So glad for the 8 passenger Suburban

Today we went in for a routine ultrasound. There wasn't any real pressing reason. The docs like to do some of the checks for things like Downs Syndrome and such (which I really have no interest in knowing this early in the game), but I really wanted to nail down my due date and I'm happy to have the insurance pay for me to get pictures of my babies! (click on any of the pictures to enlarge them)




It was within the first second that the tech, Amber, placed the monitoring device on my belly that I saw it, and just as I did, I heard her say "oooh".


"Did I really see that?!" (me)

I started laughing ... hard! And look to my husband, who hasn't realized that the scan had started.

"I don't think he saw it"(Amber)

I could barely contain my laughter.

On April 1st... prankster's holiday, my husband thought it would be a kick to find an ultrasound picture of twins and post it on his facebook profile, and see if he could catch any one in his joke.

I remember warning him, "But honey, I have felt more symptoms of the pregnancy than any of the others.... what if it really is twins?!"

Maybe he had a fleeting moment of psychic ability....

Maybe it's God's way of showing us that he loves us, trusts us and wants to bless us as we learn to trust in Him in greater ways... and that He has a great sense of humor.
Yes, we are really having TWINS!

I am due November 2, but that is a 40 week date, and twins are often considered full term by 36 or 37 weeks. As of today - 13 w 2 d, they are both pretty close to the same size, and by all appearances, completely perfect!

So thus begins our amazing journey into a season in duplicity!

God also knew this when he providentially provided for us that beautiful 8 passenger vehicle.

The bus is now full!

Bouncing Birthday Parties

Zak's Sunday School classmate, Asher, invited us to his birthday party at Top Notch, a local gymnastics club /trampoline gym. Asher's parents, Brianna and Jeremy, own the gym, and also help to teach the older kids' Sunday School classes. Jeremy is a fantastic coach and teacher, the kind that the kids love and really enjoy, bur he keeps them in line and makes sure that they are respectful.

Hannah is asking that she get to have a party at the gym, which is under consideration. We are also considering their homeschool PE class for Hannah and Noah in the fall.

Here are some of the pictures from the super-duper fun partee.

Look UP!

Happy Easter

I know... I'm a little late wishing you a happy Easter... and I think I may have said it before when it was actually Easter... hmmm...

Well I know, everyone tells me, I have a valid excuse for ignoring my blog. But I do miss it.

Since I seem to now be past the icky-sicky days of the 1st trimester, and am hoping to regain some semblance of normal energy any day now, I do hope the have more frequent updates. If nothing else, we have had some very cool family times in the last few weeks I want to share, and of course, pictures!

So here is a glance at how we spent Easter day.

We were up super early for the 8 am church service. Had awesome worship and heard a great message about finding the Upside in uncertain times, and considered what it would have been like to be a follower of Christ that first Easter weekend.

Then we hit the road for Dallas (Oregon). The kids were greeted with Easter baskets:

Maggy's first mic

Hannah's got the gear

Zak and Noah got some really cool 3D robot puzzles

that kept Daddy busy for a solid hour.

We had a delicious dinner and wonderful fellowship.

Grandma set up a scavenger Easter egg hunt and games in the barn with prizes.

We returned home in time to transfer 4 sleepy kids from their car seats to their beds, and felt a great joy to be blessed with such an awesome family.

Noah goes to work

Noah wanted to share his day today. He told me what to write and I typed it in for him. As tempting as it was to make addendum and correct things, this is how he said it. He also took all the pictures himself!


Today was go to work with Dad day. My Dad works at the downtown place... what's it called? (Ensequence). Yeah, Ensequence. Ensequence fixes computers and make different programs. At Ensequence, Daddy helps to fix other people's computers and he has to do a lot of hard work.And on his breaks he gets to get candy and chocolate.

When I went to work with Daddy, the first thing, I got donuts and apple juice. Then I went to do some school work in Daddy's office, which is a different place than it used to be.

After I finished my school work I played with Ethan. Ethan is a boy that is 2 months older than me, but I'm taller than him. His Dad is Mr. Tate, who gives Daddy a ride to work every day. We played with his Nintendo DS.

For lunch, we went out for pizza with Mr. Tate and Ethan. The pizza was so hot I had to eat ice! We got ice cream for desert and then went back to work.

In the afternoon, we watched Bolt with the other kids who were visiting the office as well. I had a meeting there. We talked about what our parents do there.

After that, we left the office and came home.

Happy Easter

I have had many thoughts that I considered blogging this weekend in light of our Savior, Jesus, and the amazing sacrifice he made. Pastor Paul Fleming said this today in his Easter Message - Upside, and I really want to share it:

"Good people don't go to Heaven.

Forgiven people go to Heaven."

Thank you Jesus. He has risen, indeed!

Happy Easter

'Hey Ma! What's for dinner?'

A few weeks ago, Noah asked if he could help me make mac n cheese, twice in one week. He pretty much has the process down now, and that's from scratch, not a box. He was a great helper and it was fun to have him stepping in voluntarily.

Well, it must be catchy. Tonight, I'm dragging my feet to figure out what we'll be eating, considering a last-minute left overs night. My husband suggests mac n cheese, which is a great idea, except, no noodles. Well, egg noodles might work... but make it feel a little more like a tuna casserole. As soon as I enter the kitchen to begin, Hannah is anxiously waiting to make dinner, like Noah did.

She was a great help to grate cheese, stir the white sauce, measure the peas, feed her sister frozen peas, open the tuna, and top with powdered Parmesan. I'm so proud of my little helper. And what a joy, as a mother, to always have a child by your side, learning about life in the little things.

I knew it!

Just for the record, I didn't write this... for the original article click here - And isn't it interesting that it would take someone outside of the US to figure this out?

Cost of kids not so high afteral

Adele Horin
March 12, 2009

The maths ... If children were a "cost", parents would end up less wealthy than comparable couples without children. A study found this was not the case.

The cost of raising children is not nearly as high as parents have been led to believe, a study reveals. Far from a child costing $10,000 a year, as previous research indicated, the price is more like $1300.

Michael Dockery, an associate professor in the school of economics and finance at the Curtin University of Technology, says children may even enhance their parents' wealth.

"People now believe they'll be millions of dollars out of pocket if they have children," he said. "It's nonsense."

If children were a "cost", parents would end up less wealthy than comparable couples without children. But his study, based on 3168 couples, found this was not the case. When the net wealth of the parents and the child-free was compared - housing, shares, superannuation and savings - the parents were only marginally worse off, suggesting a child "cost" only $1300 a year.

When wealth accumulation between 2002-06 was considered, couples with children were a little better off.

Dr Dockery said couples with children were more likely to be home-owners and to have a bigger house.

Previous Australian studies have shown that a typical family will spend $537,000 on raising two children from birth to 21. Dr Dockery claims the cost is more like $55,000.

Dr Dockery disputes the logic of seeing children as a cost. The price people were prepared to pay for fertility treatments showed children were regarded as a "very large net benefit".

He also takes issue with studies that used the amount of money parents spend on children to determine their cost. "There seems little justification for considering expenditure on children to be a measure of their cost, any more than going to a restaurant can be considered a cost to the patrons." Restaurant-goers saw their night out as a benefit, not a burden.

As well, when couples chose to have children they understood they would have to switch their expenditure from dining out to nappies and child care.

"They value having the children more than the lifestyle," he said. "To argue they are worse off makes no sense."

Dr Dockery cautioned against using his research to calculate child support because the situation for sole parents was different. But he said the family payments system had helped make children "cost-neutral" and the emphasis on benefits for "working families" needed to be changed to help all people.