Absentee

I have been out of commission lately. Looooong (boring) story short, I had emergency surgery to have my gallbladder removed. You would think that that kind of thing would lend my the luxury of lying in bed watching movies and blogging like crazy. Well, obviously it didn't work out like that!

Recovering from surgery is no easy feat but I am always amazed at how beautifully strong our bodies were created to be! Not too long after delivering my girls I felt strong and whole again. After this surgery too I am recovering well and feeling stronger. Of course a big difference is that when I delivered the girls they were tiny little things and caring for them was not physically straining. Now they are 20-pound somethings and squirmy and giggly and tickly and much, much tougher on my muscles.

The doctor said that for my recovery I shouldn't lift anything over 10 lbs for 2 weeks. TEN pounds!!!  TWO WEEKS!!!  But...but...my babies....and Levi.... 

As a rather (bordering on stupidly) self-sufficient person this meant calling in favors: something I strongly, adamantly dislike. Now don't get me wrong, I have great friends and wonderful family members who are more than willing to help but I know how busy they all are and I hate to add one more thing to their calendar. However, by doctor's orders I had no choice.

Of course my loving mother and sister were already by my side from the moment I entered the hospital to when I went home and a few days afterward. I (literally) cannot express my gratitude for the blessing of my mom and sister. It is beyond words.

But eventually even they had to return to work and it was time to find other options. Two dear, dear friends of mine gladly came over to help and washed dishes, prepared food, chatted and both of them got down on their hands and knees to wash the floor under the girls' highchairs! Both of them! I was highly appalled that my friends were cleaning my floor and deeply touched at the same time.

I was forced to sit back and count my blessings. Which happen to be numerous!

Home Sweet Small Hometown

Last weekend I went home to Idaho to celebrate my cousin's birthday. I left the "big city" behind and went back home to the small town where I grew up. Sometimes I forget how small it really is. For example, I was lucky to catch a picture of these two beauties in a field rather than from being stuck behind them on the road.

We got to go to an awesome concert! We had 3rd row seats. I've never been that close to the action before and it was incredible. I had to fight the urge to try to run up and hug them! (The security guard sitting in front of the stage didn't look like he would have appreciated that...) Lee DeWyze opened. I hadn't even heard of him before (I don't think I've mentioned my distaste for reality tv) but I was very pleasantly surprised. He is a very talented singer and a natural peformer.

Next was Colbie Caillat! I kind of hated her immediately for her outfit. She was beautiful and charming and (obviously) a very talented singer. It was an amazing concert!

Then it was time to go home! My parents drove me up to the airport and we had time to get lunch first. It was so nice to have some extra time with just my parents. They are not the type to just drop me off at the airport so they walked me in and waited until I was all the way through security and could just barely wave over the top of the machines and people behind me.

Then I finally got to come home to these goobers!



I always enjoy visiting my hometown but I love being home.

Date Night!

I love my kids, but before they were even a twinkle in my eye, I loved this guy.

I love being a mom. Love it, love it, love it. I don't mind cleaning up sticky food off the floor, changing diapers or folding tiny clothes but there are times I love just being me. I don't leave often and I actually don't even look forward to being away from the kids but every once in awhile Luke and I are lucky enough to have a date night.


My sweet sister brought her family over and stayed with my kiddos all day. Luke and I went out to dinner with some really good friends and then to the Blazers vs. Mavericks game. (Yes, I went to a sporting event. Get over it.) : )

After an awesome game Luke and I went to a late movie. We didn't even get home until midnight which is unheard of these days. We had such a fabulous time just the two of us. We love laughing together, holding hands, just sitting and talking and don't mind waiting in line for anything.

It's nights like these that remind us why we started this beautiful family in the first place.


All because two people fell in love...

Reasons why I love being a mom of twins


A little background first....When we first found out we were expecting twins I laughed. And laughed. And...well you get the point. I adored being mom to our oldest son, Levi and got that "itch" to expand our brood when he was quite young. It took much longer than I would have liked and so when I found out I was growing not just one but two babies I couldn't have been happier!!


I have a few friends with twins though and I never envied them. A friend of mine and I were due at the same time when I was pregnant with Levi. She was due with identical twin girls and they came a month before Levi. I marveled at how she juggled (figuratively...) two babies while I held my one little precious baby. I had heard horror stories about parents of twins and how, "You'll be fine if you can just survive the first year...". A year!! That is a long time!


All of this was swirling in my head and I worried about how I would handle 3 little ones at home. Well my sweet girls must have been quite traumatized by their entrance into this world because they basically slept for the first 2 months. We woke them to feed them and I remember wishing they would stay awake for more than 15 minutes at a time!


Then they started waking up. The next two months were .... hard. Little Sydney just wanted to sleep. She was so tired when she was awake that she didn't even know what to do. And Harper thought that if she wasn't sleeping she was supposed to be crying. Oh how she cried. Months 3 & 4 consisted of a lot of tears (from babies & mama), a lot of doubt in my ability to handle being a twin-mama, and a lot of make-up to mask my weary paleness if we ever ventured out of the house.


BUT then came months 5, 6, 7, .... again you get the picture. The girls started smiling at each other and at us. They took turns crying and babbling and even pooping! I can't even begin to describe how much fun they were becoming. There were plenty of times they both needed comforting and I would have my arms full of my two sweet daughters and just marvel at how blessed I was.


At first it was a lot to juggle (again, figuratively, I have no circus-type ability whatsoever) but then I started to notice the fun things about twins!



They are never alone. Seriously, almost never. They have someone to lie in bed with. Someone to read books with. Bathe with. They are used to a lot of noise and have learned from the beginning that they have to share mama. Not only do they have a big brother but mama always has at least one baby in her arms.





You have someone to weigh down the other side of the laundry basket so it doesn't tip over.



And something squishy to jump on.





And someone to share your birthday cake with. Well that one might not be too fun later but that's why mom made two cakes!



And someone else who has to take a bath in the sink so you're not the only one.


The girls follow each other around the house now and even though they don't always play together, they usually want to be close while they play with their own toys. When they wake up from their nap I usually walk in to find them standing in the corners of their cribs that are closest to each other and just babbling back and forth. (Not too unlike that adorable video making it's round on the internet).


I love folding two pairs of the same little pants and hunting for 4 shoes instead of two and I am amazed at how much baby food (used to be formula) we go through!


Even though they were born on the same day they are as different as can be. I am so excited to see them grow and change and discover who they are and I am so grateful they will have each other through all of it.

Preschool!!

Does he look ready for preschool to you? This is how I still see my precious firstborn. He is only minutes old and needs protection from this big world.

Really, he looks like this and is probably ready to take on this big world by himself. We went tour a preschool today and I'm not gonna lie - I cried on the car ride there. And in the parking lot walking back to the car. And a little thinking about writing about it. But hey, I'm a crier. We had such a wonderful visit and I feel completely at peace about our decision. The school was colorful, happy, playful, and I felt so excited about enrolling my precious baby, er...preschooler there!

I have struggled with the decision of when to send him to preschool because I love having him home with me so much! (If it were just about what I wanted then he would definitely stay home with his mama!) But, after adding 2 more babies to this household I think he is ready for something that is just for him. He was so excited to go check out schools! Poor guy really doesn't realize that it will be months from now that he actually starts attending!

For now, this decision has brought much peace into my life and I feel completely confident in our choice. Whew!

Welcome to my blog! I have finally decided to join this world of sharing thoughts, feelings and pictures. Watch out!

The name "Arms Full of Babies" came to me recently as I was comforting my beautiful twin girls. They are 15 months old today and rarely ever hold still long enough for me to hold both of them. Last night however, they both needed some extra love from their mama. We are all fighting colds and the girls especially are having a rough time. Sydney (usually our excellent sleeper) woke up crying which of course meant that her sister, Harper (no champion sleeper by any account) was up too! As they both snuggled their little face into my neck, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the blessing of these two adorable girls. My back ached, my arms sorely reminded me of how weak I am, but I held on because even now I recognize that they will not be little for long. At one point Harper laid her head on Sydney's back and we all snuggled.

Those two angels aren't all that fill my arms though. They have an older brother, Levi who used to have this mama all to himself. To be honest, I think he's thrilled to finally have sisters to split my attention! Levi is almost 4 and loves being a big brother. Even when the girls were only a couple of months old he wanted to show them his trains and let them play with his toys. Of course he doesn't like it when they knock down his toys or put his cars in their mouths but mostly, he adores them.

And when these 3 little ones aren't filling my arms, I often have them around him. Without him, I wouldn't have this wonderful, beautiful life.

Thanks for visiting. Come back soon!