Rain Rain Go Away...

This whole Flood 2009 stuff is crazy! With Kevin being in roofing, he is always checking the weather online to see if they can roof or not. He was saying early last week that it would be raining everyday all week. I thought it was not the best for his business, but at least that meant that he would be doing work around here (mostly paperwork) and some appts, but a relatively easy schedule where we would see him a lot. And it just kept raining...and raining...

Sunday night the storm was so loud that we could not believe that no kids mysteriously appeared in bed with us! Mia said she didn't hear anything and Chloe said that she heard it but just crawled all the way under her covers "except for her eyes"---in her words. Quinnlan's sound machine worked wonders...not a peep from her either!

The girls had no school yesterday because of a work day, so for the past 2 days we have had to be indoors. The sun is out today (sort of) but when we went outside, the mosquitos were so bad that we just came back in...ugh!

While Kevin is going insane with roofing calls, I may be going insane (not really) with cabin fever.

My family room looks like a bomb went off...even though it is actually just New York City...Mia and Chloe's American Girl dolls are there on vacation.

Then they both decided that they wanted it to be my birthday again, so they have been choosing some of their toys as gifts for me---gift bag and tissue paper and all. They ran out of toy ideas, so Chloe's last gift was a bag filled with tissue paper and then she had wrapped folded tissue paper in wrapping paper...hilarious. Happy Birthday to Me :)

Then we did Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where Mia is the beautician, Chloe is the sales girl and I am the client. Fun, fun...I love Barbie makeup. The colors are fabulous.

Mia and her yellow (!) Barbie lipstick

2 manicurists---what great service!

Chloe adding up my spa bill

We've made necklaces, headbands and bracelets out of these little foam beads that I had conveniently hidden because of the choking hazard for Quinnie. I guess I should have "hidden" them in the garbage...I have been picking them up all day.

Along with all the fun we are having here (smile) there is not much fun in our basement. I keep looking at the news coverage where they show houses up to their rooftops with water and I count us as blessed to only have wet carpet in our basement. Kevin bought a giant wet-vac and so when Quinnie naps, I am wet-vac-ing. B-O-R-I-N-G. Oh well...

Some funny things we have discovered about Quinnie this week:

1) Quinnlan LOVES to be under our breakfast table. Kevin and I both died laughing when we caught ourselves saying, "girls, don't feed Quinnlan from the table" the other night when she had eaten earlier than the rest of us.

2) Our baby is now walking. She is so proud of herself and has taken about 5 steps at a time. I am in serious need of some baby gates now! She has also had her first taste of climbing the stairs. Now that is all she wants to do. She squeals the entire way.

3) She loves ALL berries. She has discovered blackberries ("blabla") and is in love.

yummm...

She also is a little obsessed with blueberries ("baboo"). I'm glad that she is on the path to eating more like Chloe (my fruit lover and child that will try new things) than Mia (who I hope will one day eat better...that's what vitamins are for, right?). She also LOVES Trader Joe's Spaghettios...mmmmm...the taste of my childhood (of course, mine were always good ol' Chef Boyardee).

One last thing: it always makes me smile to see how different my twins are. Mia loves to wear dresses and skirts (everyday) and loves to dance and twirl.

And Chloe loves to jump around---she really wants to do karate with Kevin. She does karate kicks all the time:

A Father's Love...

I love those moments when we get little reminders (some are bigger and more in-our-face than others) of our Heavenly Father's love for us.

Being a mom, there are so many times throughout the day that I do things for my children and they don't even realize that I didn't have to do it, I just did them because I love them...like making meals, doing laundry, cleaning up their messes while they are at school, instead of making them do it (OK, that one I sometimes do because Mommy can do it faster and better-haha), reading them stories or playing Littlest Pet Shop, etc... Some things are just things I do because I'm the Mom and it's my J-O-B, but others I do because I know it is important to them and makes them feel cared for and loved.

With God, He has no J-O-B. He doesn't HAVE to do anything. He didn't have to let me be born in America to Christian parents. He didn't have to let me marry an amazing man and have 3 amazing kids. He didn't have to provide for our family with blessings to allow us to have a roof over our heads, food that we put down the garbage disposal because no one would want to eat the same leftovers 2 days in a row, 2 cars (!), one parent that stays home with the kiddos, air conditioning (and heat), laundry and dishwashing machines (!), to name a few. Like Andy Stanley said at church awhile back, compared to the majority of the people around our world, to have any of these things, WE ARE RICH! Not to mention the blessings of our health and safety.

Then here I come along...poor poor me, because I'm now "old" and 35, I'm throwing myself a pity-party...anyone want to attend? I'm sure He just shakes His almighty head and sighs.

What a brat.

Kind of like how we try to tell our children to not complain about their toys because there are people all over Atlanta and the world that would love to have some of these toys, much less a WHOLE room in the house called a PLAYROOM! Isn't it silly how we are like children sometimes? Well, God is our Father and I'm just so thankful that He loves me and doesn't give me what I truly deserve...I don't even want to know what His time-out or spanking looks/feels like!

I'm writing all of this because there were some things that I was struggling with surrounding my "big" birthday...stupid things, silly things that I wish I knew more about by this age, that I wish I was better at by this age, that I wish I was more "together" with parts of my life and my role in my family by this age... I confess that I didn't even go to God about them. I just went and cried and complained to my sweet husband about them and I'm sure he mentally shook his head too, but outwardly, he was very sweet.

In my mind, with all the BIG things in this world that really matter, my little insecurities don't even need to be mentioned to God. His plate is too full with wars and famines and cancer, etc. But, what is AWESOME is that HE KNOWS MY HEART. I don't have to mention them to Him. As I was crying and complaining to Kevin, He was there beside me hearing me, too.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have had several things (some even through blog-stalking) cross my path unexpectedly that have been answers to some of my silly questions...Things that could help alleviate some of my insecurities. I bet that God just kind of "dropped" those nuggets of inspiration and know-how into my life the way we do things for our children "just because." I have also felt a peace that I don't have to have it all together. That is what life is for. More importantly, that is what a life with the Lord as my guide is for. (Sorry for the grammar there.)

I know I am totally rambling, but in my mind, this all makes sense :)

Reading and music speak to me.

I am reading a book with my girls Bible Study called Crazy Love and I just finished the 1st chapter and watched the videos from the website www.crazylovebook.com and I just felt the need to give our all-powerful, all-knowing, almighty God some crazy love from my little spot in this galaxy. Check it out...

Also, a few songs that I have recently downloaded have been on repeat in my Ipod and I am loving them and the awesome message that God is speaking to me through them:

-It is Well by Todd Fields

"When PEACE like a river attendeth my way, when SORROW like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, You have taught me to say, it is WELL, It is WELL with my soul..."

-Breathe on Me by Todd Fields

"Forever, You are my reason for living, merciful Saviour unending, Breathe On Me. Forever You are the God of my story, write EVERY line for YOUR GLORY, Breathe On Me."

I don't know what else to say.

Awesome...

A New Season

It feels like a new season is upon us...and I don't just mean that Fall is right around the corner. (Although, I am LOVING this incredible COOL weather and it is giving me full-on Fall Fever.)

Last month, Mia and Chloe turned 5 and began full-day Pre-K. I have had some issues with their school/teacher and have prayed so much about whether to keep them in or bring them home (it felt like those were my only 2 options). After speaking with the school's director on Friday and going through all of my concerns, I felt some relief not having it bottled up inside of me every time I went through the doors. Yesterday morning, the director came to me and told me about the great meeting they had with the girls' teacher and that hopefully things would be changing and I really feel as if things are turning around. Kevin and I decided that everyone deserves a second chance, and so that is our plan. These are my first born children we're talking about here...it's hard not to be emotional about it!

The whole new-school-thing has been like a new season to me.

Last week, Quinnlan turned 1 and has turned into her own little person with this amazing personality! She loves playing games and mimics everything I do. She will be walking any day now and then things will really get crazy! I have been weaning her this week and it has been kind of sad. I'm not necessarily sad that I will be missing nursing, even though I do love the special bond it has created between us. I know that you can still cuddle while feeding a baby a bottle---that's how I cuddled with Mia and Chloe (I only nursed them about 3 months). But, I am just sad that my baby (possibly my last depending on who you speak with in our house) is not so much of a baby anymore. I guess having older children makes you realize how quickly stages pass. I remember chomping at the bit for each new stage for Mia and Chloe. When they were infants, I couldn't wait for them to roll over, then to eat baby food, then to sit, then to eat finger food, then to stand, then to walk and talk... With little Quinnie, I'd have lived a year with her as an infant that just nursed and laid still in one spot as long as she was a good sleeper :) I didn't want each stage to end, because it could be my last---that's why people look forward to grandbabies, right!?

So, weaning and walking feels like a new season.

I am going to be 35 on Friday. From now on, I will no longer be able to check the 25-34 age box. I will be grouped with the "35-who knows what age" group... Before I know it, I will be able to get my Senior discount at Kroger on Wednesday and get AARP hotel discounts. Ugh... OK, I am being a little bit melodramatic, but I am officially in my mid-thirties now and I have no idea how I got here. I do know that the past 10 years since I was in my mid-twenties has been an adventure. No complaints here... Ten years ago, I was barely married...clueless of who I needed/wanted to be in a marriage (I had to learn that there is no I in TEAM, but did God intend for us to lose ourselves completely? I think not...) BIG learning curve for me...still learning, actually. Kevin, stop nodding :) Ten years ago, I had no children and had no idea that I would end up being the mom to 3 girls, much less a mom to multiples! I never would have thought that I would have had to go through a miscarriage that truly shaped my faith. God is awesome all the time, but when He shows up to hold us in His arms when we feel such sadness, it is life-changing. I love my life now, ten years later, with all its lumps and bumps along the way, and I wouldn't change a thing.

Having this semi-milestone birthday feels like a new season is ahead.

Lots of changes going on now and in my future...I'll choose to embrace them whole-heartedly with both arms and a smile on my face (and maybe a little wrinkle cream along the way)...

My Baby is 1!

Today is Baby Quinnlan's 1st birthday! I am amazed at how quickly this year has flown by! It's funny what a different 1st year she and I have had compared with my 1st year of being a mom with Mia and Chloe! It's so true that with the 2nd (or 3rd, in my case) child, you are so much more relaxed. I have been able to cherish all of those little moments (that now I know fly by!) that I may have missed with Chloe and Mia because I was stressed out about not knowing what I was doing, much less the fact of having twins and not knowing what I was doing!

We consider her our little miracle baby because from the beginning of my pregnancy with her, there seemed to be one complication after another---everyone said that I was spoiled by all of the ultrasounds I received with Mia and Chloe, and that I would miss them being pregnant with a single baby, but not with Quinnie! I saw her all the time up through 20 weeks! Then she was pretty much a mystery till she was born.

Here is her story (just like for Mia and Chloe's, this is mainly for my benefit, so it may be a little long):

Our 3rd child (we did not find out the sex beforehand) was due to be born September 4th 2008, which happened to be my 34th birthday, but we scheduled to have a c-section on Friday, August 29, so neither of us would have to "share" :)

On Monday, August 25, I went about my day as usual and had planned on having my last pedicure before our big day (it's nice to have pretty toes when everything else about your body has grown-literally-out of control...also it had been ages since I could reach my toes myself!).

Kevin came home early and took over watching Mia and Chloe ride their bikes in the parking lot behind their preschool across the street so I could run up to the local nail salon. I stopped at Publix to grab a Luna Bar and a Vitamin Water to have during my pedicure since it was getting close to dinner time and I was already hungry. I remember thinking, "While I am sitting still in the chair, I know my belly is going to be moving around like crazy after eating this." But during the 45 minutes that I sat still, I didn't feel the baby move once. Then I started wondering, "when was the last time I felt the baby move today?" and I honestly could not remember.

When I went home, I went to see Kevin in the office and told him my concerns and when he told me that I should call the doctor, I began crying out of nervousness. I had to wait for the doctor on-call to call me back because it was after hours. Dr. Lee (not my regular OB) called back around 6:30pm and I explained my concerns to her and she said to go ahead and come down to Piedmont and they could hook me up to a fetal monitor to make sure that everything was OK.

We went ahead and packed up our things in case we were going to be staying at the hospital and called Mom and Dad and told them that we would be bringing Mia and Chloe to their house while we headed to Piedmont. I was so worried in the car and Mia and Chloe didn't really know what was going on...so in their nervousness, they were a little hyper. So I just leaned my head back and closed my eyes and through my tears, I kept praying that our precious baby would be OK. Then, out of the blue, Mia starts singing in her sweet 4 year old voice a song from a Kids Praise CD that we have, "Trust, trust in the Lord, lean not on your own understanding, in all, all of your ways acknowledge Him and He'll make your paths straight"...well, she didn't know all of those words, but she had most of them right and I just cried thinking that God had given me that word of encouragement and peace through the song of a 4 year old.

We dropped off Mia and Chloe at Mom's and went down to the hospital and when we got there, Dr. Lee had us admitted and they went ahead and hooked up the fetal monitor and it was a tremendous relief to see our baby's little heartbeat on the screen and to hear it as well. I can't express the way your heart stops as the nurse is hooking everything up and turning on the monitor as you wait for the first sound of a heartbeat.

Dr. Lee wanted us to be monitored for a couple of hours to make sure that everything was OK and so Kevin called and let all of our family know what was going on. Once I knew that our baby was fine, I did not want to go home...I was ready to have this baby. I mean, what's the big deal of doing my c-section 4 days earlier than planned? If you've ever been pregnant, you know how those last weeks and days creep by and you are SO ready to be done with that pregnancy and meet your new baby---especially with all the excitement about if it's a boy or a girl!

As the hours passed, the nurse came in and asked if I felt the contractions that I had been having (they showed up on the monitor as well) and I honestly did not feel anything except for a little discomfort in my back. Dr. Lee came in to see how things had progressed and I just told her that I really did not want to go home just to come back in 4 days to have this baby and she said that I was having contractions 3-5 minutes apart at that point and that if I went home, I would just be back in the hospital in the morning, at least, anyway. So we scheduled my c-section for after midnight so we would get that extra day in the hospital (a.k.a. "The Mont") from our insurance. Nice...

After that decision was made, the whole family came to wait for our baby's birth. Everyone except for my mom voted that they thought we were having a boy. I really had no feeling either way...I was just excited to finally meet this baby that I considered a miracle.

We found out that we were pregnant on Christmas Eve 2007. I had some 1st trimester bleeding at 6 weeks and found out that there was a blood clot in my uterus along with the amniotic sac. Then there was more bleeding as the blood clot came out and when we went in about that, we found out that their had been another amniotic sac (twins again?!?) that had been hidden by the clot. My OB, Dr. Fisch, said that nothing had developed in that 2nd sac, and it should just reabsorb into my body. Then at 9 weeks, I experienced such a horrible incident of bleeding where we thought that there was no way that I was not miscarrying again. (Between Mia and Chloe and Quinnlan, I got pregnant and had some spotting at 11 weeks and with the ultrasound, they told me that our baby had stopped growing at 9 weeks) I will never forget laying on my grandmother's bed at Mom's house waiting for Kevin to come and get me to take me to our OB to see why I was bleeding so badly and having both my parents lay their hands on my belly and just pray and plead that God would please let this baby be OK. I have to admit that I didn't have the faith that I should have had at that moment. I just thought that there was no way that everything was OK. Even on the way to the doctor's office, Kevin and I both thought that it was over. But, when we saw Dr. Lee (she seems to be our Dr. in crisis!), she did the ultrasound and our sweet baby was just fine! The bleeding had come from the other amniotic sac coming out! It was such a relief. My faith is so small sometimes. Thank you, Lord for showing us that even when things seem dire, You are in control.

OK, back to the delivery...Kevin and Mom (I thought it would be awesome to have my mom experience this with me---I would love for any of my daughters to ask me to be in with them during their childbirths!) went to get their scrubs on as I went to the operating room to have my epidural and to be prepped for surgery. I was much more nervous than I was when I had Mia and Chloe. I think it was because I was not in pain as I was with my first labor. I have no idea why I didn't feel any pain with this labor, but I'm not complaining! I had some initial nausea and light-headedness that was relieved by the anesthesiologist, and the remainder of the surgery went beautifully. As Dr. Lee pulled out our baby (butt 1st...our little breech baby), she asked Kevin to stand up and announce what we had...Kevin said, "It's a girl!" and it was amazing. I just cried knowing that our little Quinnlan Greer was here---August 26, 2008 at 1:08am. She weighed 6lbs 8oz and was 21 inches long. Just beautiful.

"Another Girl?!? Really?!?"

After they cleaned her up and gave her the APGAR test, Kevin went with her to the nursery to have her 1st bath and to announce to our families that we had another baby girl. Mom stayed with me as Dr. Lee sewed me up and I went to the recovery room to wait to see our sweet baby. When Kevin brought her to me, she was ready to eat! He said she screamed like she was starving from the time they took her to get her bath until they brought her to me. She latched right on and then fell asleep in my arms. This is what I had been waiting almost 10 months to do...hold our little one and look at her and marvel at this miracle of life.

Proud Sissies

Quinnie has been so great,except for her hating bedtime those first few months---definitely different from Mia and Chloe who were incredible sleepers pretty much from Day 1---my mom said that they slept better because they had each other in the crib, but I kept thinking that there are millions of singleton babies in this world that sleep well and they are alone in their cribs!...Anyway, she finally gave up the fight and now she is a great sleeper for all of her naps and nighttime sleep! She is pretty laid back, but every once in awhile we can see her strawberry-blonde irish temper flare up when she really wants something... I love her laugh and her smile, which is changing because she is FINALLY getting some teeth! She has 1 that has broken through on the bottom and 2 that have broken through on the top in one week! Poor thing!

She has completely blossomed over the past 3 weeks since Mia and Chloe have returned to school and we have so much one-on-one time together to play. She is doing really well with her signs ("more", "water", "please", "milk") and words---most are only recognizable to me :) ("Dada", "Mama", "Sissy", "Ball", "Please", "Doll", "Thank you", "Nana", "Banana").

I pray daily for abundant blessings in her life and that she will choose to follow the path Our Lord has set for her. I am so proud to be her Mommy and I look forward to seeing her grow into a fun toddler over the next year! What a difference a year makes!

A few days old compared to...

...now!

Favorite Things Part 2

1) Baby Legs:

I bought these at target on a whim because Miss Q is crawling all over the place and we mostly have hardwoods and it seemed easier and comfier for her to wear these in the summer indoors than to wear pants. She loves them and I love seeing her chunky thighs busting out the top!

2) My round-lipped Dean and Deluca coffee mug:

My parents gave us 2 of these when they came home from NYC a long time ago and it makes me happy in the morning when 1 is clean for me to use...it's the little things in life, right??? Even Quinnie loves it :)

3) Stila "Kitten" eye shadow:

Have you ever searched for the perfect color eye shadow that you can wear everyday (day or night)? This is it...great neutral champagne-y color.

4) Cover Girl OutLast Lip Stain #415:

This product is awesome because it is like a marker that stains your lips and it stay on really well! I like to use it alone or under gloss, which brings me to my next fave...

5) Cover Girl WetSlicks AmazeMint in "Everything's Rosy":

This gloss is not goopy or thick, so it does have to be reapplied more often than the thicker glosses out there, but the taste (mint) is great and the color is perfect alone for just a touch of color and shine or over another lipstick to add some shine. My girls love giving me kisses when I'm wearing this...another plus :)

Party Time!

We held a triple birthday party here this weekend and it was so much fun! We celebrated Mia and Chloe's 5th birthday and Quinnlan's 1st birthday. Ariel came to play (along with 27 kids---yikes!) and we all had a great time. Ariel was AMAZING! Once she arrived, she basically took over and kept the children occupied with face painting, tattoos, magic tricks, dancing, storytelling, and balloon animals. That, along with the playset, was enough to keep everyone happy for the 2 hours of festivities. The week leading up to the party was crazy, as usual, but my mom was incredible (we nicknamed her house Birthday Headquarters because I was there everyday last week). I don't know why I feel the need to tackle household projects on top of planning for a party the week prior to the event. But, I have wanted to replace the window treatments in our breakfast area , family room and dining room for awhile now and what better time than when you are in a party pressure cooker? (smile)

So, my most creative mom and I went to the craft store and found some fabric and trim I liked and some foam board. Add these and leftover batting from when my mom made Mia and Chloe and Quinnlan's crib bumpers and a glue gun, and you get:

breakfast area

dining room

For the family room, I wanted long curtain panels, and we had planned on just sewing hems on lengths of fabric, but I ran into Pier One and they had these for half-price! Yahoo! Done...

At the beginning of last week, I was still waiting for the Birthday Tutu that I had ordered Quinn to arrive. So, I went on etsy.com and emailed the seller to ask how it was coming and when it was shipped.

No reply...

OK...

Then Tuesday morning, I woke up with a funny feeling about the tutu. Did I order it correctly? I know the seller and I had been emailing back and forth in the beginning of August about what colors would be best to match the cupcake tank top I planned on her wearing. I ran to my computer and went to My Purchases on etsy and it only showed the little cupcake tank top I had ordered her...NO TUTU!

I HAD NEVER ACTUALLY PURCHASED IT AND WE HAD 4 DAYS TILL THE PARTY!

Panic set in and I called my mom (remember, she is very creative) and she says, "Why don't we just make her tutu?" Well, I never thought of that, but it looks like our only option at this point. So, we go and buy a couple of rolls of pink tulle and ribbon to match the tank top (and some elastic) and voila! A tutu!

We may need to start a tutu biz---anyone need a tutu for their little girls??? I am so proud :)

We also made the little flower headband...gotta love a glue gun!

Here are some pics from the party:

In all her tutu glory :)

Thank you, Mandy, for monogramming these bloomers!

Ariel dancing with all the princesses (Mia and Chloe are in the middle)---the boys were having nothing to do with this "girly" stuff!

Princess Chloe

Princess Mia

My Baby Birthday Girl

Magic Tricks

3 Ariels

cupcakes!

Bring on the cupcake!

Cupcake Coma

Happy Birthday to Chloe!

Happy Birthday to Mia!

5 years ago...

I am writing this a couple of days late because I really wanted to think through what I wanted to say about my 2 precious girls (and I have been nursing a cold and have had "medicine head" for the past 2 days).

I wanted to write down their birth story because it is something that gets foggier as they get older. So, this post may be a little long-winded. It is mainly for my benefit (and theirs)...

Here goes...

When I found out I was having twins at 6 weeks, I was shocked, but our reaction was that we couldn't stop laughing. The nurse that came in to check on us and to show us where to check out was even laughing because she said that reaction is pretty common.

Then when I found out we were having 2 girls, I was SO excited...I have one brother but always thought it would be cool to have a sister too, so the thought of my girls getting to have a sibling of the same gender seemed so special.

So, 5 years ago on August 10, 2004, I was waiting on Kevin to come home and take me to dinner for our weekly datenight and I was starving (Momma needs to eat!). When he finally arrived, we got in the car and started to back out of the driveway and I felt like I had wet my pants. I told Kevin to let me go inside and see what was going on...I don't know why I thought I would have wet my pants and not realized it was happening. Well, my water had broken and we called the doctor and he said to come on down to Piedmont.

It was finally really happening!

Just like my reaction to finding out about having twins, I couldn't stop laughing, which didn't help things. Kevin was cracking me up as he was running all around trying to get all of my last minute things to throw into the "hospital bag". I was sitting on a towel on the floor and every time I would laugh, it would come out more...TMI?

When we got to the hospital, it was around 8:00pm and I was still starving, but knew that now I couldn't eat anything. But, the excitement helped me not to think about it. I remember getting off the elevator at the hospital and this nice man, seeing this giant pregnant woman, was gesturing for me to go ahead of him out of the elevator. I gave Kevin this look and he knew what I meant and told the man to go ahead...I didn't want him walking behind me as I was trailing amniotic water all the way down the hallway to labor and delivery! Then the nurses at the desk wanted me to sign in and register...really?!? I am standing in a puddle here...

Once I got all set up in a room, Dr. McFarling said that he wanted to see if I could last till morning...the 12 hours after your water breaks makes your body go into fast-mode of maturing all the things that may have not been finished "cooking".

I wasn't really in any pain until around 11:00pm, when the contractions really began. When he came back in to check on me, he said that I wasn't going to make it till the morning and that these babies were coming tonight. Dr. McFarling and the nurses were telling me that because these babies were less than 5 lbs. they would be an easy vaginal delivery, but I was having none of that. I had resolved myself to a c-section from early on in my pregnancy and didn't want to have one baby vaginally and have the other baby turn breech with all the extra room and have to have a c-section also (which, by the way, I met a lady at the beach last week with 3 month old twin boys and that happened to her!). So, I had read all the books on c-sections and knew what to expect...I had not read anything on vaginal deliveries or attended any classes on it, so I just told them, "No, that is not the plan, but thanks anyway".

Around 1am, they took me to the OR and prepped me for surgery. I got my epidural and then they brought Kevin in. Kevin was my videographer and it is so amazing to see my little girls being born. It's pretty funny because they love watching it, too. Mia came out first and in the video you can see the doctor taking the cord from around her little neck. It was wrapped around twice. God was protecting our little Mia (by my insisting that the c-section was the plan)...I am so thankful. Then Chloe comes out next and they had to take her to the NICU because she was having some breathing problems. They put her on an Apnea Monitor (which we got to take home with us for 2 months) but she was fine and was able to be placed in the transitional nursery. Overall, their birth was an amazing experience and I cannot say enough great things about the doctors and nurses at Piedmont.

I have loved seeing Chloe and Mia grow into such beautiful girls, inside and out. They both have incredible personalities.

Mia is very outgoing, very independent, has never met a stranger, loves to sing and perform, loves to read and play school, loves playing princess, has amazing self-esteem, but also is very sensitive if she gets in trouble. She is an awesome "salesperson" when she wants something and it cracks me up to hear her do it to Chloe or myself or Kevin. She loves to swing and she loves to swim. When she swims, she has this great perma-grin on her face, even under the water. I love it. She is kind and full of fun...ready for the party at all times.

Chloe is a little more cautious, but is very friendly and makes friends easily. She is so sweet and helpful---she always puts her shoes/clothes/toys where they should go. She is like a Mother Hen, making sure that all is well in her little world. She is my cuddler. She would rather sit in my (or Kevin's) lap than on any chair. She loves to flip around on the floor and stand on her head. She loves bug hunting and is awesome on the monkey bars. She also loves to swim and has really gotten good at it this summer. She is my sweetpea.

My girls are funny and smart and I genuinely love being around them. I thank God everyday for blessing me with these 2 precious gifts. What an honor it is to be their mother. I pray for abundant blessings in their lives this year as they are entering all-day school and becoming more independent. I pray that the Lord will lead them to make good choices and to always follow Him.

Happy Birthday Girls! I love you SO much!

Chloe and Mia at Chuck E. Cheese for their Birthday Dinner