Solomons Island

After graduation, we went to this adorable little town called Solomons and stayed at this wonderful military resort. Joseph and I had taken the kids there a couple of years ago and had so much fun and thought it was a great place to take the kids back to. And it was! This time we called ahead, way ahead, and reserved a 5 bedroom cottage. It was beautiful.

The next couple of shots are of this awesome wrap around all weather porch that overlooked the beach. It was a great place to watch the sunset at night and have quiet time in the morning.

Above is the view from the dining table.

Joseph's parents and grandparents were in a cottage just down from us. Theirs was equally beautiful.

It feels like we're home

Well, we made it to my mama's house! Yesterday was our longest day in the car and the most painful yet. Oh, it was painful. Luke was terribly behaved, Caleb marked his territory all through Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, the girls were let out of their car seats for a total of 1 hour and slept even less than that all day and we got stuck in a traffic jam caused by 2 semi trucks colliding. By the time we rolled into a hotel it was 11:30 pm we had been on the road for 14 hours and we were all beat.

It was our first time driving at night and I had high hopes that my kids would go to sleep, but oh-no...those boys are not car sleepers! I had no idea what to expect the kids to do when we got to the hotel so late, but they were all awesome. They just laid down and went to sleep. Little Darlings!

Today started out rough. The boys needed a break from one another, so we moved everyone around in the car. Luke came up closer to us (so much easier to get to him when he was disobeying) and Lily Kate went back with Caleb. The difference that moving them made was amazing. Much better for all of us!

We are now at my mom's and it is good to be home. Especially this home!

We never did make it to Roanoke!

We are leaving the great state of Virgina today and I have to admit that I was impressed. It is a beautiful place with so much to do. Yesterday we went to the Natural Bridge and it was pretty amazing! I have pictures, but since Lovey is already showered and giving me the are-you-going-to-get-out-of-bed-and-help-me look, I will have to post them later.

On the road again...

We start the end of our trip tomorrow and I am so sad about that. This vacation has been amazing and I really am sad that it is almost over and that we have to go back to the real world. There were some stressful moments but that is to be expected, after all, we have been traveling for over 2 weeks with 4 young kids. When we are home and all is "normal" there are stressful moments. But the kids have done amazingly well and the girls have surpassed my most wildest dreams on our travels.

When we first told people that we were going to drive the 26 hours to DC for graduation, everyone just laughed at us. People thought we were nuts. (Especially because initially I was going to drive it by myself with the kids - that would have been insanity!) And even right up to the night before we left, we checked flight prices thinking that perhaps this was going to be way too much on us, but I am SO glad that we decided to drive with the kids. It has been precious time together that I will never regret.

Joseph and I both have many memories of family vacations in the car. Joseph and his family drove down from Alaska to the lower 48, many times, on vacation. My dad took my brother and I all across the country for the whole summer a couple of times. And I am confident that there will be many future vacations that we take as a family in the car.

Tomorrow we head to my mom's house and will be there for 4 or 5 days before coming home. I'm glad that our vacation isn't quite over yet! And after 20+ more hours in the car I may be singing a different tune at the end!!

Uniformed Services University Graduation

This is a picture of the stage before the ceremony began. This was such a unique and special graduation ceremony because USU is a military medical school, so there was a military aspect to the event as well. The Marine Corp band played for this ceremony.

Here comes the graduates!

I have to talk about this girl here for a moment. She is in almost every picture that I took of Joseph while he is sitting there during graduation and in almost every pose, she is doing this! Waving at her family, smiling at her family and making gestures to her family. And this is what my husband did...stoically stare straight ahead. Joseph told me later on that this girl had to repeat a year, so she was probably just excited to be graduating!

Here is my love taking the Hippocratic Oath.

And he is being hooded as a doctor in this picture. One would think that at this point I would be ready to snap this picture, but this came so fast I almost missed it! Sorry it's a little fuzzy.

And above is Lovey being promoted to Captain. This has been 7 long years in coming. He would have been a captain 3 years ago if he had not gone to medical school.

This is the 3 star Surgeon General of the Air Force, promoting the new Doctors to Captain.

Joseph, his Dad and Grandpa

Captain Maddry

Some of our best friends, the Ziggy's, came all the way from St. Louis for graduation and then spent the next week with us on vacation. Any is 7 months pregnant with their 3rd child and this is the first time that Amy and I have not been pregnant together!

This is Joseph's best friend, from the Air Force Academy, Jeremy and his wife Dana. We were thrilled that they came from Delaware for the big event!! They are adopting their first child from Guatemala and will be picking her up any day now. They named her Ella!

My sister, mom, and stepdad were all so excited for Joseph and so proud of him!

And it was such a blessing to have my stepmom come and help me with the kids. She adores them and is so great with them and they love her. Things would have been so much harder without her being there and so graciously loving and caring for all of us!

Somehow I never got a picture (with my camera) of Joseph with his entire family. His mom, dad, 3 adopted sisters and grandparents came for graduation and when I looked around to get a picture of the whole crew his dad and grandpa had left to go get the car. Hopefully someone else got that picture and if they did I will post it.

If only I knew how photoshop works!

This picture seriously cracks me up! We decided not to bring the kids to graduation (I can't imagine why we wouldn't want these 4 darling hoodlums there?!) so took pictures the day before. Well, Joseph had just got his cap, gown and doctor hood, but had no idea how to put them on. (I later found the instructions discarded on the floor, but then again my hubby is not a read-the-instructions kinda guy!) Well, the above picture is what happens when the "moms" (my stepmom and mother-in-law) step in to help dress you - a completely backwards doctors hood!!!

One day, when I learn photo shop, I will blacken that out since it is the only picture that we have of the 6 of us celebrating graduation! Look past the backward hood and aren't we a cute family?!?!?

Christian Physician's Oath

Joseph got to participate in something pretty cool the night before graduation - he was involved with Christian Medical and Dental Association and they held a Christian Physician's Oath ceremony. There was a praise and worship time and then they held the oath ceremony with a reception afterwards. It was very meaningful and sweet.

Y'all wanna see a cute picture?

(This picture has not been edited in any way! It was taken from the deck of our cottage.)

Change of plans

Did I say that we were going home in my last blog post? Well, I was just kidding. Initially we were going to head to my parent's house bright and early Saturday morning, but we were having so much fun with Joseph's parents (and we don't get to see them very often since they live in Alaska!) that we decided to hang out with them and tour some of this great country.

On Saturday we went to Philadelphia and did some of the historical sights there. I was super impressed with all that we saw and with the town of Philadelphia. Great town with so much history and so many things to do. Highly recommend going there. We should have stayed there longer, but decided to head to Roanoke, VA. And there is absolutely no rhyme or reason why we decided Roanoke. Seriously, I just looked at the map and decided Roanoke. Just like that. And that is where the drama began.

Well, we took a wrong turn and got lost in New Jersey. New Jersey doesn't seem that big on the map, but it's stinkin' huge when you are lost there. Joseph and I got into a major fight discussion, that made a bad situation worse and created this 2 hour detour. So Joseph's dad decided to take a stab at getting us back on track and thought that perhaps this would defuse the situation between Joseph and I. At this point I was driving and I had a strong suspicion that he had no idea where he was. Joseph confirmed that suspicion when he finally found us on the map and we were at the bottom of New Jersey headed towards the Atlantic Ocean. We were trying to get to the magical city of Roanoke. And once again I have no idea why we are going to Roanoke, but I knew that we weren't going to get there by driving into the Atlantic.

After we finally found our way back on track (Joseph and I at this point were on speaking terms at least) and got back to Philadelphia, we sat in downtown traffic for over an hour. This was the point where we laughed at how ridiculous we both are and how ridiculous the situation that we were in was. And as a side note, this is one of the things that I love most about Joseph - we can't stay mad long and we are able to apologize and move on quickly! Needless to say, we never ended up at Roanoke and stayed at this creepy hotel in Carlisle, PA. Which brings me to my next crazy story...

I decided to try Priceline for hotels because some good friends are always bragging about what great deals they always seem to get. So here we all are in one of my favorite eateries, Panera Bread, where I decide to try to Priceline a hotel. I had already found a hotel that I wanted to stay at, but it was kinda expensive so in my mind I thought that if I asked for a 1 star hotel, then I may end up with this particular hotel that I wanted. Now, even as I type that I realize that that whole scenario makes absolutely NO sense. I honestly was so tired, worn out from driving and WW 3 with my love, that I should not have been the one making any plans for my group. To save you from hearing all the drama, I will tell you (even though I am sure that there isn't a person reading this that wouldn't be able to figure out the following) if you want a nice hotel, don't Priceline a 1 star. I'm sure you are running to get a pen to write down these pearls of wisdom.

We woke up this morning to head 4 hours to Roanoke and decided about an hour into the drive that perhaps it would be fun to drive the Shenandoah National Park on their scenic skyline drive. And this is where I confess that all these "we" decisions are really "Sab Mad" decisions. Everyone is so laid back and I'm a control freak. As soon as we got to the entrance and realized that we had to pay $15 dollars to use their highway, we should have turned back, but didn't. Instead we spent the next 2 hours going 62 miles. And once again we have failed to make it to Roanoke. Seriously people, we are averaging 30 miles an hour.

But, we are having fun with Joseph's parents and making memories that will last a lifetime. I just am not sure that Roanoke will be in those memories!

Did you miss me?...

...or better yet, did you even notice I was gone?!?


I am finally back in the land of Internet!! I seriously think I was having withdrawal. And I really was missing blogging.

We are in Pennsylvania and are going to go to Sesame Place today. The kids and our friends are already there, but I am back at the hotel with the little beauties while they get a morning nap. They are so tired and have done awesome on this trip. At home they are used to taking their naps in their cribs, during specific times of the day, and seeing friends that they know. Since we have been on this trip, they have slept in different places, at different times and many days not gotten a decent nap all day. Added to all that is that the girlie's don't like strangers. And we have been blessed with seeing family and friends that we haven't seen in a long time...who also happen to be strangers to the girl's. I feel bad for the grandparents because the unfortunate part is that the girls are just starting to warm up to them. And we are leaving them today.

Solomon's Island was fabulous!! Our cottage was absolutely amazing! I have pictures, but will post them later. The only down side was that I was prepared for the blazing heat of Texas, not the cool temperatures of the east coast! I will write more on all that when I post some pictures.

After our adventures today we are going to head back to my mama's house!! We were going to go through St. Louis and hang out there, but we decided that it would be more fun to go home to my mom's and get some TLC there and also try to get away for the night and leave the kids. While this trip has been amazing and the kids have been delightful, we would love some alone time together before he starts his Intern year.

Well my friends, I just wanted to check in and let you all know that we are doing well! Now that I am back in the land of Internet, you will be hearing from me more often!

Introducing...

Dr. Mad! I love you and am so proud of you!!

(This is my favorite picture of the 2 of us! My camera battery died, so I don't have a picture of him alone!!))

(I have pictures that I want to post, but have no time right now! I will post them asap. I may not have internet access for the next couple of days, so enjoy some time off from the crazy Mad House!)

Happy Birthday Lily Kate and Ella Grace

My sweet, beautiful, baby girls:

I cannot believe that you are one. How did this happen? Wasn't it just yesterday that we first hear the word, "twins" and realized that the doctors were actually talking to us? Wasn't it just yesterday that I was so hugely prego with you and thought that I would surely bust open. Wasn't it just yesterday that Daddy and I were desperately trying to get a room at the hospital so that we could finally meet you? Wasn't it just yesterday that I held you both sleeping in my arms, so tiny and fragile and sweet?

My girls, words cannot express how I love you. I wasn't sure that it was possible for my heart to swell with any more love than that I have for Luke and Caleb. Oh, but how that changed the second I laid eyes on you girls. I love you more than I ever dreamed that I could. So much more.

My fragile, delicate, sweet Lily Kate. I melt at your smile. From the second I saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. You, my girl, were the one that gave me such trouble in the womb. For such a delicate little thing, you are most surely stubborn (you get that from your dad...and mom!) And though you are stubborn it is hard to be frustrated with you because as soon as you smile, I melt! Lily you are so flirty. You make the cutest eyes and crinkle nose smile at people. But only people you know. You are quite timid around people you haven't quite warmed up to. Especially men. Hopefully you stay that way! My prayer for you my little one is that you love our Heavenly Father with complete abandon. That people are drawn to you not just because you are beautiful, but because you shine bright with our Father's love. I pray that you know your Savior in ways that I am seeking to know Him. I pray that you and Ella have a bond that continues to grow stronger each day. I also pray that you marry a man just like your Daddy - brilliant, loving, thoughtful and Godly. Daddy and I love you Lily Kate and are so thankful for this past year with you!

Oh, Ella. You are my adorable, funny, gorgeous little monkey. You are so innocently curious and have the greatest belly laugh. Right now, love, you are the one that I have to keep my eyes on constantly because you are the one getting into naughtiness. And when I move you out of that naughtiness, you don't mind or really even fight me about it because you are off to find more ways to get into trouble! Ella you aren't as timid of strangers as you sister, but still fuss just because she is fussing. You are definitely a sympathy crier. And your sympathy cry is so cute and fake and never lasts very long. Ella Grace, I pray that you use this sympathy as way to be a great encourager! That you are able to love on others and encourage them because you know that only God can provide true hope, peace and joy. I pray that you always seek God diligently and that you have a love for Him that propels you to seek His will for your life. I pray that you and Lily Kate continue to grow closer to one another and that you are able to look to one another for support and love. Ella, I am praying for your future husband that he is a man just like your Daddy - with integrity, intelligence and Godliness. Daddy and I love you Ella, and feel so blessed to have you in our lives.

Lily Kate and Ella, your brothers adore you. There is nothing sweeter to me than watching your brothers love on you and take care of you. You guys are so blessed to have them as big brothers, that you can rely on to love, protect and take care of you. And they are blessed to know the sweetness of little sisters.

My sweet baby girls, thank you for the most amazing year of my life. Words will never be able to express how grateful I am that our gracious God has chosen me to be your mama. Through you, God has changed me. In ways that I will never be able to thank you for. God is using you two to change me and teach me more about Him. Our family would have not been complete without you two. You add such richness, texture and joy to our little family. This past year has been a blast and even the hard times pale in comparison to all the fun that I have had with you two little beauties! Looking back on this past year makes me ever so excited about the years to come. We love you little girlies. Happy Birthday!

The excitement is mounting!!

Thus far, our vacation has been fabulous. Just wonderful. And then today I woke up with a very stressful feeling. There is so much to do today and tomorrow and I am feeling a little overwhelmed. This is the time that I need my handy, dandy, notebook but since I was going on vacation, I didn't think I'd need it, so didn't bring it with. Alas, I was wrong. My list of things to do today and tomorrow is a mile long. At least.

Yesterday was fun. In the morning it was just the girlie's and I and then Joseph and the boys came back for lunch. I am really enjoying eating at all the places that are here in DC!! Luckily most of them have been healthy, but not all. I will probably be gaining that weight that I loss back.

After lunch, Joseph, Caleb and I went to an awards ceremony at Lovey's school. He was a recipient of what Caleb kept calling, "a reward". There was this girl in front of us that got two "rewards" so Caleb whispered loudly, "Daddy, why didn't you get two rewards?" The ladies in front of us thought that was funny.

And then later in the afternoon we went to the mall with Michele and her kids. Michele and I did some power shopping with 5 boys, twin babies, a hubby and grandma. It was fun! I got these swim bottoms that I have been eyeing online for some time now. I also had some jeans and stuff from the GAP to return. I bought some jeans there the other day that I thought were cute, but Joseph told me on the way home that he thought they were, "alright". I'm not spending over $50 on a pair of jeans that are just "alright". Took those babies back.

Last night Joseph's parents and grandparents came in town and today my parents and sister arrive. Later tonight our best friends come in and then tomorrow Joseph's best friend from the Air Force Academy is coming for the graduation ceremony. This afternoon the school is hosting a BBQ for the graduates and their families and then tonight is the Christians Physician Oath Ceremony. This will be very special because he takes an oath as a believer in our God and the sanctity of life that He has created.

Oh, and did I mention on top of all that I have 4 kids that still need us and have no idea what is going on. Caleb does, but the rest of them are clueless. I am so blessed though, because my step-mom has come in town to save the day!! She is here to help with the kids and has been so wonderful. It has been fabulous to not have to worry too much about them and it should just get better with my mom coming in today. I wish they could both just live with me and be my personal nannies. Please hold while I day dream that delicious thought!!! If only....

I can hardly believe that tomorrow my amazing, brilliant husband is graduating from medical school and then the very next day my gorgeous little beauties will be 1 year old!!! This is a big weekend for us all!!!

Month 10

Month 9

Ella Grace

Lily Kate

For more click here.

Let the craziness begin!

Today our family starts trickling in for the graduation festivities. My step-mom is arriving today to help, over the next 4 days, with the kids. It will be SO nice to have another set of hands. Especially during this crazy time.

Staying with Michele has been fabulous. Her 3 boys are a little older than mine and such great kids. They have been so good for my boys - helpful and great examples! Hopefully they will rub off a little!

This morning I woke up and reminded myself to soak up every minute of the next couple of weeks. We have been waiting for and planning this for over a year. Such an exciting time! And it will be a long, long, long time before Joseph ever has this much vacation time with us again.

Today I am running to Baltimore to the airport and doing some shopping for something to wear to graduation. While I love the 2 dresses I got, I'm not sure that they will be warm enough. Baltimore has my favorite store where I got my other 2 dresses. I am confident that I will be able to find something else!!

We made it!!!

Well, we pulled into DC yesterday afternoon and it was cold and raining! Not what I expected or what I packed for! It really is different being back in a big city again and put "traffic" back into perspective!

I have to admit that the trip here was amazing! The kids far surpassed my most wild dreams in how well they did. Both Joseph and I were shocked at how easy 3 days in the car with 4 little kids really was. (It helps that for the last couple of weeks, I have had the absolute worst case scenarios running through my head.) The girlie's barely made a peep in the car and were wonderful in the hotel. The boys did really well and then started to get restless the last couple of hours of the trip. They also did great in the hotel. Seriously, words cannot express how relaxing and fun 3 days in the car turned out to be. Shocking, I know!

Yesterday morning while we were loading the van, I decided that Joseph and I are an amazing team. We really are great partners and work well together. Divide and conquer is definitely our motto with the kids. I am super thankful that I have a hubby who is such a huge help and has no expectations of sitting back and watching me do all the work. He not only pulls his weight, he also tries hard to lessen mine load!

We had the same routine at each hotel in the mornings. Joseph would shower, while I got the kids clothes out and bottle fed the girls. Once he got out of the shower and dressed, he would take the kids down to breakfast while I showered and packed up all the bags. Yesterday morning, he came back to the hotel room laughing at what a spectacle they made at breakfast. He said that people were even going to get their friends to show them this crazy man juggling 4 kids on his own. When I walked down to grab something to eat for the road, I walked into the room and the ladies that worked there said, "You, must be the mom!" I have no idea how they knew, but the proceeded to tell me what a great job Joseph did and that "he's a keeper!" Oh, do I know that by now!

This area of the country is really so beautiful. Lush and green. I am disappointed in how cold it is going to be! I packed for temperatures in the 90's not 60's. I am praying for a heat wave to come through. Otherwise I may have to buy another dress for graduation. That may not be so bad!

It was so awesome to see my Michele. It's like being back home. You know, those friends that you are with for 1 minute and you are right were you left off. I LOVE being in her presence. When I am I feel like I've walked away from someone who knows God in a way that I want to know Him. She really is amazing. And I am confident putting her on a pedestal because I also know her struggles. She rocks. Bottom line.

Well, I guess that is all I have for now. Michele and her kids are at the symphony, my boys are at their Daddy's school probably asking 1,000,000 questions and my sweet little beauties are sleeping. I am excited that they are going to get their first real nap in a couple of days! I think I may go nap too. Or maybe read a book. Or maybe just sit in this amazing house in silence. Later today another really cool lady is coming by to see me. She, Michele and I will sit in Michele's sun room and have coffee and deep conversation. Delicious!

Month 8

Month 7

This month was the twins first Christmas!!!

On the road again!

Well, day 2 on the road is almost over. My sweet beauties are sleeping, and my boys are all in bed together watching Star Wars!! What an awesome end to their day!

Today went just as well as yesterday!! There were a few glitches to an almost perfect day. And let's just be clear. I am using the word "perfect" in very loose terms. After all, I am traveling with 4 children...yeah, perfect is used very loosely!

Once again, today we moved way faster than I expected. We even got stuck in a huge traffic jam and sat on the highway for an hour, yet we still made it here faster than I thought we would. Seriously, this accident stopped traffic so we got the kids out of their car seats and let them play in the van. They loved it and were not happy campers when they had to go back in their seats because traffic started moving.

We are definitely a travelling circus and there is nothing about us that is inconspicuous. We certainly draw attention every where we go. I can't imagine what it is...the 2 car carriers on top of the packed out van? Or perhaps the Alaska licence plates that lead people to believe that we are crazy enough to drive from Alaska to Arkansas with 4 kids? And if not those two, it has to be all the kids that pile out of the van when we stop anywhere? Or possibly, ALL OF THOSE THINGS?!?!?! Hmmm. I can't imagine.

The kids were all excellent today with the exception of Luke. That child just better be glad that he is so cute and most of the time charming. Otherwise I would have left him on the side of the road for some very kind mom to raise until he got out of this fussy, whiny stage don't know what I would do. Once again, he was the most difficult of my children today.

We are in Tennessee tonight and I decided that it really is beautiful here. Especially after Arkansas. I was totally unimpressed with Arkansas. Sorry to all my Arkansas fans. Elizabeth, please don't be sad. I hope you can forgive me for not finding much to like about your state. Maybe I was just in the wrong spot?!? In any case, Tennessee on the other hand is just gorgeous. And I like their accents here. I'm a sucker for a southern accent.

Tomorrow we should arrive in DC and I am so excited about that. My favorite part about being married to the military is all the amazing people that we meet. And then we part ways, and that is always sad, but we tend to run into them again and that is so fun. Tomorrow I get to see one of my favorite people in the whole wide world...my Michele!! She is the most amazing mama to her 3 boys, and mentor to me, and I absolutely adore her!! Seriously, A-D-O-R-E her!! You would too. I promise.

And then next weekend we get to see another person whom I love and is one of my most bestest friends, Amy!! Our hubbies are friends, our kids are friends...and they are our best friends!! They are coming for Lovey's graduation and then vacationing with us for the week. We have had many family vacations together over the years and it always is so much fun. So MUCH FUN!! Lots of laughing, lots of eating and lots of making fun of...me. I wonder why that is?

Well, Star Wars is over so I am going to go to bed. Please keep praying that our travels are safe and continue to be as smooth as they have been the past couple of days!

Month 6

The 6 month mark is always so big to me. What I remember most from it was how small the girls were (and still are!) for their age. This was the point that I started having them mostly wear dressed because the pants that fit them in length were way too big in the waist. And now, it is unusual to see my girls in anything other than dresses!

I also remember being so nervous at the thought of starting them on solids. I couldn't imagine how I would feed 2 babies at one time. It just seemed to daunting. And then I realized, as with everything else related to twins, you figure out a "new normal". And now, I can't imagine only feeding 1 baby at a time. That seems like cake!

Joseph was gone again during month 6 for 3 weeks. The girls were so fussy in the evenings and while he was gone, I did everything I could just to get through the evenings with them until bed time. That was another hard time. He had been gone so much during the first 6 months of the girlies life and I was so sick of it. I knew, though, that this would be the last trip for a long time and that thought kept me going!

I started keeping way better track of what they were up to during month 6, so if you want to read specifics, head over here.

The beginning

Well, we are on the road for day 1 of our three week adventure! All in all it hasn't been as bad as I thought that it would be. Even as I type, Luke is wiggling in bed next to me, the beauties are sleeping and Caleb is in bed, asleep, with his daddy. Tomorrow I will (hopefully) take some pictures of the makeshift room that we made for the girlies...

Here is the report card that I am handing out at the end of today:

• Caleb - A- He was fabulous all day and then lost his mind for the last 20 minutes of the day. All over a slush from Sonic. He seriously was dreamy all day.
• Luke - C He was dramatic all day and had more meltdowns than anyone else (by far!). He has been an angel for the past hour. (I am trying to figure out why they can't be delightful at the same time?!?!?)
• Lily Kate - B She has had some fussy moments today, but once she found her thumb was happy again. For some reason the girls only suck their thumb in their cribs? Once she figured out that she could suck her thumb in the car too, she was happy!
• Ella - A I barely heard 2 peeps out of that sweet heart today! She wins the model child award today!!
• Joseph - B+ He irritated me twice, but let me drive some so that makes up for it! And he is a terrible Deejay. He is awesome with navigation and makes me laugh. So, yeah, I'm sticking with the B+!

Yeah, so this trip has been much better than I expected. Oh, minus the tornadoes that we were racing in Arkansas. I seriously was scared.

BTW - there are some interesting people in Arkansas! Very interesting!

Today's trip wasn't even near as long as I thought that it would be. Mapquest said that it would be 9 hours and it took us 10 hours and 15 minutes. Not too bad with 4 kids. Tomorrow's drive is 8 1/2 hours. And then Monday's drive is 7 1/2 hours. But let's not think about that. Let's just be glad that we all did great today. It will be interesting to see how it goes tonight. This is the first time that all of us have ever spent the night in a hotel.

Well, Luke is now asleep next to me, so I should probably get some shut eye too! Feel free to comment and let me know if you have any questions about our Odyssey! I am hopefully going to blog this craziness, so that I can go back and laugh at myself the next time I think about taking 4 kids on a road trip!

Month 5

Month 5 marks their first road trip! We went to see my mom and I remember being so worried that travelling with them would mess up their routine. And of course all that worrying was for nothing. They were super.

If you want to see some seriously cute baby dolls, click here! Yummy, huh?

And I'm leaving you with their first Halloween picture..

Month 4

During month 4, they started laughing. Lily was (and still is) much quicker to laugh and smile than Ella. This is also the point that I started noticing that Lily Kate loves attention. She will smile and try to hold eye contact.

Month 4 is also where I really started trying tummy time. And they really hated it. And since I really dislike them crying, I wasn't very good about making them suffer through tummy time. Perhaps if I had been better about it, Lily Kate wouldn't have all the issues she is having now.

This is also the month that I started obsessing over what the kids were going to be for Halloween. I wanted them all to have a theme, since this was probably the last year that I would be able to get Caleb to go along with it!

Our routine was pretty much completely set by month 4. The girls were sleeping through the night and their naps were set during the day. They were still sleeping a lot and would continue to do so for a long time to come.

Joseph was gone, for a month, again during month 4. And this time I didn't have anyone to help me. But obviously...we survived.

If you want to read nore about month 4, click here.

Month 3

Month 3 was difficult until we hit that 10 week mark. And the of course, wouldn't you figure that the girlfriends started sleeping through the night a couple for days before Lovey got home to help me. Hmmm. Figures.

Yeah, Lily Kate and Ella didn't sleep through the night as early as my boys, but I thought they did pretty good for twins!

I don't remember much about month 3, except for Joseph coming home and thinking that the girls had gotten huge. If you want to read an excerpt and see pictures click here. Aren't they so cute?! This is the point in their pictures that I can tell who is who with ease. As I look back, up until here, I have a very hard time telling them apart. This will create a problem for that scrapbook!

Did I mention...

...that I am going on a 3 week road trip, with 4 children under 6 and have absolutely nothing packed and instead of doing anything productive, I am exhausted because Joseph is out of town??!! Seriously.

He will be back tomorrow and my goal was to have us all packed by the time he gets here. I do not think that I will meet my goal. Or even come close at this point.

But I did have a delicious day today! Delicious! This morning I went with my super-fun-friends to Starbucks. Without any children. During the day. Can you say, "Scandalous?!?!" We were supposed to have bible study here this am, as usual, except I was totally unprepared to lead. And the thought of getting prepared in spite of all that is going on right now was more than I could stomach. So we ditched the study today, kept the babysitters, left all the kids with them at my house and went to coffee together. And it was so fun and just what I needed!! I seriously have the best group of girlfriends. And they are super cute mama's too!

Then after everyone left, my super-awesome-selfless-funny friend stayed at my house and kept me company all afternoon! Poor girl was stuck with me from 9:30am until 7pm. We had lunch together, by ourselves, while all our kids were napping and then spent the rest of the day laughing and taking care of all the kids. I love having a friend that is just willing to hang out all day.

Yep, it was a good day. I plan to be more productive tomorrow. I'm getting a hair cut and pedicure. Okay, maybe I won't be that much more productive. Luckily I am blessed with an amazing hubby who told me not to even worry about packing until he is here to help me. He is such a wise man. I think I might listen to him this time.

Month 2

I think the second (and third) month of my sweet girl's life was the hardest. Joseph left for 5 weeks when the girls were 5 weeks old. It was so hard without him. Hard and so lonely.

Joseph has always been the one to get up with the babies/kids in the night. When I have a new baby, Joseph is the one to go and get the baby, bring them to me to feed and then change their diaper and put them back to bed. It's worked for us. And when he left and I had to do it on my own, it made me realize how lonely and difficult it was having a new baby in the house without him.

The girl's weren't sleeping through the night yet and I wasn't sure that they ever would. They took turns waking up all night long. Once I got one baby quiet and sleeping, the other one would wake up. It was awful.

We had friends and family take turns coming in town and it was such a huge blessing. While the nights were lonely, at least during the day there was someone to help with the boys. I felt like those weeks were spent either sleeping, feeding a baby or holding a crying baby. And they were.

One would think that since this wasn't my first time at the rodeo, I would be this experienced mama who wouldn't make dumb mistakes. One would think... But for some reason (probably sleep deprivation) I thought that because I had 2 babies, I needed to feed them twice as long. So, I was spending 8 hours a day sitting in my chair nursing 2 babies!!! By the time I was done nursing them and changing their diapers, it was time for them to take a nap. I would grab something to eat, kiss my boys and then take a 30 min. nap before it was time to feed them again. I seriously felt like a feeding machine.

And then I went to see the pediatrician and she asked me why I was nursing them for so long and said that they probably weren't even eating the whole time...just using me as a pacifier. So I cut down their nursing from 45min. to 20 min. And it was amazing how much time I felt like I got back! Amazing!

Although I have just made this sound terrible (and there were very bad moments) whenever I would look at those little beauties, it was all worth it. The little beauties have been worth every moment, good and bad!

Here are someof my favorite pictures...

What Doesn't Work For Me!

Shannon is mixin' things up over at Rocks in My Dryer and asking her readers to share things that don't work for them. Boy do I have a list!

• BEDTIME! The boys are driving me crazy at bedtime these days! C-R-A-Z-Y! It has seriously become a battle of the wills. And they are winning. Badly. There is lots of noise, drama, fights, giggling and crying. Half the time I just chalk it up to brothers making memories and the other half the time I want to...let's just say I'm tired at the end of the day and am hardly in the mood for the bedtime thing. One would think that the boys would be exhausted at the end of the day. But alas, that one would be wrong.
• CO-SLEEPING! I have no idea how people do it, but as I have said before I am so happy that we have never let our kids sleep in our bed. We draw the line at sharing the marriage bed with anyone, even our lovies!
• BEING THRIFTY! I am the least thrifty person I know. Okay, I do have this one friend that is as bad as I am! Seriously, though, I don't do things the cheap way. I am all about saving time and being sane. And for me, the ability to do that is usually with costs. High costs.
• LAUNDRY! And that has been well documented!
• And last, but certainly not least, LOSING WEIGHT BEFORE GRADUATION! I had high hopes that I would lose 50 pounds and look like a super model for Joseph's graduation, but that is most certainly NOT going to happen. And since it is impossible for me to lose weight when I am stressed (and boy, am I stressed) I have resigned myself to only gaining weight before the big day. That should be a goal to be easy to meet.

For more ideas, from people far more experienced than I am, head on over here.

Month 1

In honor of the Twinkies first birthday, I am going to recall each month of the last year with them.

Birth and the whole first month of the Twinkies life is really a blur of emotions - in love, tired, overwhelmed, worry, amazed, overjoyed, shock, fear..........I really think I felt every emotion that first month. I was so excited to finally meet the girls, but also terrified that I would have no idea what to do with TWINS! I'm not really sure that it was reality that I was having twins until I first brought them home. Then it became reality really fast!

The girls were so little and fragile. They slept together in the same papasan chair and had reflux, so had to sleep upright. Every time they would choke from the reflux, I would get so nervous that they would stop breathing. It was terrible. They just were so tiny and delicate!They were so little that they both fit in the chair with plenty of room. They seemed to be comforted by having the other one close by.

Everyone was so excited to meet Lily Kate and Ella, so we had a lot of family and some friends come into town. It was nice to have people around to help with the kids. Joseph was on his surgery rotation, but it was towards the end so he got a little time off. My sister was here when the twins were born and my mom came hours after they were born.

I look back now and wonder if I really enjoyed those first few weeks with the babies. I was so worried about them finding a schedule and getting into a routine, that I wonder now if I truly savored each moment? I'm not sure if I really did them, but it is a good reminder to savor the moments today.

Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Seriously, CUTE!

Caleb and Ella
Look at my little Ella waving!

Aren't they cute?!

Caleb LOVES it when Ella crawls on him. Loves it!!

Caleb really is the best big brother to his sisters. He never gets upset with them, is willing to do anything for them and is so helpful with them. He is wonderful to his girls. He is so gentle and loving with them. And completely smitten with them.

I think this is a small glimpse of how Caleb is going to be to his future bride. He really is a gentle, sweet and sensitive boy.

And I am totally smitten with him!