Adam and Andrew

So Many Praises this Week!!

2012-02-24T19:42:00.001-06:00

28 Weeks Today, We are in the 3rd trimester for the first time EVER!! What a huge Praise!!

After a tough week last week, this week has been smoother! I spent time on my heating pad and off my feet whenever I could and for now the back spasms have disappeared. That makes life so much better! Thank you for all your prayers.

Another Praise, Miss Ally now weighs 3 lbs 2 oz and is big for her gestation. My high risk dr is very happy about that. She is more than a pound bigger than Adam was at birth, woohoo!!

The bad news is not too bad: my cervix shortened a little bit but not terrible and my fluid level is up over where its been but not terrible either. Unfortunately my glucose was slightly elevated so now I have to take the 3 hour fasting glucose test next Thursday. No fun, I would appreciate your prayers that I would pass and not have gestational diabetes. My high risk doc isn't too concerned fortunately and doesn't think this is why Ally is growing so well and it's really just protocol that I'm doing the long test, still no fun though.

I'm still contracting and they may give me steroids for baby's lungs at some point but overall my doctor was positive about where we are and is hopeful we can get a lot further. He said I was doing a good job and his only instructions are to "Do whatever possible to not do anything at all".

I'm so thankful for where we are but we really want to make it another 8-10 weeks, so please keep us in your prayers. Thank you all so much for the support!!

28 Week Baby Bump

For comparison, this is me at 24+ weeks with the twins.

Some fun baby stuff:
Cute Carrier Canopy that Granny Made

Ally's Room
(I promise the colors are way cuter in person!)

Psalms 18:2-6 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD!

Feeling The Love

2012-02-22T22:27:00.000-06:00

For Valentine's Day, Kenny and I went on a group date with several friends to Christopher's Grille, it was so much fun and delicious but I forgot to take pictures.

These next pictures are from 3 different cameras so they are not in chrono order but wanted to share them all anyway.

"I love my brother SOOOOOO much!"

Cheesy Faces

My sweet Valentines

Cousinly Love

Nice Smudge right in in the middle of my lens

Heart Sandwiches for lunch

Making White Chocolate Dipped Pretzels with Red Sprinkles

Testing out their handy work (daddy was a HUGE fan!)

Treats from Granny

Granny and 4 of her 5 grandsons. She has 7 grandkids total and 1 on the way but she is so great at making time for all of them =-)

More sweet boy pics

Notice Ben's Face in this one, Logan had just made some funny toots and they couldn't contain their giggles, such boys!

And this is a bonus pic of Andrew and some of his creations. He LOVES his magna-tiles and they really keep his attention. Because of the magnets they make a wonderful toy for anyone that struggles with fine motor skills because they are easy to put together and take apart. I love seeing how proud he is of his masterpieces: in this pic he has a rocket, a starwars spaceship and a church!

Ally at 27 Weeks

2012-02-17T23:40:00.001-06:00

I'm so in love with this baby girl and I'm cherishing every moment of this special time with her, remembering how precious it is and how quickly things can change. Knowing its my last pregnancy and marveling at every feeling, every movement. I'm holding on tight to these moments, while recalling the sadness of how much of this intimacy I lost with the boys when I went from carrying them with me 24/7 to such limited access to them after they were born, so heart wrenching and unnatural. I'll do anything to keep that from happening again but I know it's really beyond my control. Every day with Ally is a gift I don't want to give up but I know she belongs to God and is in His loving hands.

She's so active in the evenings and I'm fascinated with watching her from the outside and seeing my body react to her movements. So cool. I think I've worn Kenny and the boys out ;-). Every time she does something I'm like "Look!" but she always stops as soon as the words leave my mouth, haha.

My body is wearing down some lately and it's frustrating and disappointing. Believe me, I'll put up with any pain or discomfort and I definitely don't want this to be over anytime soon but I'm worried that my body may give out at some point but I'm hoping and praying that it won't.

A few days earlier this week my feet and legs swelled up and it was hard to bend my ankles. It didn't hurt but it made me nervous since I've got a long way to go yet. My blood pressure is fine and there are no signs of preeclampsia, thank goodness, so they think it's just a side effect of some of my medications. I focused several days on staying off my feet and keeping them elevated and it seems I've gotten the swelling under control. Only now to end up with back spasms the last two days. I'm not complaining about the pain so much as that this is reminiscent of the back issues I had prior to going into labor with the boys and it scares me. Plus it leaves me unable to function like I want to.

BUT Praise God, none of these things are currently effecting my ability to keep carrying Ally. My cervix is in good shape, which is THE biggest factor. And unless that changes we should be ok. I'm praying my body will adjust better to this stage of pregnancy and that my back will support her without giving out and that the contractions will not be productive (and go away entirely!).

Your prayers are so appreciated. I want to give Ally the healthiest start possible. I want to enjoy every moment together and not be visiting her in a hospital at some point. I want to take her home with me and not be apart. I'm trying to take it day by day but it's almost like hour by hour. I have great hours of the day when I feel good and then harder hours. It's like my body maxes out at some point each day and I have such a long way to go still. But I really REALLY do love being pregnant, its such a miracle and I won't trade any of it.

I love Ally so much and I love this opportunity to carry her, I just wish my body was better at it!

I'm SO blessed, not only am I carrying this precious gift but I have people sacrificing themselves to help me along in this journey. Kenny has been so awesome and is such a big help with the boys, fixing breakfast, getting them dressed, taking them to school, fixing dinner etc. And I'm so fortunate to have my Mama who will pick the boys up from school if I need to lay down and who's driven Andrew all the way to Houston for therapy when I've needed and helped me get my house back in order since I'm unable. Without their help, I'd really be a mess!

It's been so amazing to watch her grow!

A lady that Kenny worked with when he was building houses is adding some fun artistic touches to Ally's room.

By the end of this week I will be in the 3rd Trimester for the first time ever. SO exciting, God is good!!

Hello 26 Weeks . . . .

2012-02-10T19:59:00.001-06:00

. . . . Goodbye belly button and ankles ;-).

I'm so excited to finally be past the point at which the boys were born. Obviously there are never any sure things but every day that passes I feel better and better that God willing we will accomplish the task before us and bring this child safely into the world.

I've been having some bouts with contractions but I'm seeing my dr weekly and they don't appear to be productive contractions, thankfully! My cerclage and weekly P17 injections appear to be doing their job. I also now have prescriptions for procardia (heart medicine) and albuterol that I can take as needed to help calm my uterus down.

I also have my sweet sitter helping with my boys on Mondays and Fridays and Kenny has really stepped up with helping with the boys too when he can.

And your continued prayers are such a blessing!

Nursery Fun!!
For so long I was too scared to do much to get prepared for this baby but I figured it's high time for me to get things in gear. And decorating for a girl is just way too much fun!

I want to do some serious nesting around here but the reality is I just can't without major help. I'm not allowed to lift/push/pull more than 10 lbs so there are many things I just have to let go of. However I'm so excited that someone came today and painted Ally's room! So fun and girly! I also ordered her bedding from a lady on etsy.

Here are some pics of the fabrics and of the room.

Camera phone pics are really dark but you get the idea.

My belly pics this week are courtesy of Adam's expert photo skills ;-) Not too bad for a 5 year old!

My shirt has a ruffle going down the middle so it makes me look even bigger lol

I've found some super cute things on etsy like these painted knobs that match my fabric. SO much fun!

And here is a pic of the boys bowling today that their sitter sent me. They had a blast!

24 Week Update

2012-02-02T21:05:00.001-06:00

I'm behind in my updates because I'll actually be 25 weeks tomorrow, woohoo! Being pregnant with one baby is definitely easier than being pregnant with two babies but it's still been challenging. I would sincerely appreciate your prayers for Ally and I, particularly that she would stay put. We have a long way to go!

Miss Ally at 24 Weeks

I told my dr that I felt like I'd gotten really big the last two weeks and after looking at all her measurements he said she'd nearly doubled in size during that time! She weighed 1 pound 10 ounces so by now she's likely bigger than Andrew was at birth! So she's big for her gestation which they are very pleased with.

Unfortunately I've started having some mild contractions but they don't appear to be doing anything, please pray they won't. I'm ok right now but disappointed that I can't do more with the kids and anxious about making it all the way but I'm trying to stay positive and trust God's plan for this little one.

They started me on albuterol pills as needed to help with contractions which make me feel horrible when I take them but hopefully they'll do the trick. No bed rest for now but I'm taking it easy whenever I can, I go back to the dr tomorrow morning for my P17 shot and weekly check up.

I really appreciate your prayers!

Me at 24+ weeks

Some more fun projects for baby girl. Thanks to my mama for helping!

A New Addition

2012-01-19T21:09:00.001-06:00

I'm excited to introduce my new nephew Logan Thomas. He arrived on January 16th and he shares his birthday with his Pa which is really fun. Dana and Shawn sure make really pretty baby boys! Big brother Ben is very proud and is going to be such a great brother.

Logan is a tiny little guy at 5 lbs 9 oz and 18" at full term. Good thing he didn't come 4 weeks ago like he almost did.

Praise the Lord for this new little life!

First Little Bath

Birthday Boys, Pa & Logan

The boys were thrilled to hold him, they can't wait for him to be big enough to play with them ;-)

They decided they are very ready now to meet Ally but don't quite understand why she needs to stay put a lot longer.

22 Weeks!!

2012-01-15T13:11:00.001-06:00

I'm finally 22 weeks! This is a major milestone week for me to get through as it was the week I went into labor with the boys and never left the hospital until after they were born. It just blows my mind what we went through at this point, terrifying really.

The difference in my care this time around is mind boggling. It nags at me to wonder how different things should have been with the twins. The good news is that I'm doing so much better this time and I have so many sets of eyes watching me.

I saw one of my high risk specialists Friday and I will see them every other week from here on out. I'll also see my OB every other week as well, so I'll be seeing someone once a week from this point on. That's very reassuring.

They told me that if I have any trouble to call them, go to my local hospital and then they will send a helicopter to come get me! With the boys we had to take matters into our own hands to get transferred to a larger hospital, so hearing how proactive they plan to be is very comforting. Hopefully I won't need that service!!

Here are some new pics of Miss Ally. She's looking very healthy so far Praise the Lord! My fluid level is currently normal, woohoo. Ally appears to weigh about 1 lb 1oz right now and hopefully she'll get much bigger as the weeks pass by.

22 Week Belly

Healthy Boys!!

2012-01-12T08:37:00.001-06:00

Today the twins had their 5 year well check ups. I'm simply amazed at their progress and development, we are truly blessed. They could easily have been deaf or blind but both boys have normal hearing and eyesight. Woohoo!!

They were so happy that they didn't need any shots this time but they did have to get their fingers pricked but their blood work looked great.

Both boys are growing well and are on track cognitively. That's so awesome considering the brain bleeds and Andrew's feeding issues when he was younger. Our only delays continue to be fine and gross motor impairments due to Andrew's cerebral palsy but the pediatrician noted that after his latest Botox he's really looking good in that regard.

Praising the Lord for my two healthy sons!! What a miracle they both are. So many prayers answered!

Pictures during the hearing exam:

Adam's Stats
Height 44.25" Weight 45 lbs
70-75th percentile for both

Andrew's Stats
Height 43" Weight 38 lbs
30-35th Percentile for both

20 Weeks & a Name!!

2012-01-05T15:18:00.001-06:00

I have now passed the 20 week mark (actually 21 weeks tomorrow!)

If everything goes well we will meet our sweet daughter in less than 18 weeks! Because of my classical (vertical) c-section incision with the boys I can't go past 38 weeks due to the risk of uterine rupture but if I make it to 38 weeks I will be so ecstatic anyway!

Things are going well and I feel much better than I did at this point with the twins. I'm so thankful for the cerclage and it seems to be doing its job. I've also had 6 rounds of the weekly 17P injection to prevent preterm labor. I'll continue to get it weekly until my c-section.

The next 10 weeks are really important so my doctor has told me to take it easy whenever I possibly can and they will keep a close eye on me and put me on bed rest if anything changes.

She has a name! Introducing

Ally Michele

This is the first outfit I made for her. I never dreamed I would actually get to make cute girl stuff for my own baby. SO much fun!!!!

Two gowns and a burp cloth

20 Week Baby Bump

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T00:37:00.000-06:00

We had another joyous Christmas this year with our families! The boys were more excited than ever for this year's celebration and everything was so fun and magical for them.

They enjoyed a Christmas Party and book exchange on the last day of school

We had a little playgroup get together at Mickey D's

Andrew enjoying a snuggle with Cotton

We took Kenny's family to eat at one of our favorite local restaurants for a grown ups only dinner.

Here I am at 19 weeks pregnant.

Our little family of 4 + 1 on the way ;-)

After attending a great Christmas Eve service at church

Decorating their Gingerbread House

Christmas Eve the boys in their jammies setting out cookies, milk & reindeer food

Daddy reading them the Christmas story before bed

Santa came!

A Killer Whale hat!

Opening presents

Adam really looks like Daddy in his new camo hat with clip-on light from Gammy

A cool camera just for the twins!

Andrew and all his Shamu inspired goods ;-)

Love these faces as they wait to try out the cotton candy maker

All the "Moore" cousins except for Ben who was a little camera shy after his nap

A Big Boy Scooter!

Adam & Daddy testing out the new scooters

Adam figured out the two wheeled razor pretty easily

Andrew was so thrilled to finally get his "Storm Trooper Gun" that he had to dress the whole part

Andrew Trying out his new scooter

These roller skates were quite the challenge for everyone!

It was an accomplishment for them to just stand on their own ;-)

But they gave it a good effort!

Another blessed year with our wonderful families, we are so thankful for this new baby girl on the way, and we especially praise God for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Pre-K Christmas Pageant

2011-12-26T22:48:00.002-06:00

The boys class put on a little Christmas Play in their classroom this last week before Christmas break. They have been practicing for weeks and were very excited! Adam was one of the angels and Andrew was the innkeeper. The play was performed in their classroom so it was a pretty tight fit for all the parents and family members that came to watch.

Andrew did a great job saying his lines but after he was done with his part he noticed his cousin Ben in the audience and he couldn't help but wave and smile at him the rest of the play ;-)

Doesn't he look angelic??

The whole class

Adam & Andrew were so proud that Granny, Aunt Dana, Ben and Daddy all came to watch their play

My sweet little guys

Karate Kids

2011-12-22T18:07:00.000-06:00

This year the boys had a Star Wars themed birthday party at a local Martial Arts studio. They decided to invite all the kids from their preschool class along with some of their other close friends. They had a really fun time and are so excited to start Tiny Tigers Taekwondo there in January.

A few days before the party Granny had foot surgery so this was the first time in their life that someone else made their birthday cake. It wasn't as good as Granny makes it but still very yummy.

First they held a karate class

Look how disciplined these kids look!

Learning some moves

Then time for cake!

Then they set up an obstacle course

Adam enjoyed hitting the "fake man"

Learning about breaking boards

The boys were presented with their new uniforms

They also gave them num-chucks, yikes!

Everyone got to practice breaking these plastic boards

Then Adam & Andrew got to try breaking a real wood board

Success!

They were very proud!

Then they bowed to all their friends to thank them for coming, very cute!

High Fives for everyone!

Thanks to all our friends and family that helped us to celebrate this special day!

Andrew was SO excited to get his very own copy of his favorite movie from Granny, "Soul Surfer" and also a new Star Wars book that he insisted on sleeping with them ;-)

Birthday Presents and Breakfast with Santa

2011-12-21T17:43:00.000-06:00

The boys were so excited to open some presents from Aunt Amy, Uncle Stevie, Gammy & Peepaw

Buck Hunter Game

Can you tell he's excited?

Ever since they got this I've been hearing things like "I'm the new Hunter Hero!!" Though I think that Daddy has played this game as much or more than the kids ;-)

They also got a fun shark boat and air boat, good stuff!

The boys had a blast attending their 3rd annual Breakfast with Santa

Both told Santa they wanted Storm Trooper guns for Christmas and that they'd been "good" this year. Hmmmm, not sure how accurate that description was ;-).

Making marshmallow snowmen

Santa 2011

Santa's Wonderland

2011-12-19T23:25:00.000-06:00

For the boys' birthday present we decided to take them to Santa's Wonderland. Usually we just drive through but since it was their birthday we decided to go to Santa's Town and do the hayride and the whole shebang. The kids had a blast and we enjoyed dinner their too (sausage on a stick ;-). It was the perfect night to go, low crowds and comfortable temperature. What a great memory!

Before we left the boys were excited to open some presents from Dana & Shawn and Granny & Pa

Snow Machine in Santa's Town

Singing on Stage

Visiting Prancer

They LOVED the petting zoo

Pony Rides

Andrew said "You're not the the real Frosty, that's just a costume!"

Hayride Time

My Silly 5 Year Old Boys

2011-12-18T22:07:00.001-06:00

Here are some pictures of Adam & Andrew on their 5th Birthday

Celebrating their 5th birthday at school with their friends

Me and My Boys

Happy Birthday Andrew

Happy Birthday Adam

I can't believe they are FIVE!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2011-12-12T21:31:00.000-06:00

The boys had so much fun helping decorate the house for Christmas!

My 17 Week Baby Girl :-)

2011-12-10T21:44:00.001-06:00

That's right, we are having a baby GIRL !!!!!! I thought we only made boys but I've now had a few ultrasounds by different professionals that all say Team Pink. Very exciting. Of course a big healthy baby is our number one priority but it will be fun to have a baby girl in the family.

This pregnancy has already been so different. I was really sick in my 1st trimester with the twins but this time I only had mild nausea in the 1st T but then since 15 weeks I've been getting sick more often. But well worth it of course.

Your prayers for this sweet baby's health and development are very appreciated.

Here is our baby girl at 16 weeks:

My belly has really popped out. Even Adam said "Mama that baby is making your tummy really big!" This baby is so high that I've still been able to wear normal jeans, totally different from my twin pregnancy. But with this growing belly I doubt I'll be able to squeeze in them much longer.

This pic is a 3d ultrasound from yesterday at 17 weeks. These 3d images are a little creepy to me since the baby has no fat and is still developing its facial features. But still precious of course :-).

One difference between this baby and the boys is that she seems to sweetly roll around while the boys spent all their time trying to kick the tar out of each other. Not much has changed since then with those two ;-). I can definitely tell that she's grown a lot lately as I'm feeling her much more these last few days.

Few things are sweeter in life than feeling your little baby moving, I love it!

We are praising God for this new life and all the adventures ahead!

Fall Fun

2011-12-07T00:14:00.001-06:00

In November we went with a bunch of friends for a field trip to Dewberry Farms.

The kids had a blast!

On the hay ride

Jumping on the Air Pillows

I can't lift anything over 10 lbs now and Andrew wasn't allowed to jump with his cast so my sweet friends took turns bouncing him. I have such awesome friends!

Andrew going down the big tube slide

Adam's Turn

Adam loved riding these big bikes around

Serious Racer here

Lots of kiddos!

It was impossible to get a group picture!

Cow Train

Andrew showing the pumpkin he picked

Wheeee!

What a great day!!

My Babies are FIVE !!!

2011-12-01T12:00:00.000-06:00

Adam & Andrew,
Is it really possible that it's been 5 years already? How do I find words that are big enough to describe the love that I feel, the thankfulness I have to God?

Being a mom is unlike anything I've ever experienced before. My heart is no longer my own. Two little creatures came roaring into our lives like tiny lion cubs with such brave and determined little hearts.

Adam and Andrew, you've scared me to death, amazed my very eyes, you've challenged me like nothing else, you've driven me mad, tested my patience and my faith, have had me laughing until I've cried and filled my heart with joy until it could almost burst.

God created you so different from each other, I love that. I love getting to know you and what makes you tick. You are each so very loved and so very special. My greatest prayer has always been that you would love the Lord and trust and obey Him all your days. May He continue to guide your steps and lead you in the plan He has for each of you.

Love always and forever,
Mama

Andrew Stephen
1 pound, 11 ounces
13 inches

My miracle boys. My bright eyed wonders. My joy and inspiration.

Andrew Stephen 2011

Adam Russel
2 pounds
13.5 inches

My strength. My big helpers and silly boys. My heart in your hands.

Adam Russel 2011

You are BOTH all these things and much more. Daddy and I are so proud of you two and can't wait for all the adventures ahead.

"May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you."

1 Thessalonians 3:12 NIV

Andrew Update

2011-11-29T14:54:00.001-06:00

Andrew has been enduring his second serial casting round after botox injections to help with the contracture in his left ankle. He has done very well and we were finally able to remove the last cast this week. So glad it's over, his skin was beginning to break down and the cast was so stinky. It's been a nightmare trying to keep him out of the sand and mud at school every day and every week the cast got bigger so we couldn't get pants on him for the cooler weather.

He made great progress and regained a lot of the mobility that he'd lost from growing so much this year.

Up next is ordering a new pair of braces and we are also awaiting a trial of a new device called a Walkaide (http://www.spsco.com/products/walkaide.asp)

If anyone out there has experience with this I would love to hear some feedback on it.

This has been a crazy two months, driving to Houston twice a week for casting and physical therapy. I'm glad to get back to our regular schedule of only one trip to Houston a week for pt and then twice weekly OT in town. In addition to that he's getting nearly weekly OT through the school district.

Andrew is a very busy preschooler! I'm so proud of all his hard work.

Mommies in Vegas

2011-11-28T00:18:00.001-06:00

In October we took a girls trip to Vegas. Since Dana & I both have babies on the way, we figured it would be a long time before we get a chance to go back again. And you know, who could fit in better in Vegas than a couple of pregnant chicks, lol.

We watched the Aggie game at Emeril's Stadium where we were required to stuff ourselves with every item on the menu to reach a guaranteed minimum in order to hold a table there during the game. It's hard to reach a minimum when 2 of 3 guests can't drink more than a soft drink ;-).

There were even tv's in the ladies room so you didn't miss any of the action

Eating Asian Fusion

Why yes, This is a tree of funnel cakes! We enjoyed these at the W Steakhouse, our babies were making us quite hungry!

Enjoying Serendipity III

I've never played a machine like this before but I hit 1,000 quarters on one of my first spins!

I put in $20 and walked away with $463, not too shabby.

Pa sent us the beautiful picture from the ranch to show us what we were missing back home

Thanks Granny for such a fun last girls trip!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T16:43:00.001-06:00

We have so very much to be thankful for! What a great year this has been. I pray that everyone out there is spending this day with the ones they love!

All about "Bean"

2011-11-22T21:46:00.000-06:00

We are so very grateful and excited for this precious new life that God is knitting together. The boys pray every night for their baby "to have a heart beat and grow big so it can come live at our house and we can be big brothers =-)".

This baby has been a journey of perseverance, compared to getting pregnant with the boys who were a piece of cake. With the boys we did one cycle and that was it. With this baby we did a total of five cycles (three fresh and two frozen), which I said I would never do. Never say never I guess. I just knew that we needed to keep going and that I would know when it was time to stop. Fortunately my doctor felt bad at all our poor outcomes and helped us out quite a bit with discounted cycles.

I did not get pregnant at all on my first two attempts and then got pregnant three times in a row on all the rest of the attempts. Cycles 3 & 4 resulted in early miscarriages. So for Cycle 5 we tried a few things to help prevent miscarriage. One theory for all our poor outcomes was that my body had developed an immune response to our embryos and was basically attacking them, preventing implantation or preventing the pregnancy from progressing. To counter this I did two intralipid infusions, one just prior to the transfer and another once I got a positive pregnancy test. The thought behind this is that it helps to suppress to cells that could potentially attack the baby. The second theory was that my blood was over-clotting and not enough blood flow was getting to the uterus and thus to the baby. To help overcome that that I began taking daily lovenox injections from right before the transfer until I was 10 weeks along, plus a low dose aspirin that I'm still currently taking. The shots were horribly painful and left me with giant bruises but I'd do them again in a heartbeat. Anyone who has recurrent pregnancy loss or ivf failures, I would recommend asking your doctor about these treatments.

So finally the 5th time around and we have finally made it to the second trimester! I'm so very grateful! It took us nearly two years to get to this point and I'm pretty sure we were close to the end of our efforts. I'm so very thankful to Kenny for sticking this out even though it was very tough for him and also to everyone who prayed for us on this journey. Because of all our poor outcomes they've kept really close tabs on us and we've gotten to see "Bean's" amazing development over these weeks.

First Picture of "Bean" at 5 days old

(2 weeks and 5 days cycle-wise)

Bean's 1st Ultrasound at 5 Weeks (no heart beat yet)

Bean at 6 Weeks (still no heart beat)

Bean at 7 Weeks

(we finally saw a heart flicker but could not pick up the rate)

Bean at 8 Weeks

(strong heart rate 178)

Bean at 9 Weeks

Bean at 10 Weeks and looking more like a human

(Adam says he is waving to him in this one)

Bean at 12 Weeks

(sucking one hand and other hand on his ear)

Bean at 14 Weeks

(my first 3D ultrasound and looking a bit alien ;-)

This baby is much higher up than the boys were and I'm showing so much already. I started feeling the first little baby flutters at about 13 weeks, way earlier than with the boys. They can't wait until they can feel the baby move too. Those little flutters have been really reassuring and about the sweetest feeling ever. I'm so in love with this baby already! Please Lord watch over our precious little one.

Anniversary!

2011-11-20T12:11:00.000-06:00

Today we celebrate 7 years of marriage!

Engaged 2004

Married Nov 20, 2004

Honeymoon Maui

Bringing Andrew Home Feb 14, 2007

Bringing Adam Home Feb 18, 2007

Easter 2008

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2010

We've had a blessed 7 years and counting!

A Surprise for Daddy

2011-11-19T21:39:00.001-06:00

Kenny recently celebrated his 30th birthday so before the big day I decided I would surprise him with a little get together in honor of the big 3-0. It's really hard to pull that off on the person that you live with and I nearly blew it several times, lol. Good thing I never told the boys until that night!

My mom made her famous German sweet chocolate cake and I put out several of my favorite pics of Kenny over the years.

YUM! I haven't had this since the last one of us got married, mom made all three of her kids grooms cakes for their weddings.

The boys were so excited to yell surprise at Daddy

A big thanks to all Kenny's friends that came out and to everyone who helped me get everything pulled together.

I think I pulled it off, he was VERY surprised.

We played a slide show of Kenny pictures on the wall tv

I like this one of the 4 of us

A big thanks to Drew for helping me trick Kenny into coming up to the design center with him ;-)

The boys singing Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Kenny!!

Galveston

2011-11-13T00:05:00.000-06:00

First off, THANK YOU for all the well wishes we've received over our news. The cerclage went well and we are now into the 2nd trimester, woohoo!

Back tracking a bit, about a month ago we took the boys to Galveston with Kenny's family for a fun weekend at the beach.

The boys LOVE playing in the sand and waves

Looking for shells with Gammy

Andrew is such a collector of things that this activity was right up his alley!

Having fun with Aunt Amy

Andrew enjoying the waves

Wave jumping with Aunt Amy

This year we stayed on the canal, which was convenient for the fisherman. The boys enjoyed riding in PeePaw's boat

Their favorite part was stopping at different sand dune islands and searching for shells and creatures. They also enjoyed naming each island like little explorers. We even spotted two jellyfish- yikes!

Adam & Daddy

Relaxing on the deck

Bravely holding a crab they caught in a crab net

(Daddy pulled the pinchers off to be safe)

It took Andrew a little bit of convincing before he would touch it but then he held it bravely too.

When we weren't enjoying the beach and bay we were busy averting medical catastrophes. The day we got there I started having these terrible pains in my back on the left side. They would come and go in a rhythm and eventually became unbearable so we went to the ER, no fun! I was terrified that I was losing the baby or something. The only time in my life when I've had pain like that was the day I was admitted to the hospital for a severe kidney infection and the day that the boys were born. I was hoping it was a kidney infection but they ruled that out and decided it was likely something related to the pregnancy. We endured what was probably one of the longest scariest ultrasounds ever because neither Kenny or I could find the heartbeat on the screen and the tech totally refused to tell us anything. It lasted forever because she was checking for blood flow issues and finally when she was done she said the baby was just fine, what a relief. They determined that my left ovary had twisted up on itself (ovarian torsion) but fortunately had self corrected without any damage so I wouldn't need surgery or anything and we could go home, YAY!

Then Kenny had his own medical emergency the last night we were there. He was frying his delicious recipe of fish/shrimp/etc like he always does. Somehow or another the burner and pan and boiling grease tipped over and dumped on the top of his bare foot. Thank God we didn't let any of the kids outside while the cooking was going on and also that it only one foot and not his face or anything. IT WAS BAD. Fortunately we had two physicians with us that were able to help out and Kenny averted a trip to the ER (after my ordeal he was dead set against going back there).

His foot was the nastiest looking thing I've ever seen and I will spare you from seeing the photos ;-). He hobbled around for a few weeks but thankfully it has healed very nicely.

Next year I'm hoping we'll have more beach time and less excitement ;-).

The Boys have some Exciting News!

2011-11-07T11:04:00.001-06:00

Adam and Andrew are very excited to tell you that they have a baby sibling on the way!! "Bean" is due May 18, 2012 and we are praying this little one stays put until May. God has been so good to us and we are overjoyed!

We would be so grateful for your prayers for us over the next 7 months. This has already been quite a journey (we had two miscarriages this year, most recently in early July) but the big part of the journey has only just really begun.

Tomorrow Bean and I are having surgery to place a cerclage which will hopefully help keep the baby from coming too soon this time. Should be a simple procedure but nothing ever seems to be simple for me and pregnancy so your prayers would mean so much!

Great Wolf Lodge

2011-11-06T22:54:00.000-06:00

We made our second annual trip up to the Great Wolf Lodge with all my family members. The boys were so excited they could hardly stand it!

They have grown so much this year that they were able to qualify to ride some of the bigger rides. I think they were able to ride all but 2 slides. They like riding this big tub with Daddy.

They really love these water slides!

What a fun and special place!

We were there for the Aggie/Arkie game so of course we had to wear some Aggie gear.

Sweet boys!

We stopped by Bass Pro Shop too

All those slides wore Andrew out!

They loved eating at Babe's Chicken, YUM!

Thanks to Aunt Amy and Uncle Stevie for watching the boys so we could enjoy the game without worrying about the kids. They had fun with their Aunt & Uncle!

At least the Band is always reliable!

It was so much fun to have this cutie pie come to the game!

I love to see Kenny holding babies!

A friend of a friend dropped by to meet the group, very cool!

Here are some pics of one of our flag football games. We are in gray, Andrew is #2 and Adam #3.

I love how serious Andrew looks in this one, he on the left in the back

Adam doing some awesome blocking

I have a feeling Adam will end up on the line oneday, on one side or the other. He's a natural at blocking and pulling flags.

October Part II

2011-11-05T21:54:00.000-05:00

On the 31st we went over to Miss Allison's for a fun pizza party and then trick or treating in their neighborhood, which worked well since no one trick or treats in our neighborhood since they have the haunted woods event.

The boys loved trick or treating!!

Then we went over to see our cousins. We had Dorothy from Wizard of Oz along with Glenda the Good Witch, A Batman, Buzz Lightyear, Storm Trooper and Darth Vador.

Another super fun October!!

October Part I

2011-11-04T21:03:00.002-05:00

The boys have gotten really into Star Wars this year and were really excited to dress up as "the bad guys". Should I be worried about that? Why do the bad guys always get to the cooler outfits?

We met cousin Ben at the neighborhood trick or treating the "haunted woods", one of our favorite yearly traditions.

Even with their masks off, Ben wasn't too sure about Adam & Andrew and didn't want them to get too close. Andrew kept saying "Ben, Its just ME, Andrew!" LOL

They enjoyed checking out all the other kids outfits too and Andrew would ask them "Hey Hey, Do you like MY costume???" He's so silly.

Little Buzz was so cute!

I liked the scary people under the bridge, that was fun!

The next day we went to the football game. Our cousin Hannah was there and the boys had fun playing with her since she's the same age.

I helped organize the kids party at school so it was fun to see all the kids dressed up.

Lots of cute kids!

I had to arrange some crafts and I'm not crafty at all, so I'm always happy to find something "ready", these necklace kits were a big hit though.

It's so much fun to be 4 years old!!

F is for Fall & Football & FUN !

2011-10-23T20:17:00.000-05:00

The boys have been enjoying playing flag football this year for the first time. Their team is the Patriots and they are the smallest kids on the whole team but that hasn't dampened their spirit. It takes a while to set up for each play and Andrew is easily distracted so if he isn't involved directly in the play he tends to not exactly know what's going on ;-). Though sometime he does have some good blocks and had some good runs. He always gives it his all and gets so excited when his team does something good and has a big smile on his face when he gets to touch the ball.

Football has come pretty naturally to Adam, he really "gets" blocking and even though he's one of the youngest he may be one of the better blockers. He cracks us up and we've had to warn him to to keep the smack talk down. He will point at the giant kid across from him on the other team and say "I'm gonna block you! I just blocked you!" Hard not to laugh at that. He loves to pull flags but he can't stand it if anyone touches his ;-). One time he was running the ball and the defender was about to get his flag and he stiff arm blocked the kid, nice play but not allowed in flag football lol. Pre-k flag football is pretty entertaining, just like watching little monkeys running around wild.

The boys were excited to go to an Aggie game and to bring some fun friends along

Singing Happy Birthday to Aunt Rachel

Cousins

Look at all these cute boys!

Mid Game Story Time ;-)

Dr Bow-tie himself came by for a visit, he's become quite the celebrity this year

Adam at Gymnastics

The boys had a blast at their friend's birthday party recently. Especially the face painting, Andrew is obsessed with sharks and killer whales, I think we may have a future marine biologist in the family.

Bat Boy

They loved the magician too

Adam, my non shy child, volunteered to assist the magician ;-)

F is for Fun!

Happy 30th Birthday Kenny!!

2011-10-18T08:21:00.001-05:00

Today is Kenny's 30th birthday. We are so blessed to have such a kind, loyal, hard working, loving, & fun Daddy. He's been through a lot in these first 30 years. I'm so proud and thankful that he's mine!!

Back to School

2011-10-09T11:55:00.000-05:00

The boys are back at their same preschool, this year they are in Pre-K and they LOVE it! They are in the same exact classroom that I was in for Pre-K 28 years ago, it looks about the same but much smaller ;-). None of the kids from their class last year are in their class this year but they've done well at making new friends with all the boys and even seem to be much more interested in the little girls than they were in the past, yikes!

Open House on the Play Ground

First Day of School

LOVE this one!

Look how green Andrew's eyes are getting! It cracks me up when he opens them up really big like this:

Running to their class room

Hanging up their backpacks

They were really excited for football season to start back up!

The End!

Finally!

2011-10-07T10:37:00.000-05:00

I've tried uploading this last group of pictures about 4 different times and finally my connection didn't time out on me! I promise these are the very last of our pics from Colorado, 2.5 months later . . .

Sweet Adam

If looks could kill . . . .

That's better!

Everyone should have a Big Sis, even if you have to borrow one once in a while!

So thankful that Anne Michal got to come with us!

So many BOYS!!

We missed the rodeo this year so we decided to just dress up one evening in our duds

Adam cracks me up holding his belt buckle like that!

LOL ;-)

Hey Don't pick the flowers!!!!

The End!

2011-09-21T23:49:00.001-05:00

Somehow I keep coming across more pictures that haven't made it to the blog yet from our trip to CO. Hopefully I'm almost done finding pictures ;-)

Oh Andrew, what am I going to do with you, my mischievous little man!

Fun at Pirate Ship Park

Funny story, the sweet looking girl in pink in the Eagle's Nest was actually a bit of a little monster, she's chasing Andrew here and trying to shove him down the ladder. Poor Andrew was just trying to get away from her but didn't really have anywhere to go.

The kids had a blast watching this jumping fountain

Beautiful Background but getting a decent picture of these two is like pulling teeth!

Another fun day in Vail!

Time for an Update on Andrew

2011-09-13T11:32:00.000-05:00

Andrew seems to be doing pretty well after a rough spot in July. He must have had a major growth spurt in their somewhere and toward the end of our trip to Colorado he was complaining of a great deal of pain, even to the point where he wouldn't walk and wanted to be carried. I noticed that he seemed to be limping/falling more too. I called his physical medicine specialist and we immediately began adjusting his dose of baclofen, which is for spasticity management. It was a little scary for me but over the course of a few days we went from 1/4 a pill a day to 2 entire pills a day, That's an increase of 800%! But he soon began to feel much better and was sleeping and walking again, Thank Goodness!

The doctor was able to work him into her schedule and saw him not long after we got home. His spasticity in his left ankle has dramatically worsened over the last 6 months. He was once able to get 15 degrees of movement past neutral but now he cannot flex his ankle that direction at all and is developing a contracture there. There are really only two options, botox with serial casting or tendon lengthening surgery. Ideally you push this surgery off as long as you can because it can only be done a few times so we have no choice but to go for another round of Botox and casting.

We saw good results last time and hopefully will again. Although I still have a lot of reservations about injecting my baby with neurotoxins which haven't been studied long term and are off label for this treatment, but I'm going to trust his physicians and in God to do the best for Andrew.

So in October we are scheduled for a sedated procedure, which will be a huge relief for me because in the past he was always awake and suffered some emotional trauma through those ordeals, requiring 4 adults to restrain him despite him taking verced to "relax" him. YUCK!

A week after the injections he'll start his weekly casting process for 6-8 weeks. I'm thankful this won't be during the summer so he doesn't miss out on the pool, but considering he brings home a bucket of sand in his shoes from school everyday I'm a little worried about how we will manage preschool 5 days a week. They don't really have a sand box they can tell him to stay out of, it's more like half the playground is a beach/sand hill. This will be interesting!

Thanks for loving and praying for my little survivor!

Vail Mountain

2011-09-12T10:37:00.002-05:00

I came across a few more pictures I haven't posted yet on the blog from our trip up Vail Mountain. There are some really good ones of the boys so I wanted to make sure I have these happy faces in my record for them to see one day.

Andrew looks so handsome!

Love this happy face of Adam's!

Sweet boy!

More Colorado Springs: Garden of the Gods

2011-09-01T14:53:00.000-05:00

The hottest day we experienced in Colorado was the day we went to Garden of the Gods. It was a beautiful place but the kids tired out pretty quickly on our little hike and we had to take turns pushing them in the stroller. Thank goodness we had Anne Michal along to help or I'm not sure we would have all made it back to the parking lot!

Afterward we went to It'z which is like a super nice Chuck E Cheese type place and the food was pretty good too. And they had some fancy rides and a bouncy house. There is one in Houston I hear so we'll have to check it out sometime.

Adam & Anne Michal hunted some big game

Anne Michal has a very impressive shot!

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

2011-08-22T21:21:00.000-05:00

While we were in Colorado we travelled down to Colorado Springs for a few days so that my mom could watch some of the US Women's Open Golf Tourney. CS is a nice town with some fun things to do. One day Dana, the kids and I met up with a very special childhood friend and her sweet children, who drove over from Denver and met us at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Jeannie's dad was our pastor growing up and her entire family is very special to us. She has three boys and a girl, so between us we had 6 boys and one precious girl that were 5 years and under.

It was hard to get a decent photo of all the kiddos together . . .

They had a great giraffe exhibit that brought you very close to these giants.

Icky long tongue!

Hard to tell but there was a really pretty view down over the valley and the town

Dana, Jeannie, & I

All the boys had a great time together. Here they are checking out some alligators

Adorable baby Wallaby

Train Ride

Grizzly Bear

After the zoo we went to lunch and to the mall for some play time and a treat.

That's a lot of boys!

Jeannie it was such a blast to catch up with you and see your gorgeous kiddos!!

Summertime

2011-08-08T09:43:00.001-05:00

Trying to enjoy and appreciate every day for the gift that it is, knowing we don't know what tomorrow may bring . . .

More Vacation Cellphone Pics

2011-08-01T18:06:00.001-05:00

Someday I'll get around to uploading the pics from my camera but I'm never on my computer unless I'm working so blogging from my phone has been much easier.

On our last Sunday we went to church at the mountain chapel then went over to Vail Village where the boys played in the Children's Fountain and we enjoyed browsing the farmers market and eating snowcones.

The pictures after the fountain are of Pa and Adam taking a walk to look for foxes. So sweet to see them together, Adam in his cowboy boots. Then a picture of Adam admiring the afternoon rain, which is marvelous coming from drought country. Then two pictures show Andrew and his quirkiness. He tends to be OCD about certain objects he is attracted to. Once he finds something he likes he tends to hoard it for a few days before moving on to something else. On this particular day he was obsessed with this broken toy phone that played some songs that Granny taught him. He insisted on sleeping with it and the day we left super early in the morning I pulled a bait and switch on him so that we didn't have to listen to it for two days straight on the road. I love my silly boy!

Now that it's 105 here, seeing these pictures makes me really miss that weather!!

Park Envy

2011-07-30T11:50:00.001-05:00

There's a reason why everyone is in much better shape up in this area. When the high is 76 with no humidity and you can go to the park every day and never visit the same park twice, it's easy to spend time outside being active. I'm so jealous of the parks up here. These are some pics from a few of our park visits that I took with my phone.

Gondola Trip with a Summer Storm

2011-07-22T18:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday America!

2011-07-16T13:08:00.000-05:00

These are the photos I took with my "good" camera. I would have thought age would make these two better at taking pictures but it just keeps getting harder. They don't like to look at the camera or smile on command, they are much to busy to humor their mom anymore ;-).

Kids Carnival is put on in the city park by volunteers from local churches that come together. There are literally many hundreds of children that come over several hours to this free event so it's a pretty impressive endeavor these generous volunteers take on.

This is our third or fourth trip to the carnival so we've mastered the great face painting bottleneck that goes on. You must have a wonderful Granny with you that's willing to hold your spot in line for nearly an hour while you take the kids through the games in the meantime.

We went with a patriotic Spiderman theme

Ben got a firework

Another plus was having Anne Michal take the boys through the jumpy course line. We were able to talk the person in charge into letting her go through with Andrew in case he had some trouble.

Anne Michal is a really great sport!

Fishing for prizes

This bouncy house for kids 4 and under was awesome! It had the perfect size slide and was opened up in side so you could see everything going on in there.

Another thing we've learned about this event is that while tens of thousands of people descend upon the park to stake out their spot for hours to see one of the largest fireworks shows in the Rocky Mountains, we head out and walk to a local restaurant for dinner. Occupying little kids in a crazy environment like that for hours is not fun so leaving is always a good choice. The kids loved eating outdoors with front row live musical entertainment with dinner.

Then we head to our car for our chairs and park ourselves in a grassy spot far outside the crowded park, closer to the car.

Aunt Dana brought glow sticks

Look how cold it got!

The kids had plenty of room to run around and get their wildness out

Love this beautiful show!

The next day we went to the Vail America Days Annual Parade

These guys were hilarious. They did a military style performance using lawn chairs and dressed straight out of Weekend at Bernie's.

These flower carts were amazing!!

Waiting for our table at the Blue Moose

Enjoying the live entertainment from the Bagpipe Players and Scottish Dancers that performed while we ate on the patio.

I'm used to seeing bagpipe players in kilts but this dancer was something else. He had on an Old Navy t-shirt with a sort of mesh/ running short material type Kilt on.

The boys both asked why that man was in a dress, he definitely stole the show!

The boys had to do their own version of a little jig but I didn't get any pictures

We had such a fun day! Adam was so tired he didn't even notice he was half in the bed that night.

Hope your family enjoyed the July 4th Holiday!

Celebrating America

2011-07-12T12:40:00.001-05:00

These are the pictures from the 4th of July Festival and Fireworks show that I took with my phone. What a fun day!!

Road Trip!

2011-07-09T22:50:00.000-05:00

We survived our first official long distance road trip! We left last Friday for Colorado to escape the blazing Texas heat. This is the first time we've driven here with the kids.

Stopping for the night in Amarillo

Since we drove this time we were able to bring along some extra hands, which is especially nice since Daddy could not come with us. Our friend Anne Michal was brave enough to join us on this adventure and she's been such a blessing!

Crossing over into New Mexico we got to see some extinct volcanoes

New Mexico

Castle Rock

When we finally made it to the house we discovered that we were locked out! The garage key pad was dead and we did not have a physical key. So we decided to break in when we noticed that the sliding glass door on the second story patio was cracked open. So we got the steps from the hot tub and put them below the balcony and then Dana hoisted me up but it was higher than it looked and I nearly fell and we were both laughing so hard she nearly dropped me. Finally I was able to get composed and pull myself up or we might have started off with a trip to the ER.

Andrew celebrated with some patriotic flag waving

The kids were so excited to find all the bikes waiting for them

Enjoying the cool weather with some pazzo's pizza on the porch

SO excited to be in Colorado!!!

Thankful for these girls!

2011-06-30T01:16:00.000-05:00

I got a chance to celebrate the upcoming arrival of my dear friend Sarah's new baby girl. I can't wait to meet this precious gift!

After the shower we were able to go on a quick getaway just us girls before the new baby arrives. We had a blast shopping, dining, and just enjoying being together!

True friends are such a treasure! I'm certainly blessed!

Now if baby Emerson would just hurry up and make her debut!

Summer Adventures

2011-06-26T18:07:00.000-05:00

We've been having a lot of fun summer adventures!

One sign of success:

One morning we went to the Houston Children's Museum

Adam was interested in the science experiments

The Fishing is always a hit!

A Quick Visit to a Mexican Marketplace

The highlight was getting to be real spidermen and climb all through through this web of platforms all the way to the roof

They were so brave!

And one random photo from soccer closing ceremony. They were so proud of their trophies!