All Smiles!

I just had to share these pictures of Martha and Jaina smiling. Of course they had bigger smiles, but I couldn't catch them on camera. It was great to get them both smiling at the same time. They are such happy little girls. I am constantly amazed at God's blessings!

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day I had asked for Chad to take the girls out of the house for a few hours so I could actually get a good nap in (because I don't get much sleep at night!). Our neighbors were getting together with a bunch of family and offered to take the girls with them so all the kids could play together. They were playing baseball and one of the cousins of our neighbors tends to throw the bat after swinging and one of those times it caught Eva right on the nose!

Her nose isn't broken, but she will have the battle bruise for a while. Here is a picture from Monday morning (which looks worse than it did on Sunday). I am sure it will continue to look even worse once the swelling goes down and it turns black and blue.

Happy Birthday, Cousins!

Lil' Charity, Cole, and Claydon had a Mickey Mouse/Disney birthday party on Saturday afternoon. Charity celebrated her 8th birthday, Cole his 5th and Claydon his 2nd.

Charity and Doug had Minnie and Mickey Mouse cut-outs there for picture opportunities. Chad and I even got in on the fun!

We gave Lil' Charity a jean skirt I had made with a matching purse and a kite. Cole got a tractor and haybine to use outside from us and Grandpa and Grandma Carmichael and a kite, and we gave Claydon a box of building blocks and a bubble gun. We also gave all three of them a collection of old classic cartoons. We hope they all like their presents. As you can see, Cole started playing with his right away! We all had a lot of fun at the party.

LifeWalk 2008

The girls and I walked the LifeWalk for Care Net of Cadillac this past Saturday. I had Martha and Jaina in the back of the double stroller and Cora in the front of it. Sabra and Allyn were in the wagon. My friend Lynn joined us as I thought I would need help having all seven girls with me. Dara ended up pulling the stroller most of the way, but it was good thing Lynn was there as she helped during the last 1/2 mile. We had an enjoyable time together as we were supporting the great ministry of Care Net of Cadillac. We raised $320 this year which is more than last year, but less than my goal of $500. I am sure we will do better next year!

Praise the Lord!

Allyn accepted Christ as her Savior on May 4, 2008! She has been asking questions for a while now, but after reading our "Keys for Kids" in the van on the way to a four-wheeling event, Dara talked to her about accepting Christ and lead her to the Lord! A couple of days later I talked to her and asked her to explain to me what she had done to make sure she understood, and she did. Then on Wednesday night, she told one of her Cubbies leaders at Awana about. We are so thankful that now three of our kids know the Lord. The amazing thing is that Dara is the one who lead both Eva and Allyn to Him. Praise be to God!

Martha & Jaina update 4

Martha and Jaina are really growing! Not only are they growing bigger physically, but their personalities continue to grow as well. Martha loves to observe, especially faces. She smiles a lot. Jaina is also starting to smile quite a lot and she has this great big smile that just makes me laugh. We are truly blessed to have such beautiful, healthy, little girls.

At 2 1/2 months old, they are growing well. Martha is 9 1/2 pounds and 21" long. Jaina is 10 lbs. 13 oz and 22" long. Jaina is already starting to wear 3-6 month clothes!

I am constantly amazed at how amazing God is to have created us. The girls and I were just talking the other day about how God knitted each of them in my womb. They were quite surprised that God knew how to knit!

God Answers Prayers!

When we found out we were having twins, I figured we could make due with the one swing we had. One could be in the swing and the other could be in the bouncy chair. Well, Martha and Jaina decided they didn't like that idea! Neither one of them really care for the bouncy chair, so I set out in search of someone who might have one we could borrow. I didn't see the sense in buying another swing to only use for a few months (Jaina is growing so fast she will soon be too big for the swing!) so I thought I would see if someone had one sitting in their garage or attic.

I started out asking family, but no one had one they were willing to share so then I started asking friends. Even those who didn't have one or knew of anyone off the top of their head were at least praying for us to find one. Well, God truly does answer prayers! A friend of a friend had one sitting in their garage collecting dust. When I met with my friend to get the swing, she notified me that they had said that we could either keep the swing or share it with someone else since they were done with it. Since we really don't have the space to store two swings (and I don't think we will need two at the same time again) I will either find someone who needs it or donate it to Care Net of Cadillac when we are done with it. It is truly amazing how God works in our lives.