0 Two by Two

The month of October has flown by!!!!  I am behind on some of my posts, but I will try and get caught up this week so y'all can see what all we have been doing.  This past Sunday, we attended our church's Fall Festival.  It was a Trunk or Treat and it was so much fun.  A little overwhelming, but also really fun at the same time!!!  We decided to dress our family up like Noah's Ark and the girls were little lambs.  They were too stinkin' cute!!!!!!!!

Adeline & Maralee's first Fall Festival

Sunday, October 24th

St. James UMC

Maralee (sleeping) & Adeline

 

Our Ark!

Raleigh, Adeline, Christen & Maralee

It was really funny because most people thought we were shepherds instead of Noah and his wife, but that still made sense so we went with it!  There were so many kids at the Fall Festival and at one point I will admit I got a little nervous.  We kept the girls away from most of the kids and it worked out for our group to get an end parking spot so we weren't in the thick of the crowd.  Our group consists of baby girls and they were all dressed up so adorable that evening!

Adeline, Maralee, & Me with our friends Olivia & KC and Mary Harris & Stephanie

We love our small group!!!!

Maralee, Adeline & Mommy

 

Shhhh.....sleepy Maralee

 

Adorable Adeline

Adeline, Maralee & Daddy

Besides going to the Fall Festival, we went to Dothan on Thursday to attend an open house for a kitchen that Raleigh had designed.  It was my first time to see his work and I was really impressed.  I am so proud of my husband and the gifts that the Lord has provided for him to be an architect.  It is really cool to see the before and after pictures and know that my husband was the one that designed it.  When we went home, we were able to test out driving our whole family in the van.  We folded down some of the back row seats so the puppies could have a pallet to lay on.  It was so nice having all of that room!!!!  

Lu Lu is loaded up and ready to go!

Our trip was short, but the twins got to visit with some of their great-grandparents.  My parents have discovered the kids consignment sales and they bought this little play yard for the girls.  It is really fun to watch them focus on a toy and try to figure out how it works.  Every day they are discovering more on how to use their hands.  It is so neat watching their brains think and learn.

Na Na & Adeline

Paw Paw and Maralee

The twins are learning & growing!!!!

Even though our family is in Dothan, we still get to see them on a regular basis.  On Saturday, Raleigh's brother and his wife (one of my best friends from college!) came to Montgomery to watch Auburn play LSU.  I am a member of the Jr. League here in Montgomery and one of our big fundraisers is called the Holiday Market.  I had been volunteering for it all week, but on Saturday Kari Beth and I went shopping at the market and we both got some great Christmas gifts!  It was really fun spending some girl time with KB while the boys watched the twins.  That afternoon we all celebrated as Auburn beat LSU!!!  We are ranked #1 in the nation right now which is great but we still have some really tough games ahead of us.  It is just fun to see Auburn doing so well with us still having such a young team.  War Eagle!!!!!!

So, as you can see, we have had a busy October.  Fun, but busy :)  

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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3 Check Out My New Ride

 So, we finally decided that we wanted to seriously consider becoming the next Swagger Wagon family.  While we were on our car search, I drove the newest model here in Montgomery and loved it.  It had DVD players, reclining bucket seats, seat warmers, sun roof, both sliding doors and the trunk opened automatically....it had everything that you could want.  After driving that van, I told Raleigh that I was okay driving a van but I wanted the coolest one he could find.  Two Fridays ago, Raleigh left work a little early and we drove to a city outside of Birmingham to look at two different vans.  I knew we would be looking at some older models but in my mind they still had the same features as the one I had driven.  When we pulled up and started to look at these vans, all excitement vanished.  The seats were not leather.  There was no sun roof.  No cool DVD player.  Only one door automatically slide open......I looked at Raleigh in astonishment and asked, "Where's all the cool stuff?????"   He reminded me that this was an older version and even though it doesn't have the cool stuff it was still in excellent condition.  The salesman gave us the keys so we could drive it around the block.  As I was driving, I started to fume.  I was driving and pointing out everything that it didn't have.  After the fuming, I began to cry.  I was so sad and I could NOT believe that THIS was the VAN that I would be driving for the next ten years of my life.  I felt old.  I so did not feel cool driving that thing.

After a couple of loops around the block, we pulled back in the dealership and I just sat in the back seat glaring at my husband.  How could he make me drive this thing?????  He promised me a cool van and this was all he could come up with?  I was laying it on thick.  Raleigh stared back at me and said that he was sorry that I was misled into thinking that this van would be like the newest model.  He told me that we didn't have to buy it today and we could keep looking.  After that, we both sat in the van for a long period of silence.  During that time, I just stared at the inside of the vehicle.  To myself, I thought, "It does have bucket seats.  The trunk space is nice.  At least one door slides open."  Finally, I looked at the two little faces that were sitting in those bucket seats.  Their car seats fit perfect.  I was actually sitting in the way back seat and had plenty of room.  I looked at my husband and realized how hard he always tries to please me.  I knew that he wouldn't want this van if it wasn't a good fit for our family.  Our eyes met and we both knew the decision that was best for our family.   After an hour of paper signing, we were officially inducted into the Swagger Wagon family.

So, it has been two weeks and I am starting to come around to the fact that I am 26 and drive a van.  I just had to stop looking at the negatives and focus on the positive because we really do have a great new vehicle.  Only the newest models have all the cool features but ours is really a great car for the year that it was made in.  We have driven it to church and it was so easy to load and unload the girls.  Our stroller fits in the trunk like a glove.  I can actually sit in the passenger seat and recline my chair without it hitting a car seat! We are going to get a DVD player installed and since the seats aren't leather there really isn't a need for seat warmers.  Also, both side windows are huge and roll fully down and that is kinda neat. To seal the deal, I have even changed a very poopy diaper in the back seat and I would have never been able to do that in my old car.

What do you mean vans aren't cool.....

The only time I realize I am driving a van is when I pull out my keys to get in the front seat.  I have gotten over the fact that it is a van and have come to terms with it being a great purchase for our family.  I'm glad my husband found this van for us and that we should be able to drive it for many more years.  This whole van experience has really taught me to not be so vain.  Again I have learned not to care what other people think and just do what is best for me and my family.  I am proud to be a mom that drives a VAN!!!!!! Thanks to everyone that gave us suggestions on what car to purchase for our  family!  We truly appreciate it!



Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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2 5 Months Old

Y'all, Adeline and Maralee are five months old!  Wow, has time flown or what?!

I love these outfits!  

Adeline and Maralee

5 months

Mom and I took the girls to the eye doctor and their eyes are really looking good.  They are far-sighted (which is good for babies) and don't need glasses.  Also, they are not in need of laser surgery for their retinas.  I ran into another NICU mom at the eye doctor and her little boy had to have the laser surgery.  She said he was doing great but he had to be re-released to the NICU for four nights to recover.  As much as we love our NICU staff, she told me that the hardest part of the surgery was him being back in the NICU after being home with her.  I had such empathy for her and am so thankful that he is once again home with his family!

Maralee was cracking up at her daddy!

Last week was lots of fun.  They are getting so animated and it is fun making faces and sounds back at them.  Sometimes I just stop and realize that I am a mom.  I love it.  The other night, Adeline was lying on the sofa next to me and I put my hand on her back to feel her breathe.  Just feeling the rhythm of her chest made my heart swell with love.  These girls are so precious and I just can't get enough of them.  On Friday, we went for a stroller walk and the weather was so nice afterward that I laid a blanket in the front yard for us to get some tummy time.  Look how good they did!

 Adeline and Maralee getting some tummy time

 Miss Adeline holding her head up!

 My little cutie, Maralee

Adeline watching Maralee hold her head up

I tell Raleigh thank you all the time for letting me stay at home with them.  It is so hard for him to get up and go to work some days but he does it so we can make memories with our girls.  This weekend it was just the four of us (six counting the pups) and we had the best time doing nothing together.  Friday night we grilled yummy steaks and he let me watch The Last Song.  It was okay, but The Notebook and A Walk to Remember are still my favorite Nicholas Sparks books turned into movies.

Saturday we did a little car shopping and I think we are going to get a van.  I can't believe I am saying that but it really has everything that we want in a new vehicle.  If anybody wants a cute Volvo, let us know!!!  :)
After we did that, we sat on the couch and watched football for the afternoon.  It was really nice not having a million things to do.  Sunday was our first time going to our church as a family.  The night before, we got our game plan together on how we would get everyone dressed and ready for church.  As soon as we opened the door to leave for church, it started to rain.  Raleigh was a trooper taking each of his girls to the car under the umbrella.  We made it to church only five minutes late.  Once we got there, we sat in the back so we could sneak out if we had to.  Adeline slept the whole time and Maralee was awake but just looking around.  Once church was over we got to show them off a little and we headed home.  The rest of the afternoon it rained so I worked on their Christening gowns while listening to Norah Jones.  It was rather relaxing, I must say.

First Family Church Service at St. James

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Christen, Adeline, Maralee, Raleigh

(the lens was foggy and it made the girls look like little angels!)

Friends, I am just trying to soak up every moment that I can with these sweet potatoes!  They are already getting so big and we will go for a weight check this week to see how much they have gained.  I just thank God for providing such goodness for our family!  This month, our church is memorizing Psalm 23 and the last part of this Psalm is my favorite.  I have it written on a piece of paper that I keep at my vanity and it gives me such hope each morning.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever

-Psalm 23

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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13 New Wheels

So, Raleigh and I have been doing some car shopping.  Before we had the girls, we thought we would have enough room for our new additions in the two cars we currently own.  Well, after a couple of trips to Dothan, we have soon realized that we are crammed pretty tight in our "big" car.  I try my hardest to pack light, but between two adults, two babies, and two dogs we are becoming a very close family on our car rides home!   When we travel on Raleigh's truck, I have to adjust my seat to the upright position so the car seat can lock into place.  Another thing that we have come to realize is the double stroller barely fits in my car.  Now that we have permission to go around town, I am going to have to have the stroller when I am by myself.  Our cars are great, but they just don't have enough space.

Currently, I drive a Volvo S-40.

I LOVE my car.  It is cute, it drives great, and I feel safe.  To me, the type of car a person drives speaks of their personality.  I love my car so much because I feel like it is me in a car version :)  But, now that I am a mother of two, does it still fit my personality?  While I adore scooting around town in my bubbly little car, I have to realize that my life does not just revolve around my needs anymore.  Now, I need to cart around strollers, car seats, and diaper bags when I go places (and those are just the necessities).  As the girls get older, they are going to need more space for their legs and luggage.  Also, what if we have more kids?  I certainly can't fit three in the car that I drive right now.  Hence, the search for a new car.  Here is what we have been looking at so far:

Option 1: You got it, the Station Wagon. Still in the Volvo family, it has more room in the back seat and the trunk.  While this is still a car (big plus for me) we aren't sure if it has enough space for us when we travel with the dogs and long vacations.

Option 2:  An SUV that has a third row seat.  Right now, the Toyota Sequoia is my favorite SUV.  I really liked the way it drove and I felt like it had a lot of storage once the third row was taken out.  The downside of this car to us is the trunk space with the third row in place.  It is tiny and there is no way we could travel with our dogs.  Also, we really want bucket seats and those are much harder to come by in this car.  Some of the Sequoia's that we have found have bucket seats with a center console that can be taken out so that is the option that we would prefer to purchase.  This car seems great for a family of four but what if we want to have more kids?  Do we purchase this type of car now and then re-access our needs if we have a larger family?  Decisions, decisions!

Option 3:  I can't believe I am considering this but option three is a VAN.  When did I become so old?!?  Is it so uncool to be under thirty and driving a van?????  We all know the stereotype of a van driver is "soccer mom."  When I was younger and envisioning myself as a mom, I totally saw me being just that; a soccer mom.  I want to drive the girls to their sport games (and I would indeed love for them to play soccer!), school, and other extracurricular activities.  But, now that I am a mom, I feel like the van is totally ripping away at my youth.  I mean, a van?  REALLY?????  As crazy as this sounds though; a van really has everything that I want in our new car.  It has bucket seats, a third row, really nice trunk space, and it has all of these cool kid gadgets like DVD players and tucked away storage.  The van that I really like is the Volkswagen Routan but it is still a really new van on the market. Does anyone out there drive a Routan?  Is it dependable or require a lot of maintenance?

Our other option is the Toyota Sienna.

I mean, a van really does make sense for a family.  But, a van?????

Friends, we need some advice!  If you have a family, what type of car do you drive?  What are your likes/dislikes?  For my friends without babies, would you totally make fun of me for driving a van????? :)  Leave us a comment with your thoughts.

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 What A Graceful God We Have!

I'll be honest, I don't think I am ready to relive all of our NICU experiences.  Today as I was feeding the girls, I watched a little bit of the NICU show on Discovery Health and it was hard for me to hold back tears.  Everything on that show is still so vivid in my memory and it is so hard for my emotions not to go spinning out of control when I think about the hard journey that we traveled.  Watching the mothers on the show fear for their baby is haunting to me of the emotions that I felt as our little girls struggled for survival.  Of course, those shows are intended to be dramatized so it doesn't help for me to hear about how high risk these deliveries are for the mom and the baby.  I've never been one that has been able to watch all of these shows about giving birth...the blood is just not my thing.  Now that I have had a C-section, I especially don't want to see what I looked like on the delivery room table!!!!  Needless to say, I changed the channel.  I think it is awesome that Discovery Health has a show about the NICU and I am sure one day I will appreciate it, but today is not that day.

Today, I am thankful.  Thankful to God, thankful for my family, and so very thankful that we have two beautiful little girls that are growing big and strong.  Spiritually, I am in a state of appreciation to God for the many blessings that He has given us through His amazing grace.  I sat outside for my quite time this morning for the first time in weeks and marveled at our mighty God.  Granted, it was hard for me to keep my eyes open since I had been up all night, but it was a very nice moment that I spent with our Savior.  He has blessed my life abundantly and all I can do is say thank you.  I am in this weird state of mind trying to figure out the new road ahead of me.  I feel like I have just left a Christian retreat - I had such a "high" from that experience but now I need to apply what I learned to my real world.  I want to continue to stay close and rely on God for everything.  A couple of months ago, our pastor at St. James UMC, did a three part series on God's grace.  It was divided into prevenient grace, justifying grace, and sanctifying grace.  Prevenient grace is the grace that goes before us where God is constantly pursuing us.  He talked about how God uses us as his tools to get others to come to Christ.  Justifying grace is when we get what we don't deserve (like Jesus dying on the cross for all of our sins).  After "we are justified (freely) by his grace as a gift" (Romans 3:24) we must repent as an act of our will to turn our lives to Christ.  Finally, sanctifying grace is the power for us to live life to the fullest because we have the Holy Spirit within every place of our hearts.

Friends, I know from the depths of my heart that we received God's prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace through our NICU experience.  God was calling us to turn that scary time over to Him.  He gave us the ultimate gift of life and now He wants us to continue to invite the Holy Spirit into our hearts and minds so we can share His grace with others.  I think these three different types of grace are a great way to visualize the Holy Trinity - God is the prevenient grace because He wants all of us to come home to Him, Jesus is the justifying grace because He gave the highest sacrifice of himself possible for us, and the Holy Spirit is what lives inside of us to give glory to our Father and not to this world.  So many people struggle with their relationship with God.  They felt His call, and confessed that Jesus died on the cross for their sins but they haven't fully invited the Holy Spirit to reside in their soul.  I believe that the Holy Spirit is very much our conscience and it can navigate us when we are unsure of what decision to make (good or bad).  Of course, with the trinity comes enemies and those are satan, the world, and ourselves.  So, I am trying not to let these enemies into my sacred place; instead I am trying to meditate quietly with the Holy Spirit for my direction in life. 

As I mentioned on Friday, we visited Mark Broadway photography this past weekend to have the girls newborn pictures taken.  That morning as we were taking our pictures, I felt the Holy Spirit inside of me.  I was filled with His love as I held our precious little girls.  For me, having those pictures taken was like a right of passage.  It felt like we were sharing with the world what God gave us.  Also, we were able to introduce Adeline and Maralee to some of their extended family members.  We had a great time visiting with everyone and I was definitely a proud parent the entire time!

 Uncle Bibb, Maralee, Aunt Carla, Adeline

 The girls had their first Friday night dinner at Nan Nan's!  

Nan Nan and Maralee (aka this one)

 Cousin Gavin and Adeline (aka that one!)

 Na Na, Maralee, Paw Paw, Adeline

Paw Paw loves to sing to the girls!!!!

 Cousin Hayden, Maralee, Aunt Tracy, Adeline

Cousin Hayden is a ballerina just like the girls' footed pj's!!!!

 Cousin Shae, Adeline, Na Na, Maralee

 Aunt Starla feeding Maralee

 Cousin Stetson and Maralee

Granddad Price has eight great-grandchildren!!!!!

 Granddad and Maralee, Granddad John and Adeline

I love this picture of his hands holding her little body!

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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2 'Round Here

So, I'm sure y'all are wondering how things have been 'round here since the girls have come home.  Well, I think we have been somewhat like any other couple that has brought their child home for the first time.  We have had kisses, dirty diapers, crying, cuddling, and much much more!

Adeline and Maralee are 12 weeks old in their cute new dresses!

After we brought the girls' home on Wednesday, we decided that Raleigh and I wanted to have our time alone with them.  The grandparents left and we just had the girls all to ourselves.  Raleigh decided to take the rest of the week off so for two whole days, it was just our little family of six.  We shared some great memories that I will never forget.  I loved having Raleigh home and I especially loved bonding more with the girls.  Feeding them at home is so much easier than feeding in the hospital.  I have found my spots that work and it really helped me having Raleigh around to assist.  In between feedings, we enjoyed getting some cuddle time on the couch.  It was so sweet having them lay on our chests as we all enjoyed the peacefulness of being at home.  Sometimes, the girls would lift their necks and just look up at us with those big blue eyes.  At times, they would laugh and then instantly we would see a puckered lip forming.  It is so darn cute!  Also, we have had fun watching our dogs observe the girls.  When we first came home, Lu Lu was more excited to see us and she also smelled food so that was all she focused on.  Lu Lu is a very clever dog and she has learned that if she is nice to the girls she will get to sit close to us still.  Obi, on the other hand, is so curious.  When he came barreling into the house, he instantly started to smell their car seats.  He is such a gentle dog and will lay his head in Raleigh's lap during feeds allowing their little bottoms to rest a top his head.  He doesn't seem to mind having these new additions.  I think the biggest thing that has bothered them is our late night feeds because we are constantly getting out of bed so the dogs are having to move as well.  Obi usually retreats to the couch and Lu Lu ends up all over the place by the end of the night!

Raleigh, Maralee, Obi and Lu Lu enjoying some couch time

Maralee and Adeline

Thank you Aunt Ashley for our bunny sleepers!

Maralee is O-U-T!

 

 Adeline loves some cuddle time with dad!

Other than cuddling, we have gotten to experience some first time memories around here.  We gave the girls their first baths and Maralee has officially tee-teed on me while I was washing her!  They give us some crocodile tears but they seem to like having their hair washed.  Such girls!!!! 

 Maralee's first bath!

 She is clean but not happy!!!

 Adeline's first bath!

She did good until the end!  

 

Another first memory that we made was taking the girls' on a walk around the block.  With the temperature being so hot, we have tried to make the walks quick and short.  It just feels so good to me to get outside.  Walking the dogs in the evening has always been a cool down time for us and a great way to transition from work to home.  We have been looking forward to pushing a stroller on these evening walks and I really enjoyed getting to do this.  Right now, we are having to use our Graco Duo-Glider but we also purchased a jogging stroller at a consignment sale that we can't wait to use when the girls get old enough. 

The bumpy roads put the girls to sleep!

Thursday was a big day for us because we had to go to the optometrist and the pediatrician.  Both visits went well and it really helped me to have my mom that day.  It worked great because she could watch the girls while I did the paperwork and she was also a much needed extra hand toting them to and from the car.  Our first appointment for the day was the optometrist.  As I mentioned before, preemies have to constantly have their eyes checked to make sure that they do not develop retinopathy which is when retina detachment can occur.  Both girls' eyes are still in stage 1 (lowest stage, so that is good) but we will continue to have follow-up appointments with our NICU optometrist and then a pediatric optometrist.  After that visit, we had a short lunch break and then it was on to our pediatrician.  The girls' were weighed and thankfully they both gained weight!  Adeline is 5.2 and Maralee is 4.13!  Both weights are good but still a little under what they should be so we are going back this week to check on their progress.  I really like our pediatrician so far because he seems to want us to have a normal experience with our girls.  He encouraged us to have some awake time and play time with them; which makes me feel like they are just like any other newborn baby.  Soon, we will have to visit the cardiologist and the early development program but this week we just had these two visits.

Maralee in pink and Adeline in blue

Friends, we are so fortunate to have family members that want to help us and want to see our children.  They headed home last Wednesday but when the weekend arrived they were up here again to have their visits with the girls.  Also, both of our moms have agreed to come up once a week each to help me.  This is great because it gives me a break and also lets me run errands, work on the blog, sleep, etc.  We have been getting through the late night feeds but we are still figuring out the best system for us.  Poor Maralee loves to be held after her feeds and while this is great during the day; it is hard for us at night.  If we put her back in the pack-n-play right after she is finished, she will cry her little head off.  Also, Adeline has not been regular at going poopey, so she tends to get a little fussy when she is getting close to doing her business.  With that said, I had a hard time by myself on Friday and I had my first little breakdown that evening with Raleigh.  I felt so bad crying because it had nothing to do with the girls' or him but more to do with exhaustion and lack of fresh air.  So, this weekend I took Lu Lu on a walk while Raleigh watched the girls and it did me so much good to have a little bit of alone time.  Also, on Sunday we had a day date to Auburn while Raleigh's parents had their time loving on the twins.  I think it is so important for parents to spend time together and focus on their relationship to make their family stronger.  Sunday was just what we needed after a long first week of firsts!

Raleigh's parents and grandmother

 

 My parents gettin' their baby fix!

I can't believe that the girls are 13 weeks old.  Having them home just seems so natural.  Even though the late nights are tough, I still love this experience.  It is so worth it to have them in my arms at all times of the day.  This week, I have been reading in the book of Joshua and I feel like our experience has somewhat mirrored the experience of the Israelites. After being blessed with children (like Abraham and Sarah), we had to travel in our desert until we reached the land filled with milk and honey.  We (like Moses) had to "not let this Book of the Law depart from our mouths; we had to meditate on it day and night" (Joshua 1:8) in order for us to defeat our enemy.  Also, like Joshua we had to "Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).  Finally, after fighting our battle, we had rest from war (Joshua 11:23) and have joyfully received our inheritance.  Joshua 21:43 says, "So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there.  The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers.  Not one of their enemies withstood them; theh LORD handed all their enemies over to them.  Not one of all the LORD's good promieses to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled." 

Adeline looks so cute cuddled up in the boppy!

 

 Sometimes the girls touch each others' hands while they sleep...forever sisters!

Friends, I know with all of my heart and soul that God delivered those babies into our arms.  I know that He is the one to be given all praise and honor for He remains true to his promises.  Our God is a God that shows love and mercy to His children.  Our family is so grateful for receiving our inheritance and we want to continue to show how He is impacting our lives.  Next Monday, August 9th, we will celebrate our blog's first year of existance.  We have come so far from where we started and we want our message to continue to grow.  Please continue to check the blog because on that Monday we will be sharing the direction that we think God is leading us in our spiritual walk with him.  Thank you friends for rejoicing with us as we have our baby girls home at last.

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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