My little beauty!

Ezralee is here!!!

2:30 am Surprise!  "I think my water is breaking," I tell Doug calmly.  He doesn't move.  "Hey hun, will you get that pad in the nightstand." "Do what?  Get what?  What do you need?" he responds.  He assists, I head to the bathroom.  He starts to get back in bed.  "Oh no, no, no...we need to go to the hospital," I tell him.  He replies, "Are you sure?" "Uh, yeah."

Then I proceed to give him a to-do list:  1.  Call my mom and tell her to change her flight.  2.  Call Shauna and tell her we're headed to the hospital.  (Shauna is a neighbor, church friend I meet a few weeks ago.  Though we don't know each other well, she kindly offered to be "on call" if I were to go into labor in the night...that morning we quickly bonded as she helped me pack my bag to go).

4 am Getting set up at Valley Hospital...nurse checks to make sure my water did break

Some contractions, more mild when standing, more intense when lying down.

12pm Dr. Meltzer checks me, I'm between a 4-5 dialation, 60% effaced.  He ruptures the water sac even more.  Bunch more expells along with remnants of several old blood clots.

Contractions regulate and intensify.

My amazing husband's flowers are delivered to offer encouragement.  I think the card read, "I love you Big Mama" or something like that...Talon would call me 'big mama' all the time (in an endearing way).

2pm My mom comes waltzing in the room right when the nurse anesthetist is about to give me an epidural.  We delight in her arrival...big suitcase and all.

3-5:15pm dialate from a 6-10.  Nurse says Dr. Meltzer will be here at 5:30...so we patiently wait since the heavenly epidural let me.

5:44pm Dr. Meltzer says lets give it a practice push.

5:47pm She's here!!!  They lay her on my chest, Doug cuts cord, and we snuggle and celebrate for a good hour or so.

Attempt nursing...crazy painful...lots of tears and even a swear word exits my mouth...if you know me, that's a rarity.  Wanted to kick out the nurse that said, "if it's so painful, then why do you do it."  I forcefully reply, "because it's worth it!"

I try to convince Doug he should go home and get a good nights rest as he has surgery in the morning and I wouldn't want a dentist extracting my wisdom teeth on 2 nights of little sleep.  So he does...disappointed he'll miss changing the first poopy diaper...it's a tradition.

10pm Nurse finally bathes her and we get ready to endure the night.  Mom, me, and my daughter have a little slumber (minimal on the slumbering part for myself) party.

Big Thanks to Aunt Corrie and Uncle Lar for watching our boys at their house so I didn't have to worry if they were in good hands or not.

Next day Doug visits us before he heads to work.

I take a bunch of newborn pictures of her as we had two big windows in our room.  I used the flowers from Doug.  Then made a birth announcement and posted it on Facebook- received the most likes ever over 150 and 75 comments...see you are loved and adored by so many people already Miss Ezralee.



6pm We get to go home.  Corrie and Lar bring boys home and we ALL celebrate their new baby sister.

What a joyous occasion!!!

a.k.a. Colton's Dance

Morning exercise

Boys Dancing from Amber McArthur on Vimeo.

Spokane Valley...our new home

 Let me tell you all the things I'm loving so far-

1.  The community...I thought the south was friendly and Hawaii was filled with Aloha for everyone, but I had never experienced the "Inland Northwest" (that's what they call this area...the Inland).  Neighbors have come out to greet us, even when we are taking a stroll through the neighborhood.  There must be a flashing sign above me that reads, "Hey, I'm new, please say hi and ask me how much longer till the baby comes and if I've found a good doctor yet?"  I would expect this from church, but from the community has been intriguing.  Even this random lady at Walmart just had to know the details.  I went to Kohls today and had about 8 people all greet me as I was darting to find a bathroom.  The smiles feel genuine and the time others take to make us feel welcome, is encouraging.  Some other things I like about the community-

  a.   Any shopping you'd need is here- Trader Joes, Costco, TJ Maxx, Cafe Rio, just to name a few. (Cabelas!!! Doug in red :) )

  b.  Everything is easy to get too- normal 1-10 minute drive to get anywhere.  Grocery store is 1 minute away, church 3 minutes, temple 3 minutes, Doug's work/OBGYN/Hospital (all same location) 8 minutes, shooting range which is in a beautiful valley just south of here is 15 minutes away. (Shooting steel, shooting shotguns, long range targets out to 1000 yards!) 

  c.  The morbid obesity rate has got to be lower here compared to TN.  I would say 80% of the population looks healthy.  I've also noticed people have thicker hair here. More poeple are out being active and doing something. Biking, hiking, camping, running, swimming, boating, its awesome! 

  d.  There are 60 lakes within an hours drive of our house.  We went to one 25 minutes from our house on Saturday and it was picturesque.  The boys didn't even care that the water was cold, they still played on the beach.  We grilled and happily watched our boys run free between the water and the playground while we dreamed of owning a boat.  This park/beach area was clean and there were signs posted that said we were in charge of our own trash.  So whatever we brought in we were expected to leave with.  I liked the idea that the community is responsible for their own mess and not to leave it to be cleaned later.  And surprisingly it was kept clean.  Was refreshing to not see cigarette butts and beer cans laying around.
    There's also tons of stuff to hunt/chase!  I have seen deer, pheasants, geese, ducks and I know there are elk, moose and bear around.

  e.  I hear we can pick strawberries, apples, pumpkins, and Christmas trees when in season and wonder what else might be available.  There was also no line to stand in while waiting for my bountiful basket here (must have their system perfected here or enough locations that it doesn't get crowded...also 5 minutes from my house).

  f.  No income tax and no sales tax on food (unless it's junk food, then there's a tax...I think).  

  h.  The local bank sent Doug a care package with tickets to Downtown Spokane Riverfront for the whole family.

  i.  Super friendly staff at Valley Ob/Gyn and Valley Hospital and very little wait time.  Clean atmosphere at both too. 

2.  The school...I haven't even had 1 thought of homeschooling and neither have my boys (often times in TN they'd beg me to be their teacher instead of going to school).  To say my boys LOVE school would be an understatement.  The first late start day (which is every Thursday, they don't go until 10:10) Talon was in tears because I wouldn't let him go to school at the normal 8:40 (school starts at 9:10 but they want to extra time to play at the playground...basically an open recess to all before the bell rings and everyone lines up outside their room door for school to begin).  The boys ride their bikes or scooters to school because it's right by our neighborhood.  The two neighbor boys (ages 6 & 9) are thrilled to have neighbor friends and I'm thrilled for them to have some friends to ride to school with.  More great things about the school: 

   a.  The Principal who called me their first day of school just to let me know she checked on my kids in their classrooms and said they were doing great!  After the first grade "Suessical Musical" that was full of choreography, props, and darling songs, she stood up to thank everyone who participated and was quite emotional as she expressed her loved for all the parents who volunteer their time and talents.  

   b.  There are only 2 classes in each grade.  It's a small school with a massive sense of community.  Everyone seems to know everyone's names and the P.T.O. newsletter they emailed out the other day had one page full of recognition to "Students Serving" where I learned the sweet acts of love being noted around the school.  Plus the P.T.O. president and 2 other board members are in my ward.  And did I tell you Talon's teacher is also in our ward?  And on some of our walks in the neighborhood kids (and adults) have said, "Hey, there's __(Jax or Talon)__" he's new to our school.  Some of these kids aren't even in their classes.  There's so much parent involvement that one of the recess volunteers told me she was watching over our boys to make sure everyone was treating them kindly.  How sweet was she?  I didn't even know there was a sweet angel looking out for my boys at recess.  Speaking of recess, there are 2 scheduled recesses during school hours, plus the one before school.  So my boys think they have 3 recesses a day.

  c.  Chester Elementary was recently award "Overall Achievement in Performance" from Washington State.  

  d.  The boys have very little homework each night and are loving the reading incentives offered in their individual classes.  I was also happy to learn that Talon's first grade class was reading a "Classic" (Charlotte's Web).  

  e.  They have a separate classroom for students who have behavioral issues so they are not intermixed within the classroom for the teachers to have to deal with.  

  f.    I asked about extended absences for family travel.  They said you just complete a form at school, the principal reviews it and the teachers give assignments to be completed during the time away and you're good.  =)

3.  The  church...is filled with all ages, young and old and everything in between.  There are enough Young Men to bless and pass the sacrament, beautiful Young Women dressed modestly with a light in their eyes, a significant amount of wisdom flowing from the empty nesters and widowed, plenty of professionals- an oral surgeon, a pediatrist, a lawyer, an optometrist, a contractor, our bishop is a family physician and that's just the one's I know of.  There are enough people that they can have a greeter at the door when you walk in.  Our church building is right next to the temple with beautiful fields around it and mountains (more like hills in the background).  The talks and lessons have been inspirational and I've felt the spirit every time we've been there.  

*Side note- Doug spoke in church yesterday...probably the best talk I've ever heard in sacrament meeting- ever!  It was about the importance of keeping covenants and he tied in several military service stories/ideas in honor of Memorial Day...made me fall even more in love with the man he is and how he lets the Spirit work through him to teach me.  How I love his honesty and willingness to share a side of him that is real, tender, and humble.  

Other things I love about church here-

  a.  The primary has amazing leaders and the scouting program is in full bloom here.

  b.  The Relief Society was recently reorganized...

  c.  They have release time seminary at one of the high schools in the valley. The other has 4 early morning seminary classes.  

  d.  It's hard to determine who's a member of our church around here and who just walks with God's love.  I like this.  I hear the LDS population is about 20% here.

  e.   The temple was jammed packed at 11:30am on a Thursday morning...really?  Who knew it was that busy around here.  Learned you need to make an appointment to go otherwise you're not guaranteed a seat.  

  f.  They host Time Out for Women here as well as other LDS performers (I've heard people talk about Alex Boye', Beyond 5 (not sure who they are, but the youth went to see them), and Nashville Tribute Band).  

4.  Doug's job...he loves it.  He loves the people he's working with and the office is really nice.  He didn't realize he'd be the only dentist working and loves feeling the freedom of just doing his thing.  The staff seem to like him and are impressed with how fast he is.  Hopefully they'll fill his schedule with more patients so he won't have any down time.  He really is loving his job and is happy to go to work.  We're thankful his Washington License came in the day before he was supposed to start work...phew.  

5.  Our house...well, I love the location, the amount of space we have, the beautifully landscaped yards, the little playground the kids can plan on, the security of the culdesac, the decent size garage, and that we can can walk to tennis courts, baseball fields, a playground, etc. all at the school close by.  The house itself doesn't thrill me as it's older, not my preferred colored tones painted through the house (like peach colored walls in the boys' room), we've had to call the rental company to fix the kitchen sink, air conditioning, bathtub drain, dishwasher (which is still not fixed).  The carpet needs to be replaced and I'm constantly telling the boys to not lay on it.  The bathroom toilets are small and cheap.  And some how the bees keep sneaking in...I think they come in through the fireplace.  I've had to clean several parts of this house before I placed items there...kind of gross.  But with all the things I dislike, I'm so thankful we get to live here.  Plus, we have great neighbor friends whom my kids can play with and she just had a baby girl last week, so it will be nice to have someone talk about babies with.  

Dr. Douglass McArthur is welcomed to North Pines Dental Care in Spokane Valley

Our first Sunday here we didn't realize the clinic Doug will be working for had sent this out and we're taken back by the amount of people who came up to Doug and said, "Hey!  You're the new dentist."  It was quite funny but by the end of church, he was used to it.

	New, Extended Hours!
				North Pines Dental Care is pleased to welcome Dr. Douglass McArthur to our practice!  Dr. McArthur is a 2010 graduate of West Virginia School of Dentistry.  He served in the U.S. Army for 4 years while also working in a private dental practice.  Dr. McArthur enoys all aspects of dentistry.  He and his wife, Amber, have 3 boys and are expecting a baby girl soon. We will now have additional, convenient hours with appointments 7 am to 7 pm.  We will also be open many Saturdays!  Dr. McArthur will generally be in the office Wednesday through Saturday. Please call (509) 924-6262 for your appointment.  We are looking forward to seeing you!

DIRECTIONS TO OFFICE REFER A FRIEND

		NORTH PINES DENTAL CARE BRENT H. OSBORN, DMD & FRANK L. WRIGHT, DMD		1107 North Pines Road Spokane Valley, WA 99206 509-924-6262 www.northpinesdental.com

For memories sake...

My cousin Aubrey asked what helped me get through the nasty morning sickness this pregnancy and this was my response.  Thought Ezralee might enjoy reading this incase she suffers from it too.


 I tried rubbing ginger essential oil on the bottoms of my feet (stomach pressure point)...not sure if it helped or not. What helped the most for me was eating a little something every 30 min-1hr. If I went longer than an hour, it was a quick downhill to totally unbearable. Oranges were my number 1 favorite. Second, was squeezing a whole lemon in my very cold ICE water. Third was toast (w/ cheese or jam or butter or peanut butter). I craved eggs and would eat them in all forms. Smoothies were awesome but I could only stomach about 1/2 c. I would eat anything that sounded appealing- this pregnancy was sushi, nuts, oatmeal, pancakes, apples & almond butter, cottage cheese, sesame ginger dressing on salads, and cookies.  Lots of laying down on my side. I read books or watched movies or invited friends to sit and talk with me...anything to distract my mind off the awfulness. I didn't worry about my up keeping my house and my kids were content to gather around me and tell me anything on their mind. It's more of a simpler way of living. I'm so sorry you're so sick!!! It's by far my least favorite part of pregnancy...sooooo awful!

Mother's Day 2014

Wanted a pic with all my boys...but if there's one thing I learned from my mom is "to make the best of any situation" and from my step mom is "to not complain." So hurray for a pic with Colt and some with my little one coming soon.

Our little Nephi and his courage!

Colt bore his testimony yesterday in church for the first time ever.  He didn't want any help, so he walked right up there on his own and sat next to Bishop.  There were several people to go before it was his turn.  Once he got up there, he squared his shoulders and began...it was a bit mumbly and sounded like a prayer with "bless us to have a great time" and such.  You could tell he was a bit overwhelmed and wasn't sure what to say.  He ended and as he sat down next to Bishop he put his hand to his forehead like "aw man! I totally blew it."  It was sooooo precious and so cute.  Bishop whispered to him that he could sit with his family again, so he walked/ran back to us.  He fell into my arms and hid himself in my chest and started to cry.  I whispered in his ear that I was so proud of him and that Heavenly Father loved him soooooo much!  I could tell he was embarrassed, but seriously, I was so proud of his courage to go up there on his own!  His two older brothers didn't even have that courage.  Doug then held Colt and tried to help explain the feeling of the Holy Ghost so Colt could maybe understand why he was feeling emotional...I think Doug must have been in tune to talk to Colt about that.  It was a special moment as parent to witness though!

Getting excited...

to dress up our Sunday best, hair done, lip gloss applied, walking hand in hand as we go to hear the words of our leaders and let the Spirit teach us what God would have us know.

Tonight I watched the General Women's Broadcast and got excited that I'll be bringing a baby girl into this world.  We were reminded of truths tonight and I hope to remind my daughter of these truths too:

1.  She's a daughter of God.
2.  She's a divine daughter of God.
3.  She's been mentored by Heavenly Father who helped prepare her to go through the challenges this earth life is about, and because she's a divine daughter of God, He'll be with her every step of the way if she calls upon His help.

Ezralee Sarah...or whatever we end up naming you....know that I'm excited to be your teacher, mentor, friend, and companion here on earth.  I look forward to teaching you of your Heavenly Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost.  As we will go through trials and tribulations, I hope I can be strong for you and testify of truth and that my faith will encourage you along your path.  I hope you'll do the same for me.  I hope you're heart will connect with mine and that our love for one another will be unbreakable.

Love,

Your Mother

                                                          Baby:Sister

               I hope you are cute and cuddly. Just like Colton. I wish your birth day was on Valentines Day.  Do you know what we should call you?  Or do already know your name?                                                                    

                                            LOVE Jaxon McArthur

Pink...yes, it's what you think

8 Doctor visits + 7 weeks of bed rest + 5 ultrasounds + 3 hemorrhagings + 1 ER visit = much to celebrate that we are having a GIRL!!!

I'm 18 weeks along and the past 13 have been a roller coaster. 

Doug and I had been trying to get pregnant since he got back from Afghanistan, but the Lord's timeline has always been different than mine when it comes to conceiving.  In fact, a miracle occurred while we were in Florida vacationing in October.  I asked Doug for a Priesthood blessing because I had come down with a cold and didn't want it to spoil our week at Disneyworld.  Unexpectedly in the blessing, Doug said, "At this time, I command your body to conceive."  I immediately felt God's love poor out upon me and both Doug and I couldn't believe those words came out of his mouth.  We both knew that was a gift from Heavenly Father.  We were so excited!  Until a few days later I began bleeding heavily (5wks).  I asked Doug to get me a pregnancy test to see if I had been pregnant and was miscarrying since that's happened before.  Sure enough the test was positive.  We had mixed emotions as we were trying to wrap our head around the blessing and now the intense bleeding.  Well, the bleeding stopped the next day and it was a whole week until it came back again. I was standing working on a craft project at our Relief Society Super Saturday and whoosh, the massive bleeding began again (6wks).  My heart sank, but since this was a busy day, I just kept going.  I just wanted to crawl in bed and cry but I had too much on my days' agenda.  Doug went hunting and I went to a photo shoot and we left our disappointment for the next day.  Well, the next day, the bleeding stopped.  Then my least favorite aspect of pregnancy was heavily upon me and I spent my days super sick, barely able to function at all.

  How could I not be pregnant?  I felt pregnant, the intense nausea was a sure sign.  Then on Thanksgiving day I was cramping all morning so I stayed in bed. Around 1pm I rolled over in bed and began pooling in blood.  This time I was very concerned so we left our 20 house guests and went to the ER.  There the doctor diagnosed me with early stages of miscarrying.  He checked me and said I was dilated to 1cm and 70% effaced.  My heart sunk.  We returned home to our family enjoying a fabulous Thanksgiving Feast.  It was hard as I just felt awful, but at the same time was so thankful to have family support there.  That night Doug's mom reminded Doug that his brother Jon (who was there in our home) has the spiritual gift of healing and it says so in his Patriarchal blessing.  I knew I immediately wanted a Priesthood blessing from him.  So Jon, Doug, Kawika, Ben, and Scott all layed their hands upon me and Jon gave me a beautiful blessing. He blessed my body to heal, to rest, the baby to have health, and that one day I'd be able to take care of my family again.  I went to bed feeling peace, pulling on every ounce of faith I had in God's plan.  The next day I went to my doctor's office and there they checked me and said I was not dilated, nor effaced.  They found a good heartbeat!!!  Yay!  They put me on bed rest and by the afternoon the bleeding was gone.  I've seen the doctor frequently as they've monitored the size of the sub-chorionic hemorrhage.  

I felt the Love of the Lord through so many women from church.  One time a friend just dropped off some fresh squeeze orange juice because she remembered from a conversation long ago that I liked it.  Little did she know it was the only thing I craved and helped with the nausea.  She didn't even know I was pregnant.  I had women offer to clean my home, watch my children, make us meals, bring me books, sit with me and talk, etc.  I KNOW that Lord was looking out for us and blessed us in our time of need.  The Christmas Spirit was full of Christlike love.  I'm so thankful for a Heavenly Father who loves me and blesses me to feel His love.  I know He has a deep love for all His children.  

My most recent doctor's appointment was full of good news.  I've healed significantly and was able to be given clearance to get off bed rest.  Thank goodness because the last couple of weeks I've been fighting negative thoughts and trying to remind myself of all the beautiful blessings around me.  I still have some restrictions, but am thankful to be up and moving.  Also, the spot of concern on the baby's abdomen was hard to detect on this last ultrasound...will have a 4D ultrasound on the 30th at Vanderbilt  to closely examine baby, but it gave me hope that maybe the baby wont have any complications...we'll see.  And then I found out I was having a GIRL!!!  Both Doug and I felt like it was a girl but to have it confirmed was amazing.  I felt the Spirit wash over me and my heart filled with joy.  I did feel bad that Doug wasn't there with me as he had to work, then headed to Coeur d'Alene, ID for job interviews.  So I planned a surprise pink party for him and the boys.  

Colt helped me put together the decorations and kept asking, "Mom, who's birthday is it?"  I said it's a party for your baby sister.  Colton told the primary back in November he was thankful for his baby sister.  None of the boys knew I was pregnant then...he must be in tune with the spirit.  When the boys came home from school, Jax said, "What?  You know what it is?  It's a girl! Talon, it's what you prayed for."  I had purchased pink shirts for everyone and had them on their chairs at the table.  They each quickly put on their pink shirts and finished helping blow up balloons.  Then dad walked in from work and was totally stunned.  He didn't know I found out and it took him a moment to take it all in.  After going to his room, saying a prayer, feeling grateful, he was able to put the load he's carrying  (job, moving, buying a practice, bank loans, etc.) to the side for a moment and party with us.  We had tomato basil soup, homemade croutons, strawberry spinach salad, strawberries and pineapple, and pink strawberry milk that we drank with our pink and white straws.  It was fun and we all celebrated the new addition to our family.  It's been a bumpy road and we pray it will be smooth from here on out. 

Names currently on our mind:  Sarah Ezralee McArthur or Ezralee Sarah McArthur