My Father-in-law....

This past weekend my Father-in-law passed away... it has been an eye opener for me.. to watch my husband deal with his father's illness and to watch him take care of his dad in his last few days still brings tears to my eyes. There is SO much love in that family... I have never once felt like an in-law... this whole family has always made me feel like I was just a part of the family as everyone else and my father-in-law was also one that made me feel this way... He always was so happy to see us! He loved us so much and it showed in everyway... he loved his whole family. I was so blessed to be able to see him through out these past few weeks.. with being pregnant with twins and this far along I had no idea if I was going to be able to travel to Holland or not but each appt. I have.. I get clearance from my Dr. that I can go - under some conditions but just the fact that I was/am able to still go and be with my husband and his whole family... I am truely blessed.... there is no other place I would rather be.

I am so happy that despite the situation... my husband was able to hold his Dad's hand and be right by his side until his final breath - God sure was in that room with everyone that was there the night he passed.

It was amazing that in his final days... he was still able to give my son a high five.. he was still able to look everyone in their eyes and to speak a few words.. waving goodbye with his hands and request that he really wanted to see all his grandchildren one more time. There is NO doubt in my mind that God's arms were wrapped around my father-in-law and everyone else that came up there to visit him and be with him.

Seeing my husband go through this difficult time has been such a spiritual experience for me... it is so hard to explain but it just makes me love my husband even more... he is an amazing guy and has just the BIGGEST heart.... really.. his whole family has the biggest hearts... God has blessed me with so much by marrying Mike and joining this wonderful and amazing family.

So in closing this post.. I just ask for prayers for this week... as the family copes through the loss of a Dad... husband... uncle... brother... and Grandpa... it is hard saying final goodbyes but knowing how much he has given each and every family member through these past few weeks... all I can say is... God is Good!!

A bit overwhelmed...

I had another Dr. appointment today and happy to report that everything is looking good - our boys are growing.. they are measuring approx. 4 to 4 1/2 pounds each... which puts them at about 70th percentile for a single pregnancy. We are really excited that they are doing well. I started itching a little bit on my lower stomach and on my fingers so my Dr. is going to send in blood work to be done to rule out Cholestasis... this is what we think I may have had last year when our baby boy Troy died. The itching this time around is totally not where it was last time so hopefully it is just pregnancy related but if it is Cholestasis then there is treatment for that.

I have been feeling pretty good.. I am slowing down a lot more lately and started to get a bit swollen in my ankels/feet and fingers... all what I expect!!

Mike and I are a bit overwhelmed because our Dr. came in with the nurse and another Dr. that just joined the team - they all stood lined up against the wall and we discussed the birthing process... weighing out the pros and cons of a natural delivery with twins vs. a c-section with the twins... ultimately it is up to Mike and I. My Dr. will not let me go over 38 weeks so if I don't go into labor by then... I will have these babies by October 5. Now is the part of scheduling an induced labor or c-section if I don't go into labor by then... this is the hard part - it is up to Mike and I and we just don't know what to decide. I know I have time to think things over but I honestly don't think I will have an answer by my next appointment.. that is a hard decision. So we are giving this to God.. we are just going to pray that God will give us the answer that is best for the health of the babies and my health as well... honestly.. my prayer is that I go into labor on my own before 38 weeks (but not too soon!) and then we will take things from there.

So.. all-in-all... we are just SO incredibly blessed that we made it to this point... 31 weeks and counting and that the babies are doing good... God is so good and he has blessed us with SO much!!!

29 week appt..

We had yet another appointment yesterday and we got another glimpse of our boys with another ultrasound... they are doing well!! My next appointment will be in 2 weeks where they will measure them again to see how big they are getting. My blood sugars are doing okay since I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes... they are on the low side now so I was told that I am being a bit overly cautious... I also lost 2 pounds in one week so I need to start putting a bit more carbs back into my diet.. they don't want my sugars getting too low but at least they are not high anymore - I think it will just take a little bit of time to get things figured out with my diet.. what works and what doesn't work.

I am feeling good though - just tired but that is to be expected and I am not complaining at all!!

We are just so blessed to have made it to this point - every new day is a gift from God!!

Here is a 29 week photo of me. I put on the same thing I had on in the last picture just to see if it looks like my belly grew...