PRAYERS FOR A FRIEND

My heart is aching as I cry and pray for a dear friend who just had her 2nd miscarriage after her 2nd round of in-vitro.

Shannon, I pray God gives you comfort and peace as you ache for your precious babies who have gone to heaven, along with the strength and faith to trust in His plan for your family. I love you!

Nestled in God’s Arms
The Lord loves little ones
And keeps them safe and warm
In a special place in Heaven
Nestled in His arms.
The Lord placed the tiny babes
To grow in a mother’s womb
And if He calls them home before their birth
He must have them a special room.
I have not yet seen Heaven
But I know our God above
Will take special care of tiny ones
And surround them with His love.
So do not fret or mourn
For the tiny soul set free
But look forward to a reunion
That will last eternally.
-Thena Smith

Please don't take your children for granted, there are so many people out there who would give anything for the chance...

Video: "I Would Die for That" by Kelly Coffey



Daddy please don't look so sad, momma please don't cry.
Cause I'm in the arms of Jesus, and he sings me lullabies.
Please try not to question God, don't think he is unkind.
Don't think he sent me to you and then changed his mind.
You see I'm a special child, I am needed up above.
I'm the special gift you gave Him, a product of your love.
I'll always be there with you, so watch the sky at night.
Look for the brightest star and know that's my halo's brilliant light.
You'll see me in the morning frost that mists your window pane.
That's me in the summer showers, I'll be dancing in the rain.
When you feel a gentle breeze from a gentle wind that blows.
Know that it's me planting a kiss upon your nose.
When you see a child playing and your heart feels a tug,
Don't be sad mommy, that's just me giving your heart a hug.
So daddy don't looks so sad and momma please don't cry.
I'm in the arms of Jesus and he sings me lullabies!
~ Author Unknown

AND THE CLIMBING BEGINS

The climbing phase has begun. I'm guessing it won't be over anytime soon either...

Look where we found Will. Guess he finally learned how to use the ottoman and other chair to climb up on the couch!


Eli tries, but with no success.


They climb in bins.


The climb on bins.


They climb on gift boxes.


They climb on diaper boxes.


They even climb on toilet paper. I mean, why not?



A race to see who can get on next!


As you can see, Will is very proud and excited. And Elijah in the background is a little upset and wants his turn!







Here are the boys today after church yesterday. Will used the piano to get up on the couch. Poor Elijah wants to get up there by himself so badly!


And Nick watched this shenanigan as it happened. Being the good parent he is, he didn't stop it, but quickly grabbed the camera to document it. I'm proud of you, Nick!

You can clearly see for yourself how Will magically appeared on top of the table!

First tip over the play kitchen...


Then use it to climb into the red bin of toys...


Re-position yourself...


Climb onto table...easy peasy...


Eli is sure trying hard. I'm sure it won't be too long before he can do the same!


And don't you worry, this wasn't a one time event for Will. He's done it a few times since. Here they are yesterday while I was getting them dressed for church. Poor Eli. You can just feel the frustration on his face! It as if he's saying, "Will, take me up there with you!" :)


And this morning I watched Will get up onto the couch by climbing on top of Eli. I'm not kidding. Will used Elijah as a step. Hilarious!!


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WILL SAYS, "BABY"

Will says "baby" so sweetly. And he always says it that way, with such gentleness and love. It just melts my heart...

Watch this sweet video:

THE 2ND ANNIVERSARY OF OUR "Ordinary Miracles"

Today Nick and I are celebrating the second anniversary of our little "ordinary miracles" on an extraordinary day!

January 21, 2010 forever holds a very special place in our hearts...

Exactly two years ago today, we watched the monitor in surgery at Mayo Clinic, at the exact moment our two embryos were being injected into my uterus.

It's hard to describe just what we were feeling at that moment. One may think we thought about how it'd be a lot more fun to be making a baby by having sex for free, rather than paying thousands of dollars surrounded by a bunch of Mayo Clinic Reproductive Endocrinology doctors! How romantic, right? But I can honestly say I didn't think that at that moment. (Although I had thought it often before!) At that time, we were focused on the hope of our miracles.

Little did we know at that moment that both of those two precious embryos would attach and grow into our beautiful, precious, twin boys that are running around like little maniacs today!

Some people may think it's weird to celebrate the day your child was conceived, and maybe it is, but I don't care what they think. :) It's another reminder of our precious miracles and that deserves all the celebrating there is...

I am constantly amazed of the medical technology of IVF and am truly grateful for it. Because without it, I probably wouldn't have my children. I just can't truly wrap my brain around that advanced technology. How could it be that our two little babies were made outside of my body and put back inside of me? Our little test tube babies. Incredible! And we watched it happen. That is something special. Something so extraordinary. Something that is nothing short of a miracle.

My heart smiles every time I think of it. It just blows my mind. I know it's okay that I don't really understand all the medical terms and advancements. Because I know it's a miracle...God's handiwork. And that's all I really need to know...

For those of you out there who read my blog for hope and encouragement, it is my heartfelt prayer and hope that you trust that your "ordinary miracle" will happen for you. Because it will. God has a plan. A plan that is better than the plan you have for yourself.

And for those of you who already have your "ordinary miracle(s)", never ever ever take them for granted.

I am grateful. I am blessed. And I believe in miracles, in every walk and season of my life.


That's right, Elijah and Will, you were wanted. Like WAY WAY wanted.

And you always will be.


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BABY LEGS, NEW SHOES, AND DIAPER BOXES

I neglected to post this back in December when things got a little crazy with Christmas! But this was the afternoon of December 17th. And a fun afternoon it was.


Peek-A-Boo little cuties!


Look who I found quietly reading in their favorite nook?


Our sweet little bookworms





The boys finally fit into their "Baby Legs" that we received from a dear friend. They are little leg warmers that are oh, so adorable! I think it's hilarious that they are called "baby legs."

Don't they look cute?





The boys got new shoes today. They are geeky "old man" velcro shoes. But hey, the twins make them look cool.

Elijah wasn't too happy when we first put them on.


Nope, still not happy.


Definitely not happy. But at least he's walking in them!


But Will was all smiles and just cruised along.




Here they are taking a break to read books! (Even though we took their shoes off, you can clearly see Eli is still peeved and traumatized. But Will is happy as can be! )




Causing a ruckus in the kitchen


I wish we had a video of this. But this photo is of Eli grabbing and pulling on both door handles shaking them viciously trying to get the cupboard open. And Will is hanging from the oven door handle. Oh my...oh my. The life of toddler boys!




We had gotten back from running errands and the boys had fun pushing around their Target diaper boxes that we hadn't put away yet. Apparently pushing diaper boxes is super fun. Here's a video to prove it:

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A MOM OF TWINS WHEN...

* I thought this was pretty funny and oh, so true!

1. You have a closet just for diapers and wipes.

2. Every where you go you are looked at like a circus clown.

3. People feel the need to ask VERY personal questions. EXAMPLES - What did you do to get twins? Are they natural? Are they identical? Were they early?

4. You use your feet as two extra hands.

5. You see people with one baby having a hard time and think, "One baby?...I laugh at your one baby!"

6. You get excited when you see a buy one get one free sign.

7. When you were pregnant, people pointed and looked at your belly, saying "WOW!"

8. Your diaper bag looks like you are going on vacation.


9. In public, people look in horror (or laugh) when your kids run in separate directions.

10. You give a blank look to the person asking what are your kids names, because you honestly can't remember, due to sleep deprivation.

11. You can't buy anything on sale because you can never find two.

12. You get mad when you see one baby in a double shopping cart.

13. You sometimes have to take a double look to figure out who is who.

14. Your biceps are as big as a man's from carrying 2 car seats around.

15. You realize to be somewhere early, you need to start getting ready 2 hours before.

16. You have the urge to smack every person who complains about being tired.

17. You have fifteen minute conversations about your multiples with complete strangers at any given store.

18. You have an incredible mental tally in your head. (who you last held, who pooed, who ate, who had Tylenol and at what time, etc.)

19. You consider it a major triumph if you shower by noon.

20. You dress your twins the same not because its cute, because its easier. (And you secretly like it when people can't tell them apart!)


21. You have learned the art of picking two babies up at a time.

22. You approach a twin mom without hesitation.

23. You imagine hurting your singleton mom friends when they mention being tired or how hard work it is with one baby.

24. You leave for a date with your hubby with your diaper bag instead of a purse.

25. You have given the evil eye to all the singleton moms in baby shops choosing their single stroller from a choice of hundreds.

26. You drop something and without hesitation pick it up with your toes.

27. You can't go out the house without being gawked at or stopped by random strangers.

28. You have a whole photo album of ultrasound photos.

29. You watch shows like "Jon & Kate Plus 8" and "Octomom" to make yourself feel better.

30. You avoiding going places because your double stroller won't fit through the doorway.

PLAYING OUTSIDE. JANUARY 10. 52 DEGREES.

Yesterday the boys and I went outside for a walk...in 52 degree weather...on January 10th...with no snow in Minnesota. (Well, except for the little bit of snow you can see by the curb in the first photo!)

In case you aren't familiar with a Minnesota winter, this is unusual.

Extremely unusual.

In fact, I believe it was around Thanksgiving where we went out for a walk and I remember saying, "This will be our last walk outside until probably April!" Then we found ourselves out for a walk on Christmas Day! And I was for sure that was the last until April. But nope, I was wrong again!

On a walk over to Uncle Barry and Auntie Jesse's house


Once we got there, we decided to play outside. It was really the first time the boys have been able to play outside in the grass since they both have become full time walkers. They had a blast running around, falling down, and giggling like crazy. I finally got the chance to experience what people have warned me about. I now know what it's like to have two toddlers running in opposite directions. WOW! But their cousin, Cora, did a great job of helping me keep track of them and catching them before they tried to crash onto the cement or off the curb!

Playing with Cora


Emma was outside too!



Soon, all the neighbor girls were out to play with us!


Elijah enjoying the swings being pushed by all the girls!



Will enjoying the swing and his chance with the girls!


Here's a photo of our house on January 10th, 2012. No snow.



This is more like what our house normally looks like in Jan/Feb!

Our house. February 13, 2010


Once again, this is just CRAZY!

The boys playing with my sister's neighbor's dog, Baxter!


Here's a video of the twins playing outside with Baxter. They LOVE dogs and aren't scared of any, no matter the size. How cute!! I could never get enough of those little boy giggles.



I must mention that of course today it was 20 degrees, windy, and snowing.

Gotta love Minnesota!!

A FEW FUN PICS

Just a few fun pics from last week...

"Has anyone seen where my cracker went?"


Will looked over and saw Eli's cracker pasted on his head. So, then Will tried to get his own cracker to stick on his head just like Eli's! :)


He thought he was hilarious with the cracker stunt! Will laughed and laughed trying to get that cracker on his head!


My sweet, silly boys!


Carseat fun!

WILL'S FIRST HAIRCUT

Will had his first haircut today. (On his Grandma Cox's 58th Birthday! Happy Birthday Grandma!!)

I'm happy to report we all survived.

BEFORE PHOTOS:

He has what I call the "reverse mullet." It's long in front on top and short in the back. It's all "party in the front, business in the back!"


The hair on his forehead was getting a bit too long.


Will says, "But mommy, I love my hair, it just screams 'WWWWEEEE for Wild Will'! Please don't cut it!!"


Eli even seemed to think it was starting to be a little much...


Will also says, "Seriously, you get rid of my awesome hair and so many lives will be devastated. I mean, look at me, this is ADORABLE!"


Sorry we tortured you, Will. But it had to be done!

So far so good. He didn't cry until she put the cape on!


I don't know why he wouldn't smile for the photo. :)


As you can see, he really enjoyed it.


Poor little baby. He just screamed and cried the entire time!


No pain, no gain, little man...


AFTER:
Like my haircut? Mommy says I look more like a little boy than a baby now!