Welcome Home Mac!

Welcome MacArthur Reid Chism! You are 3 weeks old today so I guess a "Happy Birthday" is in order:)
You arrived 10 days early from your June 4 due date on May 25, 2010, Nana's birthday. The day began like any other except that we were preparing for Nana's arrival from Florida. She was hoping to be here for your birth so she came a little over a week early. Little did we know what a great day she chose! We saw Dr. Gorman the day earlier for our normal weekly appointment, May 24, and he was pretty sure we would be back in another week for our regular visit. So when I began having pains on Tuesday, I didn't think too much of it. I had a few on the way to the airport to pick up Nana, and they continued throughout the afternoon. None of them were extremely bad just more of a pause in the day's normal activities. After about 3 hours of contractions that were very inconsistent, I called the doctor to find out when I should begin taking these seriously. I was told by the nurse that since this was baby #4, Dr. Gorman would like to see me.
So off to the hospital we went. Nana, Will, Sam, & Ike drove me to the doctor's office, and Daddy met us there. Dr. Gorman checked things out and said that I had progressed quite a bit since the day before so he was going to send me downstairs to be monitored for awhile and then Dr. Partridge, the doctor on call, would make the call. Nana took the boys home while Brent and I went down to triage. Down in triage, we filled out our paperwork, answered a series of questions, dressed in a stylish, backless gown, peed in a cup, and got hooked up to the monitors. After an hour and a half of being monitored and increasingly painful contractions, the nurse came in and said that although I was 3 1/2 cm dilated and having regular and lengthy contractions, they were not consistent and I had not dilated any further. Some were contraction 2 minutes apart while others were 7. The nurse told us to go ahead and go home to eat dinner and relax maybe even take a bath. I will say that I was a little frustrated. I didn't necessarily need to have a baby on Tuesday, May 25 but my contractions were pretty painful and regular in my mind. How could I go home and take care of 3 kiddos with this level of discomfort? She said that I might be back tonight or in two weeks she didn't know but it would be when the contractions came at consistent intervals. I am sure that I was pretty annoying at this point because I asked several times how I would know when it was time. (I have had 3 other babies and none of them came with consistent contractions until after I was at the hospital in full labor. In fact, with Ike, I never felt a contraction. They told me my water was spilling out and I needed to have him within 24 hours. I got an epidural and never felt a contraction;)) The nurse assured me that when it was time, I would know. So, we signed out of the hospital, made a phone call, got in the car, and began our drive home.
I had a contraction leaving the parking lot at about 6:15 pm. We got on the interstate with a contraction at 6:18 pm and at 6:22 pm, as we were exiting the interstate, my water exploded in Brent's car. Now my water broke with Will and it was like little bubbles bursting every few seconds. With Ike, my water was leaking. Never have I had my water explode before. It was strange! So Brent quickly looped around and got back on the interstate heading back to the hospital. When we arrived at triage, they cut off my roughly 15 minute old arm bands and fitted me with new ones. I filled out that same paperwork again and answered the same questions before. "Yes, I still feel safe in my own home. No, I did not take up smoking in the past 15 minutes;)" I got a new gown, hooked up to monitors, and that nice nurse came back in. She reminded me that she did say that when it was time, "I would know". I guess that is why she is paid the big bucks because I certainly knew:)
At this point, things began to move quickly, not quickly enough for my taste but quicker none the less. When the nurse reexamined me, I was now at 5 cm and she confirmed it was my water that I experienced. (Good thing for me. I think Brent and Coca-Cola will forgive me for my water breaking in the company car but probably not for peeing in it:)) As the process continued for preparing to have a baby from an administrative standpoint, my pains were becoming increasingly worse. Brent was pacing, concerned I wouldn't get my epidural. The nice nurse doing my IVs seemed concerned about that as well because he got my bed rolling down the hall, and I am certain that this wasn't his job. I got to the delivery room and waited for the man only 2 to the Lord himself, the anesthesiologist:) (Unfortunately, to get an epidural, you have to wait for blood work to come back, so I waited for what seemed like forever.) After that sweet man gave me my epidural, the nurse came right behind him to check me. Oops! Seems in that short amount of time moving from triage to the delivery room, I had progressed to 9 cm. Now I am a big fan of epidurals and anything to take away the pain but had I known that I was only a cm away from having this baby, I might have gone for it. When that sweet doctor was administering those lovely drugs, I thought I was at a 6 and I couldn't figure out how or why someone would be able to handle another 4 cm of this. I guess even though I went through most of the labor with the pain, my after the baby was pretty relaxing:)
Anyway, Dr. Partridge quickly came in prepared to deliver our baby Mac. I pushed once, and then she asked me to push half that hard. Out you came Mac! I was moved into that room, hooked up to machines, had all my stats taken, given an epidural, and pushed 1 & 1/2 times all in less than about 45 minutes. I guess you showed them Mac! You didn't care about dates or time between contractions. You were ready to come and so you did.
You weighed in at 7 lb 13 oz (same as Will & Sam). You were 20 1/2 in long (same as Sam) with lots of black hair. You were perfect. Daddy was there waiting for your arrival along with Nana. This was the first of her grandchildren that Nana was in the delivery room for the birth. (I hadn't asked her before. I actually didn't think anyone outside of the medical profession, and the daddy would want to be in there. There is alot of crazy stuff going on in that room.) Mama Fran was also going to be in there for your arrival but you came SO fast that she and Papa got there about 10 minutes after you entered the world. Pawpaw was driving from Florida so he got there the very next day to see you.
Since that Tuesday in May, we have felt overwhelmed, tired, loved... really a mix of so many emotions but mostly we have felt blessed. You are a perfect, sweet baby who loves to be held. Your brothers find you fascinating and love to touch and talk to you. Ike has a few mixed feelings. He has lost his place as the baby but we spend each day trying to convince him that this is all that he lost:) So, he loves you but he hasn't quite figured out the benefit of being an older brother. He will though, in just a short time:)
Our family is complete. Your daddy and I had always talked about having four but we took that one baby at a time. Thankfully God had that in His plans too. I look at you and see each of your brothers. No, you don't necessarily look like any or all of them but I see the promise in you that I saw in each of them. I love having you in my house under my care but I cannot wait to see what God has in store for you. You are a child of God. He loved you from the beginning and will until the end just like your daddy and me.
Happy Birthday MacArthur. You are a delight!

Will's Leg Length Discrepency

Ok, so I am totally cheating here but Brent wrote an email awhile back updating some of our friends on Will's appointment at Shriner's Hospital on February 19, 2010. He copied me on the email, and it really touched me. So often as parents, we present ourselves to our children in a way that looks like we have all the answers. Even when we don't have the answer, we use the old standby, "because Mommy and Daddy said so".
When I read Brent's email, I got teary because I feel as he does. I question my God and lack the faith we both desire. I am copying Brent's email onto this post because I want the boys to one day read this and know that we both struggle daily in our walk. We don't doubt the fact that there is a God or that He works in every part of our lives. But we try so hard to have control of it. We try to make sense of it. We don't intend to but sometimes we put our God in a box. I guess I want the boys to know that walking with God doesn't always mean the person is upright with shoulders back, head held high. Sometimes the walk is more of a crawl. And God already knows this about us, and I believe that He rejoices in the fact that we are simply still moving with Him. I want my boys to always be moving with Him no matter the posture. Anyway, here is Brent's email:
"Dear Friends -
Update on Will's leg length discrepancy. As you may recall, we discovered Will's uneven leg length a few years ago. Two years ago, we went to Shriner's Hospital in St. Louis, and they told us that the difference was 3/4 of an inch. Projected out to a full grown man, they estimated that this would result in a 3 inch difference in leg lengths. This would require a major surgery called Illizeroff, which involves breaking of the leg and lengthening it for a period of 9 months.
We were disheartened, but knew Will could handle adversity and we started to pray for healing.
I'll admit, I'm not really certain that I believe that God miraculously heals people today. I tend to think that ceased with the apostles, but I also believe that our God can do anything, so I figured why not pray for healing.
This weekend we went back for a visit to Shriner's 2 years later. More x-rays and tests were done. The doctor came in and said, "Well I'm not sure what happened, but the discrepancy is no worse. In fact, it may actually be slightly better". We asked what may have caused this medically, and he had no answer. We asked if this happened often and she said, "No - not often at all. We don't have a medical reason for this".
I don't know if Will's leg will go back to even lengths totally or not. I don't know for sure that God kept the legs from getting worse. I am weak in faith, and tend to lean on my own understanding, so I don't have a good explanation for this. I worry that it may start growing at differing rates again.
I don't know what will happen, but I know we prayed and things are better and the doctors don't know why. That makes me happy. And I hope that God did this. And I believe he can on most days. And on the other days, I imagine He does His work regardless of my weak faith.
Praise God"
)--Here are pictures we took on our visit to St. Louis/ Shriners. We spent the night in a hotel and took the boys to the Arch, The City Museum, & The Crown Candy Kitchen. Granny and Papa went with us to help with Sam and Ike while Brent and I saw the doctor with Will. They were a great help and fun to have with us. Thank you Granny and Papa!

The Holidays

Wow! I guess it was before Thanksgiving since I last had the time or mental capacity to sit and write about life. Don't get me wrong, it happened. I just haven't had the energy and sometimes the nerve to talk about it;) But in a nutshell, the holidays were busy for us as are for everyone else, and I say this with an attitude of gratitude. We were busy because we have been blessed in wealth of food, health, family, and spirit. Throughout the past month and a half, we were surrounded by loved ones and each of us had reason to celebrate life, the season, and the birth of Jesus. Now, I am not sure our faces or attitudes displayed all that joy all the time. Frankly, life with all its blessings can be crazy and frustrating. And life with over stimulation and a full week of unexpected snow days and sickness has its moments of difficulty. But in the end, we sure had fun and are so very thankful that we were blessed to spend time with so many of our loved ones. It only took a month and a half to fit them all in and to finish celebrating but we did it, and we have special memories to prove it:) Enjoy!
P.S. - I will be in severe trouble if I don't explain my mother in a cowboy hat and scarf. We were celebrating the new year and drank a little too much virgin lemonade:) We got wild and made her a cowgirl!

Happy Birthday Ike!

(The song "One Little Slip" by the Barenaked Ladies was used in your slide show because you and Sam "sing" it in the car when you are watching Chicken Little. It is the sweetest rendition.)
Today is your big day Isaac. (Hold on to your hats world, Ike is 2 years-old:)) Although you are the third son in our family, you are such an individual. You have an energy and spirit all your own. You love any adventure, and I am certain there isn't anything that you think you can't or shouldn't do. You follow your brothers everywhere, and fortunately for you, they think that is fine. If they are on the bunk beds, you want to be on the bunk beds. If they are eating at the counter, you want to be at the counter, even if you aren't eating. Unfortunately, we only have two bar stools so you holler at Will until he gives in and gives you his chair. You have learned quickly that Will is much easier on you than Sam so you don't even attempt to get him to move:) Wherever they go, so do you.
Although you love following your brothers, you have no problem blazing your own trail. You love playing ball. Basketball, baseball, golf, any kind of ball is your game. And you don't care if the boys want to play which they usually don't. So you just grab Dad or me and you are ready to play. I can't even count how many hours your dad and I have sat in the living room wearing your little baseball cap and little glove fielding balls you bat off the ottoman like it is a tee. You are also our outside kid. If I am in a hurry to get out the door, I have to carry you out to the car and not open the garage door until you are strapped in your seat because if I let you walk out on your own and you see an opening, you are off on the scooter car burning a path out the driveway.
Unfortunately, you didn't decide to sleep through the night until just a month or so ago. Strangely though, you have always been my easiest child to get to bed. We just rock a few minutes, and then in your bed you go. You might talk to yourself for an hour, but you have almost always put yourself to sleep. Why you waited so long to sleep through the night then is a question for that Dr. Ferber and his Ferber Method.
Your vocabulary has come alive lately. You have been chatty for awhile but just lately you really began throwing out all kind of thoughts that most people, not just mom, can understand. Some of those things we understand clearly from you but we laugh because they might be things that weren't so clear to you from us. For instance, for awhile you had a bad diaper rash and hated being wiped. So to try and get you clean as possible, I would distract you by tickling you in that area while wiping. I would even say something like, "tickle, tickle." Then you began saying, "Tickle, tickle star." It took us awhile to figure out what you were saying because it was a little confusing but I guess to you "tickle" and "twinkle" sound alot alike. You are also a good guy to have on hand right now because if anyone lets out a toot, you so sweetly say, "I farted." I think you think that it is all one word and you had to have learned it from Sam. He is probably the only one in the house that announces his flatulence.
You love to sing. You love to dance. You love books. You love Miss Pattycake and Boz. You love to make a mess in the name of exploration and discovery. You are almost always ready to party. I am certain you will find trouble in the years ahead. Fortunately for you, you have a sweet look of innocence in your eyes so I am sure most of it will go unpunished.
You are a delight Isaac. Your smile is genuine. Your spirit is contagious. And although our house is full of boys, it would feel very empty without you. Happy 2nd Birthday Isaac. We love you.
PS - While Mommy was out of town, some of your relatives got ahold of you and played dress up. You were the prettiest little girl Mommy never had:)

Halloween Happenings

Here are some pics from all our Halloween adventures. It is a potpourri of pics from the past week so I will kind of give a rundown of what is in the slideshow.
-First, Ike had a dress up day at Kids Day Out. Mom didn't quite have the costumes ready yet so he had to go as Bob the Tomato. (That was made back in the day when I actually used a pattern:) I am too cheap for that these days!)
-Sam also had a party at his preschool. After two nights in a row of 1:00 am+ bedtimes, I had all their costumes ready so Sam went as Batman. He dressed at 7:25 am that morning and didn't take it off until after 6:00 pm that night, even the gloves and mask. When he did take it off, there was sweat running down the inside of the mask. He is a Batman nut!
-The boys went as Batman, Robin, and the Joker. These costumes were Will's idea. After I bought all the stuff to make them, Will informed me that he didn't really want to be the Joker. I asked him why he suggested it then if he didn't want to be it. He told me that he thought it would make Sam happy. I then had to explain to Will that many times in life, it is great to make others happy but that he should never do it at the expense of his own happiness. That is a life lesson I still haven't learned;) I did offer to make him a different costume since I hadn't yet begun making them but he didn't really have any other ideas so he found peace with the Joker. And, since Sam wore his costume for all of Friday and most of Saturday, I think Will accomplished his goal of making Sam happy:)
-We trick or treated at Brent's work on Friday and in our neighborhood with some great friends on Saturday. Our neighborhood is crazy busy on Halloween but I think that just makes it more fun. And doing it with friends makes the night a real treat for the kids and the parents.
-I took the boys out to the pumpkin patch earlier in the week to pick out a pumpkin to carve. That was fun and the day was beautiful. The boys were even very willing to take the pictures. Oh, I guess I did bribe them with ice cream but I am sure they would have smiled just as much without the bribe. Boys love pictures;) Oh and the two pictures with Ike's pants down, I forgot his belt:O
-Lastly, we spent Friday evening carving our pumpkin. I use the term "we" very loosely. Will was SO excited to get going on the pumpkin. He drew the face, I carved but then none of my boys would help clean the pumpkin out. They wouldn't even put their hands in it! It should bother me that my boys thought it was gross to touch the pumpkin guts but really, that cleanliness helps out in so many other areas of my life so I was ok with it. In the end, I cleaned it out and the boys still seemed to think it was a fun time watching. Brent took the pictures.
All in all, it was a very busy week. It was a rough week but when I look at these pictures I think about how one day very soon, I will miss a week like this, chaos like this, my boys like this.
Happy Halloween!

Welcome Little One

With each one of my children, I have kept a pregnancy journal. I am not sure I really had something profound to say but I did one when I was pregnant with Will. That was when I had ample free time and ample brain power. I am sure I had some profound thought or secret to life back then. Well after becoming a new mommy with Will, I quickly realized how little I really knew and how thankful I am that I have God backing me. So since Will, I have tried to keep a journal with new each pregnancy to more document the little things rather than bless them with my vast understanding of the world or my body. (And by doing the journals I don't have to feel guilt for not doing one for the other kiddos or wonder if children #2, #3, and #4 question if I loved child #1 more:))
Well, I haven't yet found a journal for baby #4 and today I felt compelled to write a little something to our newest "Little One". So, I am introducing Baby #4 into my blog. So welcome Little One.
You are right now the size of a piece of rice, maybe. I saw you on an ultrasound two weeks ago and you are fantastic. I am already short of breath, nauseous most of the time, and needing a nap just about every day. Rocking Ike to sleep makes me sick to my stomach and it takes me forever to eat because I feel the need to burp after every bite:) You are 1/8 of an inch and you have a beating heart. You are spectacular and I am blessed. The road to a family of 6 has been bumpy. I feel a little strange when I fill out patient forms and fill in that this is my 7th pregnancy. (Our family is gonna liken itself to the Duggars when we get to Heaven.;) But I know that I am blessed.
So I was thinking the other day how much my feelings during pregnancy parallel my relationship and feeling toward God. I wanted to share it with you because I thought that it would tell you a little about my feelings toward you and a little about my relationship with my God.
So here goes: You are living inside me. I can't see you. I can't always feel you but I know you are there. You are always with me no matter what. I am not always wearing that "pregnancy glow" because sometimes I am just too tired. But then other times I am alive with the idea that you are mine and I can't wait to meet you. It will be a day that I never will forget. You are wonderful and each day that I spend with you, talk to you, know you, my life feels a little richer, a little more meaningful, and a lot more peaceful. My cup overflows. You are delightful and all of us are waiting for you arrival. No one really knows when you will get here but boy will we celebrate on that day! What a day it will be:)

Happy Birthday Willboy!

Happy Birthday Will. Tomorrow you will be 8 years-old and just typing it makes me teary eyed. I guess we get caught up in the now and the joys and challenges that the now brings with it. So all of the sudden, 8 years have gone by. And let me say that you are a delight. Please do not misunderstand that you do have your moments of totally irrational behavior when our only but best option is to fall on our knees in prayer but really, you are a great kid.
This past year has been full of adventures and discovery. This past year, I think you figured out that currently, sports do not come as easily to you as many other things. And because of that, you have little patience for them. Unfortunately, I am sure Dad and I both see your point that things that are frustrating are not a lot of fun and really why do something not required if it is just going to frustrate and maybe even cause a blow to the ego. But, we can't say any of that to you right now because you, your body, and your mind are constantly changing and the world still has a million possibilities for you. And we want you to be able to grab onto any and every one of those that you desire.
So sometimes you were willing and other times resistant but this past year you played soccer, basketball, tee ball, golf, and competitive swimming. Some of these lasted a season, some a month, and some a day which is why we could fit it all in a year. Some of these were a great fit, some with a little practice would be a good fit while others were just not your game. I will tell though you that one of my proudest moments as your mommy was during the swimming tryouts. Within the past year, you became a really confident swimmer so you were ready and willing to give the team a try. In the tryouts, you had to swim each of the 4 strokes required for 2 lengths of the pool. (That is 8 pool lengths.) I didn't even know you knew a stroke. But you got out there and worked and worked. The last lap back, your were pretty much dog paddling to not drown but you never gave up or took the smile off your face. I can't even tell you how big I felt inside seeing the strength and determination of my Willboy.
You know the areas in your life that require a little more work but you also know the areas in which you excel. You didn't care much for 1st grade. You loved your teacher and the social aspect of it was right up your alley but academically, you were done around Halloween. You are like your father. You know things that I have no idea how you know them and that which you don't know, you pick up quickly. So yes, you were bored out of your gourd for most of the year but you learned some valuable life lessons: 1)Most of the time in life, you have to wait on others. It stinks but you do. 2)Everyone has a gift, you may just not appreciate it as much as they do 3)There are rules to follow. Whether they make sense or not, there are rules. 4)Some of the things you do just seem like a waste of time but you have to do them anyway. That is just part of life. 5)Everyone is special and unique. Love them anyway:)
You are an amazing boy, Will. You have a sweet heart, and I fear the day it gets broken for the first of many times. You are a good person who sees the good everyone. You don't see differences in people but potential. You are extremely good to your brothers and probably more responsible with them than Dad or me. (I have been typing this for a few minutes now but stopped to get you some cold medicine. I walked in the the living room to find you tucking Isaac under a blanket on the chair and giving him a sippy cup you had just filled with milk for him.) That is who you are. You are great. Yes, you have moments when the world defeats you and you crawl underneath your bed in frustration. But for the most part, you are my easygoing, even tempered Will. You are funny and mentally challenging. You are a teacher and a student of life. You are my Willboy, and I am so of the boy you have become.
Happy Birthday Will!
Here are some other highlights from this past year:
-Camp Invention - you loved the challenges that it provided and the quest for thinking outside the box. You have already asked to go back next summer.
-Guitar Lessons - you are doing really well with this. You could be great if you actually practiced:) I have been trying a few different motivational techniques to encourage practice. So far, I have been unsuccessful but I am still trying.
-Pokemon - Neither Dad nor I understand this game/cartoon and maybe that is why you like it so much. Gone are the days of Handy Manny and The Backyardigans. But, you still will sit and watch Veggie Tales or Tom and Jerry with me and the boys.
-Scootering from school - You are dying for independence right now. You would love to ride all the way home alone but I just can't do it. Yes, it is only about 6 blocks but it still 6 blocks. So right now, I run your scooter up to school before the ending bell and then you scooter with a friend 1 block to a friends house where I meet you. It is not ideal for either of us but a compromise we both can live with.
-Silver Dollar City - You think this is one of the best places on Earth. I decided to include this highlight because you are practical and I know pretty soon you will change your mind and see it more as the slightly expensive haven for bad crafts that it really is. But the funnel cakes and frozen lemonade are delicious!
-Clifford - Best friends come and go but Clifford is still the tops.
-Pictures - You are my picture kid. I never have to ask twice. I just say, "Smile" and you do. I have lots of great pictures of you but you are always willing to give me a grin!
-Ice Cream - You eat ice cream with such abandon. You get it all over your face but you don't care. It is about getting every last bite! (You get that from your dad too!)
-Swimming - This was the summer that you dove right in. You have been swimming for awhile but this was the first summer when you just let yourself go and even did it without the swim mask:)
-Sight Words Folder - This year you had to recognize 1,000 sight words, 100 at a time. I guess you were getting tired of the process because one of the times I noticed words that I hadn't seen before but had "signed" my name to. Well, you can figure it out.