My Gift

I try and appreciate all the gifts and blessings in my life. Sometimes I don't, some I let pass by me. But today I am once again reminded of my blessings. It's been about a week ago since I blogged about it having been 2 years since we found out we were pregnant with twins. We didn't know it was going to be such a hard road. I never had any major pregnancy issues. Within a couple of weeks, we found out that one of the twins (Twin A) wasn't growing. Oh, it was hard. But I am so thankful that my husband right away stood up for his little life. With all the pressures and worrying about Twin B, I don't know what decision I would have made honestly. They told me it was risky because if Twin A died, and I went in to labor, I might loose them both. My husband was adamant that we were continuing on. Throughout the pregnancy I spent countless hours in and out of the hospital and doctors appointments. But the second thing I am greatful for is for the birth of my twins! What a miracle, what a gift. They have been a blessing to our family, they have brought us closer together. I think that my husband and I would be divorced right now if we hadn't come together for them. I have fallen in love all over again with my husband! He has fallen in love all over again with me. Our marriage has been better then it ever has been these last two years. He's a better dad then he's ever been, it's a miracle. God knows what he's doing, and though sometimes sickness tears people apart, it did the opposite for us. It brought us closer. What a blessing the gift of life is! And the picture above is of Baby A after he was about 3 and a half weeks old. We couldn't hold him for a couple of weeks, and this was the first time we could dress him and take him out of his incubator for a little while. One of the best days of my life. You don't know the agony and pain of standing next to your little babies, laying there in incubators, not being able to touch them because they were so sensative to touch and pain. I just cried. But finally, we got to touch them and kiss them and hold them!

Every day is God's day

I am starting to seriously feel led to homeschool. After reading the posts online, from teachers, and having a tough year with my kids school, I think it is what is best. But I am also worried about us financially. To be committing to this, and me really not having an option to go to work. I suppose I could work on the weekends...I would be spending all week with the kids.
But this is my plan. I am dedicating the next month to:

1) Organize and come up with a lesson plan.

2) I am going to work at creating schedules to organize the kids time, a to do list and a goal list for each of the kids.

3) I am also going to dedicate this month to getting my at home business going. (I make birthday party invitations, cupcake toppers and party favors, plus I have started making room decor items) and selling those.

4) And then this summer, we are going to try it out. Try homeschooling, try following a routine, and see how it goes.

I also feel strongly that because I have been lax in doing my devotions, I am not able to hear exactly what God has planned for me and make sure I am on the right path with homeschooling. So, I am going to get my devotional life back on track. Do you guys ever fall short in that area? When do you find is the best time to do your devotions?

Mother's of Multiples

Wow, its a crazy ride isn't it?! Being the mother of multiples adds a whole new dimension to the mix of parenting. Right now, my twins are 19 months old, and they have started biting and pushing each other. It makes me sad cause I thought they would be best buddies! What are some of the things you ladies are experiencing? What are some of the ways that any of you have overcome these problems? I would like to be able to hear some ideas from other mothers of multiples, or to share my idea's that I have found that works! Mondays on my blog are going to be dedicated to Mother's of Multiples Mondays. Wow, what a mouthful!

TGIF

Wow, I am glad it's Friday. The twins are really crabby today. Not sure why. They love their daddy and do so much better when he's around. I have to clean the house today and make cookies for this weekend. I am thinking about starting a traditional Friday night thing. Not sure what it is going to be. We do usually have pizza and watch movies or play a game. But I am trying to think of something creative to do. Does anyone out there have a creative tradition that they do in their families? I would love to hear it!

Crazy days

Ok, so today has been really crazy. I am trying to juggle the twins, decorating my house and finish up all those projects that we have put off for 4 years, sign my kids up for all their sports for the summer, and on and on. (Did I mention I am a full time student? Math major). So in between all that, I am doing homework. I was thinking, maybe I should start a 5 0'clock somewhere post on Fridays. I am really looking forward to TGIF, and I think if the weather holds up, I might enjoy a beer. My week has been long. I am looking forward to a weekend!

Story behind the picture

Twins are talking!

Today I have just been reminiscing about the twins, listening to them babble away. Just two years ago today, we began a crazy ride! We found out we were pregnant! A surprise to say the least. We thought we were done, 3 kids was enough we thought. But after getting over the surprise of being pregnant, we were in for an even bigger shock, we were having twins! We didn't have much time to let that information sink in though. We found out that Baby A was not growing. They said he wouldn't make it. I went in every week for an ultra sound, just bracing myself for the day that they would tell me he had passed away. But a miracle happened to our family. He started growing again. He was always several weeks behind Baby B, and up until my C section they told me to prepare myself that he would be born stillborn. Born on Sept. 15, 2008 weighing just 3 pounds, 3 ounces, we seen our lovely baby come in to this world. Here we are, 2 years later, all of us here and healthy! Including my trooper Baby A...or as we lovingly call him, shoeshine.

About our fam

My studly husband of 10 years and myself have five wonderful, perfect, angelic kids. Well, maybe not angelic! We have a 12 year old son, TT, a 9 year old son, Boo man, a 7 year old daughter, Missy, and surprise, a set of 19 month old twin boys, Shoe Shine and Conman. And yes, these are the real nicknames that we use for the kids. Our life is crazy, busy, but we make the most of life. We deal with teenage hormones, and the terrible two temper tantrums. Some days I am up all night with a teething baby, some days I am fighting all day with a preteen daughter.

But then, it happens. That window in time when you experience the perfect moment in time. This last Saturday night, we had our first bonfire of the season. We were roasting hot-dogs in our backyard. Getting ketchup and mustard and marshmallows all over, and my kids are laughing. They are discussing the intricacies of toasting a marshmallow and finding just the right coals. I just think to myself, I am so lucky, so blessed to have this life. That we can share this simple time together as a family. That my husband had emailed me from work and said how excited he was for the bonfire that night. Later I crawled in to bed with my husband and we were watching a movie. He leans over and takes my hand, and we laid there, holding hands, watching a movie. Sometime half way through the movie, I fell asleep, and I woke up in the morning and think, this is life! It couldn't have been a more perfect night! Nothing big, just one perfect night.