Long time no blog...

Sorry for the long time between posts! Needless to say my life has been a little bit CRAZY!!! Besides being pregnant with twins...I have been swamped with school, being department head, teaching the Princeton Review Course, working volleyball games, huddle starting, and working on grad school! Life is BUSY but I am so blessed with all of the amazing things going on! Despite the busy schedule, I still wake up in awe every morning of the tremendous blessing that we are experiencing! I still have to pinch myself sometimes to really believe that it's true! We have waited so long to be at this point and God is just so good to grant the desires of our heart. My growing belly is finally giving me the visual proof that I have been waiting for! We are really pregnant...with twins....for real!!! Can't believe this is my life!!!


13 Weeks!!!

14 Weeks!!!



In case you can't tell...the baby bump is HERE! I am definitely showing and have actually worn MATERNITY clothes for the first time this week! I don't know why I waited so long to make the switch but I was trying to hold off as long as possible...haha! Now that I've felt how great maternity pants are...I may never go back...HA! It's funny how exciting the little things are!!! I have watched so many friends and family go through this process and it's crazy that I have been waiting so long to get the chance to wear maternity pants! Each little step is SUCH a milestone for us! We are so thankful and so grateful to get to experience every little change! Speaking of which...tomorrow marks day 100 of our pregnancy!!! Day 100!!! God is SO GOOD!!!

We actually got to sneak a peak at the babies last Friday! I have been trying to get to the computer to post the pictures, but have literally had NO TIME to get on! Our AMAZING nurse let us come in last Friday after school for a quick sonogram. After going to the doctor and seeing the babies every week, three weeks just seemed TOO long to wait between appointments! We are so thankful to have a nurse who loves these little twins almost as much as we do!!! We already call her Grandma Katy...ha!

The babies looked great!!! They had both grown and had great heartbeats!!! Our little monkey, Twin B, was not in the mood to have a sonogram at all...haha!!! We were interrupting his/her nap!!! He/she kept putting his/her hands over his/her eyes and trying to hide from us...too funny! Twin A was a little more active this time...trying to make up for his/her sleepy sibling! They look SO much more like babies each time that it is SO NEAT to see! We love getting to see them every step of the way and hearing their sweet heartbeats!!! Twin A measured 13 weeks and had a heartbeat of 164 and Twin B measured 13 weeks two days and had a heartbeat of 161. I was 13 weeks two days at the time, so the babies were right on track. Twin A is a little more difficult to take a picture of because of lighting, but hopefully we can get a better one next time!

Twin B with his/her hands over their eyes! I think he/she was
embarrassed that I was talking about his/her craziness last time...haha!

Things are starting to settle down a little bit more...October should be a much calmer month for us overall...until Derek gets started with basketball! Then life becomes CRAZY again! I am working very hard to complete all of my grad classes before these little babies make their entrance. Hopefully I will be walking the stage at ASU in May! So excited! We ask for your prayers in the coming months as our pregnancy continues and our lives continue with the business! We are so blessed to have such faithful family and friends that we can ask to pray for us at all times! We love you! Our next appointment is October 2nd, so I will try and get a blog up SOONER next week. And for all of you curious ones...we have NOT found out yet what these little ones are but we ARE planning to whenever the time is right. And trust me...we will be posting those genders on here as soon as possible! I know some very anxious aunts, friends, a niece, grandmas, and grandpas (and Derek) that can't wait to know!!! I am actually not that anxious to know...I'm just so thankful to be pregnant that I would be happy with anything...haha! Love you all! Have a blessed weekend!

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Phillipians 4:4

12 Weeks Baby!!!

I cannot tell you how long we have waited to get to this point!!! 12 WEEKS!!! It seems like such a milestone for us!!! The day we have been waiting for! I know we still have quite a ways to go, but we are so excited to have made it to this point!!! Praise God!!! He has definitely brought us to this point, every step of the way, and we are so thrilled to be able to be a part of His plan!

This has been a pretty exciting week! For starters...I am officially OFF ALL MEDICINE!!! Sunday I took my last shot and took off my last patch! SUCH an exciting day!!! The task seemed so daunting at first to think of having a shot everyday for 3 months but honestly....it was not that bad! It's amazing what you can do when you put FAITH in God and allow Him to be in charge! ANYONE who knew me before this process would have NEVER thought I could have handled as many shots and blood-draws as I have had to do. This is the girl who passed out from a TB test!!! But here I am on the other side, amazed at God's ability. He alone gave me the strength to make it through and I am honestly so thankful for each lesson He has taught us along the way. We have learned so much about trust, faith, and letting go of control...all lessons that I needed to learn. And what an amazing BLESSINGS God has given us in return! We are so unworthy, yet so amazed at His Goodness!

Drawing up the LAST shot!

Shot #67...coming right up!!!

We had our 12 week doctor's appointment yesterday and it was quite a whirlwind!!! We are used to just going in for bloodwork and a sonogram, but this time we got to see the doctor!!! (And go to patient accounts....ha!) The sonogram went great! It is so cool to see how much the babies have grown...even in a week! Our babies were DEFINETELY different this time. Twin A was as sweet as could be just chilling and letting Katy take his/her measurements and heartbeat like an little angel. Twin B on the other hand was OUT OF CONTROL!!! He/she was putting on a show for all of us!!! He/she kept wiggling and dancing the whole time...would stop...and then start waving his/her hand at us!!! As soon as he/she would get still for the heartbeat, he/she would LEAP off the scream and start moving around!!! Even when we were trying to measure Twin A, Twin B kept trying to dance into view! It was too funny! We have a little MONKEY on our hands already! Twin A measured 12 weeks exactly with a heartbeat of 179 and Twin B measured 12 weeks 1 day with a heartbeat of 167. Both babies are growing and doing great!

Our precious babies! Kinda hard to see...but you can see Twin B pretty good.

We also got word from San Antonio this afternoon that both my progesterone and estradiol levels were in the normal range and looked good. YEA!!! This means that my body is doing good without medication...which I am super pumped about. It was kinda bittersweet today, b/c this was my last day with San Antonio monitoring us! At the end of the call, my nurse said she would be sending all of my paperwork to my doctor here! On one hand, it is awesome to know that we have made it to the point where we no longer need San Antonio's help. On the other hand, we have been SO BLESSED by the staff at FCSA and their role in this process. We could not have asked for a better group of doctors and nurses to work the past three months. As much as we have loved their support, we are thankful to know that everything is going right on track and I am basically now just a "normal" pregnant woman...with twins of course! And we know that this is not our last interaction with San Antonio...we still have two PRECIOUS frozen embryos that we will be using sometime in the future!

As far as the next couple of weeks...I am pretty much just going to keep on doing what we're doing. Our doctor said that everything is looking great and I will go back for my next appointment in three weeks. This is kinda crazy but this will be the LONGEST I have gone without seeing the doctor since June 22nd! Kinda nice...but also a little nerve-wracking! We trust that our God is taking GREAT care of these precious babies and holding them until we can ourselves! We are anxious about what is to come...mostly b/c we have NO CLUE what to expect. Dr. Sutliff asked us if we had any questions yesterday and I immediately said "What are we suppose to be asking you??? What do other people ask??? I've never done this before!!!" Such a fun, exciting adventure that I am SO THANKFUL to be on! We are still coveting your prayers as we continue with this pregnancy and hope that you will join us in covering these sweet babies with prayers as they grow and develop! I will keep you updated...my nurse always teases me that these twins are already famous with as many of you keep up with us! You have BLESSED us so much with your support! We love you all!!!

12 weeks and definitely showing!

"LORD my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit. Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people; praise his holy name." Psalm 30:2-4



Enjoying date nights while we can...just the two of us!



11 Weeks

Today marks 11 weeks! Each week feels like such a huge accomplishment! I am so proud of these babies for staying strong and growing each week! They are fighting hard to make it just like their mama! Sometimes it feels like each day is a fight! School has been pretty rough...this mama is TIRED by the end of the day! I'm praying and hoping that everyone is right when they tell me the second trimester is better! We are getting close...can't wait!

Sunday was an exciting day for us in this journey! I got to reduce my medicine! For the first time I got to take LESS medicine instead of MORE...YEA! On Sunday I went down to one estrogen patch and only 1/2 the amount of progesterone shot that I have been used to. I can't really tell any type of change in how I've felt...still pretty much tired and nauseous...Ha! But it sure is nice to be on the down-hill slope of medicine! God is good! He has provided SO much during this journey and each time we come to another test, He has always seen us through. We have been BLESSED so much these past 11 weeks! Praise God!

Yesterday, we had blood-work and a sonogram to check and see how things were going since we reduced the medicine. The babies looked PERFECT as usual!!! They are getting SO big! They actually looked like BABIES this time...we could see their heads and arms and feet! Twin B was saluting us the whole time with his little arm up...TOO CUTE! Twin A measured at 10 weeks 6 days with a heartbeat of 172 and Twin B measured 10 weeks 5 days with a heartbeat of 170. Both babies are right on track...and I think already a little competitive...LOL! They have been sticking right there together since the first week! The pictures didn't turn out as good this time, but we could definitely see them better on the screen. So exciting! We love getting to see our precious babies and hear their sweet heartbeats!



Both twins at 11 weeks! LOVE THEM!


San Antonio called this morning with the results of my bloodwork and said that both my Estradiol and progesterone levels were good. Yea! This means that the decrease in medicine has not effected my levels or the babies and we continue with the weaning protocol. As long as the rest of the week goes good, I will be able to COMPLETELY stop my shots and patches on Sunday! I can't even tell you how amazing it will feel to be medicine-free! I have had at least one shot every day since June 23rd. I am SO EXCITED! After stopping the meds, I will go in next Tuesday for another bloodwork and sonogram to check everything one more time. We also are going to finally see the doctor...which will be kinda nice! I am anxious to hear where we go from hear...how frequent of doctor's appointments, procedures, etc. I am definitely a planner and like to know what to expect!

So overall, things are going good! School is pretty much in full swing! I am hoping to start feeling better in the next few weeks! Life is too busy to feel yuck! We are enjoying every minute of this journey and even on the hardest days, we thank God for this incredible blessing! While we never would have planned this to go quite this way, we are SO THANKFUL that our God has SUCH BETTER plans than we could ever imagine! We are truly blessed to be His children and cannot wait to hold our precious babies!

Keep us in your prayers this week! We are hoping to be completely off medicine at this time next week, celebrating the 12 week mark! We love you all and are so blessed to have you on this journey!

11 Weeks...a little bump showing!

"For all Your goodness I will keep on singing; Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find"