Thoughts of forever...

After the sealing,Dallas Temple March 11, 2000


Natalie 2 weeks


Samantha 2 weeks


Samantha and Natalie 8 years

Tomorrow will be 8 years since we had the privilege of having our twins sealed to us, and I have been reflecting on the miraculous and amazing process of how they came to our family. I am so grateful for the support of family and friends who helped us and cheered us on. I am so grateful for Heavenly Father's plan for me and so grateful He didn't let me have the plan I had for myself! The blessings He has given me have been FAR greater than anything I could have ever imagined for myself. I remember the frustration of infertility and the heartache of wondering if I would ever be able to have a family. I remember the many doctor visits, surgeries, shots and hope of seeing the little blue line on the pregnancy test each month. Greg and I both hoped that we would get twins through the fertility treatments, but after many months and for various reasons we decided to stop the fertility methods and pursue adoption. We filled out all the paperwork and checked the box that said we would take twins, never dreaming that we might actually get twins. I remember being at work when the social worker called and said that there were premature twin girls and could she show the birth mother our file. I cried and cried as she told me what she knew of their condition in the NICU, the possibilty of them having every conceivable disorder, and liklihood of them being mildly disabled at the very least, and did Greg and I still want to consider adopting them. Greg and I didn't care what they had or might possibly have, it was just YES, YES, YES we want them! Greg called the social worker back after I had talked to her to reiterate that we absolutely wanted to consider adopting these girls. And I knew that they were meant to be with our family.

We lived through the NICU, cheering the girls for every ounce gained and every improvement made. As many of you know it is very touch and go in the NICU. One day everything is going great, and the next there are many setbacks, just like real life I suppose.

Susanna joined our family the old fashioned way later in 2000 and it has been an adventure ever since! Our family dynamics are very interesting sometimes--it is not all sunshine and roses everyday, but I treasure the journey through life with Greg and these sweet girls and look forward to forever with them! This is probably the longest post I'll ever have--thanks for reading!

New roof

The insurance adjuster was out this afternoon and confirmed that we need a new roof, new gutter, downspouts, and some fence repairs thanks to the hail storm we had a few weeks back. This is the first time we have ever had to file a claim with insurance. The estimated damage comes to over $13,0000!!!! FORTUNATELY we have a deductible of only $500! At one point the adjuster was on the very tip top point of our roof with a bag and a measuring tape--I was so nervous that he was going to fall off so I had to go inside.

Friday Flashback

Ok, so I copied this idea from someone else's blog--imitation is the highest form of flattery! I hope she won't mind! This is a photo of my roommates at BYU. I can't remember the exact date. Probably 1989 or so. Emilie (she spells it with an h in there somewhere, but I can't remember where it goes so I left it out), Laurie, Lisa, Angie. They were a great group of girls and we had great time together!

Ok....more snow!

Warming up by the fire with Am. Girl dolls and friends following 2 plus hours of playing in the snow

Winter was not done with us! We got quite a bit more snow this afternoon. When I picked the girls up from school they let me know on several occasions the this was the best day of their life! They had me lined up for gallons of hot chocolate, popcorn, and various kinds of items that could be used for the eyes, nose and mouth of a snowman. Along with these snow day duties came "dryer duty"--every 10 minutes someone came in wet and cold and had to change gloves, pants, socks, etc. These things went in the dryer so they could be mostly dry for the next round. Still no cancelled school at this point, just a 2 hour delay so we can do it all again in the morning!

A few hours of winter

We were awakened this morning by squeals and screams of delight--"IT SNOWED"!! It did indeed snow a little. The girls got dressed and went immediately outside to play. There are two slats missing in the fence between us and our neighbors, so all the kids were throwing snowballs at each other through the space. The snow will more than likely be gone by late morning, so there IS school today (much to the girls dismay)!

Story time with Dad

Story time with the Dyer's! This was a few nights ago--Greg is snoozing, Susanna is reading to everyone, I'm not sure if Samantha is yawning or just about to say something, and Natalie looks like she is daydreaming! At least a couple of them look interested!

Backyard Picnic

The girls had afternoon soccer games yesterday, so they had a friend over to play in the morning. At lunch time they asked if they could have a picnic in the backyard, which of course is fine with me anytime they want to eat outside (no mess in the kitchen you see). They were doing a "cheers" with their capri suns!