Ending a Crazy Year...

I really should be getting to bed right now. It is a little after 10 and the twins have been in bed for a little less than two hours already. Lately they have been waking up about 2am for another feeding then going back to sleep until 7 or 8. I hope they finish that soon, they are almost too big for the bassinet in my room! I would also really like to have them in their own room by the time Michael gets home...here's to hoping. Now on to what was on my mind.

Jan 2nd of this year we found out we were pregnant. We had been trying for over a year for a boy so after having an ectopic and a miscarriage last year we were happy but cautious. Because of the ectopic I was told to get an ultrasound as soon as possible if I had a positive test again. That is how we found out we were having twins at just 6wks gestation.

By this time we were already making plans to move to NC. While talking to my mom one day we agreed to have her make the move with us so she could get out of Nebraska. Little did she know what she was getting herself into! We really wanted to tell our family in person since I was going to be making a the cross country drive to NC and would be afforded the opportunity. Plus, it was that much bigger a story since it was double! I really struggled with not telling her but decided she still had time to change her mind since she offered to come out and make the first part of the drive with me and she wanted to finish out a full year at her job. It was worth the wait to see her face when I picked her up and told her.

We also knew that the unit Michael was moving to was leaving for Afghanistan sometime this summer. We were happy to find out that they were willing to keep him back so he could be here for the birth. He would just have to join everyone later.

So we made the drive, Hannah, Kayla and I, across the country. It was a real adventure. We enjoyed spending time with family and friends and seeing their faces as we told them our big news. Finally we made it to NC to the home of one of my best friends, Tiffany. It took us about a month to make the journey.

I got us all checked in with post for our medical so I could resume prenatal appts and then started looking for a house. I found a really great one that was in foreclosure and put an offer on it. We ended up getting out bid because it was such a great house. Things happen for a reason though and we decided we were suppose to rent during this time. I found this house and signed the lease one week before Michael finished up his school in CA and joined us. We had been apart for 6 weeks.

Two weeks later we were moved in (as in we had our stuff, just not all out of boxes) and he left for ANCOC in Arizona for another 6 weeks. Right after he left mom made the move and joined us here in NC. It was great having her here to help with the moving in.

By the time he came home from ANCOC I already looked like I was 9mo pregnant! We enjoyed a little over a month together before he had to leave again for 3 weeks. This time it was for jump school. He was going to become airborne qualified for his new unit. So far we had been apart for 15 wks out of the year.

By the time he got back from that we had a little less than a month before the twins were due for their c-section arrival at 37wks gestation on the 26th of Aug. That Sunday morning, the 23rd, at 2am my water broke and they were pulled into this world about 9am.

Michael left for Afghanistan three weeks later.

So, we have official been apart more than we have been together this year. It has been a year of ups and downs and lots of running around. It has been wonderful getting to know Shayna and Rhian and learning how to be a mommy of twins plus two big sisters. It has been a year of testing; testing of my body, my patience, and my emotional and spiritual strength.

Here is what I see though as I look back over this year. I see God carrying me every step of the way. He provided for an uncomplicated healthy pregnancy and two bouncing baby girls. He provided help from my friend Tiffany by providing us a place to stay while I looked for a house and countless other ways. He provided my mom who has been invaluable to me this year. He has kept watch over my husband and I trust He will bring him home to me next year. He is the only reason I am sain. Without His provision I would be a puddle.

The even more amazing part? He has done all of this without much in the way of communication from me. I have allowed myself to get caught up in the happenings of the year. I can count on my hands the number of times I have been to church this year. Yet, every time I have called on Him, He has been there. Every time He carries me through that very moment through to the other side.

It has been a crazy year but I serve a crazy God; crazy over me, a very unworthy me.