Names...

It has been a crazy busy month and I'm sorry for the lack of posts. I had to travel in Nov. for work and then we went out of town for Thanksgiving and then I came down with an awful cold that took weeks to go away. I am trying to catch up from being out of commision and get ready for Christmas. One of the items on my "catching up list" is to update this blog. I will have some pictures to come later but here's an update for now.

Our sweet children have names...

Geoffrey Quinn and Riley Elaine

He will go by Quinn and she will go by Riley!

We got to see them on ultrasound again today. Quinn is definitely the one that is rearranging furniture or at least my organs. I feel him move all the time and we confirmed it was him because of how he is laying. Riley is going to be petite, she is measuring smaller than her brother and she moves some but is not as wild. We will keep watching their growth to make sure that she doesn't fall too far behind. I also passed my glucose test today, no 3 hour test for me! Yeah. That's all for now, more later...

Results are in...

54 % of you were correct! We are having a baby girl and a baby boy! Our ultrasound Thursday was so fun and the babies are doing great.

We had a wonderful time Sat. opening our envelopes at dinner with our families and finding out all together. I opened the envelope holding our little girl's picture and yelled out "baby girl". At the same time Geoff was opening the envelope holding our little boy's picture and he said, "baby boy" right after me!

Basking in the glow of knowing we have a little girl and little boy on the way!

















We were so thankful that our families were able to join us for this fun event! Here is my side of the family. We have 3 babies on the way because my sister is due in February with her 3rd!

















Here we are with Geoff's parents. His brother couldn't make it but we thought about photoshopping him in. (Ha Ha) We were able to call him at dinner to share our news with him.

















We feel so very blessed and thankful! We loved sharing this with our families and are looking forward to all that is in store for us!

Let the naming begin...Suggestions?!?!

Vote!!!

Since it is election day you would think this post would be political... while I do hope you all voted today that is not the voting I am talking about.

For a few more days you can vote on what you think we are having...two girls, two boys, or a boy and a girl. We go to the doctor on Thursday but we aren't letting them tell us there. We are having a family dinner on Sat. where we will all find out together what we are having! This is provided that both babies cooperate on Thursday.

If you would please keep our ultrasound on Thursday in your prayers. It's exciting to have this ultrasound where they can tell you what you are having. However, there's a lot more that they are looking at in terms of the health of the babies. While we would love to hear our babies are perfectly healthy we know that ultimately the Lord is in control. We will continue to trust Him with our children's lives as well as our own no matter what the news.

Check back on Sunday to find out the results!

The Journey (Part 1)

I'm not really sure how many parts our journey will take to share. I do know that I want to share the beautiful journey that Geoff and I have been on to this point. There are so many lessons that the Lord has been teaching me and I want to share those as well as have them for myself, when I need to remember what God has done.


We had been trying to start our family for about 6 months before we went to a doctor. It was really quite early for them to see us, especially since I was 25 at the time. However, I had a feeling that something wasn't right (I had been charting) and the doctor agreed to see us. In the early part of 2007 we had seen the fertility doctor and had several test results. While I do not remember if he gave us exact percentages, we did learn that our chances of getting pregant on our own incredibly small. I grieved this news and really did not want to share it with anyone outside of immediate family. All I had ever dreamed about as a child was to be a mommy. In fact, I'm pretty sure my exact plan when I was young was, "marry a doctor and have 12 children." An even dozen sounded good to me! If there was going to be any news that would bring me to my knees this was it. Of course, I didn't come to my knees right away, I took my time getting there. Here's the lesson in this, get to me knees sooner! Life is handled so much easier from that position.


In February of 2007 I went on a girls trip to the beach with my wonderful girlfriends from college. These are all amazing women, and yet I was not ready to let them in on my pain and tell them of my situation. However, just being with them that weekend was encouraging. They all love the Lord and are such amazing friends. The last morning of our trip I went to the beach by myself and it was there that I met with the Lord. I know that He is everywhere, but somehow being on the beach watching the ocean and the waves makes me feel so much closer to God. That day I cried out to the Lord about the pain I was in and for the first time I felt His peace over our situation. I journaled to the Lord as I was on the beach. I wrote, "Thank you for knowing that I needed to see the beauty of your creation to be reminded that you make no mistakes. It reminds me that you created Geoff and I in your image and you brought us together as husband and wife. You made us one and you have a perfect plan for us as well. You make no mistakes." It was here that I first surrendered my plans to the Lord declaring that I wanted our family in His plan and the way He wanted us to have it, and not in my plan. I came home from that weekend changed, at peace that our situation was no surprise to my Heavenly Father and willing to walk the path that He had for us.

Growing up we had the poem about the footprints in the sand in my house. I read it all the time and loved it! Especially the part about the man asking "why Father when I needed you most you would leave me?" The Lord replied, "It was then that I carried you." This weekend for me can be described as the Lord carrying me. Perhaps it was me surrendering and allowing Him to carry me as I'm sure he would have sooner If I had only surrendered.

I also read Proverbs 31 that weekend. Verse 30 says, "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but the woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised." My prayer became that I would be this woman who fears the Lord. I believe this is not about the being scared kind of fear but rather fearing something because you know the power it is capable of and you are in awe of that power. Experiencing the Lord's presence with me on the beach gave me a glimpse of how amazing and awe inspiring He really is.

When I returned Geoff could tell that there had been a change in me. Together we committed to walking the path the the Lord had for us and following where He would lead us.

Babies' Bump Update and New Ultrasound Pics

This is Geoff - still filling in for Brenna. Here is the almost-16 weeks babies' bump picture. I really started to see the pregnancy glow in her around this time.

Brenna went in for a checkup this week and they unexpectedly did an ultrasound. When she explained that I was going to be disappointed that I was not able to be there, they kindly printed some pictures.

Baby 1.

Baby 2. The nurse commented that Baby 2 was "showing off" because the image was so good.

Here they are together, laying head to toe.

Twin Tigers X 2

This is Geoff. I am guest-blogging for Brenna while she dutifully works to complete her narrative report cards. On October 18th we took the twins on their first trip to Clemson. We travelled to the game with our good friends Jonathan and Natalie who announced the week prior that they too are expecting twins! The joke on the trip down was if we do this again next year, we'd better bring a small bus. While the game did not turn out like we hoped, we had a great time catching up with old friends. Plus, it does not get any prettier than Clemson in the fall.

Brenna, the twins & I in Death Valley before kickoff.

Sitting just across the aisle from us were my "aunt & uncle" SueZanne & Bob.

The boys getting ready to run down the Hill to kickoff the Dabo Swinney era.

Tailgating with Clemson friends.

Brenna & Natalie with twins X 2!

Babies bump!

The "babies bump" pictures are here. At least the first instalment with more to come as these babies grow! If you have read the Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy you know what I mean when I say that this pregnancy thing is a "total body experience." I will have to ask that you not look too closely to see what else is expanding (like my backside). Those of you lucky enough to just gain a cute little belly and nothing else during your pregnancy, well please know that is a blessing not everyone experiences. However, as I am just so thankful to be pregnant and getting to experience this "total body experience" I will not complain!

About 9 weeks:

About 11 weeks:

Almost 14 weeks:

Wonderful verse for today:

"This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it." ~Psalm 118:24

I have the cold funk that's going around. It's no fun, especially since I can't take the good meds! But I'm happy for the reason to not take the good meds! We went to the doctor today and had a 12 week ultrasound. It's amazing how Satan really wants to get inside our heads. I was very anxious this morning, anxious something would be wrong. Do these thoughts ever go away? I just kept talking to the Lord and asked Him to guard my mind and thoughts while clinging to the knowledge that He is in control. The Lord is definitely seeking to teach me that I am not in control, that He has a plan and no matter what that plan holds He will walk the road with me. I went to the doctor with a peace, and Geoff and I even had the chance to pray together before the ultrasound started.

Our babies are both doing great! We had seen their heartbeats in previous ultrasounds but this was the first time we got to hear the heartbeats! It was so amazing and I definitely cried. That's not saying too much since I seem to cry at anything these days. I always cried easily, now it takes nothing for me to be streaming tears. This was a very happy cry today! We got them on DVD but for now, here is the pictures!

Here's peanut #1, heartbeat was 167.



















Here's peanut #2, heartbeat 162.


















Here they are together! The ultrasound tech said that peanut #2 having a slightly smaller sac did not look concerning. She said there was plenty of fluid in there! Praise the Lord!


















Thank you for all the prayers! We continue to need them and appreciate them. This verse has been an encouragement to me. It reminds me that when I am weak like I was this morning, the Lord will be my strength and His strength will see me through.

My flesh and my heart my fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26

What verses encourage your heart? I would love to hear them!

How does it feel...

A very good friend gave me a question to answer on my blog. She asked, "How does it feel to finally be pregnant after so many months and years and tries?" I'm not sure if words can actually describe the feeling. It is an answered prayer and a long time dream coming true. How does it feel when your dreams come true?
There were definitely days early on that I almost had to pinch myself to know if this was really happening. I would wake up in the morning (or middle of the night to pee) and think, "I'm pregnant, I'm really pregnant." As the sickness and tireness set in I didn't have to remind myself so much. They are pretty good reminders and while they aren't exactly a "fun" part of this whole pregnancy, I will take them any day and I'm so happy to have this reason to be "sick and tired".
When we were walking this road, I came to a point and a place where I told the Lord that I would accept whatever He had planned for my life. With this acceptance came an amazing peace about whatever the future would hold. I recognized that it may not be the Lord's will for me to ever be pregnant, and while I accepted it, there was saddness in this acceptance. At twelve weeks, with twins, I am running out of clothes to wear and have started some shopping for maternity clothes. Can I tell you how much fun that has been! There was a time when I thought that I may never have the need to wear maternity clothes and now I get to shop for them, and wear them! There has been amazing joy for me in this simple experience of needing maternity clothing!
My feelings over being pregnant, are an overwhelming sense of thankfulness and gratitude. I know that my heavenly Father has a plan for my life and I am so thankful that He has included this pregnancy in His plans. I also recognize that this may be my only pregnancy, there is no guarantee about the future, so I want to enjoy and treasure every moment!
We go on Thursday for another doctor appointment and ultrasound. I will share pictures and there will be a "babies bump" picture coming soon as well. I just need to get enough energy to actually get the picture off the camera. When I have the energy, I have much more to share about the joy of this journey!

What a Day!

So I woke up yesterday feeling nauseous as usual. I took my Zofran but an hour later I was throwing up. So I think to myself, "well the medicine is not working". I have felt very nauseous while on the medicine and decided I must have gotten "immune" to it. I got ready for work, very slowly, and threw up one more time before heading out the door. I got to work, threw up again. Decided today was a good day to tell my students (5th graders) that I am pregnant with twins. I figured if I had to run out of the classroom I didn't want them to worry. They were very excited about the news, immediately making lists of possible names for us! After throwing up 3 more times and a call to the doctor's office I headed home. The nurse said I was on all the medicine I could be and it would be best for me to lay down. Since I wasn't any good for my students (constantly running out of the room and having someone else come in) I agreeded and headed home. When I barely made it into the house and to the bathroom to throw up again I started to think, could this be more than morning sickness? Is it a virus? I talked with the doctor's office again in the afternoon, wanting to make sure I didn't get dehydrated. I think that throwing up 13 times in one day may be my personal record. I can't remember how many times I was sick back in December (when I ended up at the hospital on Christmas Eve) but I don't think it was quite that many. I am home from work today, very wiped out and recovering. I am feeling better and not totally sure what yesterday was, but if it was a virus I feel awful about exposing others. What a day yesterday was! I do not hope to repeat it anytime soon!

Babies

We went back for another ultrasound today. Both babies seem to be doing great, one even waved at us! They are measuring right where they should (peanut #2 is still a little smaller than #1) and the gestational sac for peanut #2 is definitely growing along with the baby. The sac is still a little small but since it's growing it seems OK. I have been released from the fertility doctor and I go see my OBGYN for the first time next week. Very exciting!

I figured the babies must be doing good because I feel nauseous about 18 hours of the day. The doctor even gave me Zofran to take twice a day and I am still plenty nauseous even with the medicine. I am trying lots of things to help, small meals, seasick bands on my arms, etc. Please chime in with any tricks you know to help with the nausea because I am open to ideas. In the meantime, I am very thankful to feel sick. It is well worth every moment! Thank you for your prayers and please keep them coming! Below are the ultrasound pictures:

Here is peanut #1. You can see his/her little arm!

Here is peanut #2, looking very good.

Here is the first picture of both siblings together! Peanut #1 is on the right and peanut #2 is on the left.

Poor Haley

So I introduced my first child, Haley, in an earlier post. Let me clarify she is my chocolate lab that I love dearly and consider my firstborn. We had the opportunity to spend a wonderful relaxing weekend with good friends at the lake. We headed out Saturday just before lunch and left Haley at the house. Our neighbors, who love Haley and take great care of her, were coming to get her later that day. They are able to use our keypad and get in through our garage.

We were having a wonderful time at the lake...until Sunday morning. I got up and had heard my phone vibrating, apparently the ringer was not on and I did not know this fact. I read a text from my neighbor, the one watching Haley, for me to call her Sat. night. I then call to check my voicemail and about have a panic attack. The neighbor's message says that the garage keypad is not working and they have not been able to get in to Haley! I frantically share this with Geoff and tell him to call her, then I decide I will call her and he needs to get dressed and GO! I really am about to get hysterical! I call my neighbor and she tells me that they have not been able to get into Haley, they looked for other ways into the house and she was about to call a locksmith. I tell her Geoff is on the way and should be there in about 30 minutes. At this point Haley has been in the house for about 22 hours. I am just picturing the mess that will await Geoff.

Amazingly, when he gets to her, there is no mess! She has not even peed in the past 22 hours! If you have a heart you have definitely thought "poor Haley" during this post. Now comes the "poor us" part... on the way to the house Geoff is driving "quickly" and it's Labor Day weekend, that's right, he got a ticket. He told the officer what was going on and the officer "wrote the ticket quickly". Now isn't that a nice cop. In the process of trying to get into the house our neighbor pulled on the garage handle, which apparently locked the door. When Geoff gets to the house (after the ticket) he pushes the garage door opener, this is not a good thing with the steel lock in place. The frame got completely bent and we had to get home from the lake on Monday for the garage door people to come and fix our door. Haley did go to the neighbor's house where she was completely spoiled.

When I was feeling bad about our "parenting" Geoff reminded me that we would not be leaving our children at the house for anyone to pick up. I'm sure we will make some mistakes, but that will not be one of them. Haley is getting lots of love and attention! She is such a good dog!

Answered Prayers

I was just thinking how we often don't stop to think about the many prayers that are answered on a day to day basis. Last night Geoff was flying home and coming through the storm that Fay had left behind. About an hour past the time he should have landed in Charlotte, NC I started getting worried. My mind started racing with all the what if's and fears about what could have happened. The Lord has been teaching me that when these fears come I need to bring them to Him. I had already been praying for his safe arrival, but I really started praying. I told the Lord that "I can't raise these two children on my own." His response, "I won't give you more than you can handle, with me by your side." I continued to pray for Geoff's safe arrival but the Lord answered one prayer by giving me a peace about his presence with me. When I heard that Geoff had gotten to Charlotte (after circling for awhile) and was now set to fly to Columbia, SC, I kept praying but was able to peacefully fall asleep (or since it's the first trimester, maybe we'll say pass out bone tired) until he got in around midnight. That's the second answered prayer of the evening, Geoff's safe return. I know God does not always answer immediately and I know that sometimes he answers with "no". Today I'm prasing the Lord for sending my wonderful husband home to me, for this answered prayer!

Our Babies!

We went to the doctor today for my 2nd ultrasound. We had one last week that was really too early and we couldn't tell very much. Last week we just saw 2 gestational sacs but one was very small and the doctor did not think it would develop. However, today we got to see our 2 babies and both of their hearts beating! It was beautiful and we are praising our God for His goodness! No wonder I am so nauseous! Baby #2 with the small sac from last week is measuring fine but still has a very small sac. The doctor said we will have to wait and see what happens. Everything could be just fine, or it could mean there is a problem. So, you know how to specifically pray for us and our two babies! Pray they would both develop and be strong! More importantly we know that the Lord is in control and we choose to trust Him and the plans He has for us! So you can never go wrong with praying the Lord's will to be done in our lives. We will trust Him, our hearts are steadfast.

So let me tell you about the pictures. This is the baby in the bigger gestational sac. Our little peanut #1. Beautiful strong heartbeat!

Ok, you can see peanut #1 on the right. Now look to the left, in that much smaller sac is peanut #2. This baby is measuring about 3 days behind peanut #1, which is fine. Another beautiful strong heartbeat as well. Maybe the difference in sac size is just the first in their sibling rivalry for space!

Psalm 139:13-14

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Our First Child

While we are thrilled about our pregnancy...I thought I should introduce you to our first child...Our lab, Haley. She will be 5 years old this October and we got her when she was just 5 1/2 weeks old. She definitley helped fill that void of wanting a child when had been married for just over a year. She won our hearts out of the 11 other puppies there were to choose from and she has been a wonderful dog child!

Here she is as a puppy

Here she is at the lake on our friends' boat

Here is another lake picture. This is our nephew, he and Haley were born in the same year. She is great with children, our nephews make sure of this. The other dog is Bo, my brother's lab. They met when Bo was a puppy (he's 9 months old here) and had fun at their first "reunion" at the lake.

Did I say she is good with children? She is great! She is patiently letting our friends' sweet daughter use her as a seat!

This was taken recently, me and my first born! I cannot wait til our own children get to meet and play with Haley! I know she will be so good to them!

So there's my sweet dog that brings me so much joy and knows just when I need someone to snuggle up with . Before I go I want to share a verse that the Lord showed me recently that has been exactly what I needed.

"He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD." Psalm 112:7

As it is still early in our pregnancy we would appreciate your prayers. There are times when I start to worry and become anxious over what's to come (the next blood work, the next ultrasound) only because these are things I cannot control and that could bring bad news. However, when those fears come I have been able to claim this verse and the truth that my heart too is steadfast because I have chosen to trust in the Lord.

Walk by Faith

This is my first post in which I will share a little part of our story. We have been trying for more than 2 years to start a family. We both deeply wanted children and found that we were not getting pregnant. Through many doctors appointments, tests, and feeling like a "science experiment" we found out that it would be hard for us to conceive on our own. We very prayfully tried several courses of treatment eventually going through in vitro. Our first round of in vitro was not sucessful. We were saddened, but through all of this we have found that the Lord has walked this road with us, at times carrying us. We have learned so much about walking by faith and knowing that we are not in control. Thankfully we don't always know what the future holds, but we know the One (our Lord) who knows. This summer we went through our second round of in vitro. It was successful! I am pregnant and am praising the Lord for this miracle. I want to share this story as well as our family journey as we daily... walk by faith! (2 Cor. 5:7 "We live by faith and not by sight").