Our hero...Daddy!

Remember, it was Phil's idea to request twins and he slowly talked me into it. This picture captures the vision that kept up his persistence...being greeted at the door every day by two laughing babies waiting to be swung around and tickled by Daddy. I distinctly remember not knowing how I was going to handle two babies at once and remain sane. But Phil kept saying, "The Lord has equipped us to handle two, and if we can give two a home, we should." Now that I have my twin daughters...if I could get four more of Kate and Lily, I would! (ok, maybe not four more at the same time.) So Phil was right all along and I can't imagine living a day without both of them in my arms. But I still like to remind him that this was HIS idea when both girls have poopy diapers. :)

Daddy always gets the belly laughs

Our Daddy's tickles are AWESOME! (Kate on right above and on top below)

Mama gets a break

Can you hear the Hallelujah Chorus playing as loudly as I can at this moment? Looks like just another sleepy lunch picture...but this scene means they are both going to nap at the same time. I get at least an hour to myself! O happy day, when Mama gets a break. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

from Kate (right) and Lily and our new twin elephants!

Playing is such hard work

...especially if you are Kate, who did ALL the pushing. Lily preferred to ride today.

Check out the identical furrowed brow below. (Lily on left)

Emerging personalities

We are ever amused by getting to know the personalities of our daughters. Other twin mothers keep reminding me that they will continually alternate on certain behaviors. Up until now, Lily has always been my lap baby and Kate the explorer. Now Kate is the lap baby since Lily has found the joy of climbing. Climbing...yikes! One thing has not changed...Lily is a completely uninhibited child! She laughs sometimes just to make herself laugh (she is on the right here). You know every emotion she has. Kate is a bit more reserved. A lot of times, she laughs because Lily is laughing. Her sense of humor is more sneaky. She likes to sneak up behind us and "play peek-a-boo..." a clever, funny game for such a little one. It is precious! Often, we are laughing at Lily because she is laughing so hard while we are laughing at Kate because she did something really funny.

We had to get ear tubes placed :(

All prepped and ready for the OR
(Thanks to Dr. Wiatrak, Gail M. and Robin M. helping us through the day)





















What do you do with 2 drunken toddlers while their anesthesia wears off?

Lots of videos

Confine them to the kitchen and unlock all the forbidden cabinents for hours of play. (Yes, that is Lily in the drawer under the stove. At least the stove is off!)

Happy Chinese New Year!

Lily and Kate celebrate with their twin friends, Ella and Emma!

Lily plays the drums; Kate "feels the beat"

The game of chase

They've learned the game of chase (which is really funny to watch since they can't run yet). Kate picks up a toy, looks at Lily and smiles to tease her, Lily waddles after her until she catches her or they both fall down. If Lily catches Kate, she pushes her down and they both fall to the floor with squealing giggles.

My, how things have changed with two walking

4 hands get into 4oo things they shouldn't















Even the eggs aren't safe.















Lily can now take Kate down.

Look who's walking now!

...or staggering, rather. Lily has a hard time keeping a straight face while walking. She thinks it is so funny!

"All we really wanted for Christmas was a family"

Here are mine and Phil's present under the tree. We have been awe struck this Christmas by God's provision for us and for Lily and Kate. Our minds have drifted often to last Christmas when we were apart from them; wondering what life would have been like for all of us without this miracle of adoption. As life has hustled and bustled around us and we've smiled and offered the usual holiday cheer, these pressing thoughts have brought us to quiet tears of thankfulness throughout this holiday season.

Our first Christmas

Taking in the wonder of Christmas















Cousins, cousins and more cousins :)















We got Sit-n-Spins for Christmas!















We also got some "gently used" egg cartons!















"Yo-yo, chillin' with Grandpa."















Christmas with Mammaw and Granddaddy

New definition of privacy...

Privacy = being the only one in the shower (never mind the audience of two)

Our holiday treat

We got to meet Stephen Curtis Chapman! Lily (left) and Kate (checking out SCC)

Due to the high price of baby food...

Ahhhh (sigh)...they are on a schedule after 3 months

After pushing to get them to sleep through the night for the last 3 months, it has finally paid off. The last thing to come was getting them to sleep until 6 am instead of getting up at 3:30 to 4:30 am. Phil and I were going crazy there at the end, alternating mornings of getting up with them. This photo I took of their first morning to sleep until 6am. I got them out of their cribs, put them on the floor and turned on the light. They looked at me like..."Oh, mom, turn off that light...do you know how early it is in the morning?"

Kate is walking!

...and Lily is now crawling faster out of necessity.

Aunt Lily comes to visit

We had a wonderful weekend with my best friend who is now called Aunt Lily around our house. She got to meet her namesake and the girls such a had a blast playing with her! She brought great gifts with her for the girls. One of which was a scratch and sniff book. Whew! I had forgotten all about those since my childhood. Lily, Phil and I stayed up late reading it. Here we are below with Lily scratching, me sniffing and Phil making jokes behind the camera. This is one of those pictures that is funnier in the moment because part of the fun is sharing that moment with someone who has made you laugh for 18 years. :)