Resolutions

Well, I couldn't let January pass by without mentioning a little something about resolutions. Do I like to make resolutions? Of course I do, what kind of go-getter, organized, ready-to-tackle-the-world woman would I be if I didn't? Do I always remember them come March? Well, I guess that depends on the resolution! This year, I really have no illusions of grandeur, just making it through the day in one piece is accomplishment enough, but there are a few things I think I can focus on:

• As far as the old stand-by of losing weight goes - sure, would be great, but we'll just have to see about that one! It's kind of tough to make that one a priority when you are nursing, I'll settle for just not popping out of my button up shirts!
• Keeping a perfectly clean and tidy house - yeah, sure, everyday!
  
• Not losing my patience - ok, if you know Gavin and Kaden, you know this one is pretty much impossible, I'll settle for having increased patience - I will definitely need it!
  
• Being totally diligent in updating my blog - sure, we can always hope, but I wouldn't hold my breath

Ok, so far I'm really not getting anywhere with this list! I guess, really the most important thing to me right now is enjoying the moment! There is something that Pres. Monson said in one of his conference talks a while ago that I haven't been able to get out of my mind - as soon as we move I'm going to get it in vinyl and put it on my wall. He said: "Find joy in the journey". For some reason this thought has really stuck with me. I find myself so often thinking, "When the boys are older...", "Once we are in the new house...", "When I have more time...". Pretty soon "one day" will be today and I will look back and wish it hadn't gone by so fast, and that I hadn't wished it away. Life is so crazy right now, there is always something to do, and with everything going on, it's so easy to get caught up in wishful thinking for the future. But will it really be less chaotic? Probably not, just busy and chaotic in different ways.

So, my resolution: To find joy in the journey! I want to look back on these crazy days with young, funny, sweet kids and know that I took advantage of this precious time I have with them.

On that note, I think I will get myself out of the dog house and share a few recent photos of what keeps me busy every day!

Gavin, Sam, and Kaden on Christmas morning!

Ringing in the New Year! (Ok, we didn't exactly make it to midnight, but we didn't really tell the kids that! Mom and Dad were party poopers and just too tired, so 11:30 is as far as we got! )

All the boys! Gavin and Kaden are such cute big brothers! They love holding the babies, although just a few minutes is about as much as they can handle!

Two weeks ago it was warm enough for us to take a walk to the park. The 3 older kids rode their scooters while I pushed the babies in the stroller. I think they were enjoying the ride!

Just within the last month, the babies have started to give us some smiles. Of course, they won't do it very often for the camera, but I managed to get a few cute shots. Taylor likes to smile a bit more than Carter right now, but I'm sure soon enough we will get tons of smiles and giggles!

One of the few smiles I've managed to get from Carter.

Not caught up yet

Yes, I know I am so behind and there is so much to catch up on! I assure you we are all alive and well, and doing great. Things are pretty crazy, loud, and busy, but the babies are both super and we all manage to even get dressed and have our teeth brushed every day - ok, almost every day. :) I promise pictures and updates are coming soon. I just need to find a few minutes to sit down and organize a few pictures. Finding those few minutes is the problem...

Until I have the chance to catch up, I thought I would share a few things from our daily life -

Tonight as I was putting the kids to bed, I was asking the boys to clean up their room and pointing to some toys still on the floor, I said "What is all this stuff?" Kaden said " Oh, it's just a bunch of junk."

As we were saying our prayers tonight before bedtime, I mentioned the people in Haiti and asked for a blessing to be with them. Afterward, the kids asked me why I prayed for the people there and I told them about the earthquake and how so many people had lost their homes, etc. Sami decided that she wanted to send the people in Haiti a card, and she would make paper dolls for the girls, and basketballs for the boys. Kaden looked at her and said, "I'm a boy, you can make me a basketball!" You can't deny that kid is quick.

Kaden really is hilarious, when he isn't making me pull my hair out. He likes to tell me that he is going to live with someone else, or that "I'm going to pay for that" when he doesn't get the answer he wants, but then turns around two seconds later and gives me a huge hug and tells me he loves me. I've been "Fired" by the kids, they've told me they "have their eyes on me" when they aren't sure about what I've made for dinner that night. I wish I could remember all the funny stuff they say, because it seems to be happening a lot lately, and my frazzled brain just can't remember it all - it must be all the middle of the night feedings. :)

I will say this though, I am so impressed by how well they have all handled everything. All 3 have been so wonderful with the new babies. They take their "diaper duty" in stride, each taking their turns taking out the dirty diapers. Sam is a huge helper, always willing to help me with a crying baby. The boys don't complain when I ask them to grab me burp rags or diapers, and not once, have any of them complained about how much of my time is spent with the babies. I know it sounds strange, but even though there are 2 more kids this time around, life seems a little less chaotic with this set of twins than it did with our first. Having done this before doesn't really make things easier, because it's just crazy no matter how many sets of twins you have, but that we are better able to take things in stride this time around. Thank goodness for tender mercies of the Lord, we are definitely recognizing them in our lives each and every day!

Happy Day!

Let's see if you can tell what is missing from these pictures:Answer: OXYGEN!!
(Taylor is the top picture, Carter is the bottom)

Yeah, Happy Day! Carter has actually been off his oxygen for a couple weeks, and on Friday we finally got Taylor's oxygen off. We are now oxygen free!! It's amazing how great it feels to pick up our babies without having to worry about the chords they are attached to, and it is one less thing I have to worry about when I'm getting everyone ready to go somewhere. Oh, the little things that make us happy!

Just for laughs:
After we had Carter's oxygen off and while Taylor still had his on, Sam wanted to hold the babies one day. We told her she could hold Taylor and she said "No, I always hold the oxygen boy, I want to hold the non-oxygen boy". So, poor Taylor, until Friday, he was nicknamed "Oxygen Boy".

Today Gavin and Kaden wanted to hold the babies. So we gave Carter to Gavin and Kaden held Taylor. After a few minutes Carter was getting fussy and started to cry. Gavin looked at Kaden and said "Let's switch babies. This one is crying, I want one who isn't crying."

Good thing we have enough babies to go around!

Counting Blessings

I've just fed the babies, and all the kids are sleeping, and even though I should be in bed as well, I thought I would take advantage of a few quiet moments to share a few thoughts.
One of our Thanksgiving traditions is to go around the table and share three things we are thankful for. Since Thursday, well even before that actually, I have been thinking about my blessings quite a bit, and have felt like I truly have quite a lot to be thankful for. So, I thought I would share a few of my blessings.

I'm Thankful for....

A sweet little princess. She's my only one, and my saving grace. Just before the babies were born, she got to spend a few days in Disneyland with my parents. She had so much fun and of course had to see all the princesses. She saw so many, she even poses like them now!

2 little "Things". They are hilarious and busy, and like to try my patience, but they keep life fun and interesting. I really don't think we could have found more perfect costumes this year. They wear them all the time, calling each other "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" as they run around the house.

2 little Rock Stars. They were still in the hospital for Halloween, and my friend sent me these two awesome hats that worked perfectly for their costume. (Thank you, Michelle!) All the nurses got a kick out of them. They came home a week later on Nov. 7, six weeks after they were born. It's been 3 weeks since we've had them home and our new life began. They are growing bigger and bigger each day and are now both about 8 pounds - regular baby size! Carter is now off his oxygen, and hopefully within the next week Taylor will be off of his as well. It's amazing how small a house can get, or how noisy, in such a short time. We are finally starting to settle into somewhat of a routine and figuring out how we are going to manage 5. Ok, the 6 year old is easy, a little bit of a drama queen at times, but manageable, the babies still just hang out most of the time, it's the busy 4 year olds I'm worried about.

Family. My mom has been here since I went into the hospital and just left yesterday. It has been so incredible having her here. She has been our taxi, our nanny, our dishwasher, and more! Mike's parents have also been so wonderful. They have come down from Colorado Springs almost once a week, more at times, when we've needed some extra hands. Mike is also taking time off work right now to spend at home with the family. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do once I have to run through the daily routine all on my own. I'm sure I'll forget Sam's lunch a few times, the boys might go to school in interesting outfits they come up with themselves, and the babies will hang out in their jammies all day , but we will survive and figure things out.

My sweet husband. I can't even begin to say how amazing Mike has been! He helps me feed the babies at night so I can get some sleep. He helps clean the house, and gets the other 3 kids where they need to go when I need some help. Having him home has been such a huge blessing. He is such an active, involved father with all of our children. I am especially grateful that he holds the priesthood. Throughout my pregnancy he gave me beautiful blessings of peace and comfort, and blessed our boys with health and strength while they were in the hospital. On Friday, we were able to bless the boys at home. He gave each of them such sweet blessings. Mike's father and brother, and my father were able to participate in the blessings and it was such a sweet moment for our family. My boys are so lucky to have him to look up to as they grow. With his example, I know they will become great men someday.

Holidays. I love this time of year when we take a second to think about the blessings and joys in our lives. I love that we get together with family and friends and share how much they mean to us. My dad drove up from Texas to spend Thanksgiving with us. It was the first time he had seen our new little boys, and the first time he'd seen my mother in 2 months. As we sat down to dinner and I looked around the table, I was so happy to have so many that I loved around me. My parents were there, as well as Mike's parents, my husband, and my children. It was fun to see what my children would say they were thankful for when their turn came. As they expressed their gratitude for others and unselfish things, I had a momentary feeling of success - I guess we are doing something right. Our life has definitely taken a turn we didn't anticipate, and having 5 kids in 6 years was definitely not in our plans. But, we are so thankful for each and every one of them - even at 3 in the morning! They are only little once, and this is such a magical time for them. I'm so blessed to be able to share this with them.

NICU Moments

After visiting my first set of twins in the NICU for about 7 weeks before we were able to bring them home, I was hoping to never again have to leave the hospital without my babies.
That wish was obviously not meant to be. Each day I drive up to the hospital to see my two little boys, hoping we are one step closer to bringing them home. They are definitely getting bigger and growing, but we are now working on their feedings. Before they can come home they either have to nurse, or bottle feed each of their feedings, and as of yet, they are still being fed through their tubes for most of their feedings. They are getting better every day, but we just aren't there quite yet. We get excited at any amount they take from a bottle, and I love every moment I am able to nurse them, as we have had to watch them learn each little step in the process.
Although I wish they were home with me where I can see them and hold them whenever I wish, my daily NICU visits are very precious, and I cherish every moment I get to spend with my little angels. It is so calm and peaceful there with them, and I am able to enjoy quiet moments with them, that I know will be few and far between once they get home. It's hard to look at them and know that in four weeks, my time spent with them is limited to a few hours a day, missing many seconds of their precious growth. I know they will come home soon, and once they do, the real challenge begins, but I can't help but shed tears at what I am missing without them near me. Pretty soon, they will be big, full of life, and I will be complaining about them making trouble, but for now, I just want to be with my little ones and enjoy these cherished newborn moments that pass much too quickly.