Our Weekend

This weekend we enjoyed a bit of a "long" weekend. Because of all the extra hours he put in during Holy Week, Lucas was able to take off Friday - giving us 2 full days in a row of time with Daddy! We did our best to make the time memorable!

First: I always try to tell people that Ryan's hair is as curly as Allie's was when her hair was that short. But with her wild, curly locks and his untamed yet straight hair in front of them I am rarely believed. But here is evidence!!

Look at these curls!!

FRIDAY:

With a tight budget and ever-rising gas prices, we've been attempting to cut down on our gas consumption. One of the things we have changed is that we have cut down to 2 grocery trips a month. Since we don't have a lot in the immediate vicinity for special, fun outings, when we are already out for groceries I like to try to throw in something fun. Make the most of a rare trip. Last time we went to the Humane Society to see the animals. This time we went to the Cascade Falls Park. The plan was to feed the ducks, but when we arrived there were no ducks in sight :( There were, however, large signs that said "Do not feed the wildlife," so we would have been disappointed either way!
Before we left I packed a picnic lunch.

Then they played on the playground.

Yes, this is my little man way up high on the big slide. Yes, he climbed there all by himself. Yes, this made my heart both terrified and sad.

Saturday:

After our recent trip to see the cows, we were invited to the farm of some other members of our church to see their lambs! There was only one problem...the twins have apparently only ever seen WHITE sheep. These were dark brown and black with white spots. My children thought they were cows (and were surprisingly un-impressed)...They also had, in the same barn, ducklings, baby chicks, chickens, cats, and a dog. There were so many other great animals to distract them! In fact, for a while, Ryan was the only one who showed any interest!

They really enjoyed the ducklings, and after we left they were eager to tell us that the ducks were their favorite!

B was there too! They all enjoyed running around with the little ducklings chasing them!

Ultimately, my children were much more fascinated with the swing set. A park in your backyard! What luxury!

with 4 kids fighting over 2 swings, there were always a couple who had to be entertained. F spent a considerable amount of time amusing Allie by popping off the heads of dandelions.

After waiting with a shocking amount of patience, Ryan finally got a swing! I love the way he is looking at C here!

In the afternoon, they went outside with Daddy. We have been keeping their sleds in the garage, and they frequently beg for rides. This time Daddy gave in!

And that was our "long" weekend with Daddy!

How Great is This?

When we lived in MA, and I was working, I had a 45 minute, 1 way commute. To try to redeem that time, I would often use it as my prayer and praise time. I would pray for the people on my heart & then pop in a cd and sing my heart out. They day I found out about the twins - alone in my knowledge because Lucas still had about 5 1/2 hours before he arrived home from Haiti - I felt an overwhelming urge to praise, turned on my favorite cd, and How Great is Our God started playing. It was the first time I sang this song to the twins, and as I sang I prayed that someday they would experience first-hand the power of our God in such a way that their heart (like mine) would have no other response but to praise our great God. I have sang this song, and prayed this prayer to them pretty much every day since. The twins now call it the "mommy song," and start shouting "Mommy!!" every time they hear it.

I know I have mentioned this before. Told you how meaningful this song is to me. So why am I bringing it up again? Because yesterday Allie spent the afternoon doing this:

I have thought for a while that there is nothing cuter than toddlers singing. Toddlers praising Jesus? Instant heart melt. A toddler praising Jesus by singing your special song? That is a heart-stopping, tear-jerking, joy-filling, can't-stop-smiling moment. I'm pretty sure this is my favorite song I will ever hear my children sing. Ever.

And if the first video wasn't cute enough for you - check out this one which we call the outtakes :) Be sure to at least watch it once where you look at Ry-guy. Some of his facial expressions as he watches his sister are priceless!

And if you are wondering, yes, Ryan does sing this song as well. We sing it every night at bedtime and both twinners join right in. But he is more shy about singing for the camera than his sister, so I doubt I will ever get video of him singing our song.

Easter: Part 3 (Then & Now)

I've mentioned past Easter's. Technically, I blogged about last Easter (I'm so mean...I keep sending you to those horrible pictures of sick babies!). But their first Easter was during the early weeks of them being home. The "Lost" weeks when I didn't blog because I was immersed in baby land. So I thought I would include the first Easter here, as well as this year's.

To start, a few statistics: The twins were 5 weeks old for their first Easter...but it was 1 week before their due date, so technically they were -1 week old! Ryan had been home for a little over 2 weeks. Allie was just short of being home 2 full weeks. Their outfits (which are clearly too big) are size "newborn." Take a look in the baby section next time you go shopping to get an idea of how truly tiny they were!

Our first attempt at a "together" picture. They are both in 1 half of their side-by-side bassinet. It didn't go over very well...

In our family, this is considered THE Classic "together" picture from that first Easter...with my double chin in the background...
Nana & Great-Grandma (or Lil Grandma or Lil G - as we call her here) were visiting. Lil Grandma for the first time. She wanted to get a picture with the twins (featured here because I realized that I'm not sure I have any pictures on the blog with just Lil G & the twinners). Ry-guy didn't exactly cooperate...
Lucas was incredibly sick (you know the pastor is sick when he doesn't go to Easter service!), so Nana and I took the first family Easter picture with their baskets (we did not plan to have matching hair-do's, but it totally works!)

Our first family picture at church (in their Easter outfits even though it was about a month later - try to IMAGINE this was our Easter picture!).
Fast forward 2 years (and, I mean seriously, fast forward. Looking back I cannot figure out where the time has gone!), to today. Some statistics: Nana has been with the twins for every single Easter so far. The twins are now a little more than 5 times the weight they were for their first Easter. This is our FIRST Easter with everyone healthy (I wasn't ready to fully claim that until the day was over!)
Is it the Easter Bunny? No! It's the Easter BUDDY!!

Our church always has an Easter breakfast made and served by the men.

Due to allergies, we had to bring the twins' pancakes, but they didn't mind.

One of the most fun things about the morning was that they got to spend it with the triplets! Our 5 together (they are only a month younger than the twins) is truly a sight. Our 5 in their Easter finest running around church - one of the cutest things you will ever see!

After church they always have an Easter Egg Hunt. The twins had a blast running around to get eggs. I think the key is the wait. When they have to wait, we distract them too well. This time they just ran out the door and started finding eggs - and it was perfect!

Holding her daddy's hand. Awwww...

Getting some help.

Breaking into the eggs (without regard for the children swinging a mere 5 inches from her head!)

Our FIRST Easter Day family picture!!!!!

We really had a wonderful Easter weekend, and (I think) enjoyed each event so much more because of how different our past 2 Easters ended up being. And final, the lyrics (the last 3 verses) from one of our favorite songs to wrap up this post and remind us what Easter is all about:

In Chris alone, who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless babe.

This gift of love, and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones he came to save:

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied -

For every sin on Him was laid;

Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain.

Then bursting forth in glorious day,

Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,

For I am His and He is mine -

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,

THIS is the power of Christ in me.

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No power of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home,

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

Easter: Part 2

Yes, the insane documentation of their first "active" Easter continues. On Saturday we started with an Easter Egg hunt with the eggs that Nana brought and Gigi sent.

It took a minute to catch on, but then they were off yelling, "More! More!"

They had a hard time not opening each one as they found them...

Nana's eggs had money in them and they enjoyed putting all the coins in their piggy bank.

Then we got ready and all went to the nearby camp where the local fire department held a huge Easter Egg Hunt!

We started at the playground.

Then we moved to the egg field. Literally, a field filled with plastic, candy-filled eggs.

E was there and we tried to get a picture of the 3 together. This was one of the best. My personal favorite is Allie's "Zoolander" face!!

We did get a decent picture of the girls together though.

The twins, seeing a field full of eggs and having practiced that morning, were desperate to get out there and get eggs. But they had to wait about 10 minutes. We did our best to distract them, including letting them put handfuls of dirt in their Easter buckets. It proved to be TOO good of a distraction as they weren't interested in picking up any eggs when the hunt started. We got a grand total of 7 :)

And we ended at the playground.

Note: these pictures literally make me cry. They sat on "big kid" swings for one of the first times (the first time really swinging), and they look SO old :(

After naptime we had a birthday party and ANOTHER egg hunt (again, we distracted them until the start with the play equipment in their backyard, and when the hunt started Allie just wanted to drive the car, and Ryan just wanted to slide.). A busy, busy day to be sure!

Easter: Part 1

Ok, I'm going to go a little overboard as far as posts. But considering that out of the 3 Easter's for which the twins have been present, this is the first one I'm blogging, I feel that I have ground to make up :)

This afternoon (after the Good Friday service my twins interrupted with their screaming), our church did egg dying with the kids. I'm pretty sure, with 2 sets of twins and a set of triplets as well as 4 other families, that we at least came close to record numbers! Allie & Ryan have never dyed eggs before (the mess and allergies kept me away), so this was an exciting experience for them!
Dropping in the first egg!

They each had their own unique way of dying.

Ryan carefully dipped with his fingers...

Allie liked dropping hers in...repeatedly...and dying everything BUT the eggs with little splatters.

Peek-a-Boo!

See the Spots on Allie's face? They are still there.

And the promised picture of Lala (and her friend who is also pregnant). It only took me 3 posts to finally get one up!

Easter Egg Hunts and birthday parties tomorrow!