Happy Early Birthday Phil

Earlier this week, my sweet sister, Melissa, asked me if I had made plans for Phil's birthday (which is Jan 14).  Sadly, I had to tell her that I knew it was coming up, but that I hadn't even thought about what I would do to celebrate:(  She said she would take care of everything....and she did!  She invited everyone over for dinner, fixed all of the food, and gave Phil the birthday celebration he deserves!  Thank you Lis and JB for hosting a great birthday party!

Boys will be boys!

Great friends

We celebrated Joe's birthday too

Make a wish!

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake...YUM!!!   Thanks Bethany

Waiting

The girls have been in the NICU for over six weeks now.  Last Monday they were put on home monitors that are supposed to help decipher what is causing them to have bradycardic episodes.  We were supposed to get the results of the download from the monitors on Friday, but due to a technical glitch, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta never received the download.  Tomorrow they are going to download again and hopefully we will have the results tomorrow or Tuesday.  In the meantime, I am continuing to go to work:(  The girls are still on "Brady Watch" and Anna was on day 4 and had a brady this morning during a feeding.  Her nurse, Jan, was so sweet because she was so sad to tell me the news.  I know that the Lord's timing is perfect and that He will send them home in His time, not mine.  I am absolutely in LOVE with these girls and savor each moment I get to spend with them at the hospital.  They are nursing like champs and I am so thankful that, so far, I have been able to keep my milk supply up enough to feed them both!  Here are some pictures from this weekend...I know, I know, our daughters are just precious!!!!

Anna

Anna

Kate

Kate

Sisters!

Fun with the Munz Clan!!!

Because of Kate and Anna's due date being around Christmas, this summer we weren't sure what our situation would be, so mom and dad decided to have everyone come to GA so that, whatever was going on, we could all be together!  They rented a house on Lake Lanier that would fit everyone and they all arrived the day after Christmas!  Family time's getting quite crazy, but it's SO MUCH FUN!!

The week was so much fun hanging with the Munz clan!  We are so blessed to have a family that truly enjoys spending time together...as JB would put it "We are thankful for family that are also friends!"  Although Phil and I spent most days at the hospital, we still got to spend a lot of quality time with everyone and we had a blast!

Day one was a little rainy, so they took the kiddos to INK (Interactive Neighborhood for Kids)

After that rainy day, the kiddos had so much time to be outdoors!  This year's crazy December weather was gorgeous and so warm!  Some of the kids' favorite things to do were to go on walks down the street (and see the dog they named Party Pooper) and walk on the rocky "beach"! 

Our nieces and nephews are some of the cutest, sweetest kids in the world!

As you can imagine, an 18 month old is not too fun to have down by the water in the cold!  

I think Jud was at the end of his rope!

Family is such a blessing and the kids were so excited to spend time together!

Now THIS is a wild gang!  Pop Pop and Mimi even have matching jammies!

Every night the kids had a gift to open.  It was kind of nice spreading out the excitement throughout the week.  The first night we exchanged gifts between the cousins.  We switched names among those 2 and up.  They took so much pride in the gifts they were giving, some even forgot they were receiving a gift.

Rylee is an outstanding reader!  There was a little attic area upstairs and, as you can see, she is having story time :)  What a great oldest cousin!  She is absolutely the most precious thing and so good to all the kids!

One night we drove through Lake Lanier Islands, "Magical Nights of Lights".  So pretty and so memorable!

We headed to the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve one day!  Camels, elk, goats, bears, monkeys, lions, tigers, panthers and more!  (For some reason the Zedonk was nowhere to be seen)

One night we opened the gifts from the grandmas.  Slippers all around from Grandma Jerri and engraved silver bells from Grandma Munz.

Check out these sassy girls!  Anna and Kate are in trouble with these two to look up to:)

Although they are little divas, they sure are great cousins and you can always depend on them to help with and love on their younger cousins!  They are excited to love on Anna and Kate soon too!

Everyone got to meet Anna and Kate while they were in town!  

Sweet babies in their Christmas jammies :)

Lunch at the park was pretty chilly, so we decided to go to Chick-Fil-A to play and get milkshakes!

Lots of fun down at the "beach"!

This guy is the sweetest!  Our Can Man!

Jake the Snake :)

The last gifts that the kids opened were sleeping bags from Pop Pop and Mimi.

The girls' were pink and the boys' were blue.

Here they are!  All 12! 

We are getting old...this is us ringing in the New Year,  watching the ball drop!  We were a lively bunch! 

Seriously, we all could hardly stay awake :)

The Florida gang left on Saturday night and drove through the night to get home.  The Henry's went to Melissa's house for a night.  It was fun to get another day with them before they had to head out. JB grilled yummy steaks for dinner!

Kingston near a cold lake again...could it get any worse?  He was muddy from the waist down.

Thank you to our two amazing parents (and the best Mimi and Pop Pop in the whole world) for making our week together possible.  You are two of the most generous people I know!  We appreciate you and love you so much!

Every time we are together and every time I think of this family of ours, I am completely overjoyed!  God's grace is so amazing.  It is such a blessing to laugh like we laugh and love like we love.  I am absolutely in love with these sweet blessings :)

Now...can't wait till this summer!!!!

Success!

Today, with the help of the nurse and Phil, I successfully nursed Kate and Anna AT THE SAME TIME (twice - their 5pm and 8 pm feedings)!  Nursing your child is an incredible experience and nursing two at the same time is even more amazing.  Now I just have to figure out how I can burp them both at the same time! (PS - I made Phil take a picture, but figured I would spare all of you from having to see that!)

Miss Staci

Staci is our favorite nurse (she is the one who made the girls their princess blankets).  She is so sweet and genuinely loves spending time with our girls!  Having to go back to work has been tough, but knowing that Staci was taking care of the girls today made it so much easier!  Around 8:30 this morning, she texted me this picture with a message that said "We love you mommy!"  It totally made my day!!!

 When I got to the hospital around 4:30 to feed the girls at 5:00, here is how I found the girls...snuggled up with Miss Staci!  What a blessing she has been to us and the girls!

 

Perfect Timing

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 

        God's timing is always perfect....whether I agree or not!  When my water broke on Black Friday, among the many emotions I felt, one was frustration.  I was frustrated with myself because I thought that maybe if I had taken it a little easier, the girls wouldn't have come so early.  I was frustrated with God because I had things all planned out, and this was NOT part of my plan!  I knew exactly when I wanted to have my babies and how it would best work out for my maternity leave.
        Over the course of my life, I feel as though God has been patiently trying to teach me that I AM NOT IN CONTROL!  For those who know me...you understand why He is still trying to teach this to me!  I like to plan and prepare and best of all, I like to be in control of the way things play out.  I have seen God work in my life so many times and I have seen how Him always being in control has been a blessing in my life...you would think that after 28 years I would have learned that His plan is always perfect and better than anything I could plan for myself!
        Today, the girls have been in the NICU for 5 weeks and 5 days and will likely be there for a bit longer.  There are no major medical complications, they are just having "episodes" of bradycardia that we are waiting on them to hopefully grow out of.  Needless to say, God's timing has been perfect.  I took one week off of work after the girls were born and  then went back to work to save my leave for when they came home.  I figured that they would be home by now, but since they aren't I went back to work again today.  This time it has been harder than before Christmas Break because I have been spending 6-8 hours at the hospital each day and nursing the girls while I am there and I MISS THEM SO MUCH!  However, knowing that I will get to spend 12 weeks with them when they finally come home keeps me going.  In fact, as usual, God's plan has worked out even better than I could have planned for myself!  Since I am taking a leave of absence rather than maternity leave, holidays and days off of school don't count against me like they would if I was taking maternity leave.  Also, since I will be working this week (and if the girls come home in the near future), I will not have to go back until after Spring Break, leaving only 6 weeks of school left at the end of the year!!!!  As long as the girls are in the hospital, I will continue to work, knowing that I will still have 12 full weeks off and that there will be fewer days after my leave that I have to work.
     God has used this experience mightily in my life in many ways and I wouldn't trade it for the world!  I sure hope I learn this lesson He has been trying to teach me for the past 28 years pretty soon!!!

Look how big we're getting!

Anna and Kate have both hit the 6 pound mark!!

Anna (Left) is 6 pounds 2 ounces and Kate (Right) is 6 pounds!!