Who knows what these are?!

Issued, mailed, received - all in a matter of three short days.

Things are about to change, all in less than three short weeks.

The requirements for these things are unbelievable (though UK visas are much more difficult to get than other countries). And once the package is mailed, your nerves are pretty wracked until you get a response.

Pictures - hair must be away from face, no glasses (unless you are legally blind without them), no head coverings (unless for religious reasons), no red-eye, no grins, smirks or smiles.

There are specific measurements of where your forehead must start on the photo, where your chin must end, the space between your ears and the edges of the photo. . .

The photo size is to be similar to a passport photo, but not exactly. That would be too easy. They must be cut to the exact millimeter.

The list goes on and on.

Last year, over 450,000 applicants to the UK alone were turned down for red eye, a glare on their glasses lens or a grin on their face. . .

Talk about pressure.

But ours were approved, and we're going to Scotland. Praise the Lord.

Ultrasound pictures.

We're past the point of getting those really cute profile, hand, arm and leg shots now. These munchkins are getting b i g and it's pretty squished in there.

The exciting part: everything looks awesome. Their hearts look beautiful, their tiny arms and legs are just precious, their faces are adorable already. Kidneys, bladders, stomachs and brains all look great as well (technology is purely amazing). No preterm labor signs, just two happy, healthy, incredibly active babies that won't sit still long enough to have their pictures taken!

Baby Boy weighed in at 2 pounds 5 ounces, right on track for a singleton and terrific for a multiple. And our chunky Baby Girl, outweighing her brother yet again, weighs 2 pounds 9 ounces. 

I'm so thrilled at their weight gain, and cannot possibly be more excited for their arrival!

The best we could do today:

7.25.11 - 28 weeks.

One year ago today we lost our sweet boys, Hugh and Leif (you can read that post here). It is a sad time remembering the physical pain, the heartache, the weakness we felt knowing what was happening and not being able to do anything. But in the same breath, it is a time of great rejoicing. The Lord restored to us what the locusts have eaten, but more importantly, he has given back to us a great gift that we are wholly undeserving of.

And so, we are rejoicing today at reaching 28 weeks of pregnancy, with two new babies that we are ever so grateful for.

We've made it to the third trimester!
Tomorrow we go for an ultrasound to monitor growth,
so I will have an update on these two
 sometime in the next day or so.

Last night.

The times we'll look back and laugh at: 

Car dropped off at mechanic, 110 degree weather. Preterm labor scare, Wife calling nurse's line, babies are fine. Husband walking a mile in suit and tie to meet a friend after riding rapid from downtown. Dehydrated husband with headache coming home and collapsing in bed at 8:30. A house that feels like it's 140 degrees inside, a broken ice machine, room temperature (aka near-boiling) drinking water, an emotional, pregnant Wife. Husband waking to kill 3 centipedes for Wife, brother-in-law needing weights in basement, Wife retrieving weights knocking over fan, breaking it. (Adjusted room temperature- 212 degrees). 11:30pm- Husband leaving to buy new fan, Wife has emotional breakdown. Wife killing 2 centipedes, one surviving smashing, another crawling out of hole. Husband returning with fan, taking pillow and making plans to sleep in driveway. Husband comforts Wife, Wife tells Husband to come back inside, fan turned on highest setting. 12:54pm- both fall asleep.

Return of the green drink.

We recently welcomed green drinks back into our lives. We never stopped making them for any reason except that it was too much work in the midst of moving, packing, settling, planning, living-in-your-in-law's-basement-ing. But our kick's returned, and oh how we've missed them!

My new recipe (which eagerly counteracts the side-effects of Slow-FE :)) is intended to boost my iron levels in a way more natural than popping that small red pill every day.

Since iron-rich foods should be consumed with citrus for ultimate absorption, the base for this one is good ol' OJ.  I like to get all my green drink ingredients at Whole Foods because I know I can trust each thing they carry on their shelves, including juices.

Give it a shot if you wish:

8 oz. OJ
4 oz. apple juice
2-3 C organic kale
1-2 C organic spinach
1 banana
1/2 C frozen strawberries
2 C other fruits (this morning I used cantaloupe for a couple servings of yellow fruit and more vit C)

This makes anywhere between 28 and 32 oz, depending on how good or bad I am at eyeballing my greens. Either way, I chug it all in the morning.

Think of it, my daily requirement of fruits, and almost all veggies, in a glass (or 2 or 3).

And, surely I can't be the only person that wakes up from an afternoon nap ravenous for something sweet?

1 C Greek yogurt
1/2 C frozen berries + fresh fruit of your choice
splash of water/juice

Delish.

One last thing: I don't add the yogurt to my green drinks because I've read numerous articles on separating dairy and iron-rich foods for better iron absorption. I don't yet have an opinion on how true this is, but until I can do my own research, I'm keeping them separate. (That also means I can't have kale powder on my chocolate milkshake :)).

26 1/2 weeks.

How far along? 26 1/2 weeks.

Total weight gain/loss: +21

Maternity clothes? Depends. I still have a pair of shorts I can wear (without my belly band!), and all my dresses/skirts are not maternity; most of my tops aren't either. I have some maternity shorts that I love, and jeans. Otherwise, I do like my clothes best.

Stretch marks? Not a one. Praise the Lord!

Sleep: I've been very restless lately and feel like I spend the entire night throwing myself from one side to the other or dreaming that I'm in labor.

Best moment this week: Our little girl puts herself in the strangest positions so that my belly looks completely lopsided with her bottom pushing hard against me. It's hilarious. Next time I'll try to snap a picture.

Movement: Pretty constantly.

Cravings: No. 

Genders: BOY and GIRL

Labor Signs: Still just Braxton Hicks contractions; a few painful ones here and there that take everything out of me, but nothing too concerning. I notice the contractions are much harder when I haven't had enough water throughout the day, so I'm really focusing on keeping these tummy muscles hydrated. Still no dilating, as far as we know.

Belly Button in or out? :) Still very out, thank you.

What I miss: BELTS! I've had this weird longing for my belted tunics that I haven't seen in months.

What I am looking forward to: Moving, nesting, nursery shopping, having our babies (in that order, please).

Weekly Wisdom: Drink tons of water, and exercise.

Milestones: Well, we're almost to the third trimester. Yes, this pregnancy has absolutely flown by. 

Other: At my 26 week appointment earlier this week I just measured in at 29 centimeters! Only 3 centimeters big for a normal, singleton pregnancy. 

My glucose test came back fine, which was a relief to me. But who knew the risk for gestational diabetes is higher in women carrying multiples? Also, my iron's a bit low, "because you've got two babies, for heaven's sake!" says my midwife. At least she's not worried about it. I put myself on an iron supplement, which I suppose I'll continue taking, but I much prefer my midwife's mentality that I can't get enough taking supplements, I have to absorb it through daily consumption of those delicious dark leafy greens and red meats. I guess I'll have to have spinach salads and a filet every night. Tough life, it is. 

Overall, this pregnancy has been incredible thus far and I have absolutely zero complaints. I feel awesome, and can't believe how fast it's flying by!

My baby shower.

Several weeks ago my sister, along with Amber, one of my best friends and bridesmaid in my wedding, threw me (and the babies!) a beautiful baby shower. Everything edible was either blue or pink, as were the decorations. The centerpieces were "onesie cupcakes" or "washcloth lollipops" that my sister creatively put together.

People came from near and far (the furthest guest flew from Arizona!) to shower us with love and celebrate our twins.

(all photos by Ashley)

Annie holding our cousin, Evan.

Peter's sister, Tirzah, and his grandmother.

Yes, twins run in my family. My cousins Emilee and Olivia.

The favors Amber created- mesh bags with pink and blue tea bags inside.
Add a tag- "Twins are brewing". Voila.

Once home I was able to lay out the gifts on our bed. . .we've been so blessed:

everything's better doubled!

. . .and this isn't even everything!

Dancing in the minefields.

We've had a week of dancing in the minefields over here. A life of it, actually.

Two weeks ago we completed pages upon pages of paperwork for UK visas, made appointments to be fingerprinted, and were left to wait for some final documents from the university before mailing off the applications.

Tedious, but fairly easy, right? Wrong.

Thing is, everything is time sensitive (not to mention expensive) in this process, and the documents had to be here by a certain date. Well they weren't. FedEx didn't follow through with their end of the deal in picking up our package at St. Andrews and overnighting it to Cleveland. Needless to say, things are hectic. Peter's visa application expired in the meantime, and he's since applied for a second time.

Here's to praying that letter is here before my application expires next week!

We got a bite on the car over the weekend, which was bittersweet to say the least. Plans were made for a test drive Tuesday evening. Tuesday morning the check engine light decided to make an appearance. Nonetheless, Peter took care of the light that afternoon, showed the car that evening, and sold it.

God has been gracious. We're leaping hurdles, huge hurdles, but they're things I have to document because in years, we'll look back and laugh. Remember when we had to reapply for visas because the papers didn't arrive in time? Remember running to every Post Office in Cleveland Heights and South Euclid trying to track the letter down? Remember the day we were supposed to show the car and the 'check engine' light came on? How 4 weeks after school started the twins were due? How we lived in your parents' basement for 3 1/2 months to save money so we could move? How none of this was part of our plan? We'll see the hand of God and how none of this was in vain. So, we keep pushing on because it's hard for a reason.

I know this was going around quite a while back, and yes, I did catch it then, but it came to mind again today after our recent chain of events, so I wanted to post it.

Independence Day in Detroit

We had a loaded weekend full of nothing but sunshine and fun in Michigan. Friday morning Peter and I got on the road pretty early to pick Daniel and Ashlee up at the Detroit airport on our way in.

Friday afternoon we did a whole lot of relaxing. . .

When Dad got home from work he grilled chicken and we whipped together mashed potatoes, grilled veggies and a killer salad. Later we had a bonfire complete with s'mores after putting the little ones to bed.

There was, of course, lots of cuddling and chasing with these two precious kittens my family recently added to their number of mouths to feed.

On Saturday we rented a boat and cruised Lake Orion all day. We tubed, picnicked and swam to our hearts' content. 

Mom and Dad had a blast on the tube. . .

. . .until it started sinking, and Mom swam for her life while Dad
stayed behind and tried to figure out the problem.

The little girls did not like the rocking of the boat. . .

. . .or the boys hanging off the tube.

But swimming at Dollar Bay proved a more enjoyable experience for the little girls who preferred the boat to be anchored in a no wake zone where they could jump off the boat, climb the ladder, jump off again. . .
Mom packed BBQ roast beef, buns, cheese, chips, fruit and drinks galore (delicious food is never lacking around there) so we could picnic at Dollar Bay as well.

Yes, my husband is sunburnt.

Sunday we all headed to East Lansing to watch Noah's kart race. His first heat was halted when he had some kart difficulties, but he finished both his second heat and race with flying colors.

Though he and Dad still have some tuning to do to make
the kart faster, Noah's an incredibly fast and aggressive
 driver.

My honey also turned twenty-four Sunday. Mom made lasagna for dinner and, because Peter doesn't like cake, cupcakes or brownies, I made mint chocolate chip ice cream pies with hot fudge topping.
They were a hit.