Ready, Set...

not time to go...yet! i just got back from my 33 week appointment. the girls are both doing great, growing big and still cooking away! peter and i were able to see them on another ultrasound...they wanted to see if they had turned. no such luck there, but they are both doing great. we even got to see some hair on their big ole heads! :) based on the measurements, they are both right around 5 pounds...claire is just under and annabel is just over. i am still having contractions and lots of pressure down there, but the dr. todd says its totally normal. the pressure will not ease up simply because there are two babies, twice the weight and pressure bearing down on me. thankfully, i am still closed, not dilated at all. my belly is measuring 50.5 inches and i have gained exactly 30 pounds. i had gained a little more, but after this weekend i have lost a few. plus, i am trying to cut out sodium so as not to blow up! lol!! so far i still have my ankles showing, so it must be working! :) so, things are still good for us. i go back next tuesday. no plans to schedule anything, just take things one day and one week at a time.

peter and i were able to get away for a weekend...a babymoon! our friends from church, jimmy and melissa, have a place in matagorda (about 2 hours away from houston) right on the water and they offered to let us use their home this last weekend. matagorda is mainly a fishing village, but it was perfect for us! we were able to lay around and relax, enjoy the beach (which is not like marco island, but totally fine!) get lots of rest, eat good seafood, do lots of walking on the pier and the beach, and enjoy the sunshine (even if it was a tad chilly). we had an amazing time! it was exactly what we needed before our lives become insanely chaotic!! i didnt take very many pics, but here a few:

the beach on sunday afternoon. lots of debris, but we didnt care!!

the babymooners! so blessed by this sweet man!!!

the twin shell we found on the beach. we brought it home for the nursery!

some days we feel ready for the girls to be here, some days i am not so sure. thankfully, God is in control and has blessed us beyond belief with these little ones already! please pray with us as we finish the last minute stuff to bring them home! :)

blessings, ALo

Little Alarm Clock

so, in all the books that i have been reading lately it talks about how the LOtwins are already starting on a schedule. its crazy because, in the mornings the girls are very active from about 6:15 to 7:15...its like they know its morning and time to get a move on. there are a few other times throughout the day that this happens too. i dont have the big rolling across the belly movements any more (not enough room) but they sure know how to give me a jolt with a punch or kick or booty dance (they do not get that from me, by the way!!) well, yesterday in the early hours of the morning, we must have lost power. at just before 3 am i woke up from all the kicks and karate moves going on in my belly. i was a little bit annoyed because they were strong enough that i knew i would not be falling back to sleep. so, i took my phone off the charger and decided to play a little tetris in bed (yep, i still LOVE tetris!). but when i looked at my phone the time said 6:56am. what??? for real?? i looked at the clock and back to my phone and then over to peter's side of the bed. uh-oh. he was still there. typically, peter is up by 6:20 and out the door for work by 6:30 to miss the major traffic. i said in a gentle voice (at least i hope it was) "honey, i think its almost 7am. i know your clock says 3am, but your phone will say 7am." "what?? uh..." "honey, the girls woke me up, they know its time to get up. im sorry". SO CRAZY!!! the girls saved the day!! well, they saved peter from leaving any later than he already was. i just cant believe it. i think its so cool!

i had a good doctors appointment yesterday. they are still in there cooking. i am still fully closed. dr. todd gave peter and i the green light to get away this weekend, just the two of us!!! :) still praying for a few more weeks! i am getting pretty uncomfortable and rather tired, but i know they are not ready yet!! my biggest complaint (even though i dont like to complain) would just be the heartburn/indigestion and my itchy belly (serious stretch marks!) it will all be worth it in the end! here is a pic before i went to the appointment. 32 weeks!

if you are not friends with peter on instagram or facebook, you should check out some of his pictures from honduras. he has some amazing stories!!! the views are amazing, the little girls all look so sweet, and the team got a ton accomplished! the girls loved that peter is so tall!! lol! i love his big heart and his willingness to go and serve but more importantly to come home changed by these sweet girls and all that God is doing in honduras at Casa de Esther. check out photos here. (these photos were taken by jamie from Casa de Esther) this is one of my favs!!!

hope y'all have a great day!! its a beautiful sunny day here in houston...and its chilly!! perfect!!

blessings, ALo

Room with a View

wow...what a whirlwind of a few days! i was released from the hospital on wednesday afternoon and made it home just before my mom got there and peter was there within 30 min. so awesome!! thanks for all the prayers tuesday and wednesday! i am fine. claire and annabel are fine. my doctor was (thankfully) just being cautious. long story short, my BP was normal every reading but the first. i got two steroid shots to help the babies' lungs. i have no signs of labor outside of contractions, which are completely normal for a twin pregnancy (especially this far into it).

i had a total blast with my mom while she was here (which was a super short visit). she spoiled me and the girls while she was here, took peter and i out to good restaurants, and sat and watched TV with me. i love that! thursday night our really good friend, bennett (brandon bennett) came in from cleveland ohio for a few days. it was so nice to see him!!! it has been almost 2 years since i have seen him...that is kinda sad!! bennett is basically responsible for introducing peter and i. the three of us have been close friends for just over 10 years! we kept it low key, but thats what makes bennett such a good friend. he didnt expect us to to all kinds of crazy activities...we were all just happy to hang out! the boys did go to an nba game friday night, but most of the time we were all hanging on the couch. in all...it is exactly what i needed. rest and some of my most favorite people around!

while bennett was here, we all put the finishing touches on the nursery. yep, its pretty much finished!!! the only things missing are the changing pad (coming soon), canvases above the cribs (pics will be taken after the birth) and of course the girls!!! it has been so fun getting things ready and pretty for the girls. the original plan was to use a different room, but when we learned there were two on the way, we moved the room across the hall. we have had help from some great friends and some decorating instruction from the amazing Holly Mathis. thanks so much to my amazing hubby who rarely told me no. :) he worked so hard in there with me. i know he loved doing it for all of his girls. in case you want to see it...here are a "few" pics.

what you see when you walk in!! paint is Platinum Grey by Ben Moore. rug is Land of Nod

changing area. dresser has just been repainted, not new! lamp is target, all other decor is hobby lobby.

chair is from babies r us, pillow and drapes made by my friend jacqueline. fabric from hobby lobby

craft table and stools (top is chalkboard & reversible with hidden storage) from childrenstablesandchairs.com

this was a baby gift given to me!! from a long time family friend, Pat Jones, who is from texas. so glad i still have it!!  priceless! 

cutest rocking lamb ever!! prob my favorite thing in the nursery!! from restoration hardware 

crib one. cant wait to see a canvas with a newborn pic hanging soon! 

cribs from pottery barn. kendall fixed gate crib

i made these...thanks to another pinterest project. white, hot pink, light pink and silver.

crib friends! crib bedding from laylagrayce.com

corner shot (from the chair and peter's height!) 

beautiful chandelier from my friend shellie's shop, the little eclectic house here is houston (www.littleeclectichouse.com)

another corner shot from peter's height. armoire is also repainted. we spray painted the hardware ourselves too.  glass vase from shellie's shop and bird cage from hobby lobby. canvas pin board was a gift from my shower. :)

thats pretty much it! i have been going up there every day the last few weeks to spend time praying for the girls. i get a little overwhelmed thinking there will be two little babies here very soon, but i know that God has blessed us so richly!! today i prayed that these girls would grow up loving their home (regardless of where that is or how it is decorated). that their home would be a place of love and comfort and refuge. i prayed that their room will be full of laughter, giggles, encouragement, and fun. over the last few weeks i have been meditating on jeremiah 29:11...for me, for others, and especially for our girls. God has a plan for claire and annabel. a plan to prosper them/grow them. plans for their future. and that plan is not one of hurt or pain. a plan of HOPE. thank you, God!! what a promise! what a reassurance!!

only a few more weeks!! we are hoping so at least!!

blessings, ALo

A little observation

well, today has been a little bit eventful.

first, if you follow me on twitter or facebook...thanks for praying throughout the day, especially because i was giving you very little info. i was doing my best, but until about now, there was no down time to give more. here's what happened:

i had a routine weekly appointment scheduled at 11am with dr. todd. earlier in the day, i was receiving some not so good news about a family form our church. on friday, they gave birth to baby ava at 26 weeks. i knew she was in the NICU at the same hospital i go to for my appointments, so i was planning on stopping by and praying with the family right after my appointment. sadly, baby ava passed away and went to be with Jesus this morning. i got the news just as i was heading back to get my blood pressure checked. i knew it was going to be high...i told the nurse that. sure enough 138/84. VERY high for me!!! when dr. todd came in he was very concerned about my BP, the amount of cramping i was having, and the pressure in my pelvic area. he said i needed to go right down to labor and delivery for some observation and monitoring. i asked if it was really necessary as peter is still in honduras and i had not come prepared to be here. so said it was, that "he liked me too much not to be safe". to make this long story short, my BP is back to normal 112/58, my FFN (fetal fibronectin: swab test in "lady parts" to check for the possibility of preterm labor) came back negative, and my physical check and ultrasound both showed that my cervix is closed and long and that my uterus is high and thick. all very good things. i am still having contractions, but nothing long and strong or consistent. i am also feeling better after they let me have something to eat and drink. they also gave me a shot of steroids just to be sure that if i go into preterm labor and end up delivering, the girls will be fine. i wish i could just go home and rest, but i know that i am in good hands here. i have until late tomorrow afternoon for the 2nd shot...sometime around 3. looks like i will end up meeting my mom at my house and peter wont be far behind (hopefully). i am sure that i freaked him out a little bit, but i have been in really great hands! i have had such an outpouring of people here in houston that have offered to come bring me food or to just sit with me. i dont like putting people out, but i did let my friend jess come and bring me things like clean underwear and my computer. my friend jacqueline brought me some of my most favorite snacks. crazy things is, i didnt even tell her what they were...she guessed and totally got it right!! :) thanks so much to all you have offered. i feel so loved!!

please pray that these little girls keep growing on the inside!! they hated being on the monitors today...they are very active making it a challenge for all. but that is a good thing. the nurses were consistently coming in to change the sensors position, it was a little bit funny. ideally. claire and annabel will give us at least a few more weeks to get ready!!

please pray for my mom, uncle mike, and joann (mom's friend) as they travel to houston tomorrow. it is such great timing to have my mom here the rest of this week!!! God is so good!!!

please pray for peter and his team as they travel back from honduras tomorrow afternoon. i just got off the phone with him...he has had an amazing time!! i cant wait to hear all about it!!! i know he doesnt really want to leave those sweet girls behind. knowing i am being observed has probably helped him be a little more ready to come home. he is already making plans to go back!! :)

PLEASE be praying for the ritter family. i can imagine, only slightly, what they are going through having to say good bye to their sweet baby, ava dawn. erin and brady have three other small girls at home. i am sure they do not understand. grief is so hard without trying to help young children understand or to keep them on a healthy schedule. just please pray for God's comfort during this unimaginable time.

thanks so much for all your prayers!!! for me, for claire and annabel, for mom and peter, and for the ritter family!!

blessings, ALo