One of Those Days

Well, as we have known since the beginning our time in the NICU would be a roller coaster ride, and lately it has been mainly up so I have been bracing for a down, today was kind of the down day. We found out that little Sammy has a PDA, which stands for Patent Ductus Arteriosis which means he has a duct, a vessel, that goes from his aorta which has oxygenated blood to the pulmonary artery going from the heart to the lungs carrying blood that needs to get oxygenated. So, all that craziness means that patients with PDA's can overperfuse the lungs and cause some swelling in the lungs and also some swelling of the heart, all of which can have their own set of problems. There are many adults who have PDA's and don't even know it, so they're not super serious. Many times the PDA will close (heal; go away) on its own. So, the best case scenario is that the PDA will close on it's own. The other options are as follows, from most desireable to least: wait until he's a year old and then he can have it closed through a catheter much like when someone has a stent placed in their heart, treat it with a drug called indomethacin or ibuprofen but that has it's own set of risks and side effects that we want to do without, and lastly would be surgery but the good news is that the surgery is really common and quick and usually with great outcomes.

Then, Amelia is having a little bit harder time breathing and is requiring more oxygen than she used to. Oddly enough, though Sam has been the one who needed more oxygen and who has the PDA, his oxygen requirements have gone down and his chest x-ray looked great today. Bizarre. If Amelia's oxygen stay up for a while they will put her back on CPAP until she can tolerate breathing better.

They both are still so adorable and wonderful. We got see Amelia's big eyes today, she opened them bigger than ever before and looked straight at Jenny and I for a long time. I held her skin-to-skin for about an hour today and she was so wonderful, so beautiful and warm against me. She was squirming around a little and making the cutest faces and shapes with her mouth. Oh how I hurt with love for them both. Sam was just hanging out in his little house today just being Sam. I'm going to be going back up there here before too long to spend some more time with them. There's not much to do there besides sit and stare. I put my hands on them and think and pray and talk with them. Makes me feel good. Makes me feel at peace. That's all we can do. We have to just sit and wait and pray and hope and trust. That's not easy, not easy at all for Americans who want instant gratification and positive results immediately. Not easy for new parents who have wanted to have babies for a long time. Not easy for a momma who hates hospitals and tubes and wires and beeps and bells. Not easy for a dad who knows waaaaaaay too much about all the things that can go wrong in the blink of an eye. It's just plain not easy.

How does all this effect us?
There were tears today. There were heavy hearts. I had dropped Jenny and Joyce off at the hospital while I went to run errands and it was when I was out that I called and found out about the PDA. I have to be honest, I didn't want to go back to the hospital. It's a little shameful to admit that my first reaction was not to run through walls if I had to in order to be with my son, but I just didn't want to go where I knew pain awaited, lurking behind every beep and wire and tube. I wanted to stay and stare at nothing, just so long as I wasn't having to find out more of what I already knew. I just took a final that included PDA's and the complications and treatment and risks associated with it. I didn't want to face it, but I also didn't have a choice. It was my son, my wife who needed me. I went.
Jenny struggles with this whole situation like we all do, like anybody would. The NICU is a scary place and foreign place for her. The babies are so small and fragile and unreactive to parental stimulus. It is hard to be a mom like that. It is hard to be there period for anyone. It is extra hard for someone who wanted a baby for so, so, so long and wanted to bring her baby (babies in our case) into the world the most natural way and now have to go see them in a plexiglass square that makes you sea-sick to look through it. It is hard to develop a bond, and sort of true connection through a plexiglass bubble. How do you do that? How do you tell someone to go up to a room full of the tiniest people you have ever seen all fighting for their lives with wires coming out of them and monitors beeping and bright lights on and herds of people all around to bond and become close like that? How does happen? It is a very uncomfortable place for Jenny right now. A sad place. This is not how it was supposed to happen, not to us, not to her. But I guess why not us right? Nobody said we were exempt from the rules of life. And it is life we are living my friend, there have been few times when I have felt this much alive, this much life, both really good and really sad.

Sammy has a hole near his heart, we have two in ours.

I count it as a privilege...

Joel and I both woke up today with such thankful hearts. Thankful that the babies have done so well, thankful for the many, many specific ways God has blessed us throughout this time, thankful for the wonderful shower that his class threw us last night...thankful for all of the love and support that has come from all of you.Thankful for my mom who has tirelessly served us, giggled with me in the most serious of times, loved me in the nittiest and grittiest of ways. Of course there have been moments of sadness and disappointment, frustration and weariness...and yet God keeps reminding us of His goodness and His grace.

Did you listen to Steve and Annie Chapman in the 80's and 90's? They are a neat Christian couple who I grew up listening to because mom loved them and I grew to love them too. All of their songs are about love and family and I think that growing up listening to such positive messages about what family can be when God is the center is part of the reason I have wanted to be a mommy since I was about 5:) Anyway, when I found out I was pregnant I started to crave that purity and those precious songs from long ago and asked for a CD for Christmas. Joel almost cried when he heard the CD for the first time. Unfortunately, he was not almost crying from being touched by the words--he hated the dated music and couldn't stand it! So, alas, I have to listen to the CD when I'm alone. One of the lines from a song keeps coming to me. It says,

" I count it as a privilege, I count it cause for praise...to kiss my children good night at the close of everyday. For I know too soon they're up and gone, and walkin' out the door..and I'll never have a child to kiss goodnight anymore."

Now, the first time that line ran through my head it made me a bit sad. I thought,"I haven't even gotten to kiss my babies yet! Why would God let me get fever blisters right now? I only wish they were here for me to put to bed each night, etc. etc." Then I thought to myself, "Good grief Jenny. If you have that attitude now, you'll always be looking towards the future and not praising God for the moments that you have with your babies each day...even now."

So please pray with me that I will not only look expectantly forward to the days to come, but that I will remember to be thankful for each moment. So, now when the line runs through my head I have started to fill in my own praises like

"I count it as a privilege , I count it cause for praise..."
To hold my babies to my chest and feel their little bodies against mine.
To watch the man who I love be so tender and so strong with our children.
To be able to provide Sam and Amelia with the nutrients they need so badly. Etc. Etc.

It helps me keep perspective during a time when my heart seems to fall so easily. Now, really, if you want to hear some great songs run out to Amazon.com and get a CD. Maybe preview a few songs first, though, and see if you can handle the music. If not, maybe you should choose one of their books instead:)

Without further ado, though, here are some updated pictures for you:)

Amelia :)


Sam scratching his head and looking a little confused:)


A tired looking mommy holding her baby boy...



Such a great shower...we felt so loved!

Brief Update

Just thought we'd continue the play-by-play account of what's happening in the two Hunt isolettes on Pod 1 of the LDS NICU.

Sam -
*Still hanging in there on just the nasal cannula and is having to make less of
an effort to breath, both excellent signs
*No IV, which is good because it means he's doing pretty good by himself and is
one less place for an infection to start
*He weighed 2lbs 11oz last night
*He's active and moving and tolerating his ever increasing amounts of milk really
well
*His momma got to hold him skin-to-skin today, he liked it so much he went right
to sleep as soon as he laid his head down on her chest
*He continues to be completely sprawled out like he's floating down a river in an
inner tube, constantly keeping us in smiles

Amelia -
*She too is just needing the nasal cannula and doing great
*Her IV is supposed to be taken out today
*She weighed 2lbs 7oz last night
*Her feedings are going well and are increasing like her brothers
*Her mommy got to hold her skin-to-skin today too, it was the best medicine
either one of them could ask for
*She keeps us smiling with her little hands which are always up by her face in
one of her two normal spots, blocking out the world or delicately placed over
her mouth

Sam & Amelia -
*Today they are 1 week old, making them 30 weeks gestational age
*Tonight my classmates are putting on a shower for us/the twins and we are very
excited, wish the twins could be with us, we're calling it a 1 week celebration
*WE GOT THE BRAIN ULTRASOUND RESULTS BACK YESTERDAY AND THEY ARE BOTH NORMAL!!!!!
To put that into perspective on how amazing and wonderful that is, there is a
50% chance that a neonate meeting Sam & Amelia's birth criteria would develop a
brain bleed, neither of them did. There is still a small chance that they could
develop one even now but 90% of brain bleeds happen in the first 3 days of life.
The relief was so very welcome.

A Daddy's First Kisses

Yet another blessed night of firsts, wonderful amazing firsts. If you have not been where we are, as parents, you probably will not get it, I certainly would not have got this a week ago but I get it now. There is something so perfectly and unblemishingly right about the first kisses to my babies. There was a connection not felt in any other moment so far, it was instantaneous. I have no idea if they felt what I did but it was almost like a soothing welding of me to them, a permanency declaring me as their dad and them as my beautiful little baby girl and my beloved little boy. I was not expecting that. I was excited to kiss their soft skin but had no idea, no preparation, for the bond that would be made by such a simple act. I am one whooped papa.

I'm not even sure if we are supposed to be kissing them, but I have held them a few times and wanted to but didn't. I think I did not ask if I could because I did not want to be told no, so I didn't ask. I just acted. Tonight was too tempting; just right. It was just me and my boy at first with the lights down so he would open his little eyes (Jenny's right, they are definitely blue) and then he was just talking and squeaking and squirming and making all kinds of faces again. I couldn't resist kissing him on the top of his cute tiny head, so I did.

Amelia takes my heart away each time I hold her. Someone asked me if it was different holding my daughter (first time I have ever typed those words in reference to me, amazing) for the first time than it was my son (see above parenthesis). The answer is an unequivocal YES! There's just something so pure and royal about a daughter, something untouchable really. They have a magic that is not like the magic of a son. I think a son puffs a dads chest out, but a daughter rips his heart right out of that chest. It's so weird that my time lapse between these two different gender experiences is only separated by minutes, if that at times. I held Amelia tonight after Sam and she was wide awake. Her eyes were as wide as I had ever seen them so far in her nearly 1 week on Earth. She was actively taking my heart each time she would look up at me with those helpless little eyes (color to be determined) and squeal just enough to be audible and pleasant. I was overwhelmed and was left with no other choice than to stretch my neck down to reach the top of her little head and kiss it. Oh the joy!

I would imagine that if you're not a parent or can't relate in some way you must think I am a bit off the deep end. Well, I assure you, I am a bit off the deep end and the water's just right. Come on in. And if you can relate then you know perfectly well what I am talking about. It's almost more than I can bare it's so wonderful.

Just Me and My Boy

I spent most of last night at the NICU with my little guys. I got to hold Sam for the first time ever. He'd never been held at all by anyone and it was already day 5. They wrapped him and handed him to me in a rocking chair and we just that there and laughed and smiled and made faces at each other. He'd talk for a while and then I'd talk. We discussed things that we were going to do when we hung out together, after we decide what it is he likes to do, but until then I guess he's stuck doing what I like to do. I told him all the things I hoped to teach him about life and being a kid and then a man, but first a brother and a good son to his mommy and looking to God to be his guide and best friend of all. We had a wonderful time, me and Sammy. I got to hold him for an hour or so, a little longer I think.

When I would put my hand on his little head his oxygen saturation would start to go down, my guess is because he was getting too comfortable and forgetting to breath, neonates actually do do that. So I couldn't keep my hand on his head. He was making all kinds of cute and funny little faces, he also really did talk up a little storm. He's a bit of a wiggle-worm, unlike his sister who just lays there and soaks it all up. He sure is a cutie, all the nursing staff thinks so too. That was certainly the highlight of my day for sure. Oh, he wasn't on any kind of breathing device, just a nasal cannula like you get when you go to the hospital that blows a little bit of oxygen. He's still not out of the woods as far as his lungs go but he's looking a lot better in that department. But since they are so small they can go downhill so fast, that's where we just have to pray.

I stayed up there last night until about 4 AM hanging out with the twins and also getting in some cramming for a test I took this morning, a PEDIATRIC test of all things. NOT the kind of information you want to be learning while sitting in a NICU where your two premature infants are being cared for, I assure you!!!! Ignorance is bliss, but unfortunately I have to pay the price of knowledge and it is a heavy price right now. There is soooooooooooooooooooooo much that can go wrong, so, so, so much, but I also have the benefit of knowing that God is in control and knows exactly what is going on and He has a plan, I just hope I can accept His plan when I find it out. But still, it's tough to be reading about all this stuff with Sam & Amelia laying in their little isolettes with tubes and hoses and wires coming out from everywhere.

I just love haning out with those twins, and I know you will too when you get the chance.

Finally livin' up to my name...

When mom and dad first got married they were true blue hippies. They had decided that the earth was overpopulated and so it would be irresponsible to bring any more children into the world. So, they named their animals the names they would have named their children.

This is where Jenny the cow comes in. One day these two little hippies were on the way to church and they saw a calf running down highway 290 with it's little umbilical cord still attached. Mom yelled, " We have to stop and get it!!" So, they did. Dad tackled it and said "Now what?!" and Mom said," Well, at the rodeo they tied their legs together." So, dad ties the calf's legs together and they put it in the front seat of the big ol' car they were driving! They continued on to their new church and tied the calf outside of the little, white building where it's moos could be heard all service long. Then they took the calf home and fed and loved her (they were vegetarians of course) and named her none other than Jenny.

Now,I was always a bit upset that I was named after a cow. I always explained it away as that the cow was actually named after the future me....but still. Well, the whole point of telling you this story is that my milk came in yesterday and all I can say is WOW!! It was a happy day to know that the babies will be getting all of their nourishment from mama from now on...and I have to say I feel quite proud to finally be living up to my namesake:)

And because I know you care more about the little ones than my milk production..here are a few pictures of Amelia from today. They are weaning Sam off of CPAP again, so maybe we can get some good ones of his precious little face tomorrow....

What A Day!!!

Today was wonderful. I already relayed to you my most wonderful time with Amelia and also that Sam was looking pretty good. Well, I just got home from the hospital and seeing my precious pair of people and I have some great news, They both gained some pretty good weight and Sam is OFF the ventilator. He is on CPAP, which I hope he stays on for at least a day, two would be great, just to get his lungs back and in good working condition. He's such a little trooper and a big time wiggle worm. He likes to squirm all around and stick his little legs straight out, just like how he popped out of his warm and cozy home in Jenny. He's so funny. Amelia is a little shy or flirty or something, she keeps her hands up to her face just enough to cover it but not enough to keep you from seeing her cute little face and wanting to see more. She was pretty much knocked out while I was there and when I went to say bye she gave me a big ole open eye stare as if to say, "And where do you think you're going mister?" Talk about making it hard to leave. Sam gave me a look over too, more of a trying-to-figure-everything-out look than anything else. They have such expressive little, and I mean little, faces. I love them so much.

Today was such a blessed day. It refilled my energy tank, which was bottomed out, and gave me hope. I know there are still many hurdles ahead but at least tonight I can lay my head down on the pillow and feel a bit relaxed because today was a good day. I know God's got the whole thing all under His control and it will happen how He wants it to happen no matter what I do or don't do, but I gotta say that having a good day is really, really nice. We hope and pray for many more just like today.

Kangaroo (Updated with pictures)

A Little Guys update:
They are both doing pretty good. They're weening Sam off the vent and he's tolerating it this far. His last blood gas CO2 was 42 (normal is 35-45) and they were drawing another one as were leaving a few minutes ago. They're hoping to have him weened by today or tomorrow. He's just on room air and his ventilation pressure has gone down too. He hasn't had any pain med/sedation since yesterday and he's just hanging out all sprawled out, he loves to have his feet kicked out of his little papoose thing he's wrapped in. He's the coolest.

My precious Amelia and I had a little special date today. I got to hold her skin-to-skin (Kangaroo Care) for over an hour in a rocking chair. I could feel her little breaths, her coughs and sneezes, her foot kicks, and see her trying oh so hard to look and see me with those cute little eyes. It was an experience that words just don't even come close to describing. It was a magical time. We had lots of talks about what she wanted to do when we went out on dates, and that boys are evil, vile, lovers of everything sinful. We discussed things like what she would want to do when she got older and also talked a little bit about her brother. She's a smart one I'll tell ya', takes after her mom. She doing great!

They both have gone up on their feedings and they are tolerating them really good as well. Today has been an "up" on the roller coaster and we wait with much trepidation for the down, but are loving the present and hope it stays.

Jenny did not get to do Kangaroo Care because she has some fever blisters (which are highly contagious). We're going to check tomorrow to see if she can hold them with her fever blisters but couldn't get a solid answer today. We did not want to take any chances. She is doing good and recovering from her surgery slowly but surely. She's only needing to take ibuprofen (Motrin) for her pain and not taking any of the heavy pain meds they gave her, so that's good. She's sleeping right now, which is probably the best medicine of all. She was able to take some more pictures today so maybe she can get those posted sometime, I bet she will.

Just for your information, Sam and Amelia are really cute babies, in case you haven't noticed. And they continue to get cuter and cuter as the days go by.

Mommy feeding Sam...



Amelia goes on a date with her Papa...

First pictures....

Amelia holding grammy's finger...


Joel changing Millie's diaper...


Happy Papa...


Baby Sam...

Home Semi-Sweet Home

We're home....at least half of us are. Jenny came home from the people infested hospital. She can now get some much needed rest. She can have a bit of privacy now. She can where she is familiar with her surroundings. She can be home. However,....

She is without her babies. I am without my babies. We are without our very first children. We have to be torn between here and there. We must now try and balance our time with wisdom and also with perseverence. We want and need to spend as much time as we can with our babies, we also need to be rested and try to heal. We have to try be at home in two places, but if it came right down to it our home is in the back row of Pod 1 in two little incubators in the LDS NICU. That's where home is.

So, we hope for the best and already feel like we have been forced to ride every ride at a Six Flags one-hundred-million times over, and knowing we have only barely begun. I don't think I have once been able to go and see my babies without welling up with tears. They're so amazing, those two precious little people. When I am holding their hands or they're holding my finger I have flash-forwards of all the things that they might do or be. I think of the first words and steps, the first day at school, the first cut, the first boy-girl problem, the first play, the first car ride, the time they drive, the day I drop them off at camp, the day I watch them drive away to college, the day they tell me something bad has happened. I think about all the things that might happen to the little body part I happened to be focused on, I think of Amelia in a fancy dress for some event when I look at her arms and little back, I think of the hard work Sam's back will likely see, I wonder whose love will be signified by a ring on their fingers, I wonder what ball their little feet might kick, I wonder what amazing things their eyes are going to see, and I wonder what words their tiny little mouths will utter one day. I think of so, so, so many more things and it happens in an instant. But right now I wonder when we will get to hold them free and clear of tubes and gadgets, when will they come home, and of course, what will or might go wrong between now and then. I wish you all could seem them and have them tug with all their little might at heart strings when they pull your hand close to them. Feeling their tiny limbs curl up in your palm and hear their cries subside will most certainly bring the toughest of warriors to soften. Feeling their nearly microscopic fingernails scrape against your skin will make you feel alive like nothing else on Earth. Watching a yawn has never before looked so beautiful. They are so beautiful.

I guess that was more than I intended to write about Jenny's homecoming, but I have a lot of stuff whirling through my mind and thought I'd put a little fraction of it down on "paper". Pictures should soon follow.

The touch of a baby's hand....

Bonding with babies in the NICU can be.... challenging. At least, for this momma it has been. They are so little and hooked up to so many tubes and wires and there are beeps and monitors abounding. That added to the fact that I didn't even see them at their birth or for hours afterwards and haven't held them to my breast, made it difficult for me to really feel that these babies were indeed mine and forever will be. Until today.

Today I was down visiting and Joel was there also. I was standing next to Amelia's incubator and Joel next to Sam's just a few feet away. I had my hand cupping Amelia's tiny little head and had my hand close to her face. I felt something brush my hand and I looked down to see her precious little fingers wrap around one of mine. My heart just melted and I looked over at Joel and saw that Sam was holding onto his finger too! We smiled at each other and it seemed that God was whispering,"These are your children that I have given you Jenny," and tears were soon streaming down my face. He filled my heart with love.

So, though there won't be "Gerber babies" sucking happily at my breast for a long time to come, these little ones working so hard to breath and grow and thrive are indeed little extensions of our hearts just the same. Please pray that God continues to give us wisdom on how we can best parent and love our babies while they spend time in the hospital and while they are so premature. Right now Joel is just incredible because he seems to be able to look past all of the tubes and everything and feels so comfortable handling the babies, helping with their tube feedings, etc. and I am so very thankful for that because I have felt so guilty that it hasn't been easy for me. I see one of my most important roles as mommy right now is to be breast milk provider and so I am pumping every two hours, though my milk probably won't come in for a couple of days. I hope to move beyond that, though, and feel more confident in holding and loving on them despite being surrounded my all of the medical "stuff".

I am going home tomorrow! Oh, I just can't wait to be back in our little house. It will be hard going home without Amelia and Sam and yet we are thankful to live so close to the hospital. We are about a 10 minute drive away. I know you all want to see pictures and I promise that I want to post some for you!For some reason the hospital internet won't let me attach pictures to e-mails or the blog, so that is first thing on my list when I get home.

Thanks again for your support and continued prayers. We feel so lifted up and cared for! I will try and return calls and e-mails and blog comments...but until I catch up just know that we appreciate every word. Much love and more updates soon, Jen

"So, what happened?!"

I know this is what a lot of you must be asking:) I'll try to give you a short version for now:

Yesterday I had started feeling a little bit more crampy than I had been and mentioned it to mom. She had to convince me to tell the nurse as I wasn't feeling any contractions and didn't want to go back to labor and delivery to be monitored. The nurse called the resident and they wanted to do a vaginal exam. I asked if I could be monitored first to see if I was indeed having contractions before they did that horrid speculum exam.They agreed. I was sure the monitor would show that there weren't contractions and all was well.

Ahem. Apparently I don't know what contractions feel like. I blame it on the fact that I have always had HORRIBLE period cramps, so to me what I was feeling was just a dull, achy period like cramp. I saw mom's eyes widen as she watched the monitor and soon we were whisked away to L&D. I was having contractions like crazy. My vaginal exam showed that I was 100% effaced and 3 cm dilated!! I knew that the babies birth weight and Sam being transverse meant a Csection was coming, so I actually relished feeling the labor pains and watching the contractions on the monitor. Joel rushed into the room after finally getting our calls at school, and we both shed a few tears realizing that this was it! Our babies were coming out at 29 weeks gestation, and the OR I was going to be wheeled into was a far cry from a willow tree:) Mom and Joel both got to be there, though, and hold my hands through the surgery. There were no complications and the babies were whisked straight from the belly, through a window, into the NICU.

They are both doing really, really well right now. Neither of them had to be intubated and Amelia got to take off her little nose tube that helps her breath because she is doing so well on her own. Sam still has his little tube in and has to work a little harder, but the nurses say he is doing great and should catch up soon. Tonight I am supposed to get to hold Amelia skin to skin for the first time and I just can't wait. Joel is already the best Papa ever and loves to spend time in the NICU with his babies. He changes their tiny little diapers and listens to their heart beats and talks with them and then comes back and tells me all about it.

I am recovering well but am exhausted. The hardest part for me is the constant barrage of people coming in and out of the room all day and all night long. I think I'll do much better when I can rest in my own little home.

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers. We still have a long way to go so please do keep remembering Amelia and Sam to the Lord. He has been so faithful to our little family. Much love, Jen

...And Then There Were Four!

Yep,that's right, Sam & Amelia were born today at 3:07 PM by urgent C-section, everybody is doing fine now though. Of course, there is much more to the story but for now we just wanted everyone to know that all is well but to please keep praying for healthy babies and momma.

Amelia came out first and weighed 2lbs 6oz and is everybit a little girl, cute and quaint.

Sam nearly jumped out at a whopping 2lbs 10oz and continues to be everybit a little feisty boy.

A plethora of pictures are sure to follow soon.

Joyfully,
One Proud Papa

Just in case you're interested....

and because I have a bit of time to myself this morning, I thought I'd give you a play by play of life in room West 415. Let's see, I'll start with last night.

10:30 pm: After an all afternoon monitering session on a very uncomfortable bed, I was exhausted and weary and accepted half an ambian to help me sleep. The reason I had rejected it thus far was that last time I took half an ambian was to help me sleep on a plane and I hallucinated. The movie screen I was watching split into two screens and I started freaking out asking Joel if he too was seeing two Sandra Bullocks and two Hugh Grants. He finally convinced me to close my eyes and go to sleep but I remained a little leery of ever trying it again. So last night I gave it a try, turned OFF the television screen, asked mom if she could "smell the rain" (I meant "hear the rain", and dozed off.

2:00am: Aide comes in to take my temp and blood pressure. I am able to go back to sleep.

4:00am: Temp and blood pressure again. Not able to go back to sleep. Wide awake. Maybe I should try the whole pill next time around.

5:30am: After trying to push visions out of my head of operating rooms and csections, I finally sit up and turn on the lights. Sorry mom, the day is now beginning.Mom gets up to take a shower and we get a bit of Bible time in before the troops start knocking on the door.

6:45am: Grey's Anatomy team one comes in. Outdoorsy resident and a medical student are glad to see I'm awake and ask about labor signs,bleeding,infection, etc.Thankfully, there are still none.

7:00am: Sweet nurse comes in to give me my oral (not IV-yippie!) antibiotics.

7:15am: Get a little sleepy and lay back down for a few minutes until housecleaning knocks and comes in to empty trash cans, etc.

7:45am: Joelie comes--hurray! The best part of the morning. We were both refreshed from a little sleep and he was a sight for sore eyes. He stayed until about 9:30 when mom took him up to the U.

8:15am: Perinatologist comes in to check and he is without his Grey's following.Joel asked him some questions about the labor and the bottom line seems to be: Amelia is head down, Sam is still transverse. If I was to go into labor now the labor plan would be a Csection. If the babies make it until 32 weeks when their weight should be about 1500 grams they could attempt a breech extraction on Sam instead of going straight for a csection. If Sam turns head down than a vaginal birth could be attempted, even at this early in the game. Either way, I'll be giving birth in the OR. Thus my daydreams this morning with OR's and Csections abounding. Many of you know that my natural inclination would be to give birth to my babies under a willow tree if possible, or at least in my home in a birthing tub. So, this is quite an adjustment in thinking for me. It is one I have been trying to make since finding out that we were expecting twins, knowing that they often present more complicated birth situations. And here we are. I have millions of thoughts on the issue, but for now will just say that of course the main thing is that the babies are born as safely as possible and that I am totally willing to adjust my thinking as I have found myself wondering around in the 15% of births that are truly "high risk". That being said, I still think America is heading in the wroooong direction as far as how much they are medicalizing birth. My daydreams did include some pretty good speeches to the throngs of people watching the birth in the OR...words that I'm sure will never be said but that are in my heart nevertheless. Ahem, end of rant.

9:00am: Paid some bills, returned some e-mails, said goodbye to mom and Joel. Called Becca Mcminn and had a very short conversation before being interuppted by another knock on the door.

9:00- 9:20am: Visited with the midwife student,Amy, who was here when Joel and I got here on Sat.She is all naturally beautiful with the kindest of eyes, part of a boy/girl twin set herself, and just a breath of fresh air.

9:30: Social worker comes for a visit and lets me know that I don't have to wear this lovely maternity hospital gown all the time. Nice to know! I mean we talked about lots of other things, but that was the most important for sure:) Next comes the little cafeteria man. I love when he comes because he has a Scottish accent and I could listen to him talk about menu choices all morning long:)

And thus the morning continues.....I should be going in for more monitering soon.Hopefully it will be a bit more brief than it was yesterday.

Thanks again for all of your comments and e-mails and phone calls and visits.Hopefully with a bit more sleep I'll feel more like chatting...but always love to get your e-mails and hear how you guys are all doing. Most of all thanks for your continued prayers for these precious ones. I'll let you know if there are any noteworthy changes this afternoon in the life of Room West 415...Jen

Monday Update...

Just wanted to let everyone know that all is well right now. The night was calm and today nothing has changed. I didn't sleep again last night with people coming in and out to give IV's, take my temp, etc. so the biggest thing I'm dealing with is being overly sleepy which makes me overly emotional. Not hysterical or anything, just more weepies. One of the midwives said it's just the amniotic fluid still trying to escape:)

The babies heart rates are fine, they are still moving and there are no signs of "LBI" (my new code for labor, bleeding or infection). Guess that's all for now. Lunch is supposed to arrive soon and those who know my love for cafeteria food won't be very surprised to hear that I actually like hospital food:) Sad (well, happy for me), but true.

Until it comes can I just sing praises to midwifery once again? One of the midwives and her students were the ones that first met us here on Saturday and they were exactly what we needed. Informational, compassionate, and able to spend a large amount of time with us.Seriously, I can't imagine how much more scary the situation would have been without them there. That was also the case yesterday and today. They sit down when they come in the room. Yesterday one pulled up a chair and we had quite a long chat about her time as a midwife in Guatemala, a book I had just read about the ways children are raised in Ecuador, and other lovely topics that took my mind away from this hospital room for about 20 minutes before we talked about all the things whirling around in my mind about the present situation. I will always be thankful for their care and for their philosophy.

The doctors make their rounds at 8am and this morning I felt like I was in a scene from Grey's Anatomy as 1 perinatologist, 1 resident, and 4 students poured into the room. Thankfully I had just taken my first shower! They stayed for a total of about 5 minutes. Unless anything changes and becomes more urgent, I'll see a doctor once every 24 hours. They seem pleased with how they are going thus far and will just keep watching to see if anything changes.

Okay, here is my loverly meal...roast beef...mmmmm. Love to you all and thanks for your constant encouragement! Jen

He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed...

So thankful today that He has indeed risen and as our pastor prayed with us last night, "That Jesus is not dead but is ever present and here with us this very moment ." What hope. I have felt the Lord so much during these first days in the hospital (oops, didn't know we were here? Read post below:). He has encouraged us through His word, music, wonderful and compassionate care, and through you.

Last night was wonderfully uneventful. Still no contractions, bleeding, or signs of infection. Didn't sleep much, but I really don't care much about that at this point. The doctor came this morning and was very encouraged that at almost 24 hours post water breakage, there are still no signs of labor. This is good. They monitored the heart rates and my contractions for about 30 minutes this morning and all was well.

Some of you have asked if Amelia will be okay with no amniotic fluid. My understanding at this point is that, yes,unless the three biggies show them self (infection, bleeding,and labor) she should do fine until 34 weeks.

My mom just walked in (yippie!) so I'm gonna go. Thanks for checking in, Jen

Prayer Warriors, start your engines....

So, Joel and I had just finished eating a leisurely lunch at Cafe Rio when I sat back to let out a big "I'm so full" sigh....and a gush of liquid came out. I said, "Joel, I think I just peed on myself!" The thought that my water may have broken didn't cross my mind. Then I stood up and it felt like Mt. Rushmore flowing out of me. That was at about 12:45 pm today (Sat).

Fast Forward to now, 11:35 pm. We are admitted into LDS hospital (we have been here since about 1:15pm.) Long story short, Amelia's water did break. I am having no signs of labor, no bleeding,and I have no infections. So, they really don't know why it broke other than that my uterus is so distended it may have just thought it was time for the baby to come. I'll be here until the babies come, which will hopefully be later than sooner. Their heart rates look great, they are still moving around like crazy and I am not having any abnormal contractions or signs of labor. The best case scenario would be to stay like this until 34 weeks when they would induce and deliver the babies. Other than that, every day that they stay in is a good day.

So bottom line, pray for the babies to stay inside as long as possible! They are giving me shots of steroids to help their lungs develop, which is the main concern if they were to be delivered at this point. Thankfully, I at least made it to 28 weeks and other than lungs and birth weight (they are both 2.2 lbs right now) the babies are pretty much fully developed at this point. Still, we want them to keep maturing and growing for as long as possible.

Joel and I are doing pretty well. I have been pretty weepy all day, but thankfully things have remained calm and I am feeling much better at this point. It was just such a shock as everything seemed to be going so smoothly. We have moved from labor and delivery to the post partum ward since everything is stable and so we are feeling a bit more settled. I got to put on my praise music ("Sing over me", Anna,I knew it would be such an encouragement!)and get my computer revved up, got some fruit and fruit juice in me and am about to try and get some sleep. Joel has been my rock, which he always is in crazy situations. Thank you Lord for my sweet, solid man. My mama is coming in the morning, which is a huge encouragement too. Thanks for your prayers for these sweet babies. We are so in love with them already.

I'll try to keep the blog updated, probably more so than e-mails, so keep checking back. Much love, Jenny

Painting a Picture...

So last night was our second childbirth class. We watched some great births on video, I got some anatomy questions cleared up, we decided to ask Claire to be our doula (labor attendant)… a lot of good things happened. BUT, this also happened….

Part of Claire’s class includes hypnobirthing. Basically, hypnobirthing uses things like imagery and self-hypnosis to help your body relax during labor. The goal is to relax the body to the point where a lot of fear/tension is relieved and you can better work through the pain, etc. All well and good.

So, last night the lights were dimmed and we were all to sit in between our partners legs. Joel was in a chair and I was sitting on a birthing ball. Soft music started playing and Claire began to “paint a picture” with her words while our partners were asked to draw the imagery on our backs while she talked. She began talking about nature and Joel went to town on my back. He was dramatically drawing the mountains and rain and sky that she was so soothingly describing. Even now, tears come to my eyes when I describe the scene. Unfortunately, they are tears of laughter. I held it in for as long as I could and then erupted in laughter. Thankfully, most of it was quiet, shoulder shaking laughter and Joel quickly got the picture and immediately stopped painting his masterpiece. And yet, we were still surrounded by 10 couples listening to this voice talking about the “large, strong tree trunk that led to full branches that reached up towards the sky”….and just imagining their husbands drawing this on their backs led to more bursts of hilarity from me. Thankfully, we were in the corner and thankfully the laughter was mostly quiet. I berated myself saying things like, “Oh Jenny, how juvenile, no one else thinks this is the least bit funny.” That didn’t work. I resorted to thinking about tragic events in my life and that worked for a minute or two until Joel dared to put his hands back on my back and started painting the “two peaks of the majestic mountains in the distance and the soft rain that was pelting my back”. I shook my head vigorously as I broke into horrible, stomach aching, silent laughter once again. Meanwhile, apparently, there were some girls so moved by this imagery experience with their loved ones that they were crying. I am hoping they thought I was just one of the gang. Hey, maybe I even started the whole crying movement. Finally, blessedly, the laughter moved away…maybe it flew up into the sky and joined the sun and moon and stars…. I don’t know. By the time the lights came on I was composed and even relaxed. I could even listen to Claire talk about “a beautiful garden that we were walking into and a gift that was in the middle of the garden, waiting there just for us.” I’m glad I didn’t miss that part. I do love gifts. I imagined mine was food, of course. One of those big, bouquets of fruit that look like a flower arrangement (I mean, we were in a garden…and I have always thought they were brilliant). I noticed a couple of people glance at me as the lights came on but I sat perfectly relaxed and I smiled back at them like “Wasn’t that great?!”

So, now I know what to do if comic relief sounds like a good idea during labor. Have Joelie draw one of his dramatic paintings on my back and let hilarity ensue.

I’m just thankful I didn’t fall off my birthing ball….Jen

38 cm

and growing....that is the status of my belly size( from top to bottom) according to my midwife visit yesterday. So, basically I am almost the size of a full term mama but I still have a while to go!! Let's see..what else? She did a cervical check (sorry if this is too much info for some of you) and thankfully the cervix is completely closed. Amelia's head, though, is sooo far down that the midwife could feel it. So, she said no more long afternoon walks for me. I am allowed to take a 10 minute walk, come home and drink lots of water and lay down! So, that'll be quite a change. She said we just don't want any extra pressure on the uterus since there is already so much, and of course, pre term labor is the big concern for twins. So, I went to the library again and stocked up on some more books (I found some Karen Kingsbury, Courtney:) and spent the afternoon reading. I think I'm going to have to buy a lounge chair to put in the backyard to at least be out in the sun for a bit each afternoon.

I guess that's all the news from the visit. Other than that, not much new is going on. Joelie is studying away for his weekly finals (yuck!), tomorrow is our 2nd childbirth class, things are just chugging along. The spring flowers are popping up and Joel took some great pictures of them on Sunday. I'll try to post them soon. We are both crazy about tulips:) Hope all is well with you, Jenny

Oh Brother !

Today was another ultrasound and all is well:) "The babies look great and are right on target", is what the doctor said. It was so much fun to see how they were positioned and understand a bit better why I was feeling sooo much movement in one area--all four feet are bunched together and kicking away! Right now they are both head down (I'm praying that they stay that way so that a C-section is less likely) and Sam is kind of pressing Amelia into a corner of my belly. At one point the doctor said, "Yep, he's sitting on her." Amelia had her arm covering her face most of the hour and it was like she was saying "Oh brother! Sam, could you please move over a bit?!" I like to think he is just wanting to snuggle:) Anyway, it was wonderful yet again.

Our first childbirth class was great. Everyone there really desires a natural birth and so it's fun to all be on the same page. Lots of earthiness going on in the room, but lots of admitting that we are all rookies and have no idea what we're doing(though we are trying to trust our bodies)! One fun moment was when we were having a small group discussion and Joel admitted that the only positive birth image he has in his mind is that of a calf being born.He thinks it's because the calf came out pretty clean and really cute, and anyway he thought it was really great. The only human births he has seen are Csections, which he hated assisting with because it was such a brutal surgery and a video of a vaginal birth which almost made him pass out. So,I had suggested earlier that I should cut out some laboring pictures that I love in my midwifery books to remind myself that birthing can be a positive experience. We decided that Joel should find some pics of calves being born and tape them beside mine to start transferring those positive images from calf births to baby births. Oh my. But hey, whatever works, right?
Anyway, without further ado, here are my 27 week pictures:)

Here I am cooking. This is the size pot I have to use now to fill this belly:)


Then I have to go have a rest after cooking and eating all of that food:)





Guess that's all for now! Jen


Belly Pics

Like the early SLC days....

My routine these days is reminding me a lot of when we first moved here and I had yet to find a job. It didn't last long, but I remember fondly those weeks of going to the library so often, exploring the neighborhood, catching up on correspondence, etc. So, here I sit at the Sugarhouse library once again...only this time in quite a different stage of life than I was just a year ago. And yet not so different at the same time. I still look out the big windows of this reading room, thankful to be sitting here using free internet, reading free magazines, with my canvas bag of books and movies waiting by my feet. I still love looking around and wondering how others are here in the middle of the day. In this room right now I would guess Homeless, Student, Young mom, 2 Retired, and one No idea. I still look at the librarians behind the desk and think "Behind a mom, ESL instructor, midwife, and orphanage worker,working at a library would be next on my list."

Speaking of midwife...we start Childbirth classes tomorrow!! I am sooooo excited, especially after talking with the lady that will be teaching the class. She was referred to me by a midwife friend from church who says that she is "the absolute best childbirth educator!" So, I gave her a call and she had one spot left for this class and only because one couple moved to her May class. When she called that "providence" and Joel my "beloved" in the kindest, calmest voice, I knew at once that I would love her. The classes are held in her home and we will be joined by 10 other couples. I'll let you know how it goes.

I guess that's all for now. Our internet at home is down...but I promise to post a belly pic ASAP when it comes back up. I am now getting lots of comments in public..that has been a hoot to say the least. Some people really know how to warm a pregnant girl's heart with their words....and some don't. Mom and I were talking this morning about how some people seem to be lacking a "mind to mouth" filter...but from what I have heard, with twins it will be a public comment bonanza..so this is good training.

Hope you all are well and enjoying your days, Jenny

What's your love language?

Mine is time. Without a doubt. I think love languages a lot of times go back to how you were loved as a child and so time would make sense for me. Mom devoted almost all of her time loving us, raising us, educating us, make believing with us, feeding us, training us, encouraging us. We were loved by her encouraging words, acts of service, gifts, and affection too...but the knowledge that she spent THAT much time with us and treasured it has been invaluable to me. Then there was dad who also made it evident how much he loved his time with us. He chose to spend any extra time he had with us...catching softballs, playing basketball, making our backyard into a winter wonderland whenever it froze, taking me on dates....he loved us by giving us his time. He still does. If our family is together, no matter what we are doing, dad's love tank is full.

All this to say that when Joel and I read the Love Languages book while we were dating, mine was pretty clear. Going for a walk, cooking, housework, eating, singing, being with friends and family...for me, it's always better when Joel and I are together. So, this week has been bliss for me. Joel is on spring break and has mainly just taken it easy around the house and town. We have walked and talked and cooked and laughed and felt the babies move and shopped and he has gotten a whole check list of errands and household things done (maybe he is nesting a bit too?). Anyway, I am ending this week with a very thankful and full heart.

We had some fun visitors this week too.

My friend Eliza has a little girl named Oakley and Joel and I are both so in love with her. She makes you want to be five years old again in a big way. We got to babysit her on Tuesday morning and loved it. She walked in wearing her Incredibles mask that she got from Disney on Ice the night before. She was also wearing a pink shoe and an orange shoe:) We played hide and seek and talked about all kinds of things. She tried desperately to lure Willow into letting her pet her...to no avail. It was a great morning.

Then last night Eliza came over and she and I walked over to the Coffee Garden and had tea and a wonderful chat. When we came home Joel was here with another fun visitor...Luigi the cat. You guys, he is straight from a storybook. My first meeting with him was one very early morning to Joel awakening me and saying "Look what I have." He was holding a cat that was definitely not Willow. "Now this is a cool cat" he says. "He just barged right in the door when I opened it!" And so he does. He barges in on random evenings as if he has lived here all his life. He goes about the whole house like an inspector, sniffing everything and jumping up into all the nooks and crannies. Joel gets such a kick out of him and Luigi likes to snuggle up to his beard too:) So anyway (am I really writing this much about a cat?!), last night this is what we found Luigi up to in the bathroom! I can't believe he didn't fall in. We'll try to get you a more clear view of him for you soon:)


Whew, I better go for now. We are watching movies on this last night of Spring Break. Hope you all have had a great week. I'll try to post an updated belly pic soon. I can definitely tell I'm entering the third trimester...I am feeling a bit more tired, have to go to the bathroom constantly, sleep with at least 5 pillows, etc. The great part though, is that I am feeling the babies all the time now.That makes everything else so worth it. Jen

Captured in time....

The last project mom and I did while she was here was a belly cast to make permanent the imprint of this amazingly expanded stomach. I saw belly casts for the first time a few years back and thought they were the most beautiful idea and so it was like a little dream come true to get to do one (well actually two) of my own. It is already such a wonderful memory of mom and I in the sunshiney kitchen listening to folk music on our new XM radio (thanks bub and robin!) and the babies were moving around like crazy the whole time. We still need to sand them and then mom will paint them when she comes back in May. Anyway, here is a little slide show of the project...enjoy!

Belly Casting

My mama is here....

And she brought the sunshine with her! Seriously, it has been in the upper 60's since she has arrived...perfectly beautiful days. Of course she brought her own sunshine with her...brightening my days more than she knows. We have filled our days with long walks, thrift store shopping, reading magazines, taking pictures of my ever growing belly, she has made me yummy food and helped me organize baby things. Really, is there anything more wonderful than a mama's love? Here are some pictures of our time together....

Here I am sitting at the park watching the Sunday hippy drum circle. Mom loves it:)

Here's mom shopping for yarn. She has made the cutest baby booties and hats..I need to take some pictures. Why didn't I inherit her creative genes?!

An example of the yumminess I get to eat while she is here...

And the ever growing 24 week pregnant belly....

Guess that's all for now. Mom is here until Friday morning and then I guess I have to let her go. I sure will miss all the beauty and goodness she brings with her when she comes. Hope you all are well, Jenny

P.S. If you'd like to see the belly pic in the slide show, click here...

Belly Pics

Sing over me....

I know, I know...it's been a while. I have been busy this week adjusting to my new job. What new job, you ask? That of full time housewife and baby incubator :) So far, the transition has been splendid. There is always much to do in this little home...projects that have been waiting so patiently, nooks and crannies that are embarrassingly behind on being cleaned....and so this has been a week of catch up. There is much resting that goes on in between projects too, and that has been nice as well.
Good music is a nice perk of working in your home too, and this week has been full of my favorite tunes. Today I got a special CD in the mail from Anna called Sing over Me and it's a collections of praise songs and lullabies and I love it!! Thanks Anna!!I know that when the babies come I'll really rely on hymns and praise music a lot to keep me going and put things in perspective and so I was so happy to add this to my armory:)
Anyway, I'm off to watch Bleak House. It's a BBC miniseries of a Charles Dickens story. So very Charles Dickens. Orphans, tragedy, creepy characters, and then the full of goodness heroine that makes you want to strive to be pure and good and full of wisdom.
Oh, pregnancy is going well...I am still feeling good even as I continue to expand rapidly. So thankful for each day that I don't experience heartburn, swelling, and all the other multitudes of unpleasantness that many mamas to be do. Not saying that they won't come, just saying that I love each day that they aren't here. We are looking at other rental houses for a variety of reasons, which is hard for me as I am not a big fan of change but know that more room and a washer/dryer would be big pluses.So, I'll keep you updated on that. Mom comes Friday night--hurray!! Lots of pictures to come from that visit I'm sure. Hope you all are well, Jenny

Attachment Parenting....

We thought we better start practicing....

Some videos of Joelie...

Photo and video editing at onetruemedia.com

Photo and video editing at onetruemedia.com

A late night conversation with Paris Hilton...

Everyone who knows me well has had to endure hearing my bizarro dreams throughout the years. I dream weird ones and I remember them in detail and my poor friends and family have to listen and act interested. Now you get to too! Although blogging them is great because you can just skim right through if you'd like. I think pregnancy may be making them even weirder....

Last night I dreamed that I was talking with Paris Hilton(?!?!) because, apperently, we were great childhood friends. So Paris and I were discussing her future and she said that she wanted to go to dental school. Great, says I, a very noble pursuit. I then asked her if she had started to take the prerequisites to get in. "The what?" She asked. "You know, the classes you have to have before you get into the program." "Oh no" was her reply, "It's really like my dad's fault that I haven't started dental school because I'm like waiting for him to just buy a school or something so that I can get in." Right!

The conversation went on but I'll spare you the details. Thankfully the childhood friend that I had been talking to before going to sleep and then got confused in my dreams was Kristi Kinard (Bittle) and not Paris Hilton and she does not want to go to dental school as she is a new mommy of the cutest little baby boy, Hudson.

Anyway, that's all for now. Hope you guys are having some pleasant dreams. I'm always a willing listener if you want to share:) Jenny

As requested by Jami.....

Photo and video editing at onetruemedia.com

I'll try and update it as the weeks go along...Jen

Interesting Days...

I love having days that break the mold and bring things new and unexpected. This week had a few, so I'll share them with you.

The first day was Tuesday when we had a meeting after work. It was a working lunch and it was held at our director, Valentina's, house. Valentina is from Russia and I would give anything if I had a picture of her for you. She looks like a doll. She has long, red hair that is usually twisted up in an elegant bun and bangs. She has very rosy cheeks. We got to her house and she opened the door dressed in full Russian dress. A long white flowing dress and a Russian hat with a Russian apron. The thing that made the scene so....surreal....was that she acted as if this happened every day. That there was nothing out of the ordinary in her appearance whatsoever.

The theme of the meal was "A White House luncheon" and it was a feast! Every dish represented something about an American President. I can't recall very many of the meanings because I was so taken aback by this whole scene that I had a hard time concentrating on the words being spoken. The whole thing was soooooo Valentina. She is so willing to work for HOURS and HOURS and HOURS for one activity, so willing to throw herself totally into a situation, so over the top:) We had salmon, chicken, roast beef, potatoes, avocado salad, a Russian salad, fruit, and two cakes!!! Amazing.

That evening I had two of my students over for dinner. Um, I didn't dress up and nor did I prepare quite a feast, but we had a great time nonetheless. Here is a picture of Lex, Helen, and I.

Lex was in two of my classes a couple of sessions ago and then I have been tutoring him since then. He is one of those colorful students that I'll never forget. He made us laugh and asked such great questions, he wasn't afraid to fail, he threw himself into American culture and the English language, and he became a good friend. He wanted to get to meet the babies so badly, but alas he had to go back to Korea today. So, I assured him that there will be LOTS of pictures on the blog for him to see. HI LEX! Helen's brother Jason was in my same classes with Lex and they became best of friends. Jason went back to Korea and his sister Helen is now here studying. Helen and Jason are both smart, wonderful students....they must have very proud parents!

Wednesday was great because our students got to "hear" two amazing speakers. One speaker was deaf and one was blind and deaf. Their wives interpreted for them and hearing their stories was inspiring and humbling. Wish you all could have been there.

Anyway, this was my last full week of teaching! Next week we have review days and then two half days of finals, and then friday I give my students their grades and say adios to the English Language Institute. Very bitter sweet.

Guess that's all for now. I'm going to go comb the bookshelves for a good read. The wind is starting to pick up and it's supposed to start raining and snowing before too long...perfect night for a book. Hope that you too have had some interesting days, Jenny

Oh, here is a link to a challenging video I came across on another blog...really made me think. Hopefully it'll make me do more than think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFrmyD6G5qU

A little update...

So, I went to my new midwife's office and had a great visit. She measured my tummy and I am measuring 29 cm....I am 22 weeks pregnant. An average pregnancy with one baby at this point would be measuring about 22 cm. Wowsers! So, here it is in all it's glory...

We stare at it a lot in amazement:) So, all is well in the pregnancy department. I'm feeling better after a week of congestion and yucky cold symptoms and so glad to be over it. I'm not sure my students knew what to think of their rapidly growing, sniffling, coughing, tired teacher. Hopefully I'll dazzle them with my energy these last two weeks of classes:)

Confession: Today I drank my first Starbuck's chai tea since finding out that I was pregnant. I have been thinking about it for a long time and once I decided to go for it today, there was nothing stopping me. I walked down the street to Starbuck's with the snow blowing in my eyes, unyielding in my determination to revel in this caffine ridden beverage. And oh was it good. So creamy and sweet and comforting. It also gave me a burst of energy and I got lots done while Joel was out on an outdoor adventure( I'll post pictures of that soon).

We had a good Valentines celebration. Joel learned this year that I actually DO like Valentines day. I guess I have verbally agreed all these years that the day was "pretty silly, and so commercial, and we should love each other every day..." and yada yada. But this year when Joel said that they were going to have study group that night and I casually said, "Really? The other wives don't mind?" He answered, " No, they agree with us that it's silly." So I said, " You mean they agree with you that it's silly." His mouth dropped open and he said, "What?!" So, the point is that he recovered quickly, and I was greeted with flowers, chocolate strawberries, and a dinner out at "Cowboy's grub" on Valentines evening. Yes, I wanted to go to a place called Cowboy's grub for this romantic dinner out. Joel thought it was hysterical. What can I say? These days I am craving more "substantial" foods. No foo foo foods for me please.

Anyway, this weekend was relaxing too. We walked around the park in the warm (50 degree) sun and watched movies and walked around Target. I've been needing some Joel time, so my love tank was filled.

Hope you all are well and enjoyed this weekend. Jenny

Willow: Our practice baby

She throws up, we rock her(seriously, she'll stay like this forever) and love on her and cry when she gets in fights with the neighborhood cats (okay, Joel didn't cry...but he did let her sleep with us that night:) Yep, she's our little one until June-and then she is going to be in for a major shock. We love you Willow and are thankful God sent you to us to love on and fatten up.

Let's see.....an update....not too much new going on. I went to my new midwive's office and loved it. Everything looked good, both little heartbeats were heard, etc. My next ultrasound and appt. with the high risk docs is Feb 27th. Then mom comes in March on her spring break to help me get organized and just to hang out. I can't wait!!!

In really, really sad news....there was a shooting rampage that went on last night about 3 blocks from our house at an upscale shopping area called Trolley Square. 5 people were killed and 4 more are in serious condition. The shooter was an 18 year old and so far nothing has been said about a motive or anything. Everyone here is in shock as SLC is such a safe place to live, and this was just so random and tragic. If you want to read more, here is a link to a local paper...http://www.sltrib.com/
I have been praying for the families of the victims and those being treated at the hospitals all day, please take a minute to pray for them as well.

Guess that's all for now. Hope you all are doing well, Jenny

"Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday Baby.."'

This line has been running through my head all day long.I have no idea how the rest of the song goes, so I just keep recycling the one line over and over again. Because today Joelie is turning 30 and baby was our first lovey name for each other.

When we got married I was 18 and he was 22. We had been friends for so long and were so young that pet names like Honey or Sugar just made us laugh. We just couldn't call each other anything other than our names without cracking up. Then there was Baby. It stuck.

It's hard to believe that we have been married for almost 8 years, and yet it seems that so much life has been lived during that time. Life with Joel is like that. You get a lot done and it is full of adventure. Since he graduated from high school he has...

Worked on a ranch in Arkansas as a cowboy/counselor to juvenile delinquents.

Worked as a trail ride leader in Colorado at a dude ranch.

Worked as a bank teller in Tomball while going to community college.

Spent a year at Texas Christian University getting a Ranch Management certificate.

Spent a summer in Ethiopia living and working with a missionary family. Fell in love with Ethiopia.

Worked at a veterinary clinic in Tomball.

Cowboyed some more.

Joined the military and got engaged.

Moved to Hawaii and worked as an Operating Room tech.

Went to Thailand with a group from our church in Hawaii. Fell in love with Thailand.

Climbed, snorkeled, scubadived, cliff jumped, mountain biked, and camped in Hawaii.

Was deployed to Columbia for 8 months where he was stationed in what is called "The Triangle of Death."

Finished his deployment in Honduras where we got to spend time with our friend Rhonda at her Children's Home. We fell in love with Honduras. Thankfully, we were able to return with my mom about 6 months later to spend even more time with the kids. We fell in love all over again.

Moved back to TX and finished his degree at Texas State. Lived in the river during the summer, scaring people with his amazingly long beard.

Got accepted into PA school in Utah and moved to Salt Lake City.

All this while loving and caring for me, being so interested in those around him, creating deep friendships with some amazing folks, continuing his constant quest for knowledge and growth....do you see why this guy amazes me?

Happy Birthday to my Baby. I'm so thankful to get to be by your side for the next 30 years of this inspiring, wild, joy filled life you live. Jen

Captured Moment...

Mom managed to take this picture at the exact moment we told John Mike and Tara we were having twins....love this. Missing you tonight my brothers and sisters. Jenny

Okay Belly Lovers....

So these are my 20 week pictures taken this morning. I have to say, I love this stage of being pregnant. I love feeling my belly and starting to feel those babies moving around. I would love it even more if I could wear flowey skirts and tank tops instead of layer after layer of shirts and jackets, etc. but we crank up the heater and I wear comfyness around the house. Anyway, I think my stomach is doubling in size each week! I know that in a couple of months the uncomfortableness will begin, so I'm trying to enjoy each day.

Hope you all are having a great weekend. Joel and I went to a bagel place this morning where he studied and I caught up on some cards I needed to write. Now we are home and he is studying some more while I catch up on blogging, calling, cleaning...etc. Normal weekend here at the Hunts:) Hope you have a good one, Jen