Prayers please...

A very good friend of mine collapsed at the gym this morning and was taken to the local hospital where they found a blood clot in her brain...she was life-flighted to a hospital in Jacksonville 45 minutes away. I heard all of this news at 11 a.m. this morning, and the last update I got was about an hour ago from her husband on Facebook...at that time she'd been in surgery for two hours. I don't know how many people read this, or how often, but I'd like to ask that anyone who does PLEASE say a prayer for her and for her family during this time and for the near future. She's a wonderful mom to two wonderful kids, and I know that there are lots of people praying for her between family and friends...but I firmly believe there's no such thing as too much prayer. Thank you in advance for helping her out.

UPDATE at 10:40 p.m.: She was done with surgery somewhere around 10 p.m., so the good news is that she survived the procedure. Her heartbeat is irregular, so that's a concern at this point, and her lungs are causing concern as well because during this process she has developed pneumonia. We'll know more tomorrow...they are keeping her in an induced coma to help her recover. Please continue your prayers for her and her family, as well as all of the medical professionals overseeing her care.

The Weather Outside Is...

BEAUTIFUL! The weather in Florida is known for being hot, and humid, and just not my cup of tea. I'm one of the few Florida residents you will ever see getting excited when the temps drop for the winter. I grew up as a Navy brat, moving up and down the east coast. We lived in Canada for two years when my dad did an officer exchange program. We had three feet of snow at Christmas time and loved it! Not saying I need three feet of snow in Florida, because people can't figure out to drive when it rains here as it is (and snow would just really mess everyone up!). But I LOVE the winter weather so much because it's nice to put on a sweater and cuddle with the kids under a blanket and watch movies. You just can't do that in the summertime, unless you're willing to face the wrath of the electric bill when you run your AC system way too much.

Anyway, today was the first time in a while that we had temps in the low 70's. If this was the warmest it ever got in Florida, I could be a very, very happy woman. I'll survive when we get back to the 90's and even the low 100's, but I'll be secretly thinking back to today and remembering how nice it was to open all the windows in the house and air it out. Everything just smells so clean when there's a fresh breeze passing through the house. It (almost) makes me want to start spring cleaning . Almost.

It's almost 10:15 p.m. (EST), and our windows are still open. They'll get closed before I go to sleep tonight, since we're supposed to get rain off and on for the next day and a half and it's forecasted to start around 1 a.m. But they've been open for a long time and it's amazing how much better the house feels. I have been so messed up with allergies (because my car is now yellow instead of gray, which means pollen is out in full force already!) that I haven't enjoyed being outdoors much lately...but bringing the outdoors inside just feels so great. With some luck, maybe the rain will wash away some of the pollen and ease my stuffy head. And wash my car off while it's at it.

Tonight I'm counting my blessings and being thankful for this beautiful weather.

A Mini-Reunion

My blessing message for this post is that I am thankful that we had the opportunity to reconnect with one of my cousins!

My cousin Tim and his wife and three daughters were in Orlando this past week for a vacation. They traveled from Canada to take the girls to Disney and Sea World for a week of fun and laughs and memories, and I really hope they got all that and more. My parents and I drove down to Orlando (it's only 2 hours from my home, so not a bad run at all) on Wednesday this week and met them for breakfast on Thursday morning, and then we all went to Sea World together for the day. We drove back home Friday and then Tim and his family flew back to Canada this morning.

I haven't seen my cousin in at least 12 years. I don't even know if it was summer of 1997 or 1998 when I last saw him...it's just been so long that I don't remember! I only got to meet his wife once or twice, and I had never met his daughters (his oldest will be 11 this year, so none of them had been born when I was last in Canada visiting family). My parents try to visit him once a year during their annual trip to visit my mom's sisters, so they've gotten to watch his girls grow up. They're all very sweet and kind and just as pretty on the inside as they are on the outside. It was so nice to meet them and spend time with them. Megan and Jeremy were also very happy to have them along for the day at Sea World! I confess that my kids weren't exactly on their best behavior that day though. I suppose when you figure they had less than eight hours of sleep the night before (as opposed to their usual 10-11), and no break for a nap at the park all day, I couldn't have realistically expected them to be perfect angels. All in all, it was a wonderful day, and I took lots of pictures to remember it by. Kate, the youngest, and Ali, the oldest, were both chosen to participate in a show at some point during the day, so that was also very entertaining!

Jeremy took a special shine to Tim (even if he didn't want to smile for the photo at left...he kept asking Tim to pick him up and show him all the animals). I think Jeremy really missed his daddy on the trip. Unfortunately, Steve had to work and couldn't join us in Orlando, but we're planning to get down to Sea World for a visit again sometime soon, just the four of us. My parents now have Fun Cards and can go to Sea World from now until the end of the year with those, so we will probably ask them to join us, too!

Baby Steps

Somehow a friend and I recently got into a discussion about watching our kids take their first steps. It seems like forever ago, but it's been less than three years! My kids weren't early walkers (thank goodness, since they outnumber me), so I didn't have to worry about it as much as mommies with babies who start walking before they're expected to. But once my kids were walking, I realized that was one more thing checked off on the list...mobility meant a new level of independence. They still loved to be picked up and carried, but charting out a new adventure soon became the new favorite pasttime.

I was working a lot this past week, and the kids were extremely good considering my schedule. They entertained each other, singing songs and playing together, and they were very, very good...of course, their radar is still exceptional because they wait until I'm on the phone for business before they come talk 100 miles an hour about something that is obviously (to them) VERY important and urgent. Usually they're referring to a book they want me to read right at that moment or the fact that they want me to make them lunch (even though lunchtime is still two hours away). At any rate, from time to time I take a break to sit with them, put together a puzzle, play a game, whatever they feel like doing. On one of my "breaks," I gave them each a big hug and told them that they're "my favorite two babies EVER!" (kind of a joke we bounce back and forth, since they know they're my only two babies ever!). Megan didn't even miss a beat, as she was hugging me when I declared they were my favorites...she immediately replied, "Yeah, and we're growing up so fast!" Yikes!

Keep in mind, I constantly give updates to relatives I speak with my phone, friends I haven't seen in a while, etc. When they ask how the kids are, I honestly answer, "They're great, but they're growing up so fast!" It's become a trigger answer, not because I don't have anything better to say, but because it's completely true all the time. They have grown up quickly. Four years seems like a blur, and I know it's going to continue to go by fast. I suppose Megan has picked up the phrase because she hears me say it. But the reality of hearing her say it to me was just stunning. She was full of joy at the prospect of growing up. Her grin was a mile wide. I couldn't help but smile back, but it was a reminder to appreciate all of the little things.

They've been walking on their own for almost three years now, but every day they take "baby steps," and those are the moments I'm so grateful I can witness.

Mixed Feelings

I signed my kids up for VPK today. There, I said it. I can't believe that they've turned four (shoot, I was still adjusting to having two three-year-olds...let me catch up!). On one hand, it's just an absolute delight to watch them grow and change and learn so many new things. They really have distinct personalities and it's so much fun to see them figure out just WHO they are.

But I want them to stay little. Just a while longer.

I know all moms probably say that at some point. But having twins means you have twice as many kids transitioning to the next stage at the same time. You don't really have a chance to stop, enjoy it, and then look forward to it with the next kid (or for some of my friends...the third, the fourth, etc.). And since these are the only two we (plan to) have (unless God has a seriously crazy sense of humor), this is the only chance I get to enjoy the steps they take.

Now, if you ask my husband, he just laughs and tells me I can always walk down memory lane. I've only taken a million photos of them in their first four years, so reliving the experience through the magic of pictures isn't too difficult!

You want to hear something even worse? For every ounce of me that is sad to see them growing up, there's another part of me that is celebrating the independence they are experiencing. I'm told it's a classic case of mother's guilt...you want your child(ren) to stay little forever, but at the same time you can't wait to watch them grow up. I want to see what kind of people they will be. And I'd also like to see what waits for me down the road now that I will have some extra time on my hands during the weekdays.

We have SO many steps and memorable moments ahead of us, but for some reason, knowing that they'll be starting VPK in August is like knowing that there's this wall ahead. And when we get to that wall, we'll climb over it into "big kid" land, and gone forever will be "baby world." We'll have homework, and field trips, and all kinds of activities and milestones. But part of me already misses the quiet snuggles and warm cuddles from the tiny little babies they started out as. I'm lucky because they still love to snuggle, so I think I'll take some comfort in knowing that won't ever change completely.

We aren't sure which school they'll be attending, since I'm told the school district won't allow confirmation of school selection until July, but I'll definitely be signing on as a volunteer for at least one day a week. I don't want to be a helicopter mom, but it will be nice to know that I can still spend so much time with them.

And my camera won't be far away, either. :)

Blessings

I was thinking the last couple weeks about what I want to do with my blog. I don't get the chance to blog as often as I'd like, so I want to change that this year. 2010 is the first year I haven't really made a New Year's Resolution for, so maybe my resolution will be to look for more blessings in my life...things that are everyday and ordinary, but mean a lot.

That being said, today I want to share about the blanket you see in the picture to the left. The weather has gotten pretty cold here lately, not common for Florida, but I LOVE it. We went through our closet and pulled out a couple of warmer blankets to add to the kids' beds, just to make sure they're warm enough at night while they sleep.

This blanket once hung in the window of a gift shop at a hospital in Jacksonville. Steve and I had gone through two fertility treatments that failed, and I was scheduled for an exploratory surgery to find out if there was a reason for the treatments to fail that had not been previously diagnosed. Steve had to work and couldn't take me to the hospital the day of the surgery, but my mom offered to drive me there and bring me home afterward, since it was an outpatient procedure.

The gift shop is located on the hospital's first floor, and you pass by it as you walk from the parking garage to the elevator bank. I remember (vaguely) passing by the window and seeing the blanket, and telling my mom that I really hoped we could figure out where to go from here with treatments so I would have a reason to need a baby blanket. At that point we'd been trying for almost 18 months, and I was caught somewhere between frustration and sadness. I went into the surgery and came through with flying colors, even though I was groggy and nauseated from the medicine they give you beforehand. Mom brought me home and I crawled into bed, where I basically spent two days recovering per the doctor's orders.

Fast forward a couple of months...we went through our first IVF procedure and found out that we were carrying not one but TWO babies. We were excited, nervous and just plain happy. God answers prayers. My mom brought me a bag and told me that she had planned on waiting until later in the pregnancy, but just couldn't wait anymore. Inside was this blanket...she had waited until my surgery began, and then she had gone back downstairs to the gift shop and bought the blanket that was hanging in the window. She knew that somehow, someway, we would be welcoming a baby into our family, and she wanted me to have that blanket since I had noticed it on my way into the surgery that day. It's been 4 1/2 years since she gave it to me, and I remember those days and weeks so vividly.

This blanket is a constant reminder of just how blessed we are, and how we should count those blessings all the time!

Merry Christmas!

I wish you and your families the most blessed of Christmases this year. We work so hard to not lose sight of the true reason for the season, the birth of our Lord and Savior. We set out our nativity scene each year and the kids are starting to really understand that we celebrate "Baby Jesus' birthday" at Christmas, and it's something we're very excited to teach them about.

One tradition we have also adopted has been to visit Santa at the same location each year. We take the kids to see Santa at the Regency Square Mall in Jacksonville, and I thought it would be fun to share the photos of them with him at age one, two, three and four (this year's photo). There was a visit from Santa at the hospital the day the kids were born, and I harrassed good ol' St. Nick into sitting in a chair in my hospital room and holding the kids for a pic, so while it's not the same Santa in the same location, it's their first official Santa photo ever. :)

December 2005 - only a few hours old!

December 2006 - One Year Old

December 2007 - Two Years Old

December 2008 - Three Years Old

December 2009 - Four Years Old