There's Something Wonderful About Love

Growing pains...

2010-08-23T22:34:00.004-05:00

So it's been forever and a day since my last entry in the blog world. I find blogging a bit difficult to keep up with because there are so many I love to read, so I find myself getting overwhelmed and not reading or writing any at all. I know, strange right? You would think I could just pick a few to read each night when I get a free moment or update my own for that matter, but I find myself on Facebook instead or messing around in Lightroom, editing my pictures. It's been an interesting summer, pretty uneventful, but interesting still. Life with 2 three yr. olds continues to keep me on my toes and challenges me everyday to want to be a better mom. Some days I feel like I fail miserably while other days I feel like at the end of the day I can lay my head on my pillow and not have a thousand thoughts race through my head of what I wish I would have done or said differently. I still constantly have to remind myself that I will for sure make mistakes (everyday!) and just pray that God covers them, just do my best and let Him take care of the rest! I find 3 to be some what of a difficult age, more so then 2....at least for me it has been. Strong wills, sassy mouths and more time outs then ever! Everything baby is behind us now except for pull-ups at bedtime, oh and....did I mention they are still sleeping in cribs? I know, I know....get them in big boy and girl beds already! But....they don't try and climb out of their cribs and it's so nice to know that when we put them to bed, they are going to stay there, sooooo, we just leave them in cribs for now! Actually, every once in a while we will ask them if they want to sleep in a big bed and be in their own rooms and each time the answer is "NO!!!! we want our cribs"!!! I think it's because they know when we do this, they will not be sleeping in the same room anymore because it's not big enough for two twin beds. They really do quite well in the same room, so for now we are leaving it alone, at least until they turn 4 which is just in a few months! ((((sigh)))).....I feel like I am sort of in this place where I need to do some growing myself. My status on FB last week was something like..."I am feeling a bit out of sorts lately"....it's not a real fun feeling to have, but I do believe God will lead me thru it. I want to grow in my relationship with Him and it may require a lot of changing along the way, so I have to prepare myself for that. I have a tendency to shut down when life is too much for me when I should just run into the arms of my Creator. So I want to grow. I want to put this list I have created in my head, of who I want to be, to good use and quit saying "maybe one day..." Anyway....enough about me, Lilly and Asher are going to be 4 in just 5 short months, how is this possible?! Oh and it shows that they are getting older when I hear things like "it's no fair"! or "he started it" and "it's your fault"! Sometimes I think they need a break from mommy and mommy needs a little break from them as well...would love for them to go to preschool at least one day a week, but it's just not in the cards for us right now. (cards meaning budget ;) We'll see. I adore them more then ever. My favorite part of the day would have to be right before we put them to bed we all 4 snuggle up in our bed and we let them watch a little nick jr. while we cuddle. I wouldn't trade that moment for the world no matter how completely squished Brad and I are and ready to fall off the bed...after the snuggle time we usually read a story and pray and recently we have been asking them what their favorite part of the day was. The answers are so sweet and always make Brad and I smile. Here are a few recent photos of the little darlings.

Big boy and girl turn 3...

2010-01-12T22:23:00.004-06:00

We celebrated Lilly and Asher's birthday on Jan. 10th since their actual birthday was on Monday. Just had family and a few close friends over to have some cake with us. It's amazing how you can blow up a bunch of balloons, put them in a room and kids just think it's the greatest! No need for birthday games, just let them throw the balloons up and hit them around. This also causes excited high pitched screaming, so it was for sure loud! I should have known that the 5 dollar umbrella's I picked up at Walmart, at the last minute would be the biggest hit as far as presents go. Since Sunday, Lilly and Asher both have taken their umbrella's (rain or no rain) with them wherever we have gone. My babies are 3 now....they are fun, sweet, beautiful blessings. They make me laugh, they make me cry, they make me want to be a better mommy. I look so forward to seeing them grow this year and what new things they will do, say and learn. Lilly already talks like she is 10 yrs. old practically! They say things now that just amaze me like "I miss Simon" (our dog that we had to put to sleep about 6-8 months ago). They ask about God and Jesus and say He lives up in the clouds in Heaven and Lilly will also add "and He lives in my heart". Their favorite words are "why" and "because" and they will say them even when it doesn't make sense to say. It melts my heart when they say "I love you mommy" and I know it does Brad as well to hear "I love you daddy". Asher's giggle is infectious and Lilly's hugs are priceless. The 4 of us snuggle in Brad and I's bed every night before putting them to bed and watch some Nickjr. Most of the time we all end up laughing and wrestling around but it's nice when we are all just quiet and snuggled up to each other. I hope and pray as they get older, they will still want to do that... They had a ck up the other day and Miss Lilly weighs a whopping 24.5 lbs and is 35 inches tall. Asher weights 32.5 and is 39.5 inches tall. I love you my sweet 3 yr olds!

First big snow of the year...

2010-01-12T21:58:00.003-06:00

Lilly and Asher were beyond excited to wake up and look out the window and see snow on the ground...after Christmas of course :( As a matter of fact, it was 2 days after Christmas on my birthday, so that was a nice surprise! I woke up to Brad, Lilly and Asher singing happy birthday and laying two presents on my belly. ...so sweet. Later we bundled them up to go out for just a few minutes because it was super cold that day. Asher ate the snow, which didn't surprise me at all and Lilly just giggled and tried to catch snowflakes on her tongue. It's so fun to see them so excited about something. I feel so blessed to have these two little ones in my life and have an amazing husband to help me keep my sanity! hehe.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-12T21:17:00.004-06:00

2010, a brand new year and time for brand new goals. I had set a few for the babies (guess now that they are 3 I can stop calling them babies....neh!) one goal being potty training before their 3rd birthday! I'm proud to say, even though I waited until the last minute, Lilly and Asher are both almost completely potty trained! Lilly caught on in 3 days while Asher took a bit longer. Not that he didn't catch on as quick, he just flat out didn't feel like going on the potty. Let me tell you potty training two toddlers at the same time was a bit overwhelming the first few days. My sister stayed with me to help get started and by the end of the day we wanted to give up and wait another couple of weeks! We put them straight into undies, no pull-ups, so we spent the first day cleaning up accidents. Day two was better and by day three Lilly was doing both on the potty and has never looked back! Asher just started going #2 in the potty the last few days so I am really hoping this is it! They both do wear a pull-up at night, then undies all day....I'm so proud of them and incredibly thankful to be done with diapers! We are hoping to try and use whatever money we save on diapers to put them in preschool 1 day a week this spring....we'll see if the savings add up to be able to do it. We spend New Years with Grandma Chris and Papa Hoz, Aunt Shelly and Brennen joined us as well. We laid Lilly and Asher down for a nap at 4pm so they could stay up to ring in the New Year with us...it worked out quite well because I snuck off and took a nap too! Our little celebration started with pizza and yummy snacks Brad's mom brought. We got out the party hats and horns at about 10pm and had to hear Lilly and Asher blow those horns and say "Happy New Ear" for two hours straight...yes....they both called it "new ear". After ringing in the New Year it took them about 45 min. to settle down and be ready for bed....the good thing about a late bedtime means they didn't wake up until almost 11am the next morning! So here are a few photos of our New Years celebration and hoping this year brings wonderful things ;)

I have got some catching up to do!

2010-01-12T19:20:00.000-06:00

Ahhh...Christmas...it was a really fun one this year with the babies being almost 3. They were very excited about putting the tree up and helping decorate it, talking and asking lots about Santa and singing along to the "Elf" soundtrack every time we got in the car! Brad and I got so sick of hearing that cd we once loved, we were happy to put it away for another year. We took them to see Santa at his house in the mall ;) of course on the way their they were so excited and couldn't wait to see him and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. They had both practiced it so many times...when asked...Lilly would say "I'm gonna tell Santa I want a barbie"! Asher would say "and I want Handy Manny"...seemed simple enough. As you can see from the pictures, this is as far as they got! Lilly didn't sit on his lap nor did she tell him what she wanted, instead she held onto Aunt Shelly for dear life and cried. Asher got as far as standing in line with daddy...he wouldn't even walk up to him, let alone sit on his lap! Oh well, maybe next year. Christmas morning was also lots of fun, Nana, Aunt Shelly and Becky and cousin Brennen all spent the night so we could all wake up together on Christmas morning. It was so cute to see the look on their faces when they came down the stairs to find presents under the tree, some wrapped and some unwrapped and to see that Santa had eaten his cookies we left out! Unlike last year, they tore open their presents with noooo problem and most importantly they were old enough this year to some what understand why we celebrate Christmas and asked lots of questions about baby Jesus too.

2009-11-17T20:55:00.004-06:00

Well Lilly and Asher enjoyed another year of trick or treating. (well Asher, not so much....he was super grumpy) we dragged him around in the freezing cold anyways to fill his pumpkin with candy that we knew he would never even eat. When we went up to most houses he would hide his pumpkin behind his back when they would go to drop the candy in and make a grumpy face! Lilly on the other hand held her pumpkin out before we even got up to the house....she is our candy freak....thankfully Asher could care less about it, a roll of smarties or a sucker that he never finishes, every great once in a while and he is good to go. Lilly asks for candy for breakfast most mornings. Over all it was a fun but cold evening. We tried to hurry home in time to pass out the candy we bought but didn't make it, so that candy made it's way into our bellies just as Brad predicted it would. We let them pick out their costumes after many suggestions, they finally decided on these. We didn't try them on until we got home and Asher's was too small. My thought was to exchange it for the very same costume in a size bigger but of course when we went back they didn't have anymore. We offered up other cute costumes but Asher was not having it! He had his heart set on this particular puppy so back home we went, with the same costume that was too small and figured we would make it work for one night. After painting a little black nose on Asher and painting WAY too much on Lilly's face...we were ready to hit the neighborhoods! Face painting on 2 year olds wasn't such a good idea....I felt like we were totally getting on to them the whole night not to touch their faces. After a while I felt really bad and just let it go. Lilly's face was one big smear and Asher's black nose ended up on his sleeve. Love those babies!

Happy fall!

2009-10-31T14:28:00.005-05:00

We took the babies (wonder when I will stop calling them babies?) to their first visit to the pumpkin patch this last week! It was a beautiful day to go and they loved it! They had this huge pillow jumpy there and Lilly and Asher had a ball on that. They also enjoyed playing on bales of hay as well as the hay ride out to pick our pumpkins. There was a blow-up little haunted house for kids to walk thru and Asher kept telling us he wanted to go in the scary house, I didn't let him of course, crazy kid! Anyway, after we walked around and enjoyed everything, Aunt Shelly found our big pumpkin to carve and Lilly and Asher each picked out a small one for them. Nana and Brennen met us at home and we carved the pumpkins and baked the seeds! (let me make a correction, Aunt Shelly carved the pumpkins because mommy had never done it before and Brennen made the pumpkin seeds) Lilly loved pulling the guts out of the pumpkins, Asher wouldn't touch it! haha! It was a super fun day! We ended it by going outside and putting candles in the pumpkins and showing Lilly and Asher how they light up. Here are some pictures from our fun fall day!

It's been awhile!...

2009-10-06T14:39:00.002-05:00

Wow, it's been so long since my last blog I couldn't even remember my password to get on here, had to try a few before getting it right! I can't believe it's October and the leaves are starting change and the temp is starting to drop! I absolutely love fall and welcome it with open arms, but it's also a reminder of what is around the corner! bbbrrrrrrr.....another Indiana winter! I'm really trying my hand at this photography thing and am happy to say I am getting some appointments! Even did a wedding , crazy. I won't make this blog too long since it's the first one in a while and I will try to stay caught up from now on, I really miss it! The kiddos will be 3 years old in a few months, makes me sad and happy at the same time. I look at pictures of them from when we first moved to IN and they don't even look like the same kids! They were still babies when we first moved! Well, I tried to do their 2 yr. photo session a few weeks ago and it's very hard to take posed pics of them now....so I only got a few. I want to try again in a few weeks but it will be mostly candid shots that I take of them. Bribes don't work well with these two and it was a miracle to get a shot of them both looking at the camera.

sweet little Lilly...

2009-06-23T21:57:00.003-05:00

I was rocking with my Lilly the other night (yes I still rock with them and love it!) holding her tiny hand and kissing her head while I said prayers for her. I can't imagine her little sweet hand not being that tiny forever. I wanted to freeze time and have her stay my little girl forever and not get any bigger. Everyone told me it would go fast and I knew it would, but I guess it didn't hit me until this night. There is so much I want for her and sometimes it can be overwhelming to be a parent. I constantly wonder if I am being a Godly mother to her. I pray that God prepares her even now for what He has in store for her. I want her to stay little so I can always hold her and protect her. Lilly I love being your mommy more then you will ever know. I pray that you live your life passionately and that you love Jesus. Always know that you are beautiful inside and out.

Never a dull moment...

2009-06-18T10:35:00.002-05:00

After getting back home from Florida and being away from the babies for almost a week, my sweet boy stuck his tongue out at me! How do they learn these things? It has become his favorite thing to do when seeing people now. The first few times it was funny, but now it has to stop! He also developed a new fear of the washing machine...It seems like I do laundry all day long and he has never mentioned the sound the washing machine makes. Now all of the sudden he is terrified of it. I have had to pick him up and open the lid and show him what it's doing. I told him that it's giving all our clothes a bath to get them clean just like mommy gives him a bath. So now when he hears it and asks what the noise is, I tell him mommy is doing laundry and his reply is "I'm scared of laundry" and I say, mommy is too honey! Crazy boy!

Growing like weeds....or maybe blooming like flowers!

2009-05-26T14:05:00.007-05:00

Lilly and Asher LOVE outside! As most kids do I'm sure. Lately our days have consisted of playing in the yard, blowing bubbles, picking flowers (or dandelions, whatever Lilly can get her hands on) and eating popsicles. Soon we will get out the little pool and I'm sure we will never be able to get them back in the house again! They will be two and a half in July and it's so hard to believe. We still have a few goals to tackle this summer, although they are paci free which is very exciting for me and Brad! No more searching the whole house for paci's when it's nap time and bedtime. No more making sure we have them when we leave the house or hearing Lilly ask for hers a thousand times a day! aahhhhhh.....relief! I still find one here and there around the house and pounce on it before they have a chance to see it. It really wasn't a bad process and Lilly only asked for it a few times after the first night and Asher didn't seem to mind at all. We still have potty training to go but I am in no hurry! I probably should be a bit more concerned about it, but from what I have read 2 and a half to 3 is an ok age to start. I also read not to start before you think they are ready and once you start them in undies to never go back to diapers because it will only take longer. So, we mention it to them every once in a while and have the potty chair in the bathroom. They sit on it when they want but have never left us a surprise yet! Another thing I am waiting on is toddler beds! It's cribs for these two until they can get out of them! I have been lucky in the fact that neither of them have tried to climb out of their crib....yet! I seriously can't imagine switching to toddler beds yet because there is no way Lilly and Asher will stay in them! Anything to get out of going to bed, so that will come in time as well. For now I am enjoying being their mommy and taking lots of pictures of my two beauties! Here are the latest...

First trip to the Indy childrens' museum...

2009-05-06T21:39:00.007-05:00

We wanted to go to the children's museum while Brad's parents were here but quickly ran out of time on Saturday with all the Easter fun. Since Brad had a busy week/weekend at church he decided to take Monday off and we took the babies then. We had heard that it was great and lots of fun, but wow, we had no idea! First of all, it's huge and took us the whole day to explore everything. The babies actually did pretty good for having to walk so much and skip their nap. I think both of their favorite things to see were the dinosaurs. Although Asher was scared and wanted held while we walked thru he can't stop talking about them still! Lilly was a little more adventurous and actually asked to touch one! I think mommy and daddy had just as much fun as the babies did, just being able to watch them explore and experience something new and see how excited they were was amazing. They also loved the toddler area with the water and sand area. It was hard to get Asher out of there, that was his first meltdown of the day. The second would be when he had to get out of the race car for the other kids to waiting in line to get in. We walked away carrying a screaming boy saying "my race car, my race car!" The Backyardigans were also there that day and as soon as we saw them Lilly said "I want to say hi to them"! So we waited in line with two little excited babies to meet them Backyardigans and you will see the picture we waited in line to get! As soon as it was our turn Lilly decided she was scared of them and cried. It was a perfect day (an expensive day, but perfect!) Next time grandma and papa are here we will for sure make time to go again because I know they would love going with the babies as well! Here are the pictures...

Easter 09

2009-05-06T21:01:00.006-05:00

I'm a little behind on my blogging but what a great weekend it was, Easter weekend! Brad's parents came to visit and went to our Good Friday service downtown Indy combined with several other churches. It was awesome! Brad led worship along with some other guys from surrounding churches and then about 6 different Pastors shared. It was a powerful service! Then Saturday we woke up and went to the Easter Egg hunt at church. It was Lilly and Asher's first and they were very excited. They caught on quickly and wanted to know what was in each egg right away. After the fun at church we had lunch and came home and napped (which is a favorite of mommy's on mornings like that!) We decided to give them their Easter baskets on Saturday as well since Brad has to be at church on Sundays way before the babies are even awake. I wanted daddy to be able to see them get their baskets as well. So after they woke up we told them the Easter bunny had come and put their baskets outside and they had to go find them. Daddy "hid" (in plain view!) the baskets and the babies went running out the door towards them. Grandma Chris and Papa Hoz had also gotten them a basket and two HUGE chocolate bunnies! It was so cute to watch them look thru the baskets and find all the goodies. It was also their first year for getting Easter baskets, we didn't do them last year because of the move and being busy with unpacking, etc. I was super excited for them to get their first Easter basket and went a little overboard! They will not be getting as much in their baskets next year! Sunday we all went to church and had a great Easter service and then enjoyed dinner with my family at my sisters house before Brad's parents left. Here are a few pictures from the weekend and I'm not sure where my head was because I totally forgot to get a picture of the babies in their Easter clothes and also forgot to get a picture of the babies with grandma and papa....I was so bummed when I realized it.

few more pics from our day at April and Kaylee's

2009-03-15T22:14:00.003-05:00

Really?? let them finger paint?

2009-03-15T21:20:00.006-05:00

We spent the day with my friend April and daughter Kaylee last week and decided to get adventurous! Her daughter has painted before but it was Lilly and Asher's first time. So April taped a big brown piece of paper to her wall and we just let them go. I was a bit nervous letting them do this in my friends house, now being at home and making a mess is one thing! Thankfully they were washable paints! I really didn't know how they would do or if they would like getting their hands all messy, but they loved it. Lilly especially. It was so fun watching them be creative and so excited. Asher did his hand prints all by himself, it was so cute! April and I decided we need to get together at least once a week and let the kids be creative and do a craft. I only got a few pictures of little Kaylee, poor girl, she ended up getting sick the next day along with mommy. I love watching the babies experience something new, it amazes me how fast they are growing and changing. Makes me want to stop time for a while. Here are a few pictures of our day with April and Kaylee...hope you two are feeling better!!

...some random thoughts because it's really late!

2009-03-01T23:07:00.010-06:00

Lately I often find myself reading blogs really late at night. I love to read them but sometimes wonder how on earth people find the time to have such amazing, detailed blogs! I'm a bit jealous!! Lately my blog searches have been all about photography. It can be a bit overwhelming trying to take it all in. These blogs I have found have so much information on them and I desperately want to learn it all! My biggest thing right now is finding the time to do it all. I want to know the secret to taking care of twin two year olds all day, cleaning the house, cooking, checking my facebook, blogging, reading blogs, mastering photography, oh and did I mention taking care of myself some where in there? Fitting a shower in or even getting out of my pj's has turned into quite the luxury. I know others find the time to do all of this some how but I am having trouble and it's frustrating! Don't get me wrong I don't hate staying in my pj's all day...mmmm maybe not just every day! I find some blogs that are so fascinating, it almost seems like they would have to spend half of their day (everyday) blogging because there is so much information on them, not to mention the fact that they look amazing! I don't really want to be up at 1am catching up on some of my favorites or trying to type up a half way interesting blog of my own, but that is when I find a moment in my day to do it. Maybe I'm just not managing my time well or maybe it's because I have twin two year olds that demand my attention pretty much all day except for the hour and a half nap (I hope) they take. I could blog then or read blogs or practice my photography or clean the house or take a shower, or read a few chapters in the stack of books on my table I haven't gotten to... How do you fit it all in? What is the secret? Is anyone else as overwhelmed as I am? Ok....all that to say....while I was reading a blog this evening (well 12:30am) I found some really cool actions for photoshop and thought I would post a few pictures that I tried it out on of Lilly and Asher. The name suites it well....vintage. Isn't it cool? ok...no blog reading for me tonight, too tired.

I am determined

2009-02-27T21:48:00.004-06:00

So lately I have been getting a bit discouraged about photography. Just when I think I am doing "ok" and maybe getting better, I see some really awesome photos others have taken. Instead of getting discouraged, I know I need to let it inspire me. I have a huge passion for photography at the same time a fear of not being good enough so it makes me hold back. I do have much more to learn about this art and am excited yet overwhelmed. I get plenty of encouragement from my darling husband and lots of compliments from family and friends though, so that's good thing. Thanks guys! ...I want to capture beautiful, interesting images for a living. That is my hearts desire, now if only my brain would catch up and help me understand all the technical stuff I might just take an amazing picture...in my eyes.

Amazing people...

2009-02-08T22:26:00.002-06:00

My friend April had told me about this couple's blog that writes your babies name, that has gone to be with the Lord, in the sand at sunset and then takes a picture and sends it to you. She recently did my friends baby twins Erin and Tyler. I just spent the last 15-20 min. reading her blog and crying and hurting so much for parents that have lost a child. It is truly amazing, the strength they have. What this couple is doing to help other couples going thru the same thing is such a blessing. I can't imagine the grieving you go threw after loosing your baby and at first I was saying to myself, I don't even know where you would find the strength to go on and then I read this mother's story and thru my tears and heartache for her, she reminded me that God truly is amazing and can bring you thru anything "Although sorrow holds my hand and suffering sings me songs, when I close my eyes I know to whom I belong, who makes me strong".

I added the link to my blog so go and check it out. I hope it blesses you the way it did me! It's the one called "Name in the Sand".

Asher- fortunate; blessed, happy...

2009-01-16T13:09:00.004-06:00

Asher, It doesn't get any better then having you for a son. I can't imagine life without my sweet boy. You are truely a blessing from God more then you will ever know. You are a miracle, there is something so special and different about having a little boy that I just love. You have the most gentle, sweet spirit and I know you will have a tender heart just like your daddy's. You are as cute as they come with your big blue eyes and curly dark hair! You have the best laugh in the world and it's so infectious. Even when mommy isn't in the best of moods and doesn't want to laugh, when you laugh I can't help but laugh right along with you. You can look at me and say something so simple like "hi mommy" or "thank you mommy" like after I change your diaper and it just melts my heart. You are full of energy, giggles and wonder. You love choo choo trains, airplanes, balls and woo woo cars (police cars). You also love music and love to sing and know lots of songs just like your sister. You amaze me sometimes when I hear you and you are actually singing the words and the melody pretty darn good! A couple of your favorites you sing right now are the happy birthday song and Santa Claus is coming to town! Daddy taught you how to beat box into a microphone and Aunt Shelly taught you how to do the robot, which are two of the funniest things I have ever seen. I love how you still need mommy to hold and cuddle you when you wake up or when you are upset, because I know that won't last forever! I love having a son and even more so I love that it's you. I love you sweet Asher!

Lilly- a symbol of innocence and purity as well as beauty...

2009-01-16T12:56:00.007-06:00

Lilly, I can't even begin to tell you how thankful I am for you. I prayed for my Lilly and had you named for 8 years knowing that the Lord had promised you to me. You are more beautiful then I could have ever imagined, inside and out and I know that will continue to grow with time. Where did this blonde haired blue eyed girl come from! You are so girly in every way. You love babydolls, makeup (already), playing with your kitchen, dancing (and you have got some moves!). You even have a cute little high pitched girly voice and a tiny girly frame to go along with it. You have a mind of your own and like to let us all know. You give the best hugs and when you do I don't want to let go. You are so smart and your talking more and more each day. Sometimes you will say something and mommy and daddy are amazed and wonder how on earth you learned it! You are not only saying words now, you are putting them together and actually talking in sentences! A couple of examples that blew me away are: Mommy was getting you out of the car and hit her head on the door and said "ouch". You said, "awww, mommy are you ok? You hit your head?" I couldn't believe I was answering you back and saying, "yes, Lilly mommy is ok!" Another time I was changing Asher's diaper and he was crying. You bent down to comfort him and stroked his head and said "are you ok sweetheart, don't cry." What a sweetie. You love music and will often say "more lusic, I play guitar". You love to dance and lip sinc to songs, sometimes acting like a brush or a wooden spoon is your guitar. You also love to sing and know quite a few songs. The funniest thing is when you start singing a song mommy and daddy listen to instead of something like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. You are something else! You are an amazing, sweet little girl and I know God has special plans for you. I'm so happy to be your mommy and even happier that you are my daughter. I love you my Lilly!

First play in the snow

2009-01-16T11:47:00.004-06:00

It snowed all day on Wednesday so after the babies nap we went down into the play room and I told them to look out the window at all the snow. Lilly was so excited and started jumping up and down saying "it's snowing , it's snowing"! It was so cute. So I asked them if they wanted to see what snow felt like. I opened the door and told them to touch it and told them it was cold and wet. Lilly was very hesitant and wanted mommy to touch it first, Asher dove right in with both hands of course. I picked some up and put it on Lilly's hand and she giggled. I really had no intentions of taking them out in it because Lilly still needs boots and I wasn't sure where the snow pants were, but I was so excited for them to go out in it so I just found some hand me down boots given to Lilly (not snow boots and they were about 3 sizes too big!) But they worked. I put fleece pants on both of them, gloves, hats and coats and figured I would take them out for a bit. They did more investigating then playing, just walking around watching their boots kick the snow, picking the snow up and watching it stick to their gloves. They wanted mommy to make snowballs, so I did that and let them throw them. I asked them several times if they were cold and wanted to go back in and the answer was NO! Lilly even added "no, I don't like it, I want play in snow". (meaning she doesn't like going back inside). I also told them to try and catch the snowflakes on their tongues. That was really cute! I captured a few great pictures of their experience and can't wait for more! We need to purchase a sled!

Happy birthday my babies! You are 2 now!

2009-01-16T11:21:00.004-06:00

It's official we have 2 year old twins now! They have changed so much just since moving to Indiana even. I was looking at pictures and videos the other day of when we first got into this house and couldn't believe it. They changed right before my eyes without me even realizing it. The party was great. Lots of family and friends came to celebrate the day with us! As a matter of fact there were so many people here the kitchen and living room seemed to get smaller and smaller everytime I walked in. They were so cute when everyone gathered around and sang Happy Birthday to them. Lilly was just looking around and Asher was trying not to smile but you could tell he wanted to! Earlier that day he had sang himself to sleep at naptime with the Happy Birthday song, one of his favorites, so he really loved it when everyone sang it to him! Mommy can't imagine doing this every year...I had no idea how much work it is to throw a birthday party! At least I only have to do it once a year. It was a fun day and thanks to all that came and for the gifts as well.

Ringing in the new year (a little early) with Grandma and Papa

2009-01-04T22:21:00.003-06:00

Christmas 2008

2009-01-04T21:28:00.004-06:00

Well, Christmas is over and it's a brand new year for making some changes in my life and working on some things with the babies I am sort of dreading! One of them being potty training two toddlers. Lilly pretty much knows what going to the potty, instead of in her diaper means. Asher doesn't talk about it as much, but they do both tell us sometimes when they are poopy (as well as when they toot, just so we know) so I guess that is a good start! Another thing I am dreading is breaking them of their pacifiers. I seriously have never seen a baby attached to a pacifier as much as Lilly is. She would keep it in her mouth 24/7, only taking it out to eat, if I would let her. I think I might be dreading that more then potty training! At this point I honestly don't think she would be able to fall asleep without her passy and her blankie both. I am not going to rush either of these issues and give myself the whole year to work on them so I don't stress too much. As far as changes for myself they would include loosing weight, I really hadn't planned on gaining weight after I had the babies, I was supposed to loose! Deepening my relationship with the Lord and being faithful with my quiet times with Him. Read, read and read some more! These are just a few things on the top of my list. Now on to our crazy Christmas...It started with Lilly getting a stomach virus the week before Christmas which we are pretty sure she got from her cousin Evan. The babies and I spent the night with my sister only to have Lilly wake us up at about 4am throwing up! She did that until about 8am and then acted fine the next day. 2 days later Asher got it. We had no idea it was coming, he had been playing the whole day and acting fine and then right before bedtime he crawled up on Brad's lap and started to cry a little. I went and got them both milk to drink before bed and Asher drank it all and about 5 seconds later, up it all came! All over Brad and the couch, we both just sat there in shock and had no idea what to do because there was so much! Ok...enough detail, sorry. So we sat up with Asher until about 2am when he finally fell asleep on Brad's lap. The next day, my sister calls me and her and her husband Tom both have it, then Brad gets it, then me. I didn't have it near as bad as everyone else, never got sick, just felt like I was going to. On to Christmas Eve...Everyone was pretty much over the stomach flu but then Asher woke up Christmas Eve with a nasty cold in which he gave Lilly as well. Oh wait, it's not over!! Christmas morning...I was so excited for the babies to wake up on Christmas morning because I knew this year they were old enough to open presents and be excited. We had wrapped a few presents and left a few sitting out around the tree so they could see them when they first walked in. They usually wake up around 8:30 or 9am, BUT since they were sick, we heard them both crying at 6am, I immediately knew it was not going to be the Christmas morning I had hoped for. We waited to see if they would calm down, but the crying got worse so we just got them up. Two crabby, tired, sick babies, now waking up with pink eye on top of the colds they had. Are you kidding me! So their we were, me, Brad and my mom (she stayed the night to watch the babies open their presents) trying to figure out what to do so the morning's excitement wouldn't be lost. I rocked them for awhile and talked to them about the presents under the tree and how they could open them and about the presents Santa had brought and they slowly came down off my lap to go look. We let them open their gifts and pretty much put them back to bed around 8am. They slept until noon. The day after Christmas we took them to the Dr. for the pink eye and ended up finding out they both also had ear infections and had to get on antibiotics. So their was our Christmas! I am soooo hoping next year will be uuummmm....healthier I guess? I didn't even get any good pictures because I was so stressed and bummed out about all the sickness, but here are a few I can post...sweetness in a box and my little drummer boy. Sorry this blog was so long, I wanted you to get the full effect of how awesome the Beckey Christmas of 2008 was! But what matters most is that God is still God and He is still good despite our yucky couple of weeks. (again, still hoping for a better Christmas in 2009)!

Getting a posed picture of the babies is soooo mucher harder now!

2008-12-02T20:09:00.004-06:00

I remember when it used to be so easy to get a picture of the babies sitting side by side, how easy it was to get them both to smile and look at the camera. Of course it was when they weren't mobile! Here are my attempts at getting a picture of the babies sitting in front of the Christmas tree...so much for getting a good picture to send out with Christmas cards!

First hair cuts!

2008-12-02T19:34:00.004-06:00

Well Our plan was to just let Asher's hair grow and have us a long haired boy! But as time passed Asher's hair got crazier and crazier looking! He had all these really long pieces that were really frizzy and would just stick out like Bozo, instead of growing long, it was sort of growing outward and getting bigger! I thought I would be so sad to cut his hair and that all his curls would be gone but we told the stylist to just layer it and keep it kind of shaggy looking. He looks so cute! He still has little pieces that flip everywhere because of his curls and it just made him even cuter. Just as we thought, Asher did great getting his hair cut and Lilly screamed her head off. Asher sat there and grinned and was excited to be sitting in an airplane chair. We even let him go first to show Lilly that it wasn't a big deal and there was nothing to be afraid of....didn't work. As soon as we sat her down in the chair she started. I did feel really bad that she was so scared. Luckily her time in the chair was much quicker then Ashers, she only got a small trim because of course I want my girl to have long hair! Here are some pictures...

A perfect day for putting up a Christmas tree...

2008-11-30T23:28:00.008-06:00

I woke up this morning and got the babies out of bed and we came to the living room, like I do every morning, I opened up the curtains and to my surprise there was about 2 inches of snow on the ground! I had no idea it was even supposed to snow. Excitedly I yelled for the babies to come to the window and told them what it was. Asher's favorite word to say when he sees something he thinks is cool is "WOW", so that is what he said, followed by "I touch it"? To which mommy replied, not right now, it's too cold! Lilly ran around the house saying "it's snowing"! It was really cute and I can't wait to take them out this winter to actually play in it.

After about a 3 hour nap this afternoon for mommy and babies (daddy couldn't fall asleep) we woke up, popped some popcorn and found "The Santa Claus" on TV. We watched that for awhile and then got the tree out along with what little decorations we have. As we were taking everything out of the bins Brad and I realized that we might need to invest in some new Christmas items as well as a tree for next year. We have had most of our Christmas stuff for about 10 years, although we do buy one new ornament for the tree every year. I love getting out the ornaments and remembering what all we have. Some of our ornaments are really unique and i love how different our tree looks because of that. Some of my favorite ones are some that Brad's grandma made years ago and his mom found them and thought we might like to have them. The babies "helped" hang some of the ornaments on the tree while mommy went behind them and fixed them a little. Whenever Lilly would get one to actually stay on the tree she would proclaim "I did it!" We hadn't put up a tree in two years, 1st time because I was about ready to pop with twins and the 2nd time because we were packing for the move to IN, so I was very excited to put a tree up this year and share that with the babies. I was so thrilled after we got done that I got a little carried away with taking pictures, seriously, I took like 100 pictures! I went thru them and although it was hard, I picked out a few I really liked....

Flash Back...

2008-11-18T00:06:00.003-06:00

A couple of weekends ago I went to the movies with a couple of friends of mine. Now I will get to what we went to see later....We went to The Diana Theater in Tipton, IN, a small town theater that shows 1 movie at a time. I grew up going to the movies at this place, that was just the thing to do (well one of the only things!) during my middle school/early high school years. After the move it seemed like every teenager in town would walk the block to the local pizza place called "Pizza Shack". I really love these memories, after all we did it almost every single weekend especially after the roller skating rink closed :( So anyway, a couple of weekends ago me and some friends decided to go see the new High School Musical 3 movie. Yes, you read that right! I'm not (too) ashamed to admit that I love these movies, mainly because it's a musical and who doesn't love musicals, and partly because it's cheesy and I love cheesy stuff like that! Now I haven't been to this theater in a good 17 to 18 years. I walked in and I was back in 8th grade. Looking around in amazement, everything looked just like it did all those years ago and I loved that. The big kicker was that when I got up to the little booth that has always been there, to pay, it was the same ole guy still taking the money. When I saw this I let out a big "NO WAY!" and my friend knew exactly what I was talking about and she started laughing. She has been there several times in her adult life, now taking her kids. I really couldn't believe that the theater had survived all those years, with me being away for so long I guess I had just assumed it would close eventually. but oh no, it's still going strong! My friend even said there is sometimes a line outside depending on the movie. Pizza Shack hasn't changed much either, I still say they have the best salads I have ever had and I missed them when I lived in TN. I'm glad I can get one now whenever the mood strikes me. There is something addictive about them even my husband thinks so now. So there is my little trip down memory lane, one that I am excited to visit again!

First Trick or Treating Experience...

2008-11-11T18:53:00.006-06:00

Well this year was the babies first year to go trick or treating and it was the cutest thing ever! We started out the evening at about 4:30pm for a cookout in my sisters neighborhood in Cicero. We got together with 3 or four other families for chili, potato soup, hot dogs on the grill and a bunch of other yummy stuff! After we all filled out bellies we put all the kids in their costumes to get ready for a hayride around the neighborhood. It couldn't have been a more perfect night, the weather was incredible, the babies did so good walking up to each house saying "happy Halloween"! and sometimes they remembered to say thank you as well, with a little help from mommy. They caught on very quickly to why we were walking up to all these houses and that the big plastic orange pumpkin they were carrying was for holding candy. I remember looking over at Lilly several times during the hayride with a sucker in each hand, taking turns licking both of them. After the hayride and trick or treating we headed back to Kendra's (sisters neighbor) to eat more and have birthday cake for Shelly's birthday. We all changed the kids into pj's and let them run around and come off their sugar highs and headed home after the fun night! Here are some pics from from our fun night, the costumes couldn't have been more perfect for Lilly and Asher...

My friends beautiful kids...

2008-10-24T13:03:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite things, among many, I love about being back home is reuniting with my high school friends. I had such good friends in school, the kind I knew I would have forever and no matter how much time passed between seeing them, I knew we would be able to pick right up where we left off like no time had passed at all. When I make the 40 min. drive to go and visit them I smile as I think about how I can do that now. How I can see them whenever I want and I'm no longer 6 hours away. It's a really cool thing. So Thursday we got together with our kiddos, each of us having two and it's always a bit chaotic, but always fun. I absolutely cherish my time with them!

More fun fall pictures

2008-10-24T12:44:00.003-05:00

We went to visit Aunt Shelly at work and I just happen to have my camera ;) I feel like fall is passing me by so fast then we will be experiencing our first full winter in Indiana in years. We moved in Feb. at the tail end of winter so it wasn't too bad. So now Brad and I are thinking things like, wow we need to get winter coats I guess? And I need to stop wearing open toe shoes soon. It's been a good 8 months for us here in Indiana, I can't believe in just a couple more months we will have been here a year already. I love my life, I love my family. Thank you God!

Fall Birthday's are the best!

2008-10-12T19:55:00.014-05:00

I love fall...who doesn't! It's beautiful outside, today Brad and I took the babies and just drove around after church and looked at all the trees. They seemed to have changed overnight. Brad went to a youth retreat for church this weekend in Brown County and said it was even more beautiful there. He said one road he was on looked like it was straight out of a movie. There is nothing like driving down country roads in Fall! Our Creator is good!

The babies went to their second birthday party this October. The first was their little friend Kaylee's party. She turned two and had an adorable little party outside in their backyard. It was a perfect day and the babies loved it. It made me a little sad that their birthday is in winter and they won't be able to have an outside birthday party! The second party was cousin Kayela's. She turned 7, so all the kids were older but the babies still had fun. Asher is a bit obsessed with pumpkins and the creepy decorations at Aunt Shelly and Uncle Tom's, so that kept him entertained. Anyway, I love fall birthday's because of the things you get to do like bob for apples and decorate pumpkins which is what the kids did. It reminded me so much of my long time friend Lisa's parties. Her birthday is October 25th and every year her mom would have a party full of fun fall things to do. It was something I looked forward to every year and now I am excited that the babies have parties to go to in the fall as well! Here are a few cool shots I took at Kayela's party! Happy Birthday Kayela!

Will my babies really be 2 in 3 months?!

2008-10-04T08:23:00.009-05:00

It just doesn't seem right! How pushed the fast forward button? I have these two little toddlers now running around and talking! They are so amazing and changing so much. Asher had surgery on Oct. 1st to remove a hernia and to take care of a few little other things and he is doing just fine. Running around like nothing happened. Lilly stayed with Aunt Shelly and Uncle Tom and missed him terribly! It was so cute when they brought her back home, she wanted to love on him so much but we couldn't let her because of his incision and boy was she mad about it! Well this blog isn't going to be a long one because I have 4 tiny hands trying to bang on the keyboard while I type. Here are a few pictures I took the other night of daddy and babies.

Grandma Beckey's

2008-09-21T22:48:00.013-05:00

We packed up the car on Tuesday night and headed for Muscatine, IA Wed. afternoon to see Brad's grandma Beckey and his dad, Bart who flew in from Denver. The drive wasn't too bad, about 5.5 hours, but it backfired a bit. We kept the babies up from their nap thinking they would take an extra long one in the car on the way there. They fell asleep pretty soon after we left and woke up 30 min. later and were awake the rest of the trip! So needless to say, we did not have happy babies about the last 2 hours. Thank goodness the trip home was much better. We had a great time visiting the babies great grandma and grandpa Bart. Brad's grandma is 82 and she never seems to age. Every year we see her, she looks the same, has the same level of energy and her house is spotless. She also still mows her lawn with a push mower! I look forward to this visit every year and it almost didn't happen this year. We are so glad we were able to go after all. Grandpa Bart and grandma Beckey hadn't seen the babies since our last trip to Iowa which was when they were 7 months old, so things were a bit different this time! His grandma couldn't get over how they were walking and talking and eating table food! It was so cute. Here are a few pictures we captured in grandma's backyard and at the park.

Another trip to MI.....in the same year!

2008-08-31T22:18:00.028-05:00

Since moving back to Indiana, we are now able to visit Brad's family in Michigan more then just once a year and it's wonderful! So we loaded up the babies along with my mom, sister and her 3 kids and took off for a long weekend. Shelly's husband Tom surprised Shelly and showed up Friday, oh somewhere around 3am! It was a great visit, there is never a dull moment at Papa Hoz and Grandma Chris' house. They have their garage set up with a pool table, ping pong, foosball, air hockey and a hot tub. Papa mows trails thru out the property for jeep rides in the trailer as well as go cart rides! Shelly and I took a couple of rides together and giggled the whole way! Then down at the lake there is a beach for the babies to play in the sand, canoes, a paddle boat, a dock for fishing, a jetski, etc.....so needless to say, it was a full weekend and we had a blast. The babies did great and I know they will love having memories of going to the farm in MI. I wasn't sure if they would enjoy the jeep rides yet or not, but they loved it! Here are a few pics from our weekend! (ok....more then a few!)

Being back home....

2008-08-07T20:19:00.003-05:00

Did I happen to mention I really love being back home?! One thing I love and didn't realize I had missed was the sound of the locusts up in the trees here. It's not something I remember hearing in TN, it's super loud, but lovely! I was outside one early evening just returning from a walk with the babies and just listened, you really gotta live in a neighborhood with mature trees because that is where they hide. All of the sudden I totally remembered being little and growing up in IN and always hearing that noise in the summer and it was really comforting. It's a rare occasion that I actually see one flying around, they mostly stay up in the trees which is good because I am terrified of big bugs and I would totally knock you down to get away from one flying towards me, (just ask my friend Anita)! But I do love to hear them while we are out walking in the early evening. Another thing I love, which sounds really weird, is driving down back roads or country roads and having cornfields on both sides of the road. I knew I was back home when you can barely drive 2 miles without seeing a cornfield! I also love that family is here and Lilly and Asher know them by name and get to see them whenever we want. We spend lots of time in Cicero which is where my mom, dad, brother and two sisters live (plus their kids). We are also only 3.5 hours from Brad's parents and are able to see them lots more too. We will head back up to MI again Aug. 15th. Before, we could only make it once a year. Ok....that is my thought for tonight...here is a cute picture taken at Aunt Shelly's house with neighborhood friends Connor and Tague.

Sure we can let them hold their own ice cream cone! why not??

2008-07-26T22:02:00.007-05:00

Michigan 2008

2008-07-15T20:53:00.015-05:00

Another Christmas in July, the babies were a year older and it was very different for mommy and daddy this year! Lots of chasing around! No relaxing by the lake for us this year! Still it was a great time and they did very well for being away from home for a whole week. They only woke up in the middle of the night one time...now getting them back on schedule since we have been home...that is another story! We weren't sure how they would react for the fireworks. If we would be able to watch them down on the beach or have to go up to the house and watch from inside, but they did quite well and only got scared a few times when it got really loud and we were able to stay on the beach the whole time. Lilly even started clapping after one would go off while Asher was proclaiming "all done?!" I think he wanted them to be over! Here are a few pictures of our week in Michigan.

The twins 18 month pics

2008-07-13T20:31:00.010-05:00

I have been wanting to get the babies pictures taken professionally since we moved to IN and also, since we have only done that 3 times since they were born! poor things.....I know some mothers that get their babies pics taken professionally every 3 months! Anyway....After putting it off for too long, we needed a cute picture to give as a gift for Brad's mom and dad in Michigan quick! So we just decided to give it a try ourselves and they turned out pretty darn good! So now we will use these as their 18 month pics and make copies for our family and friends! enjoy!!

fun at cousin Evan's ball game

2008-06-22T19:30:00.011-05:00

Last Wed. night we went to Evan's game and let the babies play and run around. They are getting more and more independent when we take them to parks, wanting to run around and explore. It's really cute, but exhausting! Shelly chased one while I chased the other along with cousin Kayela's help, we managed to keep them both in sight and safe! Little Miss Lilly is getting quite brave in her newly found ability to climb! She really has no fear, which is a little scary!? Asher is still really cautious and doesn't really climb on things by himself (except for the couch at home) and he still isn't real sure about slides....as you can see in the pictures, Lilly is just the opposite. We started out with the small slide and holding on to her as she went down, then before I knew it she had climbed up the play gym all by herself to the highest level! She did it so fast, I had to hurry and get her before she crossed the little suspension bridge by herself and got on to the BIG curly slide! I got there just in time to help her cross the bridge and she started for the curly slide. My plans were to see if I could fit to go down with her, so I sat her at the top and was holding her by the arms and before I knew it she wiggled out of my grasp and down she went without me! She liked it so much we let her go down again. It was a fun evening. The babies had popcorn for the first time and loved it and we didn't get them to bed until 10:30, but they did just fine and went right to sleep. Here are a few pictures of my outdoor loving cuties!

Memorial weekend fun!

2008-05-25T21:36:00.015-05:00

We had a great weekend and played outside lots! The babies love to be outside which is something I don't get to do as much as I want when I am by myself because it's hard to chase them both alone! Unless we are playing in a fenced in backyard or I have help, it's just walks in the stroller for mommy and the babies! Brad and I have talked about trying to fence in a little area of our yard for them to play during the day when I am home with them. We pretty much spent the whole weekend with my family in Cicero chasing babies in my sisters yard. The babies had a full weekend of taking rides in their wagon (they call it their "wee") , jumping on a trampoline and swimming. It was a good weekend and reminded me why I love summers in Indiana. TN summers were not as pleasant for me. The humidity was much worse, I probably would have never let the babies run bare foot in the grass in TN! The grass there is much different then it is here! Anyway...here are a few pics from our fun weekend!

2008-05-23T21:46:00.000-05:00

I'm back!

2008-05-23T20:32:00.018-05:00

I thought I was locked out of my blog forever! I tried for a couple of days to post a new blog and it wouldn't let me log on. I still have no idea why, I thought it was because I no longer have the email address that is my user ID. But I tried tonight and it worked! I was so afraid I was gonna have to start all over! Anyway...it's almost June and that is so crazy. We have been in Indiana for 3 months now and it seems like we have been here forever. We are loving it still! We feel so blessed to be where we are at in life right now. Our house back in TN sold and we close in a few days, that is such a huge wait lifted. Brad loves his job and can't imagine ever being back in a warehouse again. We get to see each other so much more with the church being just around the corner from the house we are in, he has Friday's off (most of the time, unless it's a busy week!) We get to see family tons more, I have met new friends as well as met up with old friends. A couple of weeks ago I went on a women's retreat with the ladies from church and it was amazing. The church has a great group of women that have made me feel totally welcome and at home. Ok...enough about us, I'm sure you want me to get to the babies! Lilly and Asher.....oh where do I even begin. Asher is still my sweet sensitive boy and Lilly is still my drama queen! (she is for sure turning out to be quite the handful). She says lots of words now, at least it seems like lots...let me see if I can make a quick list:

NO! (one of her favorites)

bye

ut-oh

Shelly

Asher

I got her out of her car seat one day and looked at her and said "whats up" and so now she has shortened it to "sup"
momma

dadda

papa

nana

thank you

shoe

ball

ok....maybe there are too many to list. She will also try to repeat words and names you tell her to say.

Asher doesn't say as many, he is too busy laughing and acting goofy to care about talking. A few of his words are:

Bye bye

hi (his favorite)

momma

dadda
nana

1...2...3 ( he loves to count to 3, although most times it comes out 2...2....3)

all done

ball

They are so much fun right now as well as so much work! Lilly loves to dance and has some pretty good moves I must say! Asher dances too and will also try to sing when we sing to him. They both love to play outside, Lilly discovered she loves slides and Asher isn't real sure about them. They played in a sandbox for the first time the other day at my friend April's house and that was pretty fun until Asher decided to start eating handfuls of sand! I finally had to take him out and he would still try and sneak over and grab a handful and start to put it in his mouth. Well I could go on and on but I will save it for another day, this one is long enough , plus I need to post a few pics! Love to you all!

Outside fun with the babies!

2008-04-17T20:29:00.014-05:00

The last couple of days we have taken the babies to the park and they love to swing! I wasn't sure how they would be at first because my sisters baby is about the same age and she went first and wasn't a big fan, but she warmed up. So We tried Lilly and Asher and it was a hit! They also wanted to walk around and check things out. Lilly sat in the rocks and picked them up and just poured them out of her hand so I was assuming Asher would do the same. NOPE, they all went straight for his mouth. He was putting them in so fast I could hardly even take a picture. Lilly loves to climb on things to so I had to follow her around more. They are really changing, both are walking now and just as sweet as ever. Asher winks now at people (although it's with both eyes!) They are both saying some words and getting funny little personalities. It is great being back home with family and they love coming to see their cousins! I'm so glad they live close to them and can grow up around family. Well here are a few pictures of our outside adventures!

Asher finally got a crib!

2008-03-11T10:21:00.006-05:00

Well as some of you know, the poor little guy has been sleeping in a pack n' play since about 9.5 months old. They slept in one crib together up until then and the little princess go the crib and Asher got stuck in a pack n' play! We really meant to get him his own a lot sooner, but then we found out about the move and decided we need to wait until after we moved to get him a crib so we didn't have to move two. So thanks to Gramma Chris and Papa Hoz, Asher is a happy guy in his new little bed. We put him in it after daddy put it together and he jumped and jumped with a huge grin! Last night was his second night to sleep in it and both nights he did great! I thought he might wake up in the night and realize that it was different, but he didn't! Speaking of waking up...I hear a little voice coming from the monitor right now....wow not a very long nap. Here are a few pictures of the big boy and then a few of them together.

My Lilly is walking!!

2008-02-28T11:33:00.004-06:00

Well...not all the time, but she does when she wants to! She started last week taking a few steps here and there and now she will pull herself up to something and I'll look over and she is walking towards me laughing, like "what is this I am doing??" Asher on the other hand thinks it's all a big game. We will stand him up and try and get him to walk to one of us and he takes one step , maybe two and falls into our arms laughing. Lilly is so tiny, she really looks funny walking, almost like she just shouldn't be doing that yet! Another new thing we are trying is getting rid of the bottle, which I have just put off because I knew it wasn't gonna be easy. Lilly doesn't seem to mind when I hand her the sippy cup with milk in it, but Asher on the other hand is not happy about it at all! He takes the cup as soon as I give it to him, and throws it. I'll lay him back to try and make him at least taste what is in it, thinking if he knows it's the same as what is in his bottle, things will all be fine...but nope! he is refusing to drink it unless we put it in a bottle! So now what??? any suggestions? Just keep trying?? Should I put it in a bottle if he won't drink it or just stick with it and not switch back and forth? I'm thinking I should just keep offering the sippy and not switch back to the bottle, but I feel bad because he won't drink it. Anyway....let me know if ya'll have some good ideas!

Getting settled in Indiana...

2008-02-20T10:06:00.012-06:00

Well, we are here! Still unpacking and getting things in order...but we live in Indiana now. Crazy. I think the babies are finally starting to realize this is home and we aren't just at some one else's house visiting. The first few nights trying to get them settled was rough...speaking of rough, let me just tell you how the move went! ...My sister and her husband came down to Smryna the Friday before we left to help us load up the truck, do last minute touch-ups/painting/repairs and cleaning. Well, even after all the work we had been doing, there was still soooo much to do. I have no idea why we thought we could get it all done before we headed out on Sat. but that was the plan. So we had Shelly, Tom, our friends Rob, Kyle, Joel and Anita all there, helping us load up the truck, clean, do repairs, etc. (I don't think I left anyone out, I'm sorry if I did....those two days were a bit hazy and overwhelming for me!) Thank the Lord for Joel...Mr. construction himself! He did tons to help us with repairs while his awesome wife Anita helped my sister and I clean, she even went back and vaccumed the house after we left! What awesome friends. Anyway....I was doing all of this while being sick of course, because that has been my year, I have stayed sick it seems like. So Friday night the house was empty, we slept on matresses on the floor, got up the next morning to finish cleaning, the guys were working on stuff outside and we didn't get out of there until 2:00pm! We were really rushing because we had people from the church here waiting on us to unload the truck when we arrived in Indiana which wasn't until 9pm. So Brad drove the big truck with the two dogs and Shelly and I hopped in the car, looking just like we had been cleaning for two days and drove my car with the two babies. Lilly pretty much cried off and on the whole 6 hour drive! We thought we were gonna go nuts! The girl wouldn't fall asleep, just cried and cried and cried unless I was feeding her cheerios. So the closer we got to Indiana the worse I started feeling. Waiting at the house for us were Brad's parents and about 20 people from the church! They had the truck unloaded and our beds set up and the crib set up in like 20 min. it was crazy. So in we walk, looking quite scary, I might say and having to meet all these people with no make up on, my hair a mess, sick and I might have even been in my pj's. I can't remember. All I could think about was going to bed because I knew I was getting worse. Thank you sooo much to everyone at Hope church for helping that night...it was such a huge blessing. So we finally got the babies to sleep after a rough couple of hours and we all crashed. Brad's parents spent the night with us and we were all gonna wake up and go to church the next morning. Well, I woke up a little earlier then planned, oh about 3am with a huge ear ache. It was all muffled sounding and just throbbing, so I woke Brad up and he got me a hot wash cloth to put over it and it just kept getting worse. All I could do was rock back and forth or pace the floor. I couldn't sit still, it just hurt too bad. So he wakes his mom up and tells her we may have to go to the emergency room (yes that is how bad it hurt!) We remembered that our insurance hasn't kicked in yet though....oops....so he went to a 24 hour CVS pharmacy and told the guy what the problem was and he gave Brad some sweet oil to put in my ear. Well that was a very strange feeling...anyway, soon after that I felt so much pressure in my ear and it hurt soooo bad I pretty much was whaling, so we got my jacket and shoes and I was trying to get myself up off the couch in between screams and then it happend....the absolute worse pain I have ever felt in my life....a big pop and lots of hurtin'! I knew my eardrum had just burst. It was strange though after it happend, it started feeling a little better, I couldn't hear out of it at all, which was scary, but It wasn't aching as bad. So we waited until the next day to go to a clinic because the pain had gotten much better. So Brad and his parents and the babies went to church while I stayed home in bed with a bleeding ear. I know that's gross, but that is what happened when I woke up that morning. After they got home Brad and I went to the clinic and sure enough , a hole in my eardrum, which happened because of the pressure of the sinus infection I had (and never got treated for :( ) So she put me on antibiotics and get this....oh it's not over yet....I was allergic to them! I am actually allergic to many, so it's hit or miss when I get put on one. So I just happened to be really allergic to this one! I woke up about 4 days into it and had broken out in this really red rash all over my chest, back, neck and FACE! Can you believe that! So there was my big fat welcome to Indiana! Sorry I know this is really long...but you had to get the whole story , right?! I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out that I had wanted to write, but I'll save it for another blog. Oh, about the rash, it's just now going away after what....2 weeks? So the babies are doing good, not crying anymore when we put them to bed like when we first got here, we love the house! It's nice and roomy, I'll post pics of it later, but for now here are some pics of our house in TN, didn't we all do a good job!!

Just 1.5 more days in TN...

2008-01-30T20:31:00.000-06:00

Well, it's almost movin' time and boy have we been busy! Painting, painting and more painting as been our life for the last couple of weeks. We do most of it after the babies go to bed so that means late nights for mommy and daddy. It's been a tuff couple of weeks though, with two babies fighting colds and mommy, once again got sick, it's been a sick year for me and the babies! UGH! So while Brad worked and took care of the babies during the day, I rested to feel better so I could work at night. We still don't know if the house is going to be in tiptop shape to sell, but it will have to do. Brad has done so much work with so little rest. I really can't believe he is still standing. Getting up with the babies and letting me sleep a couple more hours, the pretty much working on stuff until 11pm to midnight. I sometimes sneak a nap in when the babies lay down, but there was so much to get done he really couldn't. We have had some friends and family help us pack and help us with yard work, etc. I have no clue what we would have done without their help so THANK YOU GUYS!! It's hard to believe we only have a couple of days left and it's looking like we may not get to say goodbye to everyone we wanted to. Hey if you are ever in the Indy area, look us up! We will miss our friends here in Nashville and will never forget the support and relationships we had here. Well....it's almost 9pm so let the painting of our bedroom begin! Here are a few farewell pics of the babes I took over the last couple of weeks. After the house is empty I'll take some pics and show ya what all we did! So long Nashville...

Happy Birthday Lilly and Asher!

2008-01-14T12:26:00.000-06:00

The babies turned a year old on Jan. 11th! It was a fun day that we got to celebrate with my two sisters, mom, cousin and nephew. They got in on Thursday night about 11pm so the babies woke up Friday morning to a house full and were very excited about that! They had planned on coming one weekend in Jan. to help us pack and this weekend worked out perfect because of their birthday. Friday we spent shopping at Walmart for birthday presents and NEW CAR SEATS!! The babies are now facing forward and Asher is really likes it. He was getting to the point where he would cry every time we put him in his car seat, but now he seems to really like the new one and being able to have a different view. We all went to dinner Friday night at Demos' Steakhouse and then came home and gave the babies their cupcakes! We didn't really have a "party" for them, but thought we would have a little celebration since some of my family was there. As you can see in the pictures Asher loved it, Lilly hated it. She really got mad when we tried to put some of the cupcake in her mouth. Asher ate almost a whole cupcake and mommy was really scared he was going to wake up with a belly ache! He slept just fine the whole night, thank goodness. Saturday we woke up early and had breakfast, let the babies play with their new birthday toys and got to work. We got soooo much done. I don't know what Brad and I would have done without them coming to help. We thought we had a pretty good start on things until my family started cracking the whip! The babies took an unusual 3 hour nap that day as well, which was a total Godsend because we were able to work that whole time. Thank you so much Christy, mom, Becky, Shelly and Brennen for all you did! Here are a few pictures of the birthday babies!

A year of blessings...

2008-01-04T13:40:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that it's 2008 and the babies first birthday is right around the corner. We waited so long for a baby and God had even bigger plans in store, 2 BABIES!!! Having Lilly and Asher in our lives has blessed us in so many ways. It was a huge change going from a family of two to an instant family of 4 but we survived and are happy to say finally thriving! Around this time last year I was laid up in a recliner with swollen feet bigger then you have ever seen wondering how on earth I was going to stay pregnant another day because I hurt so bad all over! I loved being pregnant up until that last month....ok maybe last 2 months! The babies are growing and getting such cute little personalities and sometimes not so cute! :) Brad and I feel like we have grown right along with them, learning so much more about being parents, about God and unconditional love. It has been an incredible year with them! Another huge blessing was our church family and small group that helped us so much after the babies were born. We had tons of people we didn't even know bring us food. It was a strange thing when all that food ran out and we had to start cooking again! So thank you if you brought us food, I may not have gotten the chance to tell you back then when things were still a little foggy! We will miss our church so much when we leave, all the great friends we have made there. We feel so at home at FBC but know that God has other plans for us. So here is to a new year and a new adventure for us in Indiana! We hope you all have a wonderful 2008!

Love

Amy

Tis' the season to be....fussy? falalalalalalala

2007-12-29T11:02:00.000-06:00

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We did in between all the fussing and crying from our little Christmas Diva! My goodness, who was this little baby! Asher wasn't exactly his smiling goofy self either, but not like Miss Priss! We went to my Aunt Debbie's house for a big family gathering to eat and open gifts from Santa. My mom is one of 7 brothers and sisters so our family is quite big. I think some one counted about 60 people! So we dressed the babies all up, Lilly in a fancy Christmas dress and Asher in khaki's and a sweater vest (hehe) excited for them to meet new family members and have their first experience of a big family Christmas. They didn't have an afternoon nap that day, first mistake! Lilly fell asleep on the ride there which was a whole 10 min. drive. My sister Shelly got her out of the car and I got Asher and in we went. The minute we walked in and some one else wanted to hold her the crying started. Anytime anyone talked to her or held her other then Shelly, she cried. Asher wasn't too sure about the new faces either. We are contributing it to being overwhelmed with the amount of people and teething?? Lilly is getting her whole top row of teeth in all at once. She usually loves people and lots of attention and will go to anyone that wants to hold her so needless to say Brad and I were scratching our heads. Daddy even went over to get her from Shelly and as soon as he did she started crying and gave her back to Shelly and she stopped! I looked at her and said "Lilly, that is not your mommy!", Shelly just laughed. Oh and she really hated sitting on Santa's lap to get her gift as you can see in the picture! They did love all their toys though and got better as the week went on. They must also be going thru some phase because as soon as we got home, they were both very excited to get back and see the dogs. So to all my family that was at Aunt Debbie's and saw our Little Christmas Diva in action, I'm so sorry she didn't want to be held and wasn't in the best mood. She is usually a sweet attention loving baby!

A bitter sweet announcement...

2007-12-20T22:23:00.000-06:00

Hey friends and family...IT'S OFFICIAL! We have shared this possibility with most of you and have had lots of people praying for us regarding this, which we greatly appreciate and greatly needed! For about 5 months now we have been talking with the Pastor of Hope Church in Carmel Indiana (outside of Indianapolis) about bringing Brad on as the worship leader of the church. He has felt God calling him into this type of ministryfor a while now and we feel this is where He is leading us. We know that God is working all of this out in His perfect timing and He will continue to take care of all the details and things that need to be done to make this happen. We just received the official offer a couple of days ago which is why we were waiting to send out an email! The church is flexible, but would like to have us there pretty quickly if possible, around the 1st of February which means lots of work for us! We are going to start packing right away and try and clear out as much as possible to be able to have room to do some work that needs to be done to the house. It would be a huge blessing to have anyone willing to help us get the house in order in the month of January. I know this is a busy busy time of year for everyone and we are wondering ourselves just what God has in store for our house in such a short amount of time! If you have any free time in the month of January to help us out with various needs with the house, we would be so incredibly grateful for your willingness! Think of it as a going away present to us! hehe. Also, if you know of anyone that wants to buy or possibly rent a cute house in a convenient area please get the word out that we need to do this quickly! (Brad and I have said for years "if Smyrna would just get a Target, we would never have to leave", and wouldn't you know it, they are opening one soon!) Maybe you know a young married couple living in an apartment that is thinking of buying a house or a small family or single person. It has 3 bedrooms and two baths and a fenced in backyard!! It has been a great little house for us. Again, we have no idea what God's plans are for this house, but we are trusting in Him to work out the details of that so we are trying not to stress over it. About the church in Indiana...It's a smaller church of about 200-250 people located on the outskirts of Carmel Indiana which is a very nice, cute little town. The Pastor is great! We clicked with him right away and felt at home. We visited the church last in October and Brad led worship for Sunday morning service and received lots of positive welcoming feedback. We are excited to be a part of this ministryand Brad already has ideas of what He would like to bring to the church. The church is providing a house for us as well which is right around the corner so Brad could even walk to work! We are excited about and ready for the change God has in store for us. The house is 20-25 miles away from all of my family, which means babysitters whenever we want! haha. It will also put us about 3.5 to 4 hours away from Brad's parents instead of the current 9 hours. We are sad to be leaving Nashville and leaving our friends we have here, but at the same time we are excited. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and let us know if you would like to help us out in anyway with fixing up the house! Oh and remember to let everyone know it's for sale or possibly rent?? We will miss all of you and I'm sure we'll be back to visit as often as we can.

With much love,

Brad, Amy, Lilly and Asher

My favorite childhood memories...

2007-12-18T13:00:00.000-06:00

The smell of Strawberry Shortcakes dolls.
Eating spaghettios.
Riding in the basket on my grandma Lois' bike while she peddled us up to the store.
Watching my grandma Daisy "put on her face" (makeup!) at the kitchen table with her big lighted mirror.
Watching my grandpa Spanky make his Christmas cookies.
Singing to Olivia Newton-John albums at the top of my lungs with my friend Jenny.
Thinking I could dance exactly like Michael Jackson.
Spending the weekends at my grandma Daisy's campground with my cousins.
Slumber parties.
Staying home sick from school at my grandma Lois' and watching the price is right with her.
Riding my bike everywhere.
Spending as much time as I could at our small town roller skating rink with Lisa and Jessica and we were some good skaters! It makes me sad that it isn't there anymore...
Going to Kings Island amusement park every summer.
Learning how to ride a bike and crashing into a big oak tree. (The big scar on the top of my foot is a good reminder!)
Watching my older sisters fix their hair and put makeup on and thinking they were so cool!
Spending the night with my cousin Carrie.
How no matter where we lived, even if it wasn't very nice looking on the outside, my mom could make it look so good on the inside.

Tis' the season...

2007-12-05T20:44:00.000-06:00

This picture was taken last week....happy healthy babies....this week...not so much! My poor babies have a stomach virus. It started with Lilly two days ago. She woke up at 3am and had gotten sick all over her bed. I cleaned her up, changed her and put her in bed with us and Brad and I spent the rest of the night sitting her up to get sick in a little pan he kept on his night stand :( I could always tell when she was getting ready to be sick because she would start crying right before. The next day she acted a little better, only getting sick two more times and drinking half of her bottles at each feeding, she didn't want food at all. Asher peacefully slept thru all of this both at night time and for naps...until this morning. He was acting just fine so I gave them both a bottle, Lilly drank half again and Asher gulped his down fast as usual, then I heard something and looked and up it all came! He was covered, the floor was covered, it was coming out of his nose...poor guy! I was being so careful not to feed them from the same spoons, dishes, etc....but he still got it. So that was Asher's day today...he spent the day getting sick and rocking with mommy. He was able to keep the last bottle and some oatmeal down. Lilly didn't get sick today but is still not quite acting like herself and doesn't want to eat still. Oh and it's not over....the little angels passed their little virus on to daddy so he has been in bed all day today as well with the same virus. Mommy hasn't gotten it .....yet, but is battling a different virus with a sore throat and coughing. Anyway.....lift up a little prayer for the Beckey home!

A little late getting this post up...

2007-11-30T09:03:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Brad's mom flew in from Michigan to visit us and the babies. It was a great visit and we are so glad she was able to come! The weekend she came was the same weekend our church was having a fall festival so we went to that and had a nice relaxing day. It was so perfect outside, sunny and not too cold. We let the babies pet some of the animals in the petting zoo and we ate hot dogs and cupcakes! I don't know why hot dogs always taste so good at events like that?? Sunday before she left she was also able to go with us when we got the babies 9 month pictures taken by my friend Alison Bynum. It was a great weekend for her to come and we loved having her, come again soon Grandma Chris!! (as you can see in the picture, Lilly did not like the feel of the straw she was sitting on!)

Fun Facts About Me, Lilly!!

2007-11-15T19:58:00.000-06:00

I turned 10 months 4 days ago.

I have 3 names, Lilly Emma Daisy (my mommy and daddy couldn't decide between Lilly and Emma for my first name) and Daisy is after my mommy's grandma. Some people in my family call me lil' daisy :)

I fractured my leg when I was 9 months old.

I am a daddy's girl.

I can hum and dance to my toys that play music.

I can give kisses but only when I want to.

I am learning how to clap.

I don't like table food at all!

I am learning to drink from a sippy cup (and getting better then my bubby!)

I have two teeth.

I LOVE books!

I can't crawl yet so I just roll around everywhere.

I am learning how to throw little fits so I get mommy and daddy's attention faster!

I squeal and get excited every time mommy vacuums the floor.

I love my blankie.

I sleep thru the night too and love taking naps with mommy when she lets me.

I have tiny feet.

I look like my daddy.

My nickname is Lillybug.

Fun Facts about me, Asher...

2007-11-13T15:39:00.000-06:00

I turned 10 months old 2 days ago.

I have 3 names, Asher James Vincent. James is my dad's grandpa (his mommy's dad) and Vincent is my dad's other grandpa (his daddy's dad).

I am finally getting my first tooth!

I cry when I see my bottle coming even though I know my mommy is going to give it right to me.

I have big feet so mommy and daddy call me a hobbit.

I can crawl now.

I am eating some table food and I love it!

I am learning to drink from a sippy cup.

I am a giggle box.

I sometimes need to be cuddled for a few minutes after I wake up from a nap before mommy puts me down to play.

I sleep thru the night and usually take pretty good naps, which I have heard mommy say she loves!

When I was first born people said I looked like daddy, now they say I look like mommy.

I am two and a half inches taller then my sissy and two pounds heavier!

My nickname is monkey boy.

getting BIG!!

2007-11-07T12:15:00.000-06:00

The twins will be 10 months old in just a couple of days! I can't believe in a couple of months we'll be having their 1st birthday party. They are sweeter and cuter then ever. We are so happy to have them in our lives and couldn't imagine it any other way now. Asher boy is crawling now and man is he fast! He can crawl the normal way but most of the time chooses to get around using the "army crawl". You can just look at him and most of the time he will give you a big goofy grin with a crinkled up nose. He has also learned to sit himself back up from a crawling position and is quickly discovering that everything else in the living room is more interesting then his toys! He loves food, including table food and is now trying to master picking tiny pieces up with his fingers and putting it in his mouth. For not having any teeth, he sure can chew pretty good! Little miss Lilly is taking her sweet time on the crawling thing. She hasn't even attempted to get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth like Ash did for a while. She is fine with sitting up and playing with her toys and occasionally rolling to get to where she wants to go. She doesn't like table food AT ALL!!! As a matter of fact the couple of times we have given her tiny bites, she has proceeded to gag so much that she ends up throwing up! She has learned to shake her head back and forth really fast if you are trying to do something to her that she doesn't like (suction her snotty nose, put a piece of food in her mouth, give her kisses!) so it makes it really hard for you to accomplish it. Her leg is all better, praise God, and the Dr. said she should be just fine from now on. She squeals when she gets excited and is always quick to give away smiles to anyone that talks to her. What fun babies....

Stuff I'm sure your dying to know about me...

2007-10-23T15:03:00.001-05:00

I change my pillowcase everynight
I drink way too much diet coke
I got married when I was 19 and wouldn't change a thing!
I love and hate that my babies are getting older
I think I look funny without lipstick
I am happiest when it's fall
I love shakes from Sonic and get them way too often
When I fly, I close my eyes during the take off and landing
I am terrified of spiders
I have never been in the ocean past my knees because I know I'll get attacked by a shark
I love and hate naps
I love being a mom and a wife and desire to be better at both
I like my hair most days
I have a hard time finding clothes I like myself in
my favorite cartoon is still the smurfs
I think the teletubbies came about from some ones nightmares
I love being a girl
I may or may not have had a mullet in 6th grade
I often sing Air Supply songs when I am alone in the car
I wish I read more books
I miss watching Gilmore Girls

Mail.....for me??

2007-10-15T22:38:00.000-05:00

Ok, I know I put a ton of pictures on this one little event, but it was just too cute! Brad came home from work today and like always got the mail before coming in which included an envelope addressed to Lilly Beckey, her first piece of mail! She was quite excited too when daddy handed her the envelope and said "Lilly, this is for you"! She looked up at him like, really , this is for me? She shook it and patted it like she does with everything she really likes then it went straight into her mouth. It was a card from my best friend Jenny in Indiana saying they all were praying for her little leg and sending her "warm fuzzies" (The card had yellow fuzzy baby chicks on the front). Now isn't that the sweetest thing ever! Thank you Jenny! Lilly loved it, we will keep Lilly's first piece of mail forever and put it in her baby book!

Our horrible yesterday...

2007-10-06T10:06:00.000-05:00

Here is how it happened...
We change diapers/clothes on the spare bed that is in their bedroom because we just got used to doing it that way when they were born since there were two, we hardly ever used the actual changing table. We lay them side by side on the bed, well now that they are rolling all over the place I knew it would be getting harder to do it that way. I really used to only have to watch out for Asher because he was the roller, Lilly actually just learned how to roll within the last month or so. So yesterday morning I laid them both on the bed as usual and started undressing them, they were both rolling like crazy so I was getting nothing accomplished except for flipping babies back on their backs one right after the other. Lilly hardly ever rolls when she is on the bed, but yesterday morning she decided it was her day to not stop! I went to put Asher on the floor to play so I didn't have two babies rolling around and that is when it happened, the thing I was trying to prevent, she rolled right off the end of the bed onto the floor. I of course, screamed out her name in horror and swooped her up and cried right along with her. It honestly didn't look like a bad fall, the way she landed from what I saw. She sort of landed on her bottom and then fell the rest of the way back, so I knew she didn't hit her head hard or anything. Anyway, right after that happened and we both calmed down it was nap time, so I let her take a nap with me in my bed, she took a good nap, but then when she woke up she was screaming and I knew she was in pain. I took her to change her diaper and gently lifted her legs up and she cried and screamed even harder and started to shake. At this point I was crying again too because I knew something was hurt but didn't know what. I called Brad and told him to come home right away and told him what happened. We took Lilly to her Dr. and while he was checking her out, he knew something was hurt but didn't know what either. He tried to stand her up on both legs and that is when she really started crying and let up the weight on her left leg. So he sent us to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital for x-rays. Brad was superdaddy! He is the one that went in with her to get the x-ray because I knew I wouldn't be able to hear her scream in pain when they had to stretch her out and stuff (which she did, very much.) I spent most of my time crying and feeling extreme guilt over what had happened. We had to wait another 20 min. after the ex-ray before finding out what/if anything was wrong. We were so hoping it was just sore from bruising, etc. But that wasn't the case! She ended up having what they call a buckle fracture right above her knew and needed a cast. The Dr. explained to us that since her bones are so much softer then adults, instead of breaking in two, it sort of compresses like crushing a coke can. But he said that if it was going to happen, it happened in the perfect place and would heal just fine. She got what he called a soft cast on her left leg, from foot to hip! Just to make sure she doesn't move it and we go back in two weeks to see him again. What a story , huh?! She is doing ok today, just a little fussy and is having trouble sleeping. Keep Lilly in your prayers, for a speedy healing and that she wouldn't be in pain. We found out yesterday that was the absolute hardest thing, was to see and know your child was hurt.

Our blue-eyed babies...

2007-10-02T19:55:00.000-05:00

Few Misc. Pics of my 8 month old big boy and girl...

2007-09-19T13:32:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe they will be a year old in 4 months?? I was just looking at their newborn pictures and was got all emotional thinking about the day they were born. I was so scared and overwhelmed that morning when I woke up. Just hoping and praying everything would go well, scared to death of getting the IV and epidural. (I am a really big baby!) Maybe I shouldn't share this but I cried when the nurse walked in to give me my IV! I do it every time...pretty sad huh? Then shaking like crazy when it was time for the epidural, looking at Brad with this terrified look on my face. He felt so bad and was trying to talk to me so I wouldn't think about it. The nurse kept saying, "ok, I need you to hold really still and stop shaking" I would just cry harder! The c-section was a very surreal experience. Once again Brad was talking to me to calm me down and distract me and before I knew it they were pulling Lilly out and holding her up to show me. I was crying so hard I couldn't even make out what she looked like thru the tears but I knew she was beautiful. I got to hold her for a couple of minutes while they worked on getting Ash. I just remember looking at her and talking to her feeling so blessed. I couldn't stop kissing her. They took Lilly to clean and warm her up and held my handsome boy up to show me. His little arms and legs where just spread out as wide as they could go screaming his head off. He didn't want to come out of his cozy home just yet. I didn't get to hold him because they had to stitch me all up, etc... and I had lost a little more blood then normal so I was in recovery for quite a while. I couldn't stay awake for anything. I remember people coming in to see me like my mom, sister, Brad, his mom, etc...and talking to me, holding my hand, telling me how beautiful the babies were. All I said in return each time was when do I get to see my babies??!! and fall back to sleep! That was really hard to not be able to be with them right after they were born, that was something I wasn't expecting. Brad got to hold them both and walk them down to the nursery and his mom snapped this shot when he came out of the operating room. Everyone's first look at the babies and daddy had them both...Here are also a few pictures of them I took the other day, they are such fun good babies...

Goofy things daddy put on our heads...

2007-09-19T09:33:00.001-05:00

First Fights...

2007-09-19T09:26:00.000-05:00

Lately if we walk out of the room for a second and leave the twins sitting up playing on the floor, this is what we come back to find...

A visit from my family...

2007-09-12T20:14:00.000-05:00

A couple of weekends ago my sister and her husband Tom and their 3 kids came down to visit. My mom surprised us and came with them also, she couldn't resist a chance to see those grand babies of hers! We did what everyone does at least once, when they have visitors from out of state. Drove them around down town and went to Opryland Hotel. (or maybe that is just Brad and I??) We have been to the hotel many times, but it was actually nice to go back and see it again. The last time we went parking was free, now it's 12.00 dollars! The babies were wonderful the whole day and enjoyed walking around the hotel and looking at everything, it was a long day for them and they really only started to get fussy at the end of our meal. We went to Goten's Japanese Steakhouse later that evening. It was a great visit and I miss them all already! Here are a few pictures from the weekend...

Trip to Iowa

2007-09-04T14:27:00.000-05:00

Over Labor day weekend we flew to Iowa to see Brad's grandma, dad and stepmom. So it was the babies first time on a plane and they did amazing. We had read all sorts of stuff about air travel with twins, etc. so we were quite prepared. It wasn't near as stressful as we had pictured in our heads. getting thru the airport was no problem, we just took the double stroller with the babies in it with two diaper bags and 2 carseats some how strapped to the stroller as well. I pushed the stroller while Brad toted two suitcases on wheels behind him. We checked everything except for the stroller and diaper bags and we were able to just push the stroller all the way up to boarding and they put it under the plane. We had a lay over in Memphis on the way there and back which worked out perfect both ways. We were able to eat and feed and change the babies just before getting on the next plane. It was a great visit with Brad's family and let me tell you, his grandma is amazing! She has more energy then me! She is 81 and still does all her house work ( and her house is the cleanest house I have ever seen in my life, for real) She mows her lawn, takes her dog for like 2 walks a day. This woman hardly ever sits down! We love staying there because its just one of those places that makes you feel really good and relaxed. Her house is older and full of windows so it's so light and airy and it's in this perfect little neighborhood. The town is called Muscatine and it's on the Mississippi River. We went to the river front one day and walked around. The bridge you see in one of the photos is Named after Brad's grandfathers brother, the Norbert F. Beckey bridge. Anyway we had a great time and the babies did so good on the planes and while we were there. It was the first time they all got to see the babies too!

Lilly's Fergie fix...

2007-08-21T18:38:00.000-05:00

My silly little lillybug. First of all she is getting her first tooth, on the bottom. I have never seen anything so cute in my life. But boy have they both been cranky...Asher must be getting ready to have one pop thru also. Anyway, back to her Fergie fixation. It started when Brad and I realized we really liked one of her songs "Big Girls Don't Cry". So needless to say, when you start liking a song, you play the heck out of it which is what we did. Everytime we got in the car to go somewhere we would play it and sing it at the top of our lungs. Well Lilly must have taken a liking to it as well because we started noticing that when she gets really tired and we are in the car, she gets fussy and when the song would stop, she would start to cry?? So the first couple of times it happened, we would jokingly be like..."aaawwww Lilly you want Fergie back on?!" so we would re-play the song and....no crying! We are now totally sick of the song because of having to play it over and over again to keep Lilly from crying for the last hour and a half on our drive home from Indiana.

7 months...already?

2007-08-14T11:20:00.000-05:00

Lilly and Asher....where do I begin. They are the most amazing babies and getting such little personalities! My goodness , Miss Lilly can have quite a temper sometimes, no longer my laid back little quiet baby. She can say dada now! over and over and over as a matter of fact! It's the sweetest thing, her little voice is so girly and cute and boy can she cry loud when she wants! She likes peas and green beans more then she likes any kind of fruit! She doesn't like juice very much either. When she is drinking her bottle she loves to pull it out and look at it for a minute and maybe talk to it for a second too, before she guides my hands to put it back in her mouth. They can both almost hold their own bottles, but act like they don't want to! She loves her daddy and her face lights up when he walks in the room. She grins from ear to ear when he looks at her. Asher is more of a mommy's boy, he loves to lay his head on my chest and snuggle, especially when he is tired or just waking up from a nap. I love it. He acts goofy alot and laughs at almost anything it seems and he is really ticklish. He loves food and his bottle, there hasn't really been much he has tried and hasn't liked, maybe peas. Unlike Lilly he loves any kind of fruit and juice we give him. He is rolling like crazy and reaching for everything. We were just in Indiana for another week and I think he pulled down a total of 3 plants at my moms because he got his hands on them so fast. He will hardly hold still for a diaper change now and in Indiana he just started rolling on his belly to sleep on his own. Lilly still hasn't rolled yet! but they can both sit up now, Lilly is a little bit better at it then Asher, but he is getting there. They both splash like crazy in the bathtub now which leaves mommy soaked...we took them swimming in Indiana and thought Asher would love it and Lilly wouldn't like it so much, but it was just the opposite. Lilly loved it and couldn't quit splashing, it was so cute! Asher wasn't sure about it at first, but then he started to like it and joined in on the splashing. Life is so good and we are so happy to have Lilly and Asher in our lives. Things are easier now then what they used to be when they were newborns, but I know that will change again soon when the crawling and walking begins! Here are a few pictures of the little darlings! One of them with their Nanna, of us swimming and a few with their 4 month old cousin Kaylee!

More on Michigan

2007-07-12T10:46:00.000-05:00

Thought I would share a few more pictures of our trip to Michigan while The babies are happily playing for the moment. It was a great week, I think it only rained one day and only for part of the day. The babies loved to be in the carriers we had, both the front carrier and the backpack. We would put them in those and hop in the back of the jeep trailer and ride over to the beach. Asher thought the ride over was really funny because it was bumpy so he would smile and laugh the whole way. I can't wait until they are older so they can take a real jeep ride back on the property on the trails! The worst part about the week was that Brad's mom fell down her basement steps and broke her ankle, both bones! It was awful, I felt so bad for her. So she was off to the hospital at 2am and thought she was gonna have to be there for the rest of the week but they scheduled her surgery for the following week and she got to come home and be with everyone again.

Michigan 07

2007-07-10T08:44:00.000-05:00

We are back from our week long stay in Michigan and it went really fast! It's hard getting back into the swing of things after having help for a week with the babies and now being all by myself again. We had tons of fun with Brads family and the babies had fun on the beach and getting lots of attention from cousins! We only put them in the water a couple of days because both had colds that I believe they got from mommy :( The water was cold at first but Asher didn't mind at all, Lilly on the other hand would start to cry as soon as her feet hit the water. It was so funny. The babies did really well especially with the week being so busy with a wedding to go to, fireworks on the beach, Christmas presents to open and lots of new things to see. They slept pretty good at night, but naps....not so good! We are now trying to get back to a normal schedule at home and Lilly is having a hard time adjusting! Here are a few pictures and I'm sure I'll be posting another blog and pics about Michigan in a couple of days!

Happy first Fathers Day Brad!

2007-06-18T17:19:00.000-05:00

It was a good fathers day Sunday, it was special to celebrate Brad's first one. We went to church and then to lunch with some friends of ours from church that we are just getting to know. They had a baby a couple of weeks after we had the twins, so there we were 3 babies at a table! I think some people wondered if they were triplets! Anyway...HAPPY FATHERS DAY BRAD! WE LOVE YOU!

BIG dorky fan...

2007-06-18T16:05:00.000-05:00

So yesterday Brad and I were at target shopping for a few things and he says..."ok....if I say this I don't want you to freak out" because he knows that I love this person and have been a huge fan for a long time. Anyway, he then says "look behind you" so I turn around only to see the one and only Wynonna Judd! I love this woman and have for a long time! I couldn't help myself, it was as if something took over and just made me immediately start walking towards her and I could hear Brad in the background under his breath say "oh gosh....." nervously. I knew Brad wouldn't want me to go over and talk to her so I just took off the minute I turned around! So there she was, flaming red hair, big dark sunglasses, she looked great. I went right up to her and said, HI! I know you probably want to be left alone and this is really cheesy, but I have been a fan for a long time and just wanted to shake your hand and tell you how excited I am to meet you! So she shook my hand and said she appreciated me coming up and meeting her and if it weren't for fans like me that still believed in her where would she be! Now wasn't that nice! She was really nice and very cool about meeting me, she even walked over to our cart and asked Brad his name and shook his and and asked us questions about the twins and said they were cute and talked to Lilly for a few minutes (Asher was asleep so he missed the whole event). I was so excited about the whole thing I didn't even ask if I could get my picture taken with her which I'm sure Brad was relieved about that! Anyway, just wanted to share that news with you all!

5 months old...

2007-06-15T09:20:00.000-05:00

The babies are 5 months old now and doing great! They are both laughing and smiling lots, Asher laughs when you tickle him and Lilly laughs when daddy kisses her neck. They are eating cereal, fruits and veggies and doing pretty good. At first Lilly spit every bite out and then would start to scream and cry when we tried to feed her more, now she is loving it and eating really good. Asher has done good from the beginning. It's so funny to see them open their mouths for the next bite. Asher rolled over from his back to his belly the day after he turned 5 months old! We knew it would be any day because a couple of weeks ago he had started rolling over on his side to sleep. Lilly isn't quite there yet with the rolling but she did learn how to do something a couple of weeks ago as well. She now makes rasberry sounds with her mouth and it's so cute! We will sometimes here her doing it on the monitor when we put her to bed at night. Next month we go to Michigan and I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures and stories to post about that!

My drooling babies!

2007-06-06T17:38:00.000-05:00

A week in Indiana...

2007-06-04T17:26:00.000-05:00

Just got back from spending a week in Indiana with my family, it was so much fun! Even though the babies got off schedule and totally forgot how to nap during the day, resulting in some crankiness, it was still great to be there. Lilly naps in her bouncy seat and Asher usually his swing, but I didn't bring the bouncy seat with me and mom has a swing just like mine at her house, but for some reason that wouldn't even get Asher to sleep most of the time. So I figured since Lilly didn't get to nap in her bouncy seat and the swing wasn't really working anymore, it was the perfect time to start trying the crib again. They slept fine at night in the pack n' play, which was a really good thing! Today went pretty well with naps, especially for being the first day back from a week without their schedule. They took a 1 and a half hour nap in the crib today, which is just amazing with these two! I just tried to lay them down for another nap and it's not going as well as the last, they cried off and on for about 25 min. with me having to go in and do some patting and put pacie's back in, we'll see how long it lasts! At this point it would just be a huge step back to return to the bouncy seat and swing after a week of not really doing that. Anyway, my mom and sisters live in like this perfect little neighborhood. It's a new neighborhood which makes it look extra perfect with sidewalks down every street, a pond a cute little city park right down the road, lots of kids out riding bikes and playing. We took the babies for walks alot in the evenings, now that it's summer it doesn't get dark there until after 9pm. They also have these great neighbors that invite them over for cookouts all the time and to relax in the hot tub so we took them up on that a couple of the nights. One thing I did find out was that Lilly and Asher really enjoyed sitting on the patio in the early evening with us in the double stroller just looking around and being outdoors. Here are a few pictures of the cuties and a picture of my two sisters.

Mothers Day family picture

2007-05-22T09:01:00.000-05:00

Mothers Day

2007-05-16T10:18:00.000-05:00

My first Mothers Day! It was so special to finally be able to celebrate it! I got a much needed gift from the babies and daddy, a day at the spa!!! needless to say my back has never been the same since having the little darlings and they continue to wear it out! The babies were dedicated at church on Mothers Day so that made it extra special. It's still so hard to believe that I am a mom of two babies after waiting so long for just one! What a blessing! Also over the weekend we introduced cereal to the babies for the first time, here are a few pictures of that as well, Asher thought it was really funny that we were putting something into his mouth and Lilly spit every bite out!

Getting ready for Michigan

2007-05-07T13:11:00.000-05:00

We bought the babies these sunglasses yesterday thinking the little band that goes around the head would be better then the normal kind that rest on the ears, but of course they are too big! I had to take this picture quick because Lilly was not at all happy about having them on! I hope she changes because I'm sure she will like it better if the sun isn't in her eyes. Anyway....every year over July 4th we go to Michigan to see my husbands family and have Christmas in July! It's really the only time everyone can get together (Brad has stepbrothers/sister in CA, Minneapolis and Chicago, and we are here in Nashville). So we head up to MI every year with Christmas presents and beach supplies, what a mix! His mom puts up a tree and everything, only the tree is decorated with red white and blue ornaments and flags! His parents live out in the country on a dirt road with lots of land to walk trails, go on jeep rides (I'll explain)....Jeep rides....Brad's step father mows these wide paths thru the fields and hooks a trailer up to their jeep and we all pile in the back of the trailer/wagon thing, padded with patio furniture cushions because the ride can be a little rough! And he pulls us around the property at a good speed. When you hear some one yell duck, you listen! It's usually just a tree branch or something you might have to dodge. So then after the ride is over we take our sore bottoms out of the trailer, brush of the leaves and go in side and check for ticks! Sounds fun huh? It's wonderful! Anyway, across the road is where Brad's grandfather lives on a private lake with a beach area, which is where we spend most of the days swimming, canoe rides, paddle boating, etc....with a bunch of his family. Then on or around July 4th we have our own, very impressive, I will add, fireworks show over the lake. (We sometimes have to do a little dodging with the fireworks too!) We are soooo excited to have the babies this year and for most of the family, it will be the first time they see them. They will be a big 6 months old when we go and we are curious to see how they like the water and sand. Should be lots of fun things to video tape. One of my favorite things is to walk back to Brad's parents house after the fireworks when it is really dark. We take one of the paths that have been mowed thru the field and their are hundreds of lightening bugs twinkling all around you, it looks so cool!

2007-04-26T17:16:00.000-05:00

A few more of Lilly in a better mood!

2007-04-26T17:13:00.000-05:00

tired boy, grumpy girl...

2007-04-24T14:40:00.000-05:00

2007-04-24T14:39:00.000-05:00

sleeping thru the night...

2007-04-24T10:24:00.000-05:00

The babies are sleeping thru the night now! We never thought it would happen. The first couple of nights it happened we thought it was just sort of by accident because they didn't take good naps the days before, but it's been a couple of weeks now and they usually don't wake up any earlier then 5am and we feed them and put them right back to bed and they will usually sleep until 7am. Lilly can actually sleep until about 8:30 but I usually wake her up! I think Asher is teething already, he chews on his fingers constantly and is doing funny stuff with his mouth and tongue, so it's about to get really fun around here!~

the cutie pies!

2007-04-24T10:17:00.000-05:00

these are from today...

2007-04-11T10:03:00.000-05:00

Our babies are 3 months old today! I can't believe 3 months have gone by just like that! They are doing so good and getting really fun! They smile tons now, we can even usually get Lilly to smile even if she is crying. She loves her daddy and just stares at him like he is her hero. Asher is still a busy body, so curious and always looking around and kicking and moving his arms like he is just dying to get moving on his own. He still gets really mad when the bottle gets taken out of his mouth to be burped and usually cries until it's put back in. (Can't wait until we don't have to burp him anymore so he can drink all he wants without stopping!) Here are a few pictures I took the other day of my big boy and girl!

2007-04-02T20:54:00.000-05:00

finally snapped a smile!

2007-03-29T13:54:00.000-05:00

Here is one of Lilly smiling, I'll have to take a good one of Ash smiling and post it later. She's a sweetie! Then right after that she spit up a bunch on her outfit and I had to change her. Oh well she looked cute for about a half hour! Oh and here are a few Brad and I took last night to show them when they are older! hahaha. Poor things, were way over tired, then tired turned to hungry. They didn't take their last two naps very good, so they were very cranky babies last night and even after they had full bellies at 8:30pm and were very tired, they still didn't fall asleep until about 10:30pm. I still think I heard Asher whimpering at 11pm. We thought for sure that since they were so tired and didn't fall asleep so late that they would sleep longer!!! For a split second I was excited, but just knew it probably wasn't going to happen...and it didn't! 1am , right on time!, actually it might have been about 1:45am, but it should have been more like 3 or 4am! They are not sleeping thru the night yet, still waking up about 1am-2am and again at 5-6am. We are really looking forward to that night when it happens!

2007-03-27T16:34:00.000-05:00

the babies are getting sooo big!! and changing fast!

2007-03-23T21:44:00.000-05:00

It's funny how different the babies are. Asher eats more then Lilly but you would never know it! You would think it's the other way around. I was looking back at older pictures and I can't even believe how fast they are changing. Lilly especially, just doesn't even look the same to me. Asher is still putting up a pretty darn good fight about sleeping in his crib. We can even get him to sleep first and then try and lay him down in it and he still wakes up and cries! he can have such a temper at times. When he is really awake and hungry he absolutely hates it when you take the bottle out of his mouth and burp him. he will stiffen up and fling his body back to lay down for that bottle, while pretty much screaming the whole time and he will try and stand so you can't sit him down on your lap. If he is tired or in a pretty mellow mood he will let you burp him and not throw a fit! But as soon as he gets his belly full he can be in the best mood. When I take him to his room to change him he gives tons of smiles and coos! Lilly on the other hand doesn't really care about getting burped, as a matter of fact she can be wide awake but as soon as she gets about half way thru the bottle she starts falling asleep no matter when it is. So when she is sleepy she is sooo hard to burp, i have to pat her for a good 15-20 min. sometimes because I know she will just spit up if she doesn't burp. Today she got a cold wet wipe rubbed all over her and her feet tickled constantly just so I could burp the poor girl! She is smiling more also and it's so sweet!