Ten Little Indians

So, yes, our tenth little Indian has arrived. A boy! ("Of course," say all the children. "Now we're even again.") We have five girls, and we have five boys.

And one of the things, you see, about marrying a man with Swedish and American Indian lineage, is that you have married into lineages that are not subtle. In your children, your own Welsh/German/British lineage will be swallowed up by Swedish bright blue eyes and pale skin or Indian dark skin and dark chocolate eyes. This is another Indian.

The children meeting their brother for the first time

Oldest brother and youngest brother

 

His father and I have secretly taken to calling him Manuel Gonzalez, because in the hazy glow of late-night television, there is something so very Hispanic-looking about his shock of dark hair, round face, and intense eyes.

But that's not his real name.

Do you know it is very hard to come up with ten names that you like enough to attach to your last name and claim as the chosen names for your offspring?

Especially if you have self-imposed regulations, such as, "It shall be of two or three syllables, be a rhyme or slant rhyme with our last name, and be found in the Old Testament."

Just to make things interesting.

We almost gave up this time. We almost said, "Let's just say those rules were for the first nine children. We'll start a new pattern with the second nine"... but that was just exhausting and terrifying to even joke about (and also, not that funny), so we stuck with our original pattern.

His very first open-eyes photo

Zebulun ("Zeb") Warfield Allison

July 13, 2013 @ 3:59 PM

10 lbs., 9 oz.

And honestly, the more you say his name, the more you get used to it. I actually am rather (OK, extremely) fond of it now, despite having to explain constantly that "It was one of Jacob's sons...one of the tribes of Israel" or "Grandpa Walton's name was Zebulun, remember?" depending on the audience.

His name means "honor." His middle name is after the theologian B.B. Warfield (another tradition, the boys all have middle names of theologians: our oldest: "Robert" [after my father and my father-in-law, both theologians in their own rights], the others: "Machen," "Van Til," and "Vos"). The boys will have no excuse to be unfamiliar with Reformed theology!

The Lord has been good. He always is. Each child reminds me of my insufficiency and His sufficiency. Each day I am reminded of His love to me through my unruffled husband and this crazy mob of children with their bright blue eyes and dark brown eyes and pale skin and tanned skin.

It is an honor, indeed.