Top 5 questions I get asked about my twins

These are the questions/statements I get asked when I take the twins out in public

1.  Are they twins?  Yes, they are.  My thoughts- no I just take an extra baby along for the fun of it.  Of coarse they are twins.

2.  Wow you must be busy!  Yes, it can be busy but they are good babies.

3.  Do you have more children?  And this is where I really don't want to answer the question because I know what their reponse is going to be.  Their eyes are going to bug out of their heads and I feel like their going to look at me like I'm too young to have that many kids.  Gulp, giggle and I answer "they are number 4 and 5."  They look at me like I'm crazy and I tell myself I am not crazy, I love my kids. 

4.  How old are your other kids?  My oldest is 6, I answer.  This is where their jaws fall open and they can't fathom having this many kids.

5.  How do you do it?  Moment by moment, day by day.  I don't include that I try to close my eyes when I see my laundry pile up or when other household duties need to be done and I just can't seem to get to them.  It's true, I try not to look to far ahead or I will have a melt down.  I always conclude my conversation with "I wouldn't change it for anything"  and that is how I feel.

I think it's funny how people have a fasination with twins.   I used to be one of them.  It is a special gift to have 2 babies at once.  I know that when I go out that I will be stared at and if I take them all with me then eyes are going to pop out of heads.  It's okay, it's my life, my family and I wouldn't change it for anything. 

Chicken Fun

We started out with 6 chickens over a year ago. We got them from TSC and the rule is you have to buy at least 6 chickens. Their life started out in our garage in a box with a red light bulb heating lamp (so they don't peck each other). The kids loved them from the very start. They visited them often in the garage.
The following are high lights in the life of our chickens:

The chickens had started getting bigger and they were almost ready to go out to there coop after we got it set up. They could perch on the side of the box in the garage and sometimes we found them beside the box and not in the box. One day Ross said to me "Erin, we're missing a chicken." We searched all over the garage and could not find it. We looked everywhere. We finally gave up and thought that the chicken had escaped when the garage door was open at some point. The kids were disappointed, but we consoled them that we still had 5 chickens. Three days later, on a Sunday morning, as we were getting ready to get in the car to go to church, Ross noticed that we had 6 chickens again. The prodigal chicken had returned!!!!!! We thought for sure he would be dead by the time we got back from church. The poor chicken couldn't even stand up because it went without food and water for 3 days. We got home from church and peered in the box and all 6 were still alive. We couldn't even figure out which one was the one that had escaped. To this day, we still have not learned where our chicken had gone.

Leanne was usually the one out playing with the chickens and by this time they had moved into their coop. She had noticed that one of them was a rooster. They were supposed to be all female. Leanne ended up being right (she usually is). We knew eventually we would have to get rid of the rooster(when he found his voice) or the neighbors might complain and make us get rid of all of them. One day I was sitting inside with the slider door open and I heard the strangest sound. I couldn't figure out what it was. I went outside where the kids had started going to the chicken coop. And the it did it again. The rooster had found his voice. It didn't sound like I expected it to. It sounded like when a boy's voice was changing and cracking. I didn't know that they could sound like that. It came time that we had to figure out what to do with the rooster. We didn't follow Leanne's suggestion of "killing him and eating him". Ross had found a place for the rooster to live and now the problem was getting him to his new country home. Ross tried to catch that rooster and put him in a big bucket. He had to chase him all over the yard. The kids were laughing so hard at him. He finally managed to get the rooster tucked into the bucket and put him in the back of the van. They got him to his new destination and the new problem was getting him out of the van. I guess the bird wouldn't get out. He got loose from the bucket and flew around inside the van. Ross finally managed to get him outside and then that bird sat underneath the van. They couldn't get him to budge. it took a while and finally they coaxed him out from there. The new owners of our rooster said that he would crow and peck at there door various times through out the day.


Like I stated before, my kids love the chickens!!!! They play with them all the time. I would look outside and see Clay picking up a chicken and swinging him around in circles, they've been on swings many times, pushed down the slide, and shoved inside buckets. But the one that takes the cake is the time that Clay shoved one up the inside of a toy semi truck. First I need to give you the graphics of the trailer of the semi truck. It's about 20 inches long and the opening is about 6 inches by 6 inches. It also has a door on the side of the semi trailer. My sister was over with her kids and they were playing outside with the chickens. Gina said to me "Erin, I think Clay put a chicken in that trailer." I said "no he couldn't have. They try to put them in buckets all the time and the chickens won't fit. There's no way a chicken could get shoved up there." Then I peered closer-there were little chicken feet sticking outside the semi trailer. I yelled to Clay "Do you have a chicken in there?!" He slowly nodded his head yes. I said "You better get him out before that poor chicken gets hurt." He tipped it upside down trying to get the chicken through the opening at the bottom of the tailor. The chicken was STUCK!!!! I called for Ross to come and get that chicken out of there. Ross was laughing hysterically when he saw what Clay had done. Ross took the semi trailer and shook it hard up and down. Chicken feet started coming out the bottom. Ross was making progress. You could hear the chicken cackling inside. Then Ross did another up and down motion with the trailer and out of the side door of the trailer poked out the chickens head. So if you can picture it- feet out the bottom of the trailer and head sticking out the side. We were all rolling with laughter. One last up and down motion with the trailer and the chicken came out. And he walked around like nothing had happened to him.

Our kids love their chickens. They are an excellent pet and they benefit our family with they fresh eggs they lay for us every day (I can't believe they lay for us after all this). To this day we still find chickens stuck under crates in the kid's play club house in the back yard.

Our Funeral

So I performed my very first funeral today. Poor little Flick, not even a week old. We got him last week from TSC. What an adorable duck! We got 2 ducks from TSC. One named Petal and the other Flick (a few days later Clay renamed him Flip). During the few days Flick (or Flip) was with us, he went to kindergarten testing (we got Flick right before we were supposed to get Clay tested), he played with Petal and got played with by Clay, Leanne, and Allison. He also got to be show and tell for preschool and kindergarten the day before his death. Then today, Clay and Leanne asked to play with their ducks outside. I gave them specific instructions not to let them out of their sight and be gentle with them. Clay had the hose running and had a little "stream" going int he front yard. I went back inside to clean up and then Leanne came running up the deck steps saying that Clay killed Flick. Sure enough Clay carried little lifeless Flick up to the deck. He drowned in the stream and Clay said he didn't mean to do it. I had him lay Flick down on the deck and I tried to get him to come back to life. I pushed on little Flicks heart with 2 fingers several times (chest compressions). Water came out of his beak, but he never did breathe again. I tried to stimulate him with a dry washcloth and still their was nothing. Leanne was crying by now and she was taking it pretty hard. We found a little box to put Flick in and I had the kids choose a burial site. I dug the little grave and had Leanne place the little box in the hole. She was now wiping her eyes and nose with Kleenex. We each said something to Flick. Clay went first. He said "good bye Flick. I'm sorry I killed you." (at this point I'm trying to keep a straight face and not laugh) Leanne said sobbing and wiping her eyes, "good bye Flick, I'll miss you." Alli said "bye duck" ( I really don't think she understood what was going on) and then I said "good bye Flick, you were a good duck, Petal will miss you. So will Clay, Leanne, and Allison." Then I prayed at the little funeral. We finished burying him and found stones to put around his grave.

So that night we went back to TSC and bought 2 more ducks (you have to buy 2 at a time). Leanne named one Feather and I convinced Clay that Aflac would be a good name for the other. So while we were there I looked at a pamphlet about ducks and it said that baby ducks love playing in water, but tire very easily and will drown. oops. I guess I should have looked for a pamphlet the first time around.

Clay with Flick (Flip)

mommy's quiet time

I know I shouldn't be up past midnight, but I don't get much time to myself anymore. I love it when all the kids are tucked in bed and my hubby is sleeping and it is finally quiet. I have the dishwasher running and I love that sound. It makes me feel relaxed and comfortable. After this rough past week, it's just nice to take a little time for myself. A little time to reflect on the day and think about tomorrow. Winding down from a very busy day and a very busy week. We're also moving on Saturday. Like I said, it's been a very rough week.
But I can't think of the negatives, I need to stay positive. I thank and praise God that he restored my little Reed to health again. My poor buddy was a very sick boy. I'm so thankful that he is rolling around again and cooing and smiling. I heard that Luke was pretty sick while I was at the hospital. I'm thankful he's back to his normal happy drooling self. It's when your children don't feel well that you realize what's really important in life. It's not about money or anything material, it's about family, health, loving one another and praising God for all He's given us in this life. When someone is ill, you realize what your priorities are.
My priorities are or need to be
1. God. knowing and loving God by praying and reading the Bible. Not just reading the Bible, but taking it to heart. We get so caught up in life that we forget to take the time to really read and listen to God. It's also so very important to go to church and actively listen to what the minister is saying.
2. Husband. We need to take time for each other. Try to go on a few dates here and there. You don't have to spend money to go on a date. Take a walk, go for a drive, or play a game. Our favorite is monopoly. I used to hate that game, but Ross doesn't like to play other games. I found that I now enjoy playing that game because it gives me more time with him (and I like to win).
2. Family. The importance of good, quality family time. Sitting and listening to each other. It's easy to let children ramble on and not really listen, so we need to to take the time and hear what they are saying. If I'm not paying attention to Clay, he will say listen and make me look directly into his eyes before he will tell me what he wants to say. He loves undivided attention. I believe this is one way to show them good communication skills.
3. Friends. We need friends. Someone we can talk to and be able to share with. My husband is my best friend but I need my girlfriends too. It's good to have someone that can relate to what you're going through in life. It's good to support and encourage each other.
4. Household duties. This is another way to show love to your family. Cooking, cleaning, and laundry are all acts of love. It's important to maintain a house. I'm not saying it needs to be spotless (mine never is) but it should look like you at least tried. Sometimes I feel too tired to pick up or do anything, but I try to remind myself that this needs to be done to show my love.
There is so much more I could list, but I'd better get to bed. We have a big day tomorrow, followed by a big weekend. Good night.

My poor little Reed

I'm so happy Reed is now home, but I thought I'd blog about how it all happened. He started getting sick on Friday last week with fevers and a cold. I took him to the doctor on Monday and they told me he had a bad cold and just prescribed eye drops. Reed and Luke had a 6 month check on Wednesday so I took him to that and he got prescribed some antibiotics and breathing treatments. We came home and he went to bed. Awhile later he woke up fussing and I tried to feed him. He looked a little pale but when he took one suck of that bottle he turned extremely pale. I put him next to Luke and Reed looked like he had a blueish undertone to his skin. His skin was also very mottled (blotchy). I took a respiratory rate and it was 84 (babies his age are supposed to be 20-40 breathes per minute). Then I knew he absolutely had to go in. I got him to the emergency department and they took him to a room right away. His oxygen level in his blood was 86 (it's supposed to be between 95-100), his heart rate was 222 (normal is around 120), his reparations were still high. They immediately put him on oxygen at 1.5 liters (they prefer if they would be around .5 L). That helped but he still dipped with is oxygen saturation. We went for a chest x-ray and I was extremely surprised at the results. Not only did he have RSV, but pneumonia with infiltrates all over his lungs (collection of fluid). Then they mentioned that the could not care for him at Holland and he would have to be transferred to Helen Devos Children's Hospital. They transferred us by ambulance (without lights and sirens) because he had to be on oxygen. I would rather not repeat the ride, it can make your tummy queasy. We got there and they did several respiratory treatments and got him under control. They weren't sure at first if he would have to be admitted to the ICU or not, but thankfully they were able to keep him on the regular peds floor. They said that he had very diminished lungs sounds on the bottom of his lungs (he was not exchanging air on the bases of his lungs) and he was sucking in very hard to breathe. The whole day they couldn't get his oxygen down from 1 liter and had to make the call and put him on high flow oxygen (puts pressure in the lungs to open them up for air exchange) he was on it overnight and partway into the next day.

My poor pale Reed

They were finally able to get that under control and put him back on regular oxygen cannula. And from their he started doing much much better. He went from extremely pale to getting some color back.

Resting comfortably

Today he acted more himself then I have seen him in a week. I'm so thankful he was able to come home today!!! Like Leanne says "it's just not family without mommy, daddy, and Reed."

Twinners are 6 months old- we survived

Six months ago Luke and Reed joined our family and changed our lives.

Luke Grant 6 lbs and 4 oz (on right), Reed Lane 4 lbs and 15 oz (on Left)

It took us time to adjust. The older kids were with their grandparents for a few weeks and came home for visits. I missed them, but Ross and I needed time to adjust to 2 little ones. Life was really different, but good.

Leanne holding Reed

Clay holding Luke

Tricia Brummel came over to take some pictures of the boys.

I love this one!

Another new thing we had to adjust to was sending Leanne off to kindergarten. I was very overwhelmed trying to get into the routine of sending Leanne off to school and keep track of her weekly calender.

Leanne's first day of kindergarten and riding the bus

A few short weeks later, Clay also started pre-school. That involved me to get the twins, Allison, and Clay ready to head out the door. He goes to preschool 30 minutes away from home, so I had to plan where I was going to wait for the day. We spent a lot of time at grandma's house. It was just a lot in the beginning and I was easily overwhelmed. During this time, many people from church gave us meals. That helped immensely!! We couldn't have done it without all the help we received.

Clay's first day of preschool

Me attempting to feed both babies at the same time

We also got the babies baptized. I think they were 6-8weeks old. Ross held both of them at the same time while they got baptized. We had a Luke on the minister's left and Reed on the ministers right so he knew who was who when he baptized them.

Reed Lane on left and Luke Grant on right

We had a light lunch afterward (thanks to Ross' mom and sisters) and cake.

This verse is very fitting for our family. "Thy children like olive plants round about thy table"

Luke and Reed started to smile, coo, and giggle. Around 2 months old we noticed a big difference in their sleep patterns at night. They were doing longer stretches- Hallelujah!!! Instead of the broken up 3 hours of sleep we were getting a night we were getting a solid 4-6 hours at a time. We were starting to enjoy our babies more and started coming out of the sleep deprived haze.

Our first time in a bumbo!! Our older brother and sisters

needed to get in on the action

As the Luke and Reed got bigger, every day things became easier. We still had a very busy household, but it started to feel more managable. The kids started to get more involved with the babies. They love trying to get them to smile and coo at them. Luke and Reed are now becoming more interactive with each other.

Our backs are much sturdier now in our bumbos. We love

to play together!

Luke and Reed now eat baby food too. I put them in their bumbos on the table and spoon feed both of them at the same time out of the same bowl.

Dinner time

My clan

I can't believe they are 6 months old now. It went so fast!! I wish I could go back and visit for a couple of hours when they were newborns. I can barely remember them being so little, but I'm happy we're to this point with them. Each month brings something new and I look forward to watching them continue to grow.

Trust

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not to thine own understanding." This is my favorite verse in the Bible. It was actually our wedding verse. It was a good base to start our marriage on. This verse has grown in my heart during the 8 years we've been married. Trust is huge in the unknown of our lives. We never know what is going to happen one minute to the next. We need to learn to trust God in everything. I was reading out of "Come ye Little Children" book to the kids tonight for devotions. We are just starting to read about Moses and the Israelites entering into the desert and they had just complained about food the first time and God sent them manna. God was sending them through the desert to get to the land of Canaan to teach them lessons along the way. The Israelites needed to learn to trust God for EVERYTHING!! Food, water, and shelter were just a few thing they needed to learn. We can learn a lot from the Israelites. It seems like it happened so long ago that it shouldn't apply to us but it does. I've said it once to my co worker, Martina, that I've never liked reading about Moses and the Israelites and it was probably my least favorite stories in the Bible. I've had a hard time with it because all the people complained the whole time and you would think that they would learn their lessons quicker than they did. And then I realized that the reason I didn't care for it was because I am so much like the Israelites, and probably worse. I complain if it's too hot or too cold, I complain if I have to go grocery shopping, I complain if I don't get enough sleep. I endlessly complain and I'm not in a dry hot desert either!!! What an awful sinner I am! We have so much and we complain for more. It becomes an issue of contentment and trust. God gives bumps in the road so that we may learn to trust Him, just like the Israelites. Instead of our endlessly worrying that we do, we should pray and put all our trust in our Lord. I love that verse "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and LEAN NOT to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5 & 6
What a wonderful comfort.