2009

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear I will help you.

Isaiah 41:10, 13

2009 began last year with us finding out that our prayers were answered and we were going to be blessed with a child. Shortly after that there was shock and awe when we discovered we were having twins. TWINS! And far too early, we got to meet our beautiful baby boys and our world was forever changed. 2009 has been a very challenging year for our family. What I have come to realize, though, is that God is the God of our challenges just as He is the God of our triumphs. When the babies were in the NICU I used to read this scripture to them before I left for the evening. These words were for me just as much as they were for the Peas. This was one of the scriptures that got me through the most difficult time of my life thus far. God came into that NICU and showed me that He could bless right then and there. Despite the scary sights, sounds, alarms, sickness, and even death, God was still God. I watched Him uphold our children with His righteous right hand and protect their tiny little bodies from the biggest and scariest hurdles that they faced because of their prematurity. I saw Him help us be strong and endure and believe. So despite its challenges, 2009 was a great year. I feel blessed that God chose me to be the mommy of these awesome miracles of His creation. I'm blessed to be the wife of a true man of God. And I am blessed to be able to share our family's testimony with friends, family, Internet friends, and even complete strangers through this blog. 2009 was a great year indeed.

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There's nothing fancy about these pictures of Ryan and Evan. There are no props, poses, and cute little outfits. I took these shots tonight before I got them dressed for bed and they were full of drool and their diapers were wet and they melted my heart just the same. These pictures are so them. My two little Peas. 2009 was a great year indeed.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

See, the Baby One really does smile! By the way, I do dress my babies in socks; I promise!

Oh how I love this boy!

Cuteness personified!


I have to comment on these pictures of Evan! In this one it looks like he's going to give me a karate chop for taking his picture!

"My mama is a 'stalkerazzi!' Please, no more pictures!" ROFL:)

The Parker fam had a fantabulous first Christmas! The Peas were blessed to receive mounds of adorable outfits, toys, books, money, and monogrammed piggy banks from both sets of grandparents, aunts, Cousin Betty, their Godmother, and our church family! Wow! They got soooo much stuff! These babies aren't going to have to wear the same outfit twice at the rate they're going. We had a lovely and lazy day together, and to top it off the hubby surprised me with a Cricut Expression! I was running around the house like a kid when I opened that thing! Last year he bought me the "Baby Bug" and I never expected to get the Big Bug this year!

I love to scrapbook, stamp, make cards, and other crafts and this machine is the mother of all die-cutter machines. I'll give you one, no two guesses who the new inspiration will be for my upcoming projects:)

We hope you all had a wonderfully blessed Christmas as well!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

and there are babies in our arms and snow on the ground...what else can anyone ask for for Christmas? The babies enjoyed yet another day of pampering as we prepared for our very first Christmas together. And of course they were smashing in their " My First Christmas" outfits!

The fellas hung out with me in the kitchen as I baked homemade chocolate chip cookies. The Peas got a kick out of me and the mixer! It was the silliest, cutest thing; as soon as I turned on the mixer they both laughed and kicked up a storm! Note to self: pull out the mixer the next time the boys are fussy:)

Evan conked out on us early, but Ryan must have known something special was in the air. Much to our opposition our boy decided that he wanted to usher in Christmas morning by staying awake until 12:30! I tried to wait him out, but I had no choice but to put their toys and gifts under the tree with him watching me. When I was a little girl my mother never put anything under the tree before Christmas. We'd wake up on Christmas morning, race down the stairs and there all the gifts and toys would be--unwrapped! I can still remember how exciting that was for my sister and me. I can't wait until the boys get old enough to really know what's going on! More importantly though, I can't wait to teach them the real meaning of Christmas--the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has done so much for our family. We have been kept and blessed beyond measure. Thank you, Jesus.

When Mama's Away...

Daddy knows exactly what to do! Last night marked a milestone for me...I finally left the boys to go out and have some me time. My sister told me she clutched her pearls and gasped when she called the house and found out I was actually gone!

Our Women's Ministry has a book club, Sister2Sister, and last night we had our final meeting of the year. We met at a local restaurant to share some food, faith, and fun! The food was delicious (Marlene & Karen are making me want some of the seafood lasagna right.now!) and the fellowship was lively. The selection of the month was Second Sunday by Michelle Andrea Bowen. I didn't finish reading the book (hey, I have twins!) but I still had a good time. Our next book is Joy by Victoria Christopher Murray. If you live in the Tri-state area and you enjoy Christian fiction and you like to eat and fellowship with women who love the Lord, check us out!

Anywhoo back to The Peas and Daddy...I didn't worry about The Peas one bit (though I did miss them something fierce) because I knew they were in good hands with their daddy. I came home to freshly bathed and sleeping baby Peas! The boys have given us a run for our money in terms of their sleeping the past few nights, but last night they were better. Not great, but better. Today the boys took a looooonnnnggggg nap and they did it at the same time! I got a chance to get some things done around the house and they woke up in pleasant moods, so you know what that means...photo shoot!


A lot of the moms on a mommy board that I visit rave about Baby Legs. Baby Legs are leg warmers for babies that come in handy for a variety of reasons. I ran in Marshall's one day and what did I find...Baby Legs for 3 bucks! Check Evan out in his Baby Legs. I have come to the conclusion that my child is like his daddy...he hates to take pictures! *sigh*

And the Ry-est Guy of them all...look at him! Our PE time is really paying off 'cause our boy was sitting up on his own! He can sit longer now and if he starts to wobble he is starting to steady himself with his hands. The PT is going to be so proud! She told me that she really thinks she can stop seeing the boys all together since they are doing so well, but I want them to continue. They only see the therapist once a month and I learn different activities to do with them, so we'll definitely keep it up.

It's the Most Wonderful Time...

We are enjoying our life with The Peas to the fullest. We love ourselves some Ryan & Evan! Here are some pictures from last week.

Brothers

Silent night? Yeah right. This picture was taken late last night. The operative word here is late. The Peas were showing no sign of winding down!

The Big Brother posing in his Bumbo!





I almost got Evan to smile for the camera!

Ev & Ry had just finished eating their peaches. Our big boys are such good eaters!

Classic Baby One! Bored with tummy time and picture taking.

I've taken a lot of pictures of Ryan, but this one is my favorite so far. I absolutely love this picture of him!

Firsts

The Peas experienced a few "firsts" recently:


Their first time sitting in the Bumbo seats! I love how the seats match their PJ's! I don't think there is a pair of pajamas in Carter's that these babies don't have thanks to Cousin Betty! These are my favorite so far. Who do you think cried to get out of the seat first?

They had their first visit from the UBC Carolers! This was so exciting! Our children's choir sings Christmas carols in the community every year and they honored us with a special visit to sing to Evan and Ryan. We brought the boys to the window and we all sang Christmas carols. It was such a blessing! I'm glad that the picture came out a little blurry because I wanted to post it on the blog, but I didn't want to have the kids' faces showing, especially without their parents' permission. Thank you Dan, Sharon, June, & Betty (and any other parents I missed) for bringing the kids by. Thank you kiddos for singing to us; you sounded great and looked so cute!

Dr. K said that we could introduce fruits and veggies to the Peas, so they had their first taste of fruit--peaches! I thought they would like them, but I tasted them first and they weren't all that tasty:( Evan, actually tolerated them, though. I decided to start with fruits because I am going to make their veggies myself. Me...make my own baby food??!! I've been researching and it sounds pretty easy. I figure this way I know and control exactly which ingredients the boys eat.

Ryan wasn't too sure what to think about his first taste of peaches! I finally got smart and bought vinyl bibs for when they eat solids! "Are these Georgia peaches, Daddy? Next time, try Georgia peaches! Thanks in advance." :)

And finally, the peas weren't feeling so hot after having their 6 months vaccinations. Plus, they got a flu shot. I hate to hear my babies cry in pain! I know it's for their own protection though. Evan had his first fever on Thursday. The poor guy was fussy and not feeling well. A few doses of Tylenol and our boy was back to his bright-eyed and sweet self. Ryan didn't have a reaction at all.


There is no picture of this, but the Peas had their first snow storm last night! I'm from Cleveland so I grew up with snow as a little girl. I remember all the fun I had playing in the snow and pretty soon the boys will be able to do the same.

Lots and Lots of Pictures!

This picture is completely out of order, but I had to add this one of Ev sucking his thumb. I wonder where he got that?! **giggle & blush**

Doing tummy time and he's not even fussing about it!

Still not fussing...

My grandma bought the boys these robes and slippers...slippers for babies; can you believe it? I realized that if they didn't wear them soon they would outgrow them. You know what that means...photo shoot!

Ryan was with me until I put the hood on!

The Baby One looks like a boxer!

"She's going to take my picture anyway, so let's just get it over with!"

Ryan is so proud that he can push himself up. I usually get a big grin out of him, but instead...

I got this! "Are you kidding me, Mommy?! It's time to go to sleep. Put the camera down already!"

Evan was in a good mood after a long nap.

Ryan is practicing learning to sit up. He can sit this way for a few seconds and then he gets tickled with himself and topples over! Cuteness!

The Baby One loves to say hallelujah!

Look at that face!

And this face too.





Have a happy Tuesday!