Holiday Favorites

We had such a wonderful time the week of Christmas. Here are our highlights. They are not in order of what was the most meaningful, but in the order in which they happened.

1. Getting to skype with my parents the evening before we headed out of town. We opened presents, read the Christmas story, and prayed together. It was sweet...
And Silas loved the new chair they got for him...

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2. Getting to be in Illinois for over a week. It was wonderful to just be there, not feel hurried, and not be rushing home. We stayed with Shane's mom and Lee. Unfortunately, in my pregnancy haze I did not get any great pictures of them. So because I have been reprimanded by the family before for putting silly pictures of them on the blog, I will refrain. Judy and Lee, know that we so appreciate you letting us crash with you for so long. It was a gift. Hopefully next time I'll be more with it.

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3. ELMO. Oh, the anticipation when he realized what was in the box...

I can just hear him saying, "Mommy, I really love my Elmo."

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4. Time with Shane's brother, Wes and his wife, Brooke. Or as Silas likes to call them, "Uh-Wes" and "Ahn-Book". Silas still randomly asks about them. Sometimes in the car as we're driving or maybe when he's getting up from a nap. It is so cute.

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5. Sleepy Silas still napping on daddy's shoulder after falling asleep in the car after an outing. Isn't the scenery gorgeous? There's a great hill heading down to the lake behind the house that Shane sledded several times while we were there.

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6. Seeing friends that we rarely see. Life is so different now that we all have kids. But so much fun! Some of our friends even have twins, can you tell?

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7. A new backpack. We've left the diaper bag days behind. But he looks so big, don't you think?

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8. Silas in his new Jordan's that Uncle Wes picked out for him. Shane had these shoes when he was younger. Too cute...

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9. How packed our car looked on the way home. There was a sleepy baby next to me...

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Two beasts on one side in the back...

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A whole bunch of stuff tied down on the other side...

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And more stuff in the front seat...

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10. New DVDs that Silas loves. We watched one this morning. Silas got Baby Einstein's Numbers Nursery from us. He tries to count the whole way through. Grandma got him a DVD I asked for because my friend Rebekah suggested it. It's LeapFrog's Letter Sounds Factory. Now that he's watched it about 3 times, Silas is already beginning to put letter sounds with the letter. He can do b, c and s consistently. I can't get over it!

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This picture is from today as he watched his video after our long trek in the snow outside. We both needed a break. Sigh and smile. And yes, Silas got a haircut last week...

Hope You're Sleeping Better than Me

It is 3:20 in the morning. One of the strange things about this pregnancy is that while I am tired most of the time, I have a hard time sleeping through the night. I already get very uncomfortable and if I wake around this time, I usually am so thirsty that I can't go back to sleep. And something about drinking a lot wakes a person up. So here I am.

The thirsty thing is a new phenomenon for me. I've always had to force myself to drink what I considered even a reasonable amount. Now I am so thirsty in the mornings that I easily drink 30 oz of water before 9 am!

I went back to the doctor today for a regular appointment. I waited over an hour to see her. Thankfully I had my little purse Bible with me so I got to have some time with the Lord. I read in Deuteronomy about how He sets life and death before us. We get to choose what path we will take. I was reminded that there is abundant joy and blessing in choosing obedience, which is life. I love that right in the middle of putting life and death, blessings and cursings out to us, He promises that obedience is not out of our grasp. We can obey. He has given us everything we need for life and godliness. What a Savior...He gives us all we need.

Our little babies are doing well. We may even know what we're having! I'll wait to fill you in when we know for sure after our big anatomy ultrasound, which is just over a week away.

Well, it is now 3:43, I've drank (drunk? - can't ever remember) a whole glass of water and need more. So I'm off. We're supposed to get snow on Saturday so if we're just hanging out at home, I want to put up some Christmas pics. So late, I know, but it's too fun not to share.

So Now I'm Just Resting

We took an unplanned trip to my doctor's office this morning. A little while after getting up, I started having some pain. It was enough to get us concerned, so we called the doctor and headed in as quickly as possible. Some good friends offered to come get Silas, which was a blessing.

Before I even got out of bed this morning, when the house was still quiet and everyone else still sleeping, I read the following in Colossians 3:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

It was scary to be driving to the doctor, not knowing that might be going on. It was unsettling to hand Silas off, not knowing how long we might be away. I have to admit, I had a lump in my throat the whole time until we heard those little heartbeats.

But still, even when I was in a place that I never wanted to be, the Lord kept bringing His Word to mind: Your life is hidden with Christ in God. Christ was seated at the right hand of God early this morning when I didn't even know what the day would bring. He was reigning with God as we got the news that everything looked perfectly fine. He was high above all else when we saw our babies kicking their feet, moving their mouths, and looking as much like little people as ever.

But I also know that if we had received different news, heard that one or both of our babies were not well, or left the appointment with a whole lot more on our minds than "get some rest", my Jesus would still be all-powerfully, all-lovingly, all-knowingly sitting at the right hand of my Father. My life would still be hidden with Christ in God.

So tonight, as we sat together in bed as a family of 3, looking at pictures of our babies, joy overflowing, my thoughts were very much on things above. He is so worthy of our praise, just because He is.

Now, are you ready for this? Here's what we get to see every time we visit the doctor...two babies right next to each other. Is that not the sweetest picture you've ever seen?

Looks like Baby B (on the left) has it's elbow in Baby A's ear...just a little sibling love.

A Welcome Ending

We have lived in Louisville 2 years exactly. In that 2 years, Shane completed a 90-hour master's degree that usually takes students at least 3 years to finish. And he did all that studying, going to class, reading, and writing papers while being on staff at our church as well as watching Silas 2 1/2 days a week. Exhausted just thinking about it? Try considering that this last semester he took 18 hours, one of which was Greek Syntax.

I couldn't be more proud of him than I am for how he focused deeply for 2 years, soaking in all that seminary had to offer. But he never did it at the expense of our family. Shane has spent countless hours with Silas and can tell you in just as much detail as I can about his eating, sleeping, and playing habits. There was hardly a night that we didn't all have dinner together. And the puppies always got their walks. Our marriage is stronger now than ever, which is a testimony to how the Lord uses our circumstances to change us to be more like Him. We have never been more sure that we are exactly where the Lord wants us to be.

The actual ceremony was a sweet time of celebrating this welcome ending to a long journey. Here is Shane, receiving his diploma from Dr. Mohler, the seminary president...
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And chatting after the ceremony with Dr. Stinson, whose whole family has been a blessing to us in countless ways. They have the greatest twin middle schoolers and were thrilled to hear about ours...

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Shane's mom and Lee got to come down to celebrate with us, which we loved...

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The graduation weekend was also the start of our Christmas holiday-ing. Grandma and Grandpa brought one of Silas' gifts, a wagon. He loved it. It is still in our living room so just about every day he asks for "wa-wee" (can't quite get wagon) and "ride". Then one of us pulls him from the living room to the dining room while he squeals and says "wheeeeee..."!

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I do not think that Shane quite yet feels the freedom from all his classes because he picked up most of the slack around the house while I was so sick. Hopefully now that I'm feeling better he will get to revel in his accomplishment.

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Love you, babe. We are incredibly proud of you!

SAHM

Yesterday (Saturday) I slept in till 11 am. I cannot remember the last time I slept that long. Thirteen hours in all. It was glorious. I did wake at 8:30 when Silas started to stir. But Shane graciously offered to get him up so I could keep sleeping. What's great is that I also napped a bit in the afternoon while Silas was napping.


Silas decided he really didn't want to fall asleep on his own yesterday at naptime. I'm not sure why, but he kept standing up in his crib crying. So I did something else I haven't done in forever...I rocked him to sleep and just held him for a long time. It was so sweet. I kept thinking what a gift it was that I would get to do the same thing two more times. I can't think of anything I would rather do. It was especially sweet because last week I was extremely busy at work and was away from Silas more than I wanted.

But all that is changing.

I was especially busy because I was finishing up paperwork, tying up loose ends, and getting ready to pass client information on. Friday was my last day at work. As of Friday evening, I became what someone somewhere affectionately termed a SAHM (stay at home mom).

Several people asked what I will do with my time.

Here's my list for this week:

1. PLAY, even if play means dumping out the laundry basket, putting items back in, and dumping it out again. Over and over.
2. Put away the random items that are still laying around from our Christmas travels.
3. Skype with family.
4. Read. I have the best books right now.
5. Blog.
6. Decide whether or not the slippers I got for Christmas are too small. Exchange them if they are.
7. Figure out how to use my new steamer (so excited about this, it might move to #2 on the list; it may revolutionize who does all the "ironing" in our house; I'll keep you updated).
8. Write a note about child speech and language development to a friend; I promised this too long ago and haven't yet delivered!
9. Rock Silas to sleep at every naptime if he wants.
10. Savor long, leisurely dinners with my boys.

Sounds like a full week. I'm now headed to bed so I can rest up for it...

Multiple Thoughts

Yesterday we woke to snow beginning to fall. So tonight we stomped through the drifts....

Because it's Friday evening, Silas is in bed, Shane is out walking the dogs, and I'm not ready to sleep yet, I decided to share some thoughts on our babies. I have had a ton of questions about our twins so I'll try to answer some of them.

When did you find out you were having twins?

We found out at the end of my 6th week. We had an early ultrasound with Silas and it was extremely reassuring to see that little heartbeat. The day after we found out I was pregnant, I called my doctor and they graciously allowed us to have an early ultrasound this time.

Were you so surprised?

Yes, and no. I was extremely sick by the time I turned 6 weeks. The 3 days before our ultrasound I was up all night long, sick. So we knew something was really different. And before we even knew I was pregnant, we noticed a bit of a growing tummy (yikes!). The night before our ultrasound I skype chatted with my parents at 3 or so in the morning since I couldn't sleep. We talked about that it might be twins since I was so sick.

Did you freak out when you found out it was twins?

I cried. Joyfully. We're a little older than a lot of people having babies since it took us so long to have Silas and we always wanted several children. After all we had been through waiting for children, in that initial moment of realizing we were having two babies, I sensed the Lord redeeming our wait. His timing was every bit worth the wait.

I think Shane laughed. I know he squeezed my hand. Hard.

Are the babies identical?

No. We know for sure that they are fraternal so we could have 2 boys, 2 girls, or one of each.

What if it's really triplets?

Well, we have had 3 ultrasounds so far and have only seen two babies. So we're pretty confident right now that it's twins.

Do you want boys or girls?

We know it's not up to us. Practically, we are set for boys things so that would be way easy. And we would love for Silas to have a brother (or two). But we would love a girl (or two) in the house, too. So you can tell we don't feel strongly about it.

Do you have names picked out?

We have a few names we like but aren't set on them yet. We'll wait to find out what we're having then make a decision. I'm sure we'll share our names at some point.

So you're going to find out what you're having?

Absolutely. Yes. We can't wait. February 8th is our scheduled anatomy ultrasound so we will (hopefully) know then a little more about our babies.

And when are you due?

My official due date is July 12th. But we expect to have the babies toward the end of June. My goal is to get close to 37 weeks...that would put me having the babies within a week of Silas' 2nd birthday on July 2.

Are you starting to show?

Oh my, yes. I've already gained 10 pounds. Scary for the first trimester. But my doctor is happy with it. In her words (not mine!), I was a skinny minny before so I need to gain the weight. I'm in that weird in-between stage where nothing fits right but maternity clothes are too big. I remember very much disliking this phase with Silas. I dislike it again.

You were pretty sick, huh?

Yes. Survival just-get-through-the-day-type-sick. I'd rather forget about it.

How is Silas doing with all this?

He is a super trooper and is completely thriving. We worked hard to keep him in routine while I was sick. We did shift his sleep schedule a bit so I could sleep later in the morning. Now he's sleeping from about 8:30 till 9:00. He hears about the babies all the time and has seen the ultrasound pictures but has no idea what it all means. He would rather read books, stack blocks, talk to Elmo, sing, or try jumping. Just this week he has started trying hard to sing the words to songs along with us. I tried to get him on video and this was the best I could do. We think he's adorable...

I can't wait for Silas to help teach his baby siblings just how much Jesus loves. He will be a great big brother.

A Couple of Things

At the start of my last post I mentioned that there were "a couple of things" that had kept me from blogging. Well, there have been a couple of things. Or, to be more specific, a couple of little persons! They have kept me completely focused on them for the last 7 weeks. Many of our family and friends already know, but if you haven't heard...we're going to be having twins this summer!

I had another doctor appointment today and saw both little ones bouncing around, hearts beating, putting hands to their faces, and kicking their legs. It was so sweet. They are already such a part of my heart and life. We adore the thought of them and cannot wait to find out if they are boys, girls, or one of each. I am at 13 weeks and am as happy as can be to be saying goodbye to the first trimester. Let the glorious second trimester begin!

I did not get pictures today, but here are a couple from our ultrasound at about 10 weeks. This is "Baby A". Our ultrasound tech typed in "aa" on the picture so everyone would remember which was which. The head is on the left, an arm and leg are sticking up along the top, and another hand is laying by the face along the bottom of the picture...


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Now meet "Baby B". This is the top of baby's head with the hands out in front. The tech has "b hands" written on the picture. It was hard to get good pictures of them because they are quite close together and Baby B was really trying to hide behind Baby A...

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Since we have been home from our Christmas travels, we have been reminded in a multitude of ways that life is precious, fleeting, and very much out of our control. I am honored that the Lord would entrust these lives to our family. My prayer is that our Lord Jesus would have the supremacy He deserves as He grows our family. "For by Him all things were created...all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together...so that in everything He might have the supremacy..." (Colossians 1:16-18)

I can't wait to share more about our babies, Shane's graduation, our Christmas festivities, and our travels. We enjoyed our time away so very much. And now that I am starting to feel better, I plan to get back in the normal swing of life. But in the meantime, know that we're still here...

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all SEVEN of us...Shane, Brittany, Silas, 2 babies, Luther and Augustine.
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