Let's Back Up A Bit

Due to the unexpected arrival of our boys, our posts have gotten a little out of order.  Here is the post that was previously promised. . .

Grady and I started the search for a church soon upon our arrival in Shreveport and Grady was volunteering with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) when he met Carolle Green.  Carolle has some connections to Alexandria and even Deville (the town I grew up in) and she invited us to their church.  We started attending First Baptist of Shreveport and loved it from the beginning.  There is a wonderful group of girls that I have have grown to love and treasure their friendships. . . here are some pics from the shower they had for me. . . Mom, Tessia, and Madison came up for the weekend to attend the shower and just give me some company.  Being on bedrest was really starting to take its toll on me- both physically and emotionally- and I never realized how much sweet Madison would brighten my day.

Mom, Me, Tessia (who is expecting baby #3 in September), and Madison

Although he is smiling here- Grady was very nervous about us leaving the house to go to the shower- realizing this is the first time I had left the house in 7 weeks. . . without him.

Doing what I do best. . . eating!! Man, do I look swollen!!

The Hostesses

Nicky brought these delicious and oh so cute favors,  they are cake balls with "two peas in a pod" on top.  Thanks Nicky!!

This is my favorite card- hand-made from Madison.  Look carefully- two babies- two bumps.  The mind of a six year old! So cute!!

The shower was on Sunday afternoon, this was a lot of activity for one day so I went home and was totally exhausted.  I had an appointment with Dr. Tynes the next day and upon our arrival- I just didn't feel good.  Once we got into the exam room, she and Dr. Jones decided that it would be in the babies best interest for me to be admitted to the hospital for two steroid shots given 24 hours apart.  The doctors did this as a precaution, thinking we should be prepared if the boys decided to come early it was best to prepare their lungs for the early entry into the world.  This was my first overnight stay in the hospital and I was a little scared but things worked out just fine.  I got this great video of Jack with the hiccups.  It was so adorable at the time but I would much rather see him have the hiccups in person.

On Wednesday, I was discharged from the hospital with the instructions of "go home - don't get up- unless you are having babies."  And that's what I did.  Mom came into town to help out while Grady went back to work- even though I am 30 years old- mom comes running when things get tough.  I get that now that I am a mom!!  I was a little aggravated with Grady since I was ready to leave the hospital and he was nowhere to be found.  Ummm? When he finally showed up at the hospital, he wheeled me out to our new. . . minivan.  I know, I said I would never drive a minivan but we (mostly Grady) :) decided that it would be a good idea to have something that is super easy to get the boys in and out of.  All the way home, we practiced our parenting sayings in the minivan, like "Don't make me pull this minivan over" and the like.  We had a good laugh about that!!

The post is full of randomness but we needed to wrap up everything pre-babies.  Since we didn't find out the gender of our boys before they were born- we decided to do the nursery in Noah's Ark, since they come two by two.  Grady bought the twins some animals for the nursery and it was oh so entertaining while I was on bedrest and the doorbell would ring- another package from the FedEx guy- with another stuffed animal in it.  Thankfully he didn't buy two of every kind.

Needless to say- the ark is full!

The post that Grady previously wrote about the day the boys were born was titled "It all started with a Stuffed Porkchop."  The story behind the title is that Grady and I met on a blind date and we went to a little restaurant where I ordered the Stuffed Porkchop.  We laugh now about how far that porkchop has gotten us - driving around a minivan with twin boys and loving the new life we are about to start as parents---my how things have changed!