I wish...

there was a photo editing software that could change THIS


into THIS....


But until it is created...I guess I will keep doing it!

The Last Day

I can't believe today is the last day of 2009. I just shake my head in amazement. I began the year with a word...SHINE.

Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. The Message Matt. 5:14

I am hoping that I accomplished that in these last 365 days, shining brightly in a dark world. I am not sure what my word for next year will be- probably needs to be "organized" or "changer of many diapers"- something I might actually be able to accomplish will be nice-so probably the later.

I am sure that I didn't accomplish all I set out to do...in fact, I ended up getting pregnant and was unable to complete the triathalon I had considered/trained to do. But, these babies are much more important that some competition. My next year seems so far away, but Jan. 1, 2010 is going to come in less than 24 hours and it will begin. I am so unsure of what to expect. We will meet two new babies and adjust to a life of feeding, changing, and more laundry. What a great journey it will be!

My favorite doctor....

A Spring Day at the Park

My (no-so) Little One

Here is a picture of Evy during her gymnastics days last spring. It is one of my favorite pictures as she was beginning her posing for pictures days. She is such a ham!

Belly Pic- Week 21

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This is not the best picture. I took it last week and deleted the ones Michael took because I looked like I had a tire around my waist. So far...I am getting bigger and the babies are kicking like crazy. It is kind of like an octupus boxing match in my belly. They seem to be very active throughout the night and when music is on...they must like the beats.

As the year comes to a close, I am reminded of the things in life that matter most. Christmas was interesting this year. I tried very hard to focus on the reason for the season over the commercialized parts of Christmas. Now seems a time to focus on the new year before us. 2010 will be very different for this family. We will spend the first few months preparing for the birth of our twins, adding a precious son and daughter to our family, then (hopefully) planning a trip with our new family for the summer to the beach, sprinkled with various milestones-first smiles, first laughs, first teeth, first steps. Truthfully it makes me giddy to think about it now! One thing I hope to do is a picture a day-365 moments of our family life captured and shared with friends and family through my blog. I hope I can do it. I am inspired by the Julie/Julia movie...but not that ambitious to make 570something of Julia Child's recipes during the next-most that my family won't eat!

In the interm, I am sharing some of my favorite memories. These picture are of my firstborn and I sharing a tea cup ride in Branson. She is the highlight of most days and usually makes me laugh uncontrollably. Whether it is her crazy stories and different perspectives on life, her imagination makes me smile. Usually she is smarter than she should be and I am blessed to be her mom!