Happy 7th Birthday Sam!

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Happy Birthday, Sambo! Today we celebrate the amazing gift God gave us seven years ago. Today we celebrate you.
The past year has been full of big events. You finished your first year of school at Bernice Young Elementary with Ms. Norris, a teacher that you were kind of afraid of and then began your second year of school but this time at Ashley Elementary with Mrs. Woolford. I am not sure if you are just more certain of yourself this go round or if Mrs. Woolford just gives off a different vibe, but either way, you are not scared anymore.
This year you also finished soccer and swim review (it annoys you and Will if I call them lessons because you know how to swim;)) and began baseball. Unfortunately, you began playing in July in Texas. Most of your practices were in 100+ degree weather so you weren’t lovin’ it but were a trooper and stuck it out. With a lot of practice on your part and patience on your coach’s part, you are getting the hang of it and starting to like it. You actually get a bit excited about it, and that makes me happy and you make me proud.
Because we moved, you got a new bedroom and a new roommate. Now you share a bed with Isaac. He knows you well, how to get under your skin, and how to make your blood boil. You two get tangled up in little disagreements more than any of the other boys but you guys are getting better and might actually be enjoying one another more and more. I think you would prefer to still share with Will but seem to be settling in okay.
You still love playing the Wii but now prefer to play with the neighbor boys or your brothers which is a nice change. You still run as fast as possible into the living room when you first get out of bed afraid you might be missing something. You still have the most infectious and wonderful laugh I have ever been around. (Your daddy and I love to hear you in the back seat of the car. Will can get you so tickled.) You don’t come into our bed in the middle of the night very often anymore but when you do, you still snuggle up as close as you can to Dad or me. You are a great bedfellow!
Academically, you are bright and an amazing reader. Your handwriting is still a bit difficult to read and you could care less about lines on the paper;) but it is all improving. You are extremely tough on yourself and get frustrated if you have to redo homework. I don’t think it is the fact that you have to take the time to redo it but that you didn’t do it just right the first time. I hate correcting you because you are already awfully hard on yourself, and I hate to frustrate you when I know that you are doing your best.
Honestly, I hate correcting you in general. If I say something to you about poor judgment or a mistake you might have made, you quite often get these big tears in your eyes. It is very sad, pathetic really. I have really never seen anything like it. You can be fine one minute and then huge crocodile tears the next! I think acting might be for you:).
Sam, you are an awesome little boy. You have a very tender heart and are a ton of fun to be around. Your laugh and excitement can light up a room. Your anger can also bring one down but we won’t talk about that. You are such a sweet boy with great intentions but can be thrown off track if someone, aka Isaac, tries to annoy you. You are also very honest which tends to make you very funny! You are a precious, precious gift, and I am so very thankful to God for giving you to me so that I could be your mommy. I cannot wait to see the plans God has for you. I know they’re going to be awesome!!!!
Happy 7th Birthday Sam.
PS – Here is a letter that I gave to your teacher, Mrs. Woolford. She had asked for a little background on all of her students. Here is what I wrote:
Dear Mrs. Woolford,
Sam is the second oldest of our four boys. As one of our middle children, he seeks a world of truth and justice. We work hard to create as much “fairness” as we can, but we remind him regularly and he experiences regularly that life is just not fair.
Sam is our son that most lives and leads with his heart. Therefore, he can be our emotional child at times. When he is sad, you can tell and when he is happy or excited, he is fun!
He is a bit more shy than the other boys when he is new to a situation but quickly warms up, finds his place, and falls right in line. He follows rules and really thrives in a structured environment.
Sam is an awesome reader and enjoys chapter books. The expected reading level for the end of Kindergarten in Arkansas was 4. Sam finished at a level 24. His fine motor skills, however, are a lot less developed, and this is the area we hope to see tremendous growth. His writing skills in terms of mechanics are poor but we know that with practice, he can and will improve. (As you might have noticed, his poor penmanship was probably inherited.)
We would also love to see an overall increase in his confidence level. He is not as self-assured as his older brother, Will, who Sam swears hung the moon! Sam can close up out of fear of an authority figure. We are working on teaching him to ask when he has a question and volunteer when he knows the answer.
Overall, Sam is a genuinely sweet boy. We are new to Texas so more than just your classroom is unfamiliar to him. We have been praying for our boys, their new school, and their new teachers (Mrs. Theos & you). If there is any way we can help make this year and/or Sam’s transition smoother, please just let us know!

Thank you,
Brent & Ashlee Chism