it's January 29th...

happy due date, girlies!

i can't believe you're exactly TWO weeks old already

life has changed so much in that time; it's hard to remember what it was like before

your dad and i have learned more than we ever thought was possible in such a short spurt

and we've loved getting to know you as we learn to be a family

words cannot express how much we love you little bugs

right now life is a blur of feeding cycles and long nights
we're trying to enjoy the season, knowing that it won't last long
so here's to getting in as many newborn snuggles and late night cuddles as we can squeeze in
despite that moment at 3am when you won't eat, we can't sleep and we wonder if it'll ever get better

before we know it, though, there'll be skinned knees, first loves and everything in between
there's so much to look forward to and enjoy at each stage

right now, group naps on the couch are a favorite
you two are the biggest cuddle bugs and daddy is a human heater - makes for a great combination!

on fashion

lil miss Ivy rockin' her "uggs" (aka thick socks!) - they'll do whatever it takes to keep warm, just like their mama!  

{untitled}

...because it is impossible to decide on a title for a post announcing to the world the arrival of our baby girls!

yep,  on January 15th, in the wee hours, we were blessed with

Ivy Naima Townson

5lb 8oz

born at 12:52 am

&

Aria Grace Townson

4lb 11oz

 born at 12:56 am

delivery and recovery went / are going surprisingly well...the real challenge has been feeding such tiny bugs.  the problem is that they're so small that they lack the energy to eat, but without food it's kind of hard to muster up more energy. 

we've been trying different things to help them out and its made for a bit of stress, very litttle sleep, lots of tears, some success and some failure.  the doctors / nurses / midwives have been a great support and source of information and i think things are finally starting to look up.  you can certainly keep us in your prayers on that front. 

all that being said, i've decided to go on a bit of a blog vacation to focus on growing and getting to know these little muffins.  there may be a random post here and there and i don't know how long it will be before i'm back full force, but for now, the girlies are my priority. 

*note:  many of you have sent me notes, facebook messages, texts etc and I just haven't had much time to get on the computer (hence this announcement being 5 days after their birthday).  i'm still working through many of them and i realistically don't have time to respond to all of them, but i wanted to thank you for all your kind thoughts and notes! 

the finish line...

...was just about two weeks ago - at 36 weeks, which is full term for twins.

it seems these little ones have something else in mind, because I've taken a 36 week and a 37 week photo - can't say I thought we'd get this far!  in fact, all the docs / midwives / specialists / nurses are shocked that they're still in there.  (or maybe that's just what they tell me to make me feel better - haha)

anyway, here are the progress photos mentioned above in their respective order - sorry they're not "labelled" the way they normally are...I normally do that in photoshop but it pooped out on me so this will have to do.

 

prayers for patience and thankfulness as we submit every minute that we wait on their arrival to His plan rather than ours would be much appreciated - we know the Lord's timing is best, but that's sometimes hard to keep in perspective when waiting to pop ("at any minute")!  ;)

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.  And be thankful.  -Colossians 3:15

so even in this, we are being refined and sanctified.  we know that he uses ALL things for our good and His glory - there is certainly encouragement and joy in that - thank you, Jesus!

2011 in Review - Part III

i've been really slow with sharing these 2011 snapshots - blame it on non-cooperative software and non-cooperative (aka 2 weeks overdue!) babies.

but, i was finally able to figure out a way to prep this next bunch of images for the blog despite my moody computer issues!  so here you go:

2011 - The View:

*my sum-up is totally missing summer pictures, guess I was having too much fun to stop and pick up my camera ... note to self - try harder next year!  ;)

2011 in Review - Part II

It's been a while, and I owe you a very overdue 36 week photo...but that picture is still on my camera, which is in the other room right now and between my difficulty in movement and my laziness at the moment, it's going to stay there.  (sorry)  In the meantime, I've got the next installment of 2011 photos to hold hold you over.

2011 - The Food:

 

2011 in Review

Well, the holidays are behind us just as quickly as they came; our family who traveled up to join us for Christmas is back home, Daniel is back to work and I'm back to business as usual around the house.
While I enjoyed every second of the season, it's nice to get back to things that sort of fell off the radar like making meals at home, working out more regularly, picking up where we left off with baby prep and of course, blogging!

I can't believe 2011 has already come and gone.  It was an unbelievable year - as with any other year, there were soaring highs and painful lows, but overall it was definitely a year of growth (in more ways than one!), change and encouragement.  We look back at our year with deep gratitude and look forward to a year full of firsts with the little ones hanging around.  You guys, 2012 is going to be so different - I can't even begin to imagine what it will look like!  I'm a bit nervous, but I know that the Lord has a plan and if we just seek His will, there's nothing to worry about.  (easier said than done, I know! :) )  Thank you Jesus, for the time you have given us on this earth - please help us to use it to glorify you and love others.

While we're in reminiscing mode, I thought it would be nice to share a few pictures from our year - sort of a sneak peek at what it looked like, but even after paring back, I ended up with way too many for one post so I broke them up into categories that I'll roll out in these next couple days.

Without further ado here's a snapshot of  2011 - The Events: