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Today I took the day off of work and took Kate down to Children's for an MRI and ABR.  The procedures themselves didn't make me nervous, it was the sedation part that I was having trouble with.  Kate was a trooper though and we left having shed relatively few tears (only took them 2 times to get an IV)!  The ENT wanted to have the MRI done to make sure that her hearing loss is not progressive (based on her results, we may or may not be taking Anna in for an MRI also) and the ABR was to confirm that she does indeed have hearing loss in one ear.  The ABR told us that she does have mild hearing loss in her right ear (while Anna has profound hearing loss in her left ear) and we will have to wait until next week for the MRI results.

Look at this cutie in her little gown:)

The Great Outdoors

We have been having so much fun hiking and visiting the green space with the girls!  Can't wait to take them camping too!

Anna and Daddy

Phew...that hike wore me out!

Cousins!

Now that we are finally healthy and a bit less fussy (and therefore a little more pleasant to be around), we have been able to hang out with our cousins a little bit more!  We are loving it!

We are soooo cool!

Isn't this fun!?!

Meeting George

Ever since we have been married, Melissa and John have been eating dinner with George on Wednesday nights.  When we moved here, we decided to join them and have fallen in love with this sweet man!  He is such a comedian and we love getting to share time with him.  After the girls were born, we had to take a little break from visiting George and we went for the first time about 2 weeks ago.  Of course, there were tears at first, but the girls adjusted quickly and did very well! Anna even let Uncle John hold her!  Hopefully this was just the first of many visits to have dinner with George.

God's Provision

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

God has been patiently working on me for the past 29 years, but it seems as though He has been giving me an intensive course in trusting in His provision ever since November.  It seems as though it has been one huge hurdle after the other from the time the girls were born up until they were about 8 months old.  Phil and I have done our best to stay faithful in prayer for our girls and for our marriage, but even when we haven't, God has been faithful to provide.

It is always so neat to me to watch the way God provides for His people.  Oftentimes, we seed a need in our life or in the life of another and we pray that God would provide for that need in such a way that He would be honored and glorified through it.  For me, one of the most difficult things is waiting patiently on God's timing, knowing that His timing is always perfect because He knows what is best for me and wants what is best for me.

This past summer, I experienced God's provision in a really neat way.  The reason it was so neat to me was that God provided for a need that I honestly didn't even know I would have!

Let me tell you a little story...
As I checked my phone one afternoon in May, I realized I had missed a call and there was a voicemail. Upon listening to the voicemail, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the voice of a sweet young lady that had once been in our youth group at church.  Kacie was and is one of those sweet people who, even as a high schooler, had a huge heart for the Lord and who would bend over backwards just to help someone out (and would do EVERYTHING with a huge smile on her face) - she was calling to see if I needed any help with the girls over the summer.  She told me that she needed to do service hours her nursing courses and that she would love to spend some time watching the girls...for free.  Seriously? I thought about it for a little bit (basically about 5 seconds) and realized that I could REALLY use her help!  As I looked over my calendar for the summer and saw all of the doctor's appointments and internship hours I needed to complete (I am in grad school....again!), I thought to myself...how did I not realize that I would need help with the girls all summer?  I called Melissa and basically blubbered all over myself telling her about the situation - I think I was just in awe of how amazing it was that God saw my need before I even realized that I had the need!

After a brief phone conversation, I emailed Kacie some details and here are pieces of our conversation...
You have no idea what a Godsend you are for me this summer!  I really hope this works out with your schedule!  Again, I am all for you getting the volunteer hours you need, but please know that I am definitely wanting to pay you for anything beyond that!
Talk to you soon,
Mary Anne

Hello Mary Anne,
I am so excited to help you out this summer!  I realized that I didn't really explain very well what I'm doing in nursing school...so to give you a quick run down...I'm going into my fourth year of nursing school at Azusa Pacific University in LA.  I just completed my clinical rotation this  Spring in Labor and Delivery, Newborn Care, and NICU.  I loved it and am planning on graduating in two years and working as in RN either in Labor and Deliver or Pediatrics.
I don't have a set amount of volunteer hours for the summer...our requirement is just to volunteer and get experience in the field of nursing that we are interested in pursuing after graduation.  If you want to pay me, then how about just paying me for babysitting whey you have to go for your internship.  Then, everything else can count towards my nursing hours.  This is going to help me so much to learn how you care for Anna and Kate!  Thank you!!! I don't know if you want to also set up a permanent day for me to come over and watch the girls each week so that you can go out or have some quiet time, or just be with you and the girls and be able to learn more about how you care for them.  Also, I definitely want to be on call for you at night or any time of day if you need to go to the hospital for one of them (...or need to get out of the house...)...if you want me to go with you or want me to stay home with one...whatever you need help with! :)
Basically, I just want to be a help to you this summer!  I am thrilled that I can do this, and it's certainly going to be a huge help for me while I'm in nursing school right now. 
Thank you!
~Kacie

Wow!  I mean, not only was she wanting to do this mostly for free, she also had a very open schedule...and there were definitely times when she swooped in last minute and rescued me! Do you see what I mean about having such a sweet heart for others?

It was such a blessing to have Kacie around this summer. You could tell that she truly enjoyed spending time with Kate & Anna, but what was even sweeter to me was that she cared so much about them.  She would text me on a regular basis just to check in and see how they were doing and when she was out of town at the beach for a week with her friends, she even remembered when their doctors' appointments were and asked about those!  At the end of the summer she also offered to come watch the girls (for free again!) while Phil and I went on a date.....ummmm, yes please! (Oh, and when she came for the last time she brought the girls the cutest outfits that include JEGGINGS!  I can't wait for them to wear them!)

It was beyond helpful having Kacie around this summer, but I think for me, the part I enjoyed most was just spending a little time with her and getting to know her better!

THANK YOU KACIE from the bottom of our hearts!  We love you very much and can't wait to see you again soon!!

Lovin' the Outdoors

Most days when I get home from work, this is where I can find Phil and the girls.  They really enjoy being outside and if their daddy has anything to say about it, they will spend as much time outside as possible!

Who Needs Toys?

Who needs toys when there is tupperware? (Or in our case, the really cheap stuff...but they sure don't seem to mind!)

Learning to share!

Kate

Anna

Socializing

Since finding out that the girls are no longer Neutropenic, we have been trying to socialize them to help them get used to being around other people.  They generally do pretty well as long as one of us is holding them...but if someone else tries, it usually causes major tears!  We are really trying to work on this and are hoping they will get over their anxiety of new places and new people.  

Here are some pictures of us at Jacob's Iron Man's 3rd birthday party!

Mommy and Anna

The Collier family enjoying the festivities!

Rub a dub dub

Two babies in a tub! How can it be that our girls are big enough to sit up and play in the tub? Where has the time gone??

 

Silly Daddy

Kate sure seems to think Daddy's duck call is quite hilarious!