An Easter letter to God..

Dear God,

Last night I went to the Maundy Thursday service at church with my family. I felt so proud to gather in my church where my kids are going to grow up. I love watching them run down the hallways and go into their classrooms.. (Sometimes with tears, sometimes without, lol). I sat down with a row of people from my Sunday School class and I just felt so blessed. I know there are people in this world that don't get the freedom that we have to worship together, and I know there are people in this world who have not found a church that loves and embraces them. I'm so grateful to have both those things in my life.

This Easter is my anniversary at Crossings. I remember talking to you many times about finding a church when I moved to Oklahoma City to take a new radio job. I went into so many different churches and they just didn't feel like where I was supposed to be until I walked into Crossings.. And as you know, walking into Crossings can be intimidating, but you gave me the courage to go. The Second I sat foot in the doors I knew I was home. The Biggest reason was the beautiful music I heard coming from an orchestra made of people that volunteer their time and are THAT talented! Blew my mind.. and this Church continues to do that for me every time I walk in.

As Terry was telling the Communion Story I couldn't help but wonder how you were able to do what you did. When he said "God had chosen his Lamb" it gave me chills because when I look at my two babies I can't imagine the heartache you must have felt knowing you had to send your Son to save the world. I don't think I would be strong enough to do that. I can't imagine the hurt you felt when he asked you to take away his pain and to spare him. As a mom, all you want to do is make the lives of your kids great. You never want them to suffer, or be sad, or hurt, or have anyone hurt them.. Yet you sent Jesus to go through all that, and I'm sure it broke your heart. Its emotional, because I know you did it for all your other 'kids'.. me included.

A long time ago I heard a sermon that talked about a woman who had a son with a very special gene. A gene that could heal all sickness, cancers, and diseases in the world. This one boy could save the world from suffering all those painful diseases. But for the boy to be able to save them, he had to die so they could remove those cells that would save others. That sermon moved me because I don't know that we ever look at our kids, or our family and think that we could give them up ever.. Even to save a world from hurt, but that is exactly what you had to do and I'm grateful. I'm grateful that a new covenant has been made even though it was made out of heartbreak.

Friday we went to the Good Friday service. It was a moving example of how much God did for us. I know its important to remember what Jesus had to go through.. his friends betraying him.. people doubting him.. all the physical pain.. all the torment. It wasn't an easy choice for you to make, or for Jesus to live through, and even though Easter weekend is a happy time, I always want the reminder of what you did for us, and what Jesus lived through for us.

This is an emotional weekend. Not only is it my anniversary at Crossings, but its my birthday in Christ. I remember making my own covenant with you after watching an Easter play at the Baptist church in Hobart. I looked up at my dad and asked him to walk with me down the isle to give my life to you. There were tears in his eyes and I knew that that was something he, my grandma Leona, and my mom had been praying for since I was born.

 This time of year I always feel super close to my grandma, even though she has been gone for 16 years. I think I feel close to her because she was always so close to you and nothing pleased her more than when I started my own relationship with you. I'd imagine she's pretty happy now too watching my girls. I hope that with your help I can leave that same example of faith for my girls.

So thank you God. Thank you for all my blessings that I watch every day. Thank you for my church and the amazing joy it brings me every time I walk into it. Thank you for my family and for always knowing Exactly what I need, even when I don't. When I found out I was having twins I really questioned your judgement.. I wasn't even sure about ONE baby, and here you go giving me TWO babies. I questioned whether or not I could even keep them alive! I had never even held a baby before, and now I'd be opening up my arms for two?? I remember having some pretty serious discussions with you about this.. lol.. And asking you "What are you thinking!?".. Even though you are the God of the Universe I still stupidly question your judgement sometimes.. Which I realize as I write this is ignorant.. so My bad on that.. But once again, You were right. When I look at Crosslee I see visions of me as a toddler.. Endlessly Curious, always in a hurry, stubborn, Passionate and Driven.. and I think.. What an Amazing Kid to know!.. But then When I look at Londyn I see a kid that truly savors every moment she lives in.. every bite she takes, every grain of sand that she runs through her hands. She looks at the world with her eyes wide open, just waiting to take it all in. She has the sweetest smile and is so sincere and I think.. What an Amazing Kid to know! I can only imagine this is how you feel when you look at all your kids. Every one different, but every one special. They are beautiful, healthy, special, and built just for me.

So Thank you for always knowing my heart.. for always having my back.. and for knowing what I am capable of, even when I don't. For putting people in my life who are truly great. For giving me the courage to distance myself from those who do not share the same vision for my family. For my husband who you built just for me, and my babies who bring me so much joy. Thank you for forgiving me when I fail you or disappoint you. Thank you for putting me in situations that teach me important lessons, and Thank you for saving me. Your love is truly Great and I'm excited to celebrate it this Easter.
Love you,
KC
PS, Tell my Grandma Leona Hi for me and that I still miss every day.

I'm Mad at Garth & Oprah..

Well 2 big things happened in my life this week.. 1) I saw the latest December issue of the Oprah Magazine.. and of course it featured one of my favorite things.. HER favorite things! Now listen.. I've kinda been upset with Oprah since she left TV. I enjoyed that TV show. I looked FORWARD to it each day.. then she flies off and buys her own network and I still have a hard time finding that dang channel on Cable! But.. I've caught a few episodes of "Where are they Now" and "Oprahs's Life Class" and its made me forgive her.. BUT.. then she puts out Her favorite things, which makes me angry with her all over again!! .... Why? BECAUSE I CAN'T AFFORD 90% OF HER FAVORITE THINGS!.. Oprah needs to put out an edition of "My Cheapest Favorite things" and then it would be more realistic for me! I mean who can afford $700 GOLD Dr. Dre Beats? Come On Oprah.. Come on.. Here's the list if you want to see.. Oprah's Favorite Things 2014. 

I like to look at these things to get gift ideas.. but so far there is no one that is worth THAT much money on my Christmas list! lol.. Not that I wouldn't love to get them those things, I would.. but with twins, childcare, and a house payement.. just probably not happening. However, I mean these are some of the coolest things ever, but right now, my face is not worth $93 face cream.. dangit Oprah.. bring it down a notch, bring it down..Even a PEN.. a writing utensil.. is $36. I would feel terrible if I bought a $36 Pen and then Cross threw it out the window, or I lost it..  I can tell she's trying to throw us a bone with the Nate Berkus Plates from Target.. But how many of us really need little tiny plates that don't match any of our other dishes?? Then she will put stuff on there that I really want.. Like Comfy stuff, which for me at this point in my life MATTERS.. I want some delicious, soft PJ's, or Tee Shirts.. or fluffy house shoes.. But can I have those? Hell no. The PJ's are $155, The House shoes are $120  and the T-shirts are $214 for 3.. Or how about some yummy smelling Candles? $240 set.  I obviously need richer friends.. lol. Nail Polish is $144.. Oprah, I'm probably just going to go to CVS and get it for $5.. If I ever do get rich and famous, the first thing I'm going to do for Christmas is buy things for my peeps off Oprah's Favorite things! But anyway.. There's the list, so enjoy, wishful thinking right?!?!

Okay, the 2nd person I'm mad at is Garth Brooks.. I spent 14 years, or however long its been waiting for Garth to make his comeback.. Sure he's thrown us a bone with the "Scarecrow" album, and done a few shows in Vegas.. Ok. fine.. but we were all waiting for the Big comeback.. Well we got a special glimpse when he did Good Morning America and Sang "Mom".. it was so good.. he cried, they cried, I cried.. it was awesome and sweet.. and exactly what we expect from Garth. True feelings and emotion when he sings, connecting with his audience.. it was awesome.. So When Tuesday Hit (the day of the "Man against the Machine" release) I was ready.. I was going to go download the whole album.. Listen at work.. review on my way home.. I. Was. Ready. ... But then I remembered.. Wait.. Garth Hates Itunes, Pandora, Spotify, and anything like it.. So where in the heck do I even GO to GET his new music??..

Google to the rescue.. I google and realize that Garth has started his OWN music streaming service called Ghost Tunes.  You can go there, sign up for free, and download his new stuff.. BUT.. its not very easy to understand. Like if you buy it and download it, where does it go? Not to your Itunes apparently.. So Far the only way I have found to play the songs and listen is to go to the website and do it that way. It tells me I can download it, but I have no idea where it download.. The beauty of Itunes is the ease of it.. You click 'buy' and then its in your Itunes. Simple. This is NOT simple, and it really provides NO directions.. Plus the website, ATT, and apparently my Iphone are all janky and it only plays half the time I press play.. So its NOT ideal. Sure as a former radio person, I get the point of "Preserving the music" where people can't steal it, and artists get paid.. but you have to make the process easy or people won't mess with it. Thats why People are not buying CD's anymore.. so much easier to just click 'buy' and listen online and be done with it.. So while I understand what he is TRYING to do.. He's irritating the people who love him the most by not being able to easily get to his music.

Now I will say this, Ghost Tunes makes it where if you buy it once, its yours.. Unlike Itunes, you can burn it to a disc (if you ever figure out where to download it) as many times as you want and on as many devices as you want, and the money paid actually goes to the artists.. so those are both good things.. So many once he works the kinks out if it, it will be ok.. but right now its a pain. Taylor Swift has decided to do the same.. so we'll see how this all shakes out.

In other news with the twins, all is good. We had a great Halloween. We took the girls to Northpark Mall for Trick or Treating, then to Laura & Terry's House.. They had a great time. Cross was dressed up as her owl JO, and LL was a sweet Pink Monster. They didn't really get the concept of Trick or Treating.. but they did enjoy their first sucker! We had a great time! After Halloween on that Saturday Gigi & Papa came up and we took the girls to the Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch.. They had fun petting the goats and roaming around. This is a great time of year! Here's some pics..

 Don't get so excited for Trick or Treating Girls! Calm down!! 

 Still not that excited.. but also not upset about being in puffed Costumes. 

 Man, she was a really cute Owl. She liked wearing this and patting her puffy belly! 

 Handful of Monster and Owl! 

Daddies Pink Monster! 

 Sweet Church pics

 Following our favorite guy.. daddy! 

I was Marie Antoinette for work party.. Cross enjoyed this.. 

Weight Watchers is Watching me..

So yesterday I started weight Watchers.. For the past 2 years I've eaten like total crap. Its been a BLAST I tell you.. for the first year I was pregnant, building giant babies.. Which I did (6.03, and 6.16lbs).. and then the 2nd year I was breastfeeding and burning calories like a crazy person.. so I lost the baby weight.. but Now I need to get serious.. and lose weight.. get some energy and kick it up a notch.. because if you haven't noticed, both of my babies are running.. in opposite directions!

In the past I haven't given two craps about working out because I was full of endless energy and magic.. Enter pregnancy and motherhood and that all went out the Do'... So we have to start again. I'm hoping that by going to the Loves gym at least 3 days a week I can get some more energy, and work on some heart healthy crap or something.. I'm not excited about it.. but I am on day #5 now and its not terrible thus far. I went to the Steelman Clinic and got appetite suppressants.. which are kind of a must at this stage of weight loss, so don't judge me..Last night we went to 501 and I had to say No to the delicious array of treats at the front.. and that was not cool.."Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels".... Whoever said that has obviously not had a salted Caramel Bar from 501.

So Gigi & Papa came up yesterday and are taking the girls to the Zoo today. We took the girls after they turned a year old, but at that Time LL was not walking.. and We didn't let Cross be free.. Mom just sent me a picture of them in the petting zoo, and I'm betting they had a hard time convincing Cross to leave those Goats. She loves all animals.. even weird ones.. So I'm guessing she had a great time. After the Zoo they were going to have a nap (Both the girls and Papa, lol) and then they might go to the Botanical gardens later.. It will be a fun weekend.

We have been watching two new shows on FX. The Strain, and Tyrant.. They are both Great.. and creepy.. The Strain makes me paranoid about diseases and deadly creatures killing us.. and Tyrant makes me never want to leave the country, so there you go.. 

So we are all doing good.. We are doing a new lesson at Sunday School. Its been pretty funny so far. We took a little personality profile quiz that said whether we were a "Lion, Otter, Beaver or Golden Retriever".. Well shockingly.. I'm a lion, and MJ is a Golden.. Which once again shows how opposite we are.. but also how great we come together. Over the next few weeks we are going to talk about how our 'animals' interact and how we can make our marriage and communication better.. I'm excited about that class.. its been really funny so far watching the other couples. If you want to take the Quiz.. its HERE

This is how the girls look each night before bed.. They go and get their favorite Ladybug book bring it to Daddy, and then crawl up on his lap to have him read it. They always pick the same book, and they always crawl up his leg. Pretty much the cutest thing ever from both him, and them. I'm blessed to have such a great husband, and two sweet girls. I have a great life.. 

Happy Birthday.. I'm old..

You know, when people used to say to me, "Man you don't look your age" my response would always be, "That's because I don't have any kids".. lol.. Well I guess that's over now isn't it, since My over achieving self chooses to have two kids at a time! But.. I did have a good birthday. It was uneventful.. but who are we kidding.. when I get to go out to eat that is now and 'event' because we are hoping/praying the girls don't start hollering, or rebelling..

Lately they have been pretty great though.. I'm realizing that as I talk to other people, I have REALLY good babies.. But, there are still two of them, so there's that.. They are actually pretty easy most of the time. They are to the age when they can be entertained by themselves for quite a bit.. If you put them in their bumbo seats with their play trays, they will play with toys for a good 45 minutes by themselves.. They have also started to notice each other, which is super cute.. they look at each other and smile as if to say, "Well hey! I know you..".. then they watch each other play with toys.. Or rather, Crosslee plays with Toys and Londyn likes to watch her play with them, lol..

Lapoppins has been taking them all around.. This week they went to the library for Mother Goose reading time.. Then they had a play date with some other twins.. then they went to Gymboree and did a baby class.. I know what you are saying.. "KC, they are 4 months old, what are they learning?".. Well hell, who knows, but I think its good that they are out, and socializing, and working on their sensory exercises.. They do little dances and exercises, and I think that's good for them too.. and Oh yeah, How amazing is my nanny that she will actually be willing to TAKE them?? LOVE HER. THE BEST. Seriously.. She was so sweet this week and went and got my Nothing Bundt Cakes from the girls.. I'd offer to share them with you, but yeah, they are already gone. thanks. Yum.

So go ahead.. make fun of me.. But yeah, I was one of those fools on the internet at 2am on Friday morning ordering my new iphone.. in GOLD no less.. Boom. My phone has NO memory and its beyond annoying.. Especially since I take like 325 pictures of the girls and have 7000 songs.. So I upgraded to the big dog.. the GOLD, 64, Phone.. Sad however that it doesn't come in till October, so I'll have to wait a bit for that magic. That's actually what my present was from my mom.. LOVE that. Plus, she is coming up here today to hang out with the girls while MJ and I go buy groceries.. You laugh, but you try taking two adorable bow-headed babies into the grocery store and see how much shopping YOU get done... "OH MY GAWWWW are they TWINS!! Can I see Them!!".. Yeah, it goes on and on, so we'd rather just go alone..

From my dad, he and Joni volunteered to come up and watch the girls for MJ and I yesterday.. Can you say "Best gift ever?".. Yeah. pretty much.. SO we got to run around.. eat at Mama E's.. do some shopping and just enjoy our time while the girlies enjoyed their time with Grammy J and Pops.. Beautiful day yesterday too.. We thought about going to the fair, but man, we only go to eat, and it ends up being a REALLY expensive meal by the time you pay to get in, and grab your giant corn dog and turkey leg.. I also ran into a Cow at the mall.. Had to take a pic of that.. Of course MJ loves it when I race to take pictures with giant walking around animals in public places.. What can I say, that's what I do.. Your welcome.

So yeah, my tongue is numb. Why? Who knows. I'm weird.. The last time I got some dental work done (PS, I never have ANY dental work done without getting my mouth numb) it didn't come back from the numb-ness.. I asked Dr. Cox what this is called, being that I was calling it "Dead Tongue".. turns out its called Lingual Parethesia.. It will come back, it can just take a bit.. Its an odd feeling, and like 1% of people get it..which is pretty typical for me.. to be the ONE person who has a dead tongue. At least I'm not talking with a lisp.. yet.. Or slobbering on myself.. YET..

ON top of this, My right foot has kinda quit working.. It was very painful to walk, so I went to visit Dr. Flynn who gave me a giant shot of cortisone in my heel.. Did that hurt? Yes, Yes it did..but is my foot better? Yes, yes it is.. However, I can't go barefoot anymore, which for me is a ruiner.. Call me a hillbilly but I hate shoes..

The girls have been doing better in the nursery.. 3 weeks and not kicked out! We even went to small group on Wednesday and they did good during that time too. Have I told you how much I love our small group and church? Yeah, I know I have.. but seriously, I just love it. Now we have a great small group we are so proud to be a part of.. We hang out with people our own age that have kids and are married and we get to share our love for God.. Its pretty well the greatest thing ever. Plus we have the best Sunday School teachers ever with Laura & Terry.. Truly blessed on that aspect..Really in all aspects.. So yeah, I may start looking old now, but I have a great life, so I'll take it!  

 

 

Its all fun and games.. Until you have two..

Well I think I can successfully say we are 'over the hump'.. Lol, or at least on the downhill slide.. This past weekend we took the girls to the farm, and it was a success! We took them to see Pops & Grammy Joni, and they had a great time.. Then we were able to take them to Mom's Church (Trinity fellowship) and let she and Papa Steve show them off.. Yes, My mom might have went a bit overboard with their outfits, but they did look like living dolls!!

Church is about an hour and 45 minutes.. I just knew for sure, we'd make it for about 10 minutes.. lol.. I mean, I have good babies, but they are still babies, and babies cry and fuss.. Especially if your name is Crosslee..so there's that.. The funniest part was Cross LOVED the music.. she would be quiet and watch when the music was going, and then fuss and squeal when they would pray.. Apparently she doesn't care for prayer right now, lol. So once Pastor Andy started preaching, Jordan took Cross outside and they were able to listen in the lobby.. Cross was nice out there as long as daddy was rocking her, so she went to sleep.. Londyn acted like an angel, and went to sleep and didn't make a peep..

Everyone says that Crosslee acts like me, and I'm "Payin for my Raisin'.. WEll this could be true, and everyday I thank the Lord that there are not TWO of her.. Yes, she is hilarious.. she smiles with her whole face, and when she is 2 I think she will probably be on TV dancing and singing somewhere.. but as a baby ME, she's a little hard to handle.. lol.. For those of you who know me, you know what I mean.. She loves music.. she loved being in front of the church (When they introduced us to mom's church).. She loves outside.. She loves animals.. and she has a high sense of urgency.. (Yes, she wants it now..no waiting)..She will smile for you, but you better do something funny for it.. No smiles for free with that one. She also doesn't want you to kiss on her all the time!  She is mine..

Then there is sweet Londyn.. We think she acts like MJ.. She's pretty well content as long as she's had a nap, and food.. She's so sweet, and she looks just like a gerber baby! She smiles when you talk sweet to her.. She really only fusses when you change her clothes.. She hates that and acts like you are chopping off her head when you do it.. She loves to be rocked and cuddled, and she lets you kiss her as much as you want. She is MJ's..

Isn't that cool how God works? One of each with such distinct personalites at such a young age. I tell you, we did NOT plan for twins, and it pretty well scared us to death, but now we couldn't imagine how it would be with just one of them. We are a pair, and they are our pair..along with our pair of furry babes, Payslee & Sawyer.. Its a complete unit, and a great one at that. If you ever want to know how God works, just ask us, and we can tell you and show you our story.

Survival..

Well we are seriously in survival mode now.. The girls are now 7 weeks (will be 8 on Saturday) and people keep telling us "Oh wait.. it gets better...it gets easier.. they will grow out of this".. and we are honestly tired of hearing that.. lol..Not that we don't appreciate the words of encouragement.. but when you are living it, you think "ITS NEVER GOING TO GET BETTER! YOU ARE ALL LYING TO US!!".. Yes, we know its going to get better.. but does it seem like its going in slow motion? Yes, Yes it does.. Its a good thing they are cute...

As most of you know, prior to having babies, I was not a 'baby' person.. so yeah, let go ahead and have two at a time right! lol.. Well I couldn't help that part, but yes, it was quite ironic that me,the non baby person, ends up with two at a time.. Such is life, and Yes, God is funny.. Its hard right now because we don't ever sleep..Jordan has gone back to work, so its hard for him to get up all night with the girls (we each take a baby at night) then go to work at 5:30am each day.. I go back to work next Tuesday, and it will be hard for me.. Its not like I'm getting to take naps all day, or anything.. but I am getting to schlum around in my ugly clothes and not be responsible for anything but myself, and the girls.. So we will see how it goes next week when I go back..

You know what has saved our Sanity?? LaPoppins.. Well actually two things.. Grandparents, and LaPoppins.. Who is Lapoppins you ask? Our Nanny! We found her on care.com, and we just love her.. We struggled with whether to get a nanny or to take them to daycare.. but if you have ever had to pack up a child in the morning and haul all their stuff (much less 2 of them) then you will understand why the nanny situation already looked much better to us! Plus, its so much nicer having someone come over to the house and play with the dog babes, and keep the girls away from sickness & outside stuff.. So this is where LaPoppins comes in.. No, her name is not actually LaPoppins.. Chantry nicknamed her that.. Her actual name is Donna, but Chant combined that with Mary Poppins, and thus the name LaPoppins! She's been coming over and helping out during the week and its allowed Jordan & I to go to the movies and enjoy some time out of the house, since we really haven't left the house a whole lot.. So its working out great!!

We have so enjoyed the rain too.. Crosslee likes walking outside and looking at stuff.. She will sit in her table for two and look outside..Or she likes it when Jordan & I talk to her while she is sitting.. She's started smiling more.. Londyn now laughs.. she is more easily amused than Crosslee.. they are both starting to get really fun, but they still only sleep a few hours at a time in the night.. then by the time you get them back to sleep you have wasted another hour.. So on most nights, Jordan & I are sleeping about 3-4 hours, which after 8 weeks gets rough.. But.. "It will get better".. yeah, I know.. so we've heard.. lol.. Plus when Jordan gets home, they are in their 'witching hour'.. which means they are hollering and mad for about 3 hours before their bath.. Its about 5-8, and baths at 8, so he's like "Well isn't this pleasant to come home too!?!".. but each day they get a little better about that, so hopefully its a 'phase'.. isn't that what everyone says when their children are being terrible?? Yes, its gotta be a phse! lol..

We did manage to get to the movie on Saturday.. We watched "Pacific Rim".. We went to Penn square mall, and apparently they re-did the theatre, and its flipping awesome!! All stadium seats in there that recline!! So nice.. Movie was good too.. Its about giant fighting robots..so how could THAT not be good.. We watched it in 3D and the 3D was really good, so we enjoyed that.. Its an AMC theatre now, so we will certainly go back!!

I think we might go back to the farm this weekend.. Crosslee has been missing her cows and tree's blowing.. We'll see if we get brave enough to do it again.. Thank the Lord for the rain..Such a blessing!

Some twins cause pair annoy-ya~Uh thank ya!!

Well I hope everyone had a great 4th of July.. We did.. We decided to head West to visit all the grandparents out there and absorb their help with the girls most of all!

Packing wasn't as horrible as we thought it would be.. Mom had a bunch of stuff at her house, so we didn't have to bring much.. We went out on Wednesday evening. The girls started out good in the car, and then about Pendelton's (Foss) decided they had had enough and being to squawl.. Londyn calmed down, but Crosslee is persistent and managed to cry until we got to my mom's house.. Thankfully Gramma Robs was able to soothe her and she got excited about farm visiting!

We had a great time! Steve cooked steaks for us on one night, Ribs another, brisket, chicken.. I mean seriously, we were fed well! Mom & Steve volunteered to keep the girls on Friday night and sent MJ & I to a motel room for a full nights rest.. So we said Yes!

We of course had to go to Simon's catch and had delicious catfish, and then to bed! Of course I can't sleep the whole night because I have to get up and pump (lame) but not having to wake up every 2 hours was heavenly! We truly enjoyed our night.. until we got back home.. The girls were not very cooperative for Mom, and neither were Sawyer & Payslee (WHAT!).. Apparently Sawyer barks and cries when I'm not with him and acted like a tool bag for my mom..So she got zero sleep, and that made us feel bad.. So probably not doing that again for awhile, but the thought behind it was amazing, and I love love love my mom for agreeing to try to help.

The girls did have a blast at the farm.. Crosslee loves outside time. You can take her outside and she instantly relaxes. She loves watching the trees and leaves blow. She loves the loud music that Papa Steve plays on his boombox, lol.. She loves the sounds outside, and Im' pretty sure she's already a farm girl at heart.. Both the girls loved Hot tub time! The Temp of the hot tub was perfect and they would have stayed in there all night! Here are some pics.. As you can see, they are enjoying their time..

We also got them dolled up for the 4th of July, and took them to Sentinel to see the other set of Grandparents.. We met Grant, Lexi, dad & Joni at the Sentinel Park and all the grand kids were decked out in their 4th of July gear.. We got a pic but as you can see, not all were Cooperative.. Sadly for Joni & Kirb, I'm thinking this is going to be their life! Can you imagine Christmas this year!! Lexi (My sister) has a little boy, Joe, who is 8 months.. My brother Grant's daughter, Ava, is 9 months, and then we have my twins (6 weeks).. so its going to be a blast.. I love Joe..He is hilarious. He is the happiest, most joyful baby! Its unreal.. Of course my sister is also happy, laid back, and joy filled, so I suppose this makes sense.. We joke that Londyn & Joe will be friends, while Ava & Crosslee try to dominate and take over the world!! We all had a great time. Ava was all dolled up in her bows and necklaces.. cute cute!!

 

Well, being that I'm home by myself some now, I've had to find ways to quiet hungry, crying babies.. So far I've put up boppies, and bottle props.. It helps, and it works.. I think as a mom of twins you just have to do what works, whether its PC or not.. I'm sure the birth police would come after me, but such is life.. Since I took this pic, my mom got us something called a "Table for Two" that has two seats, side by side, and I can prop the girls up in that.. even has bottle holders! Nice!! In the sunglasses pic up top, they are chillin' in their table for two..

 So we had a great time at the farm..and realized that traveling with them can be done.. However, it does take awhile..but its worth it to let the grands' spend time with the girls.. Papa Steve is already talking about getting them mini cows that they can show.. Of course I am super excited about this.. because hey, who doesn't want a mini cow??!? Plus, I want my girls to be farm girls.. My best memories are farm memories when I'm showing cattle, or shooting baskets in my barn, Or doing my 'gymnastics' from a hanging carcass bar in the barn (A bar hung from the top of the barn used to bleed deer after the are shot..Hey, sorry, I didn't know at the time this is what it was.. I just thought it was a sweet bar for me to swing and flip from..who knew..lol)

I loved riding 4 wheelers, or jumping on hay bales.. Building a fort with my dad, climbing tree's with my brother Grant, and of course I LOVE animals.. So I'm super excited to share the farm with my girls.. There's no app, or video game that can come close to farm living!

Plus, can I just say how blessed I am and the girls are, to have 4 sets of grandparents?!? I mean its awesome! 4 sets of folks to watch them for us when we need some time, and 4 sets to love them up! Such a blessing.. I can honestly say I'm so glad my parents are divorced.. I know that sounds bizarre, but I'm so grateful that both my mom and dad found people who they love, and I have my halfs, and step brothers and sister.. I love my step-parents so much, and I'm just so grateful that my girls will have so many people that will love them and spoil them!! I know divorce is not the greatest thing, but I think you have to find the positives, and my life has certainly been tons of positives because of it with even more people to love me, and for me to love. Plus my parents are happy!

So.. about the girls.. Well Crosslee is a bit devilish.. About 5:00 in the afternoon, if she has not had several good naps, she turns into a beast.. Now I know what you are saying by looking at her sweet face on the left there.. "What? How can that be true?".. Well it is.. She can scream louder than any baby I've heard.. And don't think you can wear her out..you can't.. She's stubborn and impatient already.. MJ blames me.. but I don't think that is ALL me.. lol.. Thankfully when she gets naps, she's good, and a happy girl.. She loves Music, loves me to sing to her, and loves being outside. When they took her outside at the farm, she instantly quit crying and just took it all in..

Londyn is very easy going and laid back.. UNLESS you don't give her food in time.. Then she will act like you have starved and punished her and she will wail until she gets her food! She does not like to go to sleep..she would rather watch the wall, or the ceiling and just hang out.. She doesn't fuss.. just has no use for sleeping.. (We shall hope that changes as she gets older, lol).. She is getting so big! Has graduated from the newborn clothes, to the 0-3 now.. We go back to get their shots on the 31, and I'll be anxious to see how big they are! Both of them are pretty good at night.. They still get up every 2-3 hours,but thats expected because they have little tummies that don't stay full very long.. but they are pretty good at getting up, eating, then going back to bed.. Its rough..but doable..

So Mom bought the girls these fantastic hats.. Because what  week old doesn't need a hat?? Right? As you can see, Cross was very serious about her hat.. She told me she was ready to greet the Royal baby for Tea.. Londyn told me she didn't care for the Royals, nor did she care for the hat..

So I go back to work on the 23rd.. I'm nervous about going back.. but so thankful to have found a great nanny to stay with the girls.. Miss Donna has been coming by this week and helping out and she and I will get a schedule in place by the time I go back.. It will be hard to leave them, but I am happy knowing I'm leaving them with someone who truly cares about their well being and happiness.. I'm blessed in that regard too.. Life is good in twinland!

We haven't been back to church and I miss it so much.. but the girls get their shots on the 31st, and then we will be less worried about taking them out. I'm ready to be able to go back to worship, and Sunday school!

Sleep? I'll sleep when I'm dead... Not really.. I'm tired.

Well here we are.. 5 weeks into the twinliness.. Girls are doing good. We are *trying* to put the on a schedule.. haha.. I know you are laughing, but seriously, everything I've read, and everyone (twin mom's) I have talked to said its important to get them on a schedule..

 

So we've been going with the "E.A.S.Y" schedule.. Easy= Eat, Activity, Sleep, then Your Time. So far,its ok.. I'm not going to lie.. its hard.. Especially when I'm by myself and they both wake up screaming at the same time, the 'activity' portion gets a little sketchy, lol.. Plus, who wants to wake a sleeping baby? Yeah, we do.. why? because we want to sleep at night.. so after about an hour and a half we wake them up for eating and activity time.. They are still waking up every 2 hours at night, but hopeful that as they put on more weight, and get older, they will go for longer stretches. Radio prepared me for little sleep, but this is a whole new level of 'little'..

Each night Jordan & I have a designated baby.. Crosslee is usually my baby.. she wakes up every 2 hours like clockwork.. But, she's pretty good about going back to bed.. but by the time I get up with her, feed her, put her back to bed, & Pump, its an hour.. so I'm up and hour..sleep 2, then get up again.. I'm hopeful this will get better. If not, I'll learn to love Espresso I suppose. Everyone keeps telling us tha 6 weeks is a 'magical' time when they can sleep longer, and all that.. I'm not getting my hopes up.. I will say at this point, having ONE baby seems pretty doable..If you ever had twins, then had one you would be like "WHAT! This is amazing!"..

Last week My dad and Joni came up and kept the girls for a whole day so MJ & I could go run around.. IT. WAS. AMAZING. Lol.. We went and got Pedicures, a massage, and went to the mall to shop a bit.. We so enjoyed our day! Well I did.. MJ said the massage folks beat him too hard and he was sore.. He apparently does not enjoy the 'deep tissue' massage, lol.. The girls had a great time with Pops Kirb, and Mama J, because that night Londyn slept for 5 hours! We may have to pay them to come back and do whatever they did again.. lol.. Then they came back on Thursday morning for a few hours and we took the dog babes to their field and let them run free.. So we enjoyed that time. Thankfully we have so many people around us that are willing to help out with the girls and give us some free moments. My mom and Jordan's mom have been coming by as well and giving us 'movie' breaks.. We watched "World War Z" last week with Brad Pitt & the Zombies, and it was GREAT! Loved it.. Then Saturday we watched "The Heat" with Melissa McCarthy & Sandra Bullock..and it was HILARIOUS. Loved the creative cursing, lol.. Reminds me of me' ol' radio days..

We got all our Newborn Pics back.. and Ali J, did an amazing job.. Just look at our angels.. yes, they "LOOK" that way.. but there are times when Crosslee acts a bit devilish.. She can rage with the best of them. Londyn is more reserved, but she can get going too.. Papa Steve was apprehensive about holding them, but look how cool this picture is! Both the girls and he will cherish that little moment..

 

We are heading out West for the 4th of July. Mom wants to introduce the girls to all her friends. No fireworks, but I'm sure it will be exciting figuring out how to 'travel' with the girls, and the dogs. So pardon our drooping eyes in the picture below.. We are pretty tired..but we are hanging in there, and making it happen, and the girls are doing really good..

How the girls FINALLY got their names

 

 

So Most of you who have followed this blog know that MJ and I have had a SERIOUS problem coming up with names for the girls..  I had my list of names, he had his.. I hated his, he hated mine, and we were seriously worried that we were not going to come up with anything.. Ironically we didn't until the birth certificate lady kept on us every day and every hour on the last day to come up with something. Yes, they WILL let you leave without naming them, but then you don't have all the documents you need..


So here's what we did.. On day one we decided to call them certain names. I believe on Day 1 it was Piper & Scout.. didn't work. MJ said that baby B was too pretty to be called Scout.. I agreed.. Day 2 it was Reese and Rowan.. But that didn't stick either.. However on Day 2, I came up with Crosslee.. It came to me from our Church, Crossings.. Because that place has been such a HUGE blessing to us. I gave MJ options to see what he liked better.. Crossland, Crosslee, or Crosslynn. He liked Crosslee the best, so we started calling her that on Day 2, and it stuck..

On Day 3 still nothing for baby B.. We went back to our lists.. The lists had like 40 names on it by now, both his and mine.. We came back across London.. We already had their middle names, Crosslee Shelton (Shelton is Jordan's grandpa's name) and ___________ Lucille..We had Lucille already because she is named after my grandma Leona Sheperd. I lost her in 1999 to Pancreatic cancer,and I still miss her so much every day. She was a big important factor in my life, and I know she will always be smiling at the girls from heaven.

 We both had always thought double L's would be cute. So we decided we wanted a different spelling, and went with Londyn Lucille.. Everyone we told the name loved it, and it fit her because it is pretty, and she is pretty.. So that is how we FINALLY arrived at the names.. Man it took forever, and I was honestly thinking it wasn't going to happen for awhile..

So this next week will be a test.. A test I have not studied for, and I'm quite sure I'm not prepared for.. My mom will go home and MJ and I will be sitting here with our babies for the first time by ourselves. We are going to try and see a movie and get Mama E's before she goes back as our "Last Supper"..

Speaking of Supper.. Have  I told you how much I love our Sunday School Class?? They have been bringing us supper for the last 2 weeks so we haven't had to cook.. We are so proud to have them around us, and even more excited to bring up our girls in an amazing church with an amazing church family.. This whole journey has truly been a God thing.. so when I'm in doubt these next few weeks because I haven't gotten any sleep and I'm wondering what I have done, Im' just going to try to be Still for a moment and know that he is God..and he will get us all through this.. because seriously, I can promise you its going to take all of us.. lol..

They Have Arrived!

 

ONE day old at the hospital!

Well the girls are here! I had them at 7:40, and 7:41 on May 25th. They wheeled me in, got me prepped for the C Section, and they were seriously born like 10 minutes later. Jordan didn't even have time to vomit at the site of blood! It was THAT quick.. Dr. Goff said, "I see a cute butt" and that was Crosslee.. she was born first, 6.03lbs, and 19" long. Then right after he pulled out Londyn, 6.15lbs, and 20" long. Both big and healthy.. We thought for a second that Cross would have to be on Oxygen for a little while, but then she started whailing and was fine. They both were able to go back to the room with us immediately. No Nicu time.. So yes, you can carry twins full term! What can I say, I build big babies! MJ took some pics of them.. Londyn screamed the whole time..she has a great set of lungs!

 We came home on Tuesday.. Mom is staying with us till this weekend, and then she will go back home.. So thankful she is helping us. Otherwise, I think the girls would be sorely disappointed in us, because who ae we kidding, MJ & I have no clue. We have never had babies, and certainly not TWO at a time.

I have to be honest, the C section is pretty great.. I mean yes, I had some pain, mainly from them pressing on the surgery area to make sure everything had gone back to its regular place..but other than that, I was up and around that same day, and have felt quite excellent since coming home. I've been able to drive, able to bend, etc.. its not nearly as crippling as some people describe it.. Or maybe I just have an excellent Doctor! Well I know I do have that.. but in talking to my friend who had her baby 3 days before I had my girls, the whole process of birth is not really that pleasant for anyone, so if given the choice, I'd pick the C Section.

The girls have been doing well at home. We've had to make a few trips to the Dr which is like a circus. I mean seriously.. You just can't travel anywhere without people stopping and asking you about the girls.. Partly because I'm pushing a giant train stroller and that says "Hi look at me!" I just took Crosslee on Monday. She didn't pass her hearing test at the hospital, (had fluid in her ears) so I had to take her back to retest.. well she passed with flying colors.. But getting there.. Lawdy.. I went by myself, and I made it, so it was like a personal victory..

We also had to take Crosslee to get checked for Jaundice. We took her while Mom kept Londyn.. To get checked they have to prick their heel with a needle, and then bleed her enough to go into a vial.. NOT great. She handled it like a champ though..MJ sits and talks to her, and she liked that.. so she barely cried. You know what else was hilarious? We forgot the diaper bag.. Yup, didn't even bring one with us.. So we were hoping for No blowouts, blowups, or fits of rage.. Cross didn't let us down. She was a champ, as if she knows we are first time idiotic parents, so we appreciated that.

We had to take them both to their 'well baby' check at the pediatrican.. which they should really call "I'm going to irritated the crap out of your baby by tormenting them" check.. They put them on a cold scale without their clothes on to weigh.. (they really hate being cold in case you didn't know) and they start manipulating their arms/legs.. shine lights in their ears/eyes.. I mean its really awful. Yes, it has to be done, but man, do they hate it.. MJ and I both went to that one.. This time we had giant diaper bag and all.. We are realizing that traveling with them is not really going to be a common thing.. Its going to be a "Is there anyway we can avoid doing this" thing.. Because its just TOO much.

For those of you wondering how the dogs were going to be.. one word.. AWESOME. Payslee is like the best little nanny/helper ever.. She has adopted the girls as hers, and is constantly checking on them to make sure they are ok. She will go up to them and smell one, then go and smell the other.. If they cry, or make a sound, she runs over and looks at them, then looks at us like "Um, do something".. lol. She has been great. Sawyer likes them too, but I think he will like them a lot more when they are able to interact with him. They are both super sweet, and so gentle anytime they get around them..I'm so thankful for them..

So thats my life for now.. We don't sleep much, but we are trying to power through! More to come on this little adventure!