Time Flies

6 months ago today we were downtown in Baptist Hospital giving birth to the two biggest blessings Michael and I have ever been given. After a night of absolutely no sleep because we were way too excited, we rolled out of bed at 4:30 a.m. and by 7:18 the doctors placed James Benjamin in my arms. At exactly 7:19 they brought Andrew Emmett to us, and I have never felt emotion like I did as they took this picture. Even as I sit here, type these words, and rememeber that day, I well up with tears. How could Michael and I have known then what we would be in for over the course of the next 6 months? How could we have known as we held our precious little boys that all of the sleepless nights, all of the poopy diapers, all of the spit-upped-on outfits, all of the days without showers would be more than worth it, and that we'd choose to do it all over again just the same? Well, we sure had no idea what we were in for then. But I have to tell you that as I reflect on the last 6 months, I am left without any other response but to praise God our Father for making my life so full of love and joy. I anticipate all of the things to come in the next half of our first year together, and at the same time, I'm a little sad to not have my itty bitty babies anymore.
Today is a special day in our house, and I thank you, blog family, for sharing in this wonderful journey with us. The thought that you take time out of your day to check in on us means so much, and we are so thankful to have you in our lives. May the Lord be praised for the beautiful gifts He's given and the wonderful ways He shows Himself to us.
Happy "half" birthday, Ben and Drew! You have made your mommy and daddy so happy.

Bunnies, Ballgames, and Big Developments

Well, the Easter Bunny came and went this past Sunday, and I don't think that Drew and Ben could have cared less! The only thing they cared about was the new paci that the bunny brought to each of them. Past that, it was really just another Sunday for them. But they both looked VERY handsome in their little outfits, and they were both very good during church. They must have known that if we had had one more Sunday morning service like the previous two, they would be worshipping in the nursery. But they put it off one more week, which is great with me since I like holding them during church.

That next night the twins got to go to their first ever softball game to cheer Daddy on!!! I think it must have done the trick because our team won!!! Good job, babe! This is a picture of him at his second at-bat, where he made it all the way to second base, and batted in a run!!! All these sporty terms, and you might think that I knew something about it all, wouldn't ya?! ;) But the boys and I cheered loudly, and I they had a good time playing with all of the other Daddy's little buddies. Fun times at the ball park.

And our latest news probably isn't a very big deal to most of you. But to a Mommy, this is huge: Ben is mobile...well, almost. That's right, you heard correctly. He can roll with ease from front to back, and back to front. He can roll his way to just about anywhere that he wants to be, even if it does take him 10 minutes to get there. And just to show you how very different my two little boys are, Drew shows no interest in rolling over, but is getting quite good at sitting up by himself. If we position him just right, and cross our fingers, he can sit for a few seconds at a time before falling to his side and laughing. Ben, on the other hand has no desire whatsoever to sit up. He'd rather work on learning how to army-crawl. My days of freedom are numbered.

Enjoy all the pictures of our big boys!!!

This past weekend Drew and Ben were invited to go to their first Easter Egg Hunt. Every year the family that I nannied for through college puts on a big hunt. So, though the tempreture was in the 40's, though we had two hunters who can't even walk (much less even realize that they're supposed to be picking up eggs), and though we were with about 200 other people (most of whom were under the age of 8), we still had a good time. It was amazing: complete with rides for all ages of kids, a ball-pit, a moon walk, and the Easter Bunny himself! Michael even went on the adult hunt (the prizes were awesome!) and was searching for the Golden egg for us. All he got were a bunch of eggs with Tootsie Rolls in them. But we all had a good time! Drew and Ben even won some great prizes. Granted, it'll be a while before they can enjoy their sippy cups, crayons or bubbles, but they won them, nonetheless.






Here are a few pictures of Ben and Drew sharing a swing at the park today. This was their first time to swing like this, and in case you can't tell from Drew's sweet face, they LOVED it. The boys' best buddy, Brax, seemed to have a pretty good time too. I guess the sunshine, the breeze, and all of their little friends together was a good combination for them today.

What We've Been Up To...

Last week the boys and I went to visit all of my girlfriends (and 3 guy-friends) at Dr. Hunter's office to get my teeth cleaned....no cavities, thanks to sweet Carroll!!! We had a great time, and man do I miss seeing them every day. Here are just a few pictures of Ben and Drew with just a few of my favorite friends (the other two-thirds of the staff were working, so they couldn't be in the picture).Ben fell asleep on Beth's shoulder, as you can see....she has that magic touch with just about every baby she holds.And Drew hung out in Moriah's arms just about the whole time. But I told him that she's too old for him just yet, and she's married. Coincidentally, Moriah is who saved the day when I went into pre-term labor, and took my place there at the office. She's such a good addition to such a special group.I miss you girls! Especially Shelley, MerrriAnn, and Trish - my upfront gang. We love yall and we'll try to do better at coming by to see you now that the weather is so pretty.

Our sweet friends Jon and Laura Essner finally welcomed Baby Jay into their lives last Wednesday. He completes the births of all of our friends from life group, and now that all the babies are here, Ben and Drew will have a big group of buddies to play with. Jay was a whopping 8 lbs, 12 oz, though you'd never have known it by looking at Laura...she looked GREAT the whole way through. Congratulations, Essners!!!

Michael's mom and dad came to see us this weekend (we wish you could have come too, Chelle and Dressie!) and we had a great time getting to hang out with them. The boys really enjoyed getting to be with their MawMaw and PawPaw, and we did too. Nice to have extra hands to hold babies. Michael smoked some ribs and we had a great time just enjoying the nice warm weather outside. Unfortunately, Shari left their camera at home, and I did an awful job of remembering to take pictures...I only got a few. Here is one of them.And lastly, this is the fruits of my best efforts to get a picture of Ben's first tooth.Apparently, he's very protective of it, and doesn't think that Mommy needs a picture. It's a little blurry, but see if you can find the tiny little white nub on his lower gum. I know, I know...I'm a mess. Bless his little heart, he's such a good sport. Thanks for checking in with us this week!

Lots of Firsts

It feels like we have been going non-stop these days! We've been having so much fun, and the boys have been experiencing lots of firsts. On Sunday morning, Michael, myself, and Ben and Drew ALL made it to Bible class together, and only 5 minutes late!!! Needless to say, being anywhere by 8:45 a.m. with these two is quite an accomplishment. So, Ben and Drew got to go to Bible class before going into church. While we were trying to juggle babies, our bibles, and all of the toys needed to keep everyone quiet, Ben decided to chew on my finger. Which is when i discovered that he has a tooth!!!!! I can't believe that my baby is already big enough to be getting his first tooth. But there it was. I've tried my best to take pictures of it, but he doesn't seem to think that that is a very good idea. Don't worry, though...I'm persistent when it comes to a good photo-op! It took every ounce of restraint I had not to jump up and down, and tell everyone.
We left church and the boys and I headed to Madison to a baby shower for one of my dearest friends, Maggie, who is having Baby Savannah sometime in May. I would have taken pictures, but in all the hubbub of getting ready for church so early, we forgot the camera. So there are no pictures of Maggie's sweet belly, or Ben and Drew flirting with all the pretty girls. What hams!! They had a great time smiling and playing with everyone, and I think Ben made a few new girlfriends. It was so great to see some of my old college friends, and I love that they all got to see my precious babies. I think everyone enjoyed them because they are just so good-natured.
Everyone passed them around, and though Drew didn't feel great because of the teeth that are trying to come in, he was still a good sport. Another exciting first is that Ben can now roll over from his back to his tummy. Both Drew and Ben can roll from their tummies to their backs, but now they are working on rolling over the other way too! Drew, who isn't as concerned as Ben is with rolling to his tummy, pulls his knees underneath him, and tries to scoot himself to the toy he wants. I think that when he gets mobile, I'll have my hands really full.
Yesterday Britt and I took the boys on a walk in the park to enjoy the beautiful weather, and it just so happens that we ran into two of my best mommy friends from our small group at church. So we got to go walking with Darci and Brax and Sallie and Eli! We had a great time, and took some really good pictures of all the buddies playing. This was Drew and Ben's first time to play in the grass, and as you can see, they studied it carefully. Eli is still to little to do that, but he's getting so big so quickly, that it won't be long.

This morning, I laid the boys on the couch upstairs while I went to get the bottles for the first feeding, and when I walked back upstairs, this is what I saw! Bottoms up!!! I just couldn't resist grabbing the camera, and getting this one. Moments like this remind me that I am exactly where I am supposed to be: with my sweet baby boys. I am so blessed to be able to do this every day.

One More Day

Well, as most of you know, Michael has been away on business again. This has been a pretty long trip, so the boys and I headed down to my parent's house so that I could wouldn't have to do all the work that two babies require all by myself. Even though I had never traveled this far with the boys by myself, what a wonderful trip it has been!!! My Nana and Papa drove 6 hours from Georgia to spend some time with us (don't tell them that they are in their late 80's, since they sure don't act like it!). My mom took off work and has spoiled us rotten. Ben and Drew are going to have a hard time getting back to our reality, and so am I! Mimi and Pop have gotten up in the middle of each night with the boys so I could sleep, they do the feedings in the morning so I can sleep late, and to top it all off, they make me a big breakfast every morning!!! What selfless servants! Honestly, it's like I'm on vacation. So when we woke up this morning, and the weather was really bad in both Nashville and Montgomery, they talked us into staying for one more night...not that it took a whole lot of arm twisting. So, we'll be back home tomorrow.

On another note, the boys are just developing so much, so quickly. They are reaching out for toys, grabbing on to them, and putting them directly into thier mouths. Ben can almost roll over from his back to his tummy, and he gets an A+ for the effort since he wants to do it so badly. But he always gets stuck when he gets to his side. I'm sure he'll do it any day now, and it will remind me that they are growing up so fast. I'm pretty sure that Drew is getting ready to pop a tooth through his gums, since he is gnawing on everything in sight, and drooling the equivalent of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. It's so hard to believe that they will be 5 months old tomorrow!!! It has just gone too quickly. Everyone said it would, and I didn't know how right they were.

P.S. on another note entirely, I added a web-counter to our page. I know that we've had this thing for about 6 or 7 months now, but what can I say?...I'm just not that smart when it comes to computers. Thanks for checking in. I'll post pictures when we get all settled in from our travels.

We Are So Blessed

Last night we got to be a part of a very special Otter Creek tradition: the Baby Blessing! What a wonderful night it was!!! We, along with all of the other families that have had babies in the last year stood in front of our church family, and vowed to the Lord and to each other that we would raise Ben and Drew in the church, raise them in a home that honored Jesus and His sacrifice every day, and pray for them as long as we are alive to do so. It was such a special night, and I couldn't help but be overwhelmed at the responsibility that God has given to me. We got to share the whole experience with our LifeGroup, who has walked with us every step of this journey!!! We are so thankful to you all for the roles you play in our lives, and in the lives of Ben and Drew. As you can see from the picture, we all have babies about the same age...there again, God's sovereign hand. The only couples we were missing were the two couples that are expecting a baby any day now. Layton's and Essner's, we missed yall. But we'll be there with you to share in your Baby Blessing for Baby Xander and Baby Jay next year.

On a lighter note, I had to take a picture of how soaked Drew's little outfit got from all the spitting up he did. I mean, the front of it was just drenched. Ick! So much for our attempts at looking nice for the service.


And in case you are wondering what this picture of Ben is, it is a picture of his thumb poking out of the little mittens that are on his sleep shirt. For those of you who don't know it, we have a thumb sucker on our hands, and we have been trying for weeks now to keep his thumb out of his mouth, to no avail. So when I went into the nursery this morning, Ben had somehow wiggled his thumb out, and was happily sucking on it. When I leaned over the crib and he saw me, he left it in his mouth, smiled really big at me and started laughing really loud. I cracked up, and grabbed the camera. It's so hard to be consistent when they're so darn cute!!!