December 2011 and January 2012

Cutting down our Christmas tree!

Hope opening her first gift

Christmas morning!

Genevieve opening a Christmas gift.

A mirror image!

Smiling and playing

Always looking so cute!

The girls love when daddy plays his guitar

Tummy time with Daddy

These past few months have flown by and I can't believe the girls will be 6 months old on February 9th. They truly amaze me each day. They are growing and changing so fast. They are at such a fun age. They are giggling and making a ton of noises. They are finally relating to each other a little bit, looking at each other and smiling, even touching each other. They are constantly on their bellies and so ready to begin crawling...I'm just waiting for that day when they do start moving. They are rolling around like crazy and playing with their feet...they both have gotten a foot in their mouths!

Christmas was wonderful. Having the girls here was truly a blessing for us and our family. They got a lot of great stuff, lots of fun toys that they will enjoy soon...right now mom and dad just play with them while the girls watch! I got teary eyed at the Christmas Eve Service at church...remembering back to last year and knowing I was pregnant and praying for the Lord's protection over the pregnancy. The girls got to meet some more Aunt's, Uncle's and Cousins at Christmas. We were blessed to have Erik's siblings in town with there families. It was a busy couple of weeks, but so much fun. We were also blessed to be able to attend a candlelight vigil for our babies in heaven. Our infant loss support group holds a vigil each year at Christmas. Families with babies in heaven come and light a candle and remember those children we lost. It was a precious time this year as we sat and lit our candles and held our new babies in our arms. What an emotional evening it was.

December flew by and January arrived with me celebrating my 33rd birthday on January 2nd. January also brought a tooth for Genevieve. She got her 1st tooth! Hope has yet to show any teeth, but I can tell they are coming soon. Both girls always have a hand or a toy in their mouths, chewing away. We introduced food last week, at first they were really into it, but that faded after a few days. So we are just waiting to introduce more food for a bit, just rice cereal for now.

How's life with 6 month old twins? Busy busy. They may not be moving yet, but they are still keeping me moving. They get bored with activities so quick that it's hard to keep up and keep them both happy. Like any stay at home mom, some days I want to laugh all day, some days I want to cry all day, and other days I want to bang my head against a wall. Never a dull moment. Being a full time mom of twins has been the most challenging experience of my life. While it is so amazing and rewarding...man it's exhausting. God has been teaching me so much about myself through motherhood. I am learning to let go of control issues and be in the moment. It's hard for me to "go with the flow". I am a very scheduled person, always watching the clock and calculating my day. Did you know you can't really do that with two babies who can't tell time? haha ! They don't care what time it is when they are hungry they are hungry and when they are tired they are tired. I'm learning, slowly but surely. Those days when I feel like I can't figure it out...I turn to God and use His strength. He continues to reassure me that He is here...even though some days I can't feel His presence. A few weeks ago I felt like I was drowning and so I went to the Lord and read my devotional for that day...it said

Try to view each day as an adventure, carefully planned out by your Guide.
Instead of staring into the day that is ahead of you, attempting to program it according to your will, be attentive to Me and to all I have prepared for you. Thank Me for this day of life, recognizing that it is a precious, unrepeatable gift. Trust that I am with you each moment, whether you sense My Presence or not. A thankful, trusting attitude helps you to see events in your life from My perspective. Expect each day to contain surprises. Be willing to follow wherever I lead.

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

God knew just what I needed to hear that day. Each day with my girls is a gift and I am truly trying to be in the moment each day and be thankful! It will still be hard, yes, and it will still be exhausting, yes, but with God I will get through those days! I may still cry and bang my head against the wall...but this too shall pass.

I promise not to let another 2 months pass by before posting more pictures and updates. Thanks for reading my ramblings.
Love to you all,
Jamie