Happy Birthday Loryn and Logyn!

I will never forget the day I found out I was having twins. It will forever be imprinted on my mind and the many days that followed as we told people our news. But what comes after those days will be a treasure in my heart. I never knew such love existed until I had Maddy and then to realize that my love could be shared between two babies was hard to imagine.

But the fateful night came on March 27. I had begged Jason to take me out for dinner and we did so even though I was not technically off bedrest. As we sat in 44th Street Bistro enjoying our salads I was trying to ignore the contractions that were growing closer together. I was out for a night of freedom, not to give birth. But as I gripped the table and my knuckles turned white Jason finally figured it out. I let him eat his dinner (albeit very fast) and I boxed mine up. We headed out and called the doctor. "Come on in" they said. We arrived at the hospital at 8 pm to discover I was dilated to a 5. They told me there was no way I was going home since my contractions were less than 2 minutes apart. By 10:01 pm Loryn was born. And as I watched her get cleaned up and held her momentarily, Logyn was born at 10:19 pm. And there I had it, two babies who were being whisked away from me. And the saga continues...

What an amazing God we serve when I look back on those days. The pictures cannot even begin to show just how tiny and delicate they were. But they were strong too. 14 days later they came home to live with us and our live grew busier from then on.

And here they are now, 4 years old. Take a look back with me.

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Easter

As I'm sure many of you did, we celebrated the Easter holiday yesterday. Although I kind of lost sight of the real meaning of Easter (getting the frilly dresses and new clothes, egg hunts, easter baskets, etc.) I was reminded during church just how far off base I was. Our message was about looking for life in other places. I guess you could say I qualified for that category. So often people are looking for happiness in new vehicles or new homes instead of focusing on where our life comes from. It's not in wealth and material possessions; it's through Jesus Christ who made a HUGE sacrifice so that I can be who I am today. That's a great thing to celebrate don't you think?

Even though I got a little materialistic on this holiday I'd still like to share a few pictures of the kids in their Easter outfits.

Angry

I need an audience for a venting session and you guys are the lucky ones. I am so sick of people looking at me like I am a freakshow! So what if I have 4 children. Just because the average family stops at two kids does not mean that my family needs to be gawked at or receive comments of other people's sympathy. We are happy being a family of 6. Why do people feel the need to be so rude about it? For example, here are some of the more popular comments we receive:
* "Better you than me" in reference to me having 4 kids and a stranger having 2 or 3.
* "Are those all yours?" the common question in the grocery store when I actually have all 4 kids with me by myself.
* "Were you trying for 4 kids?" A little personal don't you think?
* "I'm glad I don't have kids" is said a lot when my kids are acting up in the store. My bagger at Family Fare actually said this one to me.
* "How would you like spoiled kids like that?" Again from someone at Family Fare in reference to my kids who were running all over while I was trying to check-out.

I will admit my kids are rambunctious, a little spoiled, and loud. But YOU trying taking care of 4 kids in the age range of 5 and 2 years old. Maybe we did do this to ourselves, but it's our life. Why do people feel the need to criticize it?

Mini Spring Break

I know I haven't been great about keeping up with the blog and I apologize. We have been busy although with what, I can't recall. It must be life in general.

Last weekend we took the kids to Grand Haven for a mini spring break. We are not regular spring breakers but we knew the kids needed some time outside the walls of our house. We drove to a hotel and stayed there for one night so the kids could swim and get rid of some excess energy they've been building all winter. It turned out to be a great night for them. We had a few close calls but luckily no hospital visits! Here are a few pictures of the festivities.

Maddy and Loryn

All the kids sitting out on a wave on the lake.

Loryn looking like she belongs anywhere else other than in our family.

Maddy showing me how she swims.