tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57870374865291692032024-02-18T20:58:08.380-08:00The Journey of TwinsmithAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17639523724638383204noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787037486529169203.post-53425845505882800042017-06-15T17:17:00.001-07:002017-06-15T17:17:56.234-07:00Road trip- Day 1<p dir="ltr">I researched and planned for quite a while for our upcoming road trip across the country. We live in Nebraska and are driving to New York state to celebrate my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. No small trip, in fact it's 18+ hours one way. Doesn't seem like it'd be a big deal right? </p>
<p dir="ltr">Oh, I forgot to mention we're driving all this way with two 2 1/2 year olds. Yep... We're nuts. </p>
<p dir="ltr">We're all of one day down on what's supposed to be a 10 day trip and I'm already significantly regretting our choice for mode of transportation. Sure we're saving thousands (yes, at least one thousand dollars) by renting a car and driving a cross the country. But is there really a price for keeping our sanity?? </p>
<p dir="ltr">Right now, I'm not so sure. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I'll let you know how we far tomorrow. At least we don't have as far to go tomorrow. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Oye. <br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kufLmhn38n2qjXIfsLLrNguSmgWpbyHS7pi53smte3usS-G_sOW4uyfkRlSw5RSNKyCPzXvjTXJ2b42txNXb-OLIde0izi7jPYwno2G-F1PAiwmR94wXkO-y4H58cd8o5wgVFksNcKg/s1600/1497572233578.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kufLmhn38n2qjXIfsLLrNguSmgWpbyHS7pi53smte3usS-G_sOW4uyfkRlSw5RSNKyCPzXvjTXJ2b42txNXb-OLIde0izi7jPYwno2G-F1PAiwmR94wXkO-y4H58cd8o5wgVFksNcKg/s640/1497572233578.jpg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17639523724638383204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787037486529169203.post-33317021373115740442016-04-03T09:19:00.003-07:002016-04-03T09:19:44.703-07:00Surrender...it's so not easyToday is Sunday. It's a day to rest, reflect and be renewed so we can feel ready for the week ahead, right? Generally, the answer is yes. Today, not so much. My husband is a pastor and Sunday's he has left the house by 5:45 a.m. Most Sunday's my children continue to sleep after he's gone. But today my children were awake and fussy at 6:15 a.m.- much, much too early for this momma. I thought maybe if I laid there quietly for a few minutes they would get the hint and fall back to sleep. HA! What a riot. So we were up and on with the day. I got them dressed and fed and myself ready and we set off for our 8 a.m. church service, one which rarely gets attended because it's at 8 A.M.! I wasn't in the mood to be up that early and my impatience had already reared it's ugly head. I needed a redo and I needed to change my attitude if I was going to expect my children to do the same. <br /><br />Have you ever sat through a sermon or listened to a radio program and thought "this was written just for me"? Well, that was the sermon at my church this morning. At least part of what was said. I humbly asked for a redo and set my heart on a path to surrender to Jesus and follow where he wants to lead me. So often I forget to start my day by saying "yet not my will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42b). I simply get up and trudge along as if I'm all on my own with no one to help me along the way. That's how I feel most days and most days my feelings betray me. The truth is, I'm not alone at all. Jesus said in John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” If I start my day instead by believing in the one who has given me life, then no matter where the day takes me, I'm never really alone. What a relief to be reminded of this truth! <div>
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The day is going better and hopefully will end on a much more positive note than how it began. I'm so thankful for the gift of grace. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17639523724638383204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787037486529169203.post-34437421642520874032015-12-24T09:35:00.003-08:002015-12-24T09:35:43.779-08:00Merry Christmas EveThis morning we woke up to amazing snow! It's still snowing in fact. I'm so happy to have a White Christmas. <br />
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For some reason, it makes me think about my mom. She loved Christmas, especially in Colorado when it would snow. This is my first Christmas without my mom. She passed away earlier this year rather suddenly and it still stings to think about her being gone. I catch myself a lot thinking I need to call mom only to be reminded again that she won't be there to answer. I guess I'm thinking she sent the snow for me this year. She knew I needed to have a White Christmas for my first Christmas without her. It's her gentle reminder to me that she is still with me and thinking about me too. While that may or may not be true, I choose to believe it is. I could just sit and watch the snow fall all day long, sipping on a cup of coffee and remembering all of the things that I love about my momma. I love her free spirit, her determination and can-do attitude, her smile and her laugh, which I miss the most. So this Christmas I'll remember her gift to me and cherish it. Merry Christmas mom!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17639523724638383204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787037486529169203.post-37566985319819726582015-12-19T19:28:00.000-08:002015-12-19T19:28:23.613-08:00Some days...Some days I'm in denial at how big my kids are getting. They're starting to become their own little people with different personalities that are most definitely shining through. They are curious about everything, Cooper especially right now. He likes to tinker with his toys to figure out how they work or how something is put together. He's gotten very good at stacking his mega blocks and nesting bowls instead of just wanting to knock them over. Gemma is very close to walking on her own. My goodness, things will definitely be interesting when that starts! I don't want to forget these moments of my children's childhood. I'm terrible at recollecting memories of my own and I don't want that to be the case with my kiddos. <br />
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Today was a fun day. The kids like to go up and down the stairs, scooching on their bellies to go down. They're favorite thing right now is to toss something down the stairs just so they have something to go down after. They've definitely exhausted all of the toys we have and I think are getting bored with most of them. Good thing it's Christmas time and we've got some new ones coming! <br />
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As much fun as it is to play with the kids, it's also fun to get our snuggles in with them too. I keep catching myself thinking about how quickly it'll all change and they won't want to snuggle anymore. Gemma is certainly my snuggler right now. She will crawl right up on my lap and throw her arms around my neck. I was able to snap a few photos of her snuggling her daddy today which just almost made my heart burst!<br />
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I feel absolutely blessed to have this amazing life. My kids are so wonderful, my husband is such a great man. We have a lot to be thankful for this time of year!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17639523724638383204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787037486529169203.post-60335277770317313202015-12-10T19:06:00.004-08:002015-12-10T19:06:56.477-08:00Let's Give This Another TryIf you would have asked me a year ago what I thought I'd be doing a year from now, it probably would have been something like "I hope I'm sleeping" or "I better freaking be sleeping!" since I was so sleep deprived a year ago. Well, I'm not sleeping but my two precious babes are! I'm not the most eloquent writer, in fact I'm probably terrible at it, but I know if I ever want to remember these days and moments I need to start writing it all down. I wish I would have been better about that during the first year of my kids' lives. Alas, here I am with the first year under my belt and nothing really documented. I figure now's as good a time as any to give the ol' blogging another try since I'm many memories to share and many more to make!<br />
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It's naive of me to think I'll have time to jot it all down everyday so I'll go ahead and let myself off the hook for that. My goal is to write at least 3 times a week whether it's to recap the day's events or to share some funny story of what one or both of the kids did. I know it won't be easy, it'll probably feel impossible at first but it's something I want to do and frankly need to do for myself. So let's start there...doing something for myself.<br />
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Lately I've been feeling...I guess one could say...out of it. I haven't really felt like myself. To give you some context, today is a Thursday. Thursday's typically are fairly laid back since I don't work on Thursdays. Not today. It was packed with stuff, at least stuff that isn't in our normal routine. The short version is I was tasked to volunteer for my MOPS group in one of the classrooms, the kids and I had a chiropractor appointment and then we met Matt for dinner. It was on my drive home from dinner that I had a moment where I thought, "what's my purpose? Who am I really? What makes me ME?" The immediate answer I found was, "I don't know." Someday's I simply feel like a robot going from one task to the next, doing it all the same way as it was done the day before. There's no real joy in getting things done, no sense of accomplishment. Then there are days where I feel like I've conquered the world and I should be named Mommy Of The Year. Those days I feel joy in the things I get accomplished. They seem to be few and far between though. <br />
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I guess I've never really known my purpose in life. I'm a daughter, a sister, a friend, now a wife and mother. I am happy to be all of those things but sometimes it doesn't feel like enough. My real question is I guess, "what am I called to do or to be?" I hope to be able to answer that question soon. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17639523724638383204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787037486529169203.post-42021157286909771802015-01-10T18:32:00.000-08:002015-01-10T18:32:43.315-08:00Helpful HandsSo earlier this week, my dad sent me a text message and said Grandma and Grandpa were going to be in town and wondered if we'd need some baby holders. I told him we'd be around all weekend so we'd love for them to come by and hold the babies while they were visiting. Well, unbeknownst to me, he assumed I understood that it was <i>MY</i> grandparents and that they were going to be staying with us. I have 2 two month old's- I don't need house guests right now. Well the plan was already in motion for them to come in that night on a late flight so of course we pretty much had to say yes to them staying with us, but my brother would pick them up at the airport. <div>
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I have to say I had a bad attitude about the whole thing. It seemed very selfish of my grandparents to just want to come hold my babies to scratch their baby itch. My kids are just getting into somewhat of a routine and for them to come would just blow it was off track. That's how I perceived it anyway. </div>
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I am kind of a control freak. I like things done a certain way and right now routine keeps everything simple so the fact that I'd be having house guests that I wasn't prepared for was really stressing me out. And I made it pretty clear the first day they were here how unhappy I was about the whole visit. I even went so far as to text my brother and tell him he had to come pick up my grandparents and do something with them so they would be out of my house and I could keep my kids on track. Not one of my better moments but when you're a new mother to twins, you'll do or say just about anything to keep things in working order. He obliged but was not too happy with me for insisting he intervene. So naturally I felt guilty about my attitude and generally my mood over the whole thing. Here are my 80-something year old grandparents who just want to show their love to me by loving on my kids and "helping out" by being around to hold them. </div>
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So what's my deal? Maybe I'm still hormonal, but the thought of getting off track really scared me because we'd been having a relatively good week with the kids. I finally resigned myself to granting my grandparents their wish of just loving on these babies. It wasn't easy, but I figured we can get back on track in a couple of days. My grandparents aren't going to be around forever and I want them to have some memories with me and my kids. I want to have some memories for me and kids. </div>
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I discovered just how grateful I actually am for their visit. So many people say they'll come help when the babies are here but then never actually follow through. Not my grandparents. They made it a point to travel to my hometown. They really did end up helping us when we needed it. So I'm thankful today. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17639523724638383204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787037486529169203.post-87713537966884065692014-12-24T16:30:00.001-08:002014-12-24T16:33:45.286-08:00Nursing Success! <p dir="ltr">So I have to brag a bit because I successfully nursed my kids by myself this afternoon! I measure a success by feeding them until they are full, not having to take a bottle afterwards and falling asleep because of the milk coma! There's hope!</p>
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I never really believed other mother's when they said how much they loved their children. Now let me clarify- I guess I didn't know how much love a person could feel for someone she just met. Of course I couldn't understand because I'd never experienced it to this degree before! But it is so true- I have so much love for my children I feel like I could burst sometimes. I would do anything for them! It's this kind of love that makes me think about the Reason for the Season. God sent His Son, His Everything to this earth as a baby boy to save the lost sinners. That's us. You and me. His children. He knew what it would cost; He knew that in order to save us all, He would have to sacrifice His Everything. God loves us so much, I'm sure He feels like he could burst sometimes too. He would do anything for us.<br />
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I hope this season, you can know you are loved by the One who created you. I hope you know you are not alone, there is always someone in your corner, there is always someone who wants you to be happy. Merry Christmas to you and yours from me and mine!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17639523724638383204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787037486529169203.post-65089806050958905332014-12-23T08:50:00.001-08:002014-12-23T08:50:48.226-08:007 weeks old! So because I'm just starting this blog, it's going to jump around a lot in the beginning since I'll be backtracking with the pregnancy and birth story as well as keeping as up to date as possible with current events. Sorry for the lack of organization at this point...please bear with me!<br />
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So Cooper and Gemma were 7 weeks old yesterday! I can't believe my babies are already that old. They are growing so fast! I took Gemma to the doctor's yesterday because she had a rash that I wanted to have looked at. She is fine and the rash is clearing up, but they weighed her and she is already 8 lbs. 10 oz.! She's turning into a chunky monkey. Cooper is hovering near the 10 lb mark!<br />
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So far, they aren't on any real schedule. We feed them when they're hungry which is usually about every 3-4 hours and then they usually just sleep in between feedings. Since they were 5 1/2 weeks premature (born at 34 weeks 4 days gestation), they are a little behind on some milestones, such as tummy time, though they both have remarkably strong necks. They are always looking around when we're holding them up so it won't be much longer before we start in with tummy time adventures. They've definitely gone through some growth spurts. They both eat 4 oz. at each feeding which some days seems like a lot and some days seems like not enough. Since I'm breastfeeding, it's always daunting trying to keep up with their 4 oz. each habit! When they were still little and only eating 2 oz. each feeding, I was able to pump the rest and freeze it so I have a smallish milk stash stored up for when there isn't enough. Breastfeeding has been it's own journey! I'll write more about that later. For now, please just enjoy a few cute photos of my darlings on their 7 week birthday.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17639523724638383204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787037486529169203.post-13910651808246247082014-12-22T20:05:00.000-08:002014-12-22T23:26:35.722-08:00We're pregnant!So I'm going to backtrack a bit and start at the beginning of things. About a year ago, Matt and I decided we wanted to try to start our family. We are both around 30 and since we waited until we were a bit older than most people we know to get married, now was as good a time as any to try. Without going into great detail, we stopped preventing pregnancy in November of 2013. I had read that it usually takes a month to get the hormones of birth control to cycle out of one's system so I didn't think we'd get pregnant right away.<br />
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It took us a couple of months to actually conceive and get pregnant. I don't remember the exact day we found out we were pregnant. It was sometime the second week of April 2013. I remember I was late by about a week so I told Matt I needed to take a pregnancy test to find out. I bought the test on my way to work but didn't take it until later that night. I usually get nervous and over-think things so it took me a while to feel the urge to go to the bathroom and take the test. I sneaked away though at some point in the evening and took the test. Having to wait the three minutes was the worst! When I looked at the results, I wasn't sure if it was positive since the second line looked so faint. I read and reread the box and instructions to make sure I was really seeing what I thought I was seeing. It was positive!!<br />
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Looking back, I should have come up with some creative way to surprise Matt with the news, but I was just so happy, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it from him. So I went back downstairs and announced that I had taken the test and it was positive to which he replied with an enthusiastic, albeit unsure, "Okay". I said I'd call my doctor's office in the morning to schedule an appointment so we could go in and make sure I was in fact pregnant. I called the next morning and we scheduled our appointment for what we thought was around 8 weeks, May 2nd. <br />
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It's interesting how one knows one's own body. I could tell, even early on, that there was something different with me. I knew I was pregnant. Matt was pretty sure because I was sure that I was pregnant. Nevertheless, we waited. I think we waited 3 weeks before our first appointment. It was pretty strange going about our daily lives knowing I was pregnant but not telling anyone. We wanted to wait until we knew for sure before we told very many people. I think we told our parent's we were pregnant, but it didn't go much beyond that. <br />
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When May 2nd finally came, we were both pretty excited for the appointment. I had been feeling some discomfort in my tummy, some light cramping was pretty much it and I was really tired, but nothing was too out of the ordinary. We checked in and when the nurse called us back, Matt got settled in our room while I gave a urine sample. When I joined him, I remember we were joking about the initial ultrasound- the procedure is rather uncomfortable (most of you ladies know what I'm talking about) and to have my husband in the room made it that much more weird. When my doctor came in the room, she asked me some basic questions about how I was feeling, what kind of symptoms I was experiencing, etc. Then she did the ultrasound and we finally got to see what had waited weeks to have confirmed...there was a baby on the screen. And not just one baby, but two!! <br />
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At first, I wasn't sure what I was seeing was true. She asked us, "Do you see that?" And we both said haphazardly, "Yes...." she said, "There's one heart beat and there's the second heart beat." Our response, "What?!?!?!" We were in complete and utter disbelief and shock! Neither of us have twins in our family so we were completely surprised by the news. <br />
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Before the doctor began the ultrasound, we discussed the possibility of doing a VBAC for this pregnancy. I'd had a baby 7 years ago who was delivered via c-section so I wanted to try to have a natural delivery if I could. She said we'd monitor how the baby was doing throughout the pregnancy before we decided as a VBAC can come with some complications. Well, with the twins, it was definitely off the table! After she said it was twins, I just looked at her and said, "Well I guess we didn't need to have that conversation." She said she didn't want to risk not being able to get the babies delivered fast enough if there ended up being any complications. I was crushed, but knew it would be the best decision in the long run. <br />
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Because it was twins, we were automatically considered "high-risk", though there were no real threats at the beginning. She referred us to a Maternal-Fetal Specialist whom we scheduled an appointment with a couple weeks later. I'll go in to more detail about those appointments later.<br />
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Once our appointment was over, Matt and I still had to go to work and finish out our days. Driving to work is kind of a blur as I was still just overwhelmed with the whole news of being pregnant with twins. Once I got to my office, I knew there was no way I would be able to go the whole afternoon without saying something. I started to get very worked up and emotional (I think the news was finally settling in my mind) and I just asked everyone at my office if they had a minute because I wanted to tell them something. So through tears streaming down my face, I announced I was pregnant and we just found out it is twins. My bosses and co-workers were so relieved by the news (I think they thought I was going to say I had cancer or something since I was so overwhelmed). They all congratulated me and thus began The Journey of Twinsmith. :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17639523724638383204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787037486529169203.post-7223370193969436072014-12-21T15:57:00.001-08:002014-12-21T15:57:22.319-08:00My first ever blog postToday, I'm embarking on a new journey. I've never been much for journaling, though I've tried time and time again. I always set out with good intentions telling myself it'll be so neat to look back down the road and reminisce over all of the things that have happened in my life. The few journals I have kept and have been able to look back on are quite comical. Suffice it to say, I was a silly, lovestruck 20-something with her priorities all out of whack!<br />
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Now that I'm older and wiser (snicker, snicker), I feel like it might be a good time to try again since I'll have so much more to write about. I'm a wife going on 4+ years and a new mommy to twins so I've definitely got a few topics to write about that are worthwhile and much more worth remembering. So here it goes... <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17639523724638383204noreply@blogger.com0