Our Birth Story

I've decided that perhaps I should start at the beginning. Hubby and I had tried for a year on our own to become parents before finally breaking down and using Clomid. For most people Clomid only results in one baby. But since I also have a very long family history of twins it increased our chances exponencially. After only one cycle of the drug I got those two little lines on my home pregnancy test that I had been praying for for a very long time.

So when the ultrasound tech said that we had 2 babies in my belly we were surprised, but we weren't completely shocked. We knew it was possible, even without the drugs it was possible.

The day before the girls were born I had a perinaitologist appointment. Several weeks prior my parents had decided that I could not go to any more appointments alone, and insisted that if DJ couldn't go with me then one of them would. This was quite a commitment for them because I was going to 2 NST appointments and 1 ultrasound appointment each week. By the end of my pregnancy I was threatening my Dr. to bring my sleeping bag and camp out in the waiting room. lol All of this to say, DJ was going to have to work June 11th, 2007, so my mom made room in her schedule and planned to go with me to the appointment. At the last minute DJ decided to take the day off work and go along as well, and since my mom had already planned to come I had TWO chaperones that day rather than just one. They both kept telling me that they felt they NEEDED to be there with me. I thought they were both silly, but when you're 34 weeks prego with twins your will to argue lessens tremendously. I pretty much threw my hands in the air and said something along the lines of, "Fine whatever, but nothing's going to happen! He'll just say everything's fine and then you will both feel silly for taking the day off work for nothing!" But somehow they just knew, even though I didn't.

Maybe it was because I looked like this:


In any case, the ultrasound tech that day took a lot of measurements. They were especially concerned about Ziva because she was so much smaller than her sister. But we also knew that they were fraternal, and there could be a natural disparity between them just like any other set of sisters born on different years. So I really wasn't worried at all, I felt like the doctors were making a big fuss over nothing. But I was thankful to be getting such great care, and I was happy to go along for the ride. There was one ultrasound several weeks earlier when they mis-measured Ziva, so the tech really took her time to make sure everything was correct. And then she got quiet, and left to get the doctor. I could see her heartbeat and everything so I knew she wasn't in distress, but her actions still made me nervous. DJ said, "Well, I bet it's time." My mom agreed. I said, "Psh.. you guys are crazy!"

The doctor came in and said, "Time to deliver!" And I said, "What?!" I was in total denial... which ain't just a river in Egypt! I thought for SURE that I'd carry them to at least 36 weeks! I had been visualizing it, picturing me taking home 2 healthy 6 lbs. babies as soon as I was released from the hospital. This was NOT my plan! Apparently Ziva had dropped off her growth curve, which meant that she would grow better outside rather than inside. He offered the option of checking myself into the hospital right then, or waiting until the next morning. I picked the next morning. I wanted to go home, do laundry, eat a normal dinner, pack my bag, etc.

So that's what we did.

The next morning we arrived at the hospital. They wanted to hook me up to the NST to monitor the girls, I helped them. By then I was getting to be a pro at knowing where the girls heart beats could be found. The nurse checking me in talked me through what would happen. Turns out she was an identical twin, so she had a special place in her heart for twin births. And then she got to the part of her speech where she explained that after the girls were born they would show me each girl, and then they would go to a little room next to the OR, and then they'd sew me up, and I'd get to spend a brief amount of time with each girl before they were taken to the NICU and I was taken to recovery. And that's when I broke down and cried. No, I sobbed. Because these precious little girls that I had spent every moment with for the past 8 months would now be taken from me in such a sudden way, and I wouldn't be able to share a room with them the way I had envisioned. It was terrible, just writing it now brings me to tears.



And bless his heart, DJ just cried right along with me. They had to delay my surgery by 15 minutes just so we could pull ourselves together.

The surgery itself went without a hitch. I had the two best Dr's I could have asked for performing the surgery: Dr. Hutchinson and Dr. Gibbons. They were amazing! Ziva, who was breech, was born first, and then Anya was born 2 minutes later.

Here is what I wrote in a mass email once I got home that gives most of the basic details:

Well our girls arrived on June 12th and they’re both doing great! Ziva Lynn was 3 lbs. 9 oz. and Anya Jean was 5 lbs. 11 oz. Right now they’re both in the NICU and it will probably be a week or two before they get to come home. The c-section went without a hitch, the worst part of the whole experience was getting my IV placed which took 3 tries (ouch!). Both babies came out crying. Ziva came out with both arms outstretched like she was saying “Here I am!” Anya needed some help with suction at first to get all the fluid out of her lungs, but once that was done they were both doing fine just breathing room air. At this point Ziva has gained 3 oz. over her birth weight and Anya still has a couple oz. to go before she reaches her birth weight. They’re both doing great regulating their own body temperature, so today they took them out of the incubators and put them together in a crib. So we got some great pictures of them in the crib together all cuddled up. They seem to really enjoy it! The only thing that’s keeping them in the NICU at this point is that they need to learn how to eat. They both have feeding tubes and we’re working on breastfeeding, but I’ve been told that babies that are born 6 weeks early usually aren’t ready to eat on their own until it’s closer to their due date. The feeding sessions are going well and they’re both catching on but don’t stay awake long enough to eat as much as they need to.

What I didn't say in that email is that after they were born Dr. Hutchinson showed their placentas to DJ. Apparently Ziva's placenta was 1/2 the size of Anya's, which explains why Ziva was so tiny by comparison. Plus Ziva's umbilical cord had grown along the side of her sack, which means if my water had broken unimaginable things could have happened to her. So THANK GOD I had good doctors watching out for me!!! And THANK GOD they decided I needed a c-section! Because it could have easily gone bad and Ziva might not be here with us today.



They stayed in the NICU for 2 weeks.



They were very cute.





It's amazing to think about how tiny they were.



I feel completely honored that God entrusted them to me.

10 Months Old!

Well, the girls are now 10 months old... and very quickly they will be 11 months old! How time flies... I can't believe it's almost been a year since they exploded in on our world.

We had a wonderful time with DJ's family when they came to visit us last month. DJ's mom stayed with us for 2 weeks, and his sister and neices were with us for almost a week. We had family pictures taken, and they turned out beautifully! Finally we have a good professional family picture of the four of us! And we did some cute ones of the girls by themselves. Anya, was a bit of a tough customer, but in the end we were able to make her smile and have fun. We celebrated Easter at Skamania Lodge with DJ's mom and my family. They do a wonderful Sunday brunch, if any of you have a chance to go you really should! It was delicious!

While DJ's family was here the girls just blossomed! Ziva started crawling with much more confidence and she started standing up without help by pulling herself up on the furniture! Now a days she's cruising around the living room holding onto things, it's so amazing! Anya is getting up on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth, so we're hoping that she starts crawling soon. Ziva has crawled up on top of Anya a few times and they end up just piled up laughing at each other... it's so cute! One time a few days ago we were helping Anya to stand up, and Ziva crawled over and used Anya to brace herself while she stood up too! So they ended up both standing (Anya with help) face to face just giggling with glee!

Our Dr. suggested having the girls evaluated by Infant Early Intervention program because they were preemies and Anya is somewhat behind schedule developmentally. But since Anya is starting to make headway we've decided to wait and see what happens. We kind of think our Dr. is overreacting and we know that a lot of babies, preemie or not, take a while to learn how to crawl.

We've started dressing Ziva in long sleeved onesies and Baby Legs. If you don't know what Baby Legs are you should look it up because they are SOOOO cute and really helpful for crawling babies. We've found that footed jammies are harder for her to crawl around in because she ends up crawling up inside of her outfit and then she gets stuck. lol But it's much easier for her to crawl when she's wearing Baby Legs... they're like little baby leg warmers. I can't help but think of any 80's dance movie when I see her in them. lol

We all had colds this month, which is why I haven't been all that motivated to update this blog or do much of anything else. But I think we're finally healthy again... took about 2 weeks to get over it.

After barely leaving the house for almost a year I'm starting to get a bit stir crazy, but at the same time I'm terrified of taking the girls out by myself. I've been trying to think of ways I can get out and leave the girls with DJ, but by the time he wakes up it's time for dinner practically. It's pretty frustrating. I've had some seriously scary nightmares about being out in public and being stuck trying to hold both girls at once... they're getting so big and heavy. I'm just not sure I can do it. But everyone who has twins keeps telling me that it gets easier, and eventually they are able to walk and over time become well behaved and you can actually go out in public with them. I seriously can't wait for that day!

9 Months Old! Can You Believe It?!

I can’t! :p It’s been a crazy month, and crazy past week or so especially.

Anya & Ziva did pretty good at their 9 month check up. They had to have 2 shots, which is never fun but they did ok. Anya is 14 lbs 8 oz and Ziva is 14 lbs 2 oz, so Ziva is really catching up and is only ½ an inch shorter than her sister. The Dr. suggested that we have them evaluated for developmental delays by the infant early intervention program. There aren’t any major concerns, but apparently there are things that they can do for 9 months old if they catch things soon enough. So I have a call into them to set up an appointment for someone to come to our house for an evaluation. Apparently our insurance pays for 70% and Bill and Melinda Gates pay for the rest.

Solid feedings have really gone well. Anya took off with it right away, and really enjoys it. Ziva took about 3 weeks before she actually swallowed a bite, she has a pretty strong tongue thrust reflex. But Ziva is now very excited about eating and will pull the spoon into her mouth with her hands, so I’m sure she’ll be ready for some finger foods soon. Anya is pretty happy with us feeding her without her involvement. :P

Ziva started crawling about 2 weeks ago, so that’s exciting. She’s a very busy girl to say the least. Anya has gotten really good at rolling where she wants to go, but she hasn’t put her knees under herself yet. And just last night Ziva stood up in her crib while hanging on to the rails! She was VERY excited and proud of herself! And I’m very proud of her too!

There’s been a little trouble on the home-front. DJ was in an accident at work. His leg is injured, but he’s ok and hobbling around. I won’t go into what happened because he doesn’t really want everyone to know about it, but it was VERY scary and could easily have been lethal. The accident happened at 1:30am during his shift, and since he didn’t need surgery or anything he decided not to call me so I didn’t find out until I woke up and he was home that morning. I’m very very thankful that he’s alright, but we’re both still in shock over it. If you think about it please pray that he has a smooth recovery.

We're expecting DJ's mom to come and visit us tomorrow. She hasn't seen the girls since they were 3 months old, so that should be fun. She'll be staying with us for 2 weeks. His sister and nieces will come and join us after Easter and it will be the first time his sister and one of the nieces will see the girls. We're very excited about their visit!

8 Months And Going Strong!

Lots of changes this month!

The girls are now sleeping in the nursery. Anya was a bit fussy the first few nights but calmed down faster each night and now she doesn't complain at all about it. As a result I'm sleeping wonderfully! YAY! We also set up the high chairs and started solids. Anya is taking to eating really well. Ziva is a little tricky, it's very hard to put food in someone's mouth when their tongue is sticking out. It's very entertaining though, both for me and the girls. Messy, but entertaining.

We also got a jumparoo which they girls both love! They squeel and laugh while they're in it, really fun to watch. They've each also fallen asleep in it. lol DJ thinks we need to get another one, but since they're only going to use it for a few months I really don't think it's worth it.

They still aren't crawling yet, but they're finding lots of other ways to move around. Ziva has gotten really good at rolling where she wants to go, and now that Anya is in her crib more she is also rolling over more often and reaching for things that she wants. Bottle time and diaper changes have gotten tricky because Ziva is ALWAYS on the move. While she eats she's kicking and waving her arms around, turning her head... it's like a wrestling match trying to feed and change her. Anya on the other hand is much easier, she just lets me do what I need to do. They've both gotten very giggly. Just last week they started interacting with each other a lot more. After a feeding when they're both on my lap they'll reach for each other and smile and laugh at each other, it's so cute! I can't put them in a crib together because they get too excited and someone ends up scratched or poked and cries.

At their Dr. appt. we learned that Anya is 14 lbs. and Ziva is 13 lbs. This means that they haven't gained much weight over the past month, so we switched to the higher concentration baby formula and we're going to be pushing solids more so hopefully next month they'll have a decent gain. It makes me glad that we're going in every month for their synigis injections so that we can catch things like this before it becomes a real problem.

Another big change, I've lowered my dose of lactation drugs by 1/2. I accidently skipped a dose and realized that it's those meds that were making me so sleepy and tired all the time. Up until then I was taking a nap every chance I had because I was SO exhaused, I just felt like I couldn't function. So now I only take it at night and I feel SO much better! It's like I'm back to being me again. As a result my house is clean again and I've actually made dinner a few times instead of running out every night for take out. And I just feel less overwhelmed by every day tasks because now I actually have the energy to accomplish them. I've also decided to give up my breastpump rental when it comes due this month, and that will be one more task out of my hair each day. I've just decided that the girls have already gotten such a huge benifit from my milk and at this point I need my own sanity back. I'm still nursing Anya though, but we are supplimenting her with formula more and more these days and since she's learning to eat well I'm sure that in a month or two she'll probably be done nursing. I'm glad to finally see a light at the end of the tunnel, but sad because I know I'll miss sharing that closeness with my girls. I have a feeling that I probably won't have much time to think about it though because at that point they'll surely be mobile.

7 Months Strong!

I'm a little late updating my blog this month, lots of stuff going on!

Anya & Ziva are growing like little weeds! Every time I pick them up I groan a little. :P There have been all kinds of subtle changes about them so I'm not sure I'll remember them all, but they're getting much more coordinated with their hands and they're getting very good at grabbing and reaching for things. Ziva is now able to get up on her knees and rock back and forth on them, and Anya gets up on her elbows and scooches forward, so they'll both be crawling really soon! Ziva has also learned that she can get places by rolling over.

One sad development, a couple weeks ago Ziva decided that she no longer wants to nurse but wants the bottle instead. I could have taken the bottles away for a while and insisted she nurse because I'm pretty sure it was just a bad case of nipple confusion but since she's not the only baby I have to take care of I decided not to fight it and to just let her have her bottles. She still gets some mommy milk in her bottles though, but she isn't getting as much as Anya who is still nursing like a pro.

We're about to make some big changes at our house. Up till now the girls haven't had any solid foods, we decided to delay solids up to this point after talking with our pediatrician. But that's all about to change! We got a pair of high chairs last weekend, and yesterday I went out and bought rice cereal and bowls and spoons. So I think we're going to start solids either today or tomorrow.

Also, up till now the girls have both been sleeping in our room, Ziva in a crib and Anya in a bouncy seat. Well Anya's getting a little big for the bouncy seat and we're thinking that she'll progress more with her crawling and rolling over if she were also in a crib. So instead of bringing the other crib into our room (there really isn't room for it) we've decided to move both the girls into the nursery so that they can each be in their own crib. Some twins share a crib, but the way Ziva moves all over hers I'm sure that they would end up waking each other up. So we're planning to do the big switch-a-roo with the baby furniture today. I'm kind of happy/sad about this change as it has been one of my greatest joys to wake up to two smiley faces, but it will also cut down on the number of times I wake up during the night because of the little sleepy noises they make.

The holidays were nice. We had a good time Christmas over at my parents house. I actually did stay up till midnight this year for New Years, last year I was so sick and pregnant that I was in bed early. We've already taken advantage of my parent's baby sitting coupons and went out to dinner with our dear friends Lee & Sabrina. We're looking forward to using many more of those coupons this year! And we're already talking about which vacation ideas we want to do first with the girls, it should be a very fun year!

5 Months Old And Then Some

Well the girls are 5 months 2 weeks old today so I figured it's time to update the ol' blog.

We've had fun this past month. I've taken the girls on a couple shopping trips to craft bazzars with my mom and DJ's niece Adrianna came to visit us for the week of Thanksgiving. It's been fun getting out a little bit, although I still haven't truly gone out with the girls by myself.

They're both growing like crazy. Last time we were at the Dr. Anya was just over 12 lbs. and Ziva was just over 11 lbs. They just started eating a lot more so my guess is they're headed towards another growth spurt.

Anya is my little cuddle bug. I still call her my little pudding baby because when I hold her she just snuggles right in and is quite content just staying that way. While on the other hand Ziva is so busy moving around and looking at everything that she can't seem to find time to cuddle as much. It's very easy to make Anya laugh these days, you almost don't even have to touch her and she'll giggle. It's so cute! Ziva isn't laughing so much, but she's very physically active. She rolls herself over the minute I set her in the crib, and then she does these fantastic push ups so she can look around. Ziva also will stand on our legs when we hold her up and she seems to be very proud of herself when she does it.

They're both very sweet and fun to play with. We were really looking forward to having fun with them on Thanksgiving but Anya had a total melt down and wouldn't calm down enough to play. The only break we had was right when it was time to eat, and then when we were done she woke up and started crying again. We ended up leaving early because they were both tired and cranky. Oh well, I'm hoping that Christmas will be better but I'm not counting on it. :)

Six Months Old! Hurray!

Anya & Ziva's sixth month in this world started out with a big bang and a terrible Dr's appointment. They both seemed to know what was coming and started crying looooong before they got their 4 shots each. But we did find out that Anya weighs 13 lbs and 13 oz. and is 23 inches long. And Ziva is 12 lbs 8 oz. and 22 3/4 inches long. So they're slowly but surely getting to be about the same size. :) Little Anya is such a chunk now, and Ziva is starting to get little rolls of fat around her wrists, so cute!

They're both starting to recognize their own names and they're becoming more coordinated with their hands. Ziva can almost put her pacifier in her mouth by herself and Anya can take the velcro'd butterflies off her bouncy seat. They're both getting better at sitting up, and Anya is getting better at standing with help. They are both full of smiles and seem to be such joyful little girls. They smile and laugh ALL the time now and are a lot of fun to play with.

We're still nursing, which is always an adventure in patience. We talked to our pediatrician and decided to delay solids for another month. Once they're able to sit up better without support they'll be ready for solid foods. They still don't have teeth yet, but they're very drooly and put their hands in their mouths all the time so I'm sure teeth are going to be here soon.

We're hangin' in there. :P DJ is on vacation until after the new year so thankfully he's been around to help out and I've been able to get some rest. Which is much needed because the girls are getting over their first colds. Thankfully it's been a mild case of runny noses and sneezing and with some saline and extra momma's milk they seem to be doing a LOT better! Just in time for holiday festivities! We're planning to spend the day at my parent's house and hopefully we're able to create time for the girls to rest so that they don't get overtired and melt down like they did on Thanksgiving.

The Day of Firsts

Yesterday my girls were just blossoming so I thought I'd share.

Ziva rolled over for the first time by herself! I was so shocked, but I guess I shouldn't have been because she's been turning her head and arching her back to reach for her pacifier for the past week. I didn't see her do it, but I went to wake her up from her nap and she was on her belly sleeping! I was so happy and terrified at the same time! All the SIDS info warns about putting your baby on their back to sleep, so I was really worried about how I was going to keep her on her back now. But I called her pediatrician and she said that she might not do it again for some time, and also that there's a train of thought that if she can do it herself then she's probably strong enough to keep herself from sufficating. So I said a little prayer and put it in God's hands. Yikes!

AND... a few hours after that during a feeding, Anya reached out and grabbed Ziva's hand! And she kept staring at Ziva and Ziva's hand and let go and grabbed it again and again! She must have done it 4 or 5 times so I know she was trying to do it and it wasn't just an accident! It was SO sweet! Their first physical interaction! They've been interested in each other before but it only amounted to looking at each other, but now they held hands! It was so precious!

Yesterday just made my heart warm. :) They're growing and changing so fast I can hardly believe it.

Four Month Update

Well the girls are now 4 months 1 week and 3 days old!

They had a check up last week and everything looks good. Anya is now 10 lbs. 8 oz. and Ziva is 9 lbs. even. So Ziva is catching up! The pediatrician was concerned about the shape of Ziva's head, he was worried that she had a problem where some parts of the skull fuse together before the other parts and it can create a mis-shapen head. So he sent us to a surgeon who specializes in that kind of problem and she said that there was absolutely nothing wrong with Ziva, that her head shape is most likely due to genetics and her sleeping positions. We knew that nothing was wrong with her, so we weren't worried about it, but we were relieved just the same to hear the news.

Each of the girls are really starting to show their own personalities and traits. Anya is still our little spit up queen. It makes me so sad every time she spits up and screams afterwords. I wish there was something I could do for her besides give her her meds and comfort her. So most of the time she seems to be a very serious little girl, but I think that's mostly because of her tummy woes. When she is feeling well she's smiley and has even started to giggle when we tickle her. She still loves her food and she loves to sleep. She's also started to grab at the toys hanging above her bouncy seat and will sometimes pull the ring that plays music.
Ziva wasn't the first to smile, but she's really making up for lost time! Seems like every time I peek down into her crib she's smiling back up at me. Just the slightest touch and she's spilling out her giggles and grinning from ear to ear! I've started calling her my little sparkler. Anya has been out of her swaddle for a while, but we just started letting Ziva sleep without it and she's doing pretty good. Only problem is that she moves around so much in her sleep that she turns herself in circles! We tried putting a blanket rolled up under her so that it would help with her head shape, but with all the moving she does it really isn't going to make a difference.

They're both now sleeping through the night, and by that I mean from about 10pm til 6 or 7am. So I'm finally starting to get a decent night's sleep most of the time.

In other news, DJ has switched back to night shift so we're making some adjustments. We've also bought a new car which means more freedom for me and the girls! Their car seats barely fit in our old car, and our double stroller didn't fit at all. So now we have a car where everything and everyone fits so now I can actually attempt to go out with the girls by myself! I haven't tried it yet, but I'm working up the courage to give it a shot. I'll let you know how that goes. :P

Three Month Update

Well the girls are officially 3 months old today! YAY! I've made it through what most people tell me is the hardest part, and I'm still walking, breathing, and forming complete sentences. Hurrah!

As of their last weight check on Sept. 5th Anya is 9 lbs 3 oz. and Ziva is 7 lbs. 2 oz. Anya is holding her head up really well now, and Ziva is still trying but isn't as strong as Anya. They're both smiling now and coo'ing which is really making our lives brighter and happier. I've had little conversations with each of the girls this past week, and DJ had a really nice long 'talk' with Ziva after one of the feedings. DJ thinks that Anya might be the first to walk but Ziva might be the first to talk. lol, it'll be a lot of fun to see.

We had fun this last weekend. An old friend from high school came over for lunch (Christina for those who are interested). Her husband made us this wonderful Indian meal with authentic bread and everything. It was delicious! It was really fun to catch up with them and find out how they've been getting along.

We also went to our birth class reunion. It was great to share birthing experiences with other new parents and see all of their cute little babies. It's amazing how different all the babies were! We shared breastfeeding experiences and talked about tips and tricks we've learned so far. It was great info and conversation. :)

This Friday I'm going to go get a pedicure with mom, it'll be my first one since the girls arrived and I'm really looking forward to being pretty again! Plus I'm really looking forward to my mom seeing the girls and how they've changed in just the past two weeks.

Babies & Zuccini

Well time flies when your feeding babies around the clock! Seems like the past 2 or 3 weeks have been an absolute blur.

The girls had their 2 month check up which included their first shots since leaving the hospital. They did ok for the shots, they cried, but that's to be expected. What wasn't expected was we learned that they weren't gaining weight the way they're supposed to. So now instead of just breastfeeding we have to do all this other stuff each feeding. And when I say other stuff I mean I breastfeed, then pump, then fortify the pumped milk with formula, then feed them that via bottle. Oh, and I found out I have a yeast infection in my nipple, so I also have to swab each of their mouths with some medication on a q-tip after each feeding too. So much fun let me tell ya! But the good news is that after one week of doing this they were both back to gaining weight like champs. We have another weight check tomorrow, but I'm sure they'll pass with flying colors. At the last check Anya was up to 8 lbs. 11 oz. and Ziva was up to 6 lbs. 8 oz.

In other news, I'm being bombarded with zuccini! Seems like everyone who comes to my house assumes that I'm in need of some. I realize that this is the NW and that zuccini grows great here, but good grief just because I didn't plant any this year doesn't mean I want to fill my fridge with it anyway! I've already made two loaves of bread and frozen away enough shredded zuccini to make 6 more loaves, but yet the zuccini keep coming. I think I'm going to have to put a sign on my door that says "No more zuccini!" They say if you live in the NW you either give or get zuccini. Maybe I have to plant some next year just to fend off those who like to give it. lol So does anyone have any good recipes for zuccini???

Oh Can't You See What Love Has Done?

As of the girl's Dr. appointment on Monday Ziva is 5 lbs. 10 oz. and Anya is 7 lbs. 7 oz. So they're growing well and doing great. The Dr. did give Anya a prescription for her reflux issues. He said that it may be interfering with her weight gain a bit, her growth was ok but not stellar this time. But to be honest I expected a slight slow down in growth with the transition to breastfeeding last week.

I added a song selection to my profile today by U2. This song has a definite spiritual impact on me. "Oh can't you see what love has done? What it's doing to me?" It just seems like the theme song of my life right now with the girls. I feel so filled with love for them, and in turn it makes me realize how much Christ must love us. Because as much love as I feel right now, I know that He loves us so much more and so much greater. How amazing!