In Hillsboro

Well, we made it to my mother in law's house at 10:00 tonight. We didn't get released from the hospital in Boise until after 2:00 (1:00 Pacific Time), and then we had to stop in Baker to throw more stuff that I would need in the car before driving on to Portland. Poor Nathan is very ready to not be driving for a while...he drove 6 hours yesterday (to Boise, to Baker, back to Boise) and then 8 hours today. What a trooper.

I couldn't believe how hard it was to leave my house today. I was bawling my eyes out. Unless some major miracle happens, I won't see my home again for about two and a half months. For a home-body like me, that is an incredibly difficult pill to swallow. On top of that, I don't get to see my dog for that same amount of time and my husband has to leave me for 5 days at a time to go back to work. I don't want to sound ungrateful, because I am very aware of how wonderful of a thing it is that my mother in law is willing to take me in for so long. But this is quite possibly one of the most difficult things I've had to face, especially when I won't have Nathan right by my side for a good chunk of it. All I can do is hope that his employer will figure out how to make it possible for him to do his work from a distance, and fast, so he can join me here. I don't think I fully comprehended, until now, exactly how much I need him.

The big blessing was that when we got here, my sister in law and mother in law helped Nathan put together my bedroom in the guest room. I have my alarm clock from home (complete with a cd of songs from our wedding), a tv with a dvd player, our Wii, my laptop, my pillows, and all of my clothes put away in either the closet or the dresser. Tomorrow Nathan will go out and get me some food and other things I need, and then we head to our appointment with the doctor at Emanuel that's at 3:30. I'm hoping for some sort of good news. Not sure what, but anything positive would be incredibly welcome at this time.

Please be praying not only for the health of the boys and for my health, but also that my spirits would be lifted, because right now I'm in a pretty big funk. And I don't foresee this getting any easier.

Update

And it's good news! Not exactly what we were hoping for, but close!

My uterus was quiet all night last night except for two small contractions when my bladder got too full. Because of that, the doctor here has decided to go ahead and let us drive to Portland today in order to have an appointment with a doctor at Emanuel (where my mother in law works). From there, they're hoping to manage me as an outpatient on bed rest. If they decide that's an option, I'll be staying at my mother in law's in Hillsboro and will have weekly appointments to get checked on.

Nathan will be going back to Baker on Sunday in order to be at work next week. We're hoping that within the next couple of weeks they can get him set up to do distance work, so he doen't have to go into the office every day. But we'll see. Meanwhile, it's a huge relief to know that I most likely will not have to stay in a hospital for the duration.

I have to admit, the skies look a lot bluer today than they did yesterday. I will handle bedrest (mostly) gleefully if I can do it from a house instead of a hospital. So if any of you are in the Portland area, by all means, come visit me!!! I'll need lots of company to keep from losing my sanity. Oh, and lots of books. : )

As for the boys, both of the their heartbeats were going strong this morning, and Asher is continuing his tap dancing on my ribs.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and positive thoughts, I know they made a HUGE difference!

Keep Us In Your Prayers

So this morning was our appointment with the perinatologist in Boise. We got here, waited for about 40 minutes before getting to see the doctor, and then had an amazing ultrasound of the boys. Both are doing great, measuring the same size and have grown from 11 oz to 1 lb 5 oz each since our last ultrasound! They were both moving like crazy and OH MY GOSH, their profiles were adorable. But no, we don't have the ultrasound pics scanned yet. And here's why.

After doing the regular ultrasound, I had to have an internal ultrasound to measure the size of my cervix...which is apparently thinner than it should be. The doctor came in and informed us that I would be admitted to the hospital if I showed signs of having any sort of contractions. So they hooked me up to the monitor and sure enough, minor contractions. Nothing major, the nurse wasn't able to feel my tummy tightening, but there was definitely uterine activity going on.

With that, they whisked me away to the antepartum wing of St. Luke's and hooked me up to another contraction monitor. At that point, I started feeling the tightness across my belly and then my back would ache until the contraction ended. Not good. I think a big part of that was the fact that I had been up since 3 pm the day before, and it was now 11 am, Baker time. Plus I hadn't gotten to eat since 3 am. Oh, and I was an emotional wreck. Thankfully, my mom came to Boise from Burns, so she could sit with me while Nathan ran back to Baker to get the stuff we'll need to be here for...however long we're going to be here.

The news we were getting was this: most likely, I will be on bedrest for the rest of my pregnancy. It's also highly likely that this bedrest will take place in either St. Luke's here in Boise (where we have no family close-by) or at Emanuel in Portland, where Nathan's mom works and we have a lot of family/friends. For right now, I'm on a light-dose medication that helps prevent contractions, and so far it's been doing it's job beautifully. I'm much more comfortable now, and the monitor only jumps when I move around or when Asher kicks the part attached to my tummy.

Please keep us in your prayers regarding this. Best case scenario, I'm able to go do my bedrest at home, but that doesn't sound very likely since we live 2 hours away from a NICU. I only have about 1 1/2 months worth of paid leave accrued, and we're not sure what our insurance will do when that paid leave runs out or whether I can go onto disability or something, so we'll be giving them a call tomorrow. We also have no idea what this is going to mean in terms of Nathan being able to work...is he going to be able to start working "from home" now, or is he going to have to leave me at which ever hospital I end up in so he can keep working?

I'm trying very hard to keep a positive outlook on this situation...our boys are healthy and BIG! I guess I feel like I'm failing our boys in a way, that my body isn't doing what it is suppose to do in order to help them get the best start possible. And I'm disappointed about all the things I am going to have to miss in the next month or two...our baby showers, time with my young life girls, Sam & Aaron's wedding, finishing the remodel on our home before the boys show up, getting the new carpet and vinyl in, helping set up the nursery, etc.

But I keep telling myself that the most important part is doing whatever will give our boys the best start possible. I just pray that something will happen to make this whole deal easier to handle. Otherwise, I just may go crazy spending the next 10-17 weeks in a hospital bed.

And hopefully Asher's kicking streak will stop long enough to let me sleep tonight! So far, no dice. Goofy kid!

Now That It's Public Knowledge

This was my night last night:

http://www.bakercityherald.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=7012

And this:

http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-jul2808-boise_bank_robbery.100f4be7.html

Granted, newspapers and new stations can't seem to get their facts straight and a LOT more happened than what is contained in those stories. But the general jist of it is true. It made for a VERY exciting night last night, starting at around 2 am and not ending until just before I went home.

Why do the cities keep sending us our crazies to catch for them?

What A Difference A Weekend Makes!

All I can say is...thank goodness I left for the weekend. But somehow Nathan and Dad managed to pull together an absolutely phenomenal kitchen in less than two days. TWO DAYS! Here's some photos.

First, a photo of the torn-apart kitchen, with the sink cabinet still in, but post new paint job. Yikes.

And now! The new cabinet above the fridge, some of the new lower cabinets, the new counter tops, and the new sink/faucet. I walked in and it was love at first sight!

The rest of the cabinets, including the new uppers ones. The microwave finally fits the way it is suppose to and we have a lazy susan in the lower corner there. No really, I almost cried.

A better view of the cabinets around the stove and microwave, as well as the two cabinets that are going to go underneath the bar, which Nathan still needs to build the counter and side panels for.

All in all, the kitchen is pretty much complete except for finishing the bar and a few touch up's. And Nathan and Dad put this all together in just a day in a half. No joke! I can't even tell you how happy I am. Tomorrow, I plan on washing all of the dishes that have been sitting out in the dust for the last week and then putting things back into the kitchen. I'm so excited! During this process, I will be getting rid of any extra kitchen items we might have but never use. Yay for downsizing a bit!

Meanwhile, Mom and I were not idle. We managed to complete the quilt tops for both of the boys' quilts, as well as the valance for the top of their window. The most time-consuming part of process was cutting out the pieces. By the end of the first day, my feet were swollen like crazy. But look at what we did!

First, the valance. Please excuse the fact that there is no trim around the window, as well as no shades up. We're getting there!

Nathan was kind enough to play model for me. Here's the quilt top of the first quilt.

And the second quilt. We're so happy with how they turned out!

We probably could have finished the quilts, but we didn't have the batting we needed. So I'll be finishing those up soon. Here's to a productive weekend!

Almost There!

Only half of a graveyard shift to go and then my three-day weekend begins. What a relief! I think I've been thinking of this weekend as the eye of the hurricane. Last weekend was pretty stressful and the next two weeks are going to be fairly insane. But in between are three days of getting out of town without having to drive 6 hours to do it, a chance to get away from the temporary disaster that is our house.

If I haven't mentioned it before, our new flooring in the hallway and bathroom looks amazing! That and the paint job in the kitchen (not to mention getting rid of the old, ugly cabinets) makes it easier and easier to imagine what the final result might be. Nathan called me tonight to tell me that two of the hanging cabinets are already up...I can't wait to see what they look like when I get home in the morning!!!

Sometimes I wish that Marla could see what we've done with the house so far. I like to think that she'd be impressed. Before she passed away, she told me that she wanted Nathan and I to make this house into our own...I think we've done that with flying colors. The more we do to it, the less it becomes Marla's house and the more it becomes ours. It's bittersweet in a way. All the changes make it easier to walk into the house without remembering the painful memories, but at the same time there's also less to trigger the happy memories.

Along the same lines, I would give anything to have Marla here to share the joy and anticipation of the arrival of her "grandsons". The boys will definitely hear about their Nonna Marla, but that won't even come close to seeing them in her arms, watching them grow up around her. I know she'll be watching over all of us, I just wish I could watch her hold them, even if it were only once.

Anyway, with all the interruptions I've had at work, it's taken over two hours to write this post. Now there are only 4 hours until my shift is over, then 5 or so hours to sleep before I head to Burns for the weekend. So I'll see you in a few days!

Whew, Long Day

Starting on Monday, installers came to install our new vinyl flooring in the bathroom and hallway. Putting new flooring down in the bathroom required us to remove our toilet and vanity for two days straight. Since this isn't a very good situation to be in when you're pregnant, we decided to rent a room at the Sunridge for two nights. It was kinda weird to be in a hotel room in our own home town, but it was almost like a mini vacation. After having dinner on Monday night, Nathan and I enjoyed some time in the outdoor pool and then just relaxed. It was great.

I woke up at about 4:00 Tuesday morning, wide awake. The bummer about being in a hotel room is you can't go into the next room to watch tv or read when you're unable to sleep. So I came back to the house and read for about 2 hours before falling back asleep. Nathan woke me up at 7 am to see if I wanted to have breakfast with him. After that, I had to wait two hours before the floor installers showed up, by which time I was ready to fall asleep again...not to mention go to the bathroom! I finally made it back to the hotel room, but I didn't get to crash until around 2 because people kept calling me and waking me up.

After a couple hour nap, I grabbed some chow and then went to see Mamma Mia with Dana. GREAT movie, holy cow! Dana and I were definitely the youngest people in a theatre PACKED with older ladies. All of whom were pretty darn funny. I'll definitely be purchasing it when it comes out on dvd.

When I got home, Nathan had the bathroom put back together (yay for a functioning toilet) and was working on the first coat of white paint on one side of the new bathroom door. The floors look GREAT! He and I finished up the second coat on that side of the door and I put the first coat of paint on the door frame. Then he headed to the hotel room to sleep while I, finally being on graveyard sleep schedule, got a first coat on the other side of the door. By the time that was done, it was definitely time to get off my feet. So I just finished watching Happy Feet, and now it's time to go put a second coat of paint on both the door and the frame. Then I'll probably read for a while, crash for an hour or so, and see what other paint jobs I can find around the house.

Tonight I go back to work for two days and then I get to head to Burns to spend the weekend with my mom while my dad comes up here to help Nathan with installing the new kitchen cabinets/counters. I'm so incredibly excited to have two and a half days to spend with my mom. We have several projects that we're going to work on, including but not limited to starting on the bedding and decorations for the boys' room. Getting out of town and spending some quality time with my mom is going to be just what the doctor ordered.

Ok, time to get back to painting!

Yes, Twice in an Hour

I just have to say that I absolutely love how predictable my boys have become. I can always count on Levi (the lower twin) to push himself as far down on my tummy as possible when I'm sitting at work. When he does that, he literally sits right where the crease is under my round tummy and it feels like he is doing somersaults like crazy.

Asher, on the other hand, likes to curl up right at the bottom of my right ribs and kick (or punch), usually right after I eat and also fairly consistantly around 1-2 am. Not sure why he picks that time. Even when he isn't kicking or punching, I can still feel that he's moved into his customary position...there just seems to be more pressure there and it's always in the exact same spot. After that, almost without fail, I feel at least a kick or two.

Now that they have names and I'm feeling them move on a regular basis, I am starting to feel more of an affinity with the boys. It never fails to make me smile when I feel them moving, even when it's uncomfortable (Levi, get off my bladder!). Seriously, that boy sometimes feels like a rock at the bottom of my tummy! And I am still thoroughly amazed that there are two in there. TWO! I'm carrying two brand new human beings inside of me. So strange.

If I'm already starting to love them this much, I can't imagine how much I'm going to love them when I actually get to see them.

Progress...

...that I have had very little to do with, ha ha ha! As of right now, our nursery is almost 100% painted, just a few touch-ups to do here and there. Once the new carpet goes in and we get the trim installed, that room will be completely done! Same with our bedroom, only new carpet and trim to get done. Ok, that's a lie, we also need to get the new doors painted and installed, but that's not much!

When I left for work tonight, my mother in law had our dining room and kitchen almost completely painted! So that just leaves new flooring and trim in that room. Oh, and the living room only needs new carpet and trim also! Same story with the bathroom...new flooring and trim...oh, and the new door painted. So really, the only big project left (besides putting in new trim throughout the upstairs) is the kitchen! Wow, I can't believe how much progress has already been made.

Granted, the entire upstairs is getting new flooring throughout (BIG YAY!) and that's a huge project, but it's a huge project being done by someone else...thank God. I just have to be there to supervise. Mostly to make sure they don't take off with our valuables, I think. And granted, there are several small projects left, but they're all things we can gradually chip away at and are fairly stress-free. As you can tell, I am feeling a big more optimistic about things today than I was last night.

The new paint in the dining room/kitchen is wonderful! It's a really light yellow that in some light almost looks white. And compared to the painted brick pattern, it makes both rooms look so much brighter. Nathan also put a fresh coat of white paint on the ceiling and in the light box of the kitchen, so that reflects more light as well. I wasn't sure if I would like the light yellow color, but now that I see it up on the walls, I love it! Now I just can't wait to see it with the new cabinets, counters, and flooring.

In other news, I think I finished our baby registry at Babies R Us, for the most part at least. My mom is throwing a baby shower for us here in Baker sometime in the beginning of September, so I wanted to get it done before then so I wouldn't have to worry about rushing to complete it. There's still a couple of things I want to actually look at in the store before making a decision, but other than that I think we're good. Big thanks to Carly for letting me pick her brain on things that I have no clue about like bottles and such!

Oh, and I got my hair cut. It has been necessary to get a haircut once a month because my hair grows so stinkin' fast these days! So this time I told April to cut it shorter...and boy did she. I have to admit, she did exactly what I asked. It's cut to the hairline on my neck in the back and then layered, and while it still does the A-Line thing, if I put it behind my ears it looks really short. I'm still getting use to it, but I love that it only takes 3 or so minutes to dry my hair!

I'll post pictures soon...after the insanity dies down in a couple of days.

My Kitchen Asplode!

Nathan has officially begun the renovation of our kitchen. Unfortunately, it has to get worse before it gets better. So right now the contents of my kitchen are currently located in the dining room and the living room. The good news...Nathan somehow managed to unload the kitchen in a thoroughly organized manner, so we can still find anything we need to use. Our fridge is still working...in the dining room. We have no stove, and I wouldn't recommend using our mircrowave. But hey, our dishwasher and kitchen sink still work...for now.

Nathan is gradually chipping away at getting the old cabinets out. When I left for work tonight, he already had all of the hanging cabinets removed, with only minimal damage to the walls which is a lot better than what we feared would happen. He said he was going to work on removing the bar between the kitchen and the dining room, so that should be entertaining to see when I get home in the morning. I just have to keep telling myself that the new kitchen is going to look AMAZING! And I just have to get through the next week before I get to escape for a weekend of girl time with my mom in Burns while my dad comes up here to help Nathan install the new cabinets.

Meanwhile, Nathan's mom is here to help with painting and is making short work of the nursery. I think I'm going to be a lot happier with the new paint job than I was with the Carribean-themed green that we originally put in there. After that, if she has the time and energy, she's going to prime and paint the dining room wall that currently sports brick-like paint and a mural of Italian country side. I'm sad to see that go because Marla was so proud of it, but the type of paint she used makes it impossible to wash the walls. Plus...it's just time for a change. I have no idea how this painting would get done without Jan's generous help.

I keep telling myself that I'll be ok if I can just make it through to Wednesday. Tomorrow I sleep and then work until 6 am on Monday. On Monday morning, the guys who are installing our new vinyl flooring in our hallway and bathroom arrive at 9 am...same on Tuesday. Oh, did I mention that putting new flooring in the bathroom involves removing our toilet? So we'll be without a functioning toilet for two days...in a one bathroom house. Plus, my mom's parents are going to be staying in a hotel here in Baker on Monday night and want to take us out to dinner...on the same night as our Young Life bbq...I just found out about this yesterday. I'm trying to maintain a good sense of humor, but the only thing keeping me from ripping my hair out is the promise of three days with my mom next weekend.

Nahnah Nahnah Nahnah Nahnah BATMAN!

Last night (or rather, this morning), Nathan and I went to see the midnight showing of the Dark Knight. We're both huge fans of Batman Begins, so we've been waiting with bated breath for the second one to come out. The movie was alright, not sure it was worth staying up until 2:38 for...yes, it was a VERY long movie.

The really entertaining part, though, was when Asher started kicking like crazy right underneath my right ribs...he likes to hang out there. And it was really cool, because I could feel every kick with my hand. I grabbed Nathan's hand and put it on my tummy so he could feel it, but he was on my left side and had a kind of awkward reach to try to feel it. He thinks he may have felt one kick. Evidently Asher likes Batman too.

Both of the boys have become increasingly active. Or maybe I should say, they're getting big enough that I am able to feel said activity more. Now if only they would do it at a time when their father can feel it!

We have our appointment with the perinataologist in Boise on the 30th of this month. It's suppose to be a 3 hour long appointment including a very in-depth ultrasound and an hour long consult with the doctor. We're super excited to see our boys again and to meet the doctor who will most likely be performing my c section.

Dissatisfied

It seems like whenever I spend time away at camp, I come back with an increased hunger for my relationship with God. All day long, every day, there are constant reminders of His love and sacrifice and it never fails to touch me. And yet without fail, I get home at the end of the week or month and am disappointed because I can't seem to find the same sort of communion outside of the boundaries of a Young Life camp.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that my relationship with God is my responsibility and no one told me that it was going to be easy. But why can't I seem to find a church that holds the same feeling and passion that I experience through my time with Young Life? I've been searching for that church for years to no avail. Time and again, I am disappointed by two main things.

First, every church I have gone to spends almost all of its time focused on what to do to be a good Christian instead of focusing on developing our relationship with Christ. I went to Church for almost a year before I finally heard something about having a relationship with Jesus...and I heard it at Young Life, not at church. Don't they realize that out of a strong relationship with Christ comes the desire to be a good Christian? That the relationship is what it's all about, because that's what He wants with us above anything else? And yet Sunday after Sunday, I sit in church and am told how to avoid doing things that would make me a bad Christian, not how to deepen my relationship.

I love the fact that YL is focused completely around our relationship with Jesus. It's like a breath of fresh air, a cup of ice cold water on a hot day, a wake up call that makes your heart sing. Because the very fact of me needing a relationship with Him means that He wants to have a relationship with me...that He loves me and forgives me all the stupid, hurtful things I do. In sharing that with the girls I work with, I remind myself. I'm forced to face the fact that I don't allow myself to rely on Him as much as I should. After all, obviously I don't do that great of a job of running my life when I'm holding the reins.

The second issue I have with a lot of churches is how much they focus on foreign missions. It almost feels like we're out to prove that we take care of the little guy...and yet we refuse to look at the brokenness in our own town. I know I've talked about this before, but it's something I feel strongly about. Why are we so worried about what is going on in a country that is thousands of miles away when we can't seem fix the hurt in our own backyard? Something along the lines of:

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matthew 7:3-5

To be completely honest, I'd give just about anything to go be property staff at a Young Life camp. To live constantly within a tight-knit community all about serving God. To be a daily witness to God's movement in teenagers' lives. To live in a place where God's presence is so plainly seen and felt. To be able to take a step back from the "real world" and just focus on what really matters. To share that with my husband and children, knowing that we're living for something beyond ourselves and growing closer to each other and God through it. It would be hard, but it would be infinitely rewarding.

Maybe someday....

Bump Tracker

Here we are at 20 weeks 5 days. Crazy, I'm only 2 days away from being 21 weeks, and I'm most definitely over the halfway point. We had an OB appointment yesterday, but I'll add more about that on this post later since I need to run to the grocery store before meeting Nathan for dinner and then heading to work. Last night was my first full graveyard shift and I am definitely still adjusting!

Ok, I'm at work now and can gradually peck away at more of an update. Our OB appointment yesterday was, as ever, very short. Pee in a cup, get the tummy measured, listen to the heartbeats. Asher's heart was going at 150 bpm while Levi's was going at 160 bpm. Smithson said that all of the ultrasounds look great and was especially excited about the fact that the boys are exactly the same size. The only damper on the whole thing...evidently there was sugar found in my urine, a possible sign of gestational diabetes. So I get to go back in tomorrow, do another pee test, and if they still find sugar I have to have my finger poked and get a diabetes test done. I REALLY hope it was just the fact that I had something pretty sugary right before my appointment. (crosses fingers)

As you can see, my tummy is still growing steadily. As a result, the band on my medium maternity jeans was simply too tight. So we went to Old Navy and got me some large jeans...which feel great around the tummy but are baggy everywhere else. Ah well, I'd rather have baggy than too tight.

Yesterday I felt Asher kick with my hand for the first time. I just happened to have my hand on my tummy right over where he was laying and I felt a little thump on my palm. So exciting! Especially since I usually feel Levi move around a lot more than I feel Asher. Poor Nathan has yet to get to feel either of them kick yet because they always seem to do it when he's not around.

In non-baby news, my husband rocks. While I was gone to camp, he tackled the bathroom. When I got home, the tile was 100% done and sealed, the new medicine cabinet was hung as was the extra cabinet above the toilet, and all of the walls/ceiling were primed and painted. It looks amazing! Now the only things left to be done in that room is for the flooring guys to put in the new vinyl (next Mon & Tues) and then for us to put up the trim. After that, the bathroom will be 100% done! Wow! The paint makes it so much brighter in there. Our friends use to joke that it looked like a smurf exploded in our bathroom, but now it looks modern and fresh!

The next big project is to replace all the kitchen cabinets and counters. Thankfully my dad is coming up to help Nathan since I am pretty useless in the lifting department. We're really hoping we don't find any nasty surprises in terms of setbacks when we tear the old cabinets out. We have one of the smaller new cabinets sitting in our dining room right now and I love looking at it and imagining what an entire kitchen of hickory is going to look like.

Now if only I could boost my energy and actually find some motivation to do...anything.

And for fun...a picture from babycenter.com that shows what the boys might look like this week!

Blessings In The Poopy Stuff

While I was at camp, I was taking a picture of one of my co-leaders being dunked in the dunk tank. While he was waiting to be dunked, Joe started kicking his feet and somehow managed to soak my point and shoot camera from about 10 feet away...he has long legs. I thought it would be ok, but when I tried taking photos with it the next day, all I got was a white screen when I pushed the shutter button. Lame. We ended up having to use another one of our leader's cameras to take photos the rest of the week.

At around 3:30 this afternoon, Nathan woke me up from my nap to tell me that he wanted to go to Boise to pick up the cabinets and counter tops for our kitchen (he's been stressing about getting those almost non-stop). Seeing as my maternity jeans are already getting too small for my ever-expanding tummy, I decided to go with him and make a stop at Old Navy. The stop there only took about 15 minutes, and then we immediately headed to Lowes in Boise. We got there with two hours until the store closed...unfortunately, it turns out that everyone working in Lowes is incompetent. The really frustrating part was when we attempted to get the 10 foot long counter top we needed. Both of the counters they had in stock were damaged, but they had 4 of them in stock in the Meridian store.

Unfortunately for us, the further incompetence of the Lowes employees made it so we didn't get completely checked out until about 25 minutes before the stores closed. Great. We asked customer service to call the Meridian store to have them bring the counter to the front of the store...seems pretty simple, right? Evidently not. The poor gal who called for us got transferred to three different (incorrect) departments before finally getting the right person. The manager of that store then called her manager and complained about her being rude...costing us another 15 minutes. But this time, I was TICKED. Needless to say, we didn't make it to the Meridian store in time. Grrr.

The only thing that made this evening anything but a complete disappointment was our stop at WalMart in Ontario, where we got a replacement point and shoot camera. A Canon this time instead of a Nikon. When we got home, Nathan discovered that this camera has a SUPER MACRO setting. At which point, I took the camera away from him and started having a ball! Here are some of the results!

Toothpicks

Red Wine Cork

Pepper in Oil & Glass

Night Harvest Cork

Egg Man Egg Beater

Bad Dog Glass

Corn on the Cob

Porcelain Tea Bowl

Nathan insists that I should keep up the macro photography, print them out, and sell them around town. Who knew that a point and shoot could be so impressive?! I had forgotten how much I love macro photography, simply because you can find subject matter anywhere and it's incredibly unlikely that anyone will get the anywhere near the same shot. Plus I've always been a HUGE fan of abstract photography. Anyway, it's fun to play with and we'll see where it goes from here.

Home Again Home Again

I'm home, safe and sound.

And exhausted.

More later!

So Long, Farewell, auf Wiedersehen, Good Night

In just under 7 hours (at 9 am), myself and three other leaders will pile 26 teenagers into 5 vehicles and drive to Wildhorse Canyon for the week. I'll be back on Friday the 11th! Have a great week!

And Now Presenting!!!

I was originally going to post this without the ultrasound pics so I could get this posted sooner but really, what's the fun in that? We didn't get any photos printed out of the "important parts", but oh well. So, without further ado!

Meet our son, Levi Grove Labunski! (formerly know as Baby A)

And....

.....



......

Our son, Asher Morgan Labunski! (formally know as Baby B)

That's right, two boys!!! Craziness, no?! Yes, yours truly is now officially outnumbered with a husband, two sons, and a boy dog all in the same house. But oh my gosh are we happy! Just think, two future Mariner All Stars!

I'll post more about the actual appointment later, for now I need to send out emails and then feed myself and two growing boys! Just suffice it to say that they are both healthy, a good weight, and everything seems to be working correctly!

Only 2 1/2 Hours!!!

Somehow I managed to make myself sleep until 10:30 am, aided by the fact that I didn't get to sleep until around 2 am!

So stay tuned, something should be posted on here around 2:00 pm!

T Minus 30 Hours!

Only 30 hours and some odd minutes until our ultrasound!!!

Not that I'm obsessing at all. Ok, maybe I am.

I can't believe it's July already. Not only that, but it's only 2 days before the 4th of July. Which, in and of itself, really isn't that exciting for me this year since I am working my first graveyard of this rotation that night. While I'm not highly overjoyed about that, I AM excited to get back onto graveyard. After two months of day shift, dealing with the whiny general public (who are usually asleep during graveyard), the Brass (who are also usually asleep during graveyard), and waking up at 4:30 am starts to wear on you. Plus I'm ready to catch up on all the movies that I haven't seen!

Last night Nathan managed to get the grout done on the bathtub tile. It looks so much better now that there aren't gaping cracks between each tile! Now we have to let it gradually dry for the next week, misting it twice a day so it won't crack, before we put two coats of grout sealer on it and call it a wrap! While Nathan was busy in the bathroom...I went to sleep. I really only meant to lay down and read so I could get my feet up, but about 10 minutes into reading, I was dropping my book and dozing off. So I was asleep by around 8 pm, which would explain why I was wide awake at 5:30 am.

In baby news, I felt Baby B actually kick me yesterday, right above my belly button. Usually I just feel that one ball up into my right ribs when I eat too much. Baby A is the really active one...not consistently, but when the kid starts movin', it really moves. Maybe because that one is located lower in my tummy and gets squished more either a) by its sibling sitting on it, b) by me sitting forward, or c) when I lay on my side and curl up in a ball. Either that or Baby A is just the more ornery one and is going to be a major handful when it comes out.

Man oh man, I can't wait to know what these kids are so I can quit referring to them as "it, them, that one, the kiddos, Baby A/B" etc. Since we already have the names picked out, I'm sure we'll probably start using those as soon as we find out the genders. YAY! But I'm not telling what they are yet, you'll find out soon enough! Har har har.

The closer we get, the more sure I feel that I know what the twins are. But at the risk of being guffawed at later, I'll just tell you afterwards whether I was right or wrong. :)