Boy oh Boy, God is Faithful!

Our sweet sister-in-law, Holly White, threw us a gender reveal party.  We had some of our family over to find out what the gender of each of our babies was.  Holly did an awesome job with making it suspenseful.  We each got to choose a mustache or a set of lips based on which gender we thought the babies were. 

(Our nephew Cade guessed girls...) 

Holly and Emily

 

      

After that, Holly gave us each a black balloon.  She said that each balloon was either filled with all blue, all pink, or a mix of both.  We all popped our balloons at the same time and here is how it went...

 

 

 

Emily: "Looks like I'm still the queen bee!"
Jared: "2 boys!!! The Man Cave is here to stay!!!!"
 

MORE PICS TO COME...

Story Time

 

We all have a story to tell. So why do we so often let the opportunity go by to share our struggle with someone else? Fear of rejection, pride, low self esteem, selfishness, and apathy all top the long list of possible reasons. I never told my story. In fact, I didn't think I had a story. Alot of people feel the same way. "I have no life experience, nothing crazy has ever happened to me. I feel inferior to people who have life-altering stories." Cool things happen to people, just as often as bad things do. I believe that it is up to us to make our stories worth telling.

 

Before I go too far, I do think there is a difference between a story worth telling and a story that isn't. I argue, however, that that difference is you. Emily and I spent four years battling infertility, but we weren't alone. Many couples face the exact same issue daily, some for even far longer than we. One of the most prevalent issues that I see college kids face is dealing with parents who get divorced. Many broken homes, broken hearts and broken stories. Some kids come out on one side of divorce with anger, resentment and an "I’ll-show-them attitude." Others come out confused, lonely, feeling unloved and not sure how to cope. Similar situation, completely different story.

 

This is where the true story is told. "Life happened, but then..." Some of the greatest stories are the ones we hear on primetime news specials or that go viral on the internet. Stories like the surfer girl who lost her arm but continues to surf and smile now. A family who lost everything in a natural disaster but the community rallied around them and provided them with a new life. These are stories of determination, of love, of overcoming. Think about if all of these stories had just stopped with "Life Happened." The point I am attempting to make is that life happens to us all; some good, some bad. It is up to us to help finish the story.

 

We are all created unique but not exclusive. We are all different but all have the same basic outline: birth, life, death. I heard someone speak once about the "dash." Asking, "what will your dash be?" The dash was a reference to the dash that goes on our gravestone in between our first day of life and our last. We may not all be born into the same set of circumstances, but we all have the ability to do the best with what we have. That is your story. How will you contribute to the lives of the people around you in your short time on this earth?

 

As humans, we are born ignorant and most of us have a really hard time shaking that as we get older. When life happens, many times we try to toughen up and handle it ourselves. I know from personal experience that this strategy leads to a terrible story. It wasn't until I realized that to make my story worth telling, I couldn't make it about me. That's our choice. The good and the bad in our lives can all help someone. I truly believe that we go through things in this life sometimes not to benefit us at all, but for someone else. It is up to us to share our experiences, struggles, concerns, and thoughts so that when others face those same times, they have hope and encouragement.

 

God gives us life and He gives us opportunities.  He also gives us free will to either realize that He is in control of our "dash" or remain ignorant. Your choice.

 

Doctors Visits

 

January 2: first ultrasound at NFC. Saw twins and heard the heartbeats. 132 and 134. Both babies looked perfect in size. Today I am 6 weeks 6 days

1/2/13

January 16: 2nd ultrasound at NFC. Both babies are growing at 20.8 and 21.8. Today I am 8 weeks 6 days. I have a small hemorrhage that caused some bleeding but should go away on its own. After this visit I am released to my OB at Baptist Hospital in Nashville.

1/16/13

January 30: Saw my OB for the first time. A new chapter! Today I am 11 weeks. Babies look great. Heartbeats were 174 and 183. We saw some hand motion on the relaxed baby and alot of moving from the active one. They have grown tremendously. The hemorrhage is no longer there!
 

1/30/13

 

 

February 27: Today was our second ultrasound with our OB. Today was going to be a big day as we could possibly find out the gender of both babies. Well..... we were able to determine the gender. (Check out "reveal party" here) Today's ultrasound was different. I was able to lay down and watch the ultrasound on a screen on the wall. What miracles we saw. Today they weighed 4 oz about the size of a half of a can. Their heartbeats were both 157 which they said was rare but very cool. How unique! Both babies were very active today and measured perfect. We were able to see the spine, feet, legs, hear the heartbeat and see it beating, we saw their arms and little hands move. I also noticed a little pug nose. Dr. Crowe said everything looked perfect. The babies are now positioned beside one another. 

 

"Baby A"

2/27/13

 

"Baby B"

2/27/13

 

March 25, 2013 (19weeks): Ultrasound was very short today. The boys are growing and heart rates looked good. They are still growing on track. They did not move alot during this ultrasound today. But it's always so exciting and surreal to see them each appointment.

 

 

 

April 8, 2013 (20 1/2 weeks): Today's ultrasound was very long as we had the anatomy scan and I had my glucose test. The anatomy scan took an hour and a half only because baby A decided to not be still so the nurse could check his profile. By almost 2 hours she stopped and will try next appt since baby A wouldn't cooperate, however, he did give us a wave. They have grown so much. Right when the nurse began to scan on the monitor and right off I noticed baby B is a thumb sucker. As I know this is a bad habit, I was so thrilled to see his precious thumb in his mouth as I was a thumb sucker. Baby A seemed to be performing acrobats in his picture. Both weigh 14 oz and are measuring perfectly. Right now I am only feeling flutters that feel somewhat like butterflies in my stomach and tiny small kicks every now and then. Today was also special as my mother and father-in-law were able to see their grand babies. It was a special moment for them. I was so glad they were able to see the boys. Jeff (father-in-law) made the comment while looking at the monitor, " how can anyone say there is no God as we gaze at these 2 miracles?" I do wonder the same thing. It's so incredible how God designed a woman's body to carry his child or children. It truly is miraculous. Everyday I thank God for allowing me to feel the 2 lives he's blessed Jared and I with. I've longed to feel what a miracle feels like and am so thankful God has entrusted me with his children.

 

May 1, 2013 (23 1/2 weeks)
Today was just a routine check-up. My ultrasound was taken upstairs with the Fetal medicine Group to get a better look at where my placenta is. The ultrasound showed my placenta is still covering my cervix completely. Our prayer is that the placenta moves. The US tech did another anatomy scan of the boys. Aiden weighs 1.8 and Taylor weighs 1.7 and both look great! Dr. Crowe was pleased at their weight as they both individually weigh as much as a single baby.

 

 

Baby A-Aiden

Baby B-Taylor

 

May 30, 2013 (28 weeks)

Before I was released from the hospital, I had another ultrasound.  These are the pictures from that US. Everything looked great and the babies measured 2.6 and 2.9oz. (Average weight for a baby at this stage is 2.22oz.) We are thrilled that they are healthy and growing!