Should we have the baby?

So I went to the OB today. He scheduled me for induction next Wednesday late like 8 pm. I am not sure how I feel about this. I really really want a completely natural birth. The problem..... I don't go into labor by myself. The only time I was close is when I had Morgann in Iowa. Still I had to be helped out a little. The other scary part is I am HUGE! Dr.'s always worry that the baby will be too big for me. I have 2 due dates the 23rd and the 27th. I will meet with the Dr. again next Tuesday and he said I could make up my mind then. Crazy! Not sure if this is what I am supposed to do. I guess I will know more next week. Anyway you look at it I am getting very close to having 5 children. AHHHH!

Our 2 Week Stay in Houston

Malcham (a.k.a. Bubba) and I left on Saturday August 29th for our first ever road trip. I only took him because I am very very pregnant and thought it would be easier with just one. The trip down took us about 9 hrs with all of the stops. He was a trooper and did so good in the car. He thought it was cool because he could pick all of the movies out by himself and not have to share with his sisters. When we got there we were greeted by Erik and Erika Stewart. They welcomed us into their home with open arms and we stayed with them for several days. We had so much fun. It was almost just like the olden days. We miss their family so much. Thank you Erik and Erika for everything.

Of coarse Bubba thought the trip was for the sole purpose of playing with his best friend Russell. He would say I am so excited we are going to Houston to play with Russell. Even after being apart for a whole year they both still talk about each other and want to play all the time. It was great being at Nicole's house. She is such a wonderful friend to me and such a wealth of knowledge. She teaches me so much and she never let us get bored the whole time we were there. Thank you Nicole. Here is a pic of the boys. I could not get them to hold still.

The real reason we drove to Houston was because Malcham started having pain in his bad kidney. He was born with a huge kidney on his left side that was filled with fluid (hydronephrosis). At the time we found it we were living in Houston and went to the best Pediatric Urologist there with Texas Children's Hospital. He had hoped that Malchams problem would resolve on it's own with time. However it did not seem to be getting any better. So on Monday August 31st we got the ultrasound done and Tuesday we met with Dr. Gonzales. He took one look at the scan and said " I just don't think he is going to win the fight with this kidney. We need to just have the surgery done so he can get better." I knew surgery was a possibility but I was really expecting him to say well let's get a few more tests done. So it was kind of a shock. They really had no open surgery appointments available but Dr. G. cancelled some meetings and fit us in since we came from such a long way. However, it would be a whole week before they could fit us in. So instead of driving all the way home and then turning around to come back we decided it would be best to stay. It was the longest week of my life. I missed my girls so much and I really just wanted to be a family again. Thankfully we were staying with one my dear friends Shauna Crook. She just took us under her wing and helped us so much during this time. She made wonderful meals for us and just treated us like we were part of her family. It was so nice. She and Bubba even made cookies one afternoon. He thought he was the chef of the house. He was even telling Shauna that the cookies were his idea and he did not want her to put oatmeal in them. She did anyway and he thought they were the best cookies ever. We were at Shauna's for a little over a week and it made all the difference in the world. Thank you so much Shauna. You are truly the best!
During our week of waiting we got to see so many good friends. We ate dinner with Valerie and her family who Malcham and I knew when were first married and living in Stephenville. We had a play date with my very good friend Jamie Williams and her kiddos. Melanie Ashcraft was there as well and we had so much fun talking and catching up. J made the best healthy hotdogs for lunch and the kids took a swim in their new pool. It was great seeing everyone. Thanks Jamie. Of coarse there are all of our friend from the ward who we got to see at church not once but twice. Thanks to everyone for your concern and words of encouragement. Not to mention it just felt like coming home. Everyone was so receptive and happy to see us. Thanks Allie for all the good advice. You really helped to comfort me.

Other activities included a trip to the zoo with Auntie Erika, a movie with Valerie and her family, and bowling with pizza with Nicole's family. We also got to attend the wards Memorial Day celebration. It was fun but so hot. One thing I do not miss about Houston is the humidity. Once again thanks to everyone. We really miss all of you.

Malcham and I got in some great shopping and we ate at Chick-fil-A way to many times. There were so many people we did not get to see and I was so sad about that but we had to be so careful with Malcham's health and not let him get exposed to too many germs. If he were even a little sick they would not do the surgery and all of that time would have been wasted.

We flew Malcham (a.k.a. Dad) into Houston on the Tuesday before surgery. It was so nice to see him again. I did not realize how much I had missed him. He was there for all of the important stuff and I was so thankful. Bubba really needed his Daddy to be there. On Wednesday September 9th we got to the hospital around 11:00 am. We waited forever it seemed before the surgery to start but Malcham and Bubba had such a good time playing with each other. I think they were catching up in their special boy way.

We finally were called back to talk to the Dr.'s and prepare for surgery. Bubba got these cool pajamas in yellow which is his favorite color. He looks like a little sumo wrestler or maybe he's going potty. Ha!

He was so excited because the nurses told him he could ride this tractor into the surgery room. He wanted to go right then with his puppy Roscoe in the bucket of the tractor. We still had some more waiting to do but Dad let him practice riding it a little and he was an instant pro.

When it came time to go into surgery he zoomed down the hall never looking back. He even ran over the nurse and hit a wall on the way down. He was so ready. The surgery took about 2 and a half hours and everything went very smooth. The Dr. came out to talk to us and said his case was very typical of UPJ Obstruction and that he would heal quickly and probably never have a problem again. We are very hopeful for that. He woke up great from anesthesia and he was so brave through all the poking, and prodding over the next 3 days. He had a Foley, a drain coming out of his side, and an IV. We were so proud of him because for a 3 year old he did very well. It took a little longer to get him up and walking because he was so sore. I felt so bad for him. He was like this little old man walking down the hall whimpering and taking little baby steps. He was such a trooper. He did well with all of his pain meds and had no problems going to the bathroom after they took out the Foley. He did so well we got out of the hospital a day early.

He was in so much pain this day and a gift from Uncle Matt and Aunt Amy came just in time. Thanks!

We then went back to stay Friday night with Shauna and then we were off first thing Saturday morning. I was so excited to get back to the girls who were with my Mom. Thanks so much Mom for coming down and taking care of the girls while Malcham and I were gone. Thanks to Lynda Malchams Mom for filling in when we needed you. Thanks to Griselda for helping take care of Mylea and picking up the girls from school. Thanks to Sylvia Bell and Bitsy for helping with the girls and playing such fun games with them. Thanks to Debbie Riley for helping with Mylea. Thanks to Aunt Amy for picking up Mylea from Mom's. Last but not least thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. We are so grateful to be surrounded by such good people both here in West Texas and in Houston. The Lord has truly blessed us.

p.s. If your child ever needs surgery or has health problems I cannot say enough about the Dr.'s and nurses at Texas Children's Hospital. Everyone is so nice and they really help your child get through a difficult time. The Hospital caters to your child's every need including toys activities and play places for your kids. It was amazing and worth everything we went through. I will never take my children any other place.

First Day of School 2009

Well today like most was the anticipated first day of school. I cannot believe I have a 1st and 3rd grader. This is the first year Mayci and Morgann will be at the same school. It is a new school as well which makes it nice. I got some great pictures that I wanted to share with everyone. It amazing when you look back at pictures and realize you have the most beautiful girls. The babies will be in school next week but might miss the first week because we are headed to Houston. Can't wait to see everyone! Enjoy!

Yes her shirt says "I love Vampires" it is the only shirt she had to have this year. But I guess nowadays loving Vampires is a good thing, right Edward?

Morgann of coarse is all about the girly stuff. This very girly horsey shirt was her must have t-shirt for the year. You can't really tell by the picture but there is glitter and sparkles all over it. What a fun girl! She looks so grown up in this picture too.

What's in a name?

We are having a baby in a few short months and we still have not completely settled on a name. Our delima is that we have confined ourselves to using only names that begin with the letter M. That in itself is not bad and we rather enjoy all of our little M's but now we feel like we have run out of name options. Every girl name we like is too similar to the names we have already picked for our other girls. I love the name Maya (Maia) but we already have a Mylea. We just feel like it is too similar and would add that much more confusion to our constant fumbling M's that continually spill out of our mouths. I know no sympathy after all we did this to ourselves. So Malcham has decided that it is his turn to name a baby and I agreed to this since he really had very little to say about Mylea's name. He agreed to it but I did all of the naming. So far he has refused to talk about any girl names. He likes nothing that I suggest but while on our family vacation a name suggestion came about and I think he likes it. At least a little anyway. So here is what I am asking. 1. Do you like the name? 2. Do you think we will ruin out little girl if we name her this? 3. How do you think we should spell it? 4. What middle name goes best with it? I am up for any suggestions and I will not be offended. So here it is MADDOX. Yes I know it is a boy name but it is seriously the only name Malcham has even liked a little bit. The kids have been calling her Maddox for a while now but instead of pronouncing it Maddox that have changed it a bit to Madix or Madyx. So any ideas on a great spelling of this name? It is beginning to stick. As far as middle names go we have said Faith, Leah, or Hunter. Please let me know what you think.

Wow how time flies!

I cannot believe it has been 9 months since I last posted. I could have had a baby in that amount of time. Actually we will be having a baby in about 3 months. We are having our 5th child due October 27th. Another beautiful little girl who has not been named. (Any cute girly M name suggestions would be greatly appreciated). We have been really busy over the last 9 months. Mayci was baptized on June 20th. Morgann hads her tonsils out the 12th of June and did wonderfully. Bubba is getting so big and still thinks he is having a baby brother. He told me the other day, " Mom maybe the doctor was wrong and we are still going to have a baby boy." Poor guy I feel so bad for him. One of my friends here put into perspective his situation. She said how can you feel sorry for him his two older sisters will be bringing girls home as well as his two younger sisters. He has got it made! She is right but we still want to buy him a bulldog just to make it up to him! Mylea is such a 2 year old. She wants to do everything by herself and her favorite word is no. She is potty training and doing quite well. Malcham is now the safety officer for the oil company he works for. It is a better position than the one he had when we moved here. So all in all everything is going well. I will try my hardest to post more often. I want to post pictures as well but it seems like my computer freezes every time I try. Hopefully I can get at least one picture to post. Until next time...........

We have an announcement!

We want to introduce the newest member of our family. She came to us at 2 weeks of age, red hair, and weighing 80 lbs 3 ounces. Her name is Rainy Cowgirl Williams and she is such a sweet baby. Her Mom passed away and so we are bottle feeding her 3 times a day.

So it's official we are country and the kids love it. I think every kid should raise a baby cow. No we will not be eating her but raising her to breed more baby cows. It has been an adventure.

Back to School

I am a little late with the whole back to school thing but I had to wait just a bit so I could get pictures from Mylea and Malcham's first day of school as well. They started a week after the girls in a program called Children's Day Out. It's only Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 2. Malcham loves it and I knew he needed something to do this year. I wasn't so sure about sending Mylea with her being the baby and all but so far she seems to be doing fine. Really I had no choice about the matter because I needed some quiet time to study. Yep that's right Mom has gone back to school too. I am trying to finish up my nursing degree that I started working on 10 years ago. That is another reason we moved back to West Texas. I knew I would be able to finish up at the school where my Mom used to teach nursing school. Funny how life works out sometimes.

This was Morgann's first day of school. Things work a little differently here in our small town. Morgann and Mayci actually go to separate schools. Morgann's school has only pre-k and kindergarten. Mayci's school only has grades 1st - 3rd. I can see the benefit and I am sure I will love it as soon as I get used to it. The girls also get 3 recesses here. I love that! Morgann loved her first day and after school I got a play - by -play of everything they did that day. She is such an amazing girl. It wasn't hard for me to send her to school because she was so ready. No crying for Mom this year. Yeah! Here are all the pictures. Enjoy