If your happy and you know it shout AMEN!

I'm kind of stumped as to what to write about today. Not because I don't have things to be thankful for it is more likely because I don't know where to begin. My mind drifts all over the place because there are so many things in my life for which to thank God. I just wrote a long post and deleted it because it is not so much each and every specific thing that I am thankful for but I am thankful for the grace God has poured out on my life on a regular basis. I wouldn't have always chose what he chose for me. I am, however, grateful that he had the wisdom to choose what was best for me when I didn't get in the way. When I did get in His way and forced my will He worked with me still and hasn't given up on me yet.

I am thankful for the way he gave me such immense love for Jared and Jared for me. I am thankful that he put Alex and Eli in our lives and the love we have for each of them. So.......If your happy and you know it shout amen! AMEN!!!!!!! (You'll understand when you click on the video below).

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Preemie Awareness Month

There diapers were the size of an ipod and yet they swam in them. Their binkies covered their entire face and it was a huge success if they even used them. They were at times too delicate to touch and we didn't feel their tiny bodies pressed to ours for days after their birth. They couldn't breathe without assistance. They couldn't eat without tubes. They didn't cry because they were too weak and focussed all of their energy on getting better.

Jared and I feared the loss of two children days before they were even born. We continued to fear this for months after that. I didn't unwrap two of anything from my shower (that I missed) until Jared forced me to. I honestly envisioned returning all of Eli's things. I rarely admit this but it is true. There were weeks where we went in and there wasn't good news about Eli. 2 collapsed lungs, a PDA that wasn't fixed on the first two tries, off the vent, back on the vent, on the CPAP, back to the vent. It was like we weren't getting anywhere. Alex's climb towards health was slow but it kept heading in the right direction.

I in NO WAY want to make it seem like we didn't have hope because PRAISE GOD we did. He was our anchor and gave us encouragement that only a heavenly Father can but there were times that it was bleak. It was hard. It was not something I would wish upon ANYONE.

So since it is preemie awareness month I wanted to point you towards "The March of Dimes" website. You can educate yourself, donate, whatever you are capable of but I'd like to ask you to take time to pray for the babies in our country. Some parent right now is going through what we did. Some child is struggling for air. Some babies aren't even getting the chance to be born in this country. That is what I'd like to remind you of this morning, those who are weak and need someone to fight for them.

Chore Charts and Potty Training

So last week while reading through some of the "Works for Me Wednesday" tips I came across this blog (A Very Blessed Mommy) who linked her readers to this fabulous chore chart for toddlers. I love it AND it allows you to fill in the blanks right on the site, print and voila. Your charts are ready to go. I slipped them into a plastic sleeves attached magnets to the back and then the problem became: How should I mark off the chores that the boys complete? I thought with dry-erase marker but that quickly became "lets color on the frig. time" and it wiped off way too easily. I have been coming up with alternatives so that the charts remain re-usable. I decided I was going to make little stars out of brightly colored foam and attach magnets to them. THEN while shopping at Wal-Mart I found these magnets which TOTALLY match for around $2. I bought one pack in case I was wrong about it matching and brought them home. Needless to say I will be getting one more pack because it looks as if these magnets were specifically made for these charts. So that is what works for me.

Now, onto MUCH bigger things. I was planning on waiting until the dead of winter to do potty training b/c we would be stuck inside and I was completely fine with the boys not being trained until 3 or 3 1/2, 6 whatever. I dont' struggle with the whole "keeping up with the joneses mentality" when it comes to developmental milestones. I think I can attribute this to having preemies and having worked with Developmental Specialists who are quick to tell you that the "normal" range is VAST. Anyways, as is typical for Eli he decided that he would like to start now and began presenting to me ALL the signs of readiness. Therefore, in the interest of not losing that enthusiasm I am going to begin potty training. I have all the neccessary supplies (I think) below and would love to hear some of your tips. :) Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you and for those of you who aren't to the potty training stage yet and are interested I will lay out "the plan" in a future post.

What's missing?? I still plan to make a potty, sticker chart.

Here are a few of my other WFMW posts if you are up for it.

It's been a while...

(an entire week) since Mom posted pics so here is what life is looking like right now. Prepare yourself for picture overload....

We've been "helping" Mama cook

coloring with Daddy

making Thanksgiving crafts

going to story time

enjoying the lego exhibit at the museum (yes, that is made out of legos)

oh yeah, and I (alex) was crowned king. It's as it should be.

Mom's been talking to us A LOT about big boy underwear and not needing diapers anymore..

not sure what this is all about. Hmmm?

A few of my favorite things....

I know the twos are, well, terrible and all but I have to say there is definitely more to it than that AND I find myself thoroughly enjoying this age quite a bit. It's a good mix of sweet and salty (one of my favorite combinations).

We had a good day today and one of the things I am enjoying about them right now is their budding imaginations. They also play independently for much longer periods of time and they say the cutest things. So this post is dedicated to all that is good about being two since this age gets a bad rap.

I actually began taking pictures because seeing them like this took me back a couple of years to THIS picture. My babies! Sniff, Sniff!

They played with these laundry baskets trains and stuffed animals their passengers for OVER an hour. In toddler time that is like 2 days.

They watched a squirrel finish off the pumpkin for a good 20 minutes. Did you notice how chubby our friend the squirrel has gotten. I will take some credit. Thank you very much. :)

They actually do crafts now as opposed to me doing them. I still help A LOT but it is more enjoyable. (Speaking of crafts my favorite preschool blog "No Time For Flashcards" has a holiday gift guide up that has some great book and toy reccomendations on it. I suggested one of the gifts on the "Reader's Favorite's" link. Go check it out. )

And then of course, there are all the funny things that they are saying. I'll be honest it is impossible to keep track of them anymore but here are a few.

1) When we give them apples they say "open it Mama/Daddy". They want us to take a bite and get the apple started.

2) When they are ready to go or want you to follow them into another room they grab you with both their little hands and assist you in standing while saying "step up, step up".

3) Recently when at story time I forgot a diaper. I have NEVER been without back up either in the car or SOMEWHERE. Needless to say I had to be creative when I changed Alex's messy diaper. He could be heard screaming from a bathroom stall "isssssss disssssgussteeeeen, no, isssss dissssgussteen". Not a proud moment.

On a funny note when I got home and told the story to Nanni she said "You should have asked another Mom at story time for a diaper. I am sure they would have had one." She was SO right. Why in the world did that not occur to me. Ugh, sometimes I scare myself.

4) While on a walk recently I pointed out that the stop sign was the shape of an octagon. Now they love to look at street signs and tell their shapes. It just amazes me that all of this sticks in their brains because they are quick to point out every octagon stop sign that we see. I love that their brains are like sponges right now and am trying to teach them lots through play and outings.

I will have to keep this post as a reference point when I have days of longing for kindergarten.

If you are feeling joyful today and would like to share that with others head over to:

Halloween 2009

We ended up going to my sister's Halloween Party and had a great time. Alex wasn't freaked out although he refused to get dressed up. Thankfully my friend Steph brought extra costumes in case the boys changed their minds because Eli decided to dress up.

So here is our Halloween in a nutshell:

Eli wore this~

Alex wore this and wasn't scared of the mask behing him, shocking!

Kayla girl looked like this~

I brought these (seen here)~

and this is the gang~

There were a few funny moments that I want to remember. First of all Alex refusing an entire bin of costumes was pretty comical. It went like this: "This one?" (hold up costume) to which Alex responds "No, I NOT!" Repeat this over and over and you get the picture. He was emphatic in his response and VERY consistent.

Eli had a few moments. First of all I was trying to follow him up to a house and wait for Alex to get out of the wagon at the same time and Eli got ahead. I heard the lady giving out candy say "oh no, honey, you CAN'T come in". Yeah, he tried to squeeze past her as she was giving out candy. Another man was eating his dinner and had a slice of pizza in one hand and a bag of candy in another. Eli went for the pizza! Pretty Funny! And last but not least he tried to trade his candy that he already had in his hand with the next person giving out candy. Hey, at least he was sharing, kind of.