Father's day 2010

We had a wonderful day celebrating our father's today. Steven and I are so thankful to have our father's still with us and I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband who is a loving father to our children. I've done a lot of thinking today about the blessings God has given me through my dad, Steven and my father-in-law; I really couldn't ask for more in and through these three men. I know my dad can't be the granddaddy that he would like to be, and yet God has blessed me with children who giggle when they get to be near my dad, even when he can't interact with them. God has blessed me with a father-in-law who is crazy about his grandchildren, who desires and does spend quality time with them and who loves Christ and will live out the gospel to them. And then of course, there is Steven who works diligently day after day to provide for us, only to come home and serve me and the babies...he WANTS to spend time with us. He's hands on, affectionate, and a Godly leader for our home! We're just so blessed. Below are some great pictures from today's father's day adventures.



Our sweet Little Miss Meredith



Our precious Mr. B



Look at Berkley's sweet face in this picture. He just squealed with glee when we put him beside his Granddaddy.



Meredith and Berkley with Mima and Papa's new horse.



Look at how sweet Meredith is looking at Steven. I just love to see how much my babies love their daddy:)



Mima and Papa with all four of their grand babies.



Papa is looking through the window and Hutch, Berkley and McKinley. What a sweet moment.

Death is not Dying

A friend recommended that I listen to this talk and I'm so thankful I did. Please take the time to listen, it will be an hour you will be grateful you sacrificed. This is a woman sharing the lessons she's learned since being diagnosed with terminal cancer. It sounds sad, but she offers true Hope!

"On March 4, 2009, Rachel had an opportunity to share about her hope in the midst of terminal cancer. What began as a small talk to her church women’s group became an event attended by over 600 women and was an experience that left many with a desire to discover more about Rachel’s journey and faith."

http://deathisnotdying.com/eventvideo/
This is the link to the talk. If you click on it and it doesn't take you directly to the page, just type the url (web address) and it should take you there.

Transitions

My babies are growing up. This morning I dropped the morning bottle and made it just a sippy cup feeding. Now they only get a bottle once a day, just before bed. I'll be sad to see that final bottle go. I also let them try scrambled eggs for the 2nd or 3rd time today and they actually liked it this time! Now they're eating the breakfast of champions; scrambled eggs, banana and a nutrigrain bar. All of these transitions are coming quickly. Yesterday I let them skip their morning nap since they really never sleep when we're at church anyway. I put them down at 1pm hoping they'd sleep at least 2 hours. Meredith was up by 2:25 and Berkley slept until 3:35, with the help from his paci. I think I've opted to wait to make the total transition to only one nap, we'll stick to two naps on regular days and 1 nap on Sundays. But once that morning nap is gone, life will be so different. Constant change in the Manning home these days.

Day to Day

Nothing too crazy going on in the Manning home these days, but I still like to share little moments that make me happy. Here's a cute picture of Berkley in some big boy PJs without feet. He's so cute! The cool thing is, I actually got these pjs for free. I sent in letters to a bunch of different companies that have programs for twins and one company sent me a pair of pajamas for Meredith and Berkley. Meredith's are a size too big right now, so unfortunately, they can't wear them at the same time.
And my babies have been crazy about their Nana lately, their great-grandmother. Nana is 89 years old and comes almost everyday to see my babies and I tell you, she is a HUGE help! Nana sings to them when they get fussy and distracts them when they want to do something they shouldn't be doing. I've been amazed at all the songs she knows, she could make a children's cd:) Meredith and Berkley just light up when they come down from their nap in the morning and see Nana sitting in the big chair; they instantly lunge to sit in her lap. They'll play in the floor and always inevitably end up at her feet showing her something. I love watching them!

Meredith and Berkley got a zebra that rocks and/or rolls for their birthday but they haven't been much interested in it until lately. Here's a cute video of Meredith riding the zebra, she's a total natural getting on and off. Berkley hasn't even tried to get his leg over the zebra and Meredith did it on the first shot. I see horse riding lessons in this child's future:)


Steven is getting ready to enter his 3rd and final year of family medicine residency! He will also start moonlighting this month, which means he has gotten his full NC medical license and will be working as a physician in some capacity for a day here and there to make extra money for our family! It was so exciting to receive his medical license in the mail, it's what we've been waiting for all of these years and what Steven's worked so hard for!

I attended the wake for a former oncology patient of mine on Friday night. He was the sweetest child I've ever met; he had a gentle spirit that was considerate of everyone around him and I've never seen a child love his siblings as much as this little boy. I've been touched by each and everyone of my patients at ECU Peds Hematology/Oncology, but losing this little boy really rocked my world. At first I thought it was probably just because I have kids now, but honestly, it was just this precious boy. I don't know a single person who ever met him that wasn't impacted by his loving spirit. I'm so blessed to of had the opportunity to know and serve him during some of the most difficult trials of his life. When I think of this boy and think of the beatitudes in Matthew Chapter 5, the ones that stick out to me as applicable to this patient are verse 5 and 8, "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth" and "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." I looked up the meaning of meek and saw that it means enduring injury with patience and without resentment. Within the context of the verse Christ is probably speaking to those who endure injury for the cause of the cross, however with this little boy in mind I think of all of the injury he endured in terms of his treatment for 6 years and how patiently he endured it. All the hospitalizations, needle sticks, surgeries, radiation, losing his hair over and over from chemotherapy, etc...he NEVER complained, in fact, he would thank everyone for taking care of him. When offered gifts as a prize for his endurance, he wouldn't accept them for himself, instead he would choose a gift for one of his siblings. I could go on and on about him, but words just won't do him justice. I'm just resting in the peace of knowing he is with God!

Duck, duck, goose...and a birthday!

I always try to get the babies out and about on a regular basis, either for a walk around the neighborhood, a drive, a trip to the mall or maybe to swing in the back yard. On Monday I decided I was bored with the same old afternoon excursions and decided to take the babies to the duck pond at the Brody School of Medicine, right outside of where I used to work. I walked by this pond nearly everyday during my nearly 4 years with Peds Hem/Onc and always imagined bringing my kids out to enjoy the sights of the ducks and geese. For a double treat, Steven got off work early and was able to go with us! We had a great time feeding the baby ducks. Berkley and Meredith weren't really sure what was going on at first but once this little flock of baby ducks came up they really started paying attention.





We have to take every opportunity to take a family portrait. It seems there's always one of us behind the camera, so it's rare to see all 4 of us.


And you know I can't resist a close-up to show you all how much my babies have grown!


And today I took the babies to Farm Life to celebrate my daddy's 64th birthday, which is actually Friday but we thought we'd celebrate early. As I'm sure most of you know, my dad has been sick for many years and honestly, every year I feel like it may be the last birthday celebration we get to have. Thus, every additional year we have him here to celebrate is a gift from the Lord. I took the babies in first thing to wish their Granddaddy a happy birthday, we sang and my daddy looked intently at the twins; he actually cried a couple of tears (happy tears of course). I found the most PERFECT card for my dad, it said, "If these walls could talk they would speak of a man who worked with great heart to accomplish his plan. They would speak of the times that he's prayed in the night for the strength to go on and to do what is right. They would speak of great moments of laughter and fun, the times with his children, his love for each one. Oh, if they could talk it would just be the start of a story of love, a great man... and his heart." That's my daddy people, a man who is known as Big Joe, I always say because he has such a big heart that cares deeply for his family and his community, which ultimately stems from his love for Christ. Burpy Happy Day to my wonderful Daddy! I'm so thankful that the Lord gave me you as a father. You taught me so much and you continue to teach me even without words.