Wonderful Husband

I have a wonderful husband. Last night I got home after work, had some dinner and then headed off to a meeting at church.

When I got home later that evening, he asked me to come downstairs. He had made arrangements for our massage therapist Erin to come over to give me (and him as well) a massage last night.

It was a great surprise and it was nice to be pampered for an hour. I feel great today. No more knots in my shoulders and neck.

Did I mention that Greg is wonderful...

This Weekend

This weekend Greg, Emily and I went to our friends' Steve and Jen's place to spend an evening playing cards and hanging out. We had a lot of fun and it was nice to see them again because we haven't had the chance to hang out with them for a long time.

Saturday, Emily and I headed down to St. Vital mall where the RCMP and Child Find Manitoba were putting together child identification kits for parents. Emily had her height and weight taken (33 inches tall and 28 pounds) and had her hand prints done and had her picture taken. At the end, they gave us a package with a laminated photograph with all of her personal identification along with her fingerprints. We spent the rest of the morning shopping and then met up with my mom and dad for lunch. After that, we went home, Emily napped and I relaxed. Saturday night, we went for a walk as a family (including Keizer) to Dairy Queen for some ice cream and then we watched a movie.

Here is a picture of Emily celebrating St. Patrick's Day.

Emily Talking

We took a quick video of Emily one morning after she just woke up to get her to tell us the words that she knows how to say.

Enjoy!

Interesting Quotes

Here are some interesting quotes that I have read today. Thought that I would share them...

"I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much." - Mother Theresa (1910 - 1997)

"Sometimes it seems like God is difficult to find and impossibly far away. We get so caught up in our small daily duties and irritations that they become the only things that we can focus on. What we forget is that God's love and beauty are all around us, every day, if only we would take the time to look up and see them." - Matthias

Internet Research

So I love the Internet - such a wealth of information to be found. According to the web pages I have visited, if the fetal heartrate is 140 beats per minute or higher, then its supposed to be a girl and if the rate is 139 beats per minute or lower, then its supposed to be a boy.

Hmmm...Janelle maybe I'm changing my mind again - maybe it is a boy and a girl!

I'm So Excited

I had to post now because I am so very excited! I can't stop smiling - I must look like an idiot to everybody that sees me.

I just got back from the doctor's and heard both heartbeats for the first time! The doctor found one right away - beating at 130 beats per minute - and then that one moved over and she searched a bit more and found a second heart beating at 144 beats per minute. Right after she found the second heart beat she moved over and found the first one again so there were two distinct beats. It was so cool I can't even put it into words!

Emily was always between 140 and 145 beats per minute. I can't remember what the old wives' tale is - are boys supposed to be faster and girls slower? Can't remember - but anyway cool nonetheless. I'll keep my suspicions on what they are to myself for now.

March Pictures

Emily loves to eat and feed herself. Spaghetti is one of her favourites but unfortunately its also one of the messiest meals for her!

I needed a hair cut the other day and so did Emily - she didn't enjoy herself that much (although she looks better now that her hair has been trimmed).

Keizer chased some poor neighbours cat up the telephone pole in our backyard. The poor thing stayed up there for hours - even after he was back in the house!

This weekend we were (are) pretty busy. On Friday night Greg and I went to a games night at our golf club and had dinner and played Yahtzee and a dice game called Greed. We had a lot of fun with some friends from his work and it was a nice night out for us. Saturday morning we went for breakfast and then Greg ran some errands and watched Emily while I went to see Rainbow Stage's production of Grease. Saturday night we went to watch Greg's cousin play hockey. Sunday Greg is going ice fishing with our brother-in-law Jonathan and his brother Matthew and then in the evening we are heading over to my parent's for dinner (roast beef and yorkshire pudding - yummy)!

A Fresh Perspective

One nice thing about posting your thoughts on the Web and using it as a bit of a sounding board is that you can get quite a bit of feedback from people who happen to read what you've written.

In response to my rant about the church activities that I have been experiencing lately, my Auntie Linda gave me a quote from a woman in her church who had told her "Honey, you could give people tickets to the original Last Supper, and people would still complain about it." Wise, wise woman - and quite true. I will try to keep that in mind and move forward.

I only have 5 days left in my first trimester and I'm finally starting to feel a bit better. I have more energy than I have had and this past Saturday (drum roll please) was the first day in over 7 weeks that I did not throw up (Hallelujah)! Of course that did not stop the puking train on Sunday, but its a start anyway.

Work is going well, I'm keeping busy but not too busy - just the way I like it - and I've received some challenging work which has been awesome. Greg, Emily and I went to the home show on Saturday. It was pretty much the same as last year but we were able to speak to the roofing company that will most likely be redoing our roof this summer and get a bit more information. We also spent the day together as a family so that was great.

This week is going (or has been) pretty busy for us. Monday was our only night off, Tuesday I had a meeting at church, tonight Emily has swimming lessons and tomorrow night I have an appointment to get a haircut (with Emily having one too) and then I have another church meeting to attend.

Doctor's Appointment

I had another doctor's appointment yesterday morning. I have gained back the weight that I lost because I was so sick in the earlier stages of things (I'm now back to my pre-pregnancy weight). The doctor tried to hear a heartbeat but I was still about a week too early (you can usually hear the heartbeat between 12 and 14 weeks). I'm going back in two weeks for her to try to hear the heartbeat again, hopefully at 13 weeks there will be something to listen to!

Medical Intervention

It seems to me that lately this family is making good use of our medical system. I have to say that we have been treated quite well, despite what you might read in the papers. So allow me to chronicle our recent use of the health care system:

January 27, 2007 - made a trip to the emergency room at St. Boniface at 6 am for some unexplained pregnancy bleeding. Saw a doctor immediately and was home just after Emily woke up for the day. Had an ultrasound scheduled a few days later.

February 14, 2007 - had some problems with an irregular heartbeat. Work called an ambulance which got here in less than a minute. Start to finish took only three hours and we were home. We got the bill for the ambulance yesterday - only $275 (which we have coverage for through our health care plan). Pretty cheap if you ask me.

March 6, 2007 - Greg cut himself and had to get some stitches in his finger. Went to Concordia and was there and back in just over an hour.

So all in all, I have been quite pleased with the care that we have received lately. As much as our system has its problems, its not too bad at all.

Frustration

I am frustrated with the attitudes that I have been encountering lately - namely my own. I know that part of it is hormone related but I find that my ability to have patience with myself and others is dwindling fast.

I took over the position of being treasurer of our church because I felt that God was calling me to serve in that capacity. It is a way for me to truly use the education and skills that I have been blessed with. It was my first year in 2006 and it was a year with a large learning curve. I won't go into details here, but I have been criticized (not to my face mind you) for the job that I have done (which I think was a pretty good one). It's only coming from a vocal minority and I'm told by the prior treasurer that it will continue but that isn't making me feel any better. The part that really gets me is that the people making the comments don't understand a thing about accounting and not-for-profit organizations yet they flap their gums.

I have also had the opportunity to witness the inner workings of a church and to see the personal interatctions that people in the congregation have with each other. I find that there is more bickering than in a school playground and it is starting to bug me. Normally mature, reasonable adults begin to act like children when they don't get their own way. It seems like every time the committee of administration meets (which is the committee that the treasurer serves on) we spend more time putting out silly little fires than actually dealing with the big stuff.

Then on top of that, I've had a few situations with people where they have treated me like I'm stupid. I've had a few instances of people lying to my face and it is starting to anger me. I know full well that they are lying to me, yet I don't call them on it. I suppose its not really worth the argument that would be sure to follow. I'm trying to wrap my head around the reasoning for the lying but I'm coming up short. I've also had a few people behave in some rather hurtful ways in the past few weeks. I'm sure that those instances were simple oversights but it has just added to my fire.

So that's where I'm at today. Frustrated with the people around me and even more concerned about my own ability (or lack thereof) to deal with them.

God Provides

When we first found out that we were having twins, we were shocked to say the least. We had gone in for an ultrasound to find out the cause of some bleeding that I was having and wound up finding two heartbeats. I believe that every baby is a gift from God but I thought that He was off his rocker by sending us two babies at the same time. Didn't he know that would mean that we had to start from scratch again - a second crib, another car seat, a new vehicle that will hold three car seats and a Golden Retriever, more clothes, a new room for Emily and the list goes on and on. Being the money manager that I am, it was hard for me to trust that God in His infinite wisdom would provide everything that we would need (physically, mentally, emotionally and financially).

In the past few weeks, God has shown me in a humbling way how He works in my life and in the lives of those around me. Financially things have fallen into place. The money that we need to put a new roof on our house will be there, the money for a shed out back for extra storage and for the home renovations that need to be done to get Emily's room ready have all come into place without us having to touch our savings or investments. For someone that works with money all day long and takes pride in my own ability to save and budget, something this financially unexpected shakes me to the core. I've had to learn to be gracious and humble and accept help when it is offered which is not always an easy thing for my pride to swallow. I feel I should be independent, I'm a parent for goodness sake, but I don't live in a vacuum and my life events impact those around us who love and care for us.

It has also been amazing to see how the people in our lives have rallied to support us. Not just our families, who have been there constantly - providing not only emotional support but an extra crib, maternity clothes, like new clothes for both baby and toddler, bedroom sets, strollers, highchairs and the list goes on and on and on - but also those in our surrounding communities - work, church and friends. Offers have poured in from those around us for extra bassinets, bouncy chairs, bedding, exersaucers and the like. People are always asking how we are doing and how things are going. And then there is my friend Bek, who has twin girls herself, who has been a beacon of support with words of wisdom - not just telling me what I want to hear, but what I need to hear when I need to hear it.

Finding out that you are suddenly going to jump from one child under the age of two to three under the age of two is terrifying at best but God has put the right people in the right places to show me that no matter what "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me".

Date Night

Tonight Greg and I have a date. Nothing fancy - just dinner and a movie but its a date nonetheless. Emily is heading off to her Grammy and Grandpy's house for a sleepover and mom and dad get a night out to themselves. Ahh the simple things...