Giving and Receiving

I've learned a lot about giving and receiving this summer. Mostly receiving. Without going into a lot of detail this has been the toughest summer of our married life. Things were going smoothly and then the cart was turned over! Terry's overtime was cut but that was ok because I was working, then we found out we were having twins and i've been on bedrest off and on. Needless to say we couldn't pay all of our bills. Especially with the Dr. bills that you have to pay in order to be seen by the doctor. And I have to see 2 doctors!
I've always been a pretty giving person. I enjoy helping others and often feel God urging me to do so. I definitely am a cheerful giver. However, being a gracious receiver is another story. My first reaction is to say "no, don't do that for me." I've never realized how important it is to be a gracious receiver until I was in such need. Our prayers were that God would help us and bless us and provide for all of our needs. But why did i feel so guilty when someone gave to me?
God had a big lesson to teach me! If I didn't allow others to give to me and to bless me then I was stealing their joy. I was not allowing them to be the cheerful giver that God had instructed them to be. If I didn't willingly accept the blessings that I had prayed for not only was I standing in the way of God's plan but I was stopping the other person from doing what they were supposed to do.
Now, If I prayed for God to bless us and help us and get us out of the bad situation how much sense did it make for me to not accept help from "others" when God was the one who sent them? It is very humbling to be in our situation. At some point or another most people get there and it's not a fun place to be. I always knew that God was there and I was very aware of His presence and so grateful to Him for carrying me through the valley.
Things are looking better now but my prayer is that the valley will always be in my peripheral vision so i will remain thankful and humbled.

So the next time someone wants to give you something or do something for you, please allow them to. You never know how much God has impressed on their hearts to do and you don't want to steal their blessing or their joy!

26 weeks and counting

Well, I haven't been good at keeping up with this blog but here I am at 26 weeks, on modified bed rest and still growing some sweet baby girls! We had a scare where Gracie Jo wasn't growing as fast as Avaleigh but she has finally caught up and now we're just watching to make sure she doesn't get behind again. Bedrest is not so easy for me, but maybe it's just slowing me down to get me ready for not getting to just jump up and go anywhere at anytime! Probably won't be so easy with 2 babies with me. Anyway just keep up in your prayers as we wait to see what God's gonna do in our lives!

I don't like...

Ok, so i'm gonna post a blog about things I don't like. Melissa over at Stafford Stories started it and so here I go...my list of "don't likes"

...I don't like the smell of eggs in the morning, and it's not just because i'm pregnant, they're stinky!

...I don't like to take out the trash. Somehow I feel like it's not my job.

...I don't like when people don't make their kids mind.

...I don't like it when people tell me "just wait until you have"...a boy, or 2 at the same time, or there's no way your next children can be as good as Ali.....Yes, she is a good child but i'd like to think Terry and I had a little something to do with that too...I mean she didn't raise herself!

...I don't like rowdiness in the house. I like to have fun but I also like my home peaceful. (I mean do you really think Terry's very loud?)

...I don't like it when kids are mean to other kids

...I don't like getting hot.

...I don't like when people are disrespectful to their parents.

...I don't like to wash the dishes. I always make a mess!

...I don't like rude cashiers. I hate it when they don't greet you!

...I don't like being late.

...I don't like being unprepared, however, that happens alot!

...I don't like negative people. They drag me down.


Well, i'm sure there's much more but all this don't likes is kind of yucky!!! So maybe tomorrow I'll post a blog about my likes!~!!

It's been a while!

Well, as usual, I haven't posted in a while. Let's see what's happened in the last month....Ali had an appointment in Little Rock with a specialist and tomorrow we are going to Ark. Children's Hospital for a colonoscopy and and EGD. They don't really know what they are looking for but this is the first step in determining the cause for her abdominal pain. I've had 3 ultrasounds since I last posted. They were all great. We had the triple-quad screening done for the twins to determine down's syndrome and both babies are fine! We still don't know if we have boys or girls but hopefully we can find that out monday at my next appointment! It's driving me crazy that I don't know what they are yet but i'll find out soon enough. I just need to be patient. Well, i've gotta go, this is our 2nd day of "cleansing" to get ready for Ali's tests tomorrow and i've gotta go fix her some more Miralax!! Fun!!

Ali Turns "11"

Well, Today is my baby girl's eleventh birthday. I can't believe how the time has passed. Here we are, married 14 years, have an 11 year old and twins on the way. I never ever would've pictured myself in this place. Thank God for all of his blessings. Ali has spent the whole entire day with her cousin. I haven't even seen her today because she spent the night with her last night. She called me this morning to tell me that Doe Doe (my mom) called her and told her happy birthday...so i sang to her and wished her a happy birthday. She just giggled. I know she enjoyed the attention. Her daddy called her from work and told her happy birthday and he said she liked it. He also said she texted him about 15 times from her cousin's phone. She loves texting...i'm so glad we haven't gotten her a phone yet! We'd never have conversations. I'm not sure the right age for cell phones but we're thinking like 7th grade. We'll see. Anyway we're going to have a small party for her Saturday with friends and family.

Great Appointment Today

Today I had a Dr. appointment and everything went great. My blood pressure was 120/73. Very good! I've only gained 1 pound so far. The babies heartbeats were strong and they are measuring about 5 cm. each. they both are growing at the same pace which is good because it's a sign that one is not taking from the other. The were very active, just wiggling around and bobbing their heads. I am 10 weeks 4 days and I'm measuring 18 weeks!!! OMG I can't believe that i'm measuring that big! She said i'll really be tripping when i'm measuring 50 weeks! She said I could resume all activities. I'm not restricted at all. I also don't have to see her for another month and will see the specialist at around 18-20 weeks. I was very proud of all the good news! Praise God!

Praising God!

Everything went well at the Dr. today! The ultrasound was great! Both babies heartbeats were very strong. Baby A was 177 and baby B was 181. The tear looked much better and the dr. said it was nothing to be concerned about and that it was repairing itself. She said come back next week and we'd do another ultrasound. Both babies were moving around so much! They were wiggling and moving their legs and arms. She said take it easy, no pushing, pulling or too much activity. I can do that!

Please Pray!

Well, I had a little visit to the ER this weekend. Early Sunday morning about 1:30 am I woke up bleeding and clotting. Of course it scared me to death. I called the dr. on call and I really didn't like what he said. He told me that as long as I wasn't cramping that i just needed to stay off my feet and could call my dr. on tuesday (because of the holiday) He said "i'll be honest with you, you can go up to the ER and spend 4 hours but it's not really going to change anything. Unless you just worry about it so much you can't sleep I suggest you just wait until tuesday." Well, of course i'm going to worry! I understand that spotting is sometimes normal but in my mind clotting is not! I waited as long as i could and it wasn't getting any better so Terry took me to the ER about 2:30 that afternoon. To make a long story short, the babies are fine and their hearts are beating strong. What I have is a tear in my placenta called a Subchorionic Hemorrhage. Basically it's a tear where the placenta attaches to the uterus. The ER doc said it usually resolves itself but sometimes causes problems. All that can be done right now is bedrest. I'll be calling Dr. Thompson this morning to see if I can get in today or tomorrow. Please just pray that my placenta will heal and my babies will be safe!

We're having TWINS!!!

Well, I had my 1st dr. appointment yesterday and was just so excited to get our first ultrasound. When the ultrasound technician began the ultrasound my excitement turned to SHOCK when she very quickly said there were two babies! Most of yesterday was spent talking on the phone to family and friends and spreading the news. I will need to be in your prayers because this will be a high risk pregnancy. Dr. Thompson is sending me to a specialist in shreveport for monitoring because I will be 35 when I deliver and I had Toxemia with my last pregnancy and she really wants to keep that in check. So I guess we're in for the ride of our life! I'm definately nervous and scared but so excited and blessed beyond measure. I've prayed for a baby for about 5 years now and God has granted me my request above and beyond! Praise God from whom ALL blessing flow!

A Thousand Words Thursday

A Little Ray of Sunshine

Ok, so i've been taking care of my sweet baby cousin for about a month now. I haven't blogged about it yet because I just didn't know what to say. He doesn't have a good home situation and his mommy is out of the picture for about 6-9 months. But i'm praying for him and taking care of him and want you to pray for his family too. His name is Devin Ray and he is an absolute delight. He's one of the happiest babies i've ever met. Terry, Ali and I have absolutely fallen in love with him and I just know He loves us too! Anyway, we have been having fun with him and know that God is in control and has a plan for this precious life! So I just wanted you see what i've been up to this month! Meet Devin.....

Just a minor little rant

Ok, so am I the only one who is sick and tired of some of these "personal" commercials? Why do we have to be educated about mother nature's little monthly visit during lunch everyday? And it always seems like there are men around when we're watching too. I think the absolute icing on the cake is this morning I am now singing the tune to "Viva, Viva, Viagra!" Seriously, do they really think we should have to be explaining to our kids what ED is? Give me a break!!@!!!! Anyway, that's all I have to say about that! Have a great day!

A Thousand Words Thursday

How's a girl supposed to get any work done??

Our Anniversary

Well, today, March 25th, 2009 is our 14th Wedding Anniversary. Last week we went on a trip to buy a camper. While we were on the road we remembered our anniversary was coming up. We both had forgotten! We have been so busy this month with things going on in our life that we just sort of forgot about us. Of course we're broke and hadn't made any plans for our special day so we both apologized to each other and decided that our camper was our gift to each other. We also had a very special and very expensive valentine's date so that made up for it. So maybe tonight we can go sit in the camper and watch a movie! LOL!! Anyway, I do want to say that I am so very grateful for my husband. I love him for so many reasons and am thankful that God saw a reason to let him be mine! Have a great day!!

Ali and her cat

Last night Ali went camping with my in-laws. If i can possibly make a long story short i'll try....Today Ali called and asked If I could come pick her up at 4:00. She said she had been coughing alot and was ready to come home. So on my way to pick her up I called my mother in law to get directions. She gave them to me and then told me that Ali had coughed all night and all day and that If she knew she was sick she wouldn't have asked her to come. Of course that immediately struck a nerve with me and I said "If I had known she was sick I wouldn't have let her go" I guess It upsets me because I feel my parenting skills being questioned. It's not like I dump her off on them all the time..as a matter of fact she rarely goes over there and they rarely ask for her to come. She also told me that she had told Ali she was probably sick because of her cat. I told her I didn't think it was the cat because we've had her for almost 2 YEARS! Well, the thing that bothered me the most was that she told Ali that her cat was probably making her sick and that she needed to get rid of it!!! I just can't believe that an adult would tell a little girl that. She has no idea what that cat means to her. Now, I am not one to love animals and get attached but she is and that little cat is her best friend. They sleep together, play hide and seek and I really think they have a great relationship. Since Ali is an only child Carmen the kitty is very important to her! My inlaws hate animals in the house and think that all people who have them inside are nasty. I know she loves Ali with all her heart but Ali's feelings were really hurt, and as a matter of fact so were mine! Here's Carmen......

At the Cross

I am probably to worst at journaling, therefore, blogging doesn't come easy for me.  I love to read. I don't love to write.  In my heart I am the most awesome writer there ever was.  But most of the time it doesn't get past that!  I ran across this blog that I thought was pretty cool.  She calls it "thousand word Thursday" ...posting pictures that speak for themselves.  So today that's what I'm going to do.  Let's see if I can keep up with it!  This picture was taken at Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, Ark.  I was shooting a wedding and had some down time and this was my view!

I stayed home with Ali today because she was sick.  She was sitting in front of the computer and I thought she just looked so sweet!  She's getting better and she'll be going back to school!!!

Engagement Session

Last weekend I did some engagement pictures and thought I'd post a few.  I had a great time with Melissa and Seth and can't wait to do her bridals soon!

Ok, It's been a while since I posted so I thought I'd better get something going soon!  Last weekend I had a great time with our Sunday school teachers and their kids doing their family pics.  Enjoy!