So Thankful For My Freedom. . .

Our Freedom wasn't free.

How true that statement is.

Today is Memorial Day, and as I reflect on the many things in this life I have taken advantage of, my freedom is definitely one of them.  As I've gotten older, days like this have taken on a whole new meaning.  Country - Flag - Freedom - Blood Shed - Lives Lost - Loved Ones Sacrificed - Time Spent Away from Family - Fighting - Protecting - Serving.

And why did men and women do this?  Yes, sometimes in the news we hear about  terrible stories of service men and women who don't take their jobs seriously, but do we stop and listen to the countless other stories of our troops who EVERY SINGLE DAY put their lives on the line to protect us?

Today at the Memorial Service at Palmyra's Rosewood Cemetery, there was the traditional "Twenty-One gun salute and playing of the Taps".  Every single time I hear the taps played (especially live and by our very special local taps player) I get choked up.  This simple song has such a deep meaning.  Such a simple tune, but such a powerful message.

Recently I found the "words" to the taps, and this song took on a whole new meaning for me:

Verse 1:

Day is done,
Gone the sun,
From the lakes,
From the hills,
From the sky,
All is well,
Safely rest,
God is nigh.

Verse 2:

Fading light,
Dims the sight,
And a star,
Gems the sky,
Gleaming bright,
From afar,
Drawing nigh,
Falls the night.

Verse 3:

Thanks and praise,
For our days,
Neath the sun,
Neath the stars,
Neath the sky,
As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh.

And here is today's moving tribute:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150822236020899&notif_t=like

I encourage you to click the link and watch/listen to the beautiful honor given to the men and women who gave their lives.  (and my dad is the second gunman from the left!)

AND. . . 

on a side note!  I had a doctors appointment this past Wednesday, but with so much going on I haven't had a chance to update anyone on the twins' progress!  : ) 

Everything looks great so far!  They are so big now my nurse can't get them together in the same picture except the top of their heads!

Baby B is laying face down, as if to keep talking to it's twin...

Baby A is face up - I'm sure they chatter away in there!

This past week at my appointment we saw for the first time their stomachs and bladders working.  It is truly amazing to watch their progress every two weeks!

Love and Peace to All!

Mother's Day - 2012

Mother's Day . . .

This holiday brings a bunch of different emotions for me.

I am thankful for everything my mom did for me. I am blessed to have Justen and Taylor here on this earth to 'mother' them. My heart hurts, but I grieve with HOPE for my daughter, Calleigh, that is in heaven. And my heart rejoices, but is cautious about the two little ones that are growing inside me. I ran across this blog post and it just so eloquently says some things that are in my heart. I hope you read the whole post, but I will copy the 'acknowledgement to all mothers' underneath the link.

http://messymiddle.com/2012/05/10/an-open-letter-to-pastors-a-non-mom-speaks-about-mothers-day/

"To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you
To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you
To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you
To those who experienced loss this year through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you
To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you.
Forgive us when we say foolish things.
We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.
To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you
To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you
To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you
To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you
To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience
To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst
To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you
And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you
This Mother’s Day, we walk with you.
Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst.
We remember you."

 Happy or Peaceful or Great or Just Getting Through the Day . . . however you spend your Mother's Day - I wish you the best!

 Love and Peace to All!!

From Poppy Seeds to Peaches . . .

Think about the size of a poppy seed for a minute.

 Now think about a mustard seed and then a sesame seed.

 When we found out our shots and procedures “worked” these babies were the size of poppy seeds. Of course at that time we didn’t know there were TWO! We just thought there was one tiny little poppy seed navigating it’s way through a dark world in hopes that one day it would become a. . . Well, we all know it was already a baby, so I guess it’s hope was to become a bigger baby (see, they really are going to take after their dad!). :)  Since then they’ve graduated from poppy to mustard to sesame seeds, eventually becoming grapes, limes and now they are peaches!

 WOW! That’s a huge difference from a poppy seed! And last week while I was in Lincoln I picked up one of those home Doppler thingy’s so I can listen to their heartbeats at home. Of course on the package it says “For late 2nd Trimester” and I’m in my late 1st trimester, but I thought it couldn’t really hurt. Besides I had heard from a few ladies in my “Grief Journey’s Rainbow Pregnancy Group” that they heard heartbeats around 10 weeks with a home Doppler, so I was hoping it would work. I’m pleased to say that I’ve heard them several times. Sometimes it takes a while to “find them”, but quite often I’ve heard them loud and strong. That was until last night before bed. Of course I’d had kind of a stressful day yesterday, but I hadn’t listened to them that day so I thought I’d take a quick listen before heading up to bed. Knowing I had a doctor’s appointment in the morning made me want to find them even more! As I laid on the futon in the office/spare room I started searching for the fast whoosh-whoosh-whoosh of their tiny little hearts. I placed the Doppler where I had been hearing them at – nothing. I moved it centimeter by centimeter and couldn’t find them. Corey told me I really needed to get to sleep so I should bring it upstairs and listen in bed. So I quickly got ready for bed and brought along my little machine and ear buds. As I lay there I thought I might have heard them once or twice, but not near as strong as I had heard them before, and as I was searching I drifted off to sleep. (I think that was Corey’s plan in the first place!) When I woke up I didn’t really have time to try and re-listen, so I got ready and left for my appointment.

 I admitted to my nurse about being a bit fearful and struggling with that. We both agreed that fear was a very common emotion in a pregnancy after a loss, especially after a devastating loss like we suffered when Calleigh Joy went to heaven instead of living with us. So we went in the room, I laid on the table and the cold gel got squirted on my tummy. Burrrrrrr, I hadn’t had an ultrasound like that since Calleigh. But I didn’t allow my mind to go there. I searched the screen for a fluttering heart, but what I saw first put all my worries at ease. Two very squirmy little babies. That would explain not finding their heartbeats last night! The nurse was having a hard time “capturing” it on the screen to hear them. They kept moving out of the frame! She did manage to get some pictures, probably not as clear as she would’ve liked but they were so fun to watch.

So once again I thank each and every one of you for your prayers! I thank you for caring, for loving us, for being there for us. . . Thank you! I'll go back in two weeks and although my doctor couldn't give me a 100% guarantee that everything would be OK (I would actually be concerned if he did!) he did say he was very confident that I would not suffer from a miscarriage! He said that at this point we've seen them so many times and every time they've looked good that he would be very surprised if something bad happened at this point! That was pretty much exactly what I needed to hear!

 So here they are! Our little peaches!

Love and Peace to All!!

From my beautiful friend Tesha!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY KINDY





Tesha is such an inspiration to me, her faithfulness and love shines through in every word she writes and every comment she gives.  Here is her amazing blog:
http://www.teshastreasures.com/


Love and Peace to All!!