Sunday, December 19, 2010

Worth the Wait

Words cannot describe the joy and love we feel in our hearts...

Born 12.11.10


Jacob Allen Long - 8 lbs, 3 oz - 20 3/4 inches - 3:46 AM

Charles Scott Long - 6 lbs, 4 oz - 19 inches - 3:47 AM

God has blessed us with the most wonderful Christmas gifts we could ever imagine. We are cherishing every moment.

Welcome Jake and Charlie, we've been waiting for you.


Tuesday, November 23, 2010

What a Difference a Year Makes

With Thanksgiving, and our due date, quickly approaching, I find myself becoming more and more anxious with each passing day.

We have almost reached the amazing milestone of 36 weeks and we could not be happier. However, I find myself struggling to keep mentally (and physically) strong as each day passes. While I couldn't be more thankful for reaching this point, I am approaching my phyical limit (see picture) and am defintely "ready" to tackle the next milestone and meet these babies!

As I looked back on my posts from the last year, I realized that my struggle to stay strong today is much different that it was just one year ago.

One year ago we received the phone call that our second IUI was negative. It was the day before Thanksgiving. We were heartbroken.

Today, one day before Thanksgiving, we anxiously await the birth of our twin boys. What a joy and a blessing!

I'm still not sure I believe it, even as they kick and roll inside my belly, as I can barely walk due to the huge weight, and as we've made it through almost 9 months of preparation. After nearly four years of waiting to become parents, we are almost there.

We are so close and have come so far...and that reminder is all I need to hold on for a few more days.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Six Wonderful Years

This weekend, my Hubby and I celebrated 6 wonderful years of marriage. Well, we actually celebrated last month with a weekend get-away to South Haven, MI, and had a wonderful time!

This weekend, we visited my brother at his new apartment and helped him to get settled in. We also managed to take in some college football on Saturday as well. GO BLUE! :)

We reminded ourselves that this was the 4th anniversary that has gone by since we started trying for a baby and longed to be not only husband and wife, but also "mom" and "dad." Every year for the last 4 Labor Day's, I have thought, "Maybe by our anniversary..."

We are so grateful that, this year, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our beloved little boys. I'm pretty sure that they are the greatest anniversary gift of all.

Monday, August 16, 2010

New Beginnings

Since we have shared the great news with family and friends, I have created a second blog dedicated to the little long boys. I will use this to post a few updates on the pregnancy (which will hopefully remain uneventful) and then pics and facts about the boys.

However, I am not ready to retire this blog. For one, I am following many of your stories and continue to keep you in my prayers! Also, I know we have a long way to go before we have our babies in our arms, so I want to keep this as an outlet for the emotions that come with the approaching big day! (My new blog, I hope, will be mostly pictures and tidbits.)

Also, at some point, I hope to turn this blog into a hardcover book using a site from a fellow blogger that I follow! (Thanks for sharing!!!) I think it will be a great way to keep a physical copy of this journey, and someday, might help with sharing our story with the boys. Here is the link if anyone is interested.

Finally, if you'd like to check out the new blog, please stop on by! It is just started, so there is not much to see, but hopefully I'll get going with more posts soon!

Friday, July 30, 2010

My Boys

Introducing the two newest little loves of my life...



...my twin boys!

And, of course, their proud Papa and big brother Bandit.

My heart is full of love for all my boys!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

The Half-Way Point

Friday is 18 weeks.

We are half-way there, and I still feel like I have to pinch myself every day to make sure this is real. I'm definitely still thanking God every day for these babies bouncing around (yes, I'm starting to feel them!) in my belly. I honestly don't know that I'll ever be able to show my gratitude enough.

Maybe I should explain my math here very quickly. :) 40 weeks is full-term for a single baby, but 38 is considered full term for twins, and 36 is average. So, we could be short of half-way, or past it (hopefully not), but you get the idea.

Wow...time is starting to fly by now.

So much so, that in one week, we will find out the genders! We will have our Level II ultrasound at the hospital where they will take lots of measurments. Also, a high-risk OB will look over everything to make sure they are on track for twins at this point. So, it will be a big day. We are praying for good news and healthy looking babies. We are excited to learn whether it will be pink, blue, or pink and blue!

Do I have a feeling or intuition about their genders? Maybe. But, I have no experience in this field, so I'm not placing any bets. Still, here are my thoughts...


I've had more than one dream (4 I think) that they are a boy and a girl. At my last appointment, the nurse said based on the "sound" of their heartbeats, she thought one was a boy and one was a girl. (I believe they sounded like a horse galloping vs. a train?) However, I don't know about the science behind this prediction, but still, fun to think about. Both of our families seem to think it is one of each, including a dream from one of the great-grandfathers-to-be.



I also had a dream that I saw the faces of two grown men when we looked at the ultrasound screen. Weird, but maybe a vote for two boys? There are not many girls in my husbands family (on his fraternal side) for two generations. Actually, there is only one girl. Everyone has two boys. So, if we follow that tradition, that would be another vote for two boys.



However, at the last appointment, 17 weeks, their heart rates were 144 and 146. Again, I don't really think there is necessarily any truth to the heart rate theory, but for fun, that would suggest two girls. Actually, at every appointment, their heart rates have been within just a few beats of one another. Following this logic, this might also point towards two of the same gender? (That, or they are in sync with one another and always awake together or snoozing at the same time.)

I do have a "gut" feeling that there is at least one girl (maybe two?) and have carried on a tradition from my maternal side. In one of our cribs, I've put the doll that waited for me in my crib (before mom new I was a girl) as well as my baby blanket made by my great grandmother. In the other crib sits our "Hope" bear that the Hubs and I made as we started this journey...or should I say, this phase of our journey.



18 Weeks!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Growing and Shopping

Just a quick post to say "Hello" and that we're still doing well. I feel so fortunate to not have gotten too sick thus far in the pregnancy...and hopefully we are about out of the woods?

I am definitely growing and hopefully the babies are as well. I feel like it's been forever since our last U/S, but I should at least get to hear their little hearts again at my appointment next week...and then our "biggie" at the end of July will tell us what we are having! I can't believe that we are already counting down to the half-way point...WOW!

This picture is at 14 weeks...though today is 15 weeks! Wahoo!

We also did some more shopping recently. Our church had a big children's rummage sale and we cleaned-up. This is only a portion of our goodies. The women running the sale were definitely expecting us and were happy to help us with our loot.

And finally...we bought our cribs! "Nana" (my mom) works at JCPenney and was able to get us a great deal on these beauties. (This definitely helps when you need two.) We put them together the other night...what an exciting job. I don't think we've ever been so happy to put furniture together. We literally could not stop smiling the whole time.

So, while there is still lots to do in the nursery (it is looking pretty bare), here is an updated picture! We figure the more we can get done now the better in case I have to go on bed rest...which from what I understand is a real possibility of twin pregnancies.


Live Today