Pictures galore!

We are still at the hospital but everyone is doing great. We have gotten a ton of visitors and even more pictures. We are hoping to get to come home tomorrow afternoon. More posts to come with pictures of our beautiful babies.

Thank you to everyone for your visits, calls, emails, and gifts!

God has truly blessed us!


Sweet Blake



Wide-eyed Jack



Mommy and Blake


Mommy and Jack

All of my sweet boys! Can you tell Garrett is a proud daddy?


The wonderful Dr. Rawson

The very proud Grandpa (my dad)

The very proud Papa (Garrett's dad)

The very proud Mama (Garrett's mom)

Angie, Scott (Garrett's brother), Brandon & Avery

Blake and Jack's big cousins

Alan, Lauren, Kedra & Mason Brown

My mom's best friends; the boys' fairy godmothers

Mary and Seth Anderle-expecting a friend for our boys in October

As soon as Matt found out we were having twins, all he wanted to do was hold both at the same time.

Blake Allyn & Jackson Bruce

They are here and they are perfect!!! Blake came into the world at 10:35 this morning weighing in at 5.5 pounds and 18 inches long. Jack came into the world at 10:36 this morning weighing in at 5.1 pounds and 19 inches long. Blake has been able to stay with us the entire day and Jack went into the NICU for about 4 hours. He was forgetting to breath while crying and his blood sugar level was a little low; but now he is perfect.

They look very similar with the exception of the size of their head. That is how we are able to tell them apart. Blake's head is very round and plump with dimples, and Jack's head is very narrow and skinny. Both have a dimple in their chins.

We will post more pictures soon.

Garrett and I with Blake.

Jack is close to the curtain and Garrett is holding Blake.

The proud Daddy!

My cup runneth over!

I know that I am about to be blessed with the most amazing boys ever. But, I have already been blessed by the most amazing friends ever.

I have never been one to ask for help or easily accept it when it is offered or given. It isn't an ego thing, I just don't want others to be put out because of me. Well 7 weeks of bed rest has taught me to allow others to help. I guess I wasn't really given much of a choice.

7 weeks ago, when the doctor laid down the law, I was crushed. I didn't know how I was going to finish getting ready for these boys. I allowed myself a pity party for one day. (I learned that from my mom. Just because something rough or unexpected has hit you doesn't mean you go through life feeling sorry for yourself.) Well, some very amazing women stepped in and took over everything.

I could not have gotten through these last 7 weeks without Kedra, Mary, Sheila, Georgia and Tanya. These ladies cooked, did laundry, ran errands and kept me entertained. When I was first put on bed rest I never thought that I would make it this far and feared that my boys wouldn't have any clothes to wear because I hadn't bought any preemie stuff. Well, that problem was solved within a couple of days. These girls went shopping and took care of everything. I now have plenty of teeny tiny clothes for my not so teeny tiny boys. :) Hopefully they will still get to wear them. They also made returns and bought the 'must haves' that we till didn't have.

These girls took care of me when Garrett went to the lake with his buddies for a weekend (which I encouraged him to do). They fed me, organized all of the boys' things, washed their clothes, hung them up and put them in the closet in a very organized manner (they know me too well).

Not only have these 5 ladies been amazing, but so many other friends have brought us dinner or lunch and kept me company. I can't get over how generous people have been and for that we will be forever grateful!

God has blessed me with these ladies and I will never be able to express to any of them how grateful I am for all that they have done for me. I don't wish bed rest on anyone, I just hope there is a way I can return all of the favors they did for me.

Kedra, Mary, Sheila, Georgia and Tanya: Thank you so much for EVERYTHING, I love you all!

In less than 48 hours...

we will have 2 handsome baby boys!!!!

That's right, our c-section is scheduled for 10am on Thursday morning. We went to see the doctor this morning and the boys are looking great! They are HUGE!! Blake is weighing in at 5 pounds 11 ounces, and Jack is 5 pounds 9 ounces. After discussing our options, the doctor decided that taking them out now would be the safest move. Their lungs look fully developed and obviously they aren't starving.

Our doctor did say that it is best to go in with the mindset that the boys will have to spend a couple of days in the NICU. However, he also said that there is a very good chance that they will come home with us from the hospital. This has been my goal during the entire pregnancy. My other goal was to make it to June 1st. Well, 3 days shy ain't too bad if you ask me. :)

Garrett and I are just beside ourselves with excitement even though it hasn't really hit us yet. I'm afraid it won't hit me until we get to the hospital.

Some other good news is that my bed rest has become a little more relaxed. I can now eat sitting up and I can take a shower tomorrow and Thursday!! If I never sit in a tub again it will be too soon. He said I was pushing my luck when I asked if I could go and get a hair cut.

Please say lots of prayers for these precious boys and myself. I'm having some apprehensions about both the epidural and the c-section. I know women go through this every day and are just fine, but the reality of it is making me a little nervous.

Check back in on Thursday for lots of pictures!!!

Are you busy next Thursday?

We went back to the doctor today and things look great!!! The boys have each gained a couple of ounces since Thursday and based on my placentas, their lungs are strong and healthy.

Because of all of the positive news we were hearing during the ultrasound I was convinced that Dr. Rawson would tell me that I could relax some on my bed rest. No such luck. Now is just as important as ever to stay horizontal. We don't want my water breaking at home. However, he did say that if the ultrasound looks just as good or even better next Tuesday than "next Thursday would be an excellent day to have a baby." So this means that the boys' birthday will be Thursday, May 28, 2009!!!! This also means only 9 more days of bed rest!

The news hasn't actually hit me yet. It hasn't sunk in that I will be a mom in less than 10 days. This is so crazy! Please pray that the boys don't decide to come earlier than this. We want them as big and healthy as possible.

34 weeks and counting

I really don't have any excuse for being behind on my posts so I won't even try to make one up. Last Thursday I hit a major milestone...34 weeks!!! This is so important because now the boys have no increased risk of mental retardation, cerebral palsy or learning disabilities. YEA!!!!

We went for our weekly appointment last Thursday and got our weekly ultrasound. I am getting so spoiled. The boys are still doing so well and growing like weeds. They weigh 5.1 and 5.0 pounds. I can't believe that I am carrying around 10 pounds of baby. Well I guess I'm not really 'carrying' around but you know what I mean. Garrett is a little concerned that our boys will never be able to balance themselves to walk. Blake has a large head, small waist, and boat feet. Whereas Jack has a small head, big waist and normal feet. Hopefully by the time they are ready to walk, all of this will sort itself out. Back to Blake's feet for a minute, they are 3 inches long!! This is apparently how long a full term newborn's feet are. I guess it is safe to say that he got his mom's, uncle's and great-grandma's feet.

I have finally been able to take a deep breath since we hit 34 weeks. I never would have thought that 5 weeks ago, when I was put on bed rest, that we would make it this far. God is working two little miracles in my belly. My cervix is getting thinner and thinner and is now less than a 1/3 of an inch long. So, these boys could really come any day. We are hoping that they choose to marinade for at least another week and a half. Dr. Rawson told us last week that our goal is no longer to have healthy babies, because we are already going to have that. Our new goal is to bring these boys home with us from the hospital. This was such a wonderful thing to hear! We go back again tomorrow to see what is going on.

Please say a prayer that these boys stay put for a little while longer. Selfishly I want them here now, but I know that what is best for them is to be just a little bit bigger and stronger. However, our bags are packed and our cameras are charged just in case!

My first Mother's Day!

This is the third Mother's Day without my mom. That is also the number of years it took us to get pregnant. So, as you can imagine, this day hasn't been one of my favorites.

Now that we are expecting two precious baby boys this day is looking better and better, starting with today. Garrett woke me up this morning with breakfast in bed. We had agreed not to give gifts for Mother's/Father's day this year because we bought a very expensive camera earlier in the year. Well, he didn't follow his own rule. He handed me a brown box that had a piece of paper in it stating that I was going to get a prenatal massage here at the house!! Then, also in the box, was this beautiful 14K gold, silver and pearl bracelet. It doesn't exactly go with a t-shirt and yoga pants, but I'm wearing it anyway. I know I've said it before, but I have the best husband in the world!!


I was blessed for 24 years to have the most amazing women in my life. She was taken away from us way too early but those years we did have will never be forgotten. I couldn't have had a better role model of what a mother is supposed to be than my own mom. She was my best friend and would be SO excited to be the Mimi of two grandsons. I know she will always be with me and my boys will grow up knowing everything about her. I am so much like her, they really won't have a choice. :) She would have been the best grandmother in the world just as she was mother!! I love and miss you Mom!

Bed rest and a great husband

I wanted to share some pictures of what my day to day life is like. Thanks to my wonderful husband, I can get up from bed and move to the couch and not need anything for the rest of the day.

Before he leaves for work, Garrett makes me a sandwich and snacks and puts them in a cooler next to the couch. He also got a 2.5 gallon jug of water that he refills so I can use it to refill my water bottle. I am supposed to be drinking at least a gallon of water a day. Garrett also set up a table for me with my hair dryer and flat iron on it so I can somewhat attempt to fix my hair on the days I get to take a bath.

Once all of this bed rest is over I owe him big time! I know he has a lot more added stress trying to make sure I'm taken care of along with the house and laundry. He is doing a great job and I couldn't ask for a better husband!! I love you Garrett!!

Before we get to the pictures, don't mind the bed head and VERY white legs!!!

If you come over, this is how you will find me. You can see my table with the cooler and jug of water at easy reach.


You can see my beauty shop on the table behind my head. You can also see the home monitoring device on the edge of the coffee table.

33 weeks and counting...

I have officially started week 5 of bed rest. I can't believe that I have been horizontal for 28 days. Thanks to all of our wonderful friends and family the time has actually gone by really fast.

This has been a more eventful week than most. My doctor wanted me to start on a home monitoring system to measure my contractions. My fantastic (can you hear the sarcasm) insurance company wouldn't pay for it unless I went to see a high risk specialist. I don't understand how they can cover IVF but not this monitor. Anyway, Wednesday morning my dad and I were off to see a doctor that had the personality of a fence post. It wasn't a pleasant experience. Her measurements of the boys and my cervix were completely different than what my doctor has been getting. I was very confused. So, on Thursday my dad picked me up again for an appointment with my regular doctor. It was a much better experience. Everything looked great! The boys are still weighing about 4 1/2 pounds each and my cervix is the same. My dr. said that in another week or two he's just not going to care about me anymore. Meaning, that if we can make it that far I am in the clear to move about!!! He sees no reason why we can't meet that goal.

Our big milestone of 34 weeks is now only 6 days away! I will feel so much relief once we hit that point. Once we get there, there is no increased risk of mental retardation or learning disabilities.

Here I am up for a bathroom break. Please excuse the major bed head. :)

Last Shower

I haven't blogged in quite some time and I don't have a good excuse. I know that I just lay around all day, so I should be completely caught up, but I'm not.

Last Saturday my mom's great friends, Mrs. Bullard, Mrs. Foley and Mrs. Harn threw me a wonderful shower. Unfortunately it had to be moved to my house and I had to lay in a recliner the entire time, but it was great! The guests invited were all friends of my mom's. It was such an amazing day. To know that all of those women played such a special role in my mom's life and then were sweet enough to come and support my boys and I is just an overwhelming experience.
The three ladies that hosted the shower are all like mothers to me and always have been. I have known all three of them since I was three. Their children and my brother were all in kindergarten together. It is hard to believe that these wonderful ladies have been in my life for 24 years! I am so blessed to have them in my life, they take such good care of me and check up on me on a regular basis.

Unfortunately I completely forgot to get out my camera and have someone take pictures. Just trust that the food and decor was all amazing. It was a perfect day and we were given lots of wonderful gifts. We have the most generous people in our lives.

Thank you again Mrs. Bullard, Mrs. Foley and Mrs. Harn!! I love you all!!!