The Eident Chronicles

A Few New Photos

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Granny took some photos a couple weeks ago that we thought were worthy of posting ont he website.

This past Sunday we visited some friends in Dwight, IL. They have a small farm with a cow, chickens, turkeys, goats and a bunch of cats. Paul had the opportunity, for the the first time, to milk the cow(Tammy). It was quite an experience. Sorry no photos.

So What's Going On Now?

I'll tell you what's going on. Christmas! Tis the season. The kids are enchanted with Christmas. Last night we visited our neighbors(the Lee family). It was nice to sit and talk with them.

Last weekend, Shawn surprised me. She threw a small birthday party for me on Sunday afternoon. Granny, Poppy and Diane attended. As a surprise, Shawn invited Steve and Wendi Driggers and family. We haven't seen the in over three years. What a treat to see them! It was fun to catch up and share what has been going on in our lives. The Driggers have had two children since we last saw them. They are now have 4(Caleb, Grace, Elisha and Joshua).

Having the Driggers over on Sunday reminded me what life is about. It has nothing to do with gifts, being busy, gathering wealth or most anything else. It's all about relationships. It's about people. When we die the ony thing that will matter is how we related with people. This is something that I need to continue to think about every moment.

Anyway, that's enough. Hopefully post new photos soon.

We're back!!!

We got a little overwhelmed with the amount of malicious commenting so we shut down the site for a while. Today I installed the new MovableType 3.2 in hopes that it decreases the number of spam commenting. Most of the spam commenting was poker sites. What a pain.

It's Cold!

This morning I ran with Brain and it was -1 degree F. The frost clung to our beards and eyelashes. It was fun.

Anyway. Some new photos were posted today. Enjoy.

What a Wonderful Life!

God has been good! We are blessed with such wonderful gifts from God.

Esther is now 12 weeks old and still grumpy, but beautiful. She is healthy and growing like a weed. What an awesome blessing to have a baby during the Christmas season.

P.J. is becoming an independant little boy. Full of energy and imagination.

Abby is a little lady. She is beginning to read and write.

Shawn has recovered from the delivery and has begun to workout at the fitness club. She is doing a great job home schooling Abby and P.J. while tending to Esther. It's quite a task.

Paul is busy with business and fatherhood.

Here is a fun photo of Esther we took yesterday. P.J. thought it would be fun for Esther to where his Christmas stocking cap.

Six Weeks

Esther is now six weeks old and healthy, but not always happy. We've nicked named her "Miss Crabby Pants". She is happy nursing and sleeping. Everything else doesn't match up and she lets us know.

We've begun a new sport called geocaching. The sport combines the Internet with Clobal Positioning System technology. People hide "caches" and post the coordinates on the Internet. We lookup the coordinates and look for the cache. It's a blast and the whole family enjoys it. We've found 8 caches in the past couple of weeks. In addition, we discovered that a bunch of families at church also geocache.

Here is a photo of PJ and Abby after we found a very cleverly hidden cache.

Doing Well

Everyone is doing well. Shawn spent most the week in bed resting. The infection really drained her energy, but she is on the mend.

Esther is wonderful. She sleeps through the night. We have to wake her up to feed. She is also sleeping most of the day.

We have a big weekend coming up. Tonight I am going to Dave and Busters for Chris Naylor's Bachelor Get Together. Then Sunday we are attending Chris and Angie's wedding in Glenview, IL.

Thanks to Granny for coming up this week to help out for a couple of days, even though she was injured. She got in a fight with a Pampered Chef slicer and dicer and lost. Her wound was nothing 12 stitches couldn't repair. The battle scar will make her look tough. ;-)

First Week in the World

It's been a great week. Yesterday(Friday), we visited Dr. Zumhagen in Naperville. Esther is 4 ounces below birth weight which is acceptable. All systems go. Shawn may have an infection in her abdomen. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic which seems to be helping. Shawn is laying low this weekend and resisting the urge to do anything but lay around.

We have received a ton of help from lots of people. Granny Vicki was stayed with us from Saturday till Thursday. Grandma Diane spent time with Abby and PJ on Thursday afternoon. On Wednesday, our neighbor Mandy brought us a meal. Scott, Laura and Maddie Pfister came to visit on Thursday and brought Chinese food. Last night, Sue(another neighbor) brought us a meal as well. I believe, Paige(the neighbor behind us) is bring a meal tonight. People have been very generous.

Today, Abby, PJ and I are going to the grand opening celebration of a new park that was just built near the Fox River in Oswego. The park district is providing free food, games and a 50's style band.

Here is a photo of Esther that was taken on Thursday. She is beginning to open her eyes more and becoming more expressive. Click on the image below the see a larger version. Checkout the phot gallery. There is this photo of Esther next to a photo of her when she was just born. It's awesome to see the changes.

All is well

It's the third day and all is well. Shawn is up and about, but taking it easy. She sat on the porch for a while last night while I walked around the neighborhood showing off Esther. We have been sooo blessed.

Esther is sleeping great. We have had two good nights of sleep. Esther has slept eight hours for the last two nights. It's amazing.

Granny Vicki has been staying with us since Saturday. She has been a huge help. Today, Grandama Diane is taking Abby and PJ to lunch to give all of us a little break. The neighborhood ladies are putting together meals for us starting tomorrow night. The church we have been attending - Harvest Baptist - called today to offer meals. It has been so comforting to know that so many people are lead to offer support.

Last night we had the Hauser and Poling families over for a visit. It was alot of fun.

We've taking some more photos that I will be posting later. Esther changes every day.

Introducing Esther Grace Eident

Now that we have had a little sleep, it's time to post the pictures and a little more detail of the event. Read more by click below. the photos

]]> Saturday was a busy day. We had many grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins over to the house for a cookout. It was a good time. In the evening we took a little trip to the park and then to Dairy Hut for an ice cream treat courtesy of Uncle Walt. We arrived home at about 8:30 PM and every body started making tracks towards bed.

9:00 PM - Shawn's waters broke. Lots of fluid. I never imagined there would be so much liquid in that belly.

9:05 PM - I called the doctor and began filling the birthing tub.

9:30 PM - Contractions started

10:00 PM - Shawn slipped into the birthing tub to help lessen the pain of the contractions.

10:30 PM - Debbie, the nurse, arrived and checked Shawn. She was 5 cm dilated. The nurse called the doctor who began his drive from Berwyn to our home.

12:00 AM - Doctor Zumhagen arrived and checked Shawn. She was fully dilated and the baby was just moving past the cervix.

12:20 AM - Shawn got out of the pool and began to push.

3:11 AM - The head was delivered.

3:14 AM - The rest popped out. This was the coolest thing I had ever seen. When the head was out, the baby hardly looked real. She was purple and unresponsive. When the rest of the body was out I was watching Esther's face. She all of a sudden took a deep breath, eyes opened and she pinked up.

Those lungs had never contained air and had never been tested. Within moments of birth they were full of air and working. Everything was working. What an awesome design. Praise God!

The whole time Shawn was pushing, Grandma Betty and Granny Vicki were slowly making there way up the stairs to listen better. Granny Vicki turned off the refridgerator so that they could hear better. When the baby was born, they were at the top of the stairs waiting in anticipation. Cute.

As for Abby and PJ, the kids, they slept through the whole thing. Grandpa Jerry figured it would be best for himself to get some rest for the next day. Uncle Randy was crashed in the basement all night.

Esther Grace. 8 Pounds, 14 Ounces and 22 inches long.

6:15 AM - The doctor left.

8:30 AM - The nurse left.

Sunday was crazy with visitors again. Family, neighbors and friends stopped by to wish us congratulations and take a peek at Esther. Shawn's family left at 5:00 PM to go back to Northern Wisconsin. Granny Vicki had not gone to bed all night. She went to bed at 8:30 PM on Sunday and didn't wake until 8:30 AM Monday morning. Shawn and I slept a little on Sunday morning. Last night sleep felt good.

Well a nurse will be arriving any moment to check on Shawn and I want to get some photos posted. More later.

Esther Eident

Born 9/26/04 @ 3:14 AM

8 pounds 14 ounces

More later.

Too tired.

nothing still

We have had a full day. But no baby.

The whole famn damily was over for a cookout. Then we all got in Shawn's parent's RV and went to the park. It was a nice, full day.

Shawn is shot and going to bed. The kids could hardly see straight and needed to go to bed in the worst way.

Last night we had false alarm number two. Shawn had about 6 contractions in an hour. As soon as we called the doctor, they stopped. These episodes are Shawn's body gearing up for delivery. It may be the little boy who called "Wolf". We may go into real labor and think it's pre-labor. Then wait too long to call the doctor. That's okay. I've been reading up on emergency child birth. Looks like fun. ;-)

The due date came and went

The due date came and went with out incident. We'll see what happens today.

Shawn's grandma Ardus is recovering well from her surgery.

Shawn's parents and my mom, Vicki, are coming to visit this weekend.

Shawn took the kids to "The Secret Spot" . This place is near downtown Oswego along Wabaunsee Creek. Here are some photos.

False Alarm

Last night Shawn had back contraction about 5 minutes apart for about an hour. As soon as we called the doctor the contractions stopped. The doctor said to call back if they come back and become more frequent. The contractions didn't come back and we all got a good night sleep.

Maybe later today we'll have more news.

1 Day Left

Almost there. We went to the doctor today and learned that Shawn is fully effaced and 2cm dilated. The doctor said everything is all set and ready to go. So, we'll just wait.

We received a phone call from Shawn's family in Wisconsin this morning. Shawn's Grandma Ardus had a heart attack this morning. Shawn's father Jerry said that she is recovering in St. Paul MN. Please keep Grandma Ardus in your prayers.