I have been tired for a year...

It was one year ago tomorrow that we found out we were having twins. Twins. The ultrasound tech didn't see it at first. Shane had to convince her to look really close to make sure there was only one baby. And when she looked again, there was little Baby B.

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I was already super sick by the time we went in for that ultrasound. And I was only 6 weeks along. So we knew something was up.

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As you well know, I was sick long into the second trimester. Then there were a few weeks that I call the Glory Days. I felt better, was not working, got to be with Silas every day, and was not quite huge enough to be uncomfortable yet. But the hugeness came soon enough and the Glory Days were over.

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As you also well know, I would never trade rest for the joy that these babies have brought to our lives. I am more tired tonight than ever, but almost started crying as I thanked the Lord for each of them and Silas as I put them to bed.

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It seems somewhat fitting that tomorrow will be a monumental day this year as well. Tomorrow we move into our new home. And tomorrow the babies will finally have their own room. I have incredibly mixed emotions about it. I am so ready for them to move into their own space.

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However, looking at them in their beds next to me tonight I know there are going to be days very soon when I miss this...

On the Move Again!

We have 4 more days in this little rental house of ours. It has been a good place for us the past few months as we've gotten transitioned to Illinois. But we are very ready to have a little more space and a fenced yard!

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We planned on purchasing a house and spent quite a bit of time looking at homes right after we moved here. But we never found just the right place. In the meantime, a family in our church was getting ready to move to Colorado to be part of the launch team of our Harvest Denver churchplant. Shane connected with their family and we all decided it would help both of us if we rented their house.

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It will be a wonderful home for us for at least the next year. I am yearning to move in and get really settled. And, as you can see from these pictures, it will be a pretty fun place to live, too!

We would appreciate you praying for us this week. Moving is always hectic. And we have some sickies in our house right now. Shane has been sick for several days and has nearly lost his voice today. Silas has a cold and is not napping well this afternoon (a sure sign that he is not well!). And Simeon has been coughing. Pray we all heal up as we head into the weekend move!

This and That

Tonight was beautiful. I just got back from taking the dogs on their nightly walk. Shane is not feeling well so I told him to go on to bed after all the babies were down. It is 62 degrees with a slight breeze. While I can count on one hand the times that I remember Shane not taking the dogs, tonight I was thankful for the time outside by myself. We won't have many more nights like this in central Illinois.

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Pretty soon I won't actually have to walk the dogs to let them out. The house we are in right now has the smallest backyard you've ever seen and no fence. But next week we are moving to a more permanent home. We're still renting, but plan on being there a while. We are so ready to be settled, unpack all the boxes, and have more space inside and out. The house we're moving to will be a super fun place to live. I'll tell more about it later. Promise.

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One little thing I haven't mentioned is that we have a little eater on our hands now. Our doctor suggested starting Simeon on solids at our 4 month appointment. I was reluctant, wanting to wait longer. But right about that time he went through a terrible period of night sleeping. So I caved. I started giving him rice cereal at night before bedtime. I had great hopes that he would sleep forever on his full tummy. That hasn't exactly happened, but he is sleeping better than he was.

Speaking of sleep, all three children did great with the time change! Silas and Lieren made the switch with barely the blink of an eye. But they are model sleepers. Simeon has done well, too, in his own way. The past few nights he has been waking at about 3 to eat. Then he is awake again at 5. At that point he gets to sleep with me till about 6 when he is wide awake. We stay in bed, talking and singing till it is time to be up for the day at 7.

I have let go of the expectation that Sim will sleep through the night and have just accepted that he is who he is. So I will be up with him in about 4 hours if not before!

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Here are the other two tonight. I haven't quite figured out how to get all three of them in there yet, but I'm not so sure I want to!

On the Eve of a Time Change

I've often told new moms that when Silas was a baby I learned to hold loosely to our routine. Just when I thought we were in a really good daily pattern, something would cause a shift: adding solids, dropping a nursing or bottle, extending time between feedings, naps, a time change...just when I thought I had it down, I felt like I was starting all over again.

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All three of our children will react to tomorrow morning's time change differently. Silas is fairly easy-going about sleep patterns and will adjust easily over the next day or so. Lieren is as stuck to a routine as she can be and will probably take the most time to transition. Simeon is in his own world and I'm guessing it will not matter to him at all that the time has changed. He will get up whenever he pleases like he always has.

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Anyhow, we have been in a nice routine over the past few weeks and I think it will probably stick for a while. So as you get to see pics of one of our fall outings to a local farm, I will share a typical day's routine. The pictures speak for themselves, I think...

My alarm goes off at 6:45 but there is a good chance I have been up long before that, depending on what Simeon has done in the night. He's a wildcard. Lieren, on the other hand, is sleeping a blessed 10 hours, straight through till 7:00 am. That's about when I get both babies up and we start the day. I feed them and they get changed. Then we have play time, usually in bed or in the bathroom while I get ready for the day.
By 8:30 or 8:45 the babies are ready for their morning nap so they get all snuggled up and head back to bed as Silas begins to wake. I usually put the babies down before I get him up. But some days, like this morning, the routine is off a bit and I take the babies in with me to greet him. This morning I had Lieren when I opened his door and Silas promptly said, "Mommy, just put Lieren down. Lieren take a nap." He has gotten used to our morning time together!
I get Silas changed and ready for the day then we head to the kitchen for breakfast at 9ish. At this point I have been up for 2 hours and am famished. My parents help us get breakfast together and we all eat. Then we sometimes have a bit of time before the babies wake, depending on how Sim is sleeping.
Silas has gotten into the pattern of knowing that when the babies eat at this morning time, he gets to watch a video. Right around 10, we all settle in the living room. It is great. Silas is entertained and when one baby is done eating, he or she can watch while I finish feeding the other.
Then it's activity time. If I have an errand, I head out after feeding the babies. I like to take Silas and leave Sim and Lieren with my parents. Or I take all the children on a neighborhood walk (my favorite of our activities). A couple weeks ago I was home alone with the children two days in a row and I took them all to Target by myself one day. It went great and was fun to have them all out together. It was also empowering: now I know I can do it!
Silas, my parents, and I do lunch around noon. My hope is always that the babies will take a bit of a nap as we lunch. But it doesn't always happen. If they do nap, they are in swings or being held at the table.
The babies eat again at 1 so I might take Silas into his room or the playroom to play while the babies are fed. Of course while my parents are here, they are a great help in keeping him entertained during feeding times.
Then it is naptime for everyone around 2. I love that there is part of the day when all the children are napping at the same time! Silas will nap till about 5 (sometimes we have to get him up so he doesn't sleep too long!). The babies will nap till about 4:30ish but with some help along the way: a paci put in or a little rocking.
Babies eat again between 4:30 and 5 then Silas gets up. We all play, then have dinner. After dinner things are a bit chaotic and we just do what works. I try to get the babies baths before 7:30 when they eat again. Silas gets his bath at 8. Then babies head to bed at 8:30 and Silas at 9.
Our routine is what it is - just a routine. Each day has it's own mood and special needs. Once Silas, Simeon, and Lieren are in bed I am usually ready to fall into bed too. I have to make myself balance needing to get things done because the children are sleeping and knowing that I need to rest as well, especially because one never knows when Simeon might wake!

Idyllic

Our babies just turned four months old. Insert deep sigh here. They sure are getting big.

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Shane and I took them in for their well baby visits last week. Lieren weighs 13 pounds, 3 ounces. She is a petite little thing; in the 20th percentile. Simeon weighs 14 pounds, 15 ounces and is perfectly average in the 50th percentile. They are right on track with development and seem to be doing just fine (if you don't count all of Simeon's tummy issues!).

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I looked back and at this age Silas was 15 pounds, 13 ounces and in the 70th percentile. If you have forgotten what our firstborn looked like at 4 months, here is a reminder. And just because they are so cute, here are some more pics of him around this age.
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Are these two not the sweetest little things you've ever seen?
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Looking at these pictures I thought: Those pictures look so idyllic; so sweet; so staged...life looks like that about once a week around here!

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The rest of the week we look like every other normal family. Sometimes we wear pajamas all day. Sometimes our clothes don't match. Sometimes we get all the goldfish crumbs wiped off and sometimes not. Lots of days I get the bed made (if made means getting the sheets pulled up and the pillows put in place by 3 in the afternoon) and lots of days I get laundry done (if done means washed and not necessarily put away). But every day we laugh. And every day we play. And every day I have a moment that reminds me it's all worth it.

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I see you're about to think we are an ideal family so let me remind you we're just human. The people I live with would be the first to tell you that I'm far from perfect (although they're all really nice and would sugar-coat my faults enough to make you think I always do the right thing). I get tired. I get cranky. And there are days when I would like to simply go to bed (like last night when I did while Shane and my parents held down the fort without me). In the past 4 months I have said I'm sorry more times than I care to admit and probably should have said it even more.

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So tonight I am grateful that I live with some of the most gracious people on earth.

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Grateful that I belong to a gracious Father, the Only Wise God, whose mercies are new every morning.

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And grateful that I will see this tomorrow...