Happy Birthday Rhema and Coco!

10 years ago today I thought I was dying as I gave birth to my first baby. I knew labor was going to be hard, but nothing prepared me for the 23 hours of no relief. God came in that room at 525am when sapped of strength, and told csection was planned, I cried out to my Father, and in one moment, a peace flooded the room that had even the nurses crying. With one final push, out she came, a baby girl with a head full of dark hair. We named her Rhema (the spoken Word of God) Summer, because God had spoken and birthed so many things in our lives during the summer time. What a gift God gave us in Rhema! She continues to grow more lovely every year!

7 years ago today I entered the hospital in the morning to be induced, as this baby was happy camping out in mommy for an additional 2 weeks! By 2 in the afternoon after a very quick labor, I gave birth to our first son, a whoping 10 pound baby boy. He was so late, he coo-ed at his daddy while he was being weighed! He took his Dads name, which his little sisters pronounced " Coco" He truly is a mini-me of his dad, no one better for him to mirror, and today he told me he wants to play football AND be a preacher! There is no boy on earth who has as much "boy" in him and yet remains so sweet and gentle hearted. To see him with his twin baby brothers is to see true love manifested.

Happy Birthday my loves! Even though I know you don't like sharing a birthday, I know somehow your destiny is tied together... I'm truly proud to be your mother. I have no greater joy than this...

The party is inside

There's a party inside me. Beyond feet, and toes, hands, fists, and elbows squishing and moving all around, there is a quiet excitement that is beginning to build by the day. I'm realizing as the movements get much stronger and forceful, that these moments are soon to be gone, and the twins will no longer be wrestling inside, they will be in my arms.

What will these little ones look like? What will their personalities be? I sometimes find myself with a nervous tingle inside, realizing that in just a few short weeks, I will be embarking on a whole new world. The world of multiples. Not only multiples, but identical ones.

I got into a conversation the other day with my neighbor who is an identical twin. She told me of a time when she had her blood drawn, and her sister was at school. The sister was squeemish around blood, so they didn't tell her where her twin was going. When she had her blood drawn, her parents received a call saying the sister had fainted in class, at the EXACT time her twin was having her blood drawn.

A girl from my church married an identical twin. The other day at a the soft ball field, I asked her if her husband and his twin truly did have a secret language. She affirmed all I've been reading. Not only do they have their own language, they also both went into the army, and still to this day can't go one day without talking...

So while I am a bit concerned about how our already large family will handle the addition of not one but two more, I can't help but with the anxiousness, also feel honored to watch something so unique and so uncommon take place right under our own roof...one person who was just one person for 8 days, split into two people...

Who started first? I will always wonder that. And what is he going to do that the Lord saw that his destiny would be so great, he needed not just a mother, a father, a sister or even a brother, but an identical brother, bonded together by the same DNA. That fact alone truly is worth the sleepless nights, severe morning sickness, constant uncomfortableness, heartburn and headaches I've endured these last 8 months.

I love you Judah and Zion, and I can't wait to meet you.

Watching you grow will be an art. An art that I am master of, and I will forever study the wonder that is YOU. (both)

PUPPIES

We have beautiful 2 week old puppies for sale! Of course from our champion bloodline Golden, Bridges of Gold. We bred her with a AKC standard black poodle. The results were astounding, absolutely beautiful puppies!

We are starting the price off at $1,200 with a $200 deposit to hold the puppy of choice.

Well I guess my promise to write more has failed again. I need some kind of incentive to write everyday, or I just let that day pass me by, unremembored.

Things are going well, I'm almost 32 weeks with the twins. We have decided on the names Zion Israel and Judah Legend. I would say that I am 85% ready, I still have a few more necessities to get, but for the most part I'm ready. I would like to do some more knitting, which I've been saving for these last few weeks where my energy is low, which it is! Everything I do takes so much more effort. My belly is so large, I find it hard to do laundry, give baths, change diapers, because everything you stand near is belly level.

I went to my Moms for 2 days this week to rest and recoup. It was so nice and peaceful there. No one talking, just the birds, and talk about beautiful weather. I woke up the two mornings I was there to the sun shining bright and the birds singing loudly outside my window.

Yesterday's Dr.s appointment went well, although I've lost another 2 lbs, which they were not to thrilled with, and I'm anemic, so I have to go on a heavy duty iron pill since I have a higher risk of c-section, my blood level cannot be low.

I'm tired today, I've been going non stop lately, but today I have no energy, so the girls have a friend over, the baby is sleeping and the boys are watching veggie tales....and I'm in bed. Its a good day for it, rainy and chilly...all I need is a fire place in my room and it would be perfect.

I promise myself to write more!

I can't believe another month has gone by since I've blogged, shame on me! The babies are growing bigger every day, I'm excited for when they are more active, right now, I still don't feel them as much as I'd like to! But 19 weeks has come and gone, and with each day, I get less sick, praise the Lord!

But they are 100% boys and 100% identical...I have my work cut out for me.

I had a busy day today, much of it was weary, but at the end of the day, my GG escaped from getting her PJs on and ran blissfully through the house naked. It gave me such joy to watch her glee as she ran from me. She would stop every few minutes, and scratch her little hiney with a huge smile, and keep running...there is NOTHING like a beautiful streaker to cheer a mama up!

Our surprise

On October 28th, I took a pregnancy test which was positive! I began having morning sickness right away, and pretty severely...I had to tell Lynn since I could no longer teach G12. When I hugged her and whispered in her ear that I was pregnant, she said "Its twins!" Now Paul Springer has been telling us for years that we would have twins, so this sounded common to my ears! But then I became even sicker, more tired, and my uterus was growing fast! I had a feeling something was up.

They scheduled my 8 week ultrasound, and me and Cisco went into the room. The lady started the ultrasound, and I saw three blobs! I said "Its TRIPLETS!" To which she replied, no not triplets, but there are two babies" Cisco said, "what? Twins?" She said, "umm, yes, two babies generally means twins!" LOL

So they are in the same sac, which the tech seams concerned over, but refuses to answer any of my questions. So we leave excited, but in the back of my mind, I hear her doubts....

I begin to research twins in the same sac, otherwise known as mono-mono twins. Not good. I see 50% mortality rate, and hospitilized bed rest at 24 weeks....I just know I need a miracle, and fast!

I get out Jackie Mizes "Supernatural Childbirth" and begin highlighting all the scriptures in my Bible one at a time that say healthy children are my heritage, and that all children are blessed IN THE WOMB, and I begin confessing morning and night...not too hard seeing the only place I wanted to be was in bed, I was so ill...

My doctor calls and confirms all my fears, and sets up an appointment with a specialist for 2 weeks...those were the longest two weeks of my life. But I kept all the negative reports to myself and remained on the Word that a membrane would grow to protect my babies.

Meme is up when the specialist appointment falls on, so she comes with me, and within 2 seconds of having the gel and wand on my belly, the tech says, "huh, I see a membrane" the 5 most beautiful words to my ears. 100 pounds fell off my chest right then.

Later in the week, my Dr. calls and said the entire board of drs said they were 95% sure they would NOT find a membrane, that there was not one there to begin with, and it was impossible for it to grow this late, and the only answer was it was a miracle!

Praise the Lord, my next ultrasound will be on the 28th of December!

6 months since my last post!

I have really slacked on the blogging side of my life. Since my last post, I did decide to continue homeschooling the children. I have come to recognize stages in my life where all that is needed is a much deserved break! So that's what I did, I took a break from all things homeschooling, and when the break was over I was refreshed.

So during the summer we spent a lot of time at the lake with my friend Judy, some time at the pool, and lots of outdoor fun.

We got our back yard done, with a beautiful patio and grass meadow for the children to play in, all we need now is a completed fence and swing set!

Gloria celebrated her first birthday, Rhema and Coco their 6th and 9th, we celebrated our 10th anniversary, Faith her 8th birthday, Katie her 16th and Cai his 3rd!