Twice the Blessing

5 years....feels like a lifetime......

2012-01-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

5 years ago I was booking an emergency flight to Cleveland, OH on my way to say goodbye to my dad. Since then, we have also said goodbye to Chris' grandmother, my aunt and unfortunately, just 5 days ago, my grandfather (more on that when my thoughts actually have time to process). Also, withing the past 5 years, God has granted us the privilege of raising 2 beautiful boys. I find myself looking at them and interacting with them and wondering how Dad would react to them at certain times. So many things they do already remind me of Dad.

Ever since Grandpa passed away on Tuesday, I have had a scene that keeps replaying in my mind. I have this vision of dad (the way he looked back in his 20's & 30's) standing at heaven's gate literally jumping up and down and "giddy" like a little boy waiting for Grandpa. With no apprehension of what others may say, no hard feelings about the past, no pain or sorrow; nothing but pure love, they run to each other and embrace while jumping up and down so happy to be together. Dad grabbing him by the hand and with child-like enthusiasm running him all over and showing him everything.......don't get me wrong, I am the first to admit I have absolutely no clue if that is how it goes or not, but just knowing that they are now reunited is so comforting and exciting.

We did a memorial slide show for Dad and because of electronic issues, I was never able to copy for others and actually didn't even have access to the photos until 1 month ago (thank you Chris for fixing). When I look over this short little shot of my dad's life, it reminds me of how much he liked to "grab life and go". He was never one to just sit and watch life just pass by.

Although my Dad only had a personal relationship with the Lord for the last few years of his life, he will be living an eternity with God and I know that I will get to be with him and all of my saved loved ones very shortly. There is ABSOLUTELY nothing more consoling when someone you love passes away than knowing this. I got to see God change my dad's heart, change his demeanor and change his life.

(please remember to pause music on right hand side bar)

5 years!!!

2011-12-17T15:56:00.000-05:00

We took the boys to Trader's Point Creamery when they were just 18 days old. We didn't really venture outside of the barn that day. I remember us sitting at one of the tables literally being swarmed by people trying to check out the boys. We realized today that this was their 5th time visiting for Christmas here.

Thinking that we would take a comparison photo, we went to the barn to take a picture in front of the tree just like we did 5 years ago.....as you can see, the tree isn't the only thing that has grown exponentially!!!

Ironically enough, Carson happens to be on the left in both pictures!!

Fun little tidbit

2011-12-11T21:55:00.001-05:00

Cooper was singing this evening as we were getting ready for bed: "away in a manger a pig and a hen....."

The FIRST First day of Preschool

2011-09-06T17:11:00.000-04:00

Our "premie" boys are headed off to school!! In usual Carson & Cooper style, 1 is excited and the other could care less. We did all the usual prep work: got backpacks, laid out clothes the night before, had a nice "quick" breakfast, and got all packed up ready to go. Below are the "standard" first day of school photos.....

Mrs. Barnes welcoming Cooper

The line picking up the kids (not as big as I pictured) note the minivans:(

No matter how much I look at those photos, here is what I still see:

Yes, no matter how tall Carson gets or how big Cooper's hands are, they will always be MY little boys.

Cooper showing off his talent

2011-09-05T13:21:00.001-04:00

Nothing else really needs to be said.

Boy's 1st VBS debut....

2011-09-05T13:20:00.001-04:00

And to think, Cooper had stage fright!!!

OUR 2011 Super Bowl Halftime Show

2011-09-05T13:01:00.005-04:00

Yes, I know it is a little old....better late than never. I think we had the better show:)

An interview with Cooper

2011-09-05T01:14:00.000-04:00

One proud boy....

2011-08-01T21:32:00.002-04:00

Let me start off by apologizing ahead of time that I don't have any pictures to show you of this event. The camera wasn't near and I was enjoying the moment too much to pause it and go get a camera.

Sunday afternoon Chris went upstairs to get the boys up from their nap. I heard "familiar" sounds: Chris going into Carson's nap room, the door opening to Cooper's room, shuffling around of step stools in the bathroom, the opening and closing of the diaper bin.......and then it changes a bit.

I didn't hear Cooper grunting and groaning (as he usually does when Chris gets him up), any little voices or daddy's voice.

Then I hear one boy coming down the stairs. Carson comes running around the corner with the biggest smile on his face, doing a little twirl with his arms out, showing me that he had his clothes on. He was so proud that he had done it all on his own. I asked him where Daddy was and he said he was sleeping with Cooper.

Carson had gotten out of bed, taken his pull-up off, disposed of his pull-up correctly, put on his underwear and shorts (which were laying in the bathroom) and his most proud moment was that he found one of his shirts in our room (luckily in a clean hamper) and put it on himself. They had just figured out how to take off and put on their own shirts last week. He even took the time to turn off his fan and music playing in the nap room!!!

He couldn't have been more pleased with himself, it was such a great moment!

......and yes, Chris had gone in and fallen asleep with Cooper.

Watching the clouds go by....

2011-07-11T19:58:00.002-04:00

Even though we had a heat index today of 112+ degrees, the boys and I were able to survived 2 hours playing in the backyard. They are loving that the sandbox is FINALLY open for them to play with and don't seem to notice the heat at all.

The highlight of the day was having Cooper lay beside me in the grass on our backs watching the clouds go by and figuring out what they look like. Cooper actually laid there for 10 minutes with me discussing shapes of clouds and telling stories behind it. For anyone that knows Cooper or has experienced him being around knows that 10 minutes is an extreme amount of time for him to actually sit still without anything occupying his hands or feet!

There was one cloud that turned out to be a T-rex dragon (according to Cooper) that was chasing a red bird and the bird was trying to get away. He could hear it "tweeting" as it was blowing across the sky. He was cheering for the bird to get away from the T-rex......unfortunately, the T-rex won:(.......now if only we could have had a personal photographer to catch that......

Big"ger" Boys

2011-07-10T23:16:00.002-04:00

Today the boys were arguing about whether or not they were "big" boys. Please don't ask which one was which, but one kept saying "we are big boys" and they other kept saying "no, we are growing boys". As usual, even once I tried to explain to them that they were growing into big boys and Chris continued to explain they would keep growing until they were his size, they found it more entertaining to continue the argument.

As sad as it is, they are becoming "big" boys. It led me to reflect on all the things lately that are proving that to be true:

1. We just finished reading our first "chapter" book 'The Secret Garden'. I didn't know how the boys would react to reading a chapter or two at a time and then waiting for the next day to hear more on a story, but they loved it. Carson seemed to take to it a little better than Cooper. Cooper would lose interest for a little bit in the middle of the chapter (due to the lack of pictures).

2. The boys spent all day Saturday "painting" their fort, the sidewalk, front door and driveway with water. They do so much better at staying focused on "projects".

3. I witnessed Carson have a complete conversation with Gaga Margaret on the phone this weekend. He clearly told her what they had done, what he was in the middle of doing and his plans for the rest of the weekend. It is amazing to think that he used to just slobber on the phone.

4. After Sunday School each week I always ask the boys what their lesson was about and who their teacher was (the teacher changes quite often). I usually get a limited amount of information from them and piece the info together. However, today when I asked Carson what he learned in Sunday School today he replied: "Mrs. Wilding was our teacher. We learned about Joshua walking around walls at Jericho and the walls fell down." (pretty clear to me)

5. They love helping me get meals ready at the island. They count out pieces of different food onto each plate, organize the food on the plate, set the table and carry all of the food to the table.

To people that don't have young kids, this may not seem like much. However, to a mom with 2 toddler boys, this is HUGE!!! These little things make a world of difference in our day to day lives. I am making an effort to try and enjoy every little change and to be prepared for more.

Being a Mommy....

2011-05-15T22:25:00.003-04:00

Someone asked me the week before Mother's Day what joys I found in being a mom. There are so many, but I thought it would be good to list some (to look back on during those "off" days).

* The 30 minutes before the boys wake from their nap. I get to sneak into one of their rooms and lay down and cuddle up with them for the last part of their nap.

* Cooper praying right along with me before meals in his "quiet voice".

* Carson FINALLY getting the pooping thing and seeing how big of a deal it is to him!!

* Carson wanting to sit with me a talk in the "cuddle chair".

* Cooper grabbing me around the neck at bedtime and having to kiss me 2x and then hug me.

* When the boys each take a hand vac and go crumb and bug hunting around the house.

* When we have a slow day and the boys join me in bed to watch cartoons in the morning.

* Watching Carson and Cooper "break it down" on our dance floor.

* Having supper on the deck with a nice breeze blowing.

* Sitting on the floor in our little nook reading piles and piles of books.

I know there will be many more joys experienced over the coming years, but these are joys that I will only be able to experience for a very short piece of time.

Sakka Cooper!!!

2011-04-12T23:20:00.003-04:00

So I was sitting with the boys in the rocking chair singing songs before they went to bed (something we do almost every night). As usual, I asked them what songs they wanted to sing and at first they ask me to sing the "regulars". Then Cooper asked me to sing the Cooper Song.... wasn't sure what that was, but we made up one. Of course, Carson requested the same. Then Cooper asked me to sing Sakka Cooper.....again, no clue. Carson jumped in and wanted the Sakka Carson and Cooper song. I asked them what "sakka" means. They both answered "it's time for bed Carson and Cooper". Then they commenced to laughing hillariously at themselves for the next several minutes. They were quite impressed with themselves for coming up with that..... Of course, I had to make up a Sakka Carson and Cooper song.

Buckets and Buckets

2011-02-11T19:41:00.003-05:00

Just a quick post of something that was too cute to not put it in their memory blog.

Carson was sitting with his big (as big as him) lion and elephant. He was hugging on them and talking to them. It wasn't until I stopped to really listen that I could understand what he was saying.

"I love you 2 buckets and buckets. I will always love you and will always be here. I love you buckets and buckets. You 2 need to watch out for each other...." (and on and on and on)

By the way, buckets and buckets is what we say instead of bunches and bunches. Cooper used to always repeat me when I said "I love you bunches and bunches" except for he would change it to "bunckets and buckets".

Needless to say, it was quite cute.

Thank You!

2011-01-10T15:40:00.004-05:00

So, in June of 2010 Chris and I received some test results that said I had the beginning stages of cervical cancer.....yes, the dreaded "c" word. It took us by surprise and made us stop and evaluate some parts of our lives. Personally, it brought me to my knees and rely on the only one that could make this "result" go away.

The doctor said that we had a choice to make and after much prayer Chris and I decided to do the wait and see approach. The doctor gave me a deadline of 6 months and then we would retest and establish a treatment. She said with my age (no, I'm not that old) there wasn't much hope of my immune system killing off the cancer cells on it's own.

We chose not to share this with many people because we knew it was in God's hands and didn't want others to worry.

I am fortunate to report and share that God still does intervene and do miracles (in case anyone wasn't sure). The doctor called me this morning with the results of testing that was done last week and she said there is no sign of any cancer cells and everything looks completely normal!!

So, THANK YOU God for being with Chris and me on this journey, reminding me that I CAN lean on you and trust that you will always be there for me, and answering our prayers.

Tender Hearted Carson

2011-01-05T13:16:00.004-05:00

I know that this is a long time coming since I did one of these on Cooper a long while ago, so here goes.

Carson:
- is a cuddler
- likes electronics (a lot!)
- always eats the fruit on the plate first
- will do almost anything to get a chance to watch a "video"
- is very into clocks and time keeping, he always asks me what time it is
- loves to dance and sing
- is a fan of any upbeat music
- sometimes like to start conversations speaking so fast that no one has a clue what he is talking about, but they must be good conversations because he always ends up laughing really hard
- is a big fan of 101 Dalmations
- likes dogs
- is fond of the color yellow
- is always asking "Who's coming to visit today?" or "Where are we going to today?" (he likes to stay social)
- makes sure that I always give him a kiss and hug goodbye before we leave each other for any reason

I'm sure there are many more ways to describe Carson, these are what comes to mind right now.

God has given him such a tender heart and it will hopefully stay that way.

Yet another one....

2010-11-24T15:18:00.004-05:00

I told a couple people about our last milestone passing events and they all said I should blog about it, so here is another story for the books.

The boys were told that after their 3rd birthday party, they had to mail their bubbies (pacifiers) to the new babies to use. We built it up for a couple of weeks so that they were prepared and excited for it to come. We even asked them what they wanted from the babies as a thank you gift and they both agreed on puzzles.

Anyways, the night came to ship the bubbies off. We traced their hands on the box and addressed it to the new babies and then sealed it up. The boys walked the box to the mailbox and said goodbye to it.

That night we did the same bedtime rituals and laid the boys down. Cooper was just fine, but about 2 minutes after we closed the door and said goodnight Carson started crying. I was standing outside their door listening. Their conversation went as follows:

Carson: "Cooper, Cooper will you go get the bubbies? The new babies don't have them yet?" (all while crying for his bubby)
Cooper: "Carson, it's okay, you be okay. I love you Carson, you gonna be okay."
Carson: "please go get it Cooper, I miss it, I change my mind, I don't want the new babies to have it"

It went on like this for a couple of minutes and so I went in to comfort him. I gave him my bear that my dad had given me when I was younger (this had been set aside as a backup to help him through this). I told him that the new babies were excited to have bubbies to use and he was very nice to do this for them. After kisses, tucking in again and goodnights, I left the room (and, of course, continued to listen at the door).

Cooper: "Carson, you happy now, you okay now?"
Carson: "Yes, Cooper, I'm happy now"
Cooper: "I love mommy."

Yes, my heart melted. It was even greater hearing them lean on each other and help each other.

The next morning they got to go to the mailbox and get their gifts out. They were so excited and happy to get their wooden puzzles. They have spent many hours since then at the table doing those puzzles and have completely forgotten about their bubbies.

Tracing Cooper's hand on the box.

Carson getting a little more time with his bubby before sending it off.

BYE-BYE BUBBIES!!!!

3 year old boys!!!

2010-11-20T23:12:00.006-05:00

Last night, I officially put my 2 year olds to bed for the last time. Tonight, I got to hold my 2-3 year olds in our comfy chair that we sit in each night before bed, read their favorite books to them (Richard Scarry) and sing their favorite songs with them (Jesus Loves Me, Pop Goes the Weasel, Deep and Wide, Zaccheus and Mommy Loves You). The last one was extra special. It is just a simple song that goes with the tune "Ferres Jacques", or however you spell it, that I sang to the boys for the first time exactly 3 years ago in the hospital.

It is amazing how much things have changed in the last 3 years. Some of the recent changes we have experienced:
1. We have finally got to start movie night once a week. This is something Chris and I have been looking forward to for quite some time. The boys think it is the neatest thing!
2. We said goodbye to pacifiers completely. Note the picture at the very bottom of the boys mailing off their "bubbies" to the new babies. They did tremendously well with this transition, as usual. (I will actually post an individual blog on this later because it is very touching.)
3. We are even closer to being potty trained. (again, an individual blog is to follow regarding this....not so touching).
4. The boys have developed their own opinions on quite a few things and are ready to share them with anyone and everyone.

God has blessed Chris and me with Carson and Cooper and we are so thankful for being given this opportunity to raise 2 very special and unique boys.

Please enjoy some pictures below of their birthday party.

This was a birthday of games (mommy's favorite so far)!! It seems like at age 3, kids are set free to play all sorts of games.....and we are quite prepared. It was be a blast teaching the boys to play all of the games they received on their birthday!

Cooper (yes he is getting quite big!!)
Carson (always looking for the camera)
Amazingly enough, the table with all of the kids eating was very calm and quiet. They were all very well behaved!

Daddy helping Carson open his card.
Our youngest guest, Claire.
Luke watching the boys open their gifts with his mom. He was very good at being patient while the boys opened all of their gifts.
Hopey enjoying the balloons they all got on their chairs.

The cake pops were a huge hit! Some of the kids weren't sure whether to lick them or bite them.
Cooper (as shocking as it sounds) dove right into his putting the construction to the test. It ended up being a ball for mom to hold while he took bites off of it.
Ella, finally deciding to bite it instead of licking it and getting nowhere.
The boys saying bye-bye to their "bubbies" (pacifiers) before we walked them out to the mail.

Final Christmas 2010

2010-11-15T19:14:00.001-05:00

Modern Cranberry Noir Christmas

Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Big Boy Beds

2010-11-11T23:26:00.005-05:00

Again, a little late, but the boys did the big transition of leaving their cribs the beginning of August this year. We have had so many changes (leaving baby stages and going to boy stages) that it has been entirely too hard to keep up.

As usual, the boys made this transition with flying colors. I am pretty sure it was harder for me than it was for them.

I was wanting to get one last shot of Carson sleeping in his bed, so he laid down and pretended he was sleeping.

Of course, the first thing Cooper noticed were the car rugs....they were a big hit!

These beds now swallow them whole!! This is Cooper, by the way.

And this is Carson. Their stuffed animals take up more space in their beds than they do.

And, last but not least, this was the one hurdle we had to "nip in the butt". There was a week where I kept finding Cooper asleep in the chair during naptime. By the way, the blanket on the chair is the bedding Chris had when he was a little boy.

Fall Festival

2010-11-11T22:16:00.006-05:00

We truly got to see an "ordinary" event differently this year thanks to the boys. Everything was so exciting and new to them. They soak up every moment they experience!!

I will apologize ahead of time about the music going on longer than the photos, I couldn't figure it out and my tech support (MJ) was most likely asleep when I was working on this.

Don't forget to pause the music on the right hand side of the blog.
Enjoy!

Alaska

2010-11-11T16:03:00.005-05:00

In case you didn't know, Chris and I went on a cruise to Alaska for a week in May, 2010 (yes, I know that was 6 months ago). My mom and sister watched the boys for us so we could get away.

It is really hard to describe if you haven't been there before. It was serene and peaceful. The scenery was awe-inspiring! You could just sit there and look at the views forever. We saw bears, tons of eagles, mountains, huge waterfalls, gigantic trees, glaciers that are so white, they look blue, crystal clear water that reflected the mountains and glaciers on them, seals, killer whales.....you get the point.

I don't have many pictures to share because we have had some technological complications with our home computer that houses most photos, but here are a few I somehow managed to have on my laptop.

V-V-V-VOTE!!!!

2010-11-11T15:09:00.002-05:00

Before going on, be prepared for a blog whirlwind. I am going to try my best to catch up on the last 6 months of life (or at least begin to do so).

I took the boys with me to vote last week (11/2/10). As we were all getting into the car I was explaining to them that I was going to take them with me to vote. I tried my best to explain what that meant. I think all they heard was that they were getting a big thing of raisins to snack on while I waited in line.

The voting part went quite well, except for the fact that Cooper kept crossing the "white line" that we weren't supposed to cross for people to vote and he was making the guy running that area quite nervous.

As we were walking out of the church where it was at the boys kept asking: "when are we going to go on the boat Mommy?.....is Gaga going to go on boat with us?...."

There were many chuckles coming from people as we walked out of the church:)

The Scherzinger Weekend

2010-08-24T16:48:00.005-04:00

Now onto more 1st's.

The boys got to go tubing for the first time at Lake Holiday. Uncle Scott and Aunt Karleen came up for a baptism service and we got to enjoy some great weather. I will post some video we got.....eventually.

The boys also got to experience the sense of the boat "going down" this weekend. More on that later or maybe Aunt Karleen can fill us in:)

Their favorite mode of transportation

I have 3 very dominant personalities here, all 3 boys really wanted to drive the boat,
luckily Daddy won this time.
Carson loading up on the tube.

He loved it. He kept wanting to go faster and loved it when Chris make the tube "bounce".

Cooper was a little more hesitant. I had to bribe him that he would get to drive
the boat if he got on the tube. He didn't want to go too fast and just liked a nice calm ride.

Go Beech!!! Part 2

2010-08-24T16:19:00.005-04:00

I had to do another post to get more pictures added. Enjoy!

For some reason the street lights were quite an enjoyment for the boys

Let the sugar feast begin!!!!

The people at the store gave the boys spoons that were dipped in chocolate and frozen.
The boys were quite appreciative!

No, he didn't eat all of that by himself!

Carson made sure he got his fair share.

The sugar was taking over!!!!

By the way, yes we did roast the marshmallows inside. We were over the mosquitoes.

The 1 family photo we were able to take.

Gaga Linda and Cooper being attacked by a wave

Go BEECH!!!!! part 1

2010-08-24T15:39:00.007-04:00

Yes, I know it has been forever......having said that:

The Poore family took a family vacation (or in our case "relocation") to South Haven, Michigan 2 weeks ago. Gaga Linda treated the family to a week away at the Dunes. Dad and the boys had a great time climbing the Dunes, digging in the sand and splashing in the water.

Some 1st's for the boys that come to mind:
1. First time the boys were covered in mosquito bites. Carson got into the habit of running around and swinging his arms saying "no bite 'squitos".
2. The boys got to dig in the sand and make big holes (rather it was the boys watching Daddy and Uncle Cory dig the big holes and the boys jumping in the holes).
3. The boys roasted their 1st marshmallows over a fire and made smores. Of course, this was a big hit and they would have loved to repeat that one.
4. They got to eat their 1st Hungry Howie's pizza (more important to Daddy and Mommy, but good to note).
5. They helped to eat a piece of chocolate cake that was bigger than their heads!

Finger lickin' good!!!

Cooper sportin' his new floatie and posing for the camera

Carson eating his cheesy pizza

The "boys" digging their hole

Cooper persuading Gaga Linda to lay down in the hole they dug

Trying to improve on the hold that Daddy built

Aunt Jenny's Graduation

2010-06-14T18:43:00.002-04:00

Aunt Jenny was kind enough to share some video she captured while we were hanging out in the hotel rooms on the morning of her graduation.

Enjoy!

Cooper Bouncing at Jenny's Graduation from karaphone on Vimeo.

A Tragic Loss

2010-05-05T22:40:00.004-04:00

So, I am going to do something a little different.....This blog was originally created to help track Carson and Cooper's lives AND to help share those memories with friends and family. Over the last couple of weeks I have been wanting to add another "use" for the boy's blog. This will also be a place where I would like to share lessons learned (both mine and others that would like to share) throughout the boy's lives that may help them through life.

With that said:

Monday we lost my dad's sister (Aunt Sharon). Ordinarily this would be a horrible loss to deal with, however circumstances make it not just horrible, but a tragic loss. This is the first loss I have had to deal with in my adulthood of this nature. I have been blessed to not deal with much death in my lifetime and now, I also see how blessed I have been to have experienced the deaths that I have. You see, when my grandma died and even when my dad died it was a sad time, but it was a glorious time. I knew that I would definitely see them again in heaven. People could look me in the eye and comfort me by saying that they were in a better place and no longer suffering and I believed them because I knew it was true.....

Now, I have this new experience. It is unclear if my Aunt Sharon was saved or not, she may not be in heaven, she may not be better off now. She could have had a moment (like the thief on the cross), but we do not know. I sat here thinking tonight that I am glad the boys are not old enough to understand what is going on. I am not prepared to explain what is happening. I used to think I was, but I realized I am only prepared to explain death when it comes to loved ones that have been saved. I can sit there and say what a great person Aunt Sharon was and how much she gave of herself to help out people in our family, but that doesn't mean anything when she had no relationship with God and hadn't accepted him into her heart. Not knowing where my aunt's heart was at her untimely death is so UNcomforting. It is difficult to find words to comfort myself, let alone a child.

So boys, I would love to say that you will never have to deal with this because all of your loved ones will be saved and will end up in heaven, that you will be comforted with the knowledge that you WILL see them again in heaven and they are better off being there.....but only God knows if this will be true. I will do my best over the coming years to learn how to help you deal with this situation if and when it may occur again. Luckily, you have many knowledgeable and loving people of God around you and if Mommy or Daddy don't have the answers, we can guide you to the right people.

I can tell you this though, if something were to ever happen to Mommy or Daddy, you can be comforted by the fact that we WILL see you again in heaven. We are both definitely "works in progress" and both have our struggles, but we have both accepted God into our lives and our hearts and accept his guidance in raising the 2 of you.

"Hey, where's the fruit?"

2010-04-17T08:13:00.000-04:00

What are we gonna do when the boys turn 3, 4, 5... At 2 1/2 years old the boys have already revealed their penchant for climbing things. While Kara and I posed them in this "Service Berry" tree, they've each managed to get themselves off the ground and stand in the fork of an oak and several birch trees around the house. During a Sunday evening visit to the park with the Johnson and Witzig families, each of these guys demonstrated their ability to hang from the monkey bars! As much as this dad likes to expand the boys boundaries, I'm glad the recently installed swingset has no such apparatus. Back to the "Service Berry" tree's, this is one of 7 that was planted by the previous owner of our house. Thanks to the early and mild spring temperatures, these have burst into bloom letting us know to expect an abundant harvest of fruit which is akin to a mulberry, with the taste and texture of a miniature apple. What we don't eat right off the tree have been great additions to any pancake or muffin recipe. Only recently have we used up the remainder of last years frozen surplus. Wishing you all a blessed spring season.

Carson padded up for a spin

2010-04-14T21:00:00.001-04:00

Cooper Cruisin the Neighborhood

2010-04-13T21:00:00.000-04:00

A First for Carson

2010-04-11T22:21:00.005-04:00

Well....we thought that some way Carson would be the one to make it through "toddlerhood" without scars on his face (like his brother)..........we were wrong:(

The boys had their first Sunday school class today. It went well until they came and got me in the sanctuary to say Carson had fallen down. It ended up he fell into a corner of a bookshelf and we got to have the experience of taking another boy into the emergency room to get stitches.

Luckily the doctor 'settled' with the glue stitches (strongly requested by the mom) and Carson left with a bandaid on his head and a bag of goodies (courtesy of Traders Point Christian Church down the road).

As expected, Carson was a real trooper. He walked right into the examination room, laid on the bed and said "doctor fix it". He got to explore the examination room, meet all of the nurses that were hanging out and have some good quality time with mommy and daddy on his own.

We are now hoping to not get contacted by CPS (child protection services)....seeing as though when the doctor said we would need to make sure to put sunblock on the scar everytime he goes outside for 6 months, I said "that won't be a big deal since we are having to do the same for his brother's scar". She kind of got a weird look on her face after that. I already have a record and 2 reports on file with Cooper.

Anyway, below are his 2 pictures to document:

Easter 2010

2010-04-08T23:42:00.002-04:00

After over 2 years of trying to catch these boys on camera, we have finally given in and just taken what we can get.....you'll see what I mean below. They are so full of energy and ready to explore, there is no sitting them down to take a shot.

We had a great Easter, the weather was great and Gaga Linda did a fun Easter Egg Hunt in her back yard for the boys.

Thank you Aunt Karleen for the great Easter outfits for the boys to wear to church. We did our best at trying to get pictures of them in their outfits.

4 Generations

2010-04-07T14:46:00.009-04:00

We had the privilege of making it up to see "Great Grandpa" a couple of weeks ago. It was great to see how the boys interacted with Grandpa.

Favorites Friday...

2010-03-05T17:56:00.001-05:00

I have run into many blogs that do variations of Favorites Friday, I thought I would give it a shot and see if I can keep up on it. I will try to post some favorites that went on throughout the week. This will be especially useful with the great weather coming up. I'm sure we will have all sorts of things going on this summer with our active boys.

Cooper went around the house for a good 3 days straight saying: "Cartson....Pooper...."
Carson has found a new love for freestyle dancing, it is quite entertaining.

And there is more below:

Who wouldn't love this? The boys get very excited when they get

to unload the dryer for me......trust me, I am doing

everything I can to keep encouraging this:)

My boys have a new fondness for wrapping blankets around them like

towels when you get out of the shower. Chris says they look like little Jedi (from Star Wars).

Please excuse the look on Cooper's face, I'm not sure what that was.

And now, for the best of the best (remember to pause the music on the sidebar).

C&C dancing from karaphone on Vimeo.

Forgot the story....

2010-01-28T14:36:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry, I forgot to explain what happened at the kid's club (or at least what we were told).

They said Cooper was climbing on the water bottle thing (it is about 3 feet tall and kids climb up and sit on it). The girl said he fell off of it and landed on the window sill behind him. Our main question is how did he hit the window with the front of his face if he was climbing on the toy (facing away from the window). Chris is dealing with the gym and finding out if there is a video camera in there. We have some issues that will be handled with the gym...they didn't even have a first aid kit with an ice pack in it!!!

That is all we know, I really didn't bother getting complete details at the time, I was more interested in getting Cooper out of there. I'm sure Chris will get more detailed info.

I have always been a rollercoaster fan, BUT.....

2010-01-28T13:49:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it is 1:30pm and I am I AM READY TO GET OFF OF THIS ROLLERCOASTER RIDE!!!!!

1. The day started off with me opening the boy's door to find Cooper had taken all of his clothes off (pajamas and onsie) and had thrown everything out of the bed, sorry no picture to show......entering the rollercoaster and it started taking off...not too bad.

2. Carson decides to get his vacuum out and the duster that spins around and starts to clean the house......this is a major high, who wouldn't love this one.

3. After breakfast, the boys listen to music and decide to hold hands and start dancing around the 'freshly cleaned' kitchen floor........another definite high and delight to watch.

4. After playing for a while we leave to go to the gym and after 20 minutes of working out, I got paged to the Kids Club. This happens every once in a while because Cooper gets a dirty diaper and needs changed. I go into the room to see one of the girls holding Cooper and his face looking like the picture below.......I'm sure your with me when I say this was an EXTREME LOW!!!!

5. A quick call to the doctor on whether to go to her or the emergency room, visit to the Doc's office, cleaning and liquid stiches and we were on our way home......or so we thought. (By the way, Carson was an absolute perfect child this entire time. He sat in the chair at the doctor's office with his legs crossed Indian style and watch everything going on.)

6. I pull into the driveway, look in my rearview mirror and see that Cooper has proceeded to pull of the bandages the doctor put on his face (including the 2 sterilyte, butterfly, bandages he put on the deeper cut under his eye).

7. A quick call to the doctor, visit the Doc's office again, cleaning and redoing the dressing and on our way home again.

8 Chris waiting for us when we get home.....a much appreciated high after everything that has gone on.

NO MORE ROLLERCOASTERS TODAY!!!!!

BTW: Cooper was such a tough guy with all of this. He stopped crying when I went and got him in the Kids Club and didn't even fuss or fight when the doctor was cleaning his face and putting all of the stuff on it. We are once again reminded of how blessed we are with our boys and how God has them both covered with his hedge of protection. It could have all been much worse (less than an inch higher and it would have been his eye) and we are thankful for things playing out the way they did.

2 years......really???!!!???

2010-01-15T23:27:00.000-05:00

We just had the boy's 2 year check ups yesterday (I know we are running about 2 months behind). It is hard to believe that we have had them in our lives for 26 months. We already have so many good memories and new traditions that have come from them. It is hard to remember what life was without them.

Anyway, for the specific updates:

Cooper:
36 1/4" tall (in the 90%)
35 pounds (off the charts)
21" circumference head (by the way that means that he wears bicycle helmets that were meant for 5 year olds)

Carson:
36 1/4" tall (in the 90%)
34 pounds (off the charts)
20" circumference head (ditto on the helmet thing)

Although the boys look so different and have completely different body types, they are still "neck in neck" when it comes to the stats. Chris and I both thought there would be a big weight difference between the 2, but Gaga Linda was the one that was right with only 1 pound difference.

As usual, the doctor is so amazed at how they came into this world as premies being 6 weeks early and are where they are at now. All 3 of us agreed at the appointment that God was doing me a big favor by have Carson's water break 6 weeks early. We can only imagine how big they would have been if they had gone full term.

An extra bit of knowledge we picked up is that they usually double a child's height at 2 years and that is how tall they will be as an adult. So, it looks like they are getting their height from their dad (good thing).

The doctor said the visit would go in her record books for the best 2 year old check up she has ever done. There was nothing wrong with either boy, no fits or tears during the entire visit and Carson decided he would flirt with Dr. Edwards. Just a reminder at how blessed we are with our 2 boys.

Dizzy, Dizzy, Dizzy

2010-01-02T23:23:00.009-05:00

I thought we would share a new trick the boys have learned. I am beginning to think we should take it "on the road"......enjoy:)

By the way, don't worry, they weren't going quite as fast as it looks like. It looks crazy in this video.

Christmas in the Village

2009-12-05T23:05:00.010-05:00

We got to experience Christmas in the Village an entirely new way this year. Having 2-2 year olds with us made the usual seem surprising and new. We got to hang out with Grandma Linda, Aunt Brittany and Uncle Cory and do several new things with the boys. Pics and narration are below.

The boys were warm and bundled in their bunting bags. As Aunt Brittany got to experience, we get several comments on our stroller and the boys wherever we go. (hats courtesy of Uncle Ken and Aunt Neila from our Canada trip)

This was probably the boy's favorite part of the parade. They were so excited to see the train.

We missed the shot, but the boys got to give the United Way bear a high-five. Of course, at this age they are quite intrigued by the big animals.

Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus closing out the parade.

We didn't get an actual picture of the trolley we were on, but it ended up taking us on a tour of Zionsville.....unfortunately we thought it would just take us on Main Street. By the end Cooper was quite happy to exit the trolley.

This is Cooper at the beginning of the trolley ride with Gaga Linda. He was quite excited.....By the way, Carson seemed to have a worried and confused look on his face for most of the ride.
He knew something just didn't seem right being in a moving vehicle and not in a carseat.

It is hard to see, but there is a reindeer (elk) in the cage. The boys weren't sure what to think of him. He was HUGE!!!

And this was probably the best part of the entire day. The train was giving rides, so of course the boys wanted to participate.......

You'll notice Carson is sitting on his own. I thought the ride would be like the train I grew up watching in the mall that just went in circles. So, I put Carson in on his own (while not noticing Chris was getting in). I didn't know any better until the train took off and started going down the road.....at first I thought I would follow behind the train or walk beside Carson....that thought lasted for about 3 seconds (no way would I basically run by the train:)) So long story short, Carson got to be a big boy and ride on his own for the entire ride. You'll be happy to know he stayed completely still the entire time.

And yes, to top it all of, Cooper was that child that throws a huge fit when having to get off of the ride. He cried while I carried him away and continued to cry for about 2 blocks, until Gaga gave him a sucker to hold onto (thanks Gaga).

All in all it was a great day.

Carson flying

2009-11-03T21:58:00.003-05:00

This is a video of Chris and Carson at the beach at Lake Michigan. Carson loves it when Chris tosses him in the air! (sorry I don't know how to rotate the video clip.) As you can tell from the sound, it was quite windy but it really was gorgeous fall weather the whole time we were there.

The Frog and Chicken

2009-10-30T21:29:00.004-04:00

Just a quick little video of Cooper and Carson wearing their costumes. Cooper thought Carson was dressed up just for his pure enjoyment. He wanted to pull him around by the beak. In case you can't hear, Carson's costume is playing the Chicken Dance during the video. Don't forget to pause the music in the right hand side of screen.

Hi Aunt Jenny!!

2009-10-18T22:25:00.002-04:00

As many of you know, Chris' youngest sister, Jenny, is studying abroad this semester. Since the boys have been unable to Skype with her, Chris took this video for her to see. Feel free to enjoy it yourself as well.

The crazy hour....

2009-08-28T18:43:00.004-04:00

I thought I would take a video to have evidence of our crazy times that are experienced the hour before dinner. The boys seem to become all energized and ready to run a marathon from 5-6pm. This is just a small recording to share with everyone (and the boys when they are older and look through the posts).

Let the puddle jumping begin!!

2009-08-21T21:36:00.003-04:00

We had a downpour on our way home from the grocery store tonight and thought we would have some fun. The boys (all 3 of them) got to play in the rain.

(again, don't forget to pause the music)

It must be innate...

2009-08-21T21:26:00.003-04:00

It must just be an innate thing for brothers to pester each other. Carson found the following hillarious.....Cooper, on the other hand, did not.

By the way, this is their new toy they were just getting used to.

(Don't forget to pause the music on the right side)

In case you weren't sure....

2009-08-10T13:08:00.006-04:00

Here is some proof, just in case you weren't sure if the boys were cute enough:)

We finally got more pictures taken of them. We meant to do their 18 month, but before we knew it 2 months had flown by, so there are their 20 month pictures. It was a little more challenging this time because they are quite active and love exploring, so all of the items in the studio were quite distracting for them. However, with these faces, it wasn't hard to get some good shots.

Summertime

2009-07-20T14:35:00.004-04:00

The boys have been loving playing outside in the backyard this summer. No matter the time of day however, they seem to end up playing in their pool. Chris shot this video and I thought some on you may enjoy watching, nothing special. (Don't forget to pause the music in the side bar.)

Yes I am biased!!!

2009-07-01T22:46:00.003-04:00

I thought I would share a cute moment the boys had today. Carson ran out of his room and ran right into Cooper. Of course this caused Cooper to fall down and he was devastated over it for some reason. Carson walked right up to Cooper and gave him this:

Isn't that the cutest thing you have ever seen? (hence the title)

Now don't get all cheesy, below is more the norm with them:

Cooper, Cooper, Cooper

2009-06-23T22:58:00.006-04:00

I know, before you even say it......"it's about time!!!!". I'll address that in another post.

This posting is all about Cooper. I thought it would be nice for the boys to hear different individual stories and updates about themselves. A lot has gone on in the last 2 months, too many first to remember off hand, but I will try to list as many as come to mind at the moment.

1. Cooper is turning out to be a tree hugger.....

2. Cooper is quite creative, he can always find ways to entertain himself when there is nothing going on (please refer to using corn on the cob as a phone). This was his first time having corn on the cob by the way.

3. Cooper has honed in on his climbing skills. He has gone to new heights and fast (falling) lows. I have found out that boys are natural climbers. Before long, he'll be looking for those trees to climb. Of course, I really don't have pictures of him climbing because I am usually running to grab him before he falls, one day I may get lucky to catch it on film.

4. Cooper knows "The b-i-b-l-e" song. He was repeating b-i-b-l-e and phrases close to it over and over again one day in his highchair and it finally hit me what he was singing. He was so happy when I started singing it.....what a smart kid. Yes, I am working on getting a recording of this, but for some reason I just can't get him to perform on command:)

5. He is also a great helper, he now knows to go grab the blanket on the back of the couch and lay it on the floor when I tell him it is snack time. (For those of you that have no clue about the blanket, we have a special snack blanket.) Also, for lunch one day he went and got both his and Carson's cup and put them on the highchairs for me.....I know to the normal eye this wouldn't be a big deal, but to actually have some help after 19 months of doing it all without them helping out, this is huge.

6. Cooper's new favorite place to sit is on my feet. Whenever I stand still or am sitting on the couch, he will come and squat down on my feet...unfortunately, I haven't been able to catch a picture of this because I am not able to actually run and go get the camera while he is sitting on my feet.

7. Cooper has become an expert builder with his blocks. He could spend an entire day carrying around the "towers" he builds and continually rebuilding them. He loves to sit at the table and build his "towers". This is also because he knows he is safe from Carson knocking over his towers up there.

Those of you that have had to pleasure to witness Cooper in action know that there are many more fun and unique things Cooper does, feel free to share in the comments if they come to mind. I can't seem to remember all of them......imagine that!!!

Catching Up...

2009-04-16T15:06:00.004-04:00

I seem to always be "catching up" since we have been blessed with the boys. I know everyone wanted more and more photos, so here are a few I found on Chris' phone from a couple of weeks ago.

Carson playing intently with his phone

Cooper pulling the dog (between his legs) his own way....of course.

Carson trying to figure out how to step on the bowl to climb up on the ottoman.

This is Cooper running straight toward the camera at high speed.

This is Carson figuring out how to go down the steps on the deck.

As soon as we get our desktop running (Chris is overhauling it), I will get Easter photos downloaded and posted.

A Whole New World

2009-04-10T23:49:00.007-04:00

I know it has been forever since catching everyone up. We have had many chances in the last couple of months to experience a "whole new world".

Grandma S. went several weeks where she would take a boy for 3 days a week. This gave Chris and I some one on one time with each boy. It was amazing how different they were when they were alone. Things are so different with just one boy. Things like bedtime, going out to eat, going to the park and meeting up with friends take on a whole new meaning. It was great getting to experience that "new world" for a while, but we are always happy to have our boys together and with us.

Below are some different pictures of the past few weeks that we have been able to capture.

The boys have now learned to use these bean bags for new exploration (on top of couches, into TV armoires and onto cabinets)...

Cooper in his "comfortable" position for sleeping.

Cooper eating his first apple.

Carson showing Cooper how to get the job done.

The boys learning how to walk on the sidewalk and stay on the sidewalk.

One crazy "twin" dinner!

2009-02-23T10:48:00.003-05:00

As most of you have experienced at our house, dinner with twins can be quite interesting. They tend to show each other new and exciting things to tryout. Sunday night Chris and I found ourselves speechless just staring at the boys in amazement.....most of you know for either Chris or I to not speak, something weird must be going on:)

Below I listed all of the different things the boys did in the matter of 25 minutes (length of dinner):

* We had Indian wars (each boy made his own Indian sounds trying to do better than the other)
* Cooper decided to start sprinting in his highchair. His upper body looked nice and calm but when you looked under the table his little legs were going as fast as possible.....that was a new one.
* Carson proceeded to take pieces of food off of the fork we were using and keep dropping them on the floor so he could say "uh-oh". (at least 40% of his food)
* Cooper thought he would help clean up his tray by wiping everything off of it onto the floor (repeatedly). Granted, this was not even close to the end of dinner.
* Both boys decided to see what it was like to chew up their food and then let it fall out of their mouths (again repeatedly).
* They clapped for each other as these peculiar things were all going on.
* There was a dancing session when both boys spontaneously started dancing in their chairs and giggling.
* They decided to play peek-a-boo with the bibs they had one (they have scoops to catch food on them). They tipped the bibs up to hide their heads, with the bibs full of food (see the 5th point).
* Carson was determined that he could take a bite out of his bib.
* Carson tried to squirt everyone at the table with his water bottle (again repeatedly).....I know, this one is my fault for teaching him:)

This is all I can remember. I caught myself thinking that I should write down everything that was happening at the moment, however I was so taken back and entertained by everything going on that I didn't want to stop watching. I hope you all get to experience a dinner like this at least once in your life.

Our first of how many?

2009-02-23T10:36:00.006-05:00

Have you ever stopped to think of how many pieces of pizza you have eaten in your lifetime? The boys got to enjoy their first homemade pizza on Saturday. Of course, they loved it and proceeded to shovel pieces in their mouth. They each ate 2 big pieces and would have eaten more if we would have let them. I'm sure they will go on to eat hundreds, if not thousands of pieces in their lifetime. We thought we would share their "after" pictures with everyone. It wasn't as bad as we had suspected.

Why not a shower?

2009-02-17T21:16:00.003-05:00

I just sat down from finishing my "daily chores" after I got the boys to bed. Chris is gone on Tuesday nights, so I get more "reflection time" while doing my chores on Tuesdays. Below is a list of everything that I did within 1 1/2 hours....
* 2 loads of laundry
* made 20 pancakes for breakfasts
* washed all bottles and sippy cups
* cleaned up dinner
* put away load of dishes that were clean
* filled dishwasher with dirty dishes
* got boy's meals ready for tomorrow
* made iced tea
* mopped floor
* checked email

As I was unloading a load of laundry, it dawned on me: If I can multi-task and do all of these things, why is it that I can't find time during the day with the boys to fit in a shower? I woke up late this morning and kept thinking (I'll just take a shower when they go down for a nap), but that didn't happen. The day just seems to go by with so many things to do that time just slips away.

For those of you that are scared about the no shower thing, don't worry, I will fit it in before I go to bed:)

If any of you experienced moms have any tips, I would love to hear them. Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day and enjoys the rest of your week. Please keep the boys in your prayers. They have been quite sick this week (with nebulizer treatments), however they seem to be on the mend.

Who thought cereal could brighten up your day?

2009-02-13T11:54:00.002-05:00

I was thinking that I would blog today during the boy's nap but wasn't sure what to write about.....then when we got home from the gym and I was taking Carson upstairs for his nap, I grabbed a couple pieces of cereal sitting on the kitchen island for him to snack on while going upstairs. I didn't think anything of it, I just thought he might like it. You would have thought I just gave him the world. His eyes lit up and he got the biggest smile on his face. Of course, when taking Cooper upstairs, I had to do the same thing. Cooper just looked at the cereal in his hand and started laughing hysterically. He put all 3 pieces in his mouth and continued his laughing while hugging my neck.

If only we could get that excited about all of the small little surprises that happen in our daily lives. It reminds me that I need to slow down more often and just enjoy what is happening in the moment......maybe I will give Chris a couple pieces of cereal on his way up to bed tonight and see his reaction:)

Have a great Valentine's Day!

Our first sledding adventure!!!

2009-02-08T14:56:00.004-05:00

It is official, the boys were made for outside sports. I don't think Carson quit smiling the entire time we were outside. Chris pulled them around on their sled (borrowed from Grandma P.). Then they got to go up a big hill and each of them road down the hill individually with Chris on the "real sled". Carson, again, loved eating the snow. He laid down and put his face directly in the snow and loved it. The boys loved laying back in their sled and chillin' while Chris did all the manual labor. The snow had melted enough that they were even able to run around in the snow. I'm sure we'll have a couple more chances this year to go out, but we will always remember our first sledding experience.

Good Samaritans do exist!

2009-01-12T15:25:00.000-05:00

Well, it is official.....we are now bloggers!!

Having said that, I found it ironic that on the day I was going to get our family blog started there was so much to reflect on. First off, today is my father's 65th birthday. Just 2 short years ago he passed away.....it seems like a lifetime. So many things have changed since then. Our lives have been filled with great sadness and even greater joys. He would have been overjoyed with his 2 grandsons. I know someday the boys will be able to meet their grandfather and until then, they will get to hear good stories about him and how much he loves them. Now, onto the "lesson of the day". The boys and I went grocery shopping at Marsh today and unfortunately there were no double strollers. This isn't a big deal because we just take 2 carts around the store as we shop. A lady stopped us and asked if she could follow me around and help out by pushing one of the carts. It was a simple gesture and tremendously appreciated. On our way home I was thinking about all of the bad emails of people offering to help you but not to let them because they are going to steal something or hurt you. I have found myself wanting to help people out before but hesitant because I don't want to make them feel uncomfortable. The "simple" gesture this lady made to help us out made a big difference in our day and added a reminder that there are still good Samaritans out there willing to help out just out of the goodness in their hearts. I want the boys to grow up being willing to stop and help strangers out, not being concerned about the bad stories that go around.......it was just a little "eye-opener".

Have a great day.