It's Worth It

We enjoyed the Easter weekend, remembering the unbelievable sacrifice that Jesus made for us and celebrating God's beautiful plan that it completed.

Of course, Easter Sunday included some new duds for the kiddies, and we attempted to get somewhat of a family picture. These were the best we could do...

This year, we were able to teach Eveley the truth of Easter (in 4-year-old terms) and were so excited to hear her interesting questions as she tried to understand this wonderful picture of love.

As we are nearing the birth of the twins, Eveley has also been interested in how they are going to get out of my tummy. Wouldn't we all like to know.

I told her that we will go to the hospital and the doctor will take the babies out.

"Will it hurt you?" she asked solemnly.

"Well, yes it will hurt mommy," I told her honestly. "But it will be worth it so mommy can have these babies in her arms."

"Did it hurt you when I came out of your tummy?" she wondered.

"Yes it did. But it was worth it because I wanted to have you!" I explained.

A huge smile broke out on her face because she realized a little more how much I loved her.

And then I realized how God must have felt something similar. The Gospel plan was going to hurt Him deeply -- He would have to send His only Son to a sin-ridden Earth where Jesus would be ridiculed, hated, beaten and crucified. And Jesus would endure the physical pain required by submitting to this plan.

But they said it was worth it.

Worth all the pain for me...and for you.

Because of the enormous sacrifice, we can be welcomed into an intimate relationship with God right now and into His loving arms one day.

Hallelujah.

My Joy

Today is our Eveley Joy's 4th birthday. As I have said many times before, she is certainly living up to her name. She brings us enormous joy and many laughs.

My Eveley ~

You have certainly grown up this past year and are such a sweet girl. We love you deeply and are so proud of you. You are a great helper to your mom and have already declared that you will be taking care of your baby sister when she arrives. (I think baby brother will have to fend for himself.)

You have learned many new things these past few months -- how to swing by yourself, play Twinkle Twinkle on the piano, and dress yourself.

Lately, you have been very interested in talking about Jesus and your big "brudder" Robbie. We went to the cemetery together last weekend and you wanted to go look at "Robbie's flower." As we were walking around, you asked to see "Miss Meredith's flowers," -- one of my friends. I explained to you that she didn't have any flowers there because these were for people who had already gone to heaven. You looked up at me for a second and said, "Then I want to go see God's flowers."

I cannot believe that you will be starting school this fall, but I know you are going to love it!

Your daddy and I love you with all our hearts and are excited to see how God uses you. I know He has already used you to bring us (and many others) great joy.

Mama

CELEBRATION PREPARATIONS

Eveley always enjoys helping me plan her parties. I began asking her what type of party she wanted and got a variety of answers -- pirates, princess, Strawberry Shortcake. But we decided on having a "Sweet" party which allowed mom to improvise as we went along.

Both Eveley and Caleb were huge "helps" in the kitchen.

For the cake, Eveley wanted one that was similar to last year's rainbow cake.

Remember this.



This year, though, we would use brighter colors -- pink, green, yellow, orange, aqua, and purple.

Eveley helped mix the colors, and we ended up with 6 bright layers.

Unfortunately, the green layer did not survive Caleb.

So a 5-layer cake of colorful goodness would have to do this year. I made a snow peak icing and topped it with some pink sugar.

CHANGE OF PLANS

We had hoped to celebrate her birthday on Saturday but the weather would not cooperate. Afraid she would be utterly disappointed, dad arranged for a different type of surprise on Saturday.

An entire dump truck of gravel for our massive driveway.

Eveley (and Caleb) LOVED it!

Caleb has inherited Eveley's purple crocs from last summer. =) {Only for around the house, honey. I promise!}

THE BIG DAY

We were able to have Eveley's birthday party Sunday afternoon. The weather was gorgeous and so many friends were able to join us.

Eveley thought it was a perfect day.

And it was...kinda...

Due to some "miscommunication" with dad, the birthday cake arrived at the party looking like this.

But Eveley didn't care. She was surrounded by friends and family and having a blast!

This was the replacement cake from the local grocery store. =)

Caleb wanted to blow out some candles too.

and eat some cake

Today is Eveley's "official" birthday and she has decided to spend the entire day -- beginning at 6:30 -- playing with, and wearing, as many of her birthday presents as possible.

Happy Birthday, Princess!

Family Update

We are really enjoying the arrival of spring and looking forward to the arrival of the twins. And while we have much to do indoors to prepare for the babes, I have been trying to spend as much time outside as possible with Caleb and Eveley.

Last week was our MOPS Easter egg hunt. It was a fabulous day!

This shirt was Caleb's gift from our babymoon in Los Angeles. Kinda sums him up. =)

Now for my precious twins in utero. They are pushing the family tradition. While I have said many times that "I only birth stubborn children," it is rare that their stubborness shows up before birth. But these twins are hard headed and are snuggled close together with their heads firmly placed underneath my rib cage.

One doc said there is still hope that our boy will flip given the good amount of amniotic fluid. But my other doc said to start preparing for a C-section, which would most likely be scheduled for the week of May 8.

I won't give up hope yet. As a friend reminded me yesterday, this entire pregnancy has been filed with miracle after miracle. So, I am still praying for my boy to turn.

In the meantime, I am trying out a few recommended ways to urge the babe downward -- standing on my head, placing a bag of frozen peas on the top of my stomach, and considering a trip to an indoor pool.

And I am focusing on the blessing of these two healthy babies. As of Tuesday, baby girl weighed 4 pounds, 9 ounces, and baby boy weighed 4 pounds, 4 ounces. She has continued to face inward and we have yet to get a good look at her sweet face. He is facing outward and is content to bounce on my bladder.

There is so much to do! But our top priority this weekend is celebrating Eveley Joy's 4th Birthday.

I asked Eveley what she wanted for her birthday and she said, "The Lizard of Oz." Still looking for that...