P and E plus 2

9 months old & hoping for a speedy "recovery"

2009-07-01T08:10:00.001-07:00

The girls turned nine months yesterday. The girls truly bring me the greatest joy my heart has ever known!!! They keep me VERY busy and it can be challenging sometimes when they both need something at the same time but I am doing my best and thankfully they have survived my mothering so far!! I enjoy watching them grow and do new things but at the same time I wonder where the days went of rocking them both for hours as they slept peacefully on my chest. The time has flown by and they are growing up so very fast! I can hardly keep them still these days ... they are crawling, pulling up, walking behind the push toys, digging in our cabinets etc. They have made me laugh so hard that I have cried. The girls are a tremedous blessing to our lives and I feel so THANKFUL that Heavenly Father trusted me to be Natalie and Gracie's mother!

Our other BIG news is that all the girls bows are in the "hospital" (being repaired and made a little bit bigger as they have grown). My friend Sarah is taking good care of the bows and helping them to "heal" as quickly as possible! Gracie had her first day without a bow in 9 months. We even went to Target WITHOUT a bow!! I am really hoping to have them back soon!

My friend Sarah gave me this adorable silk flower with a bead in the middle to "dress up" Natalies helmet. I think it is ADORABLE!!

Gracie's first day without a bow in 9 months!!

Little Miss Personality hams it up for the camera!!

Beautiful Natalie is showing off her newly decorated helmet to Dr Nadell at Children's Hospital in New Orleans & Mrs. Debbie the prosthetic and orthotic designer.

Natalie is laughing at mommy's efforts to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider."

Gracie is patiently waiting (for once!!) and entertaining herself with my phone! This girl already loves to talk on the phone!! I wonder where she gets that from??

May 2009

2009-06-29T13:47:00.000-07:00

Gracie is the more active of the two girls. She has LIMITLESS energy. She is always bouncing, flapping her arms in excitement or squealing with delight. Gracie often steals toys from Natalie, pushes her over or pulls on her helmet. She is full of life and we love her BIG personality!

Natalie is more quiet and thoughtful. She is a cuddler and very emotional. She babbles and makes many sounds. She is serious about her food ... she likes a lot of it and she likes to have it OFTEN!! She is gentle and patient and we enjoy her loving spirit!

Gracie and Natalie try out the new ride on toy together for the first time. Mom is holding on to their hands just to make sure they are safe!

Natalie is trying out the bathtub that is a baby shower gift for her cousin Evelynne who is due August 3rd. Pauls brother Chris and his wife Amber are expecting their first child and we couldn't be more exicted!!

Natalie dug the snacks out of the diaper bag and spilled them on her blanket. What did I find she wonders?

FOOD!! Natalie dosen't waste any time filling her tummy!

In this very room

2009-06-28T06:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I co-hosted a baby shower for my dear friend Jodi. I previously posted a prayer request for Jodi and her husband Tristan last week after they experienced a devastating apartment fire. When I looked around the house at all the people here to love and support Jodi, Tristan and baby Ethan my heart was very touched. Because of the generous donations we received we were able to replace Jodi's crib, dresser, armoire, nightstand, rocker, breast pump, car seat and bases and baby bedding all of which were lost in the fire. She was totally surprised and I think a little overwhelmed. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of such a beautiful shower. She deserves all these blessings and many more! She shared her feelings with us at the end of the shower and there was not a dry eye in the room! The entire experience reminded me of a song we sang for my sorority (Kappa Delta) - its called "In this very room"

In this very room there's quite enough love for one like me,
And in this very room there's quite enough joy for one like me,
And there's quite enough hope and quite enough power to chase away any gloom,
For Sisters, through Jesus ... are in this very room.

And in this very room there's quite enough love for all of us,
And in this very room there's quite enough joy for all of us,
And there's quite enough hope and quite enough power to chase away any gloom,
For Sisters, through Jesus ... are in this very room.

In this very room there's quite enough love for all the world,
And in this very room there's quite enough joy for all the world,
And there's quite enough hope and quite enough power to chase away any gloom,
For Sisters, through Jesus ... are in this very room.

Diaper cake I made- Jodi is CRAZY for elephants!!

The table set before the company arrived. I borrowed the beautiful table cloth from Patti - she used it for a baby shower she hosted last summer. Thanks Patti - it was PERFECT!

Jodi (L) and Laura (R) are the first to eat ... since they are eating for TWO!

Yummy treats!

More yummy treats!

Cake made by Jeni- decorated by Becky. It was white cake with buttercream icing which is Jodi's favorite!!

June 2009

2009-06-26T17:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from this month. Natalie and Gracie are now crawling and pulling up which has made life around here VERY interesting!! The girls are starting to play together more ... they don't realize their own strength and sometimes accidentally hurt each other so we are working on learning how to "be soft to sister!" Natalie got her first tooth. The girls started to eat grits, oatmeal, cous cous, whole wheat pancakes, broccoli, cauliflower, apple, grapes & bananas (all in safe bite size pieces of course). They have figured out how to feed themselves little bites which is SO CUTE! They are not very good with the sippie cups yet... so we will continue to work on that. We put their bouncy seats in the attic because they don't use them anymore and I was SO SAD! It was another reminder that they are growing up TOO FAST!! However, we are enjoying all the new fun things they are doing!

Gracie forever smiling and FULL OF ENERGY!!

Love your beautiful eyes my sweet Natalie!

The girls sit close together often. They will even hold hands on occasion. They were watching "Your Baby Can Read" this particular time. My dad sent the girls the reading program when they were a few weeks old after being suckered by a late night infomercial ... they aren't reading War and Peace yet ...but maybe soon??

The girls are very excited about bath time now. When they hear the water running they take off down the hall crawling as fast as they can. They bang on the side of the tub until its time to get in. Last week after coming in from our evening walk I got Gracie undressed because it was her turn to go first (I switch them every night to be fair) and turned around to get Natalie down to her diaper. When I turned back around Gracie was halfway down the hall in nothing but a HOT PINK BOW!! Her little white bum in the air crawling full speed ahead (she crawls without putting her knees down-just on her hands and feet- we don't know why but it is PRECIOUS!) . I laughed so hard ... I only wish I had my camera ready!

I left the room for a minute to put laundry away and I heard a loud screech! I came running to find Natalie like this! I think she may have been digging for a pacci in the car seat. Gracie was happily watching her sister.

Sleep Deprivation

2009-06-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

This picture is from December.

Sleep deprivation can make a lot of things seem funny. Paul was giddy (hard to imagine i know but it REALLY happened) one night when the twins were just a few months old so when I came into the living room I found him smiling and standing over this ...

Yes ... its Gracie in our laundry basket!! He proudly said "Its like where is Waldo!" All I could do was laugh!

Moo Moo

2009-06-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from November/December.

When the girls were little our fridge looked like this (please don't judge the random food in our fridge- there was not much time for cleaning it out ... let alone cooking or eating something nutricious).

I was nursing & pumping or BOTH every 3 hours so we ran out of space quite often. We tried really hard to come up with a system to keep it organized ... but could never really find a way to manage all the milk.

Top Shelf

Second Shelf

Our dishwasher looked like this for months on end!!

When we ran out of room in the fridge we resorted to freezing the milk. This was one weeks surplus!! We even had to borrow space in our friends freezers to accomodate all the girls milk!! Thanks to those who loaned us space!!

All the milk made a lot of these ... at one point we went through about 16-18 diapers PER DAY!! I got creative one day and made this diaper pyramid for Paul ... I think he was "impressed" with my amazing skills!!

Trying to Catch Up!!

2009-06-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

So I fell a "little" behind on my blog ... at first you all were patient ... then you all mildly harassed me ... I understand if you eventually gave up on me ... I realize it had been almost 5 months! Yes, I am embarassed. I did think about the blog ... A LOT. I kept a list of things to blog about ... I don't really know if I will EVER catch up ... but I am trying to catch up ... and trying to commit to posting more often ... but if for some reason I don't ... please try and still love me ... after all I am just an unmedicated ADHD mother of 8 month old twins!!

These pictures are from Thanksgiving ... I know, I know ... better late than never ... Pauls grandparents (his mothers parents) from San Antonio came for a quick visit to meet the girls on their way to Pensacola to be with their daughter! They were very excited to meet the girls and we were very excited to introduce them to our precious babies!

Great Grandpa Ruebasamen & Gracie

I am not sure GGpa Ruebsamen was quite sure what

to do with such a little preemie baby ... but he did GREAT!

Great Grandma Ruebsamen & Natalie

LaLa (my mom) & Natalie

Opa & Gracie- she slept like this for about an hour!!

For Thanksgiving we took the girls to Lafayette to celebrate with my family (Paul and I switch holidays every year to be fair to both sides). We stayed in a hotel with the girls. We brought their bouncy seats for them to sleep in ... the first night they slept 6 hours straight!! They had never gone more than 3 hours before ... and after that night it was MANY more months before they went more than 3 hours again!! I guess it was the long trip and meeting so many new family members that wore them out! Regardless ... Paul and I were VERY grateful for the SLEEP!!

The girls all tucked in for the night! Sweet dreams!!

The girls meeting my cousins Melanie (L) & Celeste (R) for the first time!

My cousin Chris' wife A'dair feeds Natalie

A headbanger in a rockband!

2009-06-24T10:58:00.001-07:00

Why does Natalie wear a helmet?

Our little Natalie has been diagnosed with positional plagiocephaly. A big fancy word for ... her head is flat on the back. I noticed her head was a little misshapen at 6weeks old. I told the pediatrician. She sent us to physical therapy for torticollis (stiff neck muscles) which was supposed to fix the probelm. We then saw a neurosurgeon here in BR who told us to have her sleep on her side and it would go away, which we thought was rediculous. Her head was getting worse so I continued to mention it to the pediatrician who finally got us in touch with Dr. Nadell a neurosurgeon at Children Hospital in New Orleans. He has reccomended that she wear a helmet to help her head grow properly. Many doctors visits later and many trips to New Orleans later Natalie now wears her pretty pink helmet 23 hours a day. She has a 1 hour break after bathtime. It was a major adjustment at first ... emotionally for me because I couldn't kiss her beautiful little forehead anymore and physically for Natalie because it was a little uncomfortable. We have worked through all the initial challenges at this point. She is such a brave little trooper. We are hoping that she will only wear it for a few more months. I would love for her to have it off by her first birthday ... but we will see. I had a mealtdown our first time in public because a stranger in a store asked me "how did you get one normal one and one not" - referring to the girls. Her comment assumed that Natalie was not normal. I cried, she didn't apologize and continued by asking if Natalie had Down-Syndrome. I cried some more!! Our second day out in public a lady asked me if Natalie had epilipesy. I did a bit better than the day before by faking a smile and simply responding "No." My dad suggested that when questioned about the helmet I should say "She is a headbanger in a rockband!" I love my dad!!!

Natalie's head being scanned. The sock on her head has wires that attach to the camera and computer to make a 4D image of her face and cranium. The images are sent to Arizona where the helmet is manufactured.

Natalie's first time with the helmet on ... she was thinking what is this thing on my head??

The orthotic technician is custom fitting the helmet to Natalies head. She has a machine that trims ear holes, trims it above the eyebrows and will shave out the inside of the helmet each time we visit to direct the growth of Natalies head.

7 month pictures

2009-06-24T10:45:00.000-07:00

For Mothers Day "we" (wink wink) decided to take the girls pictures here at home. It wasn't worth the saved money to me!! Paul of course feels differently!! LOL. I like the pictures but it was rather stressful trying to get them taken, printed and mailed on time to our family out of town!! I much prefer going to Portrait Innovations where you leave that day with the photos!

So, the girls are 7 months in these pictures.

Abigail Grace

Natalie Adelle

Happy Fathers Day

2009-06-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers Day Paul!! I truly enjoy watching you with our girls. You are a wonderful father. I find joy in seeing you love our girls- playing with them, comforting them, teaching them, praying with them & for them, making them laugh etc. Thank you for working so hard so that I can stay home with them each day. I love you.

We started the day eating breakfast together at the table- unfortunatley a rare event these days. It meant a lot to me! I made whole wheat pancakes and eggs. The girls ate pancakes too! Paul opened his presents and cards- including on that played music. I splurged for the singing hot pepper card ... i couldnt resist! I had suprised him and had the girls pictures made for Fathers Day. You can see one of the pictures by his cards above. We all went to church together which was very nice too! We had a suprise visit from Paul's mother, father, little sister and cousin. The girls put on quite a show crawling, pulling up, babbling etc.

The girls missed celebrating with Opa (my dad) but they are looking forward to seeing him in just a few weeks. I also though about my sweet Papa. Its hard to believe he has been gone for three years. I know he would have loved seeing our precious little girls ... I feel confident he is watching from above!

I had intended to get a family picture at church ... but the girls were tired and fussy so sadly i missed my opportunity!

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

2009-06-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

Our dear friends Jodi and Tristan who are expecting their first child, a little boy, in August lost EVERYTHING in a fire at their apartment tonight. Please, Please pray for their precious family!! I am co-hosting a baby shower for Jodi next weekend and hope that we can help her and her husband prepare for the arrival of their sweet baby boy!! You can read more about their little family here: http://www.tristanandjodibernard.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday Opa

2008-12-30T13:17:00.000-08:00

This post is a little late ... my dad (Opa) celebrated his birthday November 26th. I love this picture of him with the girls!! He looks so happy and proud.

Thank you Opa for all your prayers to get us here. We loved snuggling in your arms during Thanksgiving. We can't wait to come see you this summer and go on your boat. Opa ... will you take us to the waterfall??

Sleeping Beauties

2008-12-29T20:01:00.000-08:00

Grace

Natalie

Ornament Party

2008-12-29T15:20:00.001-08:00

Camille and Hayes

Ryan

Carmen and Natalie

Jennifer and Grace

You have all heard me talk about the babies I have nannied for ... I had a very special day with them recently. When I nannied for Hayes I made an ornament for his parents for Christmas with his handprint - putting paint on it and turning each finger into a snowman. It turned out really cute. I made another one the following year at Carmens request. Then last year it turned into a slightly bigger event when she invited her girlfriend Christine (the mother of baby Cole) and we made ornaments for Hayes, Camille and Cole. (I ended up watching Cole after finding out that he needed someone to keep him during the day.) This year Carmen decided it was part of her Christmas traditions with the kids. She invited he girlfriend Brandi and her little boy Julian, Jennifer the mother of Ryan (you will remember that I was his nanny before Paul and I got married) and Christine (and baby Cole). We planned on making ornaments for all the kids- including the girls and having lunch and girl talk. It was also an opportunity for everyone to meet and love on the girls. Sadly, baby Cole woke up that morning with a fever and couldn't make it. I hope to see him soon.

The ornaments were a huge success. The kids did great! We had large clear and frosted bulbs for the "big" kids and small clear bulbs for the babies. I couldn't believe how big their hands were. Its amazing how fast they are all growing. I was especially caught off guard when I made Camilles ornament. I held her big girl hand in mine and wondered where time had gone. I looked at Carmen and said "Where has my baby gone?" Camille was sitting on my lap at the time and immediatley leaned in and put her cheek on my cheek. TALK ABOUT MEALT YOUR HEART!! It was like she was saying "I am right here!" Ryan is getting so big. He is 6 years old now and has an adorable dog Freddie and enjoys swimming. I can't believe this is the same little boy that I used to snuggle with each day. Hayes is almost 4. He is reading and loves Montessori school. I can't believe this is the same little boy I rocked to sleep each day. Oh how I love these kids!! I have my own girls now ... BUT these children will always be MY babies!! I LOVE YOU RYAN, HAYES, CAMILLE AND COLE!!

Mary did you know?

2008-12-29T15:13:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite Christmas song. (well non-traditional Christmas song... )

Mary, did you knowthat your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you knowthat your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?

This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you knowthat your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you knowthat your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?

Did you know that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

The blind will see.And the deaf will hear.The dead will live again.

The lame will leap.The dumb will speak. The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you knowthat your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you knowthat your Baby Boy will one day rule the nations?

Did you knowthat your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?

The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

As I was rocking the girls to sleep Christmas Eve I found myself in awe of their perfect little faces and all their dainty features. I watched as they peacefully slept breathing in and out ever so slowly. They were all wrapped up and felt so warm in my arms. Its these moments of motherhood that I longed for all those years. These moments of pure bliss, deep gratitude and complete happiness I craved from deep in my soul. I couldn't believe that these precious little girls were actually in MY arms. I pondered how deep my love was for these two angel babies. I thought of how Mary must have felt when she held baby Jesus. Did she study his beautiful face? Was she too amazed by the incredible love she had for her newborn son? What dreams did she have for her son ... knowing that He was the Son of God? I wondered if she was overwhelmed by the awesome responsibility that was hers ... to raise the Son of God!!

Splish Splash I Was Taking a Bath

2008-12-29T15:12:00.000-08:00

We have been hoping to get some bathtime photos for awhile and I finally managed to capture some of our bathtime fun today. The girls have started to enjoy their baths (instead of crying the entire time) which makes this part of our evening routine so much more enjoyable.

Grace

Grace

Natalie

Natalie

PRAYER REQUEST

2008-12-29T15:11:00.000-08:00

Please join us in fervent prayer for my friend Sarah, her husband Patrick and their sweet baby. She is 24 weeks pregnant and has been diagnosed with stage 3 non-hodgkins lymphoma. She started chemo the 26th of December. She has 5 other treatments over the next couple of months. Please pray that her baby will be healthy & that she will not suffer with nausea. You can read more about her precious family here: http://www.baby-hull.blogspot.com/

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2008-12-29T14:59:00.000-08:00

Grace (L) and Natalie (R) in their Christmas pajamas (thank you aunt gerry for the darling pj's) on Christmas Eve waiting for santa.

Our futile attempt at a family Christams picture after church on Sunday. Anyone know how to get both babies to look at the camera??

Sisters

2008-12-24T20:12:00.001-08:00

A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life. ~Isadora James

As most of you know I am an only child. I have made a habit of harassing my parents about wanting sibling for most of my life and promised them I would NEVER have an only child. (Its really not so bad ... but at this point why stop harassing them right??) I envy my mother's relationship with her sisters. They are so very close and share things in a way that an only child can only dream of comprehending. I watch my cousins with their siblings and am so jealous of the closeness that they share. While I am so greatful for my friends- many of whom are like sisters to me- I know its just not the same. When I found out I was expecting twins I felt great joy knowing that I would not have an only child- and I cannot even begin to explain the abundance of my joy when I found out it was TWO GIRLS!! Oh how I love girls!! I just knew in my heart that they would be so close and never long for companionship or someone to share their deepest secrets with. I knew they would share many adventures and have a bond that runs through every fiber of their being. I very much look forward to seeing Natalie and Abbie Grace grow in that special sisterly love.

Happy Birthday Grandma Pat

2008-12-24T20:01:00.000-08:00

Grandma Pat celebrated her birthday November 19th and the girls made a suprise visit at her school where she teaches 3rd grade. The school secretary told Grandma that an angry parent was waiting for her in the office ... but when she came into the office she saw her two FAVORITE grandaughters (and her MOST favorite daughter-in-law)!! She was very suprised! The word spread quickly that Mrs. Pat's twins were at school and we had several teachers come catch a glimpse at our little angels. They gave grandma a BIG balloon and cupcakes for her class so they could celebrate with her on her special day. The girls would have stayed for the celebration but mommy was afraid one of the children would have "lovingly" bestowed too many germs on her preemie babies. When the girls are bigger and healtheir they will visit again. Happy Birthday Grandma Pat ... thanks for all your prayers to get us here safley and for all that you do for us, mommy and daddy!

Blessing Day

2008-12-24T19:14:00.000-08:00

We blessed the girls at church on December 7th. It was a perfect day (with the exception of us missing Opa and LaLa-my parents- who were unable to attend.) It was a very emotional day for me. Paul and I had waited for this day for a very long time. As we were dressing the girls that morning my eyes welled with tears thinking of all the days I longed for a baby to hold & love. I thought of all the prayers we had prayed and all those who had prayed for us. I thought of my beloved grandparents who are all now in heaven and how much I wished they could be a part of this special day. I felt that they were so close to us this day.

Both of the girls dresses have a story behind them and are family heirlooms. The dress that Natalie wore was sewn by my grandmother Alice (dad's mother). Her sister made the crocheted squares that go down the front and on the bonnett. Her aunt made the tatting and trim that are on the bottom of the dress and on the bonnett. It is a beautiful dress and Natalie looked like an angel in it. My grandmother wrote a letter to me and tucked it away with the dress many years ago telling me that she hoped one day I would have a baby to wear the dress ... Grandma today was the special day you and I both wished for. The dress that Abbie Grace wore has been worn by my mother, her two sisters & all my cousins (including Andre who was christened in Germany- yes the dress was hand-carried by Aunt Tim to Germany for the special occasion!!) The coat for the dress was sewn by my grandmother Dorothy's (mom's mother) aunt Margie. Interesting side note ... she sewed design samples for Doris Day in the film "Pillow Talk." The bonnett for Abbie Grace's dress was sewn by Pauls mother. She made the bonnett to match the dress with pin-tucking and lace. My mother gave the girls beautiful satin shoes and a dear friend Mrs. Jackie gave the girls pretty socks and a burp cloth with crosses on them.

Paul asked his father Mike, Ole Christensen (recent stake president and close family friend), Bert Barilleau (close family friend and father of Megan who introduced Paul and I), and Chuck Banz (close family friend) to participate in the blessing of the girls. He had hoped to have Tristan Bernard (close family friend) also but he works offshore every other week and was out of town. Each girl was given a beautiful and unique blessing from our loving Father in Heaven. We had a small get together that evening at the church to celebrate the girls blessing. We had cake and icecream to for the occasion. I had hoped to get this beautiful cake in the shape of a Christening gown from Ambrosia (the best bakery EVER) but it didn't work out ... so I figure that means I have an even BIGGER budget for the girls first birthday cake ... and you better believe that cake is coming from Ambrosia!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was an amazing day and I hope I will never forget how special Paul and I felt to have our girls at church with us and to celebrate the richness of the Lords blessings in our lives.

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!!

2008-12-11T04:31:00.000-08:00

I woke up to a wonderful suprise this morning. After feeding the girls at 5am I looked outside expecting to see the rain and it was SNOW!! I ran and woke up Paul to share my discovery ... he was interested but sleepy. I convinced him to take a few pictures before he headed back to bed. What a party pooper!! I can't wait for the girls to wake up so we can take them outside!! I will post more pictures after the sun comes up ... but I wanted to beat out all you diehard bloggers and get my snow picture up first ... he he he!!

After the sun came up this is what we saw ...

our house !!

sledding in the streets!!

a BIG snowman!!

4 inches of snow!!

Abbie Grace and Natalie exploring the winter wonderland. I would say that they enjoyed it .... but Abbie Grace was crying because she was cold. She is like her mother and does NOT like being cold. Natalie is like her daddy and loved the cold!!

Happy Halloween

2008-12-10T19:00:00.000-08:00

I am posting this a little late ... the girls first Halloween. Thanks to Great Grandma & Grandpa Ruebsamen for sending the girls their very first card in the mail ... an adorable pumpkin card addressed to each girl!! It was so cute and thoughtful.

I dug around in my stash of baby clothes that I have been collecting over the years hoping to use one day and found some halloween costumes for the girls. A pumpkin for Natalie and a Bear for Abbie Grace. The costumes are not what I would have picked if I could have taken the girls shopping ... but they had to work because the pediatrician wants the babies to stay in for three months except for necessary trips out.

The girls sat outside with me and handed out candy ... okay well they slept the entire time while mommy handed out candy ... but they looked adorable! One lady thought that they were dolls. I was like no they are REAL babies!!

I can't wait for next year when we can get the girls all dolled up and hit the streets in search of M&M's (dark chocolate), Kit Kat and York Peppermin Patti's!!! (mommys favorite candies)

7 weeks old

2008-11-18T15:53:00.000-08:00

Natalie (top) Abbie Grace (bottom)

Our little angels are 7 weeks old today!! They are such a joy and we cannot imagine our lives without them. Its hard to imagine life without them. I can't believe we survived the 5 year wait. Some days it seemed impossible to go on ... other days were easier thanks to prayer, loving friends who offered us a shoulder to cry on, something to laugh about or their kids to borrow. Sometimes I still feel like a knock will come at the door and someone will take our girls away. I have caught myself several times getting ancy during the last 15 minutes of Oprah when it goes to lots of commercials ... (this was my cue that my "work" day as a nanny was nearing the end. It was always a sad time for me because I knew that the parents would be home soon and I would have to leave the precious babies I spent all day loving on and caring for.) ...thinking that I will have to hand over the girls to someone. Then I remember that they are ours and I feel overwhelmed with joy and an occasional tear. I hug them extra tight and whisper in their ears that we will be together forever. I hope they hear me and know how much they are loved.

Tired Mommy, Tired Babies

2008-11-14T19:14:00.000-08:00

This is from the week of November 10th. I am trying to play catch up on my blogging. I feel like I am trying to meet a deadline for a paper in college ... only I don't have Alisha to help me finish on time.

This is why the girls are so sleepy:

Tuesday: Mommy's post delivery checkup.

Wednesday: Mommy & Babies Lactation consultant appointment.

Thursday: Babies ENT appointment & physical therapy appointment. Renewed Inspection sticker on mommy's car.

Friday: Mommy's haircut & oil change on mommy's car. (thanks to "Take 5" oil change station where you don't even get out of your car!! I was done in less than 10 minutes and had peacefully sleeping babies the entire time!!)

Prayer Requests

2008-11-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

I have two prayer requests for everyone. These two families are on our prayer list every night.

1. Austin and Amber Fatheree. This is my cousin Celeste's brother and sister in law. They are an adorable couple and recently welcomed a new baby boy named Cib. Sadly, Ambers mother was in an accident in September that left her paralyzed from the waist down. They are a strong Christian family and trust that Heavenly Father will strengthen them during this difficult time. Amber updates their blog about her mother's progress and posts specific prayer requests. You can read more about their precious family here: fathereejoy.blogspot.com

2. Darren and Jody Riggs. This is my friend Jessica's husbands best friend and his wife. For those of you who know Brother Riggs ... Darren is his son. Their precious little boy Karson has been diagnosed with Type I Spinal Muscular Atrophy- a terminal illness. Karson is 7 months old. Jody posts prayer requests for baby Karson on their blog. You can read more about their precious family here: djriggs.blogspot.com

I have a testimony of prayer. I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. I know that miracles can happen as a result of prayer. I know that prayers can strengthen us when we need it most. I know this because many of you have prayed for us and now we have two precious little girls. Please join Paul and I in praying for these two sweet families

The Joy of Football

2008-11-10T13:28:00.000-08:00

As most of you know I LOVE football. I have been known to yell at the TV and on occasion throw things in protest of a bad referee call. I have learned these fine lady-like behaviors from my father. THANKS DAD!! When I was a little girl he would take me to the LSU games. I felt so special on those days. He worked alot ... but on those days I had his complete attention. We would go to a restraunt and load up on the most unhealthy food and soda (mostly because mom was not around to stop us and suggest that we have milk with our pizza!) As we walked in the crowds of roudy tailgaters I felt like the luckiest little girl in the whole world. I would cheer my heart out with my trusty yellow pom-pom and win or lose as we walked away from Tiger stadium my world was perfect because I was walking hand in hand with my dad. I look forward to sharing the joy of football with our little girls and creating memories with them that they will carry in their hearts forever.

Natalie is taking a quick nap during halftime ... dreaming of an LSU victory!!

Abbie Grace is ready for the LSU game. GEAUX TIGERS ... BEAT BAMA!!

Slacker Blogger

2008-11-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

I know its been a while since my dear friend Jessica created my blog but now I'm finally committed to blogging...well at least for the next few minutes! Most of you have seen these pictures of our little angels but I wanted my first post to be their first 'dress up' pictures.

Natalie Adelle (L) & Abigail Grace (R)

Natalie Adelle Born Sept 30, 2008 4lbs 8.7oz 18 inches 1:47 pm
Abigail Grace Born on Sept 30, 2008 4lbs 8.2oz 16.25 in 1:48 pm

...a little practice post...

2008-05-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for my favorite people, Paul and Elizabeth, to start blogging! Can't wait to meet those twins!