Birthday Boys

One year seems like a million years ago and a day ago at the same time. We are abundantly blessed by everyone's prayer and by the Lord. God has brought us through so much. Some days have been very difficult and others great. Today we remember all that the Lord has brought us through and rejoice that we have TWO healthy baby boys. Being here today is an answered prayer. Thank you for your steadfastness and commitment to prayer for our little guys.

James is crawling. Aaron is sitting. James meets all 9 month milestones and some 12 month milestones, so he is right where he should be. Aaron is "talking" up a storm and progressing very well. Please pray for Aaron. He has been taken off breast milk and neosure and is on pediasure. He is also being weaned off of oxygen. This is all so exciting. Please pray that he continues to grow off of the oxygen. He was 12 lbs. 6 oz. this past Tuesday! James is 17 lbs. even.

Please keep my family in your prayers. My grandfather and my brother passed away this past January. My grandfather lived a long dedicated life of service. My brother's death was sudden and unexpected. My parents seem to be doing well, but there will be hard times ahead. Please pray for encouragement from the Lord and that God's love would comfort them.

Need to Update

I will update when there is time. For now, here are some pics. We hope that you had a Merry Christmas and that you will have a Happy New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at my parent's house. Cory's parents joined in on the celebration. We are very thankful to God for what He has brought us through this year. Recently, I have been reflecting on the past year. There have been some monumental moments that we will never forget. Some of them are: being told "There are two babies" by the ultrasonographer, finding out that we were having identical boys, hearing over the phone that we should terminate our pregnancy with Aaron, going to Houston and then being told we could not terminate the pregnancy even if we had wanted to, the pregnancy making it to 28 weeks, hearing James at delivery, hearing in the OR that Aaron weighed 710 grams and not under 500 grams (there was a huge gasp of relief by the 14 people attending the delivery), calling Cory to tell him to come to the hospital because Aaron probably wouldn't make it through the night, crying at Aaron's bedside and telling him that he could go-that he did not have to fight anymore, insisting on heroic care even if Aaron was profoundly neurologically disabled, seeing Aaron leave in a helicopter for Houston, seeing Cory's pride the first time he could hold one of his sons, their beautiful smiles, the boys touching my face and talking to me, the boys "talking" to each other, and so much more. By His Grace, God has answered countless prayers. Thank you for praying for us. There are people I have never met all over the world praying for us. God has answered our prayers. Our situation could easily have had a different outcome, and medically should have. We are forever changed by this past year. I would not change anything. We are deeply, deeply grateful to God for all of our children and for always carrying us. Thank you Christ for all you have done for us.

So Excited

Aaron is very excited to see the flash cards of everyday objects (as pictured). He is kicking and squealing. He likes the apple and other bright-colored pictures. This is pretty exciting to watch. Please see the other "glasses" pictures posted to the right. Have a good day!

October Update

We have had many developments and changes on our journey through life this month. Aaron had a vision evaluation in our home yesterday. He obviously tracked toys horizontally, vertically, and circularly. We are very encouraged. A month ago, he was not tracking. We are still waiting on his custom glasses. Hopefully they will come in soon, so check back for pictures. Aaron is enjoying sitting up in the bumbo seat and chewing on toys. He had a neurology appointment this morning. The Neurologist indicated again that no one can know Aaron's outcome, but that he looked great for all that he has gone through.

Hannah is adjusting more and more to having the boys in her life everyday. She has begun to try to interact with James. She was even trying to discipline him yesterday. Life with the twins is still an adjustment for her. We are daily tweaking how to balance taking care of the boys who have become infants, requiring more care and sleeping less, and giving Hannah the proper amount of attention.

James is doing well. He is large for one of our children and very flirty and lovable. I think he is close to 15 lbs. Aaron weighed in at 10 lbs 5oz (4 pounds since his August 10th discharge). Believe it or not the boys are almost 8 months old.

It is increasingly difficult to stay cloistered in the house, yet we are thankful the weather is finally becoming cool enough to be outside. Mart and Den (Cory's parents) found some trails to walk on nearby that offer a nice escape from the house, as well as good exercise. I spoke with our neonatologist today, she indicated that sometime in January or March we can take the boys "out". For those that don't see us this means we can not put our kids in a nursery or childcare facility of any kind nor can we have are children near children who do attend childcare. This eliminates socializing with pretty much everyone.

Thanks for dropping by. We are so thankful for God's continued work in us and our children. Thank you for you prayers, God is at work.

September Update

We have kept busy throughout the past month with primarily doctor appointments and adapting to life with three small children. We are thankful for all of the help our parents give us. Hannah is beginning to be sweet to the boys, but still misses being the center of attention. James is growing and is quite the charmer. Nicknames he has picked up are "little Hoover" (due to his desire to suck anything near his mouth and throw down a 7 oz. bottle in 5 mins), "the Magnificent" (Grandpa Middel affectionately named him), and lately "Beef cake". He really isn't THAT big in comparison to most babies, but he is our "Beefcake" baby. I think he is about 14 pounds. James is rolling over (both ways, albeit one way more than the other), smiling, and maybe even laughing. He is very friendly and loves being held. Aaron is growing. Last week I decided he is no longer a "one hander". Anyone around micro-preemies knows this means I can no longer reasonably hold him with only one hand. He is smiling and cooing. Aaron had picked up the nicknames "Wonderboy" and "tiny" (he is still pretty small, hopefully about 10 lbs).



Last week we found out that Aaron has Cortical Visual Impairment (www.blindbabies.org/factsheet_cvi.htm). It turns out his eyes "work", but his brain does not. Since he is so young his brain is changing rapidly. Cortical Visual Impairment can improve. We do think he sees some, but not well. As a result of the ROP, he is extremely nearsighted. I will be getting him glasses this week, so that we can optimize anything he may be seeing. Since eye sight is crucial to development, he will most likely be pretty delayed since his vision is impaired. Please pray that his vision is optimized and that his brain changes in his favor. At the end of the month he has a hearing test which will indicate if he is in fact "hearing" with his brain. I have no doubt he hears, but your brain processes your hearing as well. He may not be hearing as he should. I am a little anxious about this. Aaron is a very sweet little boy and nothing changes our love for him. Thank you for your prayers. All in all, we think he is doing well.

New Pictures