Simply Joyful: Weeks 5 & 6!

Our little womb-mates! We cannot wait to watch these two become friends!

Time is an amazing phenomenon. It is amazing how days can be so long yet pass by so quickly.

Our boys are growing - not just in size but in development. During week six, I started to recognize that our boys are slowly starting to recognize us. With Owen, I distinctly remember walking around his rock n' play one day, and his head and eyes followed my every move. There were also two moments I told Owen "I love you," and he smiled back. Aiden did the same thing just a few days after Owen did it for the first time! What a joy it is to know they are slowly recognizing my voice and to see those smiles becoming more frequent with both of them! They are both becoming vocal now, too, making super cute baby sounds during their awake time. Owen actually makes a noise that sound like he says, "Hiiii," and we always get a laugh out of that. Aiden constantly needs movement! My friend Brittany loaned her swing to us, and Aiden absolutely loves it. Owen just wants to be held all of the time!

We were immensely blessed by our closest friends during these two weeks. Meggan and Jason stayed with us for a weekend, and we managed a small night out with them, thanks to Aunt Hannah and Grandma and Grandpa Storrer for babysitting. It felt extremely strange putting on makeup, styling my hair, and putting on clothes other than sweatpants and a nursing tank. It was incredibly refreshing, but I was eager to come home to my twins... even after just a few short hours. And when Meggan and Jason were around, they cleaned, they changed diapers, they swaddled, and they did so much more to help us. Our friends the Harmon's made sure we took a break the following weekend, too. Katie graciously came over to watch the twins while we ran up to Sullivan's for a quick dinner. The next evening, the Schroeder Family came over, and we had a wonderful cook-out. I'm so grateful for wonderful friends who are helping pull me back into the real world and loving on my boys.

Another highlight was the stretch of warm weather we had last Friday two weekends ago. We managed to go for a walk with the boys each of those days. Last weekend then, we managed our first trip with the boys aside from doctor's appointments: We took them to Nana and Grandpa Patty's house for an evening! By Tuesday, however, Kyle and I both developed some oddly strange symptoms: We both had headaches and felt achey. I felt just as exhausted as when we came home from the hospital. We still cannot put a finger on what had us down for two straight days, but since we recovered on Thursday, I felt like a new person... literally. It is as if my body has finally adjusted to the fact I will only manage four straight hours of sleep at night - at least for this season.

It was around this time that my spirit began to change, too. At the beginning of week six, after having gone a week without Kyle at home, I was starting to question how long I could really keep up with the twins on my own. I was not managing time to do the smallest things for myself, and I found myself overwhelmed and frustrated. There is one mommy in this house with two hands trying to meet the needs of two precious newborns. Once we pushed through our physical exhaustion though, I realized that I needed to work harder on making our days more enjoyable, and I could choose to change my approach to my job as mommy from panic to peaceful. Instead of panicking when one or both of the boys cried, I began to pick them up, bounce and walk around the room with them, and talk or sing to them. Instead of stressing when I did not have time to read my devotional, I made a choice to pick up their Bible storybooks and to read those stories to them. Instead of fighting "hangriness" when I could not leave the living room to simply walk ten steps into the kitchen for food, I learned to prepare ahead of time and to bring my snacks into our living area with me. As I adjust the daily routine of my life, I'm adjusting my spirit. I'm learning that being a mother of twin boys is going to require mental and spiritual toughness. I can do it, and I am doing it, and I love how I am changing and growing into this role. Thank you, God, for grace!