Clarification

So I posted on Facebook yesterday that I was having a bad day and this resulted in a lot of people worrying and wondering about me so I figured I ought to clarify things some.  I wouldn't typically go too much into all this but since I already announced the twin thing on the blog and Facebook world I figured I better follow up with the details.

Yesterday I went and saw my dad at his office to get an ultrasound of the babies and after a few minutes he told me that something was wrong with one of the babies.  It was smaller than the other one and the brain wasn't developing like it should.  Although it still has a heartbeat this one will likely stop developing soon and then just be absorbed.  I am sad that I won't be having twins now (he said there is a tiny chance it could correct itself some and then the child would be born with a severe birth defect but that is pretty rare and will most likely just be fatal before birth). 
The other baby looks to be healthy and strong so we are trying to be grateful for that but I am very disappointed and sad about my other baby.  Its especially hard since I am still carrying both of them so while I am still pregnant with live twins, I am only going to have one baby.  Anyway, I hadn't realize so many people would read so much into my little Facedbook post yesterday so I thought I better answer the questions...
Pray for my other baby to be alrgiht as I am very excited to be pregnant and I count this pregnancy to be a complete miracle.  I am very blessed and thank you guys for your support!

And that is that

Yes, can you believe it?  After my 5 month hiatus, a second post in two days.  This one is one you won't want to miss!  Justin and I had been planning on doing in vitro for kiddo number three when we got to Boise this June but the night before our phone consultation with the Dr. I took a pregnancy test on a whim- just to be sure I wasn't somehow preggers.  And guess what? I was.

To add to the excitement, when I went to the doctor 3 weeks later I was surprised to find out that not only was I not nearly as far along as I thought I was but that there are two little babies growing inside my belly.  Yuppers, identical twins for me, and all on our own too (I think Justin likes to credit his super sperm for this miraculous event).  I honestly don't know why we are so blessed, but I am grateful that we are!

So I am due December 28th and praying I don't get put on bed rest while Justin is off at officer school for 6 weeks in October. Wish me luck that all will go well and cross your fingers for Justin that he will get two boys instead of us getting two more girls (I'll take whatever as long as they are healthy but I know my husband would prefer not to be so outnumbered for the rest of his life!).  And it is great to not have to worry about the future decisions of whether we should have 3 kids or four.  Apparently Heavenly Father wanted to make his mind up for us (ie. Justin) and just give us the fourth at the same time.  I am 10 weeks and I already have a baby bump (I'm not just getting fat) and crazy sciatica.  But I am thrilled that both babies are doing so well and I can't wait to find out what we are having so I can start sewing!

I know, I know

So I know I am going to catch a ton of slack for not having posted in almost 5 months but I figure its time to make a come back.  Its kind of like not going to the dentist for a while and then not wanting to start again so you don't get the lecture (which I just got from my husband).  That being said, here is what we have been up to the last month:

I have been working on my blog like crazy and it has been going well although I recently resolved to focus a specific hour or two a day on it so it would stop consuming my life.  It was getting tiring and it was all I had time for.  I decided to stop obsessing and to just devote that certain amount of time so I could enjoy more in my day.  So far it has been going well and we have been having a lot of fun with friends and taking the girls outside.  The weather has been wonderful the last few weeks so the girls have been living in our fully fenced back yard (the best thing about this house).

In April Justin's mom came up and stayed with our girls with Justin and I went to Front Site in Nevada (thanks again Brenda!!!).  We went to the four day defensive handgun course and had a total blast.  It wasn't the leisurely/ romantic vacation I had envisioned (we were there for almost 18 hours one day including driving time) as I passed out exhausted the moment we returned to our hotel every night but I had a great time.  I also got second place out of almost 40 people in the hostage shoot off that they had on the last day (so yes, I beat Justin as well as a cop and people who had been there several times) and Justin achieved the graduate level (there is a big test at the end).  Plus, now I feel incredibly competent and confident in my ability to use a handgun, which is a great thing. And as a bonus, I got to feel like a total Bad A** for four days ;)

A little over a month ago I got roped into doing the Mrs. Alaska America pageant.  I friend of mine did it the year before and she convinced me to go ahead and enter.  I had no ambitions of winning, more just to meet other ladies and have fun plus I think it is good to do something that scares you once in a while and this definitely counted. I ended up having a great time, making a lot of new friends, growing in a lot of ways and I got to try something totally new.  A lady who I had become friends with ended up winning and I won most photogenic wedding photo so I couldn't have left happier.  It wasn't so much that I cared about the specific award, it was just nice to hear my name called for something ;). While the pageant was a lot of fun it was very difficult to find a pretty cocktail dress and evening gown that allowed me to keep my LDS dress standards.  Through much the of the pageant I felt very out of place (although 2 other ladies were LDS too) and I felt like I was back in high school wishing I could wear the prettier prom dress.  Anyway, after the pageant ended I had over 4 different people come up to me and tell me that they appreciated my modest dress choices.  I was very touched by this and I felt a little bit redeemed.  While I had been feeling self conscious about looking different from the other ladies I had forgotten about the example of modesty that I was setting for other girls who were there.  That was a great feeling and something that I really just wanted to write down so I would remember if I do the pageant again in a couple of years (which I likely will).

This last weekend we took the girls on a 4 day camping trip up North off the Denali Highway with a couple other familes(no, it never got dark at night) and we had a great time.  Justin was like a little boy at Disneyland going off with our friend Eric in his four wheeler, spotting a bear, moose and wolf all in one glance in the binoculars, learning how to gut and skin a Grizzly after Eric shot one (yay, one less in our area), fishing in the creek and catching Greyling and staying up until the wee hours of the morning each night because he couldn't bare to wast a minute of daylight.  We all had a great time and the girls loved being outdoors and sleeping in a tent.  I definitely hope there will be many more camping trips to come this summer!

So that is us since April.  And since I have totally slacked on posting the last several months, here are some pictures of the girls to keep you all happy (yes, that means you Chels and Ash).

Funny Girl

Macy has been hilarious lately so I thought I should take five minutes to jot down some of her latest statements:

Macy listtening to her "ipod" (cheap MP3 player from Walgreens):  I like Cowboy Cassanova.  Carrie Underwear sings a silly song.

Yesterday at church Macy heard someone mention the Holy Ghost and said: "Holy Ghost? What's that?"
Me: The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of God and that is how He talks-
Macy: Ooooo, Scary!

Later Macy was complaining that she missed Daddy and Alaska.  I told her we would go home to see them in 5 days.  In response she said, "How about in two minutes instead?"

According to Macy, Unicorns have "Corns" coming out of their heads.  Makes sense, right?

She was laying on the couch the other day cuddling with Harley, my sister's 4 pound Shitzu and she started telling me all about how when Harley gets bigger she is going to ride on her all over but now she is small so she will just cuddle with her.

Toys for Tots

Hey all,
Kara (my blog partner) and I are donating $.10 to toys for tots for every new Facebook fan or Twitter Follower that we get through the 26th.   Please sign up or spread the word to your friends, thanks!

Kylie's Ready for Vegas

I am not really sure where on Earth Kylie learned to play the "shell game" at age two. She started doing this out of no where at dinner last night and Justin and I could not stop laughing.
"Round and round and round. Keep your eye on the shell. Now, pick one!"

Halloween Pictures... At Last

Here are the Halloween pictures. First, here are their coordinating trick or treat bags. About halfway through this project I decided that I went a little overboard to line and quilt bags for them that they would use once but the girls loved that they matched their costumes!



Here are my cuties on Halloween:



Can anyone else believe how old Macy is getting???








And this is how they got to Trunk or Treat at our church. Fortunately, their costumes fit over their coats pretty well and there wasn't 6 inches of snow on the ground like there was last year. By this time the girls had worn their costumes several times and Macy's was getting trashed so it didn't look fabulous but it was good enough for her. Earlier in the week I had thrown a little Halloween party with some of our friends (camera died half way through so no pictures) so they could enjoy being in costume for more than just on Halloween. They also got to dress up for dance class (where Macy's costume really got destroyed) on Thursday. Overall, they had a lot of fun!