Praise be to God for His incredible gifts

I remember...

2012-02-12T13:04:00.001-06:00

I remember the day that they got married, because I was there! I remember the wedding shower, I remember the meal afterwards and I still have the dress that I wore. My sister and I stood up in the wedding that brought Grandpa Herb into our family and made my Grandma happy again. They would have been married 17 years this April, but instead Friday morning she found him on the floor of the bathroom.

My heart broke at the news...

my poor Grandma- to have to bury two husbands, to go through this pain a second time, to have to be the one to find him this morning and to be all alone until my Dad could get over there and my aunt could get off of work. It's incredibly sad to think about. They lived together at his farm- where will she go, now?? Will she stay? Will she move? They had been married longer than Korey and I have known each other and I can't imagine being without him...

my poor little babies- this was the last remaining Grandpa that Korey and I had and now our kids will never remember him and how much he loved them. He truly loved my littlest cousin and my sister and I, as he had grandsons our age, but no grand-daughters, and Hailey found her way into that same heart on the day that she was born! But, it was really Jackson that brought out the best in Grandpa Herb. He knew how to get into the guys heart- he played tractors with him! My Grandpa owned a farm and loved to drive his tractor around doing "stuff" on it and he was absolutely overjoyed when he came to visit and the first thing that Jackson did was bring him a tractor and want to play. :) Maysen and Maelle never met their Grandpa Herb, but he was so proud of them. This year at Christmas he and my Grandma had flowers given in honor of them and he sent them a very generous gift when they were born and loved looking at the pictures of them that my Grandma would take home to him. You see, during the last year Grandpa Herb wasn't feeling too well. He was sick with one thing after another and just wasn't at his "best", so he didn't go many places. I think I'll always regret not just "stopping by" on Christmas this last year...
Tonight we will be at a wake celebrating and mourning the man that we called Grandpa Herb and it will be a sad evening...he will be missed!

just lovin' life

2012-02-07T06:01:00.002-06:00

I didn't want to leave you all with my sad post for too long...because I didn't stay there! If you know me, you know that I cried, but then I got out of the shower, got on with life and tried to figure out how to not make days like that happen to me ever again! (one of the first things I did was put my twin stroller in the car and am now taking that with me when I go to the gym so that I can carry my son) ;)

Part of having 4 little kiddos is just re-arranging my expectations...sometimes I just expect to accomplish too much and then I get frustrated, but when I can keep my expectations in check life seems to run so much more smoothly! I just have to be ok with the fact that it takes me all day to accomplish things that a normal mom could get done in a 1/2 hour and I have to just learn to sit back and enjoy all 4 of these adorable kids! :)

Instead of teaching my kids great and wonderfully grand things- we've been focusing a lot more on "family" and getting along with your siblings and simple things like being gentle and loving towards one another! One thing that I found from a mom of two sets of twins was to give your older kids a "buddy" and have each one of them take the lead with a younger one (she said it really helped when they got a little bigger and were running all over the place and you needed a little bit of peace)! The greatest thing is that I don't even have to ask my kids to "pick" a buddy- they already did! Jackson has always loved to hold his "may-may" and was the one to give her her nickname...

and Hailey loves her "ellie-belle" and was the one to give her her nickname!

(and apparently the feelings are mutual...hehehe) ;)

I think this picture is Maelle wondering why no one puts her in bed...I can't believe that I finally have a kid that falls asleep wherever and whenever! I totally LOVE it!! :)

After I put the babies down for their nap I came back to find this...

I don't know how I can stop from smiling all day, 'cause these kiddos just keep doing the funniest stuff all day! I'm pretty sure they are trying to make it their "job" to keep me on my toes and keep me laughing for the rest of my life! :)

Have a great Tuesday!!

I finally did it...

2012-02-06T07:38:00.000-06:00

last week was a rough week for me...not really sure why- the week before should have been harder, since it was more high stress, but I think it had something to do with coming off of a stressful week and just not really dealing with it all as it was happening, but for whatever the reason- I was having a rough week! It all came to a "head" on Thursday morning when I finally got back to the gym. All the kids were feeling better, I was feeling better and we just needed a day out of the house. At least I thought that's what we needed- Jackson on the other hand had a different idea about what he thought we needed and that was NOT going anywhere that he had to be separated from his mommy. (he has turned into quite the momma's boy lately- definitely dealing with some separation anxiety and all that...it's quite fun! :)) Anyways, I got all 4 kids out of the car, had a carseat in each hand, Hailey and Jackson were holding hands nicely and Hailey was holding onto my pocket and our walk to the front door was going so well- until Jackson realized where we were going, that is...then, it all broke down! Jack was reduced to tears and fell onto the ground crying and screaming and basically just refused to walk any further towards the doors! As my hands were already filled with babies I did what any good mom would do- I started inching him towards the door with my feet (the only thing that was free and able to do anything). Since we were still quite a ways from the door it was a good thing that an older lady took pity on me, grabbed a carseat and carried a baby into the gym for me. It didn't end there, though...Jack proceeded to almost have a panic attack as we got closer and closer to the daycare place and I ended up just leaving 1 screaming little boy and 1 very upset big sister (who kept repeating, "Jack's not happy, mama, he doesn't want to be here-we go home, now" over and over- as if I needed to be reminded as to what was going on) and 2 sleeping babies and running for the treadmill where my friend Jenie was waiting for me. I no more than got HI out of my mouth before the tears came and for the first time since I brought Maysen and Maelle home I broke down and cried. Unfortunately, once the dam is open it doesn't close so easily...I got home and got the kids into bed and cried even harder, turning into a blubbering mess on the floor of the shower!

I think I cried for all of us...I cried for Hailey because she's such a little girl herself, but she has to be my responsible one. I never wanted to make my oldest feel responsible for her siblings, but, honestly I don't have a choice! I just don't have enough hands. I cried for her because she still wants to be held and cuddled and carried places, but I just can't do it as often as she needs. I cried for her because I have her get herself dressed in the morning, not because she likes it or wants to, but because she has to- I have too many kids to dress to worry about what she's wearing! I cried mostly because she's had to grow up faster than I wanted her to and faster than she wanted to. In a lot of ways, she's still a baby herself and I often forget that and expect too much out of her!

I cried for Jackson because he is a baby, he doesn't understand. All he wants is his mommy and he still wants to nurse and he still wants to snuggle and be held and some attention, but he often gets the short end of the stick because he's such a good natured little guy. I find myself just making him play on his own, because he's good at it. I find myself saying, "no Jack, get down, mommy's feeding the babies" a lot more often than I'd like and I know that a lot of the tears and the naughtiness are just cries for attention and that breaks my heart!

I cried for Maysen because I, honestly, feel like I don't get to enjoy her as much as I'd like...on Thursday night I went out to dinner with some friends and took Maysen with me and I realized that it was the first time that I'd really held her and smiled at her and just enjoyed her, all by herself. She's often happier than her sister, so she's often the one that other people get to hold and the one that Korey "picks" at night! :)

I cried for Maelle because she's a good girl and I worry about her getting labeled the "bad" twin and the crabby one, because she's a little needier than her sister...I cried because she was so sick and seemed so small and vulnerable. I cried for her because she's the baby of our family, the littlest one and I'm never going to get that "baby of the family" feeling from her- it'll always be her and Maysen together!

To be completely honest, though, I just cried because it's hard! Because I have to rely on other people for everything, because I can't be tough all the time and do it myself, because I want to be the one that can always be there for someone else- I don't want to be the one who has to ask for help or to rely on others so I can do simple tasks! I knew that having four kids so young was going to be hard, I'd anticipated a lot of work and stress and tears, but I had no way of anticipating just how hard it would be to be stuck in my house all day long because even just going anywhere is so much work or being so isolated from my friends because it's too much to do a playdate and even just a lot of work to keep up with them on facebook or by email or phone! I had no idea that having twins would honestly be 4x's the work of a single baby...I hadn't anticipated all the things that I had taken for granted with one baby that I wouldn't be able to do with 2 babies...I had no idea just how long it would take to give 2 babies baths and dress 2 babies and just get anything done with 2 babies in the house. And, I really had no idea how hard it would be to want to sit and play with my older kids when the babies are asleep when I have loads of laundry that needs to be done, bathrooms that need to be cleaned, dishes that need to be washed, dinner that needs to be made, a house that needs to be picked up, floors that need to be swept and vacuumed, but the biggest thing is that I had no idea how hard it would be to nurse 2 babies and then want to touch anyone else for the rest of the day! I know that a lot of these things will get easier as the babies get bigger and we all get more and more used to our new roles in the family, but for now, I'm glad that I finally was able to get the tears out...because, it wasn't long into the shower and my pity party that Maysen and Maelle woke up and were ready to eat and I had to get out, be a mom and do it all without complaining or whining! :)

sorry...

2012-02-05T14:29:00.001-06:00

I apologize about the lack of posts lately! Our computer got a virus and it was out of commission for a while! (and, to be honest, with everything else going on- fixing it just didn't take first place in our life) :)

We've been a busy family around here, lately! On the up-side- Maysen and Maelle are both feeling a TON better and Maelle got a clean bill of health from the doctor on Wednesday, so we're all back to normal here!!

We've been enjoying all the nice weather by getting outside and making some snowmen. We even took a walk yesterday with our quadruple stroller and Korey and I both got a good workout pushing it around the slushy roads! :) I'm thinking a few more walks and I'll have all this baby weight worked off!!

both the older kiddos were just so happy to finally be let out of the house! they ran around like crazy and threw huge fits when it was time to go in...too bad for all of us that winter is going to last a little longer!

Hailey thought this one was a kitty snowman, but in reality Korey put big ears on the Jackson snowman...hehehe... :)

Jack kept trying to push the snowmen over...what a little bugger, eh?! :)

Thanks to all of you that prayed for our littlest baby! We appreciated the prayers and she improved so quickly that I was completely blown away!

2 months

2012-02-05T14:05:00.001-06:00

Maysen and Maelle are 2 months (10 weeks) old!!

Our little May-May (her sister wasn't happy getting her picture taken)

both girls are starting to hold their heads up better and are getting a lot stronger with their legs, too!

sleeping is still a huge part of both girls days and they enjoy doing it wherever and whenever- they're such good babies :)

Maelle is smiling like crazy these days! (as is Maysen) :)

I'm so proud of my two little girlies on how far they've come and how much they've grown in the past 2 months! They are such great, easy going babies, they rarely cry and even their crabby times can easily be relieved by just holding them. They both weigh around 9lbs, with Maysen weighing a few ounces more, but Maelle seems to be in a growth spurt, so I'm sure she'll be catching up soon :)

the littlest Konietzki

2012-02-01T10:39:00.002-06:00

last week our little baby Maelle gave us quite a scare and got to spend a few days in the hospital- getting some spoiling from her mommy and the nurses!

It was just a God-send that it was last Tuesday and my mom came up to help us out, because she immediately saw the signs of pneumonia and scared me enough that I called the doctor and got her in right away...she never came home from the doctor's office- she just went straight to the hospital. In fact, it was another huge God-send that a good friend of mine from highschool is the nurse at our office, because she rode with me to the hospital to keep an eye on Maelle and keep the oxygen in her nose and I think that had she not come it would have been a ride in the ambulance for her, so Amanda not only saved me a lot of fear and tears and a very scary ride, but a lot of $. (that one was huge for Korey) :)

it took them 5 pokes to be able to find a vein good enough to hold her IV and she was such a trooper- or was just that sick, because she barely cried!

the hardest part for both of us (mainly me...) was being away from Maysen. For the first day we didn't want to bring Maysen up because we didn't want to have her get sick, but by the second day she was already starting to get pretty sick, so she spent a lot of time up there with Maelle and I after that!

the bed looked so big...but, with both babies it seemed a lot less huge and daunting!

Our church sent over some balloons and a cute little stuffed doggie for her and Hailey and Jack made her two get well soon snowmen! :) (it's a good thing the ladies in the office sent two balloons, because as soon as we got home Hailey and Jack became convinced that the balloons were meant for them and two balloons= less crying and fighting) :)

we were very well taken care of in the hospital and Hailey and Jack were super well taken care of by their Grandma's and Grandpa's, but we were all happy to be home!!

I think my baby girls really missed each other, because they got home and immediately snuggled up in their pack 'n play, grabbed hands and fell fast asleep!

I just thank God that He had everything under control and had it all planned out so well from the beginning! He provided my mom's wisdom to have me take her in before she got any sicker, He provided her there to stay with the other two kiddos, so I could take the babies to the doctor and she was able to then take Hailey and Jackson home with her so that we didn't have to worry about them while we were trying to get our littlest one well! After it is all said and done I can truly say, "thanks be to God who has not rejected my prayer"!!

my baby girl turned 3

2012-01-22T09:49:00.002-06:00

and, we celebrated like crazy- starting out with snowman pancakes!

I, honestly, can NOT believe how big and grown up she's getting these days...it almost makes me sad to have her getting so big!
she's still our little princess, though.

We all had so much fun with Hailey's princess party on Saturday!! She totally enjoyed all the attention, presents, getting to dress up cute, but her favorite thing was having all of her favorite people in one place! She is such a social little bug and she just loved having all of our family here to celebrate with her.

Happy Birthday, Hailey!

2012-01-22T09:47:00.001-06:00

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Hailey turns 3

2012-01-22T09:41:00.001-06:00

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8 weeks

2012-01-20T15:28:00.002-06:00

it's true...time flies when you're having fun :)

aren't they adorable all snuggled together?? I just can't get enough of how cute they are sleeping together...
Maysen Ann

Maelle Kay

I hope you...

2012-01-18T11:04:00.004-06:00

"I hope you have kids just like you!" I don't know about any of you, but I personally have always hated it when I hear parent's saying that to their children! I know that my children are challenging and I know that they drive me crazy sometimes...but, I wish for better for them! I never want Hailey to have to go through times when she wonders what to do about her sassy daughter, I never want Jack to have to chase after his son for endless hours, I don't want Maysen and Maelle to have to be up all night with crying babies that can't be soothed- I know better than to think that each of them won't go through times that they will do all of the above, but I wish I could make it so that they didn't have to! Instead, I can honestly say that I hope my kids have kids just like them! I hope that Hailey has a daughter who is sweet and kind, who loves to help and makes her want to just squeeze her when she walks by. I hope that she gets a little girl who loves her Daddy more than anything else and who cries for her Daddy when she's hurt or sick. But, most of all I pray that she will have a daughter who will pray to Jesus at night just like she does! And for Jack, I hope that he gets a little boy just like him- one who has the most adorable smile, who blows kisses to everyone, who gives the best hugs and who just wants his mommy when he's sick! I hope he gets a little guy who loves to be outside and follow his Daddy around "helping" him, I hope he gets a little one with lots of energy so that he can enjoy all the silly antics and crazy stuff that he does for laughs! For Maysen I hope that she gets a sweet and lovable little girl who just curls into her body when she holds her, who loves to just be held and is always comforted by her mommy's arms and who smiles as easily and quickly as she does! And, for Maelle, I hope that she gets a sweet little girl who loves to have her sister around as much as she does and who nurses as well and sleeps as well as her! In fact, mostly I hope she gets the privilege of nursing her sweet little girl and seeing her milk drunk face when she's finished! :)

I guess I do hope that my kids have kids just like them- even the bad aspects, because I love all of my kids and consider it such a privilege to be their mommy and have grown and matured so much because of them and I want them to have that same privilege!

7 weeks

2012-01-13T18:41:00.002-06:00

and smiling up a storm...well, at least Maysen is! Maelle is still a little behind in that category, but she is the youngest one, so I guess we can't get too down on her :)

the girls still LOVE to snuggle...aren't they adorable together?? I just love the fact that they like to be close and they don't care at all if they're hanging out on top of each other.

did you notice that Maelle is kinda smiling in the first picture and that she's holding her sister's head?? I think she just likes to be super close to her sister and all snuggled in :)

kinda scary...

2012-01-11T18:59:00.002-06:00

Today Korey and I did something that we should have done long ago...something kinda scary...something that will completely and utterly change our lives!

this...

we cut up our credit cards!

(right after we canceled them, apparently it was just fun to cut them up)

Korey was given a book by a co-worker by Dave Ramsey and it definitely was a huge eye opener for us both about our finances. We don't have any dedt, other than our house, but we have never had a budget that we lived by (we'd tried before and always went back to the trusty credit card and even though we paid it off each month it was too easy to spend $ when we didn't have to physically watch it leaving our pocket) and it seemed like each month left us wondering what happened to all of our $. Korey's always been a saver by nature, but we never had a specific savings plan- never really a plan at all, actually! So, now, we have an all cash specific plan for our lives and we both feel like we have a new lease on life. Ok, I gotta admit- it's a little scary and a little intimidating and a little sad to say goodbye to certain perks of not having to think about where your money goes. But, it's also incredibly exciting to think of paying off our house, saving $ for our kids college educations, our own retirement, and knowing exactly where our $ is going each and every month! :)

4 kids...2 and under

2012-01-11T14:18:00.006-06:00

Really is CRAZY! There's just no other way to describe what goes on at our house...it's loud, it's wild, it's funny, it's full of tears, laughter, basketfuls of dirty laundry, spit up, snotty noses and everyone needing their butt wiped at the same time and that's only in the first 5 minutes of the day!

Today at the gym I was taking a shower and I overheard two ladies comparing the ages of their kids and almost bragging about how many they'd had in how many years and all that they'd survived...it made me chuckle at some of their crazy storeis! :)(and really laugh out loud at what they thought was a lot of kids in a few years...it's all about perspective, isn't it?!) But, it really made me think that I should really be documenting some of the craziness over here, because at some point it's going to be super funny and my kids are going to enjoy hearing about it...but, I'm afraid that I'll forget, in my sleep deprived 1/2 working brain I seem to have a hard time remembering that I actually have to let the dog back in after I let her out to go pee, or to take all my kids with me when I go somewhere...somedays I can barely remember what my kids names are- I called Jackson Jason the other day...I named the kid and have called him Jackson for 16 months, now, but apparently remembering his name is just too much to expect out of my sleep deprived brain :) Actually, the worst was when I "switched" the girls and all day long called them by the wrong name- I didn't even realize it until it was time to put them to bed and "Maelle" didn't like sleeping on her tummy, like she usually does and then I realized that the one I thought was Maelle did have her toenails painted...oops!

One of the craziest days that we've had around here was last Friday when Hailey was so sick and I was home alone, I was feeding the girls and Hailey started to throw up and I started to set the girls down to help her, but it became increasingly urgent that I get myself quickly disengaged as Jackson found the bottle of baby tylenol and proceeded to expertly open the child safe lock on the top and spill a whole bottle of little tablets all over the floor and then try to eat them...I sprang into action, just about dumping the girls off my lap and scrambling to pick up the tablets before he got too many of them (he's really quick), but in my haste I didn't realize that I left one of the girls(honestly, I can't even remember, anymore which one it was) a little too close to the edge of the ottoman and in her anger she managed to roll just enough to propel herself off...so, I had one crying, puking girl, one baby who fell off the couch and one little man who was trying to commit suicide by tylenol! by the time I got the tylenol cleaned up, the baby picked up, Hailey cleaned up and was able to sit down and finish nursing (about a half hour later) I realized that one of the main reasons I may not have had the baby blues this time around is that I'm, honestly, too busy to cry! I don't have the time to sit and feel sorry for myself or sit and even think about myself, because it's go, go, go- give 110% until I fall exhausted into bed at night and at that point I'm just way too tired to think! :) (a blessing in disguise?? could be, as one of my biggest worries was post-pardum depression)

why is it that 1 Dad can watch 3 little girls and 1 Mom can barely keep up with 1 little boy?? Our little Jack has been running circles around me, lately! It's definitely a good thing that he's so cute, otherwise he might not have even made it through today! ;) (or yesterday, or the day before...) The other day I found something in his mouth, removed it and still had a hard time figuring out what it was...that is, until Hailey very helpfully informed me that it was dog food and he really liked it!! Yikes! Really- how long had he been eating this stuff?? Apparently he felt that if Allie was going to do him such a great favor in eating all the food that he didn't want- he was going to help her out by eating the food that she didn't want! :)
Yesterday we went to try and get some pictures taken- mostly for Hailey's 3rd birthday party, but I figured if I was going to go through all the trouble of getting all the kids there I wanted to get a picture of all 4 of them...I think we may have gotten one that is 1/2 way decent and it took us an entire hour and lots and lots of coaxing from my mom, the photographer and I! In fact, we had finally gotten both of the babies calmed down, Hailey and Jack in position and all was going well...that is, until Jackson decided to drop his basketball (the bribery we used to get him to sit down for the picture) on Maysen's head and we had to start all over again...good thing I have such a great and patient friend who takes photos! :) Speaking of time consuming things...today we decided to capitalize on the warm weather by taking a little walk! We started getting ready to go at 11:30 and we finally made it out the door to try and get the kids in the stroller at 12 and managed to get the stroller put together and all the kids in it by 12:30! (yup, you do the math- that's an entire hour to just take a little 1/2 hour walk- doesn't really seem worth it, does it??)
I think one of the best "stories" that I have is from Monday morning at the gym...once again it took me an entire 1/2 hour and a lot of sweat and hard work to get the kids in the car and ready to go (but, it was TOTALLY worth it to get a good work out in and spend some time alone), I finally got all 4 kids wrangled into the gym and I went to swipe my card to sign in and as I turned my back I heard Jackson screaming bloody murder, turned around and saw that a lady had literally run him over without even a backwards glance (apparently she was in a huge hurry to get to the treadmill...)! Before I could even debate about saying anything to her, Hailey piped up and said, "That my brother. You hurt him. You need be nice and say sorry!" I'm pretty sure that I should have reprimanded Hailey for speaking so "naughtily" to an adult, but I was actually fairly proud of her for sticking up for her little brother- and, I'm sure that this lady learned her lesson, because Hailey is soooo incredibly loud and I think that every single person in the whole gym heard her- or maybe they just heard Jackson crying, but whichever it was we all created quite the scene!

my 4 kids

2012-01-08T19:38:00.002-06:00

when I realized that all the kids were dressed up so cute for church today, I figured I'd better take a picture- 'cause it just might not ever happen again! :)

then Jack got tired of being a part of it and I had to just get my 3 girls! :)
then after church I had to get some pictures of just Maysen and Maelle, because they slept through church today and didn't even get out of their carseats and I had to prove that I did get them all dressed up cute! :)

and, lucky me- Maysen even gave a little smile for the camera! Her first one caught on camera! :)

I love my 4 kids, even if having all 4 of them means that my life is extremely crazy and loud and exhausting. They are so worth every minute of it!

one sick little girl!

2012-01-06T13:09:00.003-06:00

I feel like we have sort of been hit by a lot of stuff, lately, but I think mostly it is just the fact that Korey went back to work and real life finally set in for me and I realized that real life is rather chaotic! :) go figure- life with 4 little kids is chaotic...huh, who woulda thought!! ;)

Anyways, last night Hailey woke up throwing up twice and it didn't get any better as the day progressed- she is one sick little girl! In fact, if you know Hailey this picture should prove to you how sick she is- it is taken at 10 in the morning, downstairs in our basement, the tv is on, Jackson is playing with trucks in the same room, and one of the girls was crying in my arms...and she fell asleep in the middle of it all!!! She's sleeping again, now, and hopefully will sleep away the sickness. It's so hard to see your kids sick and suffering- especially when you know you can't do a thing about it- except hold her hair back, rub her back and let her throw up in the bucket you're holding! :(

our "little bugger"

2012-01-06T07:33:00.002-06:00

that is what Hailey has been calling her little brother lately! :) I think she says it affectionately, but one can never truly tell...he has been in a lot of trouble these days!

it's a good thing he's so cute, huh?!

Hailey's been trying to make Jackson into a "prince" by crowing him with bubbles in the bathtub- too bad she has bad aim, 'cause he usually ends up looking more like a pirate or bearded man than a prince ;)

who can possibly look cute with food on his face other than a little boy?? (actually, I took this picture to prove to Korey that he could eat dinner without making a HUGE mess) :)

I sure am enjoying this little bugger, lately, even though he's been in a lot of trouble :) It's sad that he's already 16 months old...I feel like he's growing up way too quickly.

6 weeks!

2012-01-06T07:21:00.002-06:00

our little girls are 6 weeks old today...and, we're learning new stuff each day! :)

Yesterday, for the first time I got the two of them in my wrap and was able to make dinner "hands free" while they slept away!

isn't that just crazy how snuggled in they are?? And, they absolutely loved it- both were super crabby and were crying, but the minute I got them in the wrap they settled down, snuggled into each other and fell asleep!

sorry for all the weird pictures, but I just thought it was so cute that I wanted you all to be able to see what I saw...I just thought they were so adorable all cozy and sleeping! they were, honestly, so close that I kept checking to make sure that they were both still breathing! :)

I know 6 weeks isn't a huge milestone or anything, but I'm just happy to report that we all survived the first 6 weeks of these little girls life! :) And, I'm praying that the next 6 are a little easier and filled with more sleep for everyone!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2012-01-02T14:24:00.002-06:00

My Dad had a birthday at the end of December and being the sweet Grandpa that he is he asked if he could come up and visit his grandkids for the day to celebrate! :)

that's why I love my Dad so much- he enjoys being a Grandpa!

(and, consequently, my kids love having him as a Grandpa) :) I love you, Dad! I can't wait to celebrate more and more birthdays with you!!

Thanks for always being there for me and my family! You are an amazing Dad and I think you're an amazing Grandpa. Hailey and Jack love you so much and Maysen and Maelle are going to love you just as much!!

Happy Birthday!

highlights

2011-12-31T20:18:00.005-06:00

the year 2011 was a big one for the Konietzki family- with a lot of changes for everyone!
Korey and I celebrated 6 years of marriage- and, to "celebrate" we went on a weekend long "babymoon" and I got my first batch of flowers- ever!!

Hailey was potty trained!! Hooray!! :) (she also gave up her nukkie, learned to dress herself, put her own shoes on, buckle herself up, get herself a snack and lots and lots of other things)

my belly grew and grew and grew to extremely huge proportions :)

then, I "delivered" what I consider the greatest accomplishment of my whole life- twins, done all natural, only 6 minutes apart and a whopping 4lbs 13oz a piece!! :)

Korey still considers the day that we brought home our twin daughters and became a family of 6 the proudest day of his life! :) Guess that's why I love the man so much!! :)

our little baby boy- our little Korey clone- turned 1 year old this year!! (and learned to talk and walk and climb and screech and fight and all sorts of other things) :)

I hope and pray that you had as wonderfully exciting, but hopefully, a little less eventful of a year than our little family! :) (and here's to me praying for a slightly less eventful year come 2012)

5 weeks

2011-12-30T07:51:00.002-06:00

our little m & m's are 5 weeks old, now, and here's a little bit of what they've been up to:

they love to sleep on their tummy's and I love to let them...mostly because it makes them happy and they fall alseep mostly on their own when they're on their tummy and I don't really have the time to rock them to sleep! :) (plus, you have to admit that a baby all scrunched up with her legs under her is a pretty cute thing to look at)

they're getting a little too big to fit in the swing or the bouncy seat together...although, I still can't resist putting them in there together- they're just too cute all snuggled in!

they are still incredibly loved by all of us!! we all, including Jackson, have a hard time keeping our hands off of them- they've found a way to squeeze themselves into all of our hearts! :)

these little girls are growing incredibly fast...almost too fast for me! I'm excited for them to get bigger and stronger and to be able to sleep through the night, but I'm definitely loving the snuggly baby stage, right now. They're so incredibly fun to snuggle with, right now, and I just am loving how well they both fit in my arms at the same time!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-29T09:43:00.002-06:00

this year we were incredibly blessed to share Christmas with Korey's brother- Will and his family! Their kids are almost the same age as ours and they had so much fun "celebrating" and playing together! It was just incredibly fun to watch them interact and play.

Jace is a year older than Hailey and Cole is 3 months younger than Jackson, so they really were able to have a good time together.

We spent the day after Christmas celebrating at my Mom and Dad's house!

our children were incredibly spoiled there and I was even able to take a nap on the couch while everyone else entertained my kids...definitely the most relaxed Christmas celebration of the year! :)

we even got the kids a few presents from Korey and I- nothing too huge or extravagant, but it was fun to see them excited about them, nonetheless!

Everyone enjoyed hanging out with Aunt Kelly! More than anything else I appreciated so much all the help that we got this year! I definitely would not have been able to handle Christmas as well if we had not had so many people willing to run after and snuggle with our children!

Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa K's was super fun, too! Hailey got to wear her new Christmas dress and she was incredibly pumped about it. When she got to put it on in the morning she ran around the house excitedly telling all of us how cute she looked and how much she loved her beautiful new dress! :)

All in all, we had some wonderful Christmas celebrations! :) We are so blessed to belong to two wonderful families that spoil us and our children!

1 month

2011-12-29T09:26:00.002-06:00

I, honestly, can hardly believe that our babies have been here for an entire month already!!

Maysen is in pink and Maelle is in purple

aren't they cute little girls?? I just LOVE these little flowers...ok, huge flowers! ;)

Maelle Kay~ 7lbs 2oz

Maysen Ann~ 7lbs 2oz

the voice of love

2011-12-23T07:31:00.004-06:00

a little update...

2011-12-23T06:54:00.002-06:00

sorry to leave you all with the depressing post a few days ago...I guess I was having a very exhausting day when I composed it!! And, actually, that day my friend ended up not being able to come over and help out and it turned out to be a God thing! He does always know what I need and gives it to me when I need it. It was a great day for the kids and I to just relax and recharge our batteries- the girls were fairly well behaved and ate very well for me and the older kiddos really responded well to just having our "normal" routine back and not having anyone else in our house! But, most of all, it was the perfect day, because it was the first time since I brought the girls home that I had cracked open my Bible and spent some time with the Lord. It's amazing how hard it is to take some time out to read your Bible when you have another person in the house, it just seems to be busier than when I'm home alone. The Lord brought me full circle on Wednesday and brought me back to a verse that He had impressed upon my heart when I was pregnant with Maysen and Maelle and it, again, spoke to me and gave me the encouragement and the extra push to keep going that I desperately needed that day!

Isaiah 41:9,10

"You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest regions, and said to you, 'you are my servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my right hand.'"

I know that my attitude had not been right about mothering my beautiful little brood of children and that verse was just the reminder that I needed that God chose this for me and He would not forsake me, but would help me and give me the strength to complete the task set before me!

In fact, yesterday, He gave me the grace to figure out how to tandem nurse my two littlest girls and that has been a huge time saver and given me a little bit more of my life back ;) (plus, it wears them out- as evidenced by this picture...)

I just threw this picture in because, how can you resist two little girls all snuggle in a bouncy seat?? :) both of my other two LOVED this bouncy seat, but neither of the girls really seem to like it...they tolerate it as long as they're together, but otherwise they don't really care much for it!

snuggle time!

more snuggles...just love times like this when I get to take a time out and just snuggle with a few of my kiddos! :)

since mommy has been so busy caring for the twins, lately, Hailey and Jack have really "bonded" (if you can call it that, when one minute they're snuggling on the chair and the next one of them is screaming and crying, because they're fighting...I guess I'll take what I can get) ;)

God has truly been gracious to our family and the transition to 6 has been a lot easier than I had been thinking it would be...yes, there are days where I want to throw in the towel, but there were days that made me want to quit my job as a mom before I had the twins and, yes, life here is crazy and chaotic (and noisy, if you ask my mom ;)), but I kind of like it! I don't even think I'd know what to do with a completely quiet house and I just might become bored if I didn't have so many little ones to chase after! (hahaha...ok, that might be a slight exageration, but it could happen...) :)

today...

2011-12-21T07:09:00.002-06:00

is the first day that I have to rely on a friend to help me out with the kids, rather than Korey or my sister and it's a little scary and a little humbling!

there have been a lot of humbling things happening to me lately...so, I guess this is just par for the course, but it's just so hard to accept help sometimes! I like to be the kind of person who can do it all myself, I like to put myself out there as someone who can handle it all- I don't like to admit my weaknesses or just admit that I can't handle it all.

I think that is why God gave me 4 little tiny kids!

Korey went back to work on Monday and I almost cried, but life was too crazy to have time for that...my sister left yesterday afternoon and I went for a walk with the dog and cried...I think I cried because I was tired, but selfishly I cried because life around here is just a lot for me to handle on my own!

there are moments like this- where I get to snuggle with one of my kids...

(like when my mom and sister are here holding the other 3) but there are more moments when I am just running in 4 different directions, have 4 little kids needing me, crying or whining, begging for my time and there's only so many arms, a mom has only so much room on her lap, I only have so much time, and there's definitely not enough sleep to go around!

Last night Korey stayed up for a few hours with Maelle, who was just crabby and not wanting to sleep, and it did wonders for my body and my mind to get some actual sleep. I so appreciate him and am so thankful that I was exhausted enough to just sleep regardless of how guilty I felt with him up and me sleeping, because I did need it and it was good that I got some rest in the night, because at 3 Maysen woke up and decided to be cranky, so I was well rested and able to take care of her! It's amazing how much more time and energy it takes to care for the twins than it did for Hailey and Jack! (and, I know that it's not just me forgetting how much work the other two were...it, honestly is more work!)

"love"

2011-12-21T06:46:00.002-06:00

I really can't get over how much our older kids love our younger kids! It just blows my mind and makes me incredibly thankful. I don't think I begged God for anything more than to just have Hailey and Jackson not be jealous and angry when the girls came home, and God graciously answered "yes" to that prayer!! They not only aren't, but they are as in love with Maysen and Maelle as we are! :)

(yes, that is Hailey wearing a Packer jersey under a princess dress...we don't even bat an eye when she comes up with her own outfits anymore) ;)

Even Jackson is really in love with his sisters...he's always wanting to help us burp them and feed them and hold them! It's definitely a little "dangerous" for our girls and keeps me more on my toes trying to keep him from hurting them on accident, but I just love it, anyways!!

Thank you, Lord, for giving all of our children a love for one another!

Great Grandmas

2011-12-18T09:48:00.002-06:00

our little girls are blessed to have been born into such great families...and one of the biggest blessings that they have had is to meet three of their Great Grandmothers!

my Dad's mom is on the left and my mom's mom is on the right!

(I think both of them are happy that we finally have enough "babies" to go around...one for each of them- no fighting this time...hehehe)

4 generations of the "Breit" family- this is Darlene's mom with all of our kiddos!
Not only are Maysen and Maelle a huge hit with their great-grandma's, but I'm pretty sure that Maysen and Maelle love them as well! Everytime they're around the girls just snuggle into their arms and sleep the day away!! :)

the devil comes in 2T

2011-12-15T18:55:00.004-06:00

so, I guess it's a good thing none of our kids are wearing size 2T, right now!! ;) hahaha...on some days I'm almost convinced that the devil does reside at our house and, to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure it would be much crazier if he did...

Thankfully, a dear friend loaned us her swing, just in time for some really crabby little girls and...they love, love, love it!! We just snuggled them in the wraps that she also loaned us and squashed them into the swing and it worked like a charm!

Thankfully, for Korey and I both, not every day is like today at the Konietzki house! Somedays are downright pleasant...

like the day Hailey and Korey got matching tattoos ;) (aren't they adorable?!)

and, the time we were able to snap this cute picture of all 4 of the kiddos in front of the Christmas tree!

and, when Jackson was nicely petting Maelle...that's always rare when he's not trying to touch her face, poke his fingers in her ears, touch her eyes or in some other way show her a little bit too much love! :)

or this time, when Maelle was sleeping so nicely as Maysen licked her face!

somedays Korey can even sit and bottle feed one of the babies without having to run around and chase after two other kids- break up fights or in some other way play referee!

a few times Hailey and Jackson have even sat nicely and eaten their lunch or supper at the table while Korey and I feed Maysen and Maelle!

and, on really great days the older kids even play nicely (aka- they aren't fighting over toys or trying to kill one another) while we feed the littler girls!

I'm so thankful that God did bless us with Hailey, Jackson, Maysen and Maelle...there was a time in my life where I honestly didn't know if I would ever have kids and I begged and pleaded and prayed to God for a baby and I'm so thankful that He answered that prayer with a yes! But, to be perfectly honest, I do often find myself wondering why He had to answer that prayer so quickly... ;) But, since he did I'm extremely thankful that He also gave me a husband like Korey! I feel like together we can do anything and we can handle anything- without him, though, I'd be lost and unable to handle all of this craziness- he keeps me laughing and brings some sanity to my life!

Christmas time is here again...

2011-12-10T20:16:00.002-06:00

and, thanks to our great neighbor, Terrae, we were able to go pick up a Christmas tree with Hailey and Jackson this afternoon!

even though it was super cold outside we all had a good time
we searched and searched for the right tree and each time Korey or I picked one out and asked Hailey what she thought she'd say "no, not this one" :)

luckily, we finally did get her to agree on one!

Jack and his daddy

Hailey loved helping her Daddy pull the tree out

I love my little "older" kiddos! :) They're so much fun!

when we got the tree home we set to work decorating it! (well, after we fed the babies and ate dinner- everything takes a LOT longer these days) ;)

Hailey had a good time putting ornaments on it and Jackson...well, as you can tell he had more fun pulling on the tree skirt and ripping ornaments off of the tree than putting them on! :)

This morning Korey and I were saying that we just didn't really feel like it was Christmas around here, so hopefully having the tree will help with that!! :) At least it smells a lot like Christmas around here!

2 weeks old!

2011-12-09T19:32:00.002-06:00

My baby girls are 2 weeks old today...and I honestly can hardly believe it. Where did the time go?? I have no idea, but here are some cute pictures of my sweet princesses! Enjoy!!

I really thought that having twins would mean that I never get to snuggle with one baby at a time...little did I know that snuggling with two sweet girls at one time was even better than just one!
2 week photo shoot with Aunty Fysh...

I absolutely love all my girls! I'm so happy to be a mom to 3 sweet princesses and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fact that Hailey is in love with her sisters! This evening Maysen was awake and Hailey said, "momma- let's play with the baby- you tickle her and Hailey will sing to her" ;)

"best friends in the making"

I pray that my girls will grow up and love each other and "need" each other as much as they do now!

the day before these girls were born Korey and I were so nervous about how we would handle life with twins and, honestly, one of the last things I said to the doctor before I pushed out Maysen was that I didn't want twins and wasn't ready for them, but these girls have been an incredible blessing! They have brought our whole family closer together and, especially me, closer to the Lord. I know that at times life will be even crazier than it is now(even though it feels like it can't possibly get any crazier) and we probably won't sleep through the night for at least 4 more years, but I wouldn't trade this time and the chance to be these little girls mom for anything in the world! (I wouldn't mind a full night's sleep, though...) ;) God blessed me incredibly when I had Maysen and Maelle and for that I will always be thankful!

When each of my kids were born I picked a verse for them and the girls are no exception, here's the one I chose for them:

"From the abundance of His grace God blessed us again and again" John 1:16
and, like all the other verses I chose for my kids, this one fits my sweet little blessings perfectly!

aunty fysh

2011-12-09T06:48:00.003-06:00

My sister is leaving this afternoon and we are all so sad here to see her go! :( She came the week before the girls were born to get us "ready" and to watch the older kiddos while we were in the hospital and then she came for the last week so that Korey could save up some vacation time!) All of us have had so much fun with her. I've really enjoyed having someone to talk to and someone to help me out during the day...Hailey and Jack have totally enjoyed all the spoiling and the fun that only an aunt can give...and Korey has enjoyed being able to sleep through a few of the later evening feedings and letting her take those for him!

she helped us decorate our house for Christmas and then entertained the kiddos with window markers! :)

she helped Hailey hold the babies and very patiently allowed her to help her give one of them a bottle! (on more than one occasion)

the m and m's are going to miss her the most, though- they got lots and lots of cuddles and snuggles from their aunty fysh! (not to mention tons and tons of pictures)

It was fun to have someone else around to take some pictures of all the kids, 'cause I've been so "sleepy" that I've had a hard time remembering my kids names, let alone getting out the camera to document some of the cute little things they've done in the past few weeks!

I'm so appreciative of all the help that we've received from our friends and family, lately, but it was just so special and fun for us all to have my sister stay with us for the week! Not everyone would wanna come over and put up with an entire family of sleep deprived people, but my very patient sister dealt with it admirably well! I know that she's looking forward to getting back to her house and her peace and quiet, but I think there's a part of her that's gonna miss all the craziness of the Konietzki house!! hehehe!! :) We love you, Aunty Fysh! Thanks is not enough for all the help that you gave us! thank you, thank you, thank you!!

playing with the babies...

2011-12-06T12:07:00.003-06:00

Last night the girls were having a little bit of "awake time" so their aunty fysh took advantage of it and snapped a few fun pictures!

aren't they adorable??

Maysen was being a little more photogenic than Maelle, so she got a few individual photos...Maelle just wanted to be held or snuggled close to her sister- she wanted nothing to do with photos of just her! :)

I just can't get over how adorable these two are...I know I'm slightly biased, but twins are pretty fun to take pictures of!

apparently Maysen was a little hungry, 'cause she kept trying to eat Maelle's head!

our neighbor knit them these adorable little apple and plum hats and I'm just so impressed with her ability! I love creative people! :)

and, I love when they share their creations with my kiddos!

Happy Tuesday :)

family fun

2011-12-03T13:47:00.003-06:00

Last night Hailey and Jackson came back from their grandparent's house and it was amazing to be together as a family of 6! We took advantage of my mom and dad being there and had them take a picture.

this one is by far my favorite...we were all laughing so hard

this morning Daddy and Hailey and Jack had some fun playing!

since you've been inundated with pictures of the twins, here's one cute one of our little boy! :) I think this is indicative of his life!

Thank you for praying for our family- we are doing wonderful and honestly just loving having our girls here...and, I'm LOVING not being pregnant anymore! :) I was finally able to "take back my house" and do the stuff that I've missed and that Korey had to take over so that I could grow our little girls and we are both extremely happy about that!

1 week

2011-12-02T12:24:00.002-06:00

Our girls are a week old today!

sleeping beauties- can you tell which is which?!

we really have a hard time with it, too, but Maysen is on the right and Maelle is on the left (when looking at them)
we're starting to notice some cute little special twin things about them, but by far the best is that when we put them to sleep at night even if we put them apart they always somehow manage to be sleeping absolutely as close as possible by the time we have to wake them for their next feeding. It's so incredibly cute that I have taken a million pictures of it! :)

the girls 1st photo shoot!

2011-11-29T21:47:00.002-06:00

I love how our hospital takes pictures of the baby's before they send them home! :) it's so fun for the parent's to have some adorable looking pictures of our kiddos!!

Maysen is in the pink and Maelle is in the brown!
they were so adorable today when we took these pictures...Maysen kept trying to eat Maelle's head and Maelle kept grabbing at Maysen's ears or nose or anything else she could get her little fingers on!

don't you just love how they're snuggling, though??

Both Maysen and Maelle got some photos of just themselves, too!
Here's my little "fiesty one" Maelle Kay!

and here's a picture of my little laid back baby doll- Maysen Ann

aren't they just adorable little dolls??

so...the reason we had the photo shoot today is that we're probably gonna be able to go home tomorrow!! Yay!! I'm extremely excited and can't believe it's come up so quickly. :) This morning the nurse and I decided that we'd try to feed one baby and let the other one have a bottle and then let the other baby nurse the next time and the girls have done so well with that new "plan" that they both got to loose their IV's and they both are getting in more than the amount of "food" that the doctor's wanted for them! Right now Maelle is doing her carseat check- a 1 1/2 hour test to see how they can handle the stress of the carseat. Maysen will do hers after the next feeding (at 11), so I'm hoping that I'll at least be able to sleep a tiny bit tonight, but it's not looking too likely! (they have to come in about every 5 min to see how they look in the carseat and chart their heart rate, breathing and a few other things...kind of annoying and not quite so conducive to sleep as one would like) :)

a day in the NICU

2011-11-28T19:36:00.002-06:00

Tonight my family came up to visit me and the girls...it was AMAZING!! I don't think you realize how much you'll miss your kids until you're away from them. I think that by far the worst part of the NICU stay with the twins has been feeling so torn between being with Hailey and Jackson or being with Maysen and Maelle. (not to mention that I just miss Korey) I know that I need to be up in the NICU with my little m and m's to help them get better at breastfeeding and get closer to being able to come home, but it is hard to be away from the rest of my family.

So, it was a welcome sight to see them coming off of the elevator this evening!

they enjoyed hanging out up here, too- it has a fun toy room and Hailey loved the excuse to sit and watch videos on our laptop! Jackson on the other hand just enjoyed climbing around and exploring the room and making mommy and daddy chase him around to keep him from getting tangled in all the wires! :)

Maysen sucked on her thumb this evening...I guess she wanted to show off since her Daddy was here visiting! :)

we had to start supplementing today...it was a little bit of a sad decision for me, but I do want to do what is best for my girls and I want to do whatever it takes to get them to come home as soon as possible! Plus, on a "fun" note- it gives Korey a chance to feed his baby girls- something he had never gotten a chance to do with either of the other two kids! (here he is burping and feeding Maelle- Maysen's in the background getting burped by the nurse)

doesn't he look like a pro who's done it a million times?? :)

It even gave Hailey a chance to be a part of the action! She absolutely LOVED being able to hold the bottle and bragged on the way down the elevator about how she fed the babies! (she kinda looks like a pro, too, doesn't she??) She's helping Daddy feed Maelle and then the nurse feed Maysen.

In case you're wondering...the nurse willingly filled in for me by feeding Maysen her bottle so that I could get a few snuggles in with my baby Jack! :) I think he missed his mommy and I know that his mommy missed him!!

we're hoping that the girls IV's will be able to come out tomorrow and that their billirubin counts stay the same or get lower so that the blankets can come off soon, too. Other than that they're monitoring them for apnea and or shallow breathing (Maysen had one episode last night where she stopped breathing and needed some stimulation to get her going again), but unless they get significantly worse in that area we shouldn't have to worry about it. I'm tandem nursing the girls, which is super fun and a lot less time consuming, but then we're also giving them a bottle after each feeding and then I'm pumping to try and build up my milk supply and get them some milk to mix in with the formula that they're getting in the bottles- so, we spend a significant amount of our day feeding them, but I'm assuming that's just going to be life with two little eaters around, so I'd better get used to it! :)

pictures of our newest sweeties!

2011-11-26T19:09:00.003-06:00

Sorry about the other post, ya'll...not sure what happened to it, but here are some pictures of our sweet little baby girls! :)

Maysen Ann (4lbs 13oz, 18 1/2inches) and Maelle Kay (4lbs 14oz, 18 1/2 inches)

they were born at 2:52 pm and 2:58 pm and were both born naturally! (we did have to deliver in the operating room, just in case there was a problem with baby B, so we could do an emergency c-section fairly quickly and easily)

Thankfully, though, they both were head down and my labor was the "easiest" of the three I've had! :) And, apparently delivering twins vaginally without an epidural or other "helpful" drug is a rarity in our hospital, because we literally had nurses and OB techs fighting over who got to be in the room with us. (no joke, Korey and I actually witnessed two ob techs arguing over who got to scrub up to be in there) The best part, for me, though, was that our doctor was so excited to be a part of it and our nurse purposefully stayed past her shift to help deliver our girls!! It was definitely great for us to have her there, as we both just loved her and she was super encouraging and helpful the whole time. (she was the same nurse that we had for Jackson, so we felt like we "knew" her)

Here are Korey and I with our baby girls! (doesn't Korey look all cute scrubbed up and ready to go?? I almost laughed our girls out when he first put his hat on because he thought it was a bonnet and it was so cute and funny! (I guess there could be worse things than laughing during the pangs of labor) ;)

this is the most I got to see them before Korey, my sister and the girls were wisked away to the NICU. Originally they said that they didn't have to be up there for long, but they have been up there for over 24 hours, now, and we're not expecting them down before we head home.

Definitely the saddest part, for me, was that Korey and Felicia were with the girls upstairs and I had to be downstairs all by myself for about an hour...they were worried that with my uterus being so big and shrinking so quickly that I'd bleed out, so I had to lay in bed on pitocin making sure that my uterus was continuing to contract and getting smaller!

About 3 hours after the girls were born their families all were up to meet them...unfortunately none of them were allowed to hold the girls, but they all enjoyed meeting them for the first time- especially big sister Hailey! :) One of the best parts of mine and Korey's day was showing Hailey her baby sisters...she even sang, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be" and had Korey and I almost in tears listening to her. When she was leaving I was staying to feed the girls for the first time and she was so sad that she couldn't stay and help me feed them! ;) It was adorable and such a welcome relief after her reaction to Jackson when he was born.

Here's Hailey meeting Maelle and then Maysen hanging out and looking at us! :)

Hailey did come up, again, this morning, with my Mom and Dad and got to hold Maelle! Can you tell by the big smile how happy she was to be there holding her! :)

Daddy got to hold the girls some more today, too! We've actually spent a good portion of our day up in the NICU, either having visitors see them or just holding them ourselves! Both of them nursed well today, so that was a great thing, but they're still hooked up to their IV, so it's hard to get them too close together! (but, Daddy did figure it out) :)

isn't that the sweetest picture of Korey holding the two of them? that's Maysen on "top" and Maelle on the bottom! :) It seems like the two of them have taken turns being awake, but we've been having a hard time getting them to be awake at the same time...although, I'm sure that will change by the time we take them home- they'll both be up screaming in the middle of the night in no time! :)

tomorrow, tomorrow....

2011-11-24T13:49:00.003-06:00

we get to meet our sweet girls tomorrow!!

I don't know if I'm more excited or scared, but I definitely have the jitters today! (and so does Korey...we're both really antsy and have a lot of nervous energy)

Hailey is absolutely excited enough for all of us, though!! She can't get enough hugging of my belly and she's been talking about meeting the girls all day! In fact now that we have a set day we've been talking about her meeting them and she is very excited to rock them back and forth and sing I'll love you forever I'll like you for always to them! ;) Isn't that cute?! As for Jack...well, I think he's excited not to have a huge belly to contend with when I hold him, but other than that and running around saying, "baby" and holding a baby he doesn't seem too excited! :)

I think I'm mostly excited to just have a little bit of my body back and finally get to snuggle with my little girls. I'm so curious to see what they're gonna look like and to be honest, I'm a little excited to see how it's going to be to hold two of them and nurse two of them...it'll be a new and exciting adventure!! :)

speaking of adventure...check out these two different pictures...the first one is the first pregnant picture I took and the second one is one that we took yesterday! Can you believe the difference?? I can't! It's amazing how much a body can change and grow in just 20 short weeks! (yup, that was my belly at 17 weeks- crazy small!!) :)

please pray for us tomorrow and in the upcoming weeks- I'm a little nervous (ok, a lot nervous) about how labor and delivery is going to go! I am going to try it all natural and pending any problems we should be good to go, but just pray that baby B does well, as she's the one that it will be the "scariest" for and that we don't end up needing a c-section. If we do need a c-section I will have to be put out for it, as I've chosen to forgo the epidural again. And, we will definitely need and covet your prayers for when we bring the girls home! It is going to be a huge change and challenge for all of us. Pray especially for Hailey and Jack to deal well with the babies taking their "places" on mommy's lap and in my arms. Pray that Korey and I would be able to get some rest and be able to rest in the Lord and His strength as we navigate this new adventure of 4 children! :)

a lot to be thankful for this year!

2011-11-24T13:23:00.002-06:00

cute little babies...my one and only niece, Mackenzie!

my sweet and helpful daughter, who loves her cousin

little girl hugs...and tons of practice for Hailey before her sisters get here

our wonderful neighbors who love our kids almost as much as our kids love them!

my amazing, sweet and wonderful sister!! I just can't say enough about how great she is and how helpful she's been throughout this pregnancy...I just love her!

my cute little girl who loves to eat ice and snow

can't say enough about how much I love and am thankful for these two cute kiddos

my sweet baby Jack- his smile and cute little facial expressions are actually too cute and they help him get away with way too much!

I feel like every Thanksgiving gets better and better and I have more reasons to be thankful for than the year before, but truly, this is the most blessed Thanksgiving that I have ever experienced! God has blessed our family above and beyond this year- with more blessings to come!! :)

Happy Thanksgiving, all!!

this is the last time...

2011-11-18T14:38:00.004-06:00

ya'll are ever gonna see my belly this huge!! (hopefully) ;) so, you'd better enjoy it...hahaha!!

I wasn't gonna use this picture, because I accidentally cut off my head, but I thought it made my belly look so huge that I thought you all should get to see it in all it's glory- one last time!!

this giant belly is, according to our specialist, carrying over 10lbs worth of baby! Can you believe it?? I, for one, really can't!! But, when he said that I did feel slightly more vindicated in all the whining I've been doing! :)

my favorite part about these pictures is looking at them and thinking about what I'm going to look like in a week from today when I have no babies, no placenta and no amniotic fluid in there! (oh yes, you did read that correctly- we finally have an induction day- Friday, November 25th will be my daughter's birthday, unless they decide to come earlier and surprise us) The doctor decided to induce us because the girls have run out of room to grow and so, at 37 weeks they will be "old" enough to be considered full term and, therefore, are at a greater risk staying inside my belly where they don't have room to move and grow than they will be in outside of my belly where they can stretch out! :) Apparently not so great things can happen if one twin squishes another twin (not horrible things...just things like needing glasses, maybe having scoliosis, that sort of thing) At our appointment on Thursday our doctor also took me off of bedrest and for that I will be eternally grateful to him. I was able to do some of the things that I have been dying to do all along, but have been unable...one of the biggest and apparently most important to her, was holding Hailey! I came home from my appointment- picked her up, hugged her and then just about lost it when she uttered these words, "oh momma- you pick me up, now! I miss you. You love Hailey", as she nestled her little head into my neck and snuggled into my arms! I had no idea that the simple act of being able to hold and carry my oldest child was so important and I'm so thankful that God allowed me to be able to do it before I go into labor and bring home the babies! (as we all know...even if you are allowed to carry 30lbs after giving birth...it's not comfortable or easy) I think this has been a very long and hard pregnancy on my whole family and I can't wait for it to be over! I know that it won't be any easier once the babies come home, but I'm excited for the next "leg" of our adventure and super pumped to see what God has in store for our family! Mostly, though, I'm just so appreciative and so thankful for all the wonderful people He has put in my life and how wonderful and supportive they have been throughout the last 7 1/2 months! Korey has been the greatest- no guy has done more for his family or his wife than this one has done! He has totally taken care of us, doing his work and mine and I really can't thank him enough for it all! Hopefully I won't ever complain again when he leaves us to go hunting, because he deserves a break and a little bit of peace in his life! :) (my only regret is that I never got my hunter's safety so I don't have an excuse to go with him and sit quietly in a tree stand, or wade quietly out into the water) :)

will I be counted faithful?!

2011-11-11T14:23:00.003-06:00

On Wednesday I went into labor early- at 34 weeks and 5 days I was convinced that I was going to meet my girls! And...I was a wreck...I called my mom sobbing, I called Korey barely coherent and poor Hailey was convinced that I was not ok!! (despite how many times I told her I was...apparently actions speak louder than words) That did not stop her from using my "impared state" to try and cut the dogs tail off with scissors, stick stickers all over her brother and the wall, dump milk and ranch dressing on the table and demand to watch a movie..nor did it stop Jackson from having a gigantic blow out diaper all over his pajamas! (so much for being ahead of the game) ;)

Good thing for me, God's faithfulness does not change regarding my state of mind and my faithfulness. Like all the other "scary" things that have been a possibility for our girls during this pregnancy, God saw us through, and faithfully brought about a wonderful outcome- one that had no earthly rhyme or reason.

When we first got in and got hooked up the nurses became convinced that we were not going to be able to stop labor and weren't even sure we should try, but thankfully, our doctor was on his way home from Gander Mountain (yup, that's why he and korey get along) and stopped by to check me out for himself! He was willing to at least give it a try and gain us even a day or two more of the girls being in the womb, as opposed to in the NICU. (every day in the womb is considered 3 less days in the NICU, so even a day or two is a big deal at this point) Even our doctor, though, didn't give us much hope of not meeting our little ladies! Korey and I entered into the nightime hours with a lot of fear and trepidition- I feel like I barely held my tears in check and at some points I'm not sure all the shaking and racing heart was from the drugs, it coulda been my absolute panic of meeting our babies sooner than I was ready for! They did give us two different doses of a drug called terbutiline that is supposed to calm the contractions down and stop them...it had some not quite so fun side effects, but I would gladly do it all over again for the great outcome that they, along with the nubane, had on my labor. Not only did it stop the labor (after I had dialated about 1/2- a full centimeter more), but my uterus that had actually moved forward- moved back up, something our doctor said he had never seen before!

I was and am convinced that it was only an act of God that allowed our baby girls to stay in the womb! We still don't know how many more days the girls will hold off, but we are just thankful that today we made it to 35 weeks and are praising God for each day that I get to stay pregnant! And, to be honest, I wouldn't put it past God to give us a whole nother week or so with them! :) I just hope and pray that this time I will be faithful and will trust that the timing is God's.

34 weeks 4 days...

2011-11-07T18:44:00.002-06:00

and counting...

the reality of bringing home our girls is definitely setting in these days!

Hailey and I packed my hospital bag this afternoon and she put a sticker on day #18 today, (that means 18 days until I hit 37 weeks) tomorrow Korey is coming with me to the doctor and we're going to chat about our timeline and the details surrounding the delivery, I'm doing my first biophysical profile on Thursday and I have to do it at the hospital- just in case the girls don't look so good and we don't get to come home!

It's just crazy how the homestretch is finally here...and, like with each pregnancy- I'm starting to get that feeling that I'm uncomfortable enough that, regardless of how much work it's going to be to bring the baby home and how scared I am of the labor and delivery- I'm ready to be done being pregnant. So far I've gained over 40lbs (that's all I'm gonna say about that...) ;) and my poor back is killing me carrying it all around, but it's the funny stuff that's getting hard to do, such as wash the dishes...who knew that standing sideways at the counter to wash dishes would seem like a good idea! :)

two peas in a pod

2011-11-07T09:01:00.010-06:00

We're so proud to announce that our two little peas, Maelle Kay and Maysen Ann, are here!

They arrived, naturally (woohoo!! thank God!!),

November 25th

Maysen was born at 2:52pm , weighing 4lbs. 13oz

and her sister joined her just a few minutes later at 2:58pm , weighing 4lbs 14oz .
Mommy is recovering well and loving the few snuggles she's gotten with her little girls!

And, Daddy couldn't be prouder to have two more little princesses to add to his family! :)

Both girls are doing well and would love visitors, but as of right now they are hanging out in the NICU- hooked up to the IV for low blood sugar and their body temperature being monitored, so they aren't allowed any kid visitors (as of now...). We are hoping that they can come down to our room tomorrow, because they did a great job of latching on this evening!

For all of you who are interested I'll have to tell you more about their birth in the coming days, as I'm exhuasted at this moment and wanna get some rest until we head back up to try and feed the girls again!! :)

a Dad, his little girl and a duck

2011-11-02T15:06:00.002-05:00

I think the smiles speak for themself on this one...no words needed!! :)

our "new" normal

2011-11-02T14:36:00.002-05:00

For the Konietzki's it was always a weird day if we just stayed home all day or didn't have friends over and that had been our routine...but, since the kids have been basically stuck here with me for the last month we've developed a new kind of routine! In fact, it's one that I have really grown to love and am gonna kind of miss when life gets crazier and more hectic after the girls come! I know this table doesn't look like much...and there are the leftovers from breakfast on it, but it has been one of my favorite parts of our new routine! Usually Jackson either goes down for a nap (like the last few days) or he gets down from the breakfast table and plays with books or toys on the floor or in his bedroom, while Hailey and I sit at the table and write in our "journals" together.

there's a country song that Korey loves and the chorus says, "she thinks we're just fishing" and it's about a father and his daughter just sitting by the shore, her talking and him listening and to her they're just fishing, but to him it's so much more- it's about creating memories that will last him forever, it's about spending time with his favorite girl. And, that really sums up how I feel about sharing my special "quiet time" with my firstborn each morning. (forgive me if I sound a little sappy with this...it must be the hormomes talking, 'cause I was actually in tears this morning thinking about how this sweet, special time is going to end soon) I know that to her, she's just coloring and putting stickers into her kitty journal for a 1/2 hour while mommy writes in her journal, reads her Bible, and talks to God, but to me it's so much more! I hope that I'm teaching her that taking the time out of your day to sit and talk to God and listen and learn what God is saying to you is of the utmost importance; I hope that I'm helping her learn- earlier in life than me- that being too busy for a little bit of quiet and rest each morning is wrong; I hope that I'm showing her that no matter what is going on around me, no matter how chaotic life may seem- when I open my Bible it's just me and God- nothing else matters at that moment; I hope, above all else, I'm teaching her that no matter what else I screw up in my life and how horrible of a mother I may be at times that I can always go to the Word of God and get some refreshment and some encouragement and start my day off on the right foot!

There have definitely been a lot of changes in our life in the past month- actually, now that I think about it, it has been over a month since I've been put on "house arrest" and as my time grows to a close (Friday is the last day) I'm finding that I feel a little bit of nostalgia towards this time of rest and peace in our house. It hasn't been the easiest of times, but it has definitely been one of those great growing experiences and, for sure, a time that God has used to show me what is important and what isn't. (and much to my surprise- a spotlessly clean house was so far down on the list that it's not even visible to the naked eye...weird, huh? ;)) I remember once a friend told me that she only planned to go "out" and do stuff 2 days a week, because she liked to be able to be home with her children and that she found that the more she stayed home with them the better she liked them and I always thought that that was just a personality difference of ours, but now that I've actually been forced to stay home and "enjoy" my kids at home, I've found that I, too, seem to enjoy my kids more when we're at home and when our routine is more relaxed and less planned out! I guess that's a good thing to learn before the twins come, because I think we're going to be doing a lot of staying home and I'm glad that it's not something that I'm going to hate- but, something that I actually find myself looking forward to! :)

trick or treating!

2011-11-01T13:16:00.003-05:00

Little Baby Jack all dressed up and ready to go!

We took Elmo and Princess Elmo trick or treating last night!

It was so much fun and they were so cute...

I couldn't get the kiddos to pose without me holding them, so I had to sit and hold them to get a cute picture...at least I thought it was cute, 'til I realized that I look HUGE with my giant belly behind Jackson! :)

Hailey enjoyed pushing her little brother in the stroller from house to house! It was just too cute

When Hailey found out that Jackson was going to be Elmo for Halloween, she was so upset and wanted to wear the Elmo costume, so we found her her own Elmo costume, but, then when it came right down to it she wanted to be a princess, so she got to be princess Elmo...ahh...what can you do about the changing mind of a two year old, huh??

4 weeks to go...

2011-10-28T19:53:00.002-05:00

until I'm officially carrying full term twins!

neither Korey nor I can figure out if it's more exciting or incredibly scary to know that sometime within the next 4 weeks we will meet our little girls and officially become a family of 6!
I, for one, am not uncomfortable enough to be begging these girls to get out, yet! I'm excited to meet them, but I don't know if you can call it practical or just pessimistic, but I can't stop thinking about how much work it's going to be when they come home and how exhausted Korey and I are going to be for the next year...In fact, if I were to be honest I am freaking out about all the realities of bringing the girls home. I haven't really allowed myself to think about actually bringing them home, until now, and even as I do think about it I just feel complete and utter panic! Don't get me wrong- I love these girls and I would never in a million years do anything to not bring them home, in fact, I will do everything in my power to bring them home with me, but I'm just petrified about what the future may hold for me and my family. I'm nervous about my marriage and how Korey and I will ever find time for one another, I'm sad that Jackson, my baby, will have to be a big boy and accept his new place in the family (and I'm scared that he will have a hard time with it), I'm fearful that I won't have time to even read my Bible...there's just so much that it's just overwhelming...
Please pray for us in these next few weeks- we would definitely covet your prayers! Pray, especially that my heart would be steadfast, trusting in the Lord and not in man's strenght or wisdom!

helping Daddy rake leaves!

2011-10-28T19:46:00.002-05:00

since I'm not allowed to rake and the kids aren't very good at it- we all played around while Daddy finished raking some leaves and putting them into his truck! :)

we sure had a good time playing

I think Hailey's favorite part was just wading through the leaves
unfortunately they didn't really want to sit and pose for a picture- go figure!

doesn't a big pile of leaves just make you wish you were a kid again??

there's just something fun about playing in the leaves in the fall! I guess that's good, since it sort of makes up for the not so fun part of raking them all up and taking them to the yard waste site :)

there are certain things...

2011-10-28T19:41:00.002-05:00

that honestly make Korey and I question the reason as to why God would trust us with two more children!

this poor little picture is evidence of one of those times...

first, we let our kid run around outside playing with sticks

second, we decided to try and do some raking, as he was running around with the stick

third, well, you can tell that something bad happened- yup, our little baby boy took a stick and decided to try and climb up onto Hailey's trike with it and...well...as you can tell it didn't turn out so well for his poor little face! (in case you haven't guessed, he fell and poked himself with the stick)

I don't know when we've ever felt so bad for the poor little guy and more thankful that God's gracious hand was upon him and us, as he didn't end up poking his eye out or do anything more damaging to himself!

32 weeks

2011-10-22T15:40:00.002-05:00

I did it! I made it to 32 weeks!

(here's me and one of my best friends, due almost 2 months apart, but looking eerily similar in size) I breathed a huge sigh of relief on Friday morning....

And, then today, I read, "I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears" Psalm 34:4 and I knew that more than allowing us to make it to 32 weeks, God had done a great work in my heart and my life in the last 20 weeks(yes, it has been 20 weeks since we found out I was carrying twins)!!

I wrote this prayer to the Lord and this morning and it so encompassed what He has been teaching me that I thought I'd share it with you all.

Lord, I really am in awe of how far You've brought me - I marvel at Your faithfulness through these last 20 weeks. I feel a peace deep in my soul that could only be from You. There were days that were shrouded in fear and trepidition- days where I wasn't sure how I was going to make it- some of the darkest, most selfish days of my life, but You remained faithful! I sought You out in Your word and You drew me to Your side and delivered me from my fears. You calmed my anxieties and You proved Your faithfulness over and over again. You brought me to the place where I can honestly say, "whether I bring my girls home or not- You will be glorified and honored in my life and cirucmstances and that is all that matters." Thank you, Lord, for not leaving me in my selfish, self-pittying state- thank you for faithfullly standing by me and delivering me from the fears that threatened to overtake my life. We still have a ways to go, Lord, before the real work begins, but I am convinced that You will continue to remain faithful and to that hope I continue to cling. I refuse to let fear rule, because, "I sought you out, You heard me and delivered me from all my fears!"

It is true, ya'll ;), we do still have a ways to go, but God has proved His faithfulness to us time and time again and I know that He will continue to be faithful as I start my non-stress tests this coming week, see the doctors more and more often and continue to try and keep my babies growing inside my ever expanding "oven" as long as possible! :)

2 peas in a pod

2011-10-18T13:51:00.003-05:00

that was the theme of the beautiful shower thrown for me and my baby girls by some wonderful friends at church! I felt so incredibly blessed and so loved, last night, the minute I walked into the room and saw all these adorable little touches and my friends there!

have you ever seen anything as cute as these little pea pod cookies?? :)
and this adorable little dress?? :) In case you can't read what the little signs say here are the words:
twice as much to love, two blessings from above!
there's two to kiss and two to hug, best of all there's two to love!
two precious lives to mold, four little hands to safely hold!
all the food was so wonderful- not to mention incredibly cute!!

even the table decorations were adorable!!

I was even blessed enough not to be the only pregnant lady there- my dear friend, Christy, who's due in a week and a half came out to help me celebrate! :) (I don't know if you can tell, but our bellys are pretty close to the same size...too bad for me I have a lot longer to go than she does) :) We did try to hug and basically bounced off of each other...lesson learned- don't try to do a front hug with another hugely pregnant lady! :)

we were given so many wonderful gifts!

aren't these shoes adorable?? (plus, they even make my belly look rather small)

and, these two great little outfits?? They're adorable and super cute! :)

we were even given yarn for some adorable little hats that my mom is going to get made for maysen and maelle!

speaking of which...my Mom came up and surprised me!! Isn't she wonderful?? :)

All of this was wonderful and adorable, but the best part of the evening is when we all closed our eyes, bowed our heads and my dear friends lifted up Korey, Jackson, Hailey, Maysen, Maelle, and I to the Lord. I wasn't able to stem the tide of tears as they prayed for my family! They prayed for everything from mine and Korey's relationship to strenght and endurance when the girls come, to Hailey and Jack handling it well, to them being able to see and help where I need it! I feel so blessed by the Lord to be from such a wonderful church family! Where else can you find a group of great women who all get along and are willing to support one another??!!

Thank you, girls- you are all so dear to me and I truly thank God for you all!

the goofiest of kids...

2011-10-14T13:55:00.002-05:00

definitely reside at my house!

their new dinnertime routine is to eat with their feet on the table...of course it started with Jackson and Hailey had to copy him- go figure! :)

he's just too cute for us to make it stop, though, so I guess we deserve feet full of food and baths every night as punishment for not being "tough" enough parent's! :)

Hailey "snuggling" with her family member tree! ;) She and I made a thankful tree and put all our family members on it to thank God for each of them and she wanted to snuggle with them all!

hiding in Daddy's decoy box!

These kids just keep me laughing and giggling all the time! :) I'm so glad that God blessed me with them to keep me laughing!

31 weeks

2011-10-14T13:25:00.002-05:00

woohoo! We made it to 31 weeks! :) 5 or 6 more weeks to go...you can do it, Jenni!! :)

(thanks for letting me throw my own little pep talk to myself in here...think I hit a "wall" this week and am getting more and more uncomfortable, so I'm definitely getting more and more ready to meet these two little ones)

since we're getting a little closer to the delivery date, we've started getting ready for these babies...

we ordered some preemie diapers

and , Daddy's favorite "outfits" (in preemie size) little gowns that don't require any snaps, zippers or buttons! ;) (perfect for the middle of the night and those "manly fingers")
It almost feels surreal that we've made it this far! When I went into the doctor on Tuesday he said he was so proud of us and told me that we'd hit a big "milestone" the 30's! And, it honestly does feel like that. It's an exciting time and a little bit of a scary time, too. It seemed so much easier to not really "think" about them coming home when we were so much further away from it, but now it's starting to really sink in! Especially now that we've washed all the little tiny clothes and moved Jackson completely out of the nursery. I really can't wait to meet my little princesses, but I'm definitely starting to freak out about all the little things like- how am I gonna nurse two babies?? Can I do an unmedicated vaginal delivery(can I handle it- is it even possible)? Will they stay in long enough for me to be able to take them home with me? Will they be big enough? And, when they do come home- how are we gonna handle that?? Yikes! So many questions and so few answers!! Guess I'll just be happy that we made it to 31 weeks and try to continue not to think too far ahead! :)

it's pumpkin time!!

2011-10-12T20:28:00.002-05:00

Since we (I mean "me", but my family is nice enough not to leave me at home) can't go traipsing around the pumpkin patch searching for pumpkins we decided to head out to a friend's house and just pick out some pumkins from their already picked ones to take home with us!

I love the fact that my kids still thought it was a super fun outing and just enjoyed playing with all the pumpkins! We even found a pumpkin for each of us!

Hailey thought it was super fun to climb on the wagon...

and poke her head out through the pumpkins

trying to pick up a giant pumpkin is fairly hard for such a little girl...but, she gave it her best shot! :)

even Maysen and Maelle got to pick out pumpkins...the biggest ones Korey would let me pick up!

Jack found one he could carry!

but, he liked the big one better, so that's what Daddy took home for him

the highlight for Hailey, though, was the kitties that she found in the Stroik's barn! Too bad Daddy wouldn't let her take it home ;)

It's a little sad for me this year to not be able to do some of the "fun" things that come with the fall, but, it's so nice to have a supportive husband and kids that are young so that we can still create memories without doing any great and huge adventures! Now if only I could find a way to get Korey, Hailey, and Jackson to make some of the fall treats that I love so much... ;)

it's humbling...

2011-10-12T20:06:00.002-05:00

when you have to allow someone else to do "your" work for you! But, definitely in a good way!! I have been so blessed and so humbled by all the help, encouragement and prayers sent our way from family and friends and today was no different! My mom in law came and helped out so the babies and I could do some grocery shopping and then spend the rest of the afternoon resting!

If I had a picture of a giant whale laying on a couch, sleeping while drooling (that's because I have a hard time breathing) ;) I'd insert it here, but, since I don't- use your imagination!

here's a letter that I could have written to any of the helpers that have come to our house, but, Darlene, this one is for you:

Dear Mom,

thank you so much for your help at our house today. I know that words will never do justice to how much it meant to both Korey and I, but we really do appreciate ALL your help! Teh fact that you gave up your day off to come up to our house and spend the entire day watching the kids, reading stories, wiping noses and cleaning for me is amazing to me and honestly I can not thank you enough for it! It's been very humbling to have anyone else in my house doing things that I feel like I should be doing, but I am so thankful that God has allowed me to learn some humility through this and allowed you to be one of the "teachers". I only pray that someday I will be able to pay you back and be as much of an encouragement and help to you as you have been to me. I definitley praise and thank God that He placed me in your life. I knew I was incredibly blessed the day that I married your son, I just had no idea how much! Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart! Love, Jenni

A friend for everyone...

2011-10-08T19:35:00.004-05:00

Korey's good friend, Kody, and his wife, Devra, are some of mine and Korey's favorite people- and, consequently, one of the only friends we have that give us a "run for our $" when it comes to having kids! ;) Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture of the Ashbeck clan, but they have a little girl, Meredith, who's about 2 weeks younger than Hailey, and two little boys- Lincoln, who's about 19 months and Brady, who's 3 1/2 weeks! So, basically they have a friend for each of us! :) We were really hoping that little Brady was gonna be a girl, but I guess you just can't always get what you want! :)

Today we hung out with them for a few hours and we had a good laugh thinking about some of our first dates (Kody and Korey were roommates, so he was there from our "beginning" and one of their first dates was to our wedding), our weddings, homeschooling, the big V (wink, wink) ;) and how life has changed so dramatically for all of us in the last 2 1/2 years!!

Kody, Korey and I all went to school together, but like all relationships- it's really us girls that keep the "relationship" going! :) Korey and Kody like to tease each other about how much Devra alike- I'm just glad that they think I look like her, 'cause she's super cute! :)

the two that I do think look alike are these two cuties! It's weird...even when we met Meredith for the first time I thought she looked a lot like Hailey, but as they grew a little bit, Meredith quickly surpassed Hailey, since she had her mommy's good milk and poor Hailey had mine...but, now that they're both "bigger" they look alike again!

We're so thankful that God blessed us with good friends that we can share life with! (and someone who can understand the trials and fun of having your kids all close together) :)

51 days

2011-10-05T10:22:00.002-05:00

Pretty amazing, isn't it- that we only have 51 days until we hit 37 weeks in my pregnancy??!!

We're all definitely getting more and more excited to see these little girls- Hailey bought them each a present to bring up to the hospital when they're born and they each bought both Hailey and Jackson one...I got sheets and mattress pads for their beds, all the clothes are washed and put away, wipes are stocked, yesterday my Dad and Mom came up and got some "outside" stuff winter ready, so all in all I'd say we're getting well on our way to meet these little princesses! (just really praying that it doesn't happen anytime soon, 'cause the one thing I have not done yet is pack my hospital bag) :)

Here's me- 29 weeks 5 days- growing like a weed, but not too uncomfortable yet- thank God!

In case you can't tell from the picture-my belly is getting HUGE...I honestly do think that it grows exponentially at night- 'cause I feel like each time I wake up to go to the bathroom it has gotten bigger! (and that's been around 3 or 4 x's, so that's a lot of nightime growth) :) These two little girls are so active, too, they keep Korey and I in stitches every night laughing at them "wrestling" around in my belly! I don't think I've ever seen a belly move like it does when these two get going! It really makes me wonder what they're gonna be like when they come out...

We had a check up last week Thursday (these are some pics of the two of them- they're both head down, now- Yay! and we're praying that they don't flip in the next 51 days). I had meant to update the blog letting you all know how well the girls did with me on my "house arrest", but, well, I guess I've had other things on my mind! :)

The girls did do wonderful at gaining some weight with me just sitting around at home! They were both weighing around 2lbs 4oz and that was a HUGE improvement from the time before- so, the consensus from the doctors was that I needed to continue on doing what I was doing- with a little bit more freedom! :) Other than hearing the good news the best part was that Korey went with me, because he thought I was "exaggerating" how much freedom they gave me, so it was great for him to hear that I could do a little bit more! But, with all the great help that we've been receiving from friends and family for the last two weeks I haven't really had to do too much. It has been such a huge blessing for all of us to see how much our "family" has stepped in to lend us a hand. More than one friend has offered and/or taken the kids for the day, my sister took Hailey for 4 days, our nanny started a little earlier than she was planning to and has done above and beyond what I even asked of her (she went grocery shopping for me!!!!), we've had people stop over and clean bathrooms, throw in a load of laundry, bring us tons and tons of fattening foods, lots of meat and goodies- it has just been amazing! I really had no idea how wonderful and supportive of a network we had until now! I think that when God blessed our family with twins He knew that we were gonna be ok, because of all the great friends that He had blessed us with (and the amazing families that we were born into)!! :) So, thank you to all of you who have helped us out! I so appreciate each and every one of you- there just aren't words to express it enough!

"I'm sorry"

2011-10-02T13:16:00.002-05:00

One of the things that I truly appreciated about my Dad was that he was always willing and "able" to say "I'm sorry" to whoever he wronged- even if it was one of us kids! And, I have never been more thankful for his great example than, now, when I have a little girl of my own who I find myself saying, "I'm sorry" to more often than I would like to have to!

You see...there's something special and crazy about mine and Hailey's relationship- I swear that she and Korey just had this instant bond and since the day she was born he loved her and has never really looked back. For me, it's a whole different story- even though I fell in love with her the instant I felt her tiny little fuzzy head, my "like" of her definitely has it's days! I tend to get more frustrated with her than Korey does, I find myself being short with her and cross with her more often than I'd like, and if there was ever a kid that was going to drive me to drink- it would definitely be Hailey!!

Obviously, like every parent- I have my good days and bad days and there are times when I just cherish and enjoy this little girl more than I could ever have imagined I would enjoy a kid, but this pregnancy has been rather hard on me, lately, and I've been finding that those days keep getting fewer and fewer...much to my chagrin! :(

I think the Holy Spirit has really been tugging at my heart about this a lot, lately, and like usual- I'm a little hard headed, but this morning in church I felt a punch to the chest that was unmistakedly the Lord telling me that it wasn't Hailey that needed to change, or needed better discipline, or was the problem- it was her mother! It broke my heart in half and I almost sobbed, right there on the spot. I always thought that loving our kids would come easy and that the "mother instinct" would take over and I would be forever after consumed with incredible patience and wisdom when it came to raising kids, but I have found that that just isn't true! Not only was my love for Jackson not even close to instant, but I do not have incredible patience or wisdom when it comes to either of my kids! I get irritated about things that don't matter, I loose my temper, and I find myself raising my voice and, yes, even sometimes yelling at Hailey! All those things that I never wanted to do- I find myself doing!

So, all this to say, that today, I got in the car after church, turned to my little girl and through my tears apologized for loosing my temper and getting frustrated with her on our way to church that morning, and Hailey, being the sweet, precious little girl that she is said to me, "Hailey love you mama- you ok? Don't be sad- here have Hailey's blankie- you snuggle and not be sad"! How can you not love that little girl? Despite all my frustrations with her, I have to admit that she has the sweetest heart and really, truly does have a heart that wants to please me and the Lord. It's amazing how she transforms when I tell her that her attitude isn't making Jesus happy- I just often am too tired and too weary to do the right thing in my parenting- so, instead, I revert back to the wrong thing, thus making it harder and more frustrating on all of us! And, for that I need not to ask Hailey's forgiveness, but God's, because it is to Him that I am sinning against when I let my selfish, tired self take over- instead of doing what I know to be true and right!

So, now that I shared this with all of you- feel free to keep me accountable! Ask me how I'm doing with my little girl (and I'm sure her little brother will be at that age before I know it and needing some discipline of his own...) and discipline! Ask me if I've spent quality time in the word and in prayer for my little ones- ask whatever questions you want, because I don't want to stay in this same place! I want to grow and mature in my walk with the Lord and become a better mom- apparently I just need a little bit more "nudging" than the rest of the mom's out there do! :)

like father like son

2011-09-30T13:52:00.002-05:00

I always knew that Hailey and Korey had a special bond, but until recently I hadn't really seen that same bond between Korey and Jackson, but just lately I really have seen that same bond growing between these two!

Jackson definitely does love carrying around a gun- just like his Daddy and I think he's gonna grow up to be a mighty duck slayer- just like his Daddy is! :) I know, for a fact, that Korey is chomping at the bit to take his son out duck hunting- he probably will just as soon as he can walk a little better! ;)

when the big sister's away...

2011-09-24T16:12:00.002-05:00

the little brother will play! :)

I think that's how the little rhyme goes, right??!

Hailey left today to stay with her Auntie Fysh for the four days and we're all really missing her around here...doesn't it look like it?! hehehehe...ok, so maybe we don't look like it, but when we left Eau Claire and Felicia took 53S and we took it N Korey and I looked at each other and he said, "I miss her already- let's go get her!" and I pretty much felt the same way! :)

It definitely is a lot easier to relax around here, though, without our little "mover and shaker"

but, life just isn't the same- is it, baby Jack??!

I'm really hoping that Hailey and Jackson will sleep ok tonight without each other- they're so used to playing and chatting before bed that I'm a little worried about them missing each other and having problems sleeping without each other!

Psalm 66:20

2011-09-21T13:52:00.002-05:00

"Blessed be God who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me"

When I started this blog, this verse was my "theme" verse and the inspiration behind writing it- I wanted to share God's faithfulness to me with you all! There are days that God's faithfulness is not quite so obvious to me, but it's on those days that I feel more of a need to remind myself of how God has shown me His faithfulness in the past, and in turn, it really brings forth to my mind how He can and will be faithful to me in my immediate circumstance!

Here are a few things that God has shown His faithfulness to me:

-He led me to Fort Wilderness after highschool, where I was able to solidify my faith in Him and gain some independence in my walk with Him

-He saved me from marrying the wrong man, a few different times

-He brought me back to my parent's church, where I could deepen my faith in Him and be discipled by amazing women

-He gave me Korey- the best man for me and saved him for me!

-He moved Korey and I to Wausau, gave us two great church families- each for a special time in our lives

-He gave me great and amazing friends who spur me on, who challenge me, who I can cry with, laugh with, and pray with

-He gave Korey and I time in our marriage together to be just the two of us- to deepen and develop our relationship before giving us a "quiver full" of children to take up a lot of our time and energy

-He gave us four children in His precious timing

-He gave me time to get adjusted to having two children, before adding two more

-He was faithful to me through the transition between Hailey and Jackson- He gave all of us the grace to handle that transition and stress

-He had my egg split sooner, rather than later, so that each of our girls had time to develop their own amniotic sac

-He kept M and M from developing twin to twin syndrom and kept them healthy and growing until they were into the viable life range

for all of these things I am so thankful and grateful to the Lord!

And, by going over this list it reminds me that He will be faithful to complete His work in all of us- that He will hear our prayers and continue to watch over our family and do what He feels is best for us!

27 weeks 4 days

2011-09-20T12:02:00.002-05:00

we are 27 weeks and 4 days into this pregnancy, now!

I'm not feeling super huge and since Maelle flipped around I'm feeling a lot less pressure and pain, so that is nice, but it's not so nice that she has flipped and is feet down! We are measuring about 5 weeks ahead, so not too incredibly far, but enough that I'm having a hard time finding clothes that fit already! :)

Today we had an appointment with our ob and I took hailey and Jackson with me- Hailey absolutely loved it and had been talking about going to see the babies for days! I was really happy with how well they both did, but it was pretty cute how concerned for me Hailey was- she kept asking, "you ok, momma?" :)

Now, for the not so great news...baby A and baby B have always been measuring fairly small, but when we went in baby B- Maysen, measured very small, compared to Maelle, so the doctors are a little worried that the placenta may not be doing such a great job supporting the girls and we need to do whatever we can to try and get them to gain a little more weight. So, as of today, we're just laying low, eating milkshakes and cheeseburgers and trying to gain some more weight. The doctor told me today that, now, isn't the time to worry about good fats vs bad fats- it's just the time to eat and eat and eat and lay on the couch enjoying movies and tv with my kiddos! :)

Please pray for our family- that the little m & m's would gain some good weight, that my placenta would give them the nutrients that they need- so we don't have to meet them anytime in the very near future, that Hailey and Jack would be patient and on their best behavior, that their mommy would be able to do what is best for all of her kids, and that their Daddy would be given strength to pick up the slack and not grow to weary!

our new stroller

2011-09-13T20:03:00.002-05:00

Thanks to the $ we received at our baby shower on Sunday and from the sale of our two double strollers I was able to buy a new quadruple stroller...

And, it was delivered via Fed Ex today!

It was such an exciting package to open- even our neighbors had to come over, watch and throw a few snide comments in here and there) :)
what do you think?? Are we gonna be a hit walking around town in this thing??

I'm definitely thinking we're all gonna be pretty cool looking...we took a little walk in it today and I am really liking it- it's actually skinnier than my jogging stroller was and pushes fairly easily- for a quadruple stroller! :)

too much time on my hands??

2011-09-13T19:55:00.002-05:00

When I showed Korey these pictures he thought I had too much time on my hands...what do you think??

I was fairly proud of myself for how well the Pooh pancake turned out...the J for Jackson, not so much, but he doesn't seem to mind! :)
here's the little girl who asked for Pooh pancakes this morning- good thing we had some honey from our friends honey farm on hand so we could make honey butter! I just don't think Pooh pancakes would be the same without honey butter! :)

to give Korey some credit- he did say it was pretty creative :) (I think he's just jealous- here we are at home having fun and playing all day and he has to go to work)

blessed by diapers

2011-09-11T21:22:00.001-05:00

Today Korey and I were blessed beyond our wildest dreams by our family and friends! Our Mom's and Dad's decided to have a little "diaper and wipes" shower for us, to help us out in our first year with the girls and I think all of us were very surprised at the outpouring of "love" that we recieved in diapers today!

It was a sweet little pink themed shower, with so much yummy food that I could barely hold myself back...probably one of the best things about being pregnant with twins- no one says anything when you're going back for your 3rd plate of food! :)

here's me and my "girls" with our new diapers and wipes- thank you, all!!

Korey was so excited about organizing them all, that he just had to put them all in on our shelves in the basement...didn't he do a nice job of organizing them all?? :)

so, here's the tally: (Kelly and Darlene- this one's for you guys...) :)

size N: 400

size 1: 724

size 1,2: 1098

size 2: 250

size 3: 704

that comes to a grand total of 3176 diapers...and, if my calculations are correct that should get us through 1/2 of the first year- I'm thinking that's pretty awesome ;) (and, I have to admit, I'm having a hard time believing that we're gonna use more diapers than this...yikes!! the city of mosinee may start charging extra on all our taxes just to take care of all that extra garbage!) :)

Thanks, again, Mom and Dad G and K! We love you all and so appreciate all the work that you put into making this day special for us and for our kiddos.

a nightgown from great grandma!

2011-09-05T20:57:00.000-05:00

last year for Christmas my Grandma made Hailey an adorable nightgown (and a matching one for her baby doll). Unfortunately, at that time Hailey was in the "take my diaper off and pee or poop in the bed and play with it" mode, so we couldn't let her wear it!

But, now that she's potty trained and wears undies to bed and it's getting cold out at night- it was the perfect time to let her wear the cute little nightgown!

she pretty much looks cute in anything, but she looks especially cute in this, don't you think??

she definitely enjoyed posing for the camera so that she could show Great Grandma Yetter how much she loved her nightgown! (or nighties as she called it...) :)

Daddy got some pics of us while I was reading her bedtime story! (her favorite one is the creation story, because it has a picture of an octopus) ;)

Thanks, Grandma, for using your creative and amazing sewing skills to make a beautiful nightgown for my sweet little girl! I know that she and her sisters are all gonna get good use out of it! I love you and can only hope that someday I can create such adorable creations for my daughters, grandaughter and great- grandaughters!

babymoon

2011-09-04T20:41:00.001-05:00

Korey and I were able to get away for a little "babymoon" this weekend!

(thanks to Mom and Dad Konietzki for watching the kids for us) :)

It was wonderful....and so much fun!

We went up to Bayfield, WI- one of the most fun places we'd ever been!

We were able to find a great deal on this little cottage...we wanted to stay in a bed and breakfast, but since one of our "necessary" things to do was sleep in, we thought having to be somewhere for breakfast didn't sound like that much fun- so, we opted for a place where we could just do more of our own thing! It was a great experience- one that we hope to be able to repeat sometime in the not so distant future... (insert laugh here, 'cause we all know how possible that will be with 4 little kiddos) :)

Korey just loved looking at all the boats, but was very disappointed by the fact that the only fish we could see were minnows!!

ahhhh...all the fun (and relaxation) reminded us of why we love each other and how much fun we really do have just hanging out together!

the views were just gorgeous- I seriously could not get enough of looking out at Lake Superior and watching the sailboats sail along!

the view from our little cottage front porch- I spent a lot of time just sitting out here and especially enjoyed getting up earlier than Korey (at 8am) and having my morning coffee and reading my Bible while looking out at this beautiful landscape

we managed to get a chance to go back to our favorite little restaurant- the Pickled Herring- but this time we tried the famous pickled herring...

here's what I really thought of it...

Korey liked it a little better than me, but we both pretty much agreed that it was probably the biggest waste of $ from the whole weekend...lesson learned- don't eat the pickled herring at the Pickled Herring in Bayfield, WI

we both really enjoyed our time and it was a great little getaway.

For me- the best part of this whole weekend getaway was the fact that it really brought some peace and some relaxation to my life! I'd been feeling so stressed and so "lonely" in this pregnancy and it was so great to just get away and have some time to share my thoughts and feelings with my best friend!

For Korey- the best part of the whole weekend was the fact that we got to sleep in every day and we got to take naps and not get woken up by anybody crying from their crib or coming into our room begging to watch cartoons in the morning! :)

"change is not my friend"

2011-08-31T19:48:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty sure if Jackson could talk in sentences that's what he would have said to me yesterday when I moved him to his big boy carseat :)

poor kid...he just doesn't look happy about it, does he??

good thing he had his blankie and trusty Clifford dog with him to help him get through this new and scary situation!

In case you're wondering, the fact that my kids really do NOT like change is the reason that their carseats are in the back and the biggest reason why we moved Jackson to his big boy carseat as soon as possible- I wanted to give them both a good 3 months to get used to their new seating positions before Maysen and Maelle join our family and take over Hailey and Jack's old seats! :) Little steps at a time is this mommy's motto...or at least I try to remember that it takes my kids, little steps at a time to do well with change!

My baby is 1

2011-08-30T13:13:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it myself! When I first brought this sweet little boy home and was sleep deprived and running him to the doctor/hospital every day to get his heel pricked and his jaundice levels checked- it seemed like every day dragged by and it felt like I wasn't ever going to get beyond those little tiny newborn days! But...now, looking back I feel like it has flown by and now he's 1, sleeping through the night, drinking milk out of the sippy cup, eating food at the table and those early days feel like only a blurp on my radar!

I know I say it often, but I just am in love with this sweet little boy! Here's a little bit of what he's up to:

sleeping until 7, almost every day :)

drinking milk (and loving it) from his sippy cup

eating all sorts of table food- everything we eat, he eats (or throws on the floor for Allie...)

climbing the stairs (hasn't quite learned how to go down, yet, but getting close)

walking (does about 3 or 4 steps at a time, but not super often)

6 teeth (and 2 more on their way)

playing with all sorts of toys, but definitely LOVING trucks and puppies the most

attacking and chasing Allie all over the house

playing "chase" with Hailey (he chases her and she runs from him giggling) :)

jumping on the trampoline

reading stories and praying with mommy and Hailey before bed each night

finally moved up to 6-9 month clothes (yay!!)

sitting forward facing in his carseat (another big Yay!!)

I just can't believe all the growing and maturing that my little boy has done in the last year- I'm so proud of him and so excited for all the changes that I've seen in his life! He is such a joy and has added an immense amount of happiness to our family in this past year.

Next week he will be moving into Hailey's bedroom and she is so excited to share her room with Jackson and has been asking, every night, if he can sleep with her tonight! I can't believe the intense and great love between these two, especially considering the long and awful months following his birth, where I was convinced that the two of them would never bond and would hate each other forever! I'm so glad that God sees the bigger picture and that He blessed our family with Jackson, even when we wouldn't have asked or didn't feel ready for him!

Thank you, God, for giving me this boy- give us wisdom and strength as his Daddy and I seek to raise him to be a man who seeks after You and who honors You with his whole heart and life!

Happy 1st Birthday!

2011-08-29T14:04:00.005-05:00

We celebrated Jackson's first birthday on Saturday! It was so much fun- we had a "car" theme, but really the main decoration was the cake! Isn't it great??

me and my baby...who's so big and grown up these days! I can't believe he's a year already...

the birthday boy and his Daddy- my two favorite boys! :)

Hailey's favorite cousin, Kenzie, came and got lots of hugs and snuggles from everyone!

the birthday boy and his Nani

Jackson was really more interested in the ribbons than the actual gift opening...

which was a good thing, considering that Hailey LOVES to open presents and was convinced that they were for her!

he did manage to open a few on his own...

but mostly he only got to "help" open his gifts! :)

Jackson wasn't too interested in having his picture taken with the cake, without touching it, so we gave him some cars to play with! :)

Hailey helped him blow out the candle...

I just love babies with their first pieces of cake- they really never know what to make of it- and Jackson was no exception...

he soon go the hang of smooshing it, though, and thoroughly enjoyed himself!

even rubbing his hands together to make sure that there wasn't a piece left unsmooshed!

It sure was a fun birthday party! I think we all enjoyed it, but no one more than the birthday boy, himself...unless you count his sister, that is! :)

I never cease to be amazed...

2011-08-25T20:52:00.003-05:00

at the new ways to get in trouble that my little girl comes up with!
She took a nap in our bedroom the other day and I had forgotten our camera in there...and apparently Hailey really enjoyed herself with it!

I don't think she did much sleeping!

what do you think?? future photographer in the making??

if so, I think she should forget about self portraits :)

when I went in there she told me that she took pictures of her "owie" to show Daddy!

(she wasn't lying...she really did take 1 of her leg...and 60 others of her face, the blankets, and her kitty)

I don't know if I say it too often, but this kid cracks me up! I had the hardest time not laughing and trying to tell her seriously that she needed to settle down and go to sleep after I saw these pictures! :)

23 weeks down...

2011-08-22T12:57:00.002-05:00

only about 14 more to go!!

Yikes! When I say it that way it just seems like it's creeping up on me way to fast...

Here's our 23 week ultrasound picture of Maysen and Maelle! (they were 1lb 1oz and 1lb in weight, at the time) Aren't they adorable?? It's the first time we've seen them that they're head to head and that they're not hitting each other, but looking so cute and nice. I guess there is some hope that they're gonna be best friends someday! :)

I think this summer has been the fastest summer of my life, to date, and I can't imagine that the fall is going to slow down any- the end of November is going to be here before I know, so I have a lot to do to get myself, my house, and Hailey and Jackson ready for the girls arrival. Here's a little peak at what we're up to:

Korey and I are leaving our kids with his parent's and heading out of town for a little weekend getaway- probably the last one for a while.

I've begged my mom in law to take a day off of work and watch the kids for me so that I can go and do my christmas shopping- I'm assuming I won't have the time/energy for that when the time comes!

I made some little pink burp clothes, lap pads, and a receiving blanket

I'm stocking up on more clothes, especially onesies and sleepers

we have a diaper and wipes shower, given by our parent's, coming up in a few weeks

I have a freezer full of freezer meals and am adding to that stash daily

I have a recipe book filling up with "quick and easy" dinner ideas, so that I won't have to be searching for them when I need an idea and have 4 screaming kids tugging at my heels

I'm meeting with our "nanny" this week, who's gonna come over and help me out 1 day a week when the babies are born

we're starting to think about a new schedule and implementing some new stuff around here so that we can more easily accomodate people in and out

our basement bathroom is almost completed- a few pieces of trim and we'll be good to go

and, the surest sign that we're getting a little closer is... that Korey's starting to make me take it easy. He's never really been the husband to "baby" his wife and I've never been the girl to let anyone "baby" me, but I have to admit that it is rather nice to have someone else carry laundry baskets upstairs for me and to make me take a break and put my feet up at the end of the day. So far I have felt really good, but I do get a lot of pain and pressure (not to mention am exhausted) by the time the day ends, so I'm guessing that's probably a good time to take a break and get some weight off of me! :)

Yesterday we saw my little niece and a couple weeks ago I went and visited 2 friends in the hospital who had just had their babies and just seeing those precious little bundles really gave me the "itch" to meet my little girls! I just can't wait to hold them and snuggle them and see what they're gonna be like. It's even harder to be "patient" when I see ultrasound pictures like the previous one- where you can see their little faces so well. So, I guess, in a way I'm hoping that these next few months fly by, but I still have a lot left to do, so not too quickly! :)

6 beautiful roses

2011-08-20T09:38:00.002-05:00

for 6 amazing years!

That's what Korey gave me last night...just in case he didn't have time to run out this morning! :) I just love the man that I married 6 years ago- everything about him...

the way he makes me laugh, even when I'm fuming mad at him

the way he always snuggles close in bed, because our bedroom is so cold he's freezing to death

the funny conversations I can have with him when he's 1/2 asleep

the way he works so hard and gets so much done

the way he plays tea party with Hailey

the way he throws Jackson up in the air, just to make him giggle

the fact that all Hailey has to do is say, "hailey sad, daddy" to get him to do whatever she wants

the way he never complains about how much $ I spend

the fact that he manages to always sleep through our kids getting up in the middle of the night, but can hear a neighbor opening their screen door at 2 in the morning

that he's so handy and can fix and create anything

the fact that he loves me, even when I'm cranky and crabby and irritable

that he'll drive all the way to Marathon city to buy me deep fried cheesecurds and then make fun of me all the way home

the way that he always loves my big pregnant belly

and even the back handed compliments about how skinny I look from the back!

I really do thank God that Korey picked me to be his wife and that he didn't get scared and run away when my Dad warned him that his life would never be dull or normal with me as his wife! :) He is an amazing man- a man any girl would be truly happy to have as her husband! Thanks for marrying me, honey!

If I knew then what I know now...

2011-08-17T08:04:00.002-05:00

Today we are about 107 days away from meeting Maysen and Maelle and as I read Psalm 107 today I couldn't help thinking about God's faithfulness and goodness to me. And, as I thought about I that I couldn't help but think about what I would say to my "earlier" self- the self that was praying and wishing and hoping and begging God for a baby...so, today you get a glimpse of what I would say to myself, 4 years ago!

My dear...life may seem rough and hard and horrible right now. God may seem far away. I know it seems like He's not listening or caring about your feelings and wishes and desires. I know it hurts to see mom's in the grocery store, to hear mom's talk about their kids on facebook, to watch your friends interact with their kids and even complain about sleepless nights, nursing problems, potty training and irrational two year olds. I know you struggle somedays with feeling pangs of jealousy and wondering, "why not me, too". I know you feel left out when they all have things to talk about, but remember that God hasn't forsaken you. He has great plans for you, too. His time just doesn't always coincide with your timing. Instead of whining and complaining and crying, spend your time wisely- search the scriptures, memorize verses, pour over good christian books- sleep in on the weekends! Go for walks with your dog, take your husband out on a spontaneous fishing date- learn how to duck hunt, take hunters safety so that you can sit in the deer stand this fall with him. Take every opportunity that you can to just sit and watch him work, because there will be a day that you will cry as you rock your babies and wonder when you will ever get to hang out with your husband again.

Babysit your friends kids- spend an afternoon at their house with them watching them and helping them out- one day you will be glad that you did! (and they will appreciate it, now) Start a "hope" chest- put God in it first and then your baby clothes and toys and blankets. Don't stop remembering that God is good and that His goodness reigns over all. Don't give in to the temptation to be jealous and angry- give that to God each day, each hour, each moment if you have to- just give it to Him and let it go!!

Remember these verses:

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, that man would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing sould, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. whoever is wise will oveserve these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.

Psalm 107:1, 8,9, 43

memorize them and implant them on your heart- there will come a day where you will need the reminder even more than you do today! Take this time, without children, and without huge responsibilities to develop an attitude of thankfulness- find it in the everyday life! Continually strive to thank God for the "seemingly" little things in life today. Do not forget God's goodness and faithfulness throughout the generations- He will be faithful to you, also. Your heart will be filled to overflowing and your longing soul will be satisfied- God promises us that! It doesn't seem loving to make you wait for your family, but it is. God's timing is better than your timing and He has His reasons for making you wait.

Just remember that this is a stage- you will have your family, you will be granted your heart's desire- just wait patiently on the Lord and for His timing. Don't try to rush things and step out of God's will, seek Him every step of the way and with Korey walk the path that is marked out for the two of you. Children are a gift and you will be granted that gift- in God's time. You need this time to prepare, to get your house ready, to get your mind and heart ready. I know it doesn't seem like it today, but someday you will look back at this time and think how quickly it passed.

Good thing that what I know now can still be applied to me (and you) today...are you giving thanks to the Lord for His goodness?? I know that even in the middle of huge blessing and knowing that God has filled up the longing of my heart I forget to thank Him for His goodness and I forget to observe all the ways that He has been faithful to me.

a kitty here, a kitty there, kitties, kitties everywhere!

2011-08-15T21:25:00.003-05:00

Today was the day...

the day we've all been waiting for- but no one more than Hailey...

the day we got to go to build a bear at the Appleton mall and build a kitty!!

that was her "prize" for learning how to go potty and poopy (the harder of the two- for Hailey, at least) on the toilet. She had to put a circle on each day without accidents for 12 days before we could go and yesterday she finally did it- so today, Daddy got off work a 1/2 hour early and we made our way to Appleton to build a bear!

Our celebrating started early in the day- wearing her kitty shirt, her favorite kitty underwear and making kitty sandwiches for lunch!

I think the kitty was a hit, but making it was a little intimidating, or in Hailey's own words, "mommy, put heart in- loud noise. scary. daddy do it" So, we didn't get any pictures in the store- we had to leave before she finally stopped hiding behind our legs! :)

but, she wouldn't even put her kitty down when it was time to eat- it had to sit on Hailey's lap and help her eat her cheeseburger and french fries! (do you like the blue eyes...she picked this one out all by herself, but I thought it was fitting- the only stuffed animal there with blue eyes) :)

LOVE- even on the way home she couldn't get enough of her kitty! :)

Did you notice that her kitty is wearing undies?? You could pick out an outfit for "free", but she didn't want an outfit- she just wanted her kitty to have matching "hello kitty" underwear...go figure! (so, mommy picked out the outfit and the shoes and she got the undies, too...I'm such a sucker!) :) But, honestly, I couldn't help it- I was so proud of my little girl for learning how to go potty on the big girl potty all by herself! I woulda given her the moon if it meant that I didn't have to change 4 little kids diapers in about 3 months! :)

Thank you, Lord, for the little things in life! Your faithfulness in the small matters continues to amaze and sustain me!

future plumber??

2011-08-14T21:02:00.002-05:00

This little boy just loves to play in the toilet...

he just loves to play in ours and put random things in ours
today he found a toilet that he could actually play in...the new one that Daddy's putting in the basement bathroom!

he so enjoyed helping daddy hook up all the plumbing that I definitely think he's gonna be plumber someday! :)

in mourning??!!

2011-08-11T13:50:00.002-05:00

don't worry no one died...no one, but my hopes, dreams, and ambitions- that is!

I know it seems like a very selfish and ungrateful thing for a mommy of two and soon to be four amazing children to be doing- but, just in case anyone else is struggling with this, today, also, I'll go ahead and admit for all of us that I'm mourning!

Tomorrow I will be 22 weeks and from the looks of this photo I am having a normal, run of the mill pregnancy and will deliver a normal, run of the mill child (if there really is such a thing)...but, sometimes photos can be misleading. If there is anything that this pregnancy is not- it's normal!

I think my "mourning" began the day I began to suspect that I was pregnant with baby #3...I know that there are women out there who would give 1/2 their arm or leg to find out their pregnant- even pregnant with baby #3, but for me it wasn't a happy or joyous time- it was heartbreaking. It was the first step in my mourning process. In the last 5 months I have mourned many more things and always felt guilty over each one, but today I've decided to embrace it- to share a few of them with you all and maybe by doing that I can say goodbye to each one and move on to celebrating the blessings more easily!!

I've definitely had to mourn the loss of a happy, enjoyable pregnancy. I so loved being pregnant (as soon as the sickness subsided) with both of my other kids and I always felt like I looked better and felt better when I was pregnant, but this time I just feel uncomfortable, scared, nervous, big and frumpy!! I'm putting on a lot more weight than I did with either of the other two, I'm having to curb my activities WAY more than I did with the other two (considering I never did curb them with the other two), and I'm having a harder time bonding with these two, in utero, than I did with either Hailey or Jackson. I find myself calling them the girls or the twins a lot more often than Maysen and Maelle and I'm not even sure why...

The second thing that I've had to mourn the loss of is of my friendships. Yes, there have been people who have stopped talking to me because we're pregnant with twins and yes, that does hurt, but it's the lost in the busyness of life loss that I'm mostly mourning. There are friends that I've just been too busy to connect with or too tired to connect with and I know that it's only going to get worse. It's painful to have to say "goodbye" or "see you later" to people and relationships that I love and cherish, but I know that there is going to be no possible way to keep up with all of my friends when I'm running on zero hours of sleep and have four cranky kids to deal with! And I know that life will essentially move on for all of my friends, they'll all still be able to do playdates and get togethers and plan baby showers and teach sunday school and all those things that I've enjoyed doing with them, but I will be out of comission for a while and that's hard to think about.

The third thing that I've had to mourn is the loss of my freedom- that basically goes along with the first two, but on a different level! I'm having a hard time with the knowlege that I'm going to have to have help, I'm going to probably need some bed rest and some downtime away from Hailey and Jack and I'm going to need to give up any thoughts or desires that I've had for even having a normal quiet time in the years to come! (not to mention showers...shaving my legs...all that stuff that seems meaningless, unless you can't have) :) Today I met with a friend to talk about her watching Hailey and Jackson if/when I need some "rest" and after she left I wondered what my hesitations were with it...and, I realized it has nothing to do with her and everything to do with me! I don't want to admit that I can't handle my kids myself. I don't want to admit that I won't be able to go grocery shopping and make meals for my family. I don't want to admit that climbing the stairs and hoisting my son into and out of his crib is going to be a huge drain on my energy and painful, not to mention, possibly harmful for the girls in my belly. I don't even want to admit that I'm going to be in desperate need of help when Maysen and Maelle are born- I just want to be super woman and be able to figure it all out.

Another thing that I'm really having a hard time mourning the loss of is bringing home just one sweet little newborn! Planned for child or not, each mom dreams of bringing home her sweet little bundle, rocking it to sleep, nursing it while gazing lovingly at it's beautifully formed and cherub like face (even if the only time you get to look at it peacefully is those middle of the night feedings, they become even more special and sweet), but I will not get to do those things! I will have two little cherubs jockeying for position, wanting to eat at the same time, wanting to be rocked, held, and comforted at the same time...not to mention 2 other young ones needing time and attention, also! I won't even get to enjoy those middle of the night feedings, becausel I will always have two of them there- I don't know how long it will even be before I'll be able to feed them on my own, without someone helping me! Even as I write this tears are forming in my eyes, because I already feel guilty for the "loss" of bonding that I'll get to do with each of my girls. I want to be able to spend the same amount of time with them that I did with Hailey and Jackson and have those same sweet memories, but I wonder if that will ever happen...and, even if it does I'm sure it won't be in those first few sweetest months.

One of the biggest losses that I've had to mourn (and am still mourning...) is the loss of normalness. (hahaha...I know you're laughing at the mere thought of us being a normal family) :) I feel like there's not going to be anyone that we can relate to anymore- we're always going to be in a class of our own. There's not anyone else that I know of that could really use a quadruple stroller, I've never even met anyone else who has a need for a triple stroller. We're the only family I've heard of who can say that they have 4 kids under the age of 2- actually, we're the first in our small group of friends who will have 4 kids- period. I don't even really know of that many people who have twins and that is a rather lonely experience- we don't have a ton of people to ask advice from, we don't really know what to expect- it's all just a little scary and really intimidating!

I guess what I'm really having to mourn the loss of is ME! And, if you think about it- that's not necessarily a bad thing. There are many things about my old nature/my sinful nature that I don't even necessarily like and definitely won't even miss if God decides to use these losses to weed them out, but there are a few things that I do think I will miss---my mind and the ability to string more than three words together to make a complete thought is definitely one of them---so, I apologize if this post was really disjointed and jumbled. Bear with me and in about 18 years I may have my mind back in working order! :)

In all seriousness, I do think that there are legitimate things that I will miss as my life gets crazier and we add more children to it and I do think that it will just take time for me (and for Korey) to mourn those losses and move on! So, if we seem particularly down one day, please bear with us- encourage us, pick us back up, dust us off and set us back on the right track. We will thank you for it! :) And I know that God will bless you for it.

Thanks for praying for us!! On a brighter note...according to our doctor we are only 2 weeks away from very viable life(90% survival rate if born after 24 weeks)!! (and everything looks good, so, Lord willing, we're still about 15 weeks away from meeting these little girls)

Life is so much more fun with Daddy!

2011-08-08T11:39:00.002-05:00

Korey was home most of the day on Saturday and the kids and I had so much fun with him being there! We realized, yesterday, that he's been working for almost 20 days straight!! And, it has definitely felt like it...we all really missed him around here.

We definitely made the most of our Saturday and got a lot of playing in before he got called into work that night! :)

Hailey and Daddy set up the sprinkler and ran through it!

Jackson and I were playing, too, but the poor kid is a mosquito magnet and was starting to look like a pincushion, so I took him inside!
I think they both really enjoyed themselves

then they got all the wiring done for our new bathroom downstairs! So, thanks to the two of them (ok, mostly Korey, but we'll let Hailey pretend she was helpful) we now have a working fan and working lights in there- just tile and hooking everything up and we'll be good to go!! Yay!!

I don't know what we'd do without a Daddy at this house- we all so look forward to the time that we get to spend with him, especially his firstborn daughter! :)

oh baby!

2011-08-04T15:10:00.002-05:00

Can you believe how much this looks like a "real" baby??

Can you believe how rounded her face looks and how her little fists are clenched and how perfect her little nose is?

Honestly, I know that it is a baby, I know she's real- I feel her move everyday, but I'm still in complete awe with how real Maysen looks in this picture.

(her sister, of course, was too busy hiding behind my bladder and then protecting herself from her sister to make an appearance, so no pictures of her today...unless you count her legs in this picture) :)

The girls and I went in for a little check up today and everything looks great! They are growing- not as fast as the doctor would like, but what else is new for my kids?? They have good, strong heartbeats, no signs of twin to twin transfusion and were kicking each other with vigor! :) I'm thinking that they're both gonna be scrappy little fighters...which is good, they're gonna have to be to protect themselves from their older siblings!

It's rather disconcerting to watch them kick so hard at the membrane separating them and the "bag of water" surrounding them and it actually is rather painful to have Maelle kick so hard at my bladder and cervix, but it was great to see how healthy and good those kicks look on the ultrasound.

I'm praising and thanking God for His faithfulness these last few weeks so that I was able to go to my appointment today excited to see the girls and not the least bit nervous, worried or fearful about what we might find or might see (it was to make sure my cervix was ok, but mainly to check for the twin to twin transfusion syndrom) I feel that He has truly blessed us with a peace that definitely surpasses all understanding and for that I am truly thankful!

so wore out...

2011-08-03T21:24:00.003-05:00

This is what a wore out little girl looks like...

Isn't she just a doll?? Even when she's sleeping (ok, especially when she's sleeping) she's adorable and cute. Korey just couldn't help but take a picture of his little girl and it was all he could do to stop himself from just scooping her up and cuddling with her! :) I'm glad he resisted the urge, though, 'cause it's pretty obvious from these pics that she was one exhausted little girl.

Hope you're feeling a little less tired these days than Hailey, 'cause a lot of the time I feel like I am this exhausted and tired...just don't have the luxury of falling asleep in my bed at 6:30 like she does! :)

Potty Training

2011-07-31T20:45:00.002-05:00

On Friday I asked my Mom to come up for the day and help us do some intense potty training!

It's been a long 3 days, but...well worth it when you see this little girls smile! (at least that's what I keep telling myself) :) She loves her new potty chair- which she should, because she got to go to Target and pick it out all by herself!
while we were there we also picked out some "bribery" aka gum! :) Who knew that with a little packet of gum, a potty chair and TONS of patience you could accomplish so much in only 3 days?

Too bad for Jackson and I it has been a very long 3 days and we're both looking forward to being done and moving on with life! (him mostly because he wants to be playing with the potty chair instead of Hailey sitting on it and me because I am dying to get out of the house and be able to do something besides just watch for Hailey's potty dance) :) I'm hoping and praying and truly thinking we're on the home stretch, now...we had Nani, Unca Phil and Papa over today and only one minor accident and three successful attempts at using the potty chair.

Elmo sandwiches!

2011-07-30T20:43:00.002-05:00

Korey had to work tonight, so Hailey and I decided to do something fun and exciting for dinner:

make Elmo peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

we both had a lot of fun...
and didn't Hailey do a great job??!

I even made one for Jackson!
(without the peanut butter)

I guess life can be fun without Daddy around...shhhhh...don't tell him we do exciting things while he's off at work! :)

127 days to go!

2011-07-26T08:50:00.002-05:00

Psalm 127

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it;

Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain.

It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late,

To eat the bread of sorrows, for He gives His beloved sleep.

Behold, children are a gift from the Lord,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth.

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;

He shall not be ashamed, But shall speak at the gate with his enemies.

Mackenzie Jolene Glorvigen

2011-07-26T08:32:00.003-05:00

My little brother, Michael, and his wife, Sarah, had their first child on Sunday morning! They were so excited throughout the pregnancy and it was just so fun to see them finally holding and cuddling their precious little one! My brother is going to make a great Daddy- he already is!! And, you only have to look at him to see how much he loves his little girl. I think she's gonna have him wrapped around her little finger in no time at all! :)

Hailey and her great grandma had a good time investigating Mackenzie and giggling over her little noises! It was a sweet and special time to be able to take Hailey to meet her first girl cousin!

I just love babies...holding them is probably one of my favorite pastimes! Plus, this little one is doubly sweet, so that makes it extra fun to hold her! :)

she's so tiny and so perfect!

I love how first time parent's are in awe of how precious and perfect their new baby is!! Mike and Sarah are definitely no exception- you can tell they are in awe of their new baby!

the Great Grandma's sure enjoyed their newest great granddaughter!

Hailey loves her Uncle Mike and since Mackenzie is his- she loves her, too! :)

w
e

these kids...

2011-07-22T21:25:00.003-05:00

are just growing up so fast! I feel like I blinked and all the sudden my baby wasn't so much of a baby anymore...

he has an adorable little personality and does things "just to be funny"!

and, somehow this little girl figured out how to actually walk in high heeled shoes...not sure when that happened, since her mom still has issues with that! :)

And, Hailey figured out how good fresh, homemade bread tastes! (especially if you go through the work of making it yourself...isn't her little loaf so cute??)

Plus, she learned how to be show hospitality and care about others, since she made the bread and then wanted to take a loaf to each of the neighbors! It was probably one of the proudet moments that I've had as a Mom!

Jackson also realized that he can crawl into new and exciting places and find all kinds of new trouble! He makes clearning the dishwasher much more of a challenge, but it's amazing how fast I've learned to get the dishes put away that I don't want him playing with! :)

I just love these two kids and as much as they keep Korey and I hopping I'm so thankful that God blessed us with them! They are so perfect for us and I feel like our family just fits together so perfectly! Apparently God really knew what He was doing when He put us all together! :)

so much to learn...

2011-07-20T20:40:00.003-05:00

I've learned so much in the past 6 weeks (or so) since I saw these two little girls on our first ultrasound and not just how to read an ultrasound like a pro, all the best "twin" blogs and books out there, how to tell the difference between fraternal and identical twins, the amount of diapers that you will go through with twins in the first year, the incredibly huge weight gain I should be expecting, the words bedrest, but better things like- what true hope looks like and what living out that hope looks like in real life!

A verse in our study this week really spoke to me about how I need to be reacting and thinking about my pregnancy-

1 Peter 3:15

But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.

It is amazing the wide range of attitudes, expressions, and "well wishes" we've gotten from people concerning our pregnancy with the twins and I have been very convicted that often my response is very related to what I hear from each individual person. And, I have come to realize that not only does this response not help me with my attitude and doesn't glorify the Lord, it doesn't allow me to capitalize on the great opportunity that I have been given to introduce the world to the ultimate source of my hope- Jesus Christ! In the twins I have been given a great and wonderful opportunity to show everyone I meet what a life completely and utterly reliant on the Lord looks like and I need to capitalize on that opportunity! I often like to "justify" my lack of a good attitude in this pregnancy with statistics on twins or some other reasoning that I think makes some sort of sense, but in reality (I'm going to borrow Kristina Duran's words again)

"can we really be hopeful about anything temporary? It is critical that we set our hope FULLY and UNCHANGEABLY on Jesus and the grace to be brought to us at His revelation, and when we are doing that, the hope within us will radiate out to the world and will cause them to question. And when those questions come, we should be ready to answer them with gentleness and reverance."

I know that the future grace to be given me- heaven- and the grace that God gives us in this lifetime are my one and only reason for making it through any situation, but I often fail to make that a reality in my talking with others!
Pray with me that I will be more bold and more purposeful in sharing my hope with all the people I come into contact with!

Korey and I decided on Sunday that we have chosen a "theme" verse for our pregnancy (and probably the rest of our lives) and we're contemplating having it painted onto the wall of our family room so that we never forget what it is! :) (just kidding...we probably won't do that...)

It is 2 Thessalonians 2: 16, 17

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

God really is our only hope for making it through this life at all and it is a good reminder to me that when I feel like I can't handle my life or anything else that God says to me, "Hope in Me, Jenni, Hope in Me!" And, I am so thankful for His grace in giving me the ability to hope in Him, because on my own I don't even have the ability to not freak out and worry and have hope- I just can't get beyond my own fears without the Lord's grace!

These little girls have been life changing for all of us at this house- in the best way possible and even if we never get to meet them in person I thank God that He allowed me the incredible opportunity for growth and maturity in my walk just by being pregnant with them!

1/2 way there!!

2011-07-18T21:18:00.002-05:00

wow! can you believe it?? We're halfway to our projected due date! I can hardly believe it myself...these last few months have been flying by. And, I'm pretty sure that's going to continue for the next few!!

I'm really happy to report that, along with being halfway there, my attitude is more than halfway there in terms of getting excited to meet these precious little ones! I don't know if it was the shock of finding out we were pregnant, the shock of finding out it was twins, the extreme sickness, tiredness or a combination of them all, but up until a few weeks ago I would have had to say that I wasn't too excited about this pregnancy. And, as far as a turn about, I'm not sure if it was all the prayers that have been uttered on our behalf, finding out the gender and finally being able to give our little girls names, or the fact that I have been working extrememly hard at actively and purposefully puttinng my hope in the Lord, but whatever the reason I can honestly say that, despite being petrified out of my mind and exhausted just thinking about it- I can't wait to hold my precious little girls and bring them home to meet their big sister and brother!

Every night before she falls asleep Hailey kisses (my belly)her sisters goodnight and says, "goodnight Maelle, goodnight Maysen. Love you, big sister Hailey"! It's probably one of the most precious things that she does these days and it melts my heart each time! Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones, the lack of sleep from getting up three or four times a night to use the bathroom, or maybe it really is just that cute, but I am almost reduced to tears each night as I leave her room!

Well, just in case you missed it and were curious- our names for the girls are:

twin A- Maelle Kay (pronounced M(long i)L)

twin B- Maysen Ann

Our mother's middle names are Kay and Ann, so the girls were named for each of them, but their first names really have no meaning- other than the fact that Korey and I heard them and fell in love with them! :)

(forgive me for not putting a picture of my face on here...it's been a long day, I have bags under my eyes, my make-up has worn off and my hair is up on the top of my head in a ponytail and no one wants to see me like that, so consider it a favor that I'm doing for you all!) :)

they're....

2011-07-14T14:03:00.002-05:00

...I'll give you a hint- I bought these today at Walmart:

they share a placenta...

(and are laying head to foot on top of each other)

yup, they're identical baby girls!!

we're definitely thinking pink and ruffles here at our house, now!! :)

my "hope pie"

2011-07-13T13:08:00.002-05:00

This week in our bible study we are talking about what things that we set our hope on and the author/leader had us make a "hope pie" of what we have our hope set on. As she promised, it was a very eye opening experience for me. I like to think that I have it all together, that I have my eyes set on the prize of the coming of Jesus and that my real hope is set on Christ, but she showed us through this little exercise how we can't have our hope resting on Jesus and something else- it has to be an all set on Him or we aren't truly focusing our hope on Him at all!!

Here are a few of the things that I have been setting my hope on:

not getting the baby blues when the twins come, my friends and family helping me out when the twins come,

Hailey not freaking out like she did when Jackson was born and being a good helper, me being able to handle all 4 kids!

Kristina said in our study, "when we hope in that which is temporal, our hope will be dashed" And, she is so right- if I'm hoping in the fact that I won't be depressed and won't cry when the babies come I can probably almost gaurantee that's gonna be a failure- what mom who's running on zero amount of sleep isn't gonna cry at the drop of a hat?? If I'm hoping in the fact that my friends and family are gonna help me out I will be sorely disappointed, because as much help as they can offer- it will never be enough, because I am the mom to these four kiddos and I'm the only one who will be able to fill that role! If I'm hoping in the fact that Hailey will be good that will, too, be dashed, because she's only 2. That's too much to even expect from a child that age! And, if I'm putting my hope in the fact that I will be able to handle four kids at once I know that will not work out, because there are days when I can't handle the two that I have- let alone two more!!

Kristina, again, says it better than I can,

The goal that God has for us is that our hope pie has one large piece and that piece is Him....Hoping in Him is all there is!

As, these truths, and the truths in my heart have been revealed to me this week I have been trying to hide some more verses in my heart, so that when I am tempted to place my hope in something other than Jesus and when I am plagued by the thoughts of doudt and anxiety and worry about my future and my children's future I can quickly bring to mind a verse to combat those lies!

My two new ones are:

Isaiah 25:1

O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

I'm praying that you are all hoping in Jesus and His future coming this week, just as I am praying that I am and will continue to!! :)

Little Jack

2011-07-11T12:48:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I dressed Jackson in his new shoes and a cute little outfit and Korey and I both thought that he looked so much like Korey that we just had to take some pictures!

what do you think??

I don't really know what about this outfit makes him look like Korey- you'd never catch Korey dead in plaid anything! :)

Too bad Korey wouldn't pose for a picture with Jackson- he worked outside and was all sweaty, so he refused to get in front of the camera- so we have no point of reference, so you might just have to trust me on this one! :)

"mini-vacation"

2011-07-09T18:42:00.004-05:00

Korey's Mom and Dad watched our kids overnight on Friday night so that we could get away and do something fun- just the two of us! While we were gone I realized that I hadn't ever been away from Jackson, for a whole night!

10 months was definitely too long to go without spending some quality one on one time with my favorite man!

We definitely had a great time! We only traveled a few hours north- to Korey's favorite fishing spot- the Flambeau River, but we found some nice R & R in the little town of Park Falls! I even managed to fall asleep early while Korey was watching the Brewer game! :) (I know it doesn't sound like much of a vacation...but, these twins exhaust me and just getting an extra hour of sleep would have made the whole trip worth it!!) :)

We did do other things, though! We ended up getting up rather early- go figure- I think our kids have ruined us ever sleeping in again- and were on the water fishing by about 7:30 and fished for 1/2 the day, before heading home to pick up our kiddos. It wasn't a super long time, but we both managed to get picture worthy small mouth bass and Korey's great accomplishment was that he got me to hold mine for the picture- apparently after having babies and changing diapers and catching throw up with my bare hands holding a fish just didn't seem like that big of a deal, anymore! :)

I truly just enjoyed the chance to catch up with Korey and spend some actual "downtime" with him! It seems like we tend to just run and run and run when we're at home, so it was great to be "stuck" together, with nothing else to do but talk while we were driving and fishing! I didn't even read one part of the book that I bought just for the occasion- we just fished and talked the day away! :) We even managed to talk about something other than the twins for a few hours of our trip- pretty amazing, considering they have taken up a considerable amount of both of our "thinking" time lately! :)

Thanks, again, Mom and Dad for taking our precious babies for us! We love you and appreciate you!!

16 weeks 5 days

2011-07-06T20:19:00.002-05:00

Never before have I been so "in tune" with how many days pregnant I am! And, never before has a pregnancy gone by so quickly for me! It's strange that the two of those can exist side by side, but this pregnancy is definitely flying by- almost too quickly- and I feel like each day I'm poignantly aware of how many weeks and even days I am pregnant! (and, conversely, how many more I have to go- 2 weeks and 2 days until I'm half way there...kinda nice to be able to shave off two weeks right off the bat, huh?!)

We had our first real doctor's appointment yesterday and it was so great to see the babies kicking around and covering each other up. The energetic one kept covering up the one that was just sort of hanging out...it made me giggle- even in the womb they have different personalities! I guess with each appointment that we have we're going to do a little in office ultrasound just to check on the little ones and see how they're doing, which will be kind of nice. There's just something reassuring about seeing your babies and seeing their little hearts beating and their little legs moving!! We learned a lot more about having twins, yesterday, too...a few things that surprised us and a few "disconcerting" things, but mostly just really exciting and fun things! :) One of the things that our doctor did tell us to plan for was some sort of bed rest- even if it doesn't mean just laying in bed, we should at least have a back up plan for sometime around the middle of September on to give me a break and get me off of my feet for a few hours a day! I think that was definitely a shocker for me...I was expecting that at some point I'd have to start taking it easy, but that was a lot early than I was anticipating...along with that was the revelation that I am going to be looking like I am 40 weeks pregnant around that time, too, so that didn't help me feel much better about the situation! I knew I'd be bigger, but it didn't really hit home how much bigger until I realized that, right now, I am measuring at 20 weeks and in only a few short months I will be measuring at 40 weeks, but then will have a whole nother 2 months to grow before I get to deliver my babies! Yikes...it does sort of make me wonder why I complained so much with Jackson at the end...and want to take it all back! :)

But, on the happier side of things- I did learn that I should be able to do a natural birth, just like the other two, so that took care of one of my biggest worries or fears. And, our doctor, who has a set of girl/girl twins said that his are 5 years old and they went on vacation for the weekend and he was actually able to say, "wow! that was really fun", so we know that there is hope and that there will come a day that we can say that we will enjoy spending time with our kids and a day that we will actually want to/be able to take them all on vacation! :) (hopefully it will come before 5 years from now, but if it takes that long I'm willing to ride it out to get to the good part!) ;)

Thanks for taking this journey with me! I'm so thankful that I have such great support from my family and friends! It makes having twins so much more exciting and enjoyable to know that I can share all of my news with people that care!

Fun Fabulous Fourth of July

2011-07-05T19:57:00.004-05:00

We had some friends over to celebrate the 4th of July with us, yesterday, and we all had so much fun! In fact, the kids got completely worn out- not that you can tell from these pictures or anything, though... ;)

Korey wanted the kids to have some "fireworks" and I told him he should get some "safe" ones...apparently sparklers are now considered safe- in a Dad's world, anyways! :)

good thing the kiddos enjoyed it and Hailey even took the "careful" idea pretty seriously (after she put it above her head and had an ash fall on her ear, that is) ;)

isn't this guy just a little "ham"?? He truly enjoyed his first 4th!

(yeah, that is a mosquito on his head...oops! poor baby Jack did get eaten alive yesterday)

One of the guys that Korey works with had horses in the parade, so he allowed the kiddos to take a little ride around on one of them! I think that was pretty much a highlight for both of them- and, poor Brielle felt so left out...she wanted to ride one so badly!

waiting for candy at the parade!

Hailey and Jack playing with their toys before the Bretl's came over!!

I can't believe how much more fun celebrating holidays are now that the kiddos are big enough to enjoy them! Even Jackson loved watching the fireworks and it just made it so much more enjoyable to watch them enjoy it all!! Makes me wonder how fun next year is gonna be with two more little ones- the more the merrier, right?!

I do feel like sometimes we get so caught up in "living life" that we forget the reasons why we have the 4th of July! I'm so thankful for the freedom we have as Americans and am incredibly thankful for our founding father's who fought for that freedom and created the backbone for this amazing country that we live in!!

you know you've been working a lot when...

2011-07-03T12:56:00.002-05:00

10) Your wife can't find any pictures, from the last two months, of you and the kids together to put on her blog...save one!

9) Your daugther brings the phone to Mama asking to talk to "her Papa"

8) You can count the # of days that you have been home in the last month on one hand

7) the neighbor boys end up mowing your lawn for you

6) no one at church even bats an eye when they see your wife and kids there without you

5) your mom calls and asks your wife if she is getting lonely and bored without you

4) your wife schedules an appointment for an ultrasound and forgets to tell you about it...she invites your mom, instead

3) your daughter cries and says, "no work, Papa" when you go to put on pants the same color as your work pants

2) your daughter tells all the boys at sunday school that they can't play with the dolls- they have to go to work

But, the # 1 way that you know you've been working a lot, lately, is...

that your daughter calls you up and asks if you would like to come over and play with her and Jackson and Mommy tomorrow!

Korey has been working a lot in the last 3 months and I don't think that I even realized just how much until a few days ago when Hailey did call up Korey and ask him to come over and play! We've all missed him a lot and are hoping that God answers our prayers and keeps the storms away and our Daddy home for a while!

10 months

2011-07-01T09:02:00.003-05:00

and still going strong!

I just love this little guy!

You may or may not remember that when he was born we picked out a verse for him and it was Psalm 4:7a, it says, "You have put more joy in my heart"

Little did I know how fitting this verse would be for this little man, but it definitely fits him to a T! I don't think a day goes by that I don't thank God for him or laugh at some silly antic that he is doing or giggle at the new "situation" he has gotten himself into. He not only has added more joy to my heart- he has added it to our whole family's heart!

It does a body good to hang out with Jackson for a few minutes (or a whole day, if you're lucky enough to be his mommy), 'cause rarely will you come accross a baby so happy and so carefree and so willing to share his smiles with you! Plus, the kid is just so cuddly how can you not wanna just pick him up and give him a squeeze??

Hailey and Jackson 101

2011-06-27T20:02:00.002-05:00

There are so many times that I've wished that my kids had come with an instruction manual and I'm sure these two in my womb aren't going to be any different! Why is it that kids are all so different and that we have the hardest time figuring out what makes them "tick" and how to motivate them and what the best way to discipline each one is?? Those are a few questions that I'm just gonna have to put on my list for when I get to heaven...if I even care about it anymore by that point! ;) Lord willing, by then I'll have figured them out, made a bunch of disciplining mistakes, motivated them the wrong ways and done as much as I could possibly do with the tools that the Lord has given me.

Someone once told me that Korey and I are the perfect parent's for our children and that God placed them specifically in our family, because they needed to be raised just how we were going to do it...but, there are times where I honestly wonder what God was thinking! I feel completely and utterly unequipped with how to deal with the two children I have, let alone throw 2 more in the mix! I feel like I loose my patience too quickly, I don't say I love you enough, snuggletime and book reading time are often last on my list of things I'd like to be doing at that minute, I forget to pray before we eat, I don't always want to read Hailey's bible story at the breakfast table, I get irritated when I have two little tag a longs in the shower and tonight I let my daughter cry so hard she threw up all over me when I finally went and got her out of her bed!

What makes me qualified to be the mom to these four babies that I've been given??

I guess, the only answer to that question is- NOTHING!! I am not qualified for anything. I am a sinful, hateful, evil human being with no good qualities on my own and apart from God I would not be a good Mom at all! Good thing that God promises to supply us with all that we need for "life and godliness"! I'm feeling a little tired and overhwelmed today and I'm definitely clinging to that fact...and to the fact that no matter what life throws at me God already has, in place, the grace that I need to meet and conquer that situation!

(and, good thing these two sweet babies have their Grandma K and their Nani to pray for them, to love them, and to give their mom a break) :)

"they grow so fast"

2011-06-24T19:47:00.003-05:00

When I was pregnant with Hailey I remember an older, much wiser woman telling me, "your kids will grow so fast, so make sure that you take all the time you can with them- rock and cuddle your babies, read books to your toddlers, take your little ones to the park and push them on swings, have tea parties, go out on dates- just enjoy the years, because before you know it they will be moving on and too busy for you". I've really tried to not forget it. But, there are days when the day in/day out mundaneness of life gets to me- the kids are crabby, I'm crabby and it seems like this stage of life is going to last forever and I can't wish it away fast enough...those are the days when I look at pictures like these and almost cry tears of joy that I'm having another set of babies to love on and snuggle, because soon these two won't have anytime for that "silly stuff", they 'll be too busy rollerblading away with friends and jumping on the trampoline to care about their boring, old mommy!

I'm so thankful for that dear lady who knew I'd need to remember that these kiddos grow fast and knew that I'd need the reminder to cherish every moment that I have with them!
And, really, how could I not- these two are just plain adorable, even if the antics they get into are less than that at times! :)

pregnancy...

2011-06-21T19:42:00.003-05:00

looks good on everyone- even this cute little girl pregnant with a ball! ;)

"That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But, the longer we wait, the larger we become and the more joyful our expectancy." Romans 8:25

"The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him." Lamentations 3:25

I couldn't say it any better than my friend, so I'm just going to steal her words from our Bible study:

"Just as a pregnancy progresses and the mother gets larger with the growing baby, so should our expectancy as we wait for the Lord. We are promised so many spiritual gifts while we wait. the greatest of these is the gift of Jesus Christ himself. The listed promises...should excite us to wait for the Lord, for His hand, His voice and His work in our lives!" K. Duran

I am excited for what the Lord has planned for us and for our family with the birth of these sweet babies. It's so amazing to see what He has already been doing in each of our lives through the pregnancy and I can only imagine what is to come!!

growing twins...

2011-06-18T13:15:00.003-05:00

...is a lot more work than I'd imagined it to be!

Not that I really had spent much of my life imagining what carrying twins would be like, but in case you have-

it's double the exhaustion (or maybe that's just having Hailey and Jackson this time, as opposed to just Hailey and then just work)

it's double the morning sickness (or afternoon, or evening, or nighttime sickness)

it's double the belly

(here's me this morning- only 14 weeks 1 day and already sporting a little belly)

but, most of all

it's double the stress of carrying just one baby!

I've never been a worrier by nature and I've generally left all the worrying up to my husband, because that seems to be a vice that he enjoys- ok maybe not enjoys, but he's always been the worrier in our family- up until now, that is!

I think I've always sort of "skipped" over or skimmed accross the sections of the Bible that talk about worrying and God taking care of us- or read them thinking- "yes, what a good thing for us to do," but never have I really come accross something in my life that was completely and utterly out of my control- like this pregnancy is! Even when we were trying to get pregnant and it seemed like a hopeless situation I always had a "backup" plan of adopting or foster parenting- I just knew I was gonna be a mommy one way or the other.

But, there's something very debilitating for me about carrying these babies. I know that I can do whatever I can, I can take breaks, I can gain all the weight they recommend, I could go on complete bedrest starting now, but there are no gaurantees that these babies are gonna make it. (yikes-I can't believe that I finally said it outloud...) It's not even that I've always wanted twins or that I'm even really that excited or that I'm dying to meet my little ones, it's just that I can't imagine life without them, anymore! I'm almost afraid to buy anything for them or to talk to too many people about them because I just have this nagging voice in the back of my head saying, "what if neither of them make it...what if one makes it and the other one doesn't...what will you do then??" In my heart I know that there are no gaurantees, ever, when you're pregnant and that any baby who makes it alive into the world could suffer problems, could die in their sleep and that at any moment my life, Korey's life, Hailey's life and Jackson's life could end, but it seems so much more real and threatening where these babies are concerned.
I know in my heart of hearts that stress and worry have no place in the christian walk and that as believers we should not waste any of our time worrying about tomorrow, when we know the one who holds all of the tomorrow's in our hand, but it's so much easier to just say that outloud than to really believe it and to live it!
So, God, in His great mercy led me to these verses in Isaiah this morning:

(I was actually looking up verses on the friendship of the Lord and just "happened" to be drawn to these verses instead) :)

You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strenghten you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my right hand." (Isaiah 41:9,10)

I am clinging to these verses and when an ounce of panic steps into my heart or I find my thoughts going towards worry or stress, I pull my card out of my pocket and remind myself, again, that God will take care of me- that no matter what happens to my babies or me (even when I do end up bringing them both home I know I'll need these verses again and again in the days to come) that He will uphold me and give me the strength to carry on! But, mostly I can cling to the fact that God chose me to be the mother of these twins and if all i get to do is carry them, that's more of a blessing than He has given many people- carrying twins is a great and mighty calling and I am blessed and honored that He gave me this job! My only prayer is that I can do it well and honor and glorify Him in the process.

If you could pray that along with me, I would be incredibly grateful!

I know I will need all the prayer I can, as my spirit is often willing, but my flesh is weak!