A Moment of Praise

Jillian Grace

Jenna Faith

Today was a busy, but good day. This morning we went back to the pediatric eye specialists who examined the girls upon discharge from the NICU. Because of the CPAP mask they wore when first born (The CPAP forces a constant stream of oxygen into the lungs so that they do not collapse. The CPAP is not a ventilator as the equipment does not breathe for the patient but rather makes it easier for the patient to breathe on their own.) they are at risk for ROP or Retinopathy of Prematurity...basically they were at risk for an eye disease that can cause blindness.

The first visit was very traumatic as the doctor had to hold back the eyelids of each baby with prongs as he examined each eye. In all of the girls' procedures and shots and what not since they've been born nothing affected me emotionally quite like this did. It was horrible. So... I was prepared for a worse experience since the girls are older now and more aware of their surroundings; however, the experience wasn't at all like the first visit. We were examined by doctor and then the nurse put dilating drops in each of their eyes and then we were examined by the doctor again...this time without the prongs. The worst part was the drops as they seemed to sting a little right when they were administered. Otherwise, the girls thought it was great since they were shown so many pretty lights. :)

The best part of the visit? The outcome, the girls were given a completely clean bill of eye health! Not only did the blood vessels and retinas in both girls' eyes develop normally, but also, it is unlikely that they will need corrective vision in the future. The doctor was able to examine the eyes in a way that showed any far or nearsightedness. The girls' eyes were completely normal. What a blessing!

I know some of you already know this but many do not...I am legally blind without corrective vision. Not that I can't see at all or have tunnel vision, but my vision is so horrible that I literally can't see clearly enough to make out anything (not even the BIG OL' E on the wall during the vision test). Also, my mom has eye problems that can be genetic and my Dad also had (laser treatment fixed his eyes!) terrible vision problems as well. Jared and his family on the other hand have great vision. Jared can actually see better than 20/20. I was so worried that the girls would have eyes like me and my side of the family. What a blessing that they will never have to go through the humility and annoyance of wearing coke bottle sized glasses. The doctor said that if someday they have to have corrective vision it would be minimal.

Isn't it amazing though? Not only did they not inherit my vision problems but their eyes are normal and healthy despite the risk of disease from their prematurity! Praise God! I tell you, the Lord has heard our prayers for Jillian and Jenna for sure. When the girls were first born it seemed like we were being bombarded with all kinds of diseases and disorders that they were at risk for because of their low birth weight and prematurity. ROP, Cerebral Palsy, and deafness just to mention a few. And now here the girls are, almost one, with so far absolutely no signs of effects from being born 10 weeks too soon.

The Lord Is Faithful. Not that the Lord wouldn't be faithful if things were turning out differently. Just because there are times of trial and hardship doesn't mean God has forgotten you or doesn't love or care about you.

"We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19

"But God demonstrates in his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Trials of life are like teaching your child to ride a bike: At first he won't succeed. He will fall, he will want to give up. But you as a parent know it is important for your child to ride his bike on his own; without support from others or objects. Therefore even though YOU KNOW he will go through pain and suffering you encourage him and help him persevere; because through the trials he will find success. You know the road is bumpy but you also know the future is bright and you know that eventually, he will learn to ride on his own, without falling.  That is just like our Father. He allows us to struggle knowing that we will fall, knowing that we will have pain and suffering. But He can see ahead of us, past the stumbles, and he knows the outcome before we do. We just need to trust that he is faithful, because he always is.

"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands." Deuteronomy 7:9

"O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you." Psalm 89:8

What to know more? http://needhim.org/

More to Come,

Jessie

PS: The doctor also said that the girls' eyes would stay blue. The shade may lighten or darken but the pigments are blue. :) Cool huh? Niether Jared or myself have blue eyes.We think they get it from their Grandpa (Jared's Dad)...he is one of the few in our families with true blue eyes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jillian (in pink & brown) and Jenna (in pink) get ready for Turkey Dinner!

My attempt at a "kids only" Christmas picture.

Jillian (in stripes & Jenna) are getting better at pulling up to standing. They like to stand on the picture chair now instead of smiling sweetly to take a picture! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!! In traditional Thanksgiving style I just want to say how thankful I am for such wonderful and supportive family and friends. A husband who goes above and beyond making sacrifices for a family he loves; and I am also thankful for my healthy, beautiful daughters who richly and tremendously bless my life every day.

Yesterday, before we went to my in-laws for turkey dinner, I was remembering that at this time last year I was still pregnant...very pregnant. I was just beginning to get into that phase towards the end where no matter what you do you are just plain ol' uncomfortable. I also remember last year how excited I was for the food. All of it sounded so good and once it was time to eat I loaded a HUGE plate of all kinds of yummies...only to leave almost all of it on the plate. After I had eaten just a little I felt so full and stuffed I couldn't eat anymore. But thing was that I wasn't full at all, I just couldn't fit anything else into my tummy!

This year I more than made up for it. I ate lots of appetizers and then I had lots of turkey, potatoes, green been casserole, bread and dessert. Ahhh....it was good. Real good. :)

The babies did well, too. We tried to give them bites of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and little, ity, bity bites of turkey but they were much more interested in the Cheerios I had packed instead. ;) Ha!

This morning I tried to sit both girls and Shelby down for a Christmas picture for our Christmas card. I think sometimes the ideas in my head are too grand. Having to get two babies and a dog (who is scared of the fireplace...but that is the cute spot for pictures!) to sit still long enough to snap a CUTE picture is just not possible. Especially when you are doing it solo (Jared is currently taking advantage of our time off together to get yard work done).

More to Come,

Jessica

I Can't Even Think of a Title for this Post

Jillian said her first word yesterday. Want to know what it was? Any guesses? Anyone?

"PooPoo." What in the world right??!?!?

So the story goes like this... I always ask the girls if they are poopy. Not sure why, I guess it is my way of trying to potty train as early as possible. Hey, the sooner we can eliminate diapers from the budget the better. Now, don't freak out. I am not actively trying to potty train...it is a subconscious thing mostly. I promise. Also, if they could tell me when they are messy that would be a lot more pleasant than going around sniffing baby bobos all day. I've been trying to train Shelby on that...you know like a police dog so that when she sniffs a messy poo she howls or points or something.  So far Shelby is very unreliable...there was so much hope, too.

Jillian and her lovely hair :)

Anyhoo, Jared and I were playing with the girls in the living room yesterday and I kept smelling messy diapers. So I said, "Jillian, are you poopy?" And Jillian replies, "PooPoo." Clear as a bell. I asked Jared if he heard and it he agreed she said it. So then, in our zeal to hear more 'big girl words,' we encouraged our 11 month old daughter to say poopoo...over and over again. I think she actually got tired of saying it because now she won't even attempt to say the word anymore. Stubborn tike. :)

Well, for those of you who are wondering, no...she wasn't poopy. I think she was just repeating the word. But still, it was a word!

More to Come,

Jessica

Are These the Same Babies?

Gosh! It has been such a long time...typing this it feels like I am writing long lost friends. :) We finally got our computer back from HP yesterday. Thankfully they were able to repair the computer while leaving everything intact, our pictures, videos, documents...everything! I guess the only thing that was wrong with the computer was the power source. It was damaged in the storm but easy to replace.  I have to say...HP did make the situation really easy. They sent us an empty box, a big piece of shipping tape, and a FedEx label so that we could send our computer to them. We didn't have to pay for anything since it was all under warranty.

Not having to pay for the computer is a big blessing. As we quickly found out in the few days following the lightening storm our heater/AC had been affected as well as our washing machine...not to mention all the things I had listed in the last post. The heater and washer though were by far the most expensive; and while the heater was repaired we had to replace the washer. Anyhoo, enough about that...only positive thoughts from here on out.

Let's see....what have the Winters been up to the last few weeks? My goodness there is so much that has happened I don't even know where to begin!  Let's just do it the old fashioned way and list them beginning with:

1. Jillian is finally crawling on all fours. She no longer flops or inches her way to things, no siree. She is a bonafied crawler just like Jenna. Both girls have started to climb on things (namely me). They can both get up on their knees but no one has ventured getting up in a standing position yet.  But...Jenna can now get into a sitting position on her own. She can go from tummy to sit and crawling to sit. She is really good at it, too.

2. Both girls have cut their first tooth! Jillian's tooth came in on Sunday. Jenna's came in yesterday. It was funny because before I went to work yesterday I put my finger in Jenna's mouth to check for any teeth and she still hadn't gotten any yet. Then when I got home later in the afternoon her first tooth had broken through! You can't really see the teeth yet since they are just now popping up but you can definitley feel them. Now that Jillian and Jenna's teeth are through the skin the girls seem to be feeling and sleeping a bit better. We had a few rough days and nights though. Poor babies.

4. Our most exciting news by far....Jillian has graduated from Cranial Technologies and no longer has to wear her band!! Yeah!!  Actually she just graduated yesterday, I took her down and they did an "Exit Interview" where they repeat all of the photos. It is so neat to see the changes and we are so happy with the results.

5. We took the girls on our first family adventure...to the Ft Worth Zoo! Every year for my little brother and sister's birthdays (Cody & Katie) Jared and I do something special for them instead of only giving a gift. For example, when Katie turned 5 we took her to the Build-A-Bear Workshop and let her build a stuffed animal, she picked a kitty, and then we bought the kitty two outfits. A few years ago we took Cody to Dave & Busters and played games all day and then with all of the tickets he won he got to pick neat prizes. :)

Now that they are getting older, and also since we have a family ourselves and are therefore on a tighter budget...we have a harder time coming up with ideas. This year we decided to take them to the Zoo. We did the lunch thing and the gift shop thing (the tickets had been acquired for free). They had a lot of fun, too! I was afraid they would be too old for the Zoo but I don't think anyone needs to worry about that....the Zoo is fun at any age.

Anyhoo, we took the babies along with the kiddos and the girls just had so much fun. We took their big stroller and they just had a blast looking at so many new things. In fact, the only semi fussy moments were when they got hungry for their 2:00 feeding and again right before we left...we were waiting for Cody and Katie to the pick their gift shop prizes.  It was a huge success though.

In fact, I think Jared and I need to go back to the Zoo as much as possible. It is actually somewhat affordable when you compare the adult priced tickets compared to tickets at Six Flags or something along those lines. And...kids under 2 are free!

I guess that means we need to get going now though...the girls are almost one! Can you believe it? Next week they will be 11 months and then in December we have our Big One Year Old Birthday! I can't believe how fast time goes. It seems like yesterday we were bringing Jillian home from the hospital and counting down the days until we could come and get Miss Jenna. Now, they are crawling and eating finger foods and talking up a storm. Before I know it they will be saying their first words, eating the same meals we do and walking all over the place.

It makes me kind of sad in a way. Jared and I aren't completely sure what our plans for family are. We always said 1 kiddo for sure, and probably 2. We didn't expect the 2 for 1 deal we got. But if we don't have more Jillian and Jenna will be my only babies...looking back I am blessed to have had them be "babies" for so long due to their prematurity. Sigh... time flies.

There are some things I won't miss though...like the poo disasters. Yes, we still have those. Had one this morining in fact. I always check the girls for messy diapers before we get in the car to head over to Grammy's House. This morning both girls were clean, which is unusual. So we load up and drive over. Twenty five minutes later I pull up to Grammy's House and unload the girls. Once insde we are catching up on family stuff and what's new with the babies and I start to smell something. Jillian, whom I am holding, must have "done her business" in the car. But...somehow the poo has managed to escape the back of the diaper so she has poo up her back, on her shirt, on MY shirt (ick!) and of course it is nasty. You know the routine...I get her cleaned up, me cleaned up. My mother-in-law lends me a non-poo shirt to wear for the day, etc. "Here's the thing though." :) Shouldn't these stories be like....wwaaayy in the past? How long do babies have poo explosions? I mean...they eat solids now. Shouldn't their diapers be less....mushy?

TMI...right? (TMI= Too Much Information for those of you who just went... eh?)

More to Come!

Jessica

PS: There are soooo many new pictures that I am posting a link to Snapfish so that you can see them all, instead of just sharing a few. Remember...you have to register for Snapfish but it is totally free with no purchasing requirements, so feel free to get registered if you haven't and enjoy! The girls are super-de-dooper cute lately and I would hate for you to miss out. :)

CLICK THIS LINK TO GO TO THE SNAPFISH ALBUM

Dag Nab...Out Again

Hey Everyone,
Last night our house (or somewhere VERY close to our house) got hit by lightening during the electrical storm. I know the electrical current went through our house for several reason, one being the obvious: I felt it. I was reaching for the switch to turn on the porch light at the same moment the lightening struck and the current went from my head to my toes. It left me with pretty good tingles for about 5 minutes. It hurt a little but I am fine. The babies woke up but only because of the big ol' scream I let out.

One positive thing is that this morning our oven, microwave and electrical outlets are working again. Last night we couldn't get any of these to work but that issue seems to have been resolved. Now it is just a few items in different rooms that aren't working: our TV in our bedroom, satellite receiver (which DirecTv can replace), Nintendo, DSL, new computer among other things all seem to be fried. :( We are in the process of calling on some things...like the computer we just bought since it came with a one year warranty. We probably won't be able to file an insurance claim because most the damage was to stuff that added together wouldn't be more than our 1% deductible.

One negative thing: I mentioned our computer fried. It is weird because the computer monitor and printer are working, just not the actual computer. Therefore updates on the blog will be at a standstill until we can get our computer repaired or replaced. I am just praying that the one year warranty our computer came with covers weather events.

For those who will: Please pray the Lord will grant Jared and I wisdom and strength as we are given yet another obstacle to overcome. It seems like we have had lots of trials these last 18 months-ish. We do praise HIM that only material possessions were lost as the results of a lightening strike could have been much worse.

Love to All,
Jessica

Peas in a Pod

Jenna and Jillian get ready to pose for a picture

Jenna is being super silly for the camera...what a ham! She must get that from Jared ;-)

Finally we get everyone sitting right and smiling nicely!

A fun picnic in the living room. The girls LOVE Gerber Lil' Crunchies and Apple Juice.

Jillian shows off her new hairdo :)

Bonjour!

Not much new going on at our house. The girls are still crawling everywhere, getting better at it every day. They haven't started pulling up a lot yet...Jenna tries but doesn't put a lot of effort into it. Mostly we are still working on actual solid foods, like Cheerios, and the sippy cup. Not sure if I mentioned the reason we are working so hard on it: The pediatrician wants the girls on all table food by 15 months. That is March! The task seems a little daunting, especially since I am not sure how/when/what to start transitioning from baby food in a jar to solids. We will get it...March may come and go but we will get it.

By the way, I got a different kind of sippy cup the other day for the girls... one that has a latex spout that is the same material as the nipple on their bottle. They were having such a hard time with their sippy cups that I did some research other day and read about these new ones I bought with some of my birthday money. (Isn't it funny...I get money for me for my birthday and I still spend it on the girls! ha!) The cups we got seemed to be a good in between of bottles and starter cups by getting them used to the spout shape in the their mouth but they still manipulate the spout like a bottle nipple. They are doing a LOT better with these cups and that makes me happy. I think this week we are going to start doing one bottle a day in the sippy cup. Meaning taking the formula from a bottle and putting it all in the sippy cup. It will probably have to be a feeding when both Jared and I are home just in case it doesn't go well at first. We will see...

By the way, Jenna is doing much better with the finger foods. It took her a few days to get used to the solid texture but she hasn't gagged in the last day or so. Thank goodness. Now that I look back I remember her doing the same thing when we started baby food.

Other than that we are pretty much laying low. I am not paranoid (we still go out in public...once I refuse to leave the house I have become paranoid) but very concerned about all of this swine flu business. It doesn't help that the reports about it are so mixed. On one hand reporters are saying it is much more mild than regular flu but on the other they are saying some strains are quickly affecting children in a seriously mortal way. Kids are having to be rushed to the hospital and put on ventilators. Scary.

After much deliberation Jared and I finally decided not to vaccinate the girls for Swine Flu (H1N1). The deciding factor was that not only was our pediatrician's office not supplying the vaccine but my pediatrician isn't even going to vaccinate her own children (she has a son about 5 months older than the girls). It isn't that she thinks H1N1 is a non-event... because obviously it is, with Obama declaring a Health Emergency. But she isn't sure that the vaccine is safe since the it is so new and the FDA/CDC (whoever is responsible) has done so little research and testing on it. I trust our doctor with every other opinion concerning the girls so we decided to trust her on this as well. Although it seems you are playing Russian Roulette whether you get the vaccine or not.

Anyhoo, enough seriousness. I will leave you with the latest pictures of the girls...taken today! I couldn't help it since they looked so cute in their dresses with their hair in ponies. :) I love girls. :) Especially my girls.

More to Come,

Jessica

Where Are the Babies?!?!

Ready...Set...Go! Jenna goes after a toy. She is getting really good at crawling!

The exersaucer and jumper are two of the only things that can guarantee the babies will stay where I put them.

Jenna (L) and Jillian's first bath together. They had a blast!

Phew! I am exhausted. Chasing around two crawling babies makes a mommy tired. :) I don't think I fully appreciated the days when I could put the girls down somewhere or in something, go in another room for a second, and know they would be in the same spot when I got back. Now that the girls are mobile they don't want to stay in any one place too long. Especially Jenna, she is bound and determined to escape the playroom. :) The bad thing is that she is good at it...Jenna Winter: Escape Artist Extraordinaire.

In fact, Jenna is better at crawling than Jillian is right now. Jillian is crawling but her moves have morphed from an inch worm to a belly flopping inch worm. She gets on her knees, rocks back and forth and then lunges forward. She is very close to just a normal crawl, she can take a few regular crawls but then it is back to the rock-n-lunge maneuver. Jenna though...man did she pick up on it fast. She has the hand, knee coordination down pat. Now we need to work on getting into a sitting position from crawling or tummy.

By the way, what do you put a baby in when they are able to get out of their bouncy seat or swing? We strap them in and within a few minutes Jillian is hanging over the side, only held on by a leg. :) They can't walk so it isn't like we can get them little chairs but the floor swings and boppy/bouncy seats no longer contain them! That is bad for me...it means I can no longer put them in a seat and walk away. I have entered the realm of constant supervision...yikes!

Next subject: finger foods. The doctor wanted us to start finger foods sometime this month. She said to start with Cheerios or the little fruit puffs made by Gerber that melt in the babies mouth. The girls actually aren't bad at picking them up, their pincer grasp is pretty good. But every time Jenna gets one in her mouth and she starts to gum it she gags. Then she throw up. Yum right? Has anyone ever heard of that though? I mean I was worried about choking but it is almost like the solid texture gags her. It is really strange, Jilly seems to do just fine.

Anyhoo, the girls are asleep and Jared is at Bible Study Fellowship so I am going to rush off to my bed and relax with a good book and TV background noise.

More to Come,

Jessie