Birthday Boys!!

Today was a VERY special day! I still can't believe my baby boys are SIX!! It seems like it was just yesterday that we brought them home from the hosptial. I will NEVER forget the day we found out we were having twins. It was at our very first appointment, maybe around 6 weeks. I remember Tom telling the doctor that I had been really really sick this pregnancy. She said jokingly, "We'll maybe it's twins". We all laughed knowing she didn't really mean it. We'll she began the ultrasound and as soon as I looked up on the monitor, before the doctor said a word, I saw TWO. I thought I just needed to wait a minute for the picture to get into focus and those two sacks would become one but I soon realized that they weren't moving anywhere. I quickly said, THERE IS TWO!! She was in as much shock as I was. I'm not sure at what point Tom realized what I was talking about, but boy oh boy were we in SHOCK! I was thrilled but in shock. I never imagined I would recieve such a gift! We were in shock for quite some time, I think. =) That day we were headed to the airport to go visit my brother and his family and it was kind of nice that we had a week away to let this all sink in.

I absolutly LOVED being pregnant. I always have. I was super sick this time but after about 3 months I felt better. Yes, I was huge, but it was alot of fun to get to carry twins. I LOVED getting to feel them move around, never knowing who was where. They were quite the little movers. It was fun to get to see a little foot on one side of my tummy and another foot clear on the other side. I will always miss getting to feel them move around. What a GIFT!

I was getting emotional today remembering that whole EVENT of their birth. The night we went to the hosptial we were at home with a bunch of friends who were helping us with the addition on our house. We were turing the garage into a family room. We were SO close to being done and hoped to have it done before the twins arrival but it didn't work out quite that way. It was CLOSE though. =) I remember going up to Tom and telling him my back was hurting and that I just didn't feel very good. He immediatly went into 'we'd better go to the hosptial' mode. We left all our friends and they kept working while we headed to the hosptial. It was a long night but at 4:40 AM and 4:44 AM Ryan and then Tyler arrived. What a blessing! I LOVED getting to see them for the first time. I will never forget that either. Little Ryan was first. He was 5 pounds 5 oz. Such a little cutie! I remember the nurses giving him right to me to get to hold. So precious. Little Tyler had a rough delivery and unfortunatly I didn't get to hold him for I'm not even sure how long. Probably a couple days. He was 5 pounds 11 oz. Precious little guy.

We'll we ended up having a huge scare later that day. I had some seuizures. I actually didn't know how bad the situation was until Tom told me when the twins were about 6 months old. It was just too hard to talk about. But I guess I fell asleep after the seizure and didn't wake up unitl the following night. So obviously they had no idea what was going to happen or if I would make it or if I'd be ok if I did come out of it. I remember going into the seizure and I remember waking up and the doctors asking me a bunch of questions and I remember them taking me in for a CatScan to make sure there was no brain damage. But I had NO idea a full day had passed between it happening and me waking up. When I think back to all that I just get so emotional thinking about how THANKFUL I am that I lived and that I'm ok! I'm SO thankful I've got to watch these precious boys grow up these past 6 years. What a GIFT! I am SO thankful I get to be home with them and I have just always felt so fortunate to get to experience twins. It's such a blessing to get to watch them and watch their relationship and even more amazing how different they are. Tyler's right handed, Ryan's left handed. Tyler loves dinosaurs, Ryan loves cars. Ryan loves reading, Tyler loves art. It's so fun to see the different gifts God has given them and how well they compliment one another. I always loved to take pictures of them in their crib when they'd be sound alseep and they'd be facing in the exact same direction or making the exact same pose or one was laying across the other etc. It's such a unique experience to get to watch twins. I'm so thankful the Lord chose us to be their parents. They are such a joy! I look forward to this next year and watching them learn more and grow. They are such sweet little boys and I"m so thankful for them and so thankful they love Jesus!!