Just One Thing..or Two

We came home Friday. Staying in the hospital is stressful, especially when they come to take your vitals at midnight and wake up your sleeping babieS!!!

I've learned one thing is very different about having twins than just one.

With one, when she sleeps, you sleep. You feel like you've accomplished something great when this happens (because you have!). And your reward: sleep!

With twins, when only one sleeps, you still don't sleep. Sure, you're not juggling two crying babies (which has happened!), but you're not sleeping either! Yes, we feed them at the same time, always; and we wake up one to feed them both. BUT...they both have to sleep in order for me to sleep!

I guess I've learned one more thing: you can nurse, carry, maneuver, burp, pick up, cuddle with, put down, swaddle one while holding the other, and hold/place pacis in mouths of two babies at the same time...but it sure is nice to have another pair of hands around!

Here are some pictures from our last few days in the hospital. I love the one above...Addie was looking up at her Daddy who was about to hand her Anne Perry. Priceless!

She's been very gentle with them...

I love how they often times turn their head towards one another when they sleep.

Our neighbor gave Addie this shirt! How cute is that!

My sweet friend Allison spent much of the day with us at the hospital on Tuesday (not only did she drive from Birmingham, her amazing husband took the day off work to keep her other 3 kiddos so she could come!). She is a very talented photographer and precious friend! We've known each other since college (um...that would be 10 years Allison!), and we were so thankful to have her there to capture the first day of our girl's lives (especially because I was still pretty drugged after the c-section). At times, I hardly noticed she was there as she quietly captured some of the sweetest moments of the day! It takes a very special friend to be able to do that! Make sure to visit her photography blog for her post on the day! We love you Allison!

More pictures of us coming home...coming soon.

Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. 

Psalm 116:7

Welcome Little Ones

The best daddy ever!

Ready to visit Mommy in recovery!

Addie watching the girls get their first bath!

The girls in the nursery.

Audrey Kate (aka Baby B)

Anne Perry (aka Baby A)

Big Sister Addie checking out her new baby sisters and holding Anne Perry's hand!

Our little girls! They love being close to each other!

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100

Random Thoughts the Night Before We Deliver Twins...

I am so ready and yet I'm not. 

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 
 Jeremiah 29:11

We are 38 weeks. Absurd I say. 

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.  Psalm 100:5

My best friend asked me if I was nervous. Yes about: having a c-section, recovery, juggling the next few days, and Addie's reaction but NO about: having twins. It should probably be the other way around though. :)

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow...Matthew 6:34a

 

Not much sounds yummy to me right now, but Paul has literally gone and gotten me anything and everything for the past few days. My favorites: Salsarita's veggie pizza, Chappy's, and most importantly, Nancy's Italian Ice (not all at once). He really is an amazing husband and daddy in more ways than just satisfying my food cravings! I am so thankful for him and the love he constantly shows us!

I thank my God every time I remember you. Philippians 1:3

I'm going to miss having a huge bump to rest my plate or the remote or my sewing scissors on. I've kinda grown attached to it. Well...sort of, more attached to what's created it than anything!!! 

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13

I love facebook and email and texting. I have never been so encouraged all at once by so many people in so many places. Prayers are being said from Florida to Alabama to North Carolina to New York. Thank you for that my sweet friends and family! God's peace is truly awesome when you are covered in prayer!

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. I Thessalonians 5:11

I'm really organized with Addie's stuff: clothes laid out, MMO bag packed for the week, teacher appreciation gifts ready, options for lunch, schedule of where she'll be and when, etc.

I don't feel so organized as a whole though. I mean, my bag and the girls bags are packed. We have Addie's gifts from the girls ready, wreath for the door, girl's dresses, etc. But there's just stuff laying around that I want to pick/clean up but can't seem to wrap my mind around where to put it all. That's ok. Not a priority right now, and I'm ok with that.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.   
Psalm 23: 1-3

I dreamed last night that we woke up 3 hours late tomorrow morning and missed the c-section by over an hour. You think they'd make me wait until Wednesday if that happened?

Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.  Psalm 116:7

Baby B is crammed so tightly in my ribs that I could not hold Addie in my lap earlier today because of the pain.

I went for pre-op today. That made things real. 

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7 

I keep rubbing my belly not believing that I won't be pregnant tomorrow but will have TWO precious little miracle blessings in my arms to love!

My friends keep calling them the miracle babies. I love it...! I simply cannot wait to meet them!

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

And it's finally the right time for these little miracle babies to make their appearance!   

  

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are His... Psalm 100: 1-3

Addie Weekend!

(warning...long post. more pictures than anything though! i know...it's about time!)

We decided to make the best of waiting for these little girls to arrive. So this weekend, we had another Addie weekend. You may remember the trip we took to Tennessee in January to the Aquarium and Discovery Museum before I had to stop traveling. This weekend was nothing like that, as I have to limit my walking and movement; but we decided to do some of Addie's favorite things this last weekend as a family of 3!

It started Friday morning with a trip to the park and then a visit to DiDi's house. I'm not sure which she enjoyed more!

She had so much fun balancing here. I was a little shocked that she could figure it out because I sure wasn't up for demonstrating!

...I love this smile!

After nap time, we went to visit Rie Rie and ride the horsey at her house. Then we went to dinner at Salsaritas's and got ice cream at Nancy's Italian Ice! Yummy!

On Saturday, we got up and made one of her favorite breakfasts: eggs and cinnamon rolls! (ok. ok. so right now it's one of my favorites too, but that's beside the point!)

My Dad and Pat were in town, so they stopped by to visit for a few (and brought us more diapers! whoohoo!). Addie was thrilled to see them and show off her painted fingernails and toenails! She also had to show off her owie on her toe and polka-dot dress! 

And what's an Addie weekend without the Egglestons? Cady, Mandy, and Chad met us at Chick-fil-a for lunch. Cady and Addie are such sweet friends, and both of them literally squealed with excitement when they saw each other! We all ate lunch and then let the girls play on the playground for a while. Loved these pictures we got of the 2 of them right before we left!

After falling asleep in the car before we could get home, Addie decided she needed to snuggle in order to go back to sleep. So this very pregnant mama wrapped my big girl's long, little body around my huge tummy and rocked her to sleep. Perfect timing and such a sweet few minutes, I might add!

When Addie woke up, we went to one of her sweet friend, Lily Kate's, 2nd birthday party! She was so excited to get to see Lily Kate and Raegan, two of her MMO best buddies! (they were actually all very happy but the sun was in their eyes, so everyone is squinting!)

Then it was off to dinner with Rie Rie at Chappy's, one of Addie's favorite places to eat (and one of our favorite places to take her because she eats for free AND we had coupons!) Of course, what's eating at Chappy's without getting a free mini ice cream cone! I'd left my camera at the birthday party, so I had to use my blackberry, which doesnt take great pictures; but i LOVED her expression!


I knew I'd never make it sitting through church, so Paul took Addie to Sunday School and church on Sunday. Then it was home for BBQ and nap time!

We'd missed getting to feed the ducks Saturday, so what better of a time to do that than Sunday!
After getting ready, we went to feed the ducks at the Museum of Fine Arts. Paul has been saving our bread scraps and ends just for this day! The wind was stronger than I've seen here in a long time (without there being a storm). It didn't stop us from having fun though! Check out her hair!

After feeding the ducks, we went to the little fountain up next to the museum (and were more shielded from the wind). Addie really loves fountains right now and always points them out when we are in the car!

I rarely get pictures with Addie, so I handed Paul the camera to see what we could get. There would be no posing, as our little 2 year old is apparently opposed to that; but I sure did love these that he got! She thought it was hilarious that she was getting me wet! I just love it when she laughs! And since I never post pictures of me with Addie, here are 5!

It has been an absolutely perfect weekend, not without it's fair share of tantrums and aches/pains; but it has been perfect for us. We got to spend some precious time with just Addie, something that we will continue to do but will be much more challenging to accomplish. 

If you ask her who's coming/going to be born this week, she yells BABIES, TWO BABIES! Our prayer is that she will remain this excited about the little girl's arrival.

I have received so many emails, fb wall posts/messages, and phone calls just to let us know people are praying for us. We are, once again, being bathed in prayer; and it's covering us with a peace that can only come from our amazing God. Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement!

We'll get a post up as soon as we have time on Tuesday, even if it's just words!

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:7

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Piggy Paint

As most of you know, we try to be pretty careful about what we use around or put on Addie. There are so many estrogen inhibitors and carcinogens in everyday products. We've worked very hard to gradually get and keep those out of our home.

So when I had the opportunity to get some Piggy Paint, I jumped at it! It’s free of formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, Bisphenol A, ethyl acetate and acetone.  Period.

And it comes in way fun colors!

So this past weekend, I pulled it out and showed Addie how it worked! She was beside herself excited!

It was a tad difficult to get her to stay still long enough to let it dry; but once it was dry, she was all about showing it off to her daddy!

Fun times with our big girl!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

I realize that I've had way too many posts without pictures recently! So many thoughts running through my head these last few days of being pregnant with twins, having arms that outnumber my children, and juggling only a 2 year old!

Last week I had a lot of energy. I cleaned more than usual, made bows for our hospital door (pictures to come), and planted flowers in our planters outside! I should have been doing laundry, but we had way more fun outside (and I did my 7 loads Wednesday!). I love planting flowers: coming up with combinations, their colors, and the finished product!

I know. I know. You aren't supposed to dig in dirt when you're pregnant, let alone 36+ weeks (then) pregnant; but it wasn't in the yard, and I was almost 100% sure there had not been any cats pooping in my flower pots and I sat to do most of it!

Addie apparently thought planting flowers meant digging dirt out of the flower pot using the plastic stake thingy that tells you what kind of flower you've bought! She was really sweet though and tons of fun! The only problem was that when we went to our friend Anna and Thomas' later that morning, she decided their already planted flowers needed digging in and dug out dirt around their strawberry plant! Oops! Thankfully, no permanent damage was done!

She was so excited to see the flowers! (and yes, pjs and crocs are the ideal planting attire for a 2 year old!)

This was her pot until I finally planted something in it! (she refused to look at me!!!)

You can see her digging in the dirt with the plastic stake thingy (i dont know what else to call it!).

And here is a taste of our finished product!

...and now we have flowers to welcome home the little girls!!!