Peace that Passes My Understanding

Here I am at 21 hours away from becoming a mother.
Am I nervous? no.
Am I excited? sure!
Am I scared? not at all.
Am I "ready"? I guess so.

These are all questions that people have been asking me for the past few days. Everything is so surreal at this point, and I am not sure when the weight of everything will hit. I have been looking forward to tomorrow since I was probably 10 years old. Having a family has been one of the main goals for Zach and me, and here we are about to reach the first milestone- the birth of our first children. wow.

I am not sure how I am supposed to feel, but I don't feel like I thought I would. I am not running (waddling) around the house trying to prepare every last detail, I am not calling everyone that I know to share every detail of my emotions, I am not walking around with a glazed look on my face. I am just being me, and this is just another day. I will take this as another example of God demonstrating a peace that passes my understanding. That is how I feel today- peaceful.

Just for memories sake, I am going to list what I have been doing the past few days. I think it will be fun to look back and remember the final days before motherhood hit!

Friday- The Sheets family came into Abilene to celebrate Sarah's graduation from Nursing School/ACU. We had a cookout at their Abilene house, and had a great time sitting outside in coversation with friends and family.

Saturday- I couldn't sit through Sarah's graduation, but Zach and I met up with everyone afterwards in the ACU Mall area. Then we headed to Bueno to celebrate with the whole family and lots of friends. The Sheets had to leave in a hurry to make it to Terah's Law School gradution from Texas Tech. Zach and I stayed here and had a date night. He bought me flowers for mother's day, and we stuffed ourselves at Texas Roadhouse. Then we had a fun movie night at the house, and the evening finished with a much needed massage!

Sunday (Mother's Day)- church, lunch from Sonic!, nap, and small group party! We had a cookout at the Walters' house, and it was just another great evening of hanging out with close friends.

Monday- So far I have not done a whole lot today. I ran an errand across town to take care of some medical billing, and I am thinking about swimming this afternoon after our doctors appointments. Other than that, I will try to clean up the guest room a little, finish packing for the hospital, and get ready for lots of family to be here tonight!

So here I am at 37 weeks pregnant- one day away from delivery! Looking slightly worn-out, but feeling really good!


From the advice of another twin-mom, I just measured all around my belly, and it comes in at 46 inches! I am loving every bit of it too!

Names to cross off: Zachary (there will be no "Juniors" or JR's), Bradley, Daniel, Tristan, Jaxon, Lance, and Charlie

We will try to update this blog as much as possible in the coming hours/days. I am not sure if the hospital has internet in every room, but we will be sure to post a delivery update/name annoucement/pictures ASAP. Until then....wish me luck!

Who says they can't match every once in a while?!

I don't think I am going to match our boys all the time, but when they have stuff that is THIS cute...who could resist?!?!










These two guys are about to go through some MAJOR changes! Not only will Zach be a dad in 4 DAYS, but DUKE will be a dad in about a month!!! Any of you out there want a full-bred chocolate lab puppy???


Tummy Update: I've started having some practice contractions. Usually about 1 or 2 a day. Nothing major...but it's still exciting! So there is still a chance that something could happen before Tuesday!

The countown begins! 4 days left. AHH!
Names to cross off: Boone, Jeremy, Hayden, and TJ

Slight Change of Plans!

I have some very exciting news....
Our doctor moved delivery date to Tuesday, May 15th. That means it is ONE WEEK AWAY!!!

For some reason he needed to change it from Wednesday to Tuesday, and I am sooo excited about it! I originally wanted May 15th as the delivery date because I like the way it sounds. Weird...I know, but May 15th sounds stronger and I like it better than May 16th. Sooo....as long as I don't go into labor before then, we will have a C-Section on Tuesday morning, and our boys will be here!

Change of subject:
Our church hosted a night for moms, and I was invited to enjoy the festivities. It was so much fun! There were pedicures, massages, flip flops, yummy food, and great conversation. I received my "delivery pedicure", so at least my feet will be pretty when I am sprawled out on the surgery table. For some reason, I have been very particular about wanting nice feet for the delivery/hospital stay.

Back to pregnancy news:
My body has started the whole labor process! I am dilated to 1.5cm and I am 50% effaced. So there is a chance that I could go into labor before next week, but I don't think that will happen....we'll just have to wait and see...!

Names to cross off: Chandler, Derek, Sam, and Caden

I'll leave you today with a new belly shot. * 36 Weeks * I have grown since last week...and I thought that wouldn't be possible..

Big Boys.

I can't believe I only have 2 more weeks left of pregnancy. It has gone by so fast, and I have been able to enjoy it so much! I am so ready to meet _______ and ________, and I am starting to wonder what they will look like. They are fraternal, but that doesn't mean they can't look a lot like one another! I am hoping that they have very different features, but I'll just have to wait and see!

I went swimming over the weekend at our friend's house. It felt so good to be "weightless" and just float! Once I got out of the water though, it was a harsh reminder of my body's growth during the past few months! Speaking of growth, we went to the doctor this morning and got new stats on our boys...our BIG boys! They are both measuring about the same at 5 lbs. 11 oz. and about 18 inches long. That means that they will be around 6 lbs. at birth- yahoo!

I have not had any contractions yet (that I know of), so things are still on track for our C-section on May 16th! I started to make my hospital packing list, and I think I got a little out of hand. I guess it is better to be prepared, but it really shouldn't be that big of a deal since we live maybe a mile from the hospital! *gotta love Abilene*

This is my last week of working at Highland before the boys come. It will be so hard to not see the people I have to grown to love so much on a daily basis. I know I will be plenty busy, but I will still miss my friends at work.

Names on the X list: Lenny, Pete, Stone, Eddie, Jimmy, Eric, Robert
by the way...I told Zach to give me some boy names to put on this list and these are the names he gave. Then he told me that these are some of the greatest guitarists of all time.


Belly Shot! 35 Weeks and growing every day!

I Think I Hit "The Wall"

Energy-low
Sleep- deprived
Eating- hurts
Walking- very, very slow
My Body- expanding

Will this all be worth it? Of course!

I have been extrememly fortunate to have a wonderful pregnancy. Only in the past week have I felt like I have two little people inside of me. Only 3 more weeks (max) of this....easy breezy! My doctor did remind me this morning that I have a little over 10 lbs. of baby in me, plus two of all the stuff that surrounds a baby- so it's OK to feel large and slow. That made me feel appreciated and affirmed. Funny how small comments can make a big difference!

I am still working everyday. I am blessed to have a doctor who has been laid back through my pregnancy and has allowed me to continue to do what I feel able to do. My biggest fright was being on bedrest for a long time, and now I don't have to worry about that!

I will leave you with some names to cross off and some pictures to enjoy.

Cross these off: Mark, Carson, Micah & Grayson


Here I am at 34 Weeks Prego! Only 3 more to go!!!



This is what I see when I look down.



This is what I see when I am sitting in my recliner. heeeelllllllooooooo dooowwwnnn tthhhheeerrreeee....(that's me talking to my feet.)

Amazing Outpouring of Love

We had our Abilene Shower on Sunday. W-O-W! I was overwhelmed with all the women who came, and we are so blessed to be surrounded with such wonderful families. I don't think we will have to buy ANYTHING for our boys for the first year! I wish there were more words that meant deeper levels of "Thank You" because the general thank you just does NOT do justice. I feel much more prepared to welcome two boys into the world. Here are some pics of the shower:




Zach even surprised everyone and made an appearance at the shower! Dressed in his baby blue suit, of course! Kate & Summer did a great job of decorating for the shower and making it look adorable.



We loaded up all the stuff we received into 4 vehicles and unloaded everything into our house. Then on Monday night, Ann & Summer came over to help me organize everything. It took about 4 hours, but it feels so good to have everything out of gift bags and into organized baskets. Here are some pics of the piles!

Here are the blankets and sheets:


Toys & Stuffed Animals:


Diapers/Wipes/Bath/Medical:


Last but not least, the CLOTHES! (Organized from infant to toddler, left to right!)



If any of you need boys clothing...just let me know! I have a few extras. haha

Well, today I am officially 29 weeks pregnant!

My ribs are beginning to hurt, but it's nothing too bad. The hardest part right now is the lack of sleep I am getting. I think it is hormone related. I can get very comfortable in bed, and I don't have a lot of things going on in my mind...but it just takes me about an hour and a half to fall asleep. Then I wake up to every little sound in the house. Not to mention my bladder waking me up about 3 times a night. Oh well...it's all preparing me for what's to come! I can't WAIT!