The Harrisons

Beach Babes

2011-02-28T16:46:00.000-08:00

This was a golden moment...you know, a moment in time that is so perfect you wish you could just wrap it up and keep it with you at all times and then pull it out and relive it whenever you wanted? Some friends of ours just called us up one Saturday morning and asked us if we'd like to join them at Castaic Lake. They were going to feed the ducks.

It turned out to be such a beautiful day. We weren't prepared for how warm it would be...

Nor were we prepared for the beautiful beach full of sand for the boys to play in...

so the long sleeved onsies and jeans were quickly shed.

We made some great memories sitting by the cool lapping water....

digging around in the sand...

and having a picnic lunch.

All in all, a perfect day.

Yahoo! We're 2!

2011-02-07T21:45:00.000-08:00

I went a little nuts and decided to disregard the experts' guidelines for parties and children. I guess according to them we should only have invited four friends for the boys' birthday party but how do you choose??? Anyway, they had a blast and I would totally do it all over again. Only I might take more pictures next time.

We had the party at a place in LA called Little Barn. It was sooooo darn cute! We were allowed 30 children and we did invite the max but, unfortunately, it's cold and flu season so there were several children who couldn't make it. :( I guess that's just how it's going to be if we decide to celebrate near the boys' actual birthday.

We decided to stick with the farm theme. Love the little cupcake toppers I found on Etsy.

Glad I wasn't in the room when THIS was going on!!!

The ball pit was the favorite for all the kids (little and big).

Yup, that's my husband...and my sweet Sammy.

The little bounce house was a hit too. Sam and Wes insisted on holding hands while they jumped around. Soooo incredibly sweet...that is until they bonked heads and ended up wailing and refused to go back in. Ah well!

All in all a great day! I would definitely recommend this place for 2 year old birthday parties!!!

AWWWW NUTS!!!

2011-01-17T14:14:00.000-08:00

You see that adorable little guy on the left? We had a little trip to the E.R. about 1 1/2 weeks ago after feeding him peanut butter. Boy was that fun. After taking him for allergy tests today we now know that Wesley is allergic to not only peanuts, but also almonds and even more so to cashews and pistachios. Sigh! I love cashews! But I will not be eating them again anytime soon.

I just finished clearing our pantry of all products that either contain nuts or are processed in the same facility as nuts per his doctor's instructions. Thus begins a series of lifestyle changes for the Harrison family. You see, we are a family who loves to eat out. We either eat out or order in on a very regular basis. According to the doctor, it is no longer safe for Wesley to eat restaurant food due to the possibility of cross-contamination of foods. Therefore, I need to start cooking at home more. Travelling will prove more of a challenge as well.

Please pray for us! This is both frightening and disappointing. On the bright side, we can take him in for allergy tests again in 12 months and maybe his body will have forgotten that it hates nuts. Who knows? Stranger things have happened, right?

1st Visit to Travel Town

2010-12-18T21:39:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what took us so long to get here but the boys sure loved those trains!

Soft-Shoe Dancin'

2010-10-31T21:54:00.000-07:00

Just a hop, skip and a flying leap...

2010-10-25T21:55:00.000-07:00

In September Jeff and I went on a trip with a couple of friends that we began planning over a year ago...back when the boys were just beginning to crawl and I had thoughts like, "Well, by one year from now, I'm sure I'll be fine leaving the boys for a week or so..." Ha!

It was a Baltic Cruise beginning in Copenhagen, Denmark, with stops in Estonia, Russia, Finland and Sweden, ending again in Copenhagen. It was a wonderful trip and the boys were ~~totally spoiled~~ well taken care of by grandparents the entire time. I really had no reason to worry, but somehow managed to fit that in anyway. I did much better than I ever expected for the first week. Then I had a bad dream and anyone who's a mom knows...that trip was over for me from there on out!

Here's what we saw in the meantime...

Copenhagen, Denmark

The real Little Mermaid statue was in China. Go figure! So we had to settle for her little sister at Tivoli Gardens.

This is Hamlet's Castle (well kind of anyway)

The medieval town of Tallinn, Estonia

In St. Petersberg, we decided it would be best to go on a 10 hour tour of the city. At the beginning of our tour, our guide told us that according to Tolstoy, if you have not suffered you are worth nothing. I think we may have been worth a little something by the end of the day. (You'll see what I mean.)

The incredible Hermitage Museum. Our guide said that if you wanted to see the entire thing it would take you 8 years. As you can imagine, we had a bit of a whirlwind tour in our few hours there.

The Church of the Spilled Blood. Apparently Ivan the Terrible didn't want to take any chances of this masterpiece being copied by anyone so he had his architects eyes gouged out after he designed this church. I guess that's why they called him the Terrible.

We stopped here for lunch...(nice parking job, eh?) where we enjoyed traditional Russian fare, including beef stroganoff, caviar (big orange fish eggs), champagne and vodka. Nancy and I drank too much, NOT vodka, WATER. I downed two bottles of water not imagining that this might pose a problem later. We passed up the long line for the bathroom on the way out and were assured by our guide that there would be bathrooms at the next stop.

This is only about 15 minutes later but I'm already walking gingerly. However, I discovered that the only bathrooms at this stop required rubles to enter and I had none. In fact, all I had were some American 20 dollar bills. Fat lot of good that did me! So we went on to the next stop...

The Peter Paul Fortress was nice but by now I REALLY had to find a restroom or I was going to make a spectacle of myself. Nancy was about as bad off as I was at this point so we raced off in the direction the guide pointed us...I wish I had a picture of this but I don't. It was an old beat up trolley car that had been converted into outhouses. I guess they thought that was charming??? Or maybe it's just a mobile restroom for hire and they drive around to various tourist spots. I hate to think what would happen if they stopped fast on the road. But I digress. This place also took rubles and Nancy happened to have some from her last trip to Russia. It was physically painful watching the woman pick out the right change only to discover that several of the coins were not rubles and we didn't have enough. I would have gratefully handed over a $20 right there for the privilege of entering one of those teeny tiny little cubical outhouses but the lady showed us mercy and let us go through anyway. I don't know if I can fully describe to you how small these stalls were. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the toilet seat was two inches from the stall door. There were very small corners on either side where you could conceivably fit your legs. So it's really not surprising that they had to post this sign in each stall...

On to the next stop...

Stockholm, Sweden

This was my FAVORITE. I loved Stockholm and could imagine being perfectly happy spending our entire week there. Someday maybe we'll go back.

So we bookended our cruise with two 1 1/2 day stays in Copenhagen. During our last stay I was determined to go to a flea market. Don't ask me why but I've always wanted to do this. Nancy had two local friends who met up with us and showed us around so we did find a flea market and I DID buy something...

no, not these pictures but aren't they cool? I love antiques because I feel that the history and story behind them (whether I know them or not) adds to their beauty. How much more fabulous to look through antiques in a place like Denmark!

I'm a sucker for little silver spoons. I found some that have that little Danish crown on them and was happy as a clam!

Seth wasn't as excited as we wereheh heh heh!

Overall, it was an amazing trip. Jeff took a personal recordbreaking 3500 photos. We had a great time with our friends. We even got plenty of sleep at night.

When we got home we got to see this...

and there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be.

For Grandma Julia...

2010-10-06T22:54:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm...hamburger helper!

Wardrobe Malfunction

2010-10-04T21:55:00.000-07:00

Not quite sure how this happened.

Grandpa Leon

2010-09-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

I've waited awhile to write this post because...well...seems like there's been so much loss in our family lately, I've been dreading facing the reality of it. Besides, I don't want this to turn into a blog about grief. Last month I lost my darling grandpa...Leon Forrest Waldron. He lived 92 blessed years on this earth and is now with our Heavenly Father. I was just printing up some pictures for my cousins, two of his first grandchildren, and they're so adorable that I thought I'd share them.

Grandpa Leon & Cousin Kymmie

Wasn't he handsome?! He was the dearest, sweetest, gentlest soul. To be honest, I wish I had known him better. He was always the quietly loving, hardworking, kind grandpa who spent time creating in his workshop and was always quick to do whatever my grandma asked of him. I'll always miss his "Hello, hello" greeting as we walked through the door of their home...the way he called me "darlin" and gave me big smooches even when the alzheimer's had progressed and he probably didn't really know who I was anymore...just his sweet presence.

Grandpa Leon & Cousin Mark

Looking forward to seeing you again someday Grandpa!

Ta Daaaa!!!

2010-08-11T16:35:00.000-07:00

With the exception of cushions and window dressings that we have yet to pick out for the dining area of the kitchen, we are DONE!!! These aren't the greatest photos but, hey, this is no design blog either!

As you can tell, we are moved in and making full use of our new kitchen. Somehow, there are still things missing but I'm sure they will turn up soon enough.

Notice how we finally get to display Jeff's bundt pan collection? Nice, huh? (Did you even know my husband HAD a bundt pan collection?!)

And THIS is my pantry/laundry room/wrapping center/former kitchen!!! I LOVE this room!!!

So I took all the dishes out of the buffet that is sitting in our living room and filled it with Sam & Wes's toys instead. Another bonus of the kitchen being completed is that we now have our living room, dining room and patio back. Oh, it's been so nice to be able to WALK through the house instead of CLIMB through (over the mountains of boxes and stuff).

Here the boys have pulled out all their toys and decided it's a great place to play.

It is just exactly big enough in there for them to stand up and stomp around. Wish I could figure out how to load the darn video on here.

Caught in the Act

2010-08-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

Wesley found a stray crayon and did a little tagging while we weren't looking.

Exploring Our Feminine Side

2010-07-31T21:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, now usually I can't get the boys to keep a hat on their head. They wouldn't take this one off!!! I wonder if they still have these at Target. I may want to get a couple.

Picking flowers.

"Awww! For me?! Thanks Sam!"

I took the boys for a playdate with Miss Avery and they had lots of fun playing with all her great toys!

Here's Sammy dragging the pink wagon around the yard.

And here are both of my boys screaming and crying over who gets to have...not the girl...but the pink wagon!!!

Thoughts on Gloria

2010-07-12T15:34:00.000-07:00

So I now have all of my appliances installed and working in my kitchen and have begun the process of moving in. My new kitchen is coming together...and I am coming unglued.

Grief is such a strange and unpredictable thing. I can go an entire week and think that I'm doing just fine. My standard answer when people ask how I'm doing is "I'm okay." And really, I do believe this when I say it. But every once in a while, I'll be in some inopportune place (say at a barbeque in someone's backyard) and a friend will innocently ask, "How are you?" And just as my canned answer is about to come out of my lips...WHAM! A rogue wave of grief BODY SLAMS me and I suddenly find it difficult just to breathe much less answer the question. I try desperately to distract myself as the tears well up in my eyes and hope that the person asking doesn't notice the thickness in my voice as I lie..."I'm okay."

It's just never the right time or place. I see my children wail and cry in such a satisfying display of raw emotion over something as simple as his brother taking his toy, and I can't seem to allow myself to do the same...just let it all out. Instead it slips out a little here, a little there. I know it takes time and not much has passed since my beautiful auntie left us. I guess you can't schedule grief. You just have to roll with it when it comes.

One of my favorite books to read to the boys says at the very end "And if I had a million days, and time enough for all the praise, I couldn't tell you all the ways I love you." So today I'm going to write about one of the many things I loved about Auntie Gloria. Here's a really important one: she always strove to be beautiful on the inside as well as the outside.

When Gloria was a young child, my grandmother quickly saw that she was going to be exceptionally beautiful. Not wanting her to grow up spoiled by her looks, she would tell her "Pretty is as pretty does." Isn't that smart? I believe Gloria really took Grandma's wise words to heart.

My mother recently shared with me that when she was little she asked her older and wiser sister "How do you make friends?" and Gloria answered, "Well, you just smile at everyone." How sweet is that? That is exactly what I always saw her do. She smiled and she listened and she responded graciously to others even when they were not being so nice themselves. I have often heard stories of how much people liked her who didn't even know her well.

Like the man who used to go to my church. When he found out my mom was Gloria's sister he felt compelled to share that he had always liked her...that even though he wasn't one of the popular kids, she was always nice to him. That may seem small, but her kindness must have really impacted him to remember that decades after the fact.

This picture cracks me up because it is so pouty and so NOT the way I ever remember my auntie being. She was known as Allison by now and had begun her career in modeling.

At her memorial, which was beautiful by the way, the one thing that was said the most about her was that she was a great listener and truly cared about what was going on in other peoples lives...that it was so apparent that their happiness was really important to her. No surprise that this was my experience with her as well.

I had the blessing and privilege of working with my auntie for several years. She is the one who got me the job where I still work to this day. I treasure the times I got to spend with her that never would have happened had I not taken that job. I got to know her not only as an aunt, but as a friend. Sometimes we would go out to lunch to catch up on life, but most of the time, we would just talk here and there as we went through our day. And she would always take time to really listen to how I was doing and what was going on in my life. Which leads me to wonder, did I do the same for her???

(Here she's holding my children with her daughter, Kym.)

I am often so distracted while talking to others, especially these days with toddlers running in different directions at all times. If I take my attention off of them for a heart beat, one of them inevitably ends up taking a nose dive off of some unacceptably high place. Scrapes and bruises, bellows and tears ensue. No. I need to set aside purposeful time and work to really listen to the people around me. I want to be more like Gloria(or Allison as I came to know her at work). I want people to walk away from a conversation with me feeling listened to and cared for. Something to strive for.

Coming Soon...

2010-07-08T22:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of my almost kitchen...

Tomorrow I get my refrigerator and dishwashers. Now to begin the daunting task of figuring out how to organize my cupboards. And, of course, I'm going to have to change the way I shop and cook from pre-packaged, microwaveable to real recipe ingredients. Wooohoo!!!

18 months already???

2010-07-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

The boys turned 18 months last week. Jeff took them for their doctor visit by himself! Super Dad!!!

Of course I had to send him with a page full of questions for the doctor and instructions to write EVERYTHING down. He was very dutiful and I received a page full of notes at the end of the day.

Here's a recent picture of the boys since I haven't posted any for awhile...

We can now officially move them into front facing car seats. We've really pushed it keeping them in the infant seats for so long but boy did we get our money's worth out of those! Besides, at their last appointment Sammy was just a hair shy of the required 20 lbs to be able to be forward facing. Now we are on the hunt for the perfect seats that will last them a long long long long time...seeing as kids apparently need boosters till they practically graduate highschool these days!!! Especially our two who continue to be very little for their age. I think they ended up in the 25th percentile for height (5th for weight). But they've got gigantic brains cuz their head size is in the 50th and 60th! Ha ha!

My little bobble heads!

ALIAKA

2010-06-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

That's what was on the license plate of the little aqua blue convertible Mercedes my auntie Gloria drove for as far back as my memory goes. She was born Gloria Sharlene Waldron but became known as Allison once she began her career in modeling as a young mother of two. Aqua was such a perfect color too...it matched her fabulous blue eyes. I think that color will always remind me of her...my sweet spirited, stunningly beautiful, always gracious auntie. We lost her last week, to a heart attack, and I am heartbroken.

I hope you (my small handful of readers) won't mind if I sprinkle in posts about her now and then between pictures of the boys as I work through my grief and do my best to celebrate her life. She was so special to me, and these thoughts of her just keep swimming around in my head...around and around and around. They need to come out.

I have been looking through pictures of her for days now and have come across so many darling photos. This is the photo Cousin Wendy sent to me that we're going to use at her memorial service on Friday.

This image has been surrounding me all week, on my desktop at work, blown up at home in various sizes, on my cellphone...I like remembering her this way. It's comforting to feel she's nearby.

Empty Nest Syndrome

2010-06-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

The birdies have left the nest! It happened one Sunday morning. I peered outside the door and one of the babies was just flying BACK to the nest. The others were just hanging out around it but not exactly in it.

"OH! OH! I better get my camera!" By the time I made it to the window, all four little birds were flying around our front lawn, resting on our bench, planter wall, grass, etc...just sitting there as if to say "Well what do we do now?!" And YES, you read it right...there were FOUR! I've never been so happy to be wrong in my life! Those two lifeless little ones I thought had died somehow made it. I noticed them several days earlier and thought I better not get my hopes up in case something happened but they survived and fledged! Sofie is the proud mama of quadruplets and she successfully fed and nurtured them till they left the nest! Good job Sofie!!!

This has been bittersweet. I so looked forward to peeking outside to see what the baby birds were up to and how they had grown. Now when I walk out my front door I see that empty little nest and I am reminded that some day my little fledglings will also leave home.

Here's my little Condor in training at the Bank of America Children's Discovery Room.

Oh how I don't want that day to come too soon!

16 1/2 more years before you can even THINK about it

my little hatchlings!

Security Breach

2010-06-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

Soon he'll figure out that he can just plow right over this little floppy fence.

Puddin Face

2010-06-01T10:56:00.000-07:00

We didn't go anywhere for Memorial Day weekend. We just stayed put. On Saturday morning we were planning to do a re-do of Mother's Day breakfast but ended up at IHOP instead with the intention of going somewhere nearby for pony rides for the boys. Instead we found ourselves looking for a last minute replacement for our kitchen sink. More kitchen drama. We're still a little ways away from a functioning kitchen.

Anyway, we didn't have a chance to do the pony rides before the boys had to go down for their nap. Instead we decided to do...drumroll please...

CHOCOLATE PUDDING FINGER PAINTING!!!

The boys follow instructions very well...

Wesley, Sam, show me your tongues!!!

Can you lick your fingers?

Now make a HUGE mess! Go ahead!!!!

Nothing better after a puddin bath than nice cold milk!

Hey, Mom! You gotta taste this!!!

So we contemplated swishing them around in the pool after this, but instead decided to wipe them down and let them go get good and dirty...

and hairy!

Josh came over to shoot some hoops.

Then Josh's mommy and I went shopping while the guys cleaned up the mess!

Overall, a VERY good day!!!

Poor Sophie

2010-05-29T11:29:00.001-07:00

Update on the phoebe family living on our front porch. Yesterday I came home and snuck a peek at the nest full of fuzzy baby birds only to notice that they were no longer moving. I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach but tried to tell myself that perhaps they were taking a much needed nap. After all, my little munchkins can sleep pretty deeply during their naptimes in the middle of the day. Still I couldn't shake the gnawing feeling that something was wrong.

Flashback to the day before, mommy and daddy bird were practically frantic the entire morning...racing back and forth darting after bugs and high tailing it back to the nest. The babies were singing their sweet little hungry tweets in unison "Mommy! Daddy! We're hungry!" Awwww! Every time I heard the chorus of chirping as I walked down my hallway I would melt at the cuteness of it all. "And I thought feeding twins was exhausting! These parents have quads!" I thought to myself as I went about my daily routine. How sweet!

Later in the day yesterday as I peered through my living room window at the nest, still no movement. Worry, worry, worry...I'm good at that you know. A year and a half of being a momma and already I'm an expert. Finally, I see one little bird move! Hurray! Signs of life! Only still today when I peek at the nest (from a distance of course) I can spot only two baby birds moving...the other two remain in place, just as they were yesterday. I explained the sad news to my mom, an avid birdwatcher who happens to have volumes of information about all kinds of birds tucked away in her pretty little head, and she explained to me matter-of-factly that this is common in the bird world. Babies often don't make it. Aw shucks!

I'm sad to say that the parents' best efforts to feed the babies probably wasn't enough for the nest full of four birds. Was this Sophie's choice? Did they have to decide which babies ate and which went hungry to guarantee that some would survive? Or did the stronger of the babies just happen to make it through the lean times? I hope it was the latter. I can't shake that sad feeling that not all the little fuzzballs in that nest have made it and there's no promise the remaining ones will either. Gone are my visions of four fluffy little birds fluttering out of the nest to make it on their own! Ahhhh, nature is cold and cruel sometimes! For now I'm still sad for poor Sophie!

Spring Visitors

2010-05-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

We've had some unexpected houseguests this spring. For some time, this little pair has laid claim to our front yard as their home...and finally, they decided to build a home of their own under the eaves on our front porch. They're phoebes and at the moment they are my favorite bird. They eat the bugs around our pool and front yard and they are soooo adorable! I mean, how stinkin cute is he?

Several weeks ago we spotted their splattered, muddy nest as we were walking out our front door and I thought "Oh I hope they have little eggs in there!" I got my wish and have been watching eagerly for signs of life ever since. We've been carefully avoiding our front door as much as possible recently because there are, indeed, baby birds in there now. Mom and Dad have no qualms about dive bombing you as you walk through the porch so we figured we'd give them their space. Today we were out in the front yard having an impromptu playdate with Josh so as long as we were disturbing the nervous parents anyway, I threw caution to the wind and snuck a picture of the little ones peeking out of their nest.

There are four babies in there!!! I don't know how they all fit, especially when the mommy comes and sits on them! The lighting for the photo was bad and I didn't dare get too close so I had to fix it up a bit...but isn't that the sweetest thing ever?! I soooo hope I get to be there when they fledge. I peek at them through my window constantly throughout the day to see what they're up to.

The boys, on the other hand, couldn't have cared less about what was going on in that nest.

Here's Sam chillin on the front bench.

Wesley chowing on his toy fish.

Sammy sharing his ball with Josh.

Kitchen Update

2010-05-20T20:38:00.001-07:00

The kitchen is beginning to take shape. Take a look!

We have cabinets!!!

Can you see the black granite counter top??? It's so purty!

Uncle Dan

2010-05-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

It's appropriately gloomy and cold today. Today we said goodbye to a very dear friend who is leaving us to move to Washington. Stupid Washington. They better appreciate what they're getting!

Dan came to live with us right about this time 5 years ago. Yes, Jeff and I were newly married and YES it was a crazy thing to do. But Jeff and Dan had a business plan and as a new wife I was eager to encourage my husband to explore his dreams (still am). The business never panned out but God had other plans for Dan being here.

He was here through the tumultuous first year and a half of our marriage, lending a listening ear and helpful advice. He was here all through the agonizing lawsuit over our house that dragged on for years, supporting, helping, being an intermediary. He moved out of our home but stayed nearby...belonged to our church, came over on Tuesday nights for our game night, often joined us for dinner. He was here through the difficult pregnancy and birth of the twins. I still remember how ticked off I was trapped in a hospital room hoping to hold my twin babies in for several weeks more and finding out that Dan thought it would be funny to send an email to all of our family and friends announcing that I had given birth to triplets! (I have to admit that WAS kinda funny.) He has always been nearby...always been available...always quick to help, support, encourage, or just hang out. God used him in a lot of our lives down here.

Dan is best friend to my husband, uncle to my boys, like a brother to me. I know he will continue to be all of those things...just from much further away now.

So Dan, when you read this, know that you are very loved and will be sorely missed. We are praying that God's blessings will continually pour down on you...much like the rain in Seattle. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

An Abbreviated Mother's Day

2010-05-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

Our Mother's Day plans were cut short this year because the boys are feeling none too well...fevers, runny noses, yucky coughs...the works. We cancelled plans with my mom on Saturday and the weekend was spent just trying to keep the boys comfortable. I did, however, manage to slip away, thanks to my darling husband, and go to church on Sunday. I wanted to share the video they played. Samuel & Wesley make short appearances...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6eDAiumxuM

It must be a twin thing...

2010-04-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was changing Sammy's diaper on the changing table.

Wesley was watching from his crib.

It's just easier this way.

This way I'm not helplessly pinned to the changing table trying to prevent Baby A from diving off while Baby B scales furniture and stuffs unknown objects into his mouth.

Anyhoo, I was changing Sammy's diaper and couldn't resist the opportunity to tickle his delicious little belly. So I reached down and

TICKLED him by surprise.

Wesley laughed first!

"What are YOU laughing about Wesley!?"

So I TICKLED Sammy again

and just a half second before Sammy giggled...

Wesley was SQUEALING with delight and started chuckling up a storm!

It was just one of the silliest things ever!

Of course I had to tickle Sammy over and over to study this fascinating phenomenon.

So what are your thoughts? Was Wesley physically feeling the tickle or was it the sight of his brother being tickled that got his funny bone? ;)

You belong in the zoo

2010-04-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

So for my birthday I told Jeff I wanted to take our first trip to the zoo as a family. We decided to go last Saturday. Samuel and Wesley gave me the family membership for my birthday. (Apparently they're loaded.) Our good friends came along with their little boy Josh.

We were supposed to meet there at 12:30 so we left at 12:22. (We just live a stone's throw from the darned place!) An hour and a half later, we finally found a parking spot. Who knew it would be such a zoo! Ha ha! From now on I'm going there on weekdays with the boys!

Here are some highlights from the day...

We got to the petting zoo long after it had closed but the boys were delighted with this goat.

I had myself convinced that the giraffe would be the big hit at the zoo because the boys have two of these on their wall at home...

and clearly they did enjoy the giraffes...

and the chimps were fun too

they are practically relatives after all...

but, alas, the STAIRS were the favorite attraction!

The bench at the top of the stairs came in a close second and they were none too happy about being put back in the stroller.

We took them out again to see the tiger pacing back and forth in his exhibit and Sam & Wes got to stretch their legs as well...

So when it was time to go back in the stroller yet again, Sammy lost it! He was NOT a happy boy! Popcorn to the rescue!

See that little tear under his right eye? Popcorn kept him quite content after that. He's such a daddy's boy!

This is Josh. He was very mild mannered the entire day. He's not quite to that walking/running/on the verge of needing a harness stage of life yet. Doesn't he look angelic? We remember that angelic stage. Sigh!

But we're enjoying this stage an awful lot too!

The SamWes Dictionary

2010-04-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

Vocalization: Translation

kah keh: cracker

duh: duck

dah dah: dog

da dah: daddy

mama: mommy (awwww!)

nie nie: night night

noh: nose

nana: banana or Grandma Carroll (they love both)

bah bah: baby, bottle, belly, berry (lots of meanings here)

aaaa: cat

abidja bidja: I just feel like talkin (Sammy's language)

bah: ball

bubboh: bubble

uh oh: I dropped something on purpose and I want to see your reaction

Eating Out

2010-04-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

Notice Sammy's excellent signing skills at the end.

Coming soon...

the SamWes Dictionary

The Light at the End of My Kitchenless Tunnel

2010-04-16T14:24:00.001-07:00

Built in the 1930's and purchased as a fixer-upper, our house has always had a very tiny kitchen. Jeff remodeled it early on...new cabinets, flooring, tile and paint. But no matter how many ways we looked at it, there was no reasonable way to fit a dishwasher in. I mean look at this!

Yes, except for a very small space for a breakfast table, THAT was actually the entire kitchen! If we wanted to put a dishwasher in, we'd have to either lose the only drawers or just do without a sink. Now, you may be thinking "Come on Mindy! What's the big deal! So you have to handwash a few dishes?" If you're thinking this, you don't know my husband. Jeff LOVES to entertain so before the babies arrived, rarely a week went by that we didn't host people at our home multiple times. Add that up and it equals some very dry dishwater hands. (Palm Olive doesn't help, by the way.)

After the babies were born, I began spending so much time in the kitchen (lots of bottles to wash and sterilize for two babies) that Jeff couldn't stand it anymore. Finally, last Fall, he conspired with a designer friend of ours to completely remodel the kitchen once again, only this time the remodel includes an extra 200 square feet. So we began packing up our tiny but very full kitchen on New Years Day, did a little demolition...

and this has been my temporary kitchen ever since...

Clearly we eat out a lot.

In fact, the boys may be getting a little TOO comfortable eating out in restaurants. Here they are playing king of the hill in a booth with my dad.

This corner of the room belongs to Sushi, our geriatric cat.

Jeff says we've lost our letter grade.

Here are some pictures of the progress on our new and improved kitchen...

The new entrance is french doors...ooh la la!

This will be the U of the kitchen.

and in front of that will be an island with not one but TWO dishwashers!!!

The dark doorway on the right is what remains of our original kitchen. It will become our laundry room/pantry. Sigh!

And there's a skylight at the end of this tunnel!

Baseball Anyone?

2010-04-09T13:27:00.001-07:00

Jeff put one of the Easter baskets Grandma & Grandpa gave to the boys on Wesley's head yesterday. The boys don't like hats and immediately tear them off their heads and throw them on the ground. This one is, apparently, an exception for Wesley. He's more than happy to wear this giant baseball basket as a hat! Go figure!

Easter Eggs vs. Strawberries

2010-04-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

Well here's the family at church on Easter morning. Don't the boys look handsome in the Easter outfits their Nanna Carroll picked out for them?

Afternoon Easter egg hunt...

These lucky boys hauled in a total of 4 Easter baskets each!

The boys couldn't stay away from Grandma & Grandpa. They stuffed their eggs with sugary cereal. Ah hah!!!
So much for the sugar-free Easter. But we did manage to get some healthy snacks in too.

They really enjoyed getting whole strawberries instead of the little cut up pieces I usually give them.

Here's the look on Baby J's face...when she got a look at this puss.

Good thing I got a great tip on how to get berry stains out of clothing. I'll get working on that just as soon as I finish my See's candy bordeaux the size of an ostrich egg.

Sugar-Free Easter

2010-04-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

Decided to make an Easter basket for my grandparents this year since my grandpa was recently moved into a board and care facility. He loves his sweets but unfortunately, he and my grandma are both diabetic so Easter treats require a little creativity and planning. I've been wanting to make these little chocolate nests for awhile now. They're just so darn cute and super easy to make. I used Hershey's sugar free chocolate chips and Russell Stover jelly beans.

Threw in some sugar free chocolate bunnies, and sugar free Reese's peanut butter cups and I had myself a Grandpa-friendly Easter basket.

No candy for the boys yet. They're getting cheerios and finger puppets in their eggs this year. We're having a little Easter egg hunt for them tomorrow with their little girlfriend up the street. Here they are practicing for the big day tomorrow.

Wesley

Sammy

Their new favorite thing is putting things into other things. I'll post pics of the real thing tomorrow!

Deliciously Happy

2010-03-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I had the wonderful opportunity to take a long weekend away to celebrate our 5th anniversary. Both sets of grandparents took turns with Samuel and Wesley for the time we were away and off we went. We flew into Flagstaff, AZ on Thursday afternoon and drove straight to the Grand Canyon. My first time seeing it and I was not disappointed. Who could be disappointed with this?!

We stayed one luxurious night at the beautiful, old El Tovar Hotel right on the rim of the Grand Canyon. After a decadent 10 hours of sleep (unHEARD of in our house), and being greeted by a small snow flurry outside our window (gorgeous!), we walked down to the restaurant in the hotel, asked for a table next to the window and enjoyed a scrumptious and oh-so-indulgent southwestern style breakfast and this...

Well, at least I ate it. Jeff is watching his waistline lately but I decided that something as momentous as our 5th wedding anniversary surely affords me the excuse to partake of something so decadent! And I DID eat it ALL by myself!!!

After a short shopping trip (we really only got stuff for Sam and Wes), we took the scenic route to Sedona. Ahhhhhh...so indescribably beautiful! Of course it took us three times as long as it should have because we needed to stop and take thousands of pictures. (If you know Jeff, you know that's not an exaggeration.) Honestly, I had difficulty choosing pictures to post because, as wonderful of a photographer as my dear husband is, nothing seemed to do this place justice!

So on to our special anniversary dinner. We had decided, based on a few quickly read recommendations, to eat at a little French restaurant by the Oak Creek River called L'Auberge. It sounded quiet and cozy and beautiful so we took a chance. Mmmm...we took our time (and were encouraged to do so) and had an amazing dinner. Here is the view from our table:

Here's a view of the table:

baby golden beet salad...WOW!

Oh, were we fat and happy after that meal!!! Another night of 10 hours of sleep (notice I didn't mention the night of only 5 hours sleep so Jeff could be up to take pictures of the sunrise?) and we were headed home to this:

Ahhhhh...there's just no place like home!

Bad Habits

2010-03-12T13:57:00.000-08:00

Eh hem! We're developing some baaaaaad habits here.

My Favorite Time of Day

2010-03-04T09:32:00.001-08:00

This is my definition of Heaven...snuggling up with my three boys in the early morning hours. Every morning the boys wake us up a little too early, somewhere between "Good grief ! What time is it?!" and "Can't I sleep just a few more minutes?". So we bring them into bed with us when they first wake up and sometimes, when we're very lucky, they fall back to sleep and we get a few more minutes or, on rare occasions, hours of sleep.

So every morning, our bed becomes a family bed and it is truly the sweetest time of every day. Makes it doubly hard to leave for work on the days I do work, though! (That's Wesley sleeping on top of Sammy, by the way.)

1st Birthday Pictures

2010-02-14T15:48:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to get the boys' pictures taken for their first birthday but Christmas was a little busy. So we had it done at 13 months instead. I think this is fair because really it's halfway between their actual birthdate and the day they were due to be born. So who really knows how old they are anyway??? So here are our little munchkins at about 1 year...

Wesley and Sammy

Sammy

Wesley

What did I ever do to deserve these awesome little blessings?!

Mom Jeans

2010-02-08T22:11:00.000-08:00

I have a confession to make...

I'm addicted to elastic waistbands. Yes, I got so used to my pregnancy pants that I can't bring myself to give them up. I was on babysteals the other day and saw these.

http://www.lilacclothing.com/

They arrived today. I'm wearing them now and I never want to take them off! They are sooooo comfortable! I highly recommend them.

Mom jeans will never be the same. Wooohooo!

Accentuate the Positive

2010-02-03T20:59:00.000-08:00

Last month we took a trip to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands and for many reasons I won't get into, it was not what you'd consider...how shall I put this...a relaxing experience in paradise. But I am going to skip past all of that and focus on the positive aspects of our trip...

First of all, we were blessed to have the opportunity to see this beautiful place with our own eyes! Isn't it gorgeous?! It was like something out of a magazine!

We got to have sweet moments together as a family, uninterrupted by phones, constructions noises, or the worries of everyday life.

We spent time with good friends.

Some people thought they were triplets! Can you imagine?! I guess I can see why. Although Josh is six months younger, he's about the same size as our little guys.

We saw interesting wildlife.

We picked up some new skills, like pushing our own stroller,

driving (only 1 and already asking for the keys to the car!),

walking in the sand,

and even eating some!

We dined al fresco,

and flirted with all the waitresses (Wes and Sam did anyway).

Got to ride on Daddy's back in a backpack!

We experimented with hats,

and decided that while we look darned good in them,

we prefer to throw them on the ground.

Maybe someday we'll go back, when we're old enough to snorkel and can tolerate air travel better. Or maybe Mom and Dad will just go without us. Now that's an idea!!!

I...I...I, uh...

2010-01-26T14:58:00.000-08:00

Christmas colds NO KITCHEN vacation disaster vomit/diarrhea

separation anxiety anti-nap stomach flu

picky picky picky

spitting food pulling food out of the mouth throwing food

trapped by rain can't think seven red, huh? Moms out there...HOW?!

Can you believe it???

2009-12-28T22:55:00.001-08:00

Samuel & Wesley turned 1 year old on Christmas Eve! It's hard to believe it's been a year since that day they were born. And now they're eating solid food and getting ready to walk. How did it go by so quickly?

We had a small birthday party...we wish you could have all been there...but alas, our house is small and now under construction as well. Yes, we are finally getting ready to expand our kitchen. It will soon be the largest room in the house, which makes sense since I spend the majority of my time in there!

The Birthday Boys

Before...

(Sam)

Candles...yum!

(Wes)

What IS this stuff?

We've never eaten anything this color before.

SUGAR!

WE LIKE SUGAR!!!

After...

Time for presents...

Dumptrucks & Horsies!

and handmade toy chests and blocks!

Thanks Grandpa Bob and Grandma Julia!!!

2009-12-03T09:50:00.001-08:00

Last year at this time I was...

lying in a hospital room

ordering Christmas gifts online from my bed

praying for my babies to stay in past the New Year

decorating my tiny fake Christmas tree

watching Gilmore Girls and the Family Channel's 25 Days Till Christmas to pass the time

lamenting the fact that there would be no Christmas cards to send out that year

feeling very grateful for the wonderful care I was receiving from my doctors and nurses

EXTREMELY nervous about becoming a mother

This year I'm...

chasing my almost one year old boys around the house

finding cheerios in every nook and cranny

already printing and stuffing my Christmas cards (yeah!!!)

looking forward to Christmas parties with friends and family

having fun shopping for presents in the STORES (online too to tell the truth)

anticipating a REAL Christmas tree

DEFINITELY going back to the hospital with the boys to bring presents to the FABULOUS nurses who helped keep my little angels in during my 8 week stay

planning Samuel & Wesley's first birthday party

HAVING A BALL!!!

I hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas Season so far!

Parks & Recreation

2009-11-12T14:02:00.001-08:00

This week Mommy took us to the park.

We crawled around in the grass

and got nice and dirty.

Then we had an early lunch...

a yummy yummy lunch

of delicious pinecones,

scrumptious sticks

more pinecones

crunchy golden leaves

and of course, grass and dirt that Mommy tried to fish out of our mouths.

We love the park!

Rededication

2009-11-02T10:08:00.000-08:00

Last week we dedicated our boys to the Lord at church. It wasn't a big deal, just a few friends and family members came to witness the pastor praying over the boys at the beginning of service. But as we were preparing for that day, I was reminded of the day I first dedicated Samuel and Wesley to the Lord.

It happened a little over a year ago. It was a Monday night. Jeff was at a church council meeting and I had asked my parents to stay at home with me just in case anything went wrong. I had been on bedrest for almost 2 weeks by then due to signs of preterm labor. I was only 24 weeks pregnant. Around 7 or 8 that night my contractions started coming more frequently and after a call to the doctor, we were on our way to the hospital.

I'll never forget that short drive. I figured at that point my contractions were about 5 minutes apart and stronger than they had ever been before. The stark realization that these babies might be born that night hit me hard and as panic began to set in, I understood that there was nothing I could do at that point but pray and trust God. My prayer was something like this...

"Lord, I believe both of these boys are a very specific answer to prayer. I don't really believe that it's your will for them to be born right now, but I often don't understand your ways. I have no power to save them, but You do. I trust You Lord and I know that no matter what happens, You are good and I can trust You with my whole life. I recognize that these babies really belong to You and I am blessed and privileged to be chosen by You as their mommy. If I only get to have them for a short time...even if I only have them while they are in my belly, I will praise You Lord."

When we got to the hospital, I was sent to the triage rooms in the maternity ward. They had to put me in an overflow bed and, frankly, didn't seem to have much time for me. I was clearly on the bottom of the list for urgency and the nurses busied themselves with other patients while I sat hooked up to a monitor to record my contractions. The problem was, the monitor was attached incorrectly and even while the contractions continued to increase in number and strength, nothing showed up. The nurse came back infrequently and begrudgingly readjusted the sensors but it wasn't until two hours later that they finally got the monitor on right and saw the contractions that were coming 2 - 3 minutes apart by that time.

Oddly enough, an image kept popping into my mind of a darling woman named Gwen from my church who, years before, had stood up in service to demonstrate a song she liked to sing for the children: "My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do!" She had belted it out with gusto, complete with hand motions and everything. So I started to sing. It was all I could think to do. So like a little child, I proclaimed it over and over again: "My God is so great, so strong and so mighty!"

Finally, the go ahead came from my doctor to administer fluids and drugs to stop the contractions. Up until this point, they had given me nothing. The first drug didn't work so I was loaded up with magnesium through IV and admitted to the hospital. This became the first of two long hospital stays in our attempts to keep the babies inside for as long as possible. I am thankful for every moment I spent in that hospital bed. In that one prayer on the way to the hospital, God prepared my heart for the work I had to do over the next eight weeks before my children were born, the first few weeks of their lives in the NICU, Sam's subsequent readmission to the hospital in February, and each moment I've been tempted to worry or panic or try to somehow take back control of my children's lives.

Yes indeed my God is great! The public dedication to the Lord this past week was a wonderful reminder of that precious period in my life, where God led me through such a difficult time and showed me a glimmer of his awesome love and power. He will never let me down, even if the outcome isn't as favorable in my eyes as it was this time around. I will continue to praise Him!

And for sure my two beautiful, healthy blessings from God will learn that song...complete with hand motions!!!

Look what's growing in our garden...

2009-10-31T14:19:00.001-07:00

Our little harvest pumpkins had a difficult time sitting still for pictures.

Sammy

Wesley

Harvest Festival up the street from us with Auntie Stacy

a day on the farm

2009-10-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

Rounded up my little cowhands this morning and mosied on over to Lombardi Farms.

Sam and Wes are a little inexperienced with things like hay, pumpkins and, uh...dirt, but they had a ball! They saw their first pig, rode on a train around a corn maze, picked out their own pumpkins, and ended the day covered in hay and dirt.

Every October

2009-10-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

Jeff's birthday is this month, and if you know Jeff, you know he's ALL about his birthday month. That's right, he's claimed the entire month of October for his birthday. Jeff had an idea of how he wanted to spark off the month of celebrating this year, sooooo...

at 5:00 a.m. on Friday we said goodbye to our unsuspecting children...

and got on a plane for Albequerque, New Mexico. Why, there? You'll see.

Once in Albuquerque, we headed up to Santa Fe.

where we walked, took pictures, window shopped and ate delicious food.

The next morning at 4:00 a.m. (3 a.m. PST)...no, I'm not joking... we got up to go to Albuquerque's Annual Balloon Fiesta. We arrived at the fairgrounds at approx. 5:45 a.m. Okay I was dragging a little...and we hit some event traffic. We parked and grabbed some breakfast burritos and coffee, and then Jeff disappeared for about 30 minutes to take pictures of the "dawn patrol"...

No, there was no dawn at this point! But it's pretty spectacular, isn't it?

Then as the sun came up, we walked out on the field and watched the balloonists prepare for lift off...

We were pretty fascinated by this one row of balloons going up in front of us...

You could hear the sound of propane flames forcing hot air up into the balloons...

and people cheering wildly as each balloon lifts off into the sky...

and then we turn around...

and see this...

Okay, so now I feel like a kid in a candy shop. Everytime we turn around there are rows and rows of new balloons of every color, form and size taking shape around us.

and then this...

Neither words nor pictures can adequately describe the experience, but no wonder they say this is the most photographed event in the world.

We heard estimates of anywhere between 400 and 700 balloons at the event. I'm not sure of the number, but it was unbelievable!

Happy Birthday Honey!

Beach Babies

2009-09-24T07:34:00.000-07:00

Went to Newport Beach with some good friends about 1 1/2 weeks ago. Nice to all be on the same schedule since they have a baby just 5 months ahead of our boys. We only actually hit the beach once but that was enough to give the little ones a taste of sand and sea. Here are some pics...

Sam, Wes & Nate

Nathan enjoying the sand

Sammy & Jeff

Wesley in my hat (couldn't find his)

Nate took a little dive in the sand after his mommy

had just finished putting sunscreen on him

Sam & Wes playing with Jeff's lens cap

Wesley's new thing is curling his tongue up

The Cooks...what a beautiful family!

On the Road Again...

2009-09-06T22:53:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, vacation! We've begun a tradition of visiting Scottsdale every year in August. This is our third year now and it's really grown on us. Yes, it's the hottest time of year to go, and YES it's also monsoon season and YES we're a little bit nutty! The bonus is that it's within driving distance so we can just throw everything we need in the van and go. Now normally this is about a 6 hour drive. With the boys, it could easily turn into a 9 hour ordeal. So we decided it would be best to drive overnight while the boys were sleeping. It's a trade off...driving 9 hours with several stops or spending the first day recovering from a sleepless night. But then again, Scottsdale is all about resting and relaxation so what the heck?!

We did manage to get some of that much needed rest and relaxation in and visit a few friends who live out there while we were at it. Jeff, sweetheart that he is, gave me an afternoon of freedom to go shopping and I took that opportunity to go to my all time favorite discount store Last Chance. It's the final resting place of all things Nordstrom. It really is a crap shoot as to whether you'll find any really good deals but when you do...wow are they good! This time my best purchase was probably the pair of Merrill shoes at a fraction of the retail price. I wish this store were close by home so I could visit regularly! I highly recommend you pay a visit next time you're in the Phoenix area. My adorable husband also ponied up for a morning at the spa for me. I'm telling you, that is the life! Once a week please, please, please!!!

The boys got plenty of time in the wading pools and though they were skeptical of the benefits of water play to begin with, soon found they could have great fun splashing around and felt much more comfortable being able to touch the bottom of the pool with their feet. They also enjoyed the lazy river at the Westin Kierland. We took four turns around and wished we could have gone back again but somehow never got around to it. Next year!

The unexpected benefit of being in Scottsdale at this very hot time of year was that we missed out on all the fallout from the nearby fires here at home. So strange hearing all that awful news about home from so far away. I would love to see what it's like in Scottsdale in the Spring. I'm just curious. Maybe next year...or the year after.

Some more highlights from the trip...

baby fauxhawks

playtime with Pastor Scott

breakfast with the birds

boat tour of Canyon Lake

Look Ma, no hands!

sleeping in

bear bottoms

2nd Photographer

2009-08-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

As a rule when we attend weddings, Jeff enjoys taking extra pictures as a special gift for the bride and groom. He ends up being a second photographer of sorts. Photography is his favorite hobby (aside from playing with the boys) as is evidenced by the tens of thousands of photos he has saved on our computer! This is just one way for him to use his gifts and talents to bless others in his life. He's even beginning to have people approach him to take pictures at their special events. Here are a few of his favorites from last weekend's wedding...

Wedding Weekend Extravaganza!

2009-08-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

This last weekend there were two important weddings happening on the same day, so Jeff and I decided to divide and conquer. Jeff went to Oregon to attend a wedding for a friend of the family and I went to my cousin Michael's wedding in Modesto. I drove up with my parents and the boys for our very first real roadtrip experience. We loaded up in our relatively new minivan (affectionately dubbed "the Mother Ship" by my nephew Jeremy) and headed out on Friday morningish. Little did we know it would take a whopping 9 hours to drive to Modesto with two infants! The boys hardly slept on the way and their bedtime shifted from their usual 7:30 to after 10:00 for the entire weekend. Needless to say, it was an exhausting trip. The wedding was beautiful though and it was well worth the work to see Michael get married. We also got to take a side trip before coming home and visited my aunt and cousins in Half Moon Bay. Here are some pics from our weekend...

Sammy & Uncle Billy

Mom, Jeremy & Dad

Nanna Carroll & Wesley

I honestly didn't plan for us to match!

Michael with his bride and Dori

Cousin Heather & Aunt Melissa

Lacey & Evan

(the wedding Jeff attended in Oregon)

Catching Up

2009-07-16T11:23:00.001-07:00

I'm just going to take this rare opportunity to catch up on all the posting I haven't done for a very long time. At the moment Wesley is sleeping and Sam is otherwise occupied...so here are some photos to show you what the boys have been up to the last several months...

This was the boys' first time in a restaurant highchair during our stay in Ventura. They didn't really fit so we tried to prop them up with blankets. Okay so we ended up holding them while we ate our meals but I think the boys get an "A" for effort!

"Are you my brother?"

Matching outfits for Father's Day

a special visit with Great Grandma Dorothy,

and Great Grandpa Leon

Practicing Parents

Sammy sitting on future friend Josh

this was the day of our huge garage sale

Bring Your Twins To Work Day

Wesley & Debbie

Catherine & Sammy

they look so serious

4th of July

Sam with Grandpa Bill

a talent that runs in the family

visit with Cousin Kym

Snazzy New Ride

2009-07-16T11:15:00.000-07:00

A bunch of people from our church family got together and bought us this wonderful new stroller. We love it! The boys love it! It practically pushes itself! The boys love to see what's in front of them and there are even little sunroofs so they can view the scenery overhead. Check out how cool they look in it...

Many many thanks to those of you who contributed to this gift! Thank you notes are in the works!!!

Thing One & Thing Two

2009-07-09T08:43:00.000-07:00

I have a very good friend who shares my love for children's books (actually hers goes much deeper but we both collect). Some time after the boys came home from the hospital she came by and brought us what will most certainly become a family heirloom...a beautiful little chest, lovingly finished and decoupaged by Auntie Joy herself.

Joy & Bonnie with the boys

But that's not all! Inside the chest were soooo many lovely children's books, each with fun little goodies to go with them. Today, I highlight the Cat in the Hat. Hat's off to Auntie Joy for finding these adorable little onesies!!!

Don't cry Sam...

books are yummy!

Don't be too serious Wesley...

reading is fun!

and to quote the doctor himself...

"Fun is good."

Bebe Pod

2009-06-23T23:11:00.000-07:00

Okay so I had been hearing about these bumbo seats for babies which seem to be all the rage right now but they truly are ridiculously expensive for what they are and the amount of time your child spends in them. So I found a Bebe Pod (same thing really) through the moms of twins club I belong to for a mere $15. I am so proud of this purchase. The mom I bought it from kept it in mint condition with all the parts and in the original box no less! I hope to pass it on in the same condition. Meanwhile, the boys are getting a kick out of sitting in it now and then.

Wesley

Samuel

Grandma's House

2009-06-23T23:03:00.000-07:00

Back in April, on our way back from Dana Point, we stopped off to visit my grandma Lorraine. This was her first time meeting the boys.

There's Something About Maui

2009-05-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

It all started with a planned trip to St. John with my parents that was supposed to happen in January. You see, Jeff doesn't fool around when it comes to travelling...all plans are made way in advance. In fact, usually he's planning the next trip before the current one is over. Anyway, we bought our tickets and booked the timeshare only to find out a few weeks later that I was pregnant and due in February. So we switched our trip to Maui in May and planned to take the boys along with us (of course).

view from our room

Our first family vacation turned out rather well. We all had a great time, the boys did really well on the plane trip both ways (fellow passengers stopped to compliment them on their way out even) and we really took it easy while we were there and didn't try to cram too many activities in. To sum up, we took a few trips to the pool with the boys, some meals out, a day trip to Hana, and a date night on a sunset cruise while my parents watched the boys for us. The boys, miraculously, slept 8 hours straight at night while we were there... a feat they have only accomplished once since we've been home. I guess we all like to sleep in a little on vacation, huh?

precious moments

sunset cruise while my parents babysat

exploring the island

Road to Hana

The one big snafoo was that in all the commotion of getting the boys and all of our luggage loaded on to the shuttle on the morning we left, I managed to leave my bag behind. I was so consumed with not forgetting anything for the boys and was operating on only 3 hours of sleep (up all night packing last minute items) that I never moved my bag out of the bedroom and into the dining room with the rest of the luggage. We didn't notice it was missing until we reached the airport and then it was too late. Jeff very sweetly arranged for a good friend of ours to have my bag sent UPS. My luggage arrived three days into the trip and gave me an excuse to do a little shopping in the meantime. But the first few days in Maui were not my favorite. I had worn long black pants, a long sleeved blouse and tennis shoes on the plane. Brilliant! Had to borrow from Jeff and my mom for the first couple of days until I got a chance to go shopping. Someday I'll look back and laugh about that.

I look good in my swim trunks!

all decked out for the sun

local wildlife

Yeah, we'd go back to Maui!

Anniversary to Remember

2009-04-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

Okay so I'm very late posting this but suffice it to say we've been rather busy this month, what with our anniversary, Easter, my birthday and just the day to day stuff that comes with caring for twin boys. Anyway, I wanted to share some pictures from our weekend away at the beginning of the month. We decided to have some time alone for our anniversary so we booked two nights at the St. Regis Monarch Bay in Dana Point. Not being able to bear being apart from Sam & Wes for long, we agreed that we would spend one night by ourselves and one night with the boys. My parents took care of them the first night (boy was that an adventure) while we had a leisurely dinner at a restaurant on the beach and got an amazing full night's sleep for the first time in a VERY long time!!! It was wonderful! The next day we went into Laguna Beach for breakfast and had a nice walk to the beach back at the hotel. It was such a beautiful day...sunny and breezy. That afternoon my parents arrived with the boys and we spent the 2nd night with our darling sons with my parents in the room next door. Here are some pics of the boys. I think they like hotel life. :)

They should advertise for St. Regis

Breakfast in Laguna

A Walk in the Garden

2009-03-28T17:19:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to try taking the boys out for a walk someplace different (not within the five block radius of our home). We've had a membership to Huntington Library for almost a year now but never got around to using it. Tsk tsk! So we packed up the boys and went today! Oh it was a beautiful day to be there, though a little bit hotter than I would like. We walked around the different gardens and settled in a beautiful shady spot on a blanket and played with the boys and fed them. It was a wonderful, memorable day!

New Pictures

2009-03-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

Wesley

Samuel

Grandpa Bob

2009-03-22T12:34:00.001-07:00

2 Month Checkup

2009-03-15T17:19:00.000-07:00

Last week the boys had their two month checkup. We had had to cancel the original appointment because both boys were sick. They are both doing very well now, by the way! Praise God! Anyway, they went in for their checkup and immunization shots (no comments from the peanut gallery if you're opposed to these, please!) Both boys are doing great, growing like weeds and quickly catching up to other two month old babies. They were almost on the chart for normal growth in their age range for height and weight and just barely on the chart for headsize. How about that! Our boys have big heads!!! They are both rapidly approaching 9 lbs (in fact since I'm writing a week late, I'm certain they've both surpassed that weight already). Wesley weighed in at 8 lbs 14 oz and was 20+ inches tall and Samuel was 8 lbs 10 oz and also 20+ inches tall.

Both boys screamed when they got their shots. OUCH! But Samuel definitely took the opportunity to demonstrate his lung capacity. Wow, that kid can scream! Wesley screamed and then immediately forgot about it. Samuel kept screaming and screaming. Boy was he mad! Can't say that I blame him. I've always hated needles myself.

Life continues to be an insane whirlwind of diapers, feedings and little sleep but I have to report that the boys are beginning to sleep a little longer at night which has been WONDERFUL!!! The doctor told us at our last visit that we didn't need to keep waking them up every 3 hours to eat and we could just let them tell us when they are hungry. I guess their little butterball legs are enough evidence that they have extra stores of fat to carry them through if they oversleep. He he! Anyway, they've been pretty consistently sleeping in 4 and 5 hour stretches at night which is a dream for me because that means I can potentially get stretches of 3 hours of sleep at a time now! What a relief!

We will be taking both boys to an opthamalogist because if you watch their eyes, they don't always track together. I don't know if it's lazy eye or what. The doctor says that it's not that uncommon and they should grow out of it by about 3 months of age, but wanted us to see an eye doctor just to be sure.

We're Coming Home!!!

2009-02-25T18:01:00.000-08:00

We're coming home from the hospital tonight! Hurray! Samuel was able to maintain his oxygen levels without help for a good part of the day so we're free! Yay!

2 Months or 1 1/2 Weeks?

2009-02-25T15:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the boys' 2 month birthday. My question is this: since they weren't due until February 14th, are they now 2 months old or really just 1 1/2 weeks old? What are your thoughts?

The boys are continuing to grow grow grow, in spite of being sick. They are both over 8 lbs now. It's hard to believe they are now more than double the size they were at birth.

Slowly But Surely

2009-02-24T19:30:00.000-08:00

Well we made it through another day at the hospital. I thought I was going to lose my mind this morning after about 1 1/2 hours of sleep last night and enduring ear piercing alarms going off every few minutes when the doctor tried taking Sam off his oxygen. I honestly wanted to throw the machines out the window. Thankfully, Sam has been off oxygen for several hours now and seems to be doing very well so far. If he keeps this up, maybe we'll get to go home tomorrow.

Wesley is managing to stay just well enough to dodge hospitalization so far. Praise God for that! My parents came this afternoon to relieve me for a few hours so I could go home and get a shower and a short nap. Jeff's parents were at the house helping to care for Wesley and fixing a nice home cooked meal for us. So nice! It was so wonderful to get to see my sweet Wesley and have a quick visit with Jeff before heading back to the hospital tonight.

As I write this, the alarms are going off again. Sam isn't keeping his oxygen level up high enough. Please pray that he improves so we can go home soon.

Update

2009-02-23T12:28:00.000-08:00

So Samuel and I are in the hospital for another day. He's still on oxygen and they have to wean him off slowly and then monitor him for 12 - 24 hours after that. They just turned him down to half of what he was getting so we'll see how he does over the next several hours. He seems to be feeling better today and his appetite is increasing. Praise God!

Wesley is still holding his own at home. Grandma Carroll graciously agreed to spend the night with him last night so Jeff could get some sleep and then again today so he could go to work. We may have to take him in for a follow up visit to the doctor today to make sure he doesn't need to come in to the hospital as well. These respiratory infections can take a quick turn for the worse in these little guys so we don't want to take any chances.

I am very grateful to have the opportunity to receive the care we are getting for Samuel. believe it or not, it has been quite peaceful here in his hospital room and I am actually getting more sleep here than I would at home. It's kinda nice getting to spend some one-on-one time with Samuel, although I'd rather it be under better conditions. Still, I need to focus on what I have to be thankful for. I thank God that things are going as well as they are. Thank you everyone for your prayers!

Our Home Away From Home

2009-02-22T20:02:00.000-08:00

I am sad to say that Samuel and Wesley have been sick this past week. On Friday, we became concerned enough to take Samuel to see the doctor because his cold had gotten worse and his breathing more labored. The doctor gave us a prescription that didn't end up helping and asked us to bring both boys in for an exam on Saturday. We were sent to the ER just to be on the safe side because the doctor wasn't comfortable with how either of the boys were breathing. In the end, Wesley went home with Jeff and Samuel and I stayed here at the hospital.

I find myself back in my old familiar haunt, ordering off the same menu, only now I'm not the patient. At least this time I can sleep by Samuel's bedside and I don't have to go home and leave him behind like we did when the boys were in the NICU, although, I miss my little Wesley (as well as my sweet husband, of course). Samuel and Wesley both have RSV but Samuel is having a more difficult time with it. He's not in serious condition but is on oxygen so he doesn't have to work so hard to breath. Today he's been a little better and has had a little more of an appetite than he has for a few days. There's no way to know for sure how long we'll be here. He needs to be eating better and be able to keep his oxygen levels up without help for 12 - 24 hours straight. For the most part he's comfortable. So far there has been no need for IV fluids and I pray it stays that way. I feel grateful to have the hospital facilities and staff available to monitor him and give him a chance to recover from this safely.

Please pray with us that the boys get through this quickly. There's no medication they can really take for it, just have to wait for the virus to run it's course.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T14:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the boy's official due date. Yes, they were supposed to be Valentine's babies but ended up being Christmas babies instead. They have now broken 7 lbs each and continue to grow like weeds. We're enjoying them more and more as they are awake and alert for longer stretches each day, although this means more work for us as well. It's totally worth it. Jeff and I are incredibly sleep deprived but managed to get out for our first date to the movies since before I went on bedrest in October. My parents watched the boys while we went to see The International. To tell you the truth, I think we would have both preferred a 5 hour nap. Fortunately, Grandma and Grandpa were happy to continue holding the boys after we got home so we did get a 2 hour nap in. Hurray! How's that for a romantic Valentine's Day?!

Here are some pictures of the boys in their full term, 7 + lb glory...

Family Reunion

2009-01-28T22:41:00.001-08:00

Well, it's taken me awhile to post this, but Samuel came home on Sunday, January 18th. We are loving having our family together at last!!! Suffice it to say, it's been a very busy, but wonderful week. We are figuring out how to juggle two babies and strategies for getting more than an hour and a half of sleep in a row. Getting on the computer is a rare treat these days. If I get three meals in and a shower, it's been an excellent day!

Here are some photos from the day Samuel came home...

Wesley is home!!!

2009-01-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

On Monday night we brought our first baby boy home. It's like being in a dream...without the benefit of actually sleeping. LOL. Sorry this will be so short. It's hard to find time to eat or breathe these days. Samuel is still in the hospital. So we now split our time between Wesley at home and Samuel at the NICU. More later...

Pictures of Samuel

2008-12-31T13:28:00.001-08:00

We got some really good news today. Both boys are progressing nicely. They are drinking mostly breastmilk now and may be able to be taken off of their IVs tonight. If all goes well, they will be moved from their little incubators into cribs tomorrow! Praise God. He has been so faithful to see them through every little step of their lives.

Christmas came early...

2008-12-27T23:55:00.001-08:00

with the surprise birth of our two baby boys on Christmas Eve. All this time we've worked so hard to stave off preterm labor to keep the babies in long enough for them to get to at least 35 weeks. It was beginning to look like we were going to make it. However, on Tuesday while the nurses were doing their routine monitoring of the boys' heartrates, we discovered that the boys had taken an unexpected change for the worse. After a day of waiting to see if things would get better, the doctors decided to take the babies before they went into real distress. I was in the operating room within 2 hours, giving birth to our little preemies.

Wesley Darrell was born first at 1:23 pm and weighed in at a whopping 3 lbs 7 oz and measured 16 3/4 ". One minute later Samuel Scott arrived a little heavier at 3 lbs 14 oz and measured 16 1/2 ". The rest of the evening was recovery time for me while Jeff made phone calls and took care of details. He and the proud grandparents got to go see the babies later that evening. My first visit took place the following evening. Unfortunately, they weren't ready to be held. It was so hard to see them all hooked up to wires and monitors in the incubator and not be able to pick them up and hold them and cuddle them.

The boys are both doing very well. They are having issues that are typical of 32 weekers but they improve daily. On the day after Christmas Jeff and I were allowed to do kangaroo care with Wesley where we hold him skin to skin. It's really good for the baby and certainly does our hearts good. We're anxiously waiting for the time when Samuel is ready to be held as well. Even though he was born bigger, he's improving a little slower. Wesley is a little fighter and Samuel seems to be more of a mellow, kick-back kind of a guy.

Here are pictures of us with Wesley.

32 Weeks and Counting

2008-12-22T10:22:00.000-08:00

When we first began this journey in the hospital, the boys were barely viable according to medical science. And even though we knew their outcome would be determined by God and not by statistics, it was very scary just the same. Now, almost two months later, they are past the 32 week mark and coming up on 4 lbs each. We can see the light at the end of this long tunnel and look forward to meeting our sons and seeing their sweet little faces within just a few weeks. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!! Now we can truly set our sights on the goal of 35 weeks and no long NICU stays (no NICU stays at all, Lord willing). Perhaps we will deliver and get to take our babies home with us as soon as I'm released!

Meanwhile, through each unpleasant experience in this pregnancy (and there have been many) I continually tell the boys that they are worth it all! I think Jeff thinks I'm nuts. But whatever happens I will continue to thank God for our two little miraculous blessings, our answers to prayer, our fulfillment of God's word to us, our gifts from the very hand of God.

This Christmas will be a simple one. No big Christmas tree, no cards to send out (sorry everyone!), no parties to go to, no lights to hang, no dinners to cook, just Jeff and me in my little hospital room with our little fake tree and a few gifts we managed to pull together. This will be the last Christmas we spend together with just the two of us. I know it will be very memorable!

Today's Great News

2008-12-17T17:04:00.000-08:00

We had another FFN test today and it again came back negative. Praise God! That means we have at least another two weeks before the babies come. If you'd like to read up on what this test is, go to http://www.fullterm.net/index.html.

Random thoughts...

2008-12-16T14:15:00.000-08:00

Some Things I Am Thankful For:

-31 weeks and 3 lb 12 oz babies!!!

-My husband staying overnight in the hospital with me!

-Decorating a little Christmas tree for my hospital room. It's fake but it's cute!

-Terbutaline shots to stop my contractions when they get out of control (never thought I'd ever be so thankful to be stuck by a needle!)

-Internet shopping!

-Great nurses and PCAs.

-TLC: How would I pass my days without daily episodes of What Not to Wear, Bringing Baby Home and Jon & Kate plus 8?

-My new laughing baby ringtone that gives me a giggle everytime I get a phone call.

-Babies hiccuping in my belly (both at once)!

-The annual Christmas gathering with my college friends (though in a very unusual location).

Lesser Known Pregnancy Symptom:

I had never heard of this before but some women experience aching pain in the joints of their hands and feet during pregnancy. Guess I'm one of them. It's very strange. I imagine what I'm feeling is a little like arthritis. Fun fun!

A Sad Anniversary:

Today is the anniversary of the death of Jeff's first wife. This has always cast a dark shadow over this time of the year for him. I'm praying for lots of wonderful happy memories to take the place of the painful ones surrounding Christmas for him. I anticipate the boys being a big a part of that.

Our Own Private Roller Coaster

2008-12-11T12:28:00.000-08:00

This time around in the hospital is definitely different. During my last stay, once the doctors got me stabilized, I pretty much stayed that way for the entire month I was here. This time around, each day is a big question mark.

Yesterday, after being stable the whole day, one of my doctors said she wasn't totally ruling out the possibility of sending me home again even though I was 2 cm dialated. Last night, however, my contractions started up again with a vengeance and it looked once again like we were on our way to a c-section. But they tried a medication that hadn't worked on my last stay here and low and behold, it worked!!! Today I'm doing relatively well again but boy is this a bumpy ride! For us, it really does feel like we're on a huge roller coaster. We're on the ride, there's no turning back and sooner or later, we're going to take that big scary drop off. All we can do now is trust the ride engineer's design and take each turn as it comes. So we're doing our best to take each day one moment at a time and remind ourselves that our Creator knows what He's doing, is completely in control and we are not and that's okay. What a lesson in letting go and trusting God!

I'll keep you all posted as we hit new dips and turns and even find ourselves upside down at times. We know in the end, we'll be glad to have taken this ride and will be on to the next roller coaster of parenting twin boys. It's only by the grace of God that we've made it this far and we are so thankful to still be here coming up on 31 weeks. For those of you who are praying, our preference is to hit 35 weeks before delivery. Thanks for all the prayers and support!!!

Here we go again...

2008-12-09T09:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's nurse was Leah Tard. Ha ha. Today's nurse is Olivia. Yes, I'm back in the hospital as of yesterday morning. I started having too many contractions early in the morning so I went to see my doctor and found out I've begun dialating. We checked in at the hospital around 10:00 a.m. and for the entire day it looked as though the babies were coming and that was that. Then later in the evening I was finally able to change medications and by the grace of God, this one is working for me so far. Praise God for again coming to my rescue!

Haven't had anything to eat or drink since yesterday morning in case they took me in for surgery. Needless to say I'M STARVING!!! We're hoping they'll fix that soon since my contractions have slowed down but I have yet to hear from the doctor. My sweet husband slept on the super luxurious hospital cot last night and got a wonderful night's sleep, in between all the interuptions to check my vital signs and bring me medications. That's hospital life for you.

The good news is, the medication is working for now and I'm told they've had women in here who were dialated up to 3 or 4 cm and been able to hang out here for 5 weeks before delivering. So there is hope that we have more time. It's all up to the Lord. Please pray. We really want the babies to spend as little time as possible in the NICU.

What the Harrison Boys Are Up To

2008-12-06T12:20:00.000-08:00

Today marks 30 weeks and the boys continue to grow stronger. Praise God!!! Here's what's in store for them in the coming week (according to babycenter.com):

"This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (our boys are a little ahead of this curve) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, (do they ever!) so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy."

There's this cute little thing Jeff set up for me. Each day in the hospital the nurses would update a whiteboard in my room with the current date and the names of my nurse and patient care assistant. Jeff has created his own version of this for me at home:

Not sure where he comes up with all these names but it gives me a good laugh each day. Yesterday my nurse was Herbie Simplex.

I passed the test!!!

2008-12-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

Hurray! My test came back negative. As long as my body cooperates I'll have two more glorious weeks at home! Praise God!!! Now to do my online Christmas shopping. Only three more weeks till the baby Jesus' birthday!

There's no place like home!

2008-12-03T18:43:00.000-08:00

I've been home a full week now and have loved every minute of it. My sweet husband has made sure that my every need is met. (I'm still waiting for him to get good and tired of this but he's a trooper!) It would be wonderful if I could hold out here at home through Christmas!

Today my Dad drove me to my doc appointment. The babies weighed in at 3lbs 2 oz and 3 lbs 4 oz. Yeah! My doctor also ran another FFN test (http://www.fullterm.net/index.html) which predicts whether I'm likely to deliver in the next two weeks. If it comes back positive I'll be back in the hospital this week. Booooo! Pray with us that it's negative.

Here's a grotesque pic of my 29 week belly! Yikes!

Home for the Holidays!!!

2008-11-26T17:00:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone! My doctor conferred with the perinatologist and they agreed that it is safe for me to come home and continue my bedrest from here! Hurray! After a full month in the hospital I'm home at last. Jeff picked me up at 4:00 and is busily getting things set up. He had all sorts of special surprises for me at home too...there's a small fridge by my bed so I don't have to go to the kitchen for cold food, this cool little cart set up with my books, medications, snacks etc, underneath the fridge and he TOTALLY remodelled our bathroom as a Christmas gift to me! Wow! Do I have an awesome husband or what? He even got me this nifty adjustable tray that I can use for food or the computer. It angles up so I can see the keyboard better from my position lying down. I feel like a queen. :)

It's soooooooo good to be home! We want to lay low for a little while and give me a chance to adjust to being back here so I might not be able to have visitors for a little while. Too much excitment definitely has an impact on how many contractions I have.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I sure have a lot to be thankful for!!!

A Milestone to Celebrate

2008-11-23T14:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday marked 28 weeks for the twins! Hurray! If the boys were to come now they would have a much better chance of avoiding many of the complications of extremely premature infants. This was the doctors' first goal for us. It's hard to believe that 4 weeks have passed since I was first admitted to the hospital! God is so good! Our prayers for our children are being answered with each extra day they remain on the inside!

Originally, my doctor had thought that she may be able to send me home after 28 weeks to continue my bedrest. However, events from this past week will probably prevent that from happening. I'm a bit disappointed because I had my hopes up a little over the prospect of spending Thanksgiving in the comfort of my own home, but Jeff and I would much prefer not to take any unnecessary chances with the boys so we are happy to comply with the doctors.

Events from this past week...since my last blog, celebrating my newfound freedom of ambulatory and wheelchair privileges, I have had two episodes of increased contractions prompting the doctors to re-attach me to the dreaded IV for fluids. Both times the contractions subsided without any trouble but because of this, sadly, my privileges were taken away. Sigh! Today the doctor said she may have me try out the wheelchair trips again. We'll see. It will be nice to see the outside world again. :)

On the homefront...Jeff has been busily getting things ready for the babies. With help from some dear friends and family, the nursery is slowly coming together. I can't wait to see it when I finally do come home. Jeff is doing such a wonderful job juggling all the projects around the house, his day to day work, and visiting me and bringing me things here at the hospital. I am truly blessed!

On Friday night, we celebrated my mom's birthday in my hospital room. There were six of us squeezed in here eating pizza and cake and throwing balloons around the room while my mom opened gifts. It was so much fun to spend that time with family. However, somehow the combination of sitting up and eating and the excitement of lots of visitors gets those pesky contractions going and we had to cut the evening short so I could let my belly rest. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted! So nice to get to celebrate with my mom! Here are some pictures from that night. Notice Billy sitting on the bedside comode (aka: the potty chair)! :)

Thanks to all of you from my church family who sent me the beautiful and enormous bouquet of flowers!!! They sure do brighten up the room and came just as my other flowers were on their way out! I feel so spoiled!

A Little Fresh Air

2008-11-15T22:15:00.000-08:00

This week my doctor informed me that she would like to see me get out in a wheelchair now and then and get a little fresh air. At first I was hesitant. With a short cervix and a propensity towards contractions when I'm sitting up straight, even the lure of sunshine and a brief escape from my four drab hospital walls didn't quite seem worth the risk. But she convinced me. So yesterday my parents came by and took me out for a 15 minute spin in the wheelchair. It was really nice! It's surprising how quickly 15 minutes passes when you get your first taste of fresh air in 2 1/2 weeks!

Today I thought I was going to go stir crazy. I think somehow getting a look at the outside world just gave me a hunger for more. Thankfully, Jeff and I had a date this afternoon for another whirlwind trip out of doors and some take out food and a movie. It was so nice to spend time together...not what you would normally think of as a date since we never left the hospital grounds, but heaven for me just the same. I'm so thankfull for my wonderful, adorable husband!!!

In addition to my new wheelchair privileges, the doctor has ordered that I get up out of bed up to three times a day and be on my feet for 5 - 10 minutes at a time...ambulatory priviliges. This is to prevent problems with blood clots from being inactive for so long. In any case, I'm enjoying the freedom of allowing myself to get up to do little things for myself a few times a day instead of having to call the nurses for help. I have to say, whether it's the weeks of inactivity or the increasing amount of weight around my midsection, it feels REALLY WIERD to walk. I guess I dodn't really walk, I shuffle. Hopefully I'll get more used to it with time. We'll see.

Well, that's all the exciting news for now. More on Monday when the boys get measured again. I'm hoping they've reached two pounds by now. :)

Good News!!!

2008-11-11T22:29:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to report some very positive news...the doctor came yesterday to do an ultrasound and discovered that my cervix, while very short, has not changed at all in the last week. That means that all this bedrest here is doing what it's supposed to do! Hurray! Not only that, but Jeff went to see the doctor yesterday and though his ear will take some time to heal, he's feeling much better! God is good! That's all for now!

One day at a time...

2008-11-07T20:50:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow marks 26 weeks into the pregnancy. I'm still in the hospital and thanking God for each extra day the babies stay inside and grow bigger and stronger. As of Monday, they weighed in at 1 lb 12 oz and 1 lb 13 oz. So far so good!

People keep asking me if I'm going nuts lying in bed all day. But the truth is, God has given me the grace for each day. I just take it one hour at a time. I wake up around 7:00 or 7:30 each morning. I order my breakfast, read my bible and pray, listen to soothing music (I've read that it lowers stress in pregnant women), and try to do the exercises the physical therapist gave me before the nurse comes in to put my leg squeezers on (like plastic blowup leg warmers that massage my legs to keep the blood moving and prevent blood clots). Each morning the new nurse on duty for the day puts both babies on a heart monitor for anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour depending on how cooperative they are that day. They take turns avoiding the monitors. There must be something about the ultrasound that they don't like. After this, I read or knit or do some sudoku puzzles or talk to people on the phone. Then before you know it, it's time to order lunch. Sometimes I'll get a visitor in the afternoon. I've begun watching a show called Bringing Home Baby on TLC. This week has been multiples week so I've watched different families bring home their twins and triplets for the first time. It's been very eye opening. Am I boring you yet? I have a variety of activities to keep me busy throughout the day and around 5:00 I order dinner and Jeff comes to join me. When the night nurse comes on duty, the babies get monitored again. Once that is done, I pull out my computer or watch tv until I go to sleep. It's not an exciting life but the days are passing just fine and I should probably be thankful for the rest I get now because I'm not likely to get much if any for a long time to come once the twins arrive. :)

The plan for now is to keep me in the hospital until I hit at least 28 weeks. I've made it almost 2 weeks so far and the new medication they have me on appears to be keeping the contractions under control for now. Please pray that it continues to work because for now it means I don't have to be on an IV! Hurray! I've also had no side effects with this medication. Once I've reached 28 weeks the doctor will reassess my situation and possibly send me home for bedrest. We're just praying that God continues to give the doctors wisdom and direction.

In the meantime, I believe Jeff is carrying the heavier burden between us. He not only continues to work each day and picks up the slack for me at home, he also field phonecalls and questions and has added burdens of preparing the baby nursery and considering how all of this will affect us financially as a family. Early maternity leave caught us a little by surprise. To add insult to injury, he perferated an eardrum last week and has been in a lot of pain and not hearing out of his right ear. He could use a lot of prayer right now. Poor guy! He's been my angel, taking care of me and keeping me company in the evenings in addition to everything else on his plate these days.

Many many thanks to all our friends and family who have been showing their love and support through phone calls, visits, flowers, books, movies, snacks, magazines, offers to help. We feel so incredibly blessed to have so many amazing people in our lives! I don't know what we'd do without all of you!!!

2008-10-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

News of the Day

2008-10-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've updated my blog and here's why: on October 15th I happily trotted off to my doctor's appointment looking forward to seeing another cute ultrasound of the boys...unfortunately I also managed to land myself on bedrest. I've been dutiful in my task of staying off my feet the last week and a half only to have landed now in the hospital with frequent contractions and a shrinking cervix.

Needless to say, this has been a very frightening time and a true test of our faith. We have to keep reminding ourselves of the promises and prophesies from God surrounding the little lives growing inside of me. For those of you who don't know the story, I'll recount it now as I remind myself to continue to bolster my belief that God has a plan for these little boys' lives and it is to prosper them and not to harm them. Here goes:

A little over two years ago, we tragically lost a very dear member of our family to cancer, my uncle Darrell, my mother's twin brother. I, along with the Waldron family, was devastated. I couldn't understand how God could allow this to happen to him. I had prayed so hard for a miracle only to find that God's plan was different than mine. I struggled, and still do, to find a way to accept this and reconcile this tremendous loss for our family with the loving God that I know. One day, about a year later, we had a pastor from Japan visit our church. Jun Takamoto is a strong believer in spiritual warfare and came to our church to share with us. One thing he said stuck in my mind. He said that as Christians, when Satan steals something from us we have the right to demand back double repayment for what was stolen. The only thought in my mind was Uncle Darrell. His life was stolen and I was bitter. So I decided to pray. I asked God to redeem back double the precious life that had been snatched away from our family. It occurred to me at the time that perhaps the double repayment would come in the form of twins in our family again. But I tucked that thought away, not wishing to get my hopes up.

Flash forward another year. Jeff and I had been trying for 8 months to get pregnant with no success. We had just begun fertility testing to see if we could come up with a reason that might be standing in the way. One morning, Jeff goes to breakfast with a friend from church, Dexter Nocon. Dexter reveals to Jeff that he has heard a word from God that Jeff and I are going to have a son and we are going to name him...well I won't reveal that just yet. Anyway, about a week later we learn we are pregnant, with no medical intervention, only testing. We do our best to keep the news to ourselves and a few close family members until after the first trimester has passed but soon realize this will be hard to do as I am starting to develop a belly really early. At 8 1/2 weeks we learn we are having twins. At 10 weeks we inform the family. Early on I have a sneaking suspicion that they are two boys...it would only be fitting. Sure enough it is confirmed at 16 weeks that we do in fact have two boys. But here's the thing...it would be so easy to explain away twins...they run in our family, afterall. My mom and Darrell were twins. Why wouldn't someone else have twins. However, the doctors say ours are identical...twins by a completely different process, not handed down genetically through the family. This is a God thing.

So there you have it, God answers prayer in big ways. He's done it before and he'll do it again. He created these little lives inside of me and He has a perfect plan for their lives as Uncle Darrell's favorite verse states:

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans for a hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

I claim that now for these little boys...our precious little miracles from God!

Forever in Blue Jeans

2008-10-10T08:00:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday night we went to see the Neil Diamond concert because, as Jeff likes to put it, he's one of those artists you HAVE to see live before he "kicks the bucket". Anyway, it was a very nice concert. Neil Diamond's music is very nostalgic for me...a throwback to my carefree childhood days. But the real fun was experiencing the party going on in my belly in response to the loud music! Wow! Those babies were kicking and punching and rolling around like never before! Jeff and the others decided this means the boys are big Neil Diamond fans. I kinda think they were tripping out on the loud sounds and vibrations in my belly. I tried to walk out now and then and give them a little break from all the excitement. Jeff tested out his theory the next morning by playing some Neil tunes and sure enough, Baby A started dancing around in there. Maybe we do have at least one future Neil Diamond fan.

Art & Lyrics

2008-10-02T08:10:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we hosted the 2nd annual Art & Lyrics at our home. It's an event where talented people from our church come together to share their gifts and abilities with the rest of us. This year we had two musicians, an actress, a poet, two artists and Jeff the photographer!!! We promoted it pretty last minute but got a decent crowd, nontheless. I think next year we'll start earlier (although I'm not sure how that will work after the twins arrive). Anyway, what was extra exciting for me this year was seeing Jeff put his photos out in public view for the very first time. This was a big first step and it was very well received. Here are a few samples...

Take Me Out to the Dodgers...

2008-09-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night, instead of our usual game night at Alma, we all went to the Dodger game. The Dodgers wiped the field with the Padres in the first inning and the rest of the game was pretty uneventful. I don't think I've actually stepped foot in Dodger Stadium for probably 15 years! Last time I was there I remember a particular incident with a large coke ending up in my lap and spending the rest of the evening trying to air dry. Ah, memories! Anyway, my favorite thing about Dodger games is the Dodger Dogs! No luck this time. No hot dogs for the pregnant lady. Bummer! The highlight of my evening was when Kylie stuffed her blanket in her sweatshirt to make her belly look like mine. Oh how I wish someone got a photo of that! What a cutie pie!!! One thing I DO feel the need to mention is that we were at the very bottom of our section and I took those incredibly steep stairs several times on my way to get food and run to the restroom! That was my exercise for the day.

First Time Bloggers

2008-09-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

Well this is our first foray into the blogging world. It now seems necessary to have somewhere to post pictures and updates of the twins for our friends and family. At our last doctors appointment we discovered we're having two boys...most likely identical! I think we have our work cut out for us. Jeff's mom says he was a perfect baby so he is convinced that our little guys will follow suit. Hmmm...I do have a feeling they'll be a lot like their daddy. Here's a visual of Julia's perfect little angel. :)