Thankful Thursday: Productive Days, Fun in the Future & Exciting News

It's Thankful Thursday! Another week has passed us by. In our case several have passed by since we did a Thankful Thursday post. There's always so much to be thankful for! Life gets busy and it's easy to overlook all the blessings we are surrounded by! Here's our Thankful Thursday Lists:

What are you thankful for?!

Monica's List:

To be written later this evening...

Jeremy's List:

I'm thankful for productive days off. Working 5 days a week, 8 hours a day and doing 2+ hours of treatments every day doesn't leave a whole lot of time to accomplish little things that need to be done. Running to the bank, getting groceries, mowing grass, raking leaves, hanging Christmas lights.... all these things need to be done. I'm thankful for days off, when I can get stuff done! After having a very productive day, I feel really good! I'm thankful I get at least one day a week I can cross stuff off my to do list! :)  (I actually do make lists. Monica teases me about it, but I can keep track of what needs to be done, AND it feels good to cross it off, lol!)

I'm thankful we have a lot of fun things to look forward to in the coming weeks! We have an Ugly Sweater Party this Friday. We're going to eat with my family at a place called the Old Spaghetti Factory in downtown St. Louis this weekend. Next Thursday I have a bachelor party to go to (we keep ours clean, I'm excited about it because we have fun goofing around, lol). I have an exciting lunch meeting with some folks from the CFF next Friday. A wedding Saturday and the following week is Christmas!!! That's a whole lot of fun packed into a couple weeks!

I received some exciting news this week! I got overly excited and like the goofball I am posted a facebook status about how excited I was without naming the source of my excitement, lol (run-on sentence). I absolutely did not think about the effects it would have on my family and friends, haha! I was thinking, you know, you see people post statuses like that, stating nothing at all, and nobody usually says much. I didn't think it would get the response it has! Hahaha! Monica says I should have known..... she's right. Truth is, I shouldn't have posted the status simply because I honestly don't know if I can share the details yet. I hastily posted a status out of sheer excitement! I hope I can share the news at some point! I will say that Monica and I are NOT pregnant, lol! I will also say it is related to my health. That is all I can say for now. It is something that I hope will cause my PFT's and overall health to make some pretty major improvements! I am ecstatic about the opportunity that has been placed before me!

7 Month Photography Session

We had our photography session with our photographer Cindy a couple weeks ago. We wanted to do them around 6 months, but the boys weren't sitting up the greatest so we waited. As usual the pictures turned out amazing! We love Cindy and the work she does!

The boys weren't their usual smiley selves in most of the pictures. There's a lot of seriousness going on. I think they were practicing for when they're in Hollywood someday. That or there was a lot to look at. :) Cindy always takes bunches of photos, so we'll post some of our favorites! Enjoy!

His regal pose

Puppy dog eyes



His "trick," loves it and has been doing it since he was 3-4 months old



Going for a drive

Monica and I got our van fixed and it's running like a champ! Whoo-hoo! But that's not the drive I was talking about. The boys went for a little drive through the mall last night. Monica and I were supposed to take a weekend trip out of town, but with the bad weather we were forced to cancel our trip. Since we had the evening to ourselves with no plans, we went Christmas shopping. We were able to get a decent amount of it done!

The best part of our shopping expedition was watching the boys in the mall rental stroller. My parents have ours with them in Branson (where we were heading). So we rented one from the mall. It made us both a little nervous, because it was probably germ infested. However, they seemed to love it and we were cracking up laughing at the two of them!

Here's some pictures and video of their drive through the mall.

 

 



New Ride

It's been awhile since Monica or I have written a post. There's really not anything new or exciting going on. That is until yesterday! We purchased our first minivan!

When we found out we were having twins, we knew we would need different vehicles. Monica was driving a 2-door 2000 Toyota Solara and I have a 2-door 2000 Chevy Blazer. Neither would be suitable for toting around two infants. So we starting looking for a new vehicle and bought a 2002 Chevy Malibu from the original owner with only 35,000 miles! A HUGE blessing! It is the newest car we've ever owned and has the lowest miles of any car we've ever owned. It will be a part of our family for years!

Shortly after the boys were born we realized we had outgrown the car. It's okay for running around town when we won't need the stroller. However, between the boys' car seats and diaper bag, the backseat is full, and with the stroller in the trunk there is no room for anything. It takes up the entire trunk. Not to mention, because I am 6 feet tall, my knees are almost in the dash because of the rear-facing car seats, lol. We knew eventually we were going to need something bigger.

I always said "I'll NEVER drive a minivan." I've realized that every time I've used the phrase "I'll never" I eat my words, haha! After looking at SUV's we realized we would still be in pretty much the same boat, with a little more wiggle room. Actually I really wanted a Ford Excursion with a 7.3 Powerstroke diesel. They have more room than a minivan and can run over/haul anything! Buuuut, they're pricey because they don't make them anymore and diesel engines often require a lot of tinkering. I am clueless when it comes to working on a diesel engine. So a minivan was the most logical choice!

It's funny to see how much things change. I found myself gawking at new Toyota Sienna minivans, pointing them out to Monica saying, "It would be so awesome to have one of those!" Haha! My new dream vehicle is a 2013 Toyota Sienna! What has the world come to!

Anyways, the van we bought is a 2001 Dodge Caravan! It's blue (one of my favorite colors) and we got a sweet deal on it! $400!! It has well under 200,000 miles on it and only needs a few minor things. It runs great! It is such a huge blessing!!! We're going to Branson in December and Colorado in January and will need to drive to both. It would have been a loooong 18 hour drive in our little Malibu!

I'm really extremely excited about it! You have no idea!!!!

That's the most excitement we've had in our lives the past week. Sorry I haven't posted in a while! I always feel silly posting about dumb stuff. I always think to myself "Who would read this, and if they did, how would they stay awake?!" Oh well, hope you're still with me! I almost forgot. We did have professional pictures taken Sunday. We'll post our favorites as soon as we get them!

Here's a sneak peek:

On the left is the week they were born, the right is them right now (7 1/2 months old)



Thankful Thursday: PFT Results, Man Time & Nursing

It's Thankful Thursday! I'm excited to do a Thankful Thursday post! I've missed a couple in the last several weeks. This week we're excited to talk about a few things we're thankful for. If you're new to reading this blog, we do a post every Thursday where we talk about things we're thankful for. It's not just for the month of November, but all year round! It helps us to realize that we're surrounded by blessings everywhere we look, and hopefully helps us not to take anything for granted. There's always something we can be thankful for. Without making you wait any longer, here's our lists:

Monica's List:

I'm thankful for heat! As it's getting colder I am thankful for our furnace and the heat in my car. I'm more of a warm weather girl and tend not to like being cold. I was just thinking this morning about how in the past people had to keep fires going to stay warm. I am thankful it is just a click of a button away for me! Ahh technology!

I am thankful for Jeremy's jump in his PFT's! I can breathe a little easier now knowing he can breathe easier! ;) Whew... was I holding MY breath this whole time?! haha!

I am thankful for breastfeeding! Don't worry if you are squeamish about that stuff, I am not gonna get all weird and detailed! I am just thankful for the opportunity to nurse them! It definitely wasn't always easy but it's paid off in the long run! The boys nurse so good and fast now! There are many reasons I am thankful for breastfeeding: the bond is so strong, it's so convenient (always the perfect temperature, ready, and sterile), I don't have a ton of bottles to wash, they usually eat in less than 5 minutes, $$$ (I always joke, when people comment about them being breastfed, that we couldn't afford formula for twins anyway) :) I shed the baby weight Very fast, and I know that they are getting the very best I can give them! I plan to wean them around a year. They are already 7 months and time has already flown by! I know it's gonna be a blink of an eye and then they will be done nursing, forever. I am thankful for this beautiful stage in life, with my babies, and I'm trying to treasure every moment of it that I have left!

 

Jeremy's List:

I'm thankful for rising PFT's! If you've kept up with my blog, you'll know that I was recently admitted with an FEV1 of 56%. After 2 weeks of IV's it dropped another 3%. This was a huge shocker for my family, myself and my CF team. I was kept on IV's for another 4 days. They added cipro (an oral antibiotic) and prednisone. They thought I had some pretty bad inflammation in my lungs. I went back yesterday for a follow up PFT. And drum roll please.... My FVC was up from 77 to 85% and FEV1 went from 53% to ................... 64%!!!!! Needless to say I'm ecstatic! I can't wait to see what they'll be in February! Starting at 64% and continuing to do treatments and work out I'm really hoping I can see close to 70%. We were a little nervous for a while, but hard work and being dedicated to my health paid off. 

I'm also thankful for fall! I don't like cold weather, but I do enjoy fall. The colors of the leaves are shades of red, yellow, and orange all around our house. It really is beautiful. Plus, I know I'll get some good exercise in when I have to clean out the gutters and rake the yard. It'll be the perfect backdrop for the boys pictures in a couple weeks! 

I'm thankful for comradery and man time! Deer hunting season is upon us! I honestly could care less about shooting a deer unless it's a trophy buck. Besides, a CFer, coughing his head off in the woods hardly makes a good hunter (one of the reasons I probably see very few deer, lol).  I do like deer sausage and deer tenderloins though! Is goo! I enjoy hanging out with just the fellas. Building a bonfire every night, and hanging out. No showers, no shaving. You can belch and fart whenever you want with no regard to manners, lol! The part I enjoy the most is sitting in the woods. Alone with God's creation. It's so peaceful! You sit for hours admiring the woods and nature. It's awesome! It's one of the most relaxing experiences ever. Alone with your thoughts and God. If you've never done it, I encourage you to find some woods and sit in them for an hour or so in the fall! If it's during deer season though make sure and wear some blaze orange! Safety first!

So what are you thankful for today?!?!

7 Months Old

The boys are 7 months old today!!! It's so hard to believe it's been 7 months. They grow up so fast (sob sob). It is truly astonishing to see how fast they develop. The human brain is incredible! To watch their motor skills and memory develop every day is just plain awesome!

They're getting close to crawling! Monica thinks Jace will be the first to do it so we'll see! I'm anxious to see them crawl! It's gonna be adorable! At the same time there will be some sadness as it means they are growing up even more. AND, it will mean that nothing in the house will be safe with two little monsters discovering their freedom! Haha!

We're doing a photography session in a couple weeks with them! Can't wait for it and to post those pics on here! Now that they sit up like pros, and develop more personality every day, it should be a fun photo shoot! Hopefully the weather will cooperate and it won't be freezing outside. We live in Missouri so it could be 80 degrees and sunny or -10 and snowing. Who knows!! Lol!

Our boys are getting bigger and more adorable by the second!

Our life is amazing and we are blessed beyond measure!! Blessed with two bundles of wiggles, giggles, tickles, and poo!! (I meant they are full of poo, not that they are poo, fyi) Speaking of which, here's some up to date pics of the two bundles!

wrestling

 

Somebody's happy because they have daddy's favorite soda!

Trying to drink daddy's favorite soda

 

Now that their hair is getting longer, they have crazy hair in the morning.
Notice the curly cue behind his ear?

Curly cue again!

Jeriah's curly cue!

Happy boy in the morning!

 

His Dumb & Dumber look

Fun with his hair in the tub

He likes his ducky!

Look at those rolls!

Jace - "Just so you know, you have something on your head."

Why do you always have that thing in front of your face mom?

Grocery shopping in the cold St. Louis weather

Pure adorableness!