twins are 8 months old!

So hard to believe that our baby boys have been with us for 8 months already! I was just talking to a friend about how quickly their first birthdays are approaching. God has been soo good to us, it is unbelievable. 8 months ago I would have told you that I could never handle this journey. Who would say they could handle the ups and downs of the NICU; the scares and the what ifs and the unknowns; the juggling of a marriage, finances, and three kids.

almost three years ago phil and I got married and a month later we were packing up to move to riverside. At the time I knew it was for business. But God knew it was for so much more. I see it more clearly now, why He wanted us here. He saw the needs of our life before we even lived it. We are blessed to have our own business which PHil could have flexibility to visit our boys in the hospital and to help with the house/caden while I was on bed rest. God knew we would (after a year of searching) find an awesome church that we could call home. He knew how we would need all the support and encouragement only a "family" could give. God placed us in this house that we live in. It was bigger than we even thought we'd need. Why would the two of us need a 4 bedroom, 2500 sq. foot home?! We struggled at first with purchasing it, but then it was evident that God opened the doors. God knew our Family was going to instantly be growing, going from 2 to 5 in a matter of months. We are blessed to have a home that we can all live comfortably in.

All to say...these last 8 months, I have seen Gods hand on our life. Not to mention our boys lives. They are doing remarkably well! thank you for all the prayers. Braxton's eyes are slowly showing signs of improvement and his muscle tone is also getting better. We go next week to the clinic which they will give the boys an assessment to see where they fall on the charts developmentally. There is so much more prayer needed-- as they are still behind in many areas.

I leave you with a couple videos of our happy baby boys.

spoiled

I am SO blessed to be married to a man who sacrifices so many things...for me.

As some of you know, the boys sleep

down stairs in a twin pack n play. Our arrangement has been this;

I put caden to bed about 7/7:30

and then I start getting ready for bed myself and am pretty much

asleep by 8:30. Because I am up at 3 to start my day, Phil has

been sleeping on the couch with the

boys and doing the late/early morning feedings.

He wants to be sure I have

as much energy as possible to take care of all three (VERY energetic)

children at those early morning hours (well, and all day).

I just feel so blessed.

The other day I slept downstairs so he could get more rest

(he had to leave for a job at 6am). The next day I realized

how spoiled i really was.

doctor appointment results

Xander:

Xander's ENT appointment went well. They had to put a little camera down his nose to check out his vocal chords. (that was fun for us all! Of course I let phil hold xander while they did it.) As expected, he has a damaged vocal chord. It isn't paralyzed, but the nerve got pinched when they did the PDA ligation (around the heart). This is not a permanent thing and should go away within the year. This is the reason for his raspy breathing/voice. His muscles around the chord are very swollen as well, and this is caused by the reflux. I didn't realize it was that bad because he didn't show physical signs of it (spitting up, arching, etc.). But I shall continue the medicine and pray it gets better. We will go back in 3 months to see how he's doing.

Braxton:

Phil took braxton to the eye doctors yesterday. The good news is that his eye sight is actually pretty good. Most preemies are very near sighted. The ROP has resolved and the area that was raised that could have caused retinal detachment has improved. However, the fact that he's still crossing his eyes and he's 4 months adjusted is a problem. They will wait 4-6 more weeks to just see how it goes, and then will do the muscle surgery to correct this. Praying that no surgery is needed. I know anything is possible.

Next big appointment is april 20th. THis is where they will see all the Loma linda specialist, including doctors that took care of them while they were there. Very curious to see what they have to say about our little guys.

The life of caden

signing, "helicopter"

up to no good...as mom's back is turned. Yes...my fault. I left the fridge open. Just for a sec tho. (ps. this was taken before that cheese was all over the floor)

what? he's got some snot he's gotta be responsible for. ;) Amazing what he picks up as I take care of the babies. (i was laughing so hard when I turned around and saw this).

"Mr. Cool" (And me just messin' around with color.)

He LOVES balloons.

Easter Day

Easter is a time to reflect on a life, Jesus' life. He died...then rose again on this Easter day. It's also a day for me to reflect on another life, that of my dads. 11 years ago today, (feels like yesterday still) my dad died. He died suddenly, due to a brain aneurysm.

I'm sad and heartbroken as I am taken back to those moments of losing my dad. But after many years of struggle, I now have hope and joy knowing that Jesus lives and tells me I can call him "daddy". I will never fully comprehend why I had to lose my dad...but I now have a greater love and understanding of my heavenly father.

Happy Easter!

FREE

Our little Xander if FREE from all wires. Off. Completely! Apnea monitor is going back and the oxygen can stay off of him. (we will keep it for another month, though, in case he gets sick and may need it).

The nurse today asked, "how old was he when he was born." (guess she didn't look at his chart) I said, "23 weeks". Her face was classic. She was so shocked to hear that and then I said he was a twin and she was even more blown away (since twins are at an even higher risk). She used words like, "miracle" and "blessing". SURE IS!

I took xander, for the first time [taking any one of the twins] to his appointment. He did really well. Barely cried and slept most of the whole way there and back. phew! I was nervous about the screaming and my sanity.

praying for more good news at next week's appointments.

Recent pictures: Easter Fun

Having fun with daddy. Never a dull moment with these two.

Easter event at our local park

Watching intently at the band...I will be very surprised if Caden does not end up playing some kind of instrument. he LOVES music.

We got him to sit for a few minutes. This was taken just before he started to cry. My kid...cried?! ;)

Looking at the ducks in the petting zoo

Wasn't too sure about the bunny.

Easter Egg Hunt time

Which way do i go dad...?

his one and only egg. There were WAY too many kids and aggressive parents there. Should have grouped them 0-1 not 0-3. Oh well....next year you'll get more.

Tummy Time

Love the face, Xander

Looking good Braxton!

They love to lay next to eachother.