Adjusting the straps

I had to raise the straps a notch on Micah's car seat this morning. It was getting hard to snap him in, which is not surprising given the fact that he has grown four inches in the last 11 weeks! (He has also gained 6 pounds, to a healthy 14 lbs. 8 oz.)

I remember adjusting straps for the other boys - it feels to me like a marker in the passage of time. As you watch your kids, you don't notice that they are growing so quickly - but then you realize their jeans are stopping well above their shoe line, or their coat is getting short in the arms. It's hard to believe that Seth is 9 and a half, Caleb is about to turn 8 and Joel is already 6. We have adjusted a lot of straps for these guys! Caleb gets to graduate from his booster seat a week from tomorrow...

A big adjustment we have just made involved Seth's schooling. He started the year with five other kids in 4th grade. A couple of weeks in, one of the four boys got sick and dropped out to homeschool (that was, of course, the guy he connected with best). Just before Christmas his other buddy in class shipped out to Germany with his family - Dad is in the Army. That left Seth with just three other kids, and a sizable gap in his pace of learning relative to theirs. So the principal and both of his teachers suggested that we consider moving him up into the 5th grade class - where there are 10 other kids and he would be more challenged academically. We talked and prayed through it and decided it would be the best solution for him this semester. So, starting on Monday, Seth will jump into 5th grade. How is that for a strap adjustment?!?

He has had to work closely with his math teacher this week to make the leap over a year of math concepts - but is making great strides and seems ready to go for it. The other subjects do not build as much concept upon concept, so he shouldn't need additional preparation for them. But we do expect he'll have to work harder to succeed at this new level. When we told him about our decision to move him up, he simply responded, "Cool." Later, after some thought, he agreed that it was the best solution, given the situation. Seth continues to deal with the struggle of having left such good friends in Charlotte and then having his two Louisville buddies leave him. But he is managing everything quite well, and growing into his faith and understanding through it all.

Creation Contrast

Kristin and I are again reading through the Bible this year and so began in Genesis on Saturday (thankful that our reading plan considers the weekend to be one day). Reflecting on the creation account this morning, I was struck anew by the vivid description of paradise - as a lush, tropical garden. "The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food" (Gen. 2:9). And He gave the first couple "every seed bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it" for their nutrition and enjoyment (Gen. 1:29). Theirs diet was full and varied, their home was rich, warm and bountiful, and their lives were filled with discovery, joy and exploration. Imagine waking up each day with new hills and valleys to explore, new flaura and fauna to discover; a fresh experience around every corner - and all with a flawless companion, and with regular contact with the Creator Himself.

This is the vivid depiction of Eden in the Bible.

In stark contrast, we just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It is a tragic portrayal of the trudging survival of a father and son through the barren wasteland of a world without life. Everything is gray and covered with ash. They plod along a southward road, pushing a shopping cart with their meager food and possessions. The very few people they come across are either desperate thieves and murderers or wasted beggars more despairing than themselves. This ashen void is a good picture of Hell - a place without life, without hope. But the real Hell would also remove the one glimmer of light from the near total darkness of the story - the connection with another human being. And that will be the true hell of Hell - the removal of all contact with other souls - an unending ash-covered road across an infinite, barren expanse.

The Bible paints vivid portraits of both Heaven and Hell - raising the compelling, driving question for each of us about where we will be for all of forever. We were not made for Hell, for the permanent absence of relationship, for the severance from life, beauty and exploration. No, we were made to experience every facet of creation - to discover, to enjoy, to taste and see that it is, indeed, "very good." And we were designed to experience these things in eternal relationship with our loved ones and especially with our loving Creator and Savior - who endured Hell so that we would not have to.

(I was moved by Randy Alcorn's book Heaven - an inspiring vision and exhortation to seek out and "set your minds on things above, not on earthly things," [Col. 3:1-2].)

Darin vs. Kristin

Time from surgery to standing:
D:8 weeks; K:5 hours

To walking:
D:3 months; K:24 hours

To helping with the kids:
D:8 weeks; K:1 hour

To mowing the lawn:
D:10 weeks; K:well, she never did that anyway...

To running any distance:
Ha ha ha ha ha

Micah Neal Anderson!

For those of you who were not riveted to your facebook yesterday - here's the scoop:

Micah Neal Anderson was born at 6:47 pm Tuesday (10/27), weighing 8 lbs, 7 oz - 20 inches long. (All of our boys have preferred an evening arrival - Seth a Tues. at 4:46 pm, Caleb a Tues. at 4:56 pm and Joel a Wed. at 5:27 pm.)

We arrived at noon and were processed quickly back into triage - where we waited (the OR was full)... and waited (our doctor wasn't here yet)... and almost went in... but then had to wait some more (I did see the cute twin girls as they came out of the OR, so I guess it was worth waiting)... and waited... and then they took us back around 6 pm. Keep in mind that Kristin wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything since dinner the night before - so all day she was starving (still is, actually - though she enjoyed her grape juice this morning). After that it went quickly and smoothly.

Micah is a sweet baby - he sleeps with his mouth open and makes little murmur noises, almost like he's purring for you. The wonderful nurses here kept him for us last night, so we were able to sleep from about 12:30 until 6 - a pretty impressive first night's sleep! Micah did great, taking 1 oz at 11:30 last night and another at 3:30 am. He's due for another ounce shortly, but is enjoying cuddle time with Mom.

Kristin came through surgery great. The spinal block (and not laboring for 14-24 hours) made the procedure and recovery considerably easier than her previous C-sections (Hallelujah for that big answered prayer!). She was able to get up at midnight last night, not even 5 hours after they closed her up. It was painful, but she did it. She got up again at 6 am, with a little less pain and a little more speed. She is now totally tube free and only in moderate and expected pain. We'll be here at Norton Suburban until Friday or Saturday. Nana and Papa have the other boys (who are excited but a little bummed that they can't see him in person until we come home, thanks to flu season).

(A classic moment for me in this strange modern birthing process - as if updating facebook every 20-30 minutes wasn't strange enough - was getting Paul Bengtson's comment on one of my posts saying, "Darin, put down the video camera, it's time to have a baby." But technically it was an iPhone, not a video camera, so there.)

Thanks for all the encouragement and prayers!

10/27, 2 pm

Micah is scheduled to arrive via C-section at 2 pm on Tuesday, October 27. Please pray especially for Kristin as she cannot have anything to eat or drink after midnight Monday. Her folks will be staying at our house with the boys all week - so that part is well covered. We have everything we need and more to re-enter the baby phase. HUGE thanks to so many of you who graciously shared your baby clothes and stuff. Everyone is very excited - along with a variety of other emotions. We'll update facebook as soon as he is born, and send out an email as soon as we can. Thanks for praying!

19 Days and Counting

October 27 at 2 pm. We've never known our baby's gender before, much less a name and much much less the date and time of their arrival. So it's been fun this time around to be talking about and praying for Baby Micah - and to know that he'll be here well before Halloween. (The boys wanted to dress him up as Yoda, but we decided he probably wouldn't be quite ready for that.) We're also thankful that it will be a scheduled C-section as opposed to the 2 emergency Cs that came after hours and hours of labor (I'd put numbers but Kristin would only have to correct them later).

Kristin is definitely feeling the effects of being 36 weeks along. But she is a trooper and keeps taking care of the rest of us in addition to lugging that chunker around. We reflected that in some ways the last few weeks of pregnancy might be the most difficult of parenting, because you can't put the kid down or get help from anyone else... If he decides to stand up sideways and beat on your gall bladder all you can do is poke him a little and hope he gets bored of it. And if he gets hiccups all you can do is wait 'em out.

Thanks for praying for all of us, especially Kristin and Micah! We are very thankful and celebrate with those close to us who have also just had babies: the Gareaus in Charlotte had Landon James, the Wojnickis in Louisville just had Daniel John and my brother (well, his wife) in Portland just had Sean David. All three baby boys had minor health issues that have mostly resolved but please also join us in praying God's richest blessing on them as well! More young men who will be raised to serve the King!

School and Stuff

The boys have now completed three whole weeks of school - so we're all settling into that new routine. It's been funny to hear them each process the new reality. At different times and in different ways they have each asked Kristin, "So... what do you do all day?" It makes me smile anyway. The truth is that she has been surprisingly busy - with her daily shuttle service to school and church (I did just start driving myself on Monday, hallelujah!), shopping, cleaning 3 levels (!) and feeding this ever growing army. I keep encouraging her to rest, and she usually squeezes in 30 minutes or so with her feet up (or they swell up like overfull water balloons).

Seth had a bit of a sad week. Of the boys, he was the most affected by our move - really missing his Charlotte buddies. So we were very thankful when he made a good friend at Family Camp who also lives in Louisville. And then he immediately connected with two guys in his class - one of which he thinks is the funniest kid around. But on Tuesday he learned that his funny friend had shifted to home school, and his other friend at school will be moving to Germany since his dad is in the army. So pray for Seth as he accepts this new change and tries to be patient and thankful for the friends and family God has put around him.

Caleb has also mentioned several times how he misses his friends in Charlotte (notably Max - who we often suspected of being his secret clone). But he connects with people very quickly, and especially enjoys small children. Our neighbors on one side have a three year old daughter, and every time he goes out back Caleb checks to see if she's around for a chat.

Joel has two buddies he comes home talking about all the time. He really enjoys school - except for the work part and that he doesn't see us very much anymore. All three guys have mentioned that new reality - and K and I feel it a lot as well. We're very thankful for the school - and each of the boys seem ideally suited to their teachers and class environments - so we celebrate Eastide as a wonderful and timely blessing.

Generally, Kristin has been feeling decent. Her feet still swell every day, which does force her to slow down some. Her back has not been too sore yet, we're sure that's coming. Braxton Hicks contractions have already begun, sometimes quite frequently - and she is beginning to wonder if it might be related to how much she tries to do in a given day... Hmmmm. All indications show that the baby (Micah!) is doing great, growing well. Her glucose test came back clear - just a little low on iron which means one more pill a day. The date is Tuesday, Nov. 3, unless she goes into labor early, which we fully expect. It will be a C-section either way, as the risks are greater with a VBAC after each additional C-section.

And I'm doing better every week too. I'm almost 11 weeks out from surgery and can now get my foot to neutral, a 90 degree position. At 7 weeks it was in a toe point of about 35 degrees. I still have a lot of work to do to get to +30-40 degrees and to strengthen all the left leg muscles, but I've got a great physical therapist and am seeing progress every day. 12 weeks is the official time when they don't worry anymore about re-rupturing the tendon, so I should be able to get rid of the boot in just one or two more weeks. And I should also be able to eliminate the limp in that time. No sports or coaching for a while yet - but K and I are looking forward to taking Micah out for long, leisurely walks when her feet will remain normal size and I can normally put one foot in front of the other...