My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

I’m so happy my parents are here for a visit!  My mom already got some cuddles in:

My dad was taking a nap when I took the above picture, but that didn’t stop him from bonding with Susanna.  She heard him snoring softly on the couch, and she looked over at him and growled.  He was speaking her language! 

I really need to exercise.

Not like bending-down-and-picking-up-kids type of exercise, but real exercise.

Why, you ask?  Because the other night, my dear husband showed me up.  Big time.

Saturday afternoon, some of our wonderful friends visited us from Pennsylvania.  We were all over at my in-laws, playing with their newly-purchased Nintendo Wii.  Jim declared that he was a hula-hooping champion on Wii Fit.  I snorted dismissively, but Jim insisted.  He got up and we all laughed as my husband vigorously whirled his hips in the hula-hooping simulation.  He was sweating and panting when he finished the three-minute game, with a victorious “4-star Calorie Roaster” rating.  I figured that it must not be all that difficult, since Jim’s only exercise regime consists of lifting Rebecca and Susanna onto his shoulders for rides around the house. 

I volunteered to be the next contestant and vowed to all present that I would show them how it was properly done.  I stood on the Wii Fit balance board, trying to summon my childhood hula-hooping experience.  I started swinging my hips and arms in a circle, quickly realizing that my endurance and flexibility were not what they used to be.  I whirled and twirled and willed myself to beat Jim.  I watched in horror as the time clock spun down while my score remained stubbornly low.  I moved faster and more erratically, urging my flailing body to last just a few more moments.  Alas, I couldn’t even finish the game.  I stepped off the board with three seconds to go and collapsed in a heap on the floor.  My score was half of Jim’s.  And for all of you who know Jim, you can guess that he was not slow in proudly and vociferously proclaiming his victory. 

To make the memory of my loss even more poignant, I am still very sore.  My abdominal and back muscles feel like they were pummeled with a mallet.  I am clearly out of shape, if a Nintendo game is confining me to bed with a heating pad.  I suppose I should have taken into account that I have done virtually no demanding physical exercise in almost a year and a half.  I was too sick in the beginning of the pregnancy to think about running anywhere other than the bathroom, then I was on bedrest and considered trips around the hospital room to be long-distance sprints, then I was recovering from bedrest and found it difficult to haul myself up and down the stairs to respond to the girls’ newborn cries, and then I was too exhausted by the end of the day to think about getting up from the couch, and then…I got lazy.  I really have no excuse now. 

I need to get into shape so I can keep up with the girls as their crawling evolves into more rapid forms of transportation (although Susie gets pretty close to a leaping-crawl at times, where she gets going so fast I’m surprised she doesn’t get tangled in her hands and legs).  But more importantly, I need to redeem myself at our next family Nintendo Wii tournament.  I can’t let Jim hula-whip me again. 

Even if he does melt my heart when he plays with the girls. 

I’ll let him win the Best Daddy in the World contest anytime. 

One year ago, on May 16, 2008, my life changed.

I was told that my girls were trying to come into this world at 24 weeks gestation.  I was told that they may not survive, and if they did, they would most likely have severe, lifelong disabilities.

But I was also told that it was unbelievable that I was getting a routine ultrasound at the exact time I started to go into active labor.  I was told that it was fortunate that I happened to be at the only hospital within hours of our home that could handle 24-week babies.

I didn’t have to be told that God was in control.  I didn’t have to be told that His Will was perfect, and that He would sustain Jim and I no matter what happened.

God blessed us with a miracle that day.  He enabled the doctors to stop my labor from progressing any further.  He gave Jim the strength to stand by my bedside and support me through my haze of medication, bewilderment and fear.  He gave me the patience to wait, and the will to trust.

And now, one year later, on May 16, 2009, my miracles:

Last May 16th, I never could have imagined this May 16th.  Then, I didn’t know if I would have empty arms.  Now, my hands and heart are full.  Rebecca Faith and Susanna Joy are living reminders of the Lord’s grace and mercy.  On June 12, 2008, I wrote this on the blog: “…I am honored to thank the Lord for…His continued kindness toward us. Not only did He offer us eternal salvation through the death and resurrection of his beloved Son, He has provided for the ongoing health of our dear daughters. The Lord would be just as good and just as kind if He had chosen a different course of action, perhaps one that would not have been as pleasing to us, but we are humbled by His gracious decision to allow our pregnancy to continue just a little bit longer.” 

I continue to be humbled by His abundant blessings.  He not only allowed our pregnancy to continue long past May 16th, He gave us healthy, beautiful daughters who are now nearly 10 months old.  “Thanks be unto God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15). 

I’ve been trying to incorporate more finger foods into the girls’ diet.  As the following picture illustrates, they’re definitely fans of sliced turkey:

Since I’ve been on such a video kick lately, I’ve included footage of their lunchtime silliness for your viewing pleasure:

I’m thinking that I need to spice up their diet a bit, since Rebecca is turning to alternate food sources, such as:

Cardboard…

…and remote controls. 

Only the TiVo-savvy would probably notice what our dear daughter ingested off of the above-pictured remote.  There is supposed to be a clear silicone bubble encasing the TiVo button at the top of the remote.  Here is a picture of a duplicate, undisturbed TiVo button:

See how it’s missing the raised bubble in the next picture? 

Rebecca must have figured that raised bubble was rather tasty, because I found it after she had thoroughly -and internally – enjoyed it.  Needless to say, I will not be attempting to put the bubble back in its place, given the journey it recently made.  Rebecca has “digested” enough TV to last her a long while!   

Who needs Sesame Street when you have Spin Cycle?