they have to do with the demands of your personal mission—whether that’s a career to which you are called or a ministry that would be hard on a family.

Some of you are not mothers simply because your life took a certain path that did not include motherhood. You have done what seemed right, made the decisions that were consistent with who you are and what you love. Maybe you never married or arrived at a situation that you considered healthy for the nurturing of children. Maybe major life events removed you from the motherhood track.

Some of you are not mothers because of severe damage in your life or in the life of your family. That damage could be abuse, debilitating depression, addiction, or other illness, or a condition of soul that has required most of your time and energy for the sake of healing and restoration. All of this got in the way of life that includes partnership and childrearing.

Some of you are not mothers despite every effort you made to become one. You tried for months or years to become pregnant or to finalize an adoption, but those plans were thwarted at every turn, through no fault of your own. The only people who could possibly understand how desperate and abandoned you feel are those who have experienced this situation themselves.

Whatever your reason for being childless, please know this: You are indeed a source of life to the world. You possess the ability to nurture others, and, if you free yourself to do so, you will be amazed at how fertile you actually are.

There is no substitute for physical motherhood. And for one who longs to have children in her house, nothing else will do. Don’t ever deny the grief of that. Don’t minimize this burden of emptiness. Don’t repress your desire to give birth. That very desire is a unique and particular energy of womanhood, for those who have children and those who have not.

At a personal retreat I made a while ago, I was surprised to receive an image of myself as pregnant with God. Wasn’t that privilege reserved for Mary, the mother of Jesus? But no, the incarnation changed everything. Divine life merged with human life, and now every person has the ability to birth God, to bring the divine to life.

Do you understand that you are always pregnant? That life is constantly churning and growing within you? Your specific character, history, situation, and giftedness manifest God in a way unlike any other expression. God waits to reside in the womb that is your life. Holy love and grace ripen inside you and, when the time is right, will be born and will flourish in this lonely, needy world.

This is spiritual talk, I know, and it provides little comfort when your physical body aches to grow a child. If you are in the center of such desolation, my words probably won’t touch you at all. But read them anyway. And then read them again.

There’s a principle here that each of us must learn sooner or later. We are not defined by or confined to the obvious physical situation. As we live our visible lives, we exist in our eternal lives, and the characteristics of the eternal will ultimately overwhelm and transform the visible.

So, as best you can this Mother’s Day, allow your desire for giving life to beat wildly and without shame. When words come to the surface—words of pain, anxiety, anger, anticipation, longing, joy—share them with someone. If you stay silent, the world will suffer for it. If you hide your life because it wasn’t the one you’d hoped for, the human family will miss you and grieve.

For anyone—pastors, friends, fellow parishioners—who wants to handle Mother’s Day in a way that is generous to all, please try a larger view. Motherhood in God’s kingdom goes far beyond physical childbirth or parenting through adoption. Motherhood is about nurturing, and many women who have never been mothers physically nevertheless brim with the ability and passion to nurture others.

Motherhood has to do with protecting life while it’s in formation, whether that is life in the womb or the life of a struggling ministry or the life of a family that has been battered by circumstances. Motherhood is about a mentoring relationship, and mentoring happens whenever the need is identified and the mentor and mentee are willing.

So, when you speak of motherhood or when you honor it, honor the transcendent gift of motherhood in all its forms. Honor those who nurture others by visits to home and hospital, by providing a safe and cheerful place for preschoolers, or by being a nonjudgmental and loving presence for the teenagers.

Don’t forget the spiritual mothers, many of them nuns, who have nurtured many a priest and leader through their spiritual direction. Honor the older women who so often are the very backbone of a faith community. One of the most joyous Christians I ever knew, an elderly woman who became an example to me of true faith, never married nor had children. But she was a light to me even when I was an angst-filled adolescent. I knew she had something that made it possible to be content with life—and I hoped to know that kind of spiritual peace.

Happy Mother’s Day to you—beloved of God, one who is blessed and who blesses others.

By Vinita Hampton Wright, a writer living in Chicago. Her most recent book is Days of Deepening Friendship (Loyola Press). This article appeared in the May 2010 issue of U.S. Catholic magazine (Vol. 75, No. 5, pages 34-35).

What are my girls like?

When I was a young girl, I dreamed about having a family of my own, but never thought I would have three daughters! Now I can’t imagine my life without them. Each of them are alike and unique in their own ways. 

Veronika is our firstborn. No doubt she has some leadership potential. When she and Erika play together, you can sometimes hear her saying, “Erika! I am the leader. You follow me”. And Erika obediently does. Amazing!


When Veronika was in pre-school, she had no problem playing with boys. And it sometimes seemed that she got along better with boys than girls. She is extremely competitive and hates it when she loses a board game. 


When my Dad learned that according to the American Constitution, any citizen of the U.S. could become the U.S. President, he became confident that Veronika would become one when she grows up. 


Veronika is six and started grade school this year. Absolutely loves it! Loves her teacher and her classmates. Her favorite class is Physical Education. 

Veronika is a gentle, artistic, and sometimes dramatic soul that does not lack any creativity or imagination. She absolutely loves to perform: dance, sing, and act. She is my “Audrey Hepburn”: charming, radiant, cheerful, sociable, and refined. I pray and work hard to nurture her beauty both on the inside and out.


Erika will be four this month. She misses her sister during the day when Veronika is at school. But she also enjoys having all the toys and games all to herself. She gets up at 6 a.m. like her sister because she doesn't want miss a minute of play and fun. 


Erika is my “little iron lady”, a.k.a. my “Margaret Thatcher”. This little girl is so resilient and determined that it puts my determination and drive to shame. 


She is our tomboy: feisty, spirited, stubborn, always knowing what she wants, never afraid to take punishment and stand up for what she believes is right. 

Amazingly, Erika is also a girly girl. She is all into Disney fairies, and her favorite one is Tinker Bell. (She looks like her somewhat, especially with her hair up!). Being a girly girl, Erika absolutely hates wearing pants, and prefers dresses and skirts any time, even in the cold weather. And boy, does she like to change clothes! She can go through several outfits a day, perfectly matching or complimenting colors and styles. 


Erika also likes to perform like her older sister. They both go to their respective age dance classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. So at home they turn the music on and improvise. Erika loves singing! She sings during her play time or bath time. I can imagine she will sing out loud in the shower when she grows up (I was always self-conscious and never had enough guts to do that!). 

In addition to her feisty personality, Erika’s character is quite tender and compassionate. I have never seen a child her age being so caring! She loves helping with Laura and immediately runs to comfort any crying baby (or parent, for that matter!). She will definitely become my “Mother Theresa” when she grows up. 

Laura is this happy and content baby who absolutely adores her sisters, giving them her wide, toothless grin every time she sees them. Or when they recite the "Pat-a-cake" rhyme, doing all the motions with her, she gives the cutest belly laugh. Being a third sister, she is taking it all in, learning things fast, and growing like a weed. Doesn’t like to be left alone for too long, knowing that somewhere, in another room, some action is going on, so she doesn't want to miss it. She is just happy to be around, wherever we are. Also, she is quite talkative for her age. She usually likes to coo and ‘speak’ in her own language as soon as she wakes up and has her breakfast. This video is a month old, but it proves it well that we have yet another extraverted daughter who processes information by talking, talking, and talking...  

Brian and I are so blessed to have our three little girls...

The Runaway Bunny

It has become a tradition in our family to read books to the kids before their bedtime. When Brian is not working in the evenings, he usually reads books in English to Veronika and Erika. Their favorite ones are definitely anything by Mother Goose and Dr. Seuss. Recently they have finished the first couple of books from “The Chronicles of Narnia” series by C.S. Lewis. After they read “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe”, they also watched the movie (during daytime, of course).

When it is my turn to read, I usually read in Ukrainian, and we go through fairy tales that I have grown up with. For example, we love reading anything by Charles Perrault, a French author who introduced the genre of fairy tales, and whose most known tales include “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Sleeping Beauty”, and “Cinderella”. We also love the Brothers Grimm, German authors, known for “Snow White”, “Rapunzel”, and “The Frog Prince”. The girls also enjoy listening to the stories by Hans Christian Andersen, a Danish author, who wrote “The Steadfast Tin Soldier”, “The Little Mermaid”, “Thumbelina”, and “The Ugly Duckling”.

However, recently when Veronika learned to read, she now can go through her library and make a well-informed choice of the books for her parents to read before her and her sister’s bedtime. One of her and Erika’s recent favorite books has become “The Runaway Bunny” written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clemen Hurd. (Margaret Wise Brown also wrote the famous “Goodnight Moon”, the poem that my kids have memorized by now, so many times Brian read it to them).

“The Runaway Bunny” is about a small rabbit, who wants to run away. His mother, however, tells that “if you run away, I will run after you”. It is a sweet and touching story. For me, as a mother, to read, or to listen to Veronika read it to us, it is the best ending of any day, no matter how tiring or challenging it was. The plot is so simple and so deep at the same time. It is a great conversation-starter with your kids if you want to talk about God and His love for us. If we ever want to run away from Him, He will lovingly pursue us. Nothing really in this world can separate us from His love.

So here is the story...

The Runaway Bunny

Once there was a little bunny who wanted to run away.

So he said to his mother, “I am running away.”

“If you run away,” said his mother, “I will run after you.

For you are my little bunny.”


“If you run after me,” said the little bunny,

“I will become a fish in a trout stream

and I will swim away from you.”


“If you become a fish in a trout stream,” said his mother, 

“I will become a fisherman and I will fish for you.” 

“If you become a fisherman,” said the little bunny,

“I will become a rock on the mountain, high above you.”


“If you become a rock on the mountain high above me,”

said his mother, “I will become a mountain climber,

and I will climb to where you are.”


“If you become a mountain climber,”

said the little bunny,

“I will be a crocus in a hidden garden.” 

“If you become a crocus in a hidden garden,”

said his mother, “I will be a gardener. And I will find you.”


“If you are a gardener and find me,”

said the little bunny, “I will be a bird

and fly away from you.”


“If you become a bird and fly away from me,”

said his mother, “I will be a tree that you come home to.”


“If you become a tree,” said the little bunny,

“I will become a little sailboat,

and I will sail away from you.”


“If you become a sailboat and sail away from me,”

said his mother, “I will become the wind

and blow you where I want you to go.”


“If you become the wind and blow me,” said the little bunny,

“I will join a circus and fly away on a flying trapeze.”


“If you go flying on a flying trapeze,” said his mother,

“I will be a tightrope walker,

and I will walk across the air to you.”


“If you become a tightrope walker and walk across the air,”

said the bunny, “I will become a little boy

and run into a house.”


“If you become a little boy and run into a house,”

said the mother bunny, “I will become your mother

and catch you in my arms and hug you.”


“Shucks,” said the bunny, “I might just as well

stay where I am and be your little bunny.”


And so he did.

“Have a carrot,” said the mother bunny.

"Without faith it is impossible to please God..."

I have been on a sick leave for the last two days (read: also, working from home). Urgh! I hate being sick. For all kinds of reasons. Can’t take anything to relieve the cold/ flu symptoms due to the breastfeeding stage in my life. The running nose, the sore throat, headaches, and muscle aches make for a cranky and miserable Lena. As the saying goes, “If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy”. Can any mom of pre-schoolers really take a real sick leave and rest? 

What I like about staying at home and not going to the office when I am sick is to catch a few moments of stillness and quiet when Brian is at work, my eldest daughter has already left for school, the baby is napping, and the middle one is engrossed in playing with her Barbie dolls. Then I make myself a cup of tea or coffee, open my daily devotionals book and read. Currently, it is “Come away, my beloved” by Frances J. Roberts. 

One of the Bible verses I have been meditating on, as I have been reading this book, is Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him”. Amidst the busyness of my life and all of my responsibilities, it is really hard to find peace and quiet on a regular basis to be alone with God. I was confronted by this verse, particularly by the phrase ‘earnestly seek Him’. Do I really seek Him in all earnest? Am afraid to leave things at hand, to underperform, or to lose control over the multitude of daily tasks I am responsible for? Sadly, it is only when I get sick and am forced to slow down and rest, I realize what’s the most important.

Tarry not for an opportunity to have more time to be alone with Me. Take it, though you leave the tasks at hand. Nothing will suffer. Things are of less importance than you think... I love you, and if you can always, as it were, feel My pulse beat, you will receive insight that will give you sustaining strength.

What's cooking?

So what’s cooking at the Welch household this month? We go with what’s in season: apples, pumpkins, etc. Good stuff with its health benefits. We all know that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Trying to make the kids eat more apples, I need to be creative. Got this recipe from one of my favorite cooking sites: www.kuking.net. See below: Devonshire Apple Cake. Made it last week.

The kids also will not eat pumpkin in a soup or any other dish, even though they love the pumpkin's vibrant orange color. They also love muffins! Banana muffins are sort of a staple food in the Welch household. So pumpkin chocolate chip muffins was a good variety this weekend, especially for the season. Pumpkins are dirt cheap in Ukraine these days. I buy them at the market from babushkas who sell them already cut and cleaned. Sweet!

By the way, did you know that pumpkins are an excellent source of beta carotene. Our bodies ‘translate’ beta carotene into Vitamin A and reap its rewards, making us less likely to develop certain cancers as well as other diseases. So basically, it's really good stuff. See the recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins below. The recipe is from another favorite site of mine: www.allrecipes.com

Devonshire Apple Cake

Devonshire Apple Cake 

INGREDIENTS:

450g/1lb apples 

juice of ½ lemon 

350g/12oz self-raising flour 

2tsp baking powder 

350g/12oz sugar 

4 eggs 

1 tsp almond essence 

2-3oz marzipan (optional) 

225g/8oz butter, melted 

flaked almonds

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C. Grease and base line 12 x 9 in roasting tin with baking parchment.
2. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples and squeeze the lemon juice over them. 
3. Measure the flour, baking powder and sugar into a large bowl. Beat the eggs together with the almond essence and mix into the flour with the melted butter. Mix well then spread half this mixture into the tin. Arrange the apples over the top of the cake mixture. Chop marzipan into small cubes and scatter through apple. Carefully top with the rest of the mixture; don’t worry if the apples show through. Sprinkle over the almonds. 
4. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1¾ hours or until the cake is golden, firm to the touch and slightly shrunk away from the sides of the tin. Leave to cool for 15 minutes and then turn out and remove the paper.

P.S. I use silicon bakeware, so it was done before an hour was over. Also, no baking parchment is needed for silicon.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chips Muffins

Pumpkin Chocolate Chips Muffins 

INGREDIENTS:

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

3 cups white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 cups canned pumpkin puree*

4 eggs, beaten

2/3 cup water

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, sugar, salt and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, beat together pumpkin, eggs and water. Stir pumpkin mixture into flour mixture; beat until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

*It is easy to make pumpkin puree from scratch. After the pumpkin is cut into pieces, seeds and pulp are removed, I put the pumpkin pieces in a casserole dish, add a little bit of water, and bake them in a pre-heated oven at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).