Thursday, March 31, 2011

A Party Post

On Saturday we celebrated Lucas and Abigail's first birthday with a big ol' party at our Church.

Our house is on the smaller side (which we try not to complain about, because in turn our mortgage is on the smaller side as well) and we knew we would not be able to host even our families here, let alone our friends. Thankfully we have a wonderful Church that not only let us host the party there, some of our great friends help us set up, decorate, prepare food, and clean up as well!


The twins were a little overwhelmed when we first walked into the room and saw so many people.

(Abbey clinging to Momma while I greeted people)



Dave and I made a birthday banner, and we hung lots of different color balloons and streamers...

We had a fruit tray, a veggie tray, bacon-cheddar pinwheels, chips, cookies, and my sister Natalie made her delicious meatballs....yummmmm....


Luke and Abbey were spoiled beyond belief... =)...


See those two little bucket chairs?
My grandpa and stepdad made those! They are SO cute...


And our babies... I mean, toddlers, just loved them...



We spent a long time opening gifts, which Abbey and Luke took to pretty quickly...



After all the presents were finally opened, we moved on to the cakes...


And while I don't think The Cake Boss will be calling us any time soon to hire us as decorators, they did turn out to be quite tasty. We made Butter Yellow cakes with Buttercream frosting.
We also made some cupcakes at the last minute, because I realized even a two layer cake might not be enough to feed all the people that RSVP'd!

Abbey and Luke weren't quite sure what to think as we came towards them...


I sure hope someone caught the first bite on film... =)...



They both picked at their cakes at first...



...and then they both gave signs of approval...



...and then ever industrious Luke, decided hands were completely unnecessary...



All in all, I would say they enjoyed their first cakes!



After cake we attempted a "Generations" picture. Here we have Luke, Abbey, David and I, as well as all 6 grandparents and 3 out of 4 great-grandparents!



It was a GREAT birthday party - more than I could have hoped for. At one point my heart swelled as I looked around the room and saw it full of so many people who love our kids (and us). We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends to support us and celebrate with us!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Just enjoying our one year olds...

I know, I owe you a 1st Birthday Party post, and a 12 month post...but I just haven't made the time just yet.

We've been just enjoying our time together the last few days. Dave has been off for Spring Break, and Auntie Emily came for a visit, so we've been playing with all our new birthday toys, enjoying the tastiest muffins ever created on this planet, watching movies, and just plain hangin' out.


Auntie Em and Abbey sharing a laugh...



Luke helping Daddy with some paperwork...



We did manage to get the twins' one year photos taken today, and we think The Picture People did a pretty good job capturing the worlds cutest one year old's on film...what do you guys think?



Be back soon.


Sunday, March 27, 2011

Then and Now

March 26th, 2010
Last picture before we headed to the hospital to meet Luke & Abbey



March 26th, 2011
Just got home from celebrating their First Birthday





March 27th, 2010
Just born



March 27th, 2011

One year old!!


Happy Birthday sweet babies!!!

Friday, March 25, 2011

On seasons...

For the three years that we dated and the first year of our marriage, David and I always spent Spring Break with our Church on a mission trip in Mexico. After weeks of planning and preparing, we'd travel down there in cargo vans and spend time building a house and running a VBS.

The last time we went on this trip was in 2005, yet for years after when March rolled around we felt reminiscent for it. Something about the days...the weather...the beginning of sunlight...the trees starting to bud...the smell in the air...whatever the reason, even if neither of us had been near a calendar, we could tell you it felt like Mexico time.

It was a subconscious awareness.

This year, this Spring, this March, I find myself brought back to this time last year. I have been thinking about that time often lately. It's in the air.

Exactly one year ago today, I wrote this post.

Little did I know a year later so many of my mornings would still be starting around 4:40am =).


Over the last several days, I have found myself incredibly reminiscent of this time last year. It was such a peaceful time. A quiet time. Our house was FINALLY out of closing purgatory, and we were moved in and settled. My pregnancy had made it all the past 36 weeks. It was all gravy time. Dave and I were just hanging out, waiting for our babies to make their debut.

As I reflect on how peaceful things felt back then, it's made me question why things often feel so different now. I mean, besides the presence of two one year olds =). It's more than that. I realize now how much I made time for stillness then. I made time for prayer and meditation. I was very kind to myself.

Why?

Because I was keenly aware of what an important job I was doing in the growing of two people.

I never over committed myself. I made sure to get plenty of rest. I made sure to eat some protein every few hours. Et cetra, et cetra.

I gave time to the Lord, every day. I was aware that if I could not do it all without His help. I needed Him daily to protect my mind from fear. I knew - KNEW- I was not in control, and I needed Him to help me trust in His plan...in His goodness.

And then the twins were born.

And I promptly tried to take back over control of my life.

And things have been far less peaceful since.

I wonder how much quieter my soul would be - and how much more peaceful my home - if I did a better job at taking care of myself, and taking time for stillness...

Monday, March 21, 2011

For Real

Over at Beth Moore's blog today she posed a question and asked us to comment. Read it for yourself, if you have a moment, but the shortened version is: What testimony would you share to someone who didn't believe in Christ, or was new to believing in Christ about a time when you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is REAL.

Below is the comment I posted. As my typed words appeared on the computer screen before me, fresh tears of gratefulness streamed down my face...


So many…but the most recent one: when my son was born last year. I had spent a lot of my pregnancy terrified that I would lose one or both of my babies (we were expecting twins!) if not during pregnancy, then at delivery. My labor was lonnnggg and got VERY intense at the end. When my son finally came out (he was first), he was blue and did not make a single noise. My very worst fear.

Everything in the room, all the evidence before me, said PANIC.

And yet, I did not.

Because at the first sight of him, as I noticed these things, God said “wait” to my heart. “Just wait”. It was accompanied by the most calm and serene feeling I have ever felt.

THAT is not of me. THAT is God.

A moment later, from a far away corner where the nurses had rushed him, my son’s cry filled both the room and my heart, followed shortly after by his sister’s.

Thanks be to God, for He is real, and He is good.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Buddies

Dave took these the other day while I was at work.

*No babies were harmed during the making of this blog post =) *












Monday, March 14, 2011

Best Weekend Ever

It really was.

Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

Friday I took the afternoon off work. As someone who only works three afternoons a week, I rarely do that, but I scheduled myself off that day for a good reason. Friday was the first day of the HUGE semi-annual consignment sale in my area, and I love to go and stock up on baby (Toddler!) clothes at great prices. And this year my friend and her 5 month old came up and went with us! The sale wasn't as fruitful as I'd hoped for clothes, but I did end up scoring this toy -in great condition- for $20!

It may seem a bit silly to be buying any type of toy myself being that their birthday is in 2 weeks, but I really couldn't pass up such a great deal. This is the kind of toy that (hopefully) they will play with for months to come, so it seemed like a decent investment. Luke's very favorite thing to do right now is open and close doors...so how could I turn down this opportunity for him?

Even though I didn't stock up on clothes like I'd hoped, we still had a great time. Melissa and I had a good laugh about how times had changed as we loaded our three children into my minivan and headed out. Gone are the days where we'd hop into her two door jeep after work to hit the mall or go grab a cocktail =)...and we wouldn't have it any other way! It was just amusing to see how much stuff we now required to go anywhere and how long it took us to pack up!


Saturday we had our second trial class at Gymboree. The twins just loved it! It sure made a difference being in an age appropriate class versus the all ages one. But, it's still insanely expensive and even if we had a gazillion dollars I don't know if we could justify the expense.


At one point Abbey was so captivated that she stood unassisted for the longest time!



Sunday morning was the big run. As you know, I was not really looking forward to it. I had been training for weeks, but never really enjoying running. And after a rough night (Abbey appears to be going through a heightened level of separation anxiety at night time) and waking up (late) to terrible weather, I was ready to bail on the whole thing. But my husband wouldn't let me, and I am so grateful he didn't =). He got Luke up, and while I nursed the babies he packed up the double stroller and umbrellas, made coffee for us and breakfast to go for the babies. He got them all loaded in the van while I stretched (and cursed) in the living room. Then I grabbed a protein bar and off we went. Traffic was awful, so he dropped me off and went to go find parking. I walked around in the rain and mud and crowds to find the tent where I was to check in and get my number. The 5k ended up starting later than planned, and that was a blessing. It gave me time to really soak in the atmosphere, which was really fun! I had been really down the week before because while the babies were sick I missed a few runs and therefor was behind in my training, so I knew I wasn't going to be able to run the whole time. But, I tried really hard to focus on the fact that this was something I never thought I would do, and I was setting a good example for my children by doing it. And like I said, I did run far more than I could have before I started training, so that's something to be proud of.

And proud I felt!

I was SO happy to run across that finish line that I actually had the insane thought of doing something like this again!

(they only had Youth Small (yeah, right) and Men's X-Large shirts by the time I checked in, so my shirt is giant and my sweatshirt that came off before I even finished mile one is tied around my waist...so I look gigantic here, but happy=) )


David was so great to do whatever it took to keep the babies
happy - and dry- while I ran. I am so lucky!

(Luke playing with Daddy's cell phone -normally not allowed =) )

We came home and I took a LONG shower, and then the four of us just hung out around the house.

Sunday night was the best part. I knew we were going somewhere for my birthday dinner, but I didn't know where. I suspected Olive Garden, since that is my usual go-to restaurant, and David knows that.

We put the twins to bed and my sister Natalie came over to sit on our couch while we went out and the babies slept. David had told me Natalie had arranged for our dinner gift card, so I was waiting for her to get here to find out where we were going. Imagine my surprise when she hands me THREE presents and a STACK of cards!! My entire family all pitched in and got me my very favorite things. A dinner for Dave and I at The Melting Pot. A gift certificate for a ONE HOUR MASSAGE. And some seed money for my future get away to Skamania Lodge.
I about fell over!!

I was seriously in shock.

Do I have the best family in the world or what?????

I had just been telling David that morning that I didn't think anything could beat my birthday last year. It was a day I had spent my entire pregnancy holding my breath for...full term, and we had made it - plus 2 more weeks! God is so faithful...

Anyways, this year's birthday sure gave last year a run for it's money =)



Sunday, March 13, 2011

I DID IT!!!

I actually did a 5k this morning.

I know. I am shocked too.

I fought against every natural urge in me this morning...the loss of an hours sleep last night, the babies who for ONCE slept late (we had to wake Luke... I KNOW), the cold, the RAIN, and the fact that I just don't really like running... and I went. And I did it.

I was surprised to find a good portion of it was uphill. Like, A LOT of it, so I ended up walking more of it than I planned to. But I still did it.

It was slow going for the majority of it. Children passed me. Old people passed me. At one point I am pretty sure a tree and a parked car even passed me.

But I ran significantly more than I could have just a few months ago, and that is a victory.

And running across that finish line felt so good.

Now off to celebrate the rest of my birthday.

Happy my birthday to all of you =)

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Link Love

I have a lot of blog reading to catch up on, but for days now I haven't been able to get these 3 posts out of my head, so I thought I would share them with you all in hopes that they would stir something in you as well...

I read this post by Beth Moore's daughter Amanda last Friday, and can not stop thinking about it. As someone who has spent a good portion of her life wishing the world would be more sensitive to my thin skin, I felt so convicted by the time I finished reading this I almost couldn't catch my breath.


I read this post on Monday, and absolutely could not agree more. May it inspire us all to be more loving.



Those two posts have encouraged some deep thinking, soul searching moments in me lately.



Conversely, this last link has cracked me up more times than I can count.


Friday, March 4, 2011

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Glimpses of our days lately...

We've been up to some fun things, despite being ill...


We went to Gymboree...


Bundling up to go down to the park...



Enjoying our morning snack at the coffee table...



Standing around, playing with toys...



Reading books with Daddy...



Playing with tupperware...



Cruising along the furniture...



Picking on each other...



Looking at books...



Bundling up to run errands in the snow...



And smiling...



... and more smiling...