Sweet Heartbeats

Today I had my 12 week visit (although I technically won't be 12 weeks until Friday). The main event on the agenda was hearing the heartbeats. The nurse said it was probably going to be difficult to hear the heartbeats b/c I wasn't quite 12 weeks and b/c it was twins. But thankfully, they were cooperative and I was able to hear both...one louder than the other. It was a wonderfully reassuring sound. The doctor says that the miscarriage is less likely since we've made it this far which was very comforting to hear. Regardless, I know that I just have to trust God with these babies. Keep praying that things continue to go well and that I will be able to carry them to 37 weeks. I also found out that I'll find out if we're having boys, girls, or one of each on Dec. 16th - can't wait!!!

We're doing well

Everyone has received the news of our twins so happily and with such joy! It's been wonderful to see people's responses when we say twins...almost everyone gasps and gives you that long look of "you're kidding." I have to admit, it's still been difficult for me to believe it and the idea of two babies to care for just hasn't quite sunk in. I'm sure that as I begin to show over the next few weeks, the idea will certainly sink in more easily. I was 10 weeks as of Friday and doing great thus far. I have spoken with a couple of ladies who have had twins which has made me praise the Lord for the fact that I don't have a high paced job and that I don't have any prexisting health conditions such as diabetes or hypertension. One lady said she had to be put on complete bed rest at just 9 weeks b/c of her hypertension. My continued prayer is that I can carry these babies to at least 37 weeks w/ no bedrest. I'm feeling well overall. I'm still nauseous all throughout the day and have found that I have to eat at least every 2 hours to keep the nausea at bay. I can tell that I'm getting bigger, but seeing as I'm already on the plus side, most folks really can't tell right now. I'm going to start taking pictures every week to show how I'm growing. I'll begin posting those once I think you could actually tell somethings growing...which according to everything I'm reading will be soon. Steven is of course on cloud 9 and actually got into looking at baby things at BabysRUs the other day. Fun times ahead. I'll keep you posted on our progress.

Great News!

What gave it away?

On August 31st, our 6th anniversary Steven and I discovered that I was pregnant. As you can imagine, we were so thrilled. What a special day to learn such wonderful news. We decided to keep it under wraps until we returned from Arizona, knowing that our parents would have been scared the entire time we were there. My first OB work-up was last Tuesday and I was very nervous, mainly because at my last work-up for our first pregnancy in March we discovered that our baby had no heartbeat. I couldn't even look at the ultrasound screen this time, in fear that it would be the same story, but thankfully it was not. The ultrasound technician began her exam and said that she saw one sac and then that she thought she saw a second sac. They took a closer look and sure enough, we are expecting TWINS; fraternal twins. One of the babies measured at 8 weeks and the other at 7 weeks and 4 days - so as of this past Friday I'm considered 8 weeks pregnant and my due date is May 15th, 5 days before my 29th birthday. The smallest baby was difficult to get a clear picture because of where it was located, but we still got to hear both heartbeats. The biggest baby's heartbeat was 160 beats/minute and the smallest baby was 150, both very healthy. We couldn't resist driving to Williamston Tuesday night to tell our folks. We had purchased a folding picture frame for each of our parents in Arizona, planning to put an ultrasound picture on one side and a verse on the other..instead we put an ultrasound picture on each side. We told our parents that we bought them something from Arizona, my mom opened hers first and thought that it was an ultrasound of Andrea's baby. I said, No...actually, that's our baby and that's baby 1 and baby 2. My mom just screamed and screamed. Steven's parents didn't believe it at first - his mom immediately got on the phone to start calling family to share the good news.

All this being said...we are very excited. Please pray for us - for me specificaly that I would enjoy this pregnancy and not live in fear that I could miscarry - ultimately that I would trust God regardless of His plan. Pray for the healthy development of our babies. Pray that I will be able to eat, as I have been so nauseous that I really haven't been eatting enough considering my new nutritional needs. And pray that God would continually prepare Steven and I for the great adventure of parenthood.

Our Trip to Arizona

Steven and I spent 6 wonderful days in Mesa, AZ with my best friend, Andrea, and her wonderful husband, Matt...who are expecting their first child in about 6 weeks. What an amazing time we had with our dear friends. We hit the ground running - we were picked up from the airport by our friend Mike Robbins who married an Arizonian in July and moved out there - it was great to see him and hear all about married life. We visited friend, Mike and Susan Adams on Wednesday night and they introduced us to the game Medal of Honor on the Wii...man, Susan was brutal. Then on Thursday we drove through the beautiful landscape of Arizona - through Sedona up to the thankfully, cool Flagstaff, AZ where we spent the night with our friends Linda and Kirk Burtch (and their dog Abby)...who also have a Wii and introduced us to many fun games. Friday it was a drive up to the Grand Canyon. Wow...we were absolutely blown away by God's creativity and magnificence. We actually kept our eyes closed as Matt and Andrea walked us up to the edge and then opened our eyes to the vastness of the Canyon. It was truly breathtaking. Saturday was so relaxing - we slept late and had a wonderful breakfast, hung around the house and then dinner with Sarah and Mike Robbins - we played an awesome game called Mexican Train and got to hear all about our friends new home purchase and new job. Sunday was the highlight of the trip - it was our first visit at New Covenant Bible Fellowship, the church that planted our church, Crossroads Bible Fellowship. I love that we were able to put faces with all of the names that we already knew and to had sweet christian fellowship with the body in AZ. I was also very excited that I could attend Andrea's first baby shower on Sunday. What an honor to be with my best friend on such a special day. Andrea got so many precious gifts for Benjamin - I have to admit, I can't wait to see Benjamin in the ECU jersey that Steven and I gave him:) It was also fun to see Andrea's face as she opened gifts from the Crossroads family, which I think were especially dear. Wow - what a busy trip, it's already Monday which unfortunately meant back to work for Matt and to the airport for me and Steven . We had such a fabulous time with so many dear friends and I feel that our friendship with Matt & Andrea grew deeper. Now, if only I could be in AZ when Benjamin is born. Oh what I would give to be at the hospital that day. Thank goodness for Skype! Hope you enjoy the pictures:)