To Sum Up 2010

If I actually posted to my blog every time I came up with an idea for a post my life would be well documented. However, there is something about sitting down to post that makes me so tired. Maybe it is because I never have the chance to sit still with five kids and when I do my body immediately thinks it's time to sleep. Anyway...

We had an AWESOME year! I can't believe how much our lives have changed in just one year. We started the year as a family of five and quickly grew to a family of seven. I was so unprepared for how much I would enjoy all the chaos that five children bring. Don't get me wrong, I am tired, tired, tired and it is hard, hard, hard BUT I wouldn't trade it for the world! I actually think I've become calmer with five kiddos because I've given up trying to control every circumstance in my life. I love it!

Colin and I actually got to take a little trip to Austin all by ourselves this fall and it was wonderful. I know a lot of people get to go do more exciting things than that, but we are so very thankful for the time we had together and the time we spent with good friends.

Russell is doing well in school, loving being a boy scout, going golfing with Dad and disc golfing with whoever will take him. He has made new friends and continues to ask us questions we don't know the answers to...very humbling! He loves to teach our family about all the things he is learning.

Aubrey loves school, especially her friends at school! She enjoys drawing, painting and playing with her Barbie dolls. She is learning to read and loves it. She is quite the helper with Lillian and Asher. She tells me she wants to be a Mommy when she grows up, but she only wants four children.

Bethany loves school too, but her school is with me at home. She enjoys baking, painting, making mud pies in the back yard and most of all singing. She is quite gregarious and has a surprisingly quick wit. She keeps us all laughing!

Lillian loves to dance and bounce to any music she hears. She is playful and talkative. She loves to eat, just like her mama, and cries when she is out of Gerber Puffs. She is a cuddlebug which both Mommy and Daddy take full advantage of!

Asher is rarely without a smile! He loves to laugh and babble! He enjoys climbing, but doesn't enjoy the tumbles he takes as a result of his fondness for climbing. He may be the baby, but not in size. He is growing bigger by the day, and learning all the time!

Here's the very best Christmas picture we could manage...ahhhh the chaos!

Wow! I haven't posted in forever...

I guess having five kids will do that to you. I was reading a blog post from Missy at It's Almost Naptime, and I so identified. If you're a mom with young kids, please go read it. You will NOT be disappointed.

I'm posting some pictures that we had taken back in July for all you who don't have Facebook and haven't seen them yet. They are in no particular order because I'm just too tired to fix them!

Happy Birthday Jenny Dear!!

Happy Birthday Jenny Dear! I made a little video to commerate how you heard this song for the fist time. I recorded in a card didn't I? I don't really remember. I do know this song is just for you, and I've been singing it every August 5th for more than half your life now! I sure don't know what I would have done if God hadn't made us cousins!! ;-) I love you dearly, Jenny Dear! Now are you ready for a hearty laugh?!?!?! :) Love, Abs

You know you have five kids when....

you have to get a babysitter just to have a phone conversation that lasts more than 2 minutes. Thanks for the refreshing chat Lisa!!!

I'll be back soon with some new family pictures!

Abby

Grief is Sneaky

I've been formulating posts in my head for days. Some are funny. Some are venting. Some are crazy. Some are sad. Some are all of those things, but I'm too tired to post.

Tonight I'm just writing, writing because it feels good to get some things off my chest. Today I was taking Aubrey to VBS and as I was waiting at the stoplight I saw the Klein Funeral Home hearse drive by. The man driving the hearse was the same one who I watched from the porch of my parents home drive off with my Mom on May 30, 2007. I didn't cry that day. I knew she was going to die. I was numb to it. Today was different. I wasn't expecting to see the hearse and the tears I should have cried three years ago all came out today.

I cried.

I needed to.

It felt good.

I'm still sad some days.

Most days I remember her with joy and happiness.

She was a good Mom.

She is a good Mom.

I still miss her.

Grief is sneaky. It comes out of nowhere, even three years later, when you think you're all cried out, there are still tears.

My Five

2 Months Already

Lilly Pie and Asher Man,

You are two months old! Wow time flies! It seems like just yesterday your Daddy and I were welcoming you here!

Now here we are two months later and we are more in love with you than ever!! Here are some things that I want to remember about this month:

- Lillian you smile all the time! You also cry a lot! :)

- Asher you are still laid back. You take it all in, a man of few words, except when you are hungry. - You are both very strong! You lift your head up when you are on your tummy and look at your toys. You like laying on your back and looking up at the fun things hanging down on your play gym.

- You both follow rattles and other brightly colored toys with your eyes. You are very interested in your surroundings. - Asher you love for Aubrey to play with you and engage with you. You smile for her a lot!

- Asher you don't like it when Bethany shoves toys in your face. Your Daddy and I are trying to help her be more gentle when she plays with you.

- Lillian you love going for walks, while Asher is napping, your eyes are wide open taking in the great outdoors. I hope this is the beginning of your love for the outdoors, maybe one day we'll hike together.

- Lillian, Aubrey and Bethany don't like for you to leave home without a bow in your hair.

- Asher, Russell takes great pride in the fact that you look like him. So does your Aunt 'Stina since your really do look like her with your red hair and blue eyes! - Asher you found your thumb and your Daddy is just beside himself...he want you to take a "Doodler" and not your thumb!!

- Asher, your brother and sisters have changed the words of the song "Hot Dog" by They Might Be Giants from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse just for you! It goes like this...

Ash Dog, Ash Dog, Ash Diggity Dog!
It's a brand new day whatcha waiting for!
Get up, stretch out, stomp on the floor...
Ash Dog, Ash Dog, Ash Diggity Dog!

-Asher and Lillian you have brought joy back into my life. I haven't been this happy since before my Mom died. I was so scared before you came. I knew it was going to be hard, but I didn't know how hard, and the truth is that frightened me. Now that you are here, it is hard, but you guys are soooooo worth it! I LOVE being your Mommy! I am so glad that God gave you to me! You are a gift and I love you both more than there are stars in the Sky!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I have had a wonderful Mother's Day! I hope all the mothers reading this have had a wonderful day too!

So Bethany made me the most adorable Mother's Day gift at school. She made me yellow flowers out of her hand prints. Her teacher cut them out, attached green pipe cleaner to them and put them in a pot that Bethany decorated. I love it!! However, Bethany does not want to relenquish this gift. She worked hard to make it, and has decided that I might be able to have it in a few days, just not today. I've tried to convince her that it is better to give than recieve, that it's not nice to be an "Indian" giver, I've even tried bribing her for it (I want my gift, it's cute!) but she stubbornly holds on to it, refusing to give it to me. So I wait. At somepoint she will lose interest in it. Then I will swoop in, retrieve it, clean it up and put it somewhere special. It won't be long before she won't make me these special gifts anymore, so I want to treasure the ones she makes now!

A glimpse of my future...

This is a trailer for Babies the movie, and the first clip is a set of babies close in age, maybe twins, I don't know, but it is a glimpse of my future!!! Enjoy! :)

Things I don't want to forget...

Asher & Lillian,

I'm blogging about your first month because you don't have a baby book. I can't promise that you will have one at all, even though your older siblings have one. I know I will want to remember these things, so I'm blogging about it, because it's better than nothing...right?

- When you guys were about 2 days old the nurse brought you back to my room after a stay in the nursery, and she said: "Mrs. Muirhead, most of the time, twins find comfort in laying next to one another in the bassinet, but yours had to be separated, they were egging each other on." Yes, you were put in time out in separate corners of your bassinet at a mere 48 hours old.

- Lillian your cries put Asher to sleep like a lullaby, however, Asher's cries wake you up and you start to cry, I think Asher is egging you on.

- You have both steadily gained weight. At birth Asher weighed 7lbs and now you weighs 9.6lbs. Lillian weighed 6.5lbs and now you weigh 8lbs.

- You are both good eaters, but bless your hearts, you both have reflux. :(

- You have spent almost half your life living at Bubbie and Baby's because of a nasty stomach bug at our own house.

- I am not a relaxed 4th time Mom, I'm an uptight nervous first time Mom of twins and taking care of you is hard, but loving you is better than anything I could have imagined.

- Lillian you like your feet to be massaged! My kind of girl!

- Asher you like for your tummy to be full! Daddy's little man!

- Asher when I saw you for the first time, my first thought was, oh how I love you and my second thought was, oh my goodness I just had the same baby twice...you look just like Russell.

- You guys eat about every three hours.

- Sleeping through the night doesn't appear to be on the horizon.

- You reach for each other when your sleeping. I'll find you holding hands, hugging and cuddling...it makes my heart melt every time.

- You sleep better together than when you are apart.

- You both like to sleep on Daddy's chest, or in his arms. You are happy there.

- Your older siblings love you. They fight to hold you, give you kisses and pet your head. You are blessed and so are they. I think the five of you will grow up to have lots of stories!!

**UPDATE**
Lillian started smiling on May 3rd while you were looking at Mommy and smiled again for your Daddy while he was rocking you! You smile a lot now!

Asher you started smiling on May 5th while looking at Mommy. You haven't smiled much since then, but it's because you are busy sleeping! :)

I love you Asher Man and Lilly Pie!!

Love,
Mommy

Some Pictures of the Twins

Well I don't have a good excuse for not posting lately, except for these little guys keeping me busy! ;-)




Real men sit in pink seats and use purple blankets! They really do!



That's it for now because I'm tired!

Loves,
Abby

Introducing....

Lillian Joy Muirhead
8:26 AM
6lbs 5oz
18.5 inches

Asher Edmond Muirhead
8:27 AM
7lbs
20.25 inches

Our hearts are full! We are so overwhelmed at God's goodness!

Love to you all,
Abby

One last belly shot!

Well today is the day! We are up and ready, about to leave for the hospital. The next news from us will be to introduce you to our little twinfants!

This us also a test post to make sure I can actually post to my blog from my phone!! Nothing like waiting until the very last minute! :)

Hmm...the picture posted funny. Oh well.

Ruminations

I was thinking about my Mom today. It's the second time I've given birth without her here. I miss her. Today it's bittersweet.

Mamo & Russell



Mamo, Abby, Nani, Aubrey


Tomorrow, when the twins are here, it will just be sweet.

Abby

The Twins Birthday has been scheduled!

I have known for a while now that I am going to have to have a c-section. Our sweet baby girl is breech, she is baby A and in order to even try for a natural birth baby A must be head down. I have been grieving this news from the moment I heard c-section. I have had three natural births, so this is a big change for me. However, the blessing in this, as explained by my doctor, is that when baby girl turned breech she was no longer engaged in the birth canal thus preventing the pre-term labor I had been trying to ward off. So even though I am sad about a c-section, I see God's hand in all of this, and I am grateful that He has allowed me to carry the babies this long.

After Dr. Young looked at several dates, and we we discussed risks vs benefits of delivering at different times, he decided that...


March 22, 2010 at 12:30pm


will be when we get to meet these sweet babies!

We'll keep you posted!

Abby

My Brother's New House and a Belly Pic

Last weekend I actually braved leaving the house, and went to see my brother's new house. He just built in the Heights and his new place is PERFECT! We are so happy for him! Here are a few of the pictures we took from our little outing...

The House!
No the house is not lopsided, it's his sister's poor photography that makes it look that way! :)



The girls and Mommy on Uncle Root's front porch



Russell and Mommy on Uncle Root's front porch




Happy Birthday to me! We like to do things big in our family, like burn the pie instead of put candles in them! ;-)




Some love from Bethel!




Some people say we look like sibilings...you think?




36 weeks!! We made it!



I will let you all know when it's baby time, until then, we wait!

Abby

Do Twins Run in your Family??

And other questions I've been asked throughout my pregnancy...

My friend Lisa, who is a fellow twin mommy, told me when I was newly pregnant that people would ask a lot of questions once they found I was expecting twins. I wondered to myself at the time if it could really be any more than with a singleton pregnancy, because I just assumed that people are generally curious when you're pregnant...well she was right, I've had a TON more questions! Here are some questions people have asked me in a typical conversation:

Q: Do you know what you are having?
A: Yes, a boy and a girl.
Q: A boy AND a girl????
A: Yes.
Q: TWINS??
A: Yes...
Q: Do twins run in your family?
A: Yes, my grandmother was a twin
Q: So didn't you know you were rolling the dice...that you could get pregnant with TWINS???
A: Uhm, well, uh, well, I guess I really didn't think about it like that...but uh, maybe, yeah...

OR

Q: TWINS??
A: Yes
Q: Don't you already have THREE kids? (look of disapproval because I am one of those...the kind that already has too many kids)


OR:

Q: TWINS??
A: Yes
Q: Were you trying for twins?
A: Huh? Is that possible?


OR:

Q: Did you take fertility drugs?
Q: Are you DONE having kids?
Q: Did you know...any random fact about twins?
Q: How are you going to afford ALL those kids?
Q: How are you going to take care of ALL those kids?
Q: What are you going to do with ALL those kids?

And my very favorite question of them all...

Q: ARE YOU CRAZY?


And the conversation is usually summed up really nicely with a "Glad it's you and not me" and off we go on our seperate ways.

I can't wait for all the questions I'll get when I have all FIVE kids in the grocery store! That will be fun! :)

Abby

29 Weeks + Belly + Names??

Well, we made it another week! Yesterday I passed the 29 week mark and I was so pleased. God has been gracious to us!

Here's a picture of my 29 week belly. I meant to post pictures sooner. Better late than never is the story of my life!



Ok, now here's the real reason for the post. We need help naming our little girl. We seriously have come up with nothing! We aren't looking for wierd names, with weird spellings, we like more traditional names that aren't too popular. Any suggestions?

Thanks guys!!

Abby

Happy 3rd Birthday Ashley!

To our sweet Ashley...

Happy Birthday Darling! We love, love, love you! It has been three years since we let you go, and yet it seems like just yesterday. This year we got to watch your Mommy and Daddy with Brooke and it filled our hearts to see what amazing parents they are. Your sister Brooke is so precious and we can't get enough of her. We know if you were here you would be the very best big sister to her.

We miss you so much and our hearts still ache to be with you. On the days when we miss you the most we write your name on our driveway with sidewalk chalk, or we just talk about what you would be like if you were here. And on some harder days we still cry...like today...because we love you. But this we know, that you're in Heaven with Jesus and you are happy and we will see you someday!

So even though we are apart on another birthday, we sent you your birthday balloons. We're sorry they are a day late, it was raining here yesterday.






























We love you stars in sky!!
Uncle Colin, Aunt Abby, Russell, Aubrey & Bethany

27 Week Baby Pictures!

We saw our specialist today. She said that things are progressing nicely and the babies look healthy. We are praising God for that good news and are praying that God continues to watch over our little boy and girl. We are still praying for healthy babies...please pray with us!

One funny thing we saw today was baby boy poking his little fingers in his sister's face. Of course there is a thick membrane between the two of them, but he would put his fingers right up to her nose and she would back away. He's already bothering her, I hope this is not a sign of things to come! ;-)


Here are some pictures from today's appointment.



Baby Boy!



Baby Girl!

The specialist also estimated baby girl's weight at 2lbs 12oz and baby boy at 2lbs 10oz so I have a good 5 pounds of baby in me! I'll be posting belly shots soon, so check back if you're interested!

Hugs,
Abby

A New Year is here!

A new year has arrived and I am hopeful. Last year was hard. I don't want to whine, so I won't go into it all, but life just didn't go as I planned it. I had a lot of change and like one of my children in particular I do not adjust well when I have had a lot of change in a short amount of time. So there were two of us in the house struggling to make sense of life...funny how God will give you the exact right child to bring to light the things in you that need some refining! Hmm, more on that another time. So as I look ahead to 2010, a year with some very BIG changes coming our way, I am hopeful that God used the last year to prepare me for this year.

My 2010 Resolutions:

1. Have an open heart to what God is teaching me and allow Him to change me instead of being resistant.

2. Spend true quality time reading and praying through God's word, instead of rushing through my morning quiet times.

3. To be a better wife to Colin......let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband [that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly]. Ephesians 5:33 (emphasis mine - Amplified)

4. To figure out how to parent 5 children and survive.

5. Find time to exercise after these babies arrive, and start chipping away at this baby weight.

So what are your resolutions?