My hopes for this blog

So after reading several of my friends blogs I've decided that I need to be better about this.  I want to be able to look back on this and remember these precious moments that are more of less fleeting from our lives.  I want to savor what things felt like (good and bad) and laugh at the funny stories that we are encountering.  So...in the hopes of accomplishing this I've decided to organize my daily (I'm being pretty hopeful here) blogs.

Monday - Mommy's Maniac Mondays
A collection of my thoughts, rants, fears and just the everyday thoughts that go through my head.  (NOTE: Read at your own risk)

Tuesday -  2's day
The blessings of having twins.  Experiences and stories that might warm your heart, make you giggle or feel thankful you don't have 2 kiddo's the same age!  :-)
 
Wednesday - Wordless Wednesday
OR like Nick wants me to call it "Worthless Wednesday" since I won't be writing on this day, but rather hopefully posting pictures or videos.

Thursday - Tune Thursday
We will share our favorite song or lyrics to our favorite song on Thursdays.  We do a lot of singing.  We sing in the car, the house, the dinner table...in fact anywhere and everywhere.

Friday - Favorites Friday
Some of our favorite moments from the week.

Saturday - Sum it up Saturday
You will find I have a little bit of everything and a little bit of nothing to share on Saturdays.

Sunday - SONday
In our own way we want to spend time thanking and giving praise to God.  What better day than SONday?

So there you go.  :-)  Thanks for stopping by!

Upcoming Trip

So we have come to that moment of truth again with Birk. Next Monday we will make the 9 hour drive to Cincinnati, Ohio again to see Dr. Boech and Dr. Cotton to see if our sweet little man is now ready for surgery. This becomes such an emotional and exhausting roller coaster. The thrill of the fact that this could be it...we could have a Trach free little boy, but the worry of what this means for him. How much he will have to endure and go through. If I know one thing to be true is that Birk is strong. He has a strength that I can never measure up to. He has time and time again proved to me that he can make it through challenges such as this.

I know I've asked for many MANY prayers in the last 2.5 years, but again I find myself asking once more. I know compared to some families our situation is small. Birk is doing amazing, he is happy, he talks, sings, plays baseball and doesn't even care that he has a trach.....but what a blessing it will be the day that I can see his sweet little neck. When I was little my Aunt Jan used to give me soft little kisses on the back of my neck and whisper "I got your sweet spot." It makes me smile thinking about giving Birk a "mooch" on his "sweet little spot."

I know God is watching over Birk and making sure all of this happens when it is supposed to happen. It's not my to determine. I know Bomps is watching from Heaven and is going to ensure that "little Toad" will be ok, but each and every extra prayer that can go up can do this. Praise a God who will watch over my special boy. Praise him for the blessings he has given us (even in the form of fears). Praise a God who will show us his divine mercy through the medical staff and the people of this facility who give life and hope back to so many families.

So, my prayer will be for this week as I prepare for our trip...

Dear God,
Thank you for again reminding me that you've got my back. :-) You've blessed me with the greatest miracles I could have ever imagined. You've also got Birk in the palm of your hand and you will watch over him every day for the rest of his life. I will try to remember that you know what needs to happen and you will be with us through the entire journey (in fact you've never left our side).

BasketHoop

You may be thinking to yourself...what the heck is wrong with her. She must be tired and mis-spelled the title of this post. Well, truth is I AM tired. Packing and a sick kid have killed my sleep the past few nights, but my title was intentional. BasketHoop, this is what Birk calls basketball, the basketball hoop and anything associated w/ basetball. Because I love that he calls it this I decided I should try to blog and document some of the cute twins 'isms' and how funny some words that they say are. So here we go.

Yi - Cy (for the Cyclones)
BasketHoop - Basketball
Baseeeeball - Baseball
Amboolence - Ambulance
Ass-ta-not -- Astronaut
Milt - Milk (Birk used to call it this)
Melk - Milk (Addy used to call it this)
Begtables- Vegetables (this is one of my favorites)
Jake and Pirates - Jake and the Pirates
TB - TV
Aunt JuJu - Aunt Julie
Aunt Joby - Aunt Jodi
Whitey - Aunt Whitney
TT - Teegan
Bompa - Grandpa Robertson
Bomps - Grandpa Birks


Other cute things that take place on a daily basis in our home:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Addy: "Birky, want to sit down?" "OK." (as she is leaning down and puts her face right in front of his face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Birk: "Baserip." (as he pitches the ball to his daddy)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mommy: "Addy, where does your Bomps live?" Addy: "With Jesus."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I want to try and wrap these moments up in a vault and look back at them as the twins keep getting older and more grown up. Hopefully I can come back to this post and smile as I remember the uniquness and beauty that Birk and Addy bring! :-)

Feeling Blessed

Ever just have that overwhelming feeling of blessed? Ever feel like maybe you don't deserve to feel that way? That is exactly how i've been feeling these past few weeks. We found an amazing house, we have so many family and friends who have offered to help, we have unbelievable friends and great jobs. Plus all the new possibilities that may be on the horizon. God does work in bizarre and WONDERFUl ways. If you would have asked me 3 years ago if I thought I'd be where I'm at now..I would have though you were crazy. I never thought I'd have the greatest kids on the planet, a fantastic husband whom I adore and a relationship with Jesus that moves me to tears at times.

I'm currently finished reading the book "I'll Carry you" by Angie Smith. I saw her speak at Women of Faith and she was one of the most beautiful women (inside and out) that I've ever met. She has gone through tremendous heartache and still is teaching me how to turn to God and let him lead you. While this is a challenge, she is right. It works. Once I've learned to let go, God has opened doors for me that I never thought would ever be opened.

God bless every person out there who is struggling. God bless you if you don't feel blessed right now. Trust me when I tell you.. YOU ARE! You just have to open your eyes to see it. Find the beauty in the life you've been given and relish in it.

Ok, so those are some random thoughts~~~

J

North

Is where we are moving. :-)

We are going to be residents of Ankeny, IA come July 15th, 2011. We are very excited to be moving to the community and very excited to get to know our new neighbors! Our Church is in Ankeny, our pediatrician, some of our best friends and better schools for the twins.

Our house is going to be such a better fit for our family. It has 4 bedrooms, a huge kitchen, a pantry (YEAH), and an unfinished basement! When we walked into the house Nick and I both just knew it was the perfect house for our family. It was the first house we looked at in a day FILLED with looking at houses (10 to be exact). No other house compared to this one so we made an offer. The next day we settled on the offer and 'hopefully' the rest is history! :-)

Now off to packing....

What a week...

It has been an emotional roller coaster these past two days.

We may have some good news on the house selling front...we'll wait and see on that. But its also been one year since my dad died. I remember that day like it was yesterday. Racing to Waterloo, seeing him struggling to breathe and watching him take his last breath. That moment is burned into my memory and is one of the most precious things I've ever experienced. I miss him deeply. I miss everything about him. His face, his voice, his hands... He was my hero. For anyone who knew him you knew that he didn't say much, but he spoke a thousand words. He was loyal, honest and the most amazing person I have ever met. He was the first man I ever loved! :-) I'm so proud that my son carries his name. I will forever tell him to carry it proudly.

I miss you Dad and will forever miss you. Please keep dancing with the angels (or playing golf). I can't wait to see your face again and dance with Jesus along side you!

Selling a house

SUCKS!

We have had our house on the market since September 2010 and have had only a handful of showings. :-(

We really want to be in the Ankeny area as that is where our pediatrician is, our church and a much better school system. We know that it will happen when its supposed to happen, but we are hoping and praying for some good news soon.

If anyone is interested or knows anyone who is interested let us know. Its a nice 3 bedroom, 3 bath home on a double cul-de-sac in a great family friendly neighborhood! :-)