A look back in pictures!

I thought I would post all of the weekly pictures of the boys for the past 11 weeks.

This is the first official picture of the boys together, they are 2 days old.

One Week Old

Two Weeks Old

Three Weeks Old

Four Weeks Old

Five Weeks Old

Six Weeks Old

Seven Weeks Old

Eight Weeks Old

Nine Weeks Old

Ten Weeks Old

Eleven Weeks Old

I can hardly believe that they are already 11 weeks old!  Time has flown by so fast!  I will post individual pictures of the boys and what their milestones are later.  Right now I just want to marvel at their awesomeness!  Thank you God for the gift of all of my children!

Six weeks ago...

You know those movies where they start out with something really dramatic happening really fast and you aren't really sure what is exactly happening until the screen all of a sudden goes dark and the words...FIVE YEARS BEFORE or 15 YEARS AGO flash on the screen and you know now you will finally be brought up to speed?!!

Okay, that is what I am going to do here right now!  Because believe me, SO much has happened in the last 6 weeks, I really need to just back up and start at the beginning.

On Sunday, September 2, 2012 our sweet little baby boys were born.  Hudson was born at 12:15pm in a regular delivery.  He weighed 4 lbs 13 oz and was 17 inches long.  His Apgar scores were 9 and 9, which is awesome.  But after a couple of hours he was struggling with his breathing, too rapid and so he was put in the nicu on a little oxygen.

Hudson's twin brother, Beckham was born at 12:35pm via C-Section.  He weighed 4lbs 5 oz and was 17 inches long.  His Apgar scores were 6 and 9, but the second one is the most important.  He was really healthy, thank the Lord!

 
These pictures were taken after we arrived in North Carolina.  Hudson was on the special blanket to help with jaundice.  He had to stay in the hospital 2 extra days until his bilirubin numbers went down.

So...after we got the call that the boys were born we started to make our plans to get to them.  I wanted to bring all the girls with me so we could experience this as a family, which I am really glad I did!

On Wednesday the 5th we headed east toward Charlotte!

The girls watched a lot of movies and we sang and played car games.  We drove from Kansas City to St. Louis where we stopped for lunch at a McDonalds and the girls played and stretched their legs for a while.  Then we got back on the road and drove through Illinios, Kentucky and on to Nashville, TN.  We arrived in Nashville after 10pm, we had been on the road for 10 hours, and we checked into the Drury Inn.  The girls were excited because i told them we could swim before we went to bed, but the pool was closed by the time we got there :(

So we drove over to an IHOP and had breakfast for dinner and then fell into bed exhausted!

The next morning we got up really early and enjoyed the FREE breakfast!  We drove out of Nashville heading east through Knoxville and Ashville, down through the beautiful Smokey Mountains!  Next time I wish we could spend more time on the journey, but we were in a hurry to get to the boys!

We enjoyed a brief stop in Knoxville, TN at a really nice Starbucks.  We ate bagel sandwiches which we had packed at home, with provolone cheese that was warm and melty from the car, it was super good!

We practically flew down the mountains and arrived in Mooresville, NC by 2:30pm and went straight to the hospital!  It was surreal walking into that hospital knowing we would be walking out with at least one baby!

We were able to all go right into C's room where she was waiting with both boys!  It was so exciting for everyone!

Seeing them in person for the very first time!  The girls were a little shy at first, but then they slipped right into big sister mode!

While C signed the paperwork with her attorney, I went into the nursery with Beckham to do the carseat stress test.  He passed with flying colors and they were ready to send him home with us.  Then I had to bring Hudson back to the nursery as he had to stay a couple more days *sigh*.  I was so sad, but I knew he would be fine and it wouldn't be for much longer.

Miss Ava is so excited to be a big sister!  She keeps saying she will protect her brothers.  So sweet!

Well that was through Thursday September 6th.  We drove C home to her family and then drove with Beckham back to our hotel, stopping on the way to pick up extra diapers, wipes, formula and hot dogs (for the girls.)  We had a quiet first night in our hotel room at the Hampton Inn.  Everyone there was so sweet to us.

The next day we went back to the hospital at nine thinking we would get to pick up Hudson, but the doctor wanted him to stay just one more day, so back we went to the hotel again.  I will post next about our hotel and the staff there, and other fun things we did in North Carolina in my next post.

And here is our little Hudson!

Hudson is still in the nicu but he is doing great!  He was breathing really hard and fast and they just wanted to give him a break and make sure he didn't "crash".  So they are giving him just a little extra oxygen.

He also has an IV because birth mom tested positive for the Group Strep B virus, which is totally common and about 50% of women have it.  Usually, the mom is given a shot and it takes affect within about 15 minutes, so there is no danger to the baby.  But Hudson was born within minutes of her getting the shot, so the doctors were concerned that he may have been exposed.  Just a precaution, we will know by about 4pm today.

If he is, then they just give him antibiotics in the IV and he will be fine.  If he does not have it, the IV comes out and he joins his brother in the regular nursery!!  I am praying for the latter!

Is such a little peanut!  But he really looks like a fighter.  I can not wait to cuddle and love on him.  Oh...this mamas arms are aching to hold her babies!!

And here they are !!!

Hudson Charles and Beckham Matthew!

Born today at 12:15 pm and 12:35 pm.

Weighing 4lb 13oz and 4lb 5oz.

This is Beckham.

 And this is Beckham.

And this is Beckham too!!

The reason all of the photos are only of Beckham is that Hudson had some issues with his breathing and he is in the nicu, so birth mom didn't get pictures of him.  But I have been on the phone with his nurse and she assures me that he is doing great and should only be in a few days, just to get his strength up.

I cried as I told her I was sad that I didn't get to see pictures of him, and she said, "Did you get to see pictures of the other one?"  I told her yes and she said, "Then you've seen this one too!"  Because they are IDENTICAL!!  Wow!  I had no idea!

I am in awe!  Thank you Lord for these precious babies!  I am so thankful to be their mommy.  Thank you for the awesome woman who is sharing them with us and giving them to our family to love and treasure and raise to be Godly men!

Oh I am so filled with thankfulness and I can not wait to get there and hold them!!!  Now if only we weren't so far away!  We will be rolling toward them in a few days.  Please pray for us and that our trip to NC will be fast and safe!

I love you my sweet little baby boys!  And your sisters are so fired up!  We could probably run to NC!!

35 Weeks and still gestating!!

I am in awe of our birth mom...she is in her 35th week!! It now appears we will have September babies! Yay!!! The boys are measuring at over 5 pounds and that means bigger stronger babies and less time in the NICU which is such a blessing!

This is her picture she sent me while she was waiting to see the doctor on Monday. Such a big difference from her picture at 32 weeks. I know she is really uncomfortable, but she is doing such a great job and being so selfless about all of this. We love her for her strength and commitment to the health and safety of our precious baby boys. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.
 And speaking of Blessings... We are having such a fun time making our Blessing Blankets for Helping Hands, Saving Lives! They are so sweet and soft and I can not wait to hand them to Annalise when we go to North Carolina...soon. I will take pictures and post them.
 As I sew I am imagining them wrapped around beautiful babies while the Mommas hold them and praise Jesus for changing their hearts and filling them with love for their sweet babies!
 ...every child a Blessing, thank you Lord!

Looking for Sponsors!

As we approach the end of our adoption journey...or really the beginning with our new little men! We are in need of a fundraiser in order to afford the remaining attorneys fees and travel expenses for our family to travel to Charlotte, NC to pick up our twin boys. I have never done a fundraiser before and wanted it to make sense for our family, not just asking for donations, and not just selling something. After a LOT of prayer and a very sleepless night (I'm talking 3:30 in the morning, on my knees having some very long conversations with God kind of night!) We have an awesome fundraiser to announce!! We are asking you to Sponsor a Blessing Blanket for a baby in need! Blessing Blankets are soft and warm receiving blankets, only a little larger, handmade by me out of 100% cotton flannel in pretty and sweet colors for the girls and bright and fun colors for the boys! You can sponsor a Blessing Blanket for just $25 right there on the left side of my Blog. By clicking on there you will go to my Etsy shop where you can make your "purchase".

Your Blessing Blanket will be donated to Helping Hands, Saving Lives a ministry started by a beautiful young lady named Annalise Metzger. You can view her website here My hope is that each baby who receives one of these Blessing Blankets feels your love and God's love wrapped around them. Please feel free to share this post with your friends and family!

First Day of School!

It is the first day of school for both my public school kids and my Homeschool kids.  I thought it would be easiest for me if we kept on the same schedule.  I blogged about our first day of school on my Homeschool Blog here.

We had a really fun weekend, I especially enjoyed Sunday because it was my birthday!  Yes, I am 31...again!

This is my birthday brownie the girls made me.  My son Randy came over for dinner and I made Italian sausages with onions and green peppers, Yummy!

On Monday we were invited to my friend Nancy's house.  She laid out a feast for the girls and I, including pizza, chips and dip, brownies, lemon squares and four different kinds of sherbet!

Then we went down to her basement to watch a movie.  They actually have a movie theater in their basement!  With actual movie seats...that recline...and have cup holders!!  It was too awesome!  I could barely get the girls to leave when the movie was over!

And as if all that wasn't enough...on Tuesday we were invited over to my friend Ruby's farm.  It is in Garnett, KS about an hour from us.  Ruby is such a blessing, she has four children and she and her husband attend our church.  Yes, folks, they drive over an hour every Sunday to get to worship with us!!  So Ruby told me she was going to make applesauce and asked if we wanted to come out and make some for our family too!  Of course I said yes!  Every time Ruby brings her applesauce to our fellowship meal after service, my children practically inhale it and since that is just slightly embarassing, I thought it might be a good idea for me to learn how to make it too!

Ruby picked up several boxes of Gala & Golden Delicious Apples.  We used the Gala for our applesauce, we washed, and cored and sliced them, then put everything, even the core, into a big pot and boiled them.  Then Ruby showed us how to pour them into this contraption which separates the skin, seeds and other bits from the pulp and juice!  It was like magic!

Madyson and Mackenzie and Katy took turns turning the handle and I filled the jars.

 I canned 24 quarts of this liquid gold!  It is so sweet and wonderful.  Next time we are going to make cinnamon applesauce.  I think this will last us a couple of weeks!

What a fun week leading up to today and the first day of school!

Sweet Saturdays

We had a nice relaxing Saturday.  Last night the girls and I went to the Theater in the Park to watch "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown".  It was a really great show and I so enjoyed the music and the singing, and most especially the almost chilly weather!

This morning I got up and made some banana bread and got the kids dressed and out the door to play in this nice weather and then a friend stopped by for a nice long chat!  I haven't had time for one of those in such a long time.  It was so much fun to sip our coffee and nibble the fresh bread and just talk girl talk!

In the afternoon we went to visit a new mommy in the hospital where her precious baby girl is trying to grow and gain strength.  I am praying for little Mattie and her brave mommy.  I know God will be with them.  I can only imagine how frightening it would be to have this happen with your first child.

Going to settle in for the night, have to be in bed early so we can be on time for church tomorrow!  We have been late for the last few weeks and I am bound and determined to start getting my family there on time!!  I hate to be the last family in there...and we don't even have the babies yet!  At least then we would have a good excuse!

32 Weeks and counting!

Here is the birthmom's beautiful 32 week tummy!  She is a tiny little lady, so she is practically all tummy now!  She says the boys are up til all hours playing and kicking each other!  That is one of her twins with his hand on her tummy, he is so precious.

We are still in Kansas.  I have a class that does not finish up until the 23rd of August, I can leave if i have to, but I'd like to complete that before we drive to North Carolina.  The plan is to leave on Friday the 24th and drive through Nashville to Charlotte.  It is approximately 984 miles and so it will make for a fun family road trip!!

I have been busy around the house...nesting!  Besides sewing the fun receiving blankets in all the bright fabrics we bought, I have also used the scraps to make these cute burp cloths.  You just buy the cloth diapers at WalMart, and then take a strip of the flannel fabric and turn it under, pin it in place down the front of the cloth diaper and sew it down.  It's cute and matches the blankets! (And for some reason the picture makes it look like it's pink!  But it really is not!)

And here is our "Diaper Station" that we set up in the family room.  We got the cute basket at Michael's on sale!  It holds about 60 diapers, the wipe container in it's handy carry basket, and will also hold about 6 receiving blankets.  To the side of it, where there is a stack of diapers right now, I will place a medium size plastic bin that will hold all of their dirty laundry each day.  Our house is large and if you are down in the family room you can't hear anything going on up in my Master bedroom which is on the complete opposite side of the house and upstairs.  So we find it easier to have 2 complete areas that are set up for sleeping, diapering, feeding, etc.

Oh you know I have to be organized!  How else could I keep my sanity with all these kiddos!  And lastly are the new bottles.  I have used the same bottles for the last 5 years!  I decided it was time to buy some new ones.  I was going to use the Dr. Browns, but have you seen what those cost?!  And I need 20!  Now in the past I have used only 3 or 4 bottles per child.  I like the wide mouth so when I am mixing up the formula late at night I don't have to worry about missing the opening and dumping all that expensive formula down the side of the bottle.  But with twins I figure I am going to need a better plan.

So I am going to mix up the formula every morning in a big pitcher and then pour it out into 16 bottles for the day.  I will then put the bottles into the refrigerator and take them out 1/2 hour before feeding time.  I am also putting one of those little dorm refrigerators in my bedroom for a while so I can store their bottles for the nighttime feedings.  Now doesn't that sound organized?!

So because of the sheer number needed, I went with these little Gerber bottles.  When they eat more than 5 ounces, well then we will have to get bigger bottles.  This will be the first time i have not "Fed on demand".  I usually don't like to schedule babies, I have always thought that was kind of like trying to potty train a cat!  I mean, babies will let you know when they are hungry, and they are always growing so their internal schedules are always changing.  But other moms of twins have really been adamant about getting the boys on a schedule.  They have told me if I let them eat just when they want to I will literally be feeding one of them all of the time!  So we will try sticking to a schedule and so I will need a lot of bottles!

I am excited!  I know some of this will work and some will go right out of the window, but I am ready to get started.  Double the load, double the fun!!

Eat More Chickin'

We headed to Chick-Fil-A tonight for their Appreciation Day.  Had a great dinner and met some really wonderful people.  The Manager and the Owner came out to thank everyone while we were in line and explain that while they had all of their staff working, it was still taking a while to cook the chicken!  They were actually apologizing for our wait!!  Everyone just started clapping for them!  They were so sweet!

It took us about an hour to get through the line and get our dinner.  We watched as many people finished their meals, cleaned up their tables and then went up to the manager and offered to help as volunteers!  It was so awesome!!  One little lady walked around the restaurant offering to refill your drinks, she was just precious!

I was so proud to be a part of this and for my children to witness such encouragement and caring from our community and I know this is going on throughout our country!!

God Bless America and the citizens who stand up for our right to speak our minds!!  God Bless the management and employees of Chick-Fil-A for modeling such wholesome family values!!

My 13 year old Princess!

Kathryn Suzanne Werner turned 13 on July 23rd!  I can hardly believe how old she is now.  I remember the first night she came to my home...she was just 5 years old, skinny as can be with a big wide smile!

She was always so pretty and happy and I was thrilled to get to take care of her and Madyson too.  From the start I did not know if this would be forever, but I knew that my Katy girl would forever be in my heart!

I marvel at those wonderful long legs that God has given you!  And those gorgeous eyes!  And I am so grateful for your sensitive and loving heart.  I was so happy to become your forever Mommy in 2007!

Katy is everyone's best friend!  She has a special way with each of her sisters.  She is the leader of our girl group and the first for anyone to turn to if Mom is not available!

You are 5' 9" tall now, you love to dance and praise Jesus!  You use your whole body and your whole heart for anything you do!  You will step in quickly to get anything done that needs to be done and remind your sisters if they are not following the rules.  In honor of your 13th Birthday you have promised to keep yourself pure for whatever God calls you to do in your life and you are excited to wear the beautiful ring Mom gave you in remembrance of that.  I know you will honor Him with your heart and your actions.

Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God."

I love you Katy!  Happy 13th Birthday!

Baby Update!

Our birthmom went into early labor yesterday.  She is at 29 weeks 1 day and the boys are measuring at 2 lbs. 15 oz.  She is at CMC hospital in Charlotte and the doctors were able to stop the contractions last night.  They gave her one steroid shot last night and another one today at noon.

They are releasing her to go home on strict bed rest.  She has family with her and they will do everything including take care of her other children.

Please pray!!  Pray for the health of the birthmom and her peace.  Pray that the boys will get at least one more week to grow over 3 lbs!  Pray that the doctors will be vigilant and keep a watch for any signs of trouble!  And please pray that this mommy, so far away from her babies will be at peace with all that the Lord has planned.  I am trying to keep from panicking, to trust that God has them in His hands and will take tender care of them.

We are preparing to drive to Charlotte as soon as they are born, we were going to fly, but I don't think we will have time now to buy tickets at a reasonable amount.  If the boys come this early, they will most likely end up in the Nicu for quite awhile, so we will probably have to go there, stay a week or two, come back home and then go again and wait for them to be released.

What a whirlwind!  God give me strength!

Trying out a new recipe!

One of the blogs I read, Little Did I Know, had this awesome recipe for Hawiian Bread Sandwiches that looked awesome and I just had to try it.  Here are the sandwiches before going in the oven.  They have ham, swiss cheese and a mixture of onions, butter and dijon mustard. (We left out the poppy seeds.)

After assembling them you bake them in the oven and they come out a warm delicious sweetness!  Out of this world!

Here is the finished product, I almost missed getting the picture because the girls were eating them so fast!  We paired this with a dinner salad, and even though we had to turn the oven on it was still a great idea for dinner or lunch.

Thank you to Lisa for posting this.  You can see the recipe on her blog here.