Happy Thanksgiving

I think that today is one of my favorite days of the year.  It's a time to truly reflect on your life and appreciate all that God has given you.  This time of year is always emotional for Darrell and me because of the time spent with family.  It's tough not having Cade and Addi here for all of the obvious reasons.  But our God is an amazing God and we are forever thankful that we had both of them for the time that we did, even if it wasn't for that long!  Both of them brought so much joy to our lives and we are truly blessed to have had that time with them.  So many times we get asked how we do it...get through life after losing both of our children.  The one and only answer is God!  He is the one constant who never changes, no matter what.  Because of Him we are able to get up every day and live life the way he intended us to live it!  We know that He is in control and He has special plans for us.  We trust him and lean on Him to guide us!

This year I am thankful for a pretty amazing husband.  He knows just what I need and when I need it.  He has a special way of making me laugh (which lately takes it all out of me...if I get to laughing too hard I can't breathe).  He continues to grow in his faith and I love witnessing that.  We started leading a small group with our church in September and watching him lead has been so awesome!  I'm so glad I have him and LOVE that our love grows every day!

I am thankful for children.  Being a parent is something that I have always dreamed about since I was a little girl.  It wasn't until Cade was born that I truly experienced the kind of love that only children can provide.  Who else do you love before you've even met them.  Words can't even describe how much joy and happiness that Cade and Addi brought us.  And now we wait with excitement for two more children to join our family and make it complete.  Darrell and I are SO anxious to meet Easton and Emerson!

I am also thankful for our families.  We are so lucky to have families who we are so close to and can count on for anything.  No matter what, they are always there and will do anything for us.

And I'm also thankful, right this moment, for extra large clothing to cover my extra large belly.  Don't get me wrong, I have always been a lover of a good pair of sweats, but now, more so than ever, they make me REALLY happy!  It's the little things, right?!?!

We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

TIme is Flying-28 Weeks

Monday marked 28 weeks!  Now that I'm back at work, the time is flying by.  I only have 8 to 10 weeks before Easton and Emerson are here.  Our 28 week appointment went really well.  I'm gaining weight (maybe not so good), but both kiddos are growing like they should.  Emerson was measuring 27 weeks and 5 days and Easton was measuring 28 weeks and 3 days.  Dr. Milner was very happy with how everything looked.  The ultrasound was pretty entertaining because for a few minutes we were trying to figure out whose head belonged to which body!  Ha!  Now I will be going in every two weeks for appointments....again, CRAZY how we are already at this stage.

28 Weeks

The past four weeks have gone really well.  I feel good, but I am getting huge and it's starting to get really uncomfortable in the evenings.  I'm moving a lot slower and can feel myself getting even slower as the day progresses.  Sleeping is always an issue, I can't seem to find a good position to sleep comfortably in.  Oh well!  The babies are moving like crazy and I really enjoy feeling them move, even though, at times, they can be a little rough!

Progress is finally being made on the nurseries.  I finished getting Cade and Addi's things packed up and put away and I'm glad that part is over.  Darrell and his dad started painting the nurseries today and will hopefully finish tomorrow.  I'm really excited about starting to get the nurseries put together.  Pictures will be posted as soon as they are done...probably won't be any time soon though.  I don't think their bedding will be ready until I'm around 32 weeks.

Everything else is going well!  Darrell and I get more and more excited every day.  We can't wait to meet these precious babies!!

24 Weeks

Three words...time.is.flying!  It's really crazy to think that I am already 24 weeks.  I went to the doctor last Monday and we were able to hear both heart beats without doing an ultrasound.  Easton was 144 and Emerson was 156.  Dr. Milner did do a quick ultrasound and they looked good.  He didn't take any measurements, but he liked how everything looked.  Right now Emerson is breech and is baby A which means she is the lowest.  Easton is transverse, which means he is side to side.  He is baby B so he is higher up.  At this point I am feeling them move all of the time and I really love it!  It can get a little crazy when they are moving at the same time.  I'm just getting bigger and bigger.  I'm easily tired and am trying to take it easy.  Every day after school, I come home and put my feet up.  

24 Weeks

Our 28 week appointment will be the last appointment we have every four weeks.  After that, we move to appointments every two weeks.  Darrell quickly realized that these babies are going to be here quick.  We really need to get moving on getting their nurseries ready.  The planner in me would like everything to be ready by the end of November, of course, sooner is always good too!  We have been busy on the weekends so we just need to pick a day or two and get everything moved out so we can paint and rearrange.  This whole process has been a ball of different emotions.  It's hard to go through Cade and Addi's things and believe me, many tears have been shed.  At the same time we are SO excited and looking forward to Easton and Emerson getting here!

We've had one shower already and are beginning to get stocked up on things for the kiddos.  We are using our study as storage right now until the rooms are ready!  

My mom and I registered at Buy Buy Baby and talk about overwhelming/entertaining/exhausting, etc.  My favorite part was meeting the stroller expert, yes, you heard me, the stroller expert.  We walk over to the stroller department and Steve "the stroller expert" walked up and introduced himself.  First of all this guy was probably about the age of my brother (23) and I thought "you've got to be kidding me.  What does this kid know about strollers?" Well, I learned my lesson about judging because this guy was legit when it came to strollers.  He showed me what he recommended and after about a minute I just handed him the scanner and told him to scan everything I needed.  I was really impressed by ole Steve!

Things are continuing to go great!  Thanks for your continued prayers!

20 Weeks, Well Actually 21

I've made it to 21 weeks and I am officially getting large.  A couple of weeks ago I woke up and noticed a huge change in the size of my belly!  People are now telling me how I've grown and my students even tell me every day, "Mrs. Carpenter, your belly is bigger today than it was yesterday."  They're pretty cute!

The last four weeks have gone by quickly and the nausea is finally gone too.  I think it stopped around 18 weeks.  I'm just so grateful that it's gone and didn't last the entire pregnancy.  A couple of weeks ago my mom and I went and registered.  That's when it really sank in that this is all really happening and will be pretty fast.  I had to keep texting my bestie to see how many of each thing I needed!

I had my 20 week appointment last week and both babies looked great.  They were both measuring what they should.  Easton measured a tad bit bigger than Emerson.  It's always so emotional watching them move around during the ultrasound!

21 Weeks

Everything is good for us around here.  We are now working on nurseries and picking out bedding.  As excited as we are about this step, it is also a pretty emotional one.  We haven't touched Cade and Addi's rooms and we are now having to go through things and make decisions.  I feel like this is the final "big" thing for us!  Man is it tough!!

I know I say this all of the time, but I truly mean it...thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers!!

Happy 7th Birthday

Today Cade would have turned seven.  Seven.  It's hard to imagine our little man would be seven years old.  Next week he would be starting second grade.  I'm sure he would be busy with sports and riding his bike.  I'm sure he would be telling Addi to stay out of his room and to not mess with his toys.  Such a big boy, but at the end of the day he would be loving her up, wrestling with dad, and cuddling with mom on the couch...such a love bug.  He had such a big heart!

Seriously Mom, another picture!

Love THAT smile!

I know I say this often, but time has flown by, and yet it feels like he has been gone for SO long.  Not a day goes by that we don't think about him.  Not a day goes by that we wish he was still here.  Words cannot explain how much we miss our Caderader.  But in those moments when I feel like my heart is breaking, all I have to do is think about his smile and how he would wrap my face with both his hands and tell me he loved me!  Darrell and I know that we will see him again, and who could hope for anything more.  Happy Birthday sweet boy, we love you right up to the moon and back!!

How he slept every night...the only time he would suck his thumb

So stinkin cute!!

16 Weeks AND We're Having...

Last week I was 16 weeks and we had an exciting appointment! Both babies looked good with strong heartbeats. The last four weeks have gotten a little better as far as the nausea goes. I'm still getting sick from time to time and I'm pretty tired at the end of the day. I have felt them move a couple of times, but no big movements.

          Me at 16 weeks

Darrell and I wanted to have a gender reveal party and our doctor kindly did an ultrasound to see what we are having. I thought it would be WAY more exciting if Darrell and I didn't know either, so Dr. Milner let us see them on the screen and then would tell us to turn our heads when he looked for gender.

The reveal...Saturday evening we had our family and friends come over to find out what we were having. I had my sweet friend, Diane, make a cake for the reveal (she was the only one who knew the gender from Thursday to Saturday). When we cut into the cake we would know what we were having, so that's what we did!! I was so anxious and excited!!

          Loved how the cake turned out!!

          Starting to cut the cake.....

AND.......

We found out its A BOY and A GIRL!!! There weren't many dry eyes in the room! Darrell and I are ecstatic! God is SO good and we are so excited about the plans He has for us!!

12 Weeks

I made it to 12 weeks and that is a HUGE milestone with twins.  Yesterday we went to the doctor for my 12 week appointment and Dr. Milner said everything looked great.  Both babies are growing as they should.  One measured 12 weeks four days and the other measured 12 weeks two days.  Darrell and I could not get over how active they were.  They were moving around SO much!  It was a great appointment and on our way home I told Darrell how crazy it was that I have TWO babies in my belly!!

The past four weeks have been okay.  I've been really nauseas and sick almost every day.  I'm really ready for that to be over with.  Other than that, everything else is going well.  Time is going by quickly and we're really looking forward to our next appointment because I think we'll be able to find out gender.

Again, thank you so much for all of your continued prayers!!

12 Week Bump

Baby A

Baby B

Both Babies--their heads are touching