8 Years with Twins

My twins turn 8 years old today. How in the world did 8 years go by so quickly? Every time I really think about having twins, I am still in a slight state of amazement. I dont think I have ever written out their birth story on my blog, so today I will. Plus, my twins LOVE to hear the story of their birth. Even as I was working on this blog post, they asked if I could read it to them while I was typing! and they giggled whenever I mentioned their names:)
I never in a million years thought I would be a mom to twins. There are no twins in our families. It never even crossed my mind, when Mark and I took a pregnancy test on our 2nd anniversary, that the new life within me would actually be 2 lives! The first 3 months of pregnancy seemed just fine. I was a little sick but only first thing in the morning. We went to hear the heartbeat and once we heard one, we were relieved and excited.  I was getting a belly pretty much right away and by 3 months my mom said I was much bigger than she was at that point in her pregnancy (my mom and I are the same build)  and jokingly said, maybe its twins. We laughed and I forgot all about it.
At 20 weeks, I went in for my ultrasound SUPER excited to find out if we were having a boy or girl! We had planned to go directly to PA to visit my family afterwards, so we were packed up for our 4 hour road trip. At this ultrasound place, I had to go in to get the baby measured first by myself and then Mark could come in to see the baby. So, after drinking TONS of water and REALLY having to pee, I made my way inside by myself. I was SO very uncomfortable because I had to pee so badly, I just wanted to get it over with fast so I could go to the bathroom! She put the wand on my belly and I anxiously looked at the screen and then she said, "Well, it looks like you're having two". I said, "What?" She said, "two babies." I started crying and kept saying over and over again, "But there are no twins in our families." I just was SO shocked. I had never even imagined in my mind two babies. I honestly was SO scared in the beginning. Mark still did not know at this point. She said she would go get Mark and I could go to the bathroom.
Mark was waiting in the waiting room and the tech came out and said, "Mr. Gomez, we need to talk to you." Mark said he thought for sure there was a problem with the baby. She then proceeded to tell him that their were two babies so the measuring will take a while. Mark said he had to sit down right away it was such a shock! I snuck away from the bathroom and went out and found him. I was crying. We hugged! Everything was fine with the twins and they said baby A was a girl and they were not sure about baby B. We had planned on Sophia if it was a girl and Landon if it was boy. So right away, baby A was Sophia. Mark called his family and I called my mom to tell them the news!

2 days before they were born

Preparing for twins was huge. no pun intended. Two of everything! We were SO very blessed to have  wonderful families, a church family, a school family, even my old church in PA, who showered us with MANY presents and diapers that lasted me 5 months! (I seriously had SO, SO many diapers!)  My belly was HUGE! I put stretch mark cream on it every chance I got and amazingly, didn't have any stretch marks after the whole pregnancy. It was amazing to watch my belly move constantly! with two babies in there, I could always see a butt, a foot, a hand poking out. That is the one thing I missed more than ever after every one of my babies were born- just feeling them move inside me- there really is nothing like it at all.

30 weeks

Since I was carrying twins, I was considered high risk, so I went to the doctors a lot. We found out somewhere in there that baby B was a girl too, so I picked the name Arianna. At 24 weeks or so, I was outside at recess with my 3rd grade class and started getting pretty painful contractions regularly. Mark thought we should go to the hospital so we went and I got admitted and spent the next 5 days in the hospital for preterm labor. They gave me magnesium to slow the contractions and it was HORRIBLE. I felt so drugged and sick. But the meds worked and the contractions stopped. I was put on strict bed rest that first week (missed the end of the school year with my class) and then they said I could do more as the weeks went by with no contractions.
At 32 weeks,on July 20th, I woke up in the middle of the night (4am) all wet and realized my water had broken. We got ready to head to the hospital which was 30 minutes away. The whole ride down there I was in SO much pain. We got checked in and I could not walk and was crying and thought in my head that I was such a wimp if I was just starting contractions and they hurt this bad. By the time I got in my room it was around 6am. They asked me questions and realized I was only 32 weeks with twins so they loaded me up in an ambulance and took me to a hospital a few minutes away that had a better NICU. The whole way I was throwing up and shaking SO badly. I cannot tell you how painful it was. Around 7am, I got admitted and they FINALLY checked me and I was 8 cm dilated. I thought for sure they wouldn't give me an epidural because I was so far along, but they did and immediately, I was SO happy and pain free! My friend Kara met us at the hospital and I really wanted her there for the birth but they didn't let her go in the OR.  I pushed for about an hour and then they said I was ready to head to the operating room where they deliver twins just incase the twins flip and need to be born thru c-section. But both babies were just fine- head down- and didn't flip which I am SO grateful for.

Sophia was born first at 8:30am and didn't cry a peep. We got to hold her and cuddle her while we waited for Arianna to be born. About 30 minutes later, Arianna came out face up and was mad! She was screaming. Her poor forehead was bruised for a while after. We didn't get to hold her, the NICU team whipped both babies away to test and make sure they were okay.

We got to see them about an hour or so after they were born. They were small- 4lbs 15oz and 4 lbs 8 oz. But praise God, no other medical problems were detected. They did not need oxygen and were healthy. They were fed thru iv for a few days which was hard. It was hard to hold them with all their wires but we got used to it. The doctors told us that they had to be 5lbs to leave the hospital so it was a waiting game. After 5 days in the NICU at UMass Memorial in Worcester, they told us that the Democratic National Convention was coming to Boston and if we wanted to move the twins to our local hospital we could.. they were trying to free up space, I guess. So at 5 days old, the twins went on their first ambulance ride to Leominster Hospital. They stayed another 5 days there and were still a little under 5 lbs when I brought them home.  I really think our pediatrician felt sorry for me- I wanted to take my babies home so badly. I told him I would bring them every day to the doctors office to be weighed if he would just let us take them home- and he did. They caught up pretty quickly after a while. All their momentous milestones were later then most babies. I praise God over and over that He allowed my babies to be so healthy even though they were a few months early.

they were so cute!!! my little bald babies! 

And here we are today- 8 years old and as awesome as can be! I love Sophia and Arianna so very much and I just LOVE that they each have their own quirks and personalities and also are best friends. The bond they have is amazing to watch and moves me tears when I think about the love they have shared since birth. They are turning into amazing young ladies who are sensitive to the things of God. I pray that they continue to think and meditate on the Gospel that is shared with them daily and that if God has not done so already, be drawn to Him in faith.
Happy 8th Birthday, my twinies!
I love you,
Mommy

The Fourth

I have not blogged in forever. Busy summer days slip right by and by the time the sun goes down, I am too exhausted to blog. I have been spending SO little time on the computer which makes me happy. We swim all the time. We play with friends. We go to the library. We read a TON. Summer is good.
To recap- here is our 4th of July celebration. The Mondragons hold an annual bash and we attended. Unfortunately, this year we did not see fireworks. Because of the MANY horrible fires in Colorado, they banned fires and fireworks. Bummer but totally understandable.

 Yep, I caught Elijah's first kiss with another girl on my camera! They thought it was hilarious! 

We had a talk that night about waiting to kiss other girls till your MUCH older:)lol 

Fun day! And special thanks to the Mondragons for opening up their backyard to SO many people and SO, SO, SO many kiddos:) I love the spirit of hospitality that family has and its a blessing to serve with them at Sola!

How Do I Love Thee?

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

I have been working on scanning pictures of a friend's son who passed away at the age of 19 on Elijah's birthday. Going thru a mom's photos of her child really got me thinking of the frailty of life. We are here for such a short time. Of the fact that my time on this earth is in God's hands. That I need to cherish and treasure every day that God grants me with my children. That I need to treasure, love and serve my husband.
As I was scanning, I got my wedding album and started scanning our wedding photos too- Ten and a half years went by in the blink of an eye! We are such different people from that first wedding photo! We have a much larger family and I wouldn't trade the path that God chose for us for anything. He has taught us more about Himself. He has showed us our selfishness. He has humbled us. He has blessed us. He has revealed His Gospel to us on a much more "real" level. He has changed us and we are better for it.
As I attend the funeral for Kade tomorrow, I trust God will continue to show me more about Himself and make me treasure and invest and serve in love the people in my life even more.

Angry Bird Birthday Party! Happy 4th Birthday Lijers!

We celebrated 4 years with our Elijah! He is such a JOY to be around! He thinks he is the funniest guy in the world and he LOVEs to wrestle, fight, roll around on the floor, tickle, hang upside down, flip.. you get the point.

He has his wild side but he is also very sensitive, especially with others. 

He loves babies. He really loves when they love him back:) 

He LOVES to still kiss and hug me and he always seems to compliment me when I need it most.

a BOY is just we needed as a family and I am so blessed that God has let us have Elijah.

 Our traditional birthday breakfast:)

Happenings and Such

We have been thoroughly enjoying having Mark home with us! He has one more week off before he starts his new position at Valor the first Monday in July. 

We have been staying busy. 

We were able to enjoy Jon and Franki's wedding reception in Colorado Springs. 

                    They were married in Florida so we watched the ceremony at the reception:) 

We celebrated Valerie's 17th birthday! 

We have been trying to stay cool- ever since Mark has returned we have had 100 degree or close to that days! Its crazy! The heat is unbelievable. We are thankful we have AC and it keeps the bottom two layers of the house cool although it doesn't seem to touch our upstairs bedrooms.

We have been spending lots of time in the pool, sprinklers and any place that is air conditioned.
Everyone came with me and went grocery shopping the other day because it was so nice and cool inside. I managed to fall on some spilt drink in one of the aisles and really banged up my elbow and tailbone. NOT fun. I was so sore the next morning.
Today, our pet hamster, Bolt, died. I wonder if it was too hot for him. I remember as a kid, my mom putting my hamster out in the sun on the porch and it died all sweaty and such. Oh well.. the joys of small rodents for pets. Mark dug a hole. I got a popcorn box and cut a lid for the casket. We all met in the backyard and buried our furry pet after saying a few nice things about Bolt.

Elijah's birthday is on Friday. He has been getting birthday money in the mail, so we gathered it all up and went to the toy store. Mark has been wanting Elijah to use his Christmas/birthday money on a racing set and it never has happened till today. We have been looking but we wanted one where you could plug the cars into the wall so we weren't buying batteries for the track which is the hugest waste of money ever! We found one at Toys R Us and let me tell you, Mark was more excited than Elijah about the purchase:) After about an hour of setting it up (this thing is HUGE) we got to play with it- It really brought memories back for me of the one my brother and I had as kids. We would race for hours.  You had to hold down the little gun thingy and your car would take off. You always had to fold those little metal prongs down after a crash or it wouldn't go and the smell of the cars on the tracks was still the same! Good times. I think Mark and I will be enjoying some good races after the kids are in bed:) 

That is all for now.