Obviously I suck at blogging! I haven't updated since last February. Granted, I have been a little busy raising twins...but no excuse! The boys are now two and we had a quiet bday celebration. Jose even joined us via Skype. It was so strange seeing his head sit on the computer screen on the dining room table. We enjoyed Elmo cake and pizza! So glad I didn't do the crazy over the top bday celebration. While my boys are worth it, I know that in the end, it was that we spent it together. I got each one of the boys a single toy and was also proud of myself for my restraint. Let's face it, they have lots of toys and to load them up with a million meaningless "things" wasn't going to make them any happier. So I got I & S a guitar do and drum. Isaiah loved the guitar! He has carried that thing around contstantly playing all the songs. The drum is toast at this point. Samuel has hit that poor thing so hard it broke. No big deal and we didn't replace it! We went to the beach back in June. Not really sure that is what I would call a vacation, but we got to spend some time with family. You know how you have something pictured in your head of how it's going to be and then BAM....it is nothing like that. Well, there you have it. My vacation dreams were smashed. I was grateful for the time away. Note to self, vacations with two year olds are not all they are cracked up to be...no matter how much I love them. Took the house off the market, but we are going to put it back on. Still want to sell this beautiful home and get a smaller mortgage. While I would love to move back to KY, the house has to be sold first. Chris is in college and doing his thing. Don't see him too often but from what I hear he is interested in going into the Air Force after graduation. That is a fabulous idea however I would never tell him that. Teenages never want to know what the parents think! He could use the structure and discipline. Besides, they would pay for his entire college student loans. Krystal and Jose are headed to Weisbadden Germany in June of 2013. He resigned for another 3 years and was lucky to get this base as a choice. He is very excited and so is she. What an amazing adventure they will be on and I am so happy for the both of them. I will miss them sure, but wow what a great opportunity. I really hope they take the chance to travel and see as much of Europe as they can. Jorge says we will take the whole family over. Not sure I really want to make the trip with two pre-schoolers so we'll see. That's one long......plane ride. Last but certainly not least we are thinking of adoption again. We have become aware of a little girl who is 8 and will be nine next month. She is an only child and is currently in DSS care. We are praying about it and know that God knows best! His plan is better than anything I can dream up. For right now I am at peace with everything and know that it will all be fine. I'm a little anxious as to be expected. I mean, how am I going to get three kids up for school each day, dressed and ready to go BEFORE 7:15 each day. I have to be at work at 8, Sweet Girl to school and boys to daycare. This means Mommy will be up at 5:30am to get myself together and ready to get kids up by 6:30 am. While my sweet husband assures me he will get up to help me out, he isn't really a morning person. He will forever be the night owl. I've never seen someone sleep through EVERYTHING the way he does. He doesn't get home until about 2:30am so I'm being unreasonable to ask him to get up at 6:30 to help with the kids. I will handle it, I'm sure. So there you have it in a nutshell.

One on One time

Over this past weekend Samuel zonked out in my lap and after laying him in my bed for a short nap, Isaiah and I had a little Mommy & Me time while eating dinner. I rarely get the boys one at a time and they rarely get me like that, but we all enjoy it when it happens. Being an only child I never had to share my parents with anyone. There was always that one on one time with any of them. Trips to the store, vacations, rides in the car, you get the idea. Samuel and Isaiah also share caregiver time at daycare. There are 12, yes 12 kids in their classroom and only 2 teachers. Imagine you and your significant other care for twelve kids between 12mos and 24 months old. Mind blowing if you ask me. Granted, Tammy and Tiffany do not have to prepare any meals which is a huge time suck. Even still, they are my heros! I think I'm beginning to understand why Samuel is so clingy and fussy when we finally get home for the day. He just wants to be held and loved on. Who can blame him or Isaiah for that matter. They want a little attention without having to share it with another kid. Looks like we'll have to work on that! Here's a photo of Isaiah eating during our Mommy & Me time on Sunday.

My Dad jinxed me....

So during the Super Bowl last night I called my Dad to see how he was doing. After a few minutes of talking, he asks, "So the boys still sleeping good through the night?" JINX! I swear Isaiah heard him. After getting two very tired little boys to bed, Isaiah woke up screaming at 11pm. Jorge got up with him, made warm milk, rocked him to sleep only for Isaiah to start screaming again when Jorge put him in his crib. We tried letting him cry it out, but it wasn't happening. He was up. At midnight, I got up, put him in bed with me and we fell asleep in Chris' room. Sleeping, if you can call it that, with Isaiah is no picnic. He kicks, flails his arms and takes forever to calm down. Not sure what caused the drama, but at least we got a little sleep. So....no more questions about sleeping habits...okay?

Another new routine...

It amazes me how many new routines you must create, introduce and get used to as a mom and especially a mom of twins. With twins, nothing ever seems the same twice, well for very long anyway. Just when you think you have it all down, wham....another change occurs. Fortunately I think I deal with change fairly well. So it is in our house again, another change. My husbands work schedule has changed yet again and I think the boys know it. Sam woke up last night around 9pm and just wanted to snuggle. :0) That made mommy happy. However when I tried to put him back down to bed, he began to cry, which woke up Isaiah. Isaiah was fine but mad his brother had woke him up and was voicing his opinion about it. So I tried getting them both back to sleep but Isaiah wasn't having it. What to do....what to do? I made an executive decision and Isaiah went back in his crib to cry it out. (Insert Mommy Guilt Here!) I knew he would stop quickly and fall back asleep. He likes sleeping in his crib. To sleep with Isaiah you need a WWF degree! I've never seen a kid kick, toss and turn all night like him. I knew if I put him in bed with me, we'd never sleep. Sam ended up in bed with me and went right to sleep. While he may turn a few times and take a little bit to get calmed down, he snuggles well. Eventually the house was quiet and everyone got some sleep, even Mommy! Another routine I need to adjust to is Daddy not being home in the morning to help with the boys. Since they were born this was the routine and I did great with it. However for a long while now, he has been home in the mornings to help me get them ready, let the dogs out, get breakfast etc. This morning was interesting for sure. While brushing my teeth Isaiah went to throw away his dirty diaper (don't understand why he enjoys it so much but hey...) and all of a sudden it hit me, the dog bowls were down on the floor. I spit, raced to the kitchen and just as I made it around the corner I could hear the metal dish hit the floor and the gush of water everywhere. Ugh! It was the last thing I wanted to deal with. After cleaning up the mess both boys went strapped into the car with a video playing while I gathered my things for the day. Another day started.... Paci's are another routine breaker we are experiencing. Sam has kicked the habit completely however Isaiah is holding on. While he only has it at night or nap time I'm hoping it will be gone in the next few months. I've assured myself he won't walk across the graduation stage with it in his mouth so I'm not too concerned but it would be great to ditch it earlier than his freshman year! A quick Sam funny... This morning while I finished putting on my makeup I saw Sam playing in the full length mirror in our bedroom. He looked at himself, waved and said Bye Bye to his reflection then blew himself a kiss. Precious!

Just read this today and wanted to share. I've griped & moaned about my husband working nights and having very little help with the boys. That ends today. My husband is wonderful, provides for his family and loves us immensely. While I selfishly would love for him to be home when it is convenient for all of us, especially me, I am grateful he has a job he loves and provides for us. When people tell me daily that I have my hands full, I will smile and say, "Full of great things!" My cup runneth over! Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank) by Rachel Jankovic | July 14, 2011 A few years ago, when I just had four children and when the oldest was still three, I loaded them all up to go on a walk. After the final sippy cup had found a place and we were ready to go, my two-year-old turned to me and said, “Wow! You have your hands full!” She could have just as well said, “Don’t you know what causes that?” or “Are they all yours?!” Everywhere you go, people want to talk about your children. Why you shouldn’t have had them, how you could have prevented them, and why they would never do what you have done. They want to make sure you know that you won’t be smiling anymore when they are teenagers. All this at the grocery store, in line, while your children listen. A Rock-Bottom Job? The truth is that years ago, before this generation of mothers was even born, our society decided where children rank in the list of important things. When abortion was legalized, we wrote it into law. Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get. In fact, children rate below your desire to sit around and pick your toes, if that is what you want to do. Below everything. Children are the last thing you should ever spend your time doing. If you grew up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood, to think like a free Christian woman about your life, your children. How much have we listened to partial truths and half lies? Do we believe that we want children because there is some biological urge, or the phantom “baby itch”? Are we really in this because of cute little clothes and photo opportunities? Is motherhood a rock-bottom job for those who can’t do more, or those who are satisfied with drudgery? If so, what were we thinking? It's Not a Hobby Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for. Christian mothers carry their children in hostile territory. When you are in public with them, you are standing with, and defending, the objects of cultural dislike. You are publicly testifying that you value what God values, and that you refuse to value what the world values. You stand with the defenseless and in front of the needy. You represent everything that our culture hates, because you represent laying down your life for another—and laying down your life for another represents the gospel. Our culture is simply afraid of death. Laying down your own life, in any way, is terrifying. Strangely, it is that fear that drives the abortion industry: fear that your dreams will die, that your future will die, that your freedom will die—and trying to escape that death by running into the arms of death. Run to the Cross But a Christian should have a different paradigm. We should run to to the cross. To death. So lay down your hopes. Lay down your future. Lay down your petty annoyances. Lay down your desire to be recognized. Lay down your fussiness at your children. Lay down your perfectly clean house. Lay down your grievances about the life you are living. Lay down the imaginary life you could have had by yourself. Let it go. Death to yourself is not the end of the story. We, of all people, ought to know what follows death. The Christian life is resurrection life, life that cannot be contained by death, the kind of life that is only possible when you have been to the cross and back. The Bible is clear about the value of children. Jesus loved them, and we are commanded to love them, to bring them up in the nurture of the Lord. We are to imitate God and take pleasure in our children. The Question Is How The question here is not whether you are representing the gospel, it is how you are representing it. Have you given your life to your children resentfully? Do you tally every thing you do for them like a loan shark tallies debts? Or do you give them life the way God gave it to us—freely? It isn’t enough to pretend. You might fool a few people. That person in line at the store might believe you when you plaster on a fake smile, but your children won’t. They know exactly where they stand with you. They know the things that you rate above them. They know everything you resent and hold against them. They know that you faked a cheerful answer to that lady, only to whisper threats or bark at them in the car. Children know the difference between a mother who is saving face to a stranger and a mother who defends their life and their worth with her smile, her love, and her absolute loyalty. Hands Full of Good Things When my little girl told me, “Your hands are full!” I was so thankful that she already knew what my answer would be. It was the same one that I always gave: “Yes they are—full of good things!” Live the gospel in the things that no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know about. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine. If you tell them the gospel, but live to yourself, they will never believe it. Give your life for theirs every day, joyfully. Lay down pettiness. Lay down fussiness. Lay down resentment about the dishes, about the laundry, about how no one knows how hard you work. Stop clinging to yourself and cling to the cross. There is more joy and more life and more laughter on the other side of death than you can possibly carry alone. Rachel Jankovic is a wife, homemaker, and mother. She is the author of "Loving the Little Years" and blogs at Femina. Her husband is Luke, and they have five children: Evangeline (5), Daphne (4), Chloe (2), Titus (2), and Blaire (5 months).