The Day My Life Changed...Again

As I lay on the operating table I knew there was nothing left for me to do. It was all in God's hands now... as it had been all along. My heart was pounding, my thoughts were racing, and a constant strain of prayers were being sent up to heaven. 

Please protect my babies.

Please let them be ok.

Please please please. 

At 3:56 pm on August 21, 2011, my life changed.

 Our first son was born.  He was 2 months early but he came out crying. I don't think I ever felt such relief.  He had to be pretty healthy to let out a cry like that. Thank you Jesus!!!! 

At 3:58pm our second son came into this world; crying just like his brother! 

What a miracle! Both babies born this premature were breathing on their own and showed no signs of distress!

They were taken to the NICU where we were told they would stay for approximately a month - simply because they were so premature and they would have to master things like sucking, swallowing and breathing all at once, gaining weight, and maintaining their body temps. They had no major complications. Praise the Lord!

Welcome to the world Xander David!!

Welcome to the world Kingston Thomas!!

                            

 

Brothers. 4lbs 7oz and 4lbs 3oz of perfection!

We are so happy and so thankful for our sweet tiny boys! Thank you to all who prayed for us. Our God is truly AWESOME.

The Unexpected

It was a rough pregnancy - including the years it took us to conceive, the many invasive procedures, trips to the emergency room, the heartbreaking miscarriages, and the looming feeling of hopelessness that we  might not be able to have more children. 

But God is faithful and he chose to fulfill our hearts desire for more babies. 

We were elated to discover I was pregnant with twins! Through the painful OHSS, constant horrible "morning" sickness, bed rest, and pre-term labor, I rejoiced because these babies were MIRACLES. I relished every second of this pregnancy because I truly understood the value of these little lives and how I would not be able to carry these babies without God's hand of protection over us.

On August 19th I was admitted to the hospital. I was 32 weeks pregnant and in hard labor. I was given high doses of magnesium to try and slow the contractions and buy these boys a little more time inside. I was terrified when the doctor examined me and told me I was dilated, and every test performed showed that I would indeed deliver soon. 

 I was afraid for my babies lives. 

I made it this far, but it didn't seem like enough time. 

I felt like a failure. 

On Sunday, August 21, the drugs stopped working. My contractions got stronger and and were coming every minute. 

I went from enjoying a visit from my daughter in my hospital room one minute, to being rushed into surgery the next. 

I just prayed. 

Prayed for the lives of my sons. Prayed that they would defy the odds and be healthy. Prayed that I would be able to hold them very soon and look into their eyes and tell them how much I loved them.

As the surgeons began their work, my husband sat close to me holding my hand, telling me I did great and our babies would be ok.

I was fighting tears, wanting to believe him.

To be continued...

Pregnancy Recap

 Since I've been such a lousy blogger this year I have a lot to catch you up on.

Here is a recap of my pregnancy with our twins.

 We had a fabulous Gender Reveal Party and discovered we were having 2 boys!

 At this point I went into labor (which, thankfully, the doctors were able to stop) and was put on bed rest.   Here's what my days looked like.

A few days after this picture was taken my pregnancy journey came to an end. 

To be continued...

To Blog or Not To Blog?

Once again I have neglected my blog. Are y'all still here? Would you like to hear about all the craziness going on in my life? I keep debating whether or not to continue blogging or just journal for myself. Does anyone really care? Please pipe in if you're reading this - would love to hear your thoughts :)

Loaded Blondies/Loaded Post

Well, the time has come. I had a good run, I guess.

There will be no more baking, or shopping, or trips to the park with my daughter,  or going out with my man.

After a trip to the emergency room this weekend due to constant, painful contractions, the doctor has ordered complete bedrest. I am not surprised. This is about the same time I went into labor with our daughter too.

I think it's a little funny when a doctor puts a woman on bedrest when she has a two year old to take care of. Do they know how active and needy toddlers are?? Not to mention we are in the midst of potty training, which involves running to the bathroom every 20 minutes.

Oh, and did I mention our house is on the market and needs to stay spic and span in case we get a showing.

And we are house hunting.

And I have custom jewelry orders that I cannot fulfill because I can't go out an get the supplies I need.

Oh, and did I mention we have nothing ready for the babies?

Bedrest is stressful.

I can't just put my feet up and watch movies and read books all day like people think. I am only two days in and I already feel stressed out. There's way too much to do and I can't do anything.

Now that I got that off my chest, let me also say this: I am extremely grateful to be pregnant with these babies. It has been a long hard road to get to this point, and we have endured much just to get this far. But I would do it again and again because I know it's worth it. Our sweet Isabella is a result of the same struggles, and she has brought immeasurable joy to us. I know it will be worth it. I know it's the best thing for our boys.

So I will suck it up, and just be thankful to be in this situation. Thankful that I made it to the third trimester. Thankful that our sons are still safe inside. Thank you Jesus!!

Now, I can't bake these days, but I have a few goodies saved up to share with you. How about these Loaded Blondies??

I love bar recipes because they are fast and easy to make, and sooo yummy!

You may think you're not a fan of blondies. You may think they're boring.

These are not boring. Make them. Trust me.

Stephanie's Loaded Blondies

3/4 c butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cps flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup chocolate chips

3/4 cup milk chocolate chunks

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

3/4 cup dark chocolate covered cranberries

Bake in a greased 9x13" pan at 350 for 20-25 min. I like mine slightly under baked so they are gooey and delish! You may never go back to brownies again. :)

Cupcakes That Take The Cake

Everyone has a favorite kind of cake, right? What's yours? Mine has always been Chocolate, but recently I have converted to Red Velvet. 

Maybe it's the moist, light, fluffy texture with just a hint of chocolate flavor. Or maybe it's the cream cheese frosting. 

The awesome, makeadoublebatchjusttoeatalone frosting. 

Yeah, I think that's it. I have made cream cheese frosting before, but this variation I came up with takes the cake. :)

It is super creamy, delightfully rich, very cream cheesy, and not too sweet. It's perfection. Just try it, you'll see.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 3 large eggs
• 2 Tbs red food coloring
• 1 tsp vanilla 

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar 
• 
  
• Directions
• Mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a bowl and set aside. In a mixer gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, and vanilla. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth.

Divide the batter evenly among 2 lined cupcake tins. Bake in oven at 350 for about 22ish minutes. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick, be sure not to over bake. Cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar (use more or less according to your taste - I don't like overly sweet frosting) and mix until light and creamy.

Of course, as delicious as these would be as is, I couldn't stop there! I did say they were Red Velvet with a Twist after all! I made 2 variations, both of which were fantastic! 

Make these for your next party. Or make them because it's the weekend! Red Velvet just might become your new favorite too!

And just in case you're wondering how huge I am at 6 1/2 months pregnant with these 2 boys, here I am!!

Happy weekend all!

****Please take a minute to read this post and consider buying some goodies to help this family raise the overwhelming $30,000 needed to adopt their new child.*****

Shop For A Cause

 Meet Brian and Heather Keehn from The Adventures of Team Keehn 
This is an excerpt from their blog:

Brian and I are extremely excited to share some news with you. As most of you know, the Lord has blessed us with the responsibility of raising two amazing boys. Cale who is almost 3 and Quinn who just turned 1 in April. We love having a family and all the joy that comes with it. Recently we have felt the desire to add to our family once again. But this time in a different way. The Lord is leading us to do so through adoption.

For as long as I can remember I have desired to adopt a child. Brian and I talked about it from time to time early in our marriage and more recently (the past year) very frequently. 
Currently there are millions of children without families to give them the basic needs like a warm home, food, or more importantly unconditional love. We know that we don't have the means to change the world on our own, but we can change the world for at least one child.

We are so unbelievably overwhelmed with joy and excitement, however it is not going to be easy. As many of you know, adoption is not an inexpensive process. It is going to cost about $30,000. The cost can be overwhelming but we know it is what we are called to do.

*******

I do not know the Keehn's  personally, but a friend of mine posted about them on Facebook and ever since I read that post I have felt the Lord tugging at my heart to do something to help. 
After our struggles to conceive, and the pain of losing so many babies, my husband and I were starting to consider adoption.  I did some research and was overwhelmed by the cost of adoption.  As the Keehn's mentioned, it's going to cost them around $30,000!!  Yikes! 


What do you say we all join in to help them bring their little one home??


From now until July 20, a portion of every purchase you make from Pearls and Petals and Bella Regali will go straight to the Keehn's to help bring their new child home!!! 
So buy some jewelry for yourself  or your friends, and PLEASE spread the word!! This is a very worthy cause, and you even get jewelry out of the deal! 


If you are not into jewelry and don't know anyone who is, (is that possible??) you can make a donation on their blog The Adventures of Team Keehn .


I hope you will join with me in helping this family who is following the Lord's leading. Let's be a blessing to them!!