five on friday.

1.  On Wednesday I had a growth removed from my bladder.  It was seen during a normal ultrasound when I was 13 weeks pregnant, but we decided to wait and have it removed after the babies were born.  The doctor was able to remove all of it, but we are still waiting on pathology reports.  Praying it was nothing!

2.  The surgery required a one night hospital stay, which meant Jason stayed home with all four kids solo!  He deserves a medal for surviving!  I got lots of these while I was away:


3.  The night I returned home, I found these three like this:

Evidently the solo run took its toll on all of them!

4.  New babies can really put a kink in the family dynamics as everyone adjusts to the newness. But Jack and Max have handled it great.  Not only do they love them and constantly want to see them, but they are super, super helpers!















5.  We are hopefully headed back to India this coming week.  We would appreciate your prayers as we travel!  We've ventured out to the mall, doctors' appointments, and church, but getting to the airport with all our luggage and four kids is going to be quite an event!  If you find yourself on a plane with two screaming babies, two rowdy boys, and two very tired grown-ups from Thailand to India next week, it's probably just us!  

lessons learned.

In the big scheme of life, a month doesn't seem like a significant amount of time.  But depending on the events that make it up, 31 days can have a profound effect on a person.  In the last 31 days, I've been pregnant with two babies, endured a c-section, welcomed two new babies to this world, increased our family to 6, and embarked on a new adventure like nothing we've ever done before.  And along the way, there were bound to be lessons learned.  Below are just a few of the things that I've noted as lessons learned.

• Having twins does not mean that the work is doubled.  You can go ahead and multiply the work by 25, and that'll be more accurate!  
• People say boys are bad to "spray" while changing a diaper.  I argue that while girls don't exactly "spray," they can make a mean "puddle!'
• Grown men WILL use a hairdryer to dry the remains of the previously mentioned "spray" and proceed to wear the soiled shirt out in public!  True story!
• I do not recognize my body anymore.  I study it every time I take a shower and wonder when the body I've had for 33 years will be returned.  
• Leaving the house with four kids should be an olympic event.  Our current time record is 2 hours, and even then, we are often late for wherever we are going.

• Changing the diaper of a baby girl in front of a six-year-old boy will evoke a string questions that you may or may not be prepared to answer!
• My day planner looks more like this these days.  I keep up with milk, diapers, and poop.  Be jealous!

• Sleep is under-rated.  Maybe a full night's rest will return one day... along with my pre-pregnancy body!  
• Putting a newborn in a tub of warm water is one of the most amazing sights.  I can almost envision them in utero... pure joy for them.

• Projectile vomiting is a real talent!  Note to self:  Always be careful where you aim a baby's mouth.  
• Apparently in Thailand, twins are considered a wonderful thing, but if you have a girl AND a boy, they will always respond with, "You are very lucky!" Sometimes at 3 AM, I don't think  the word "lucky" crosses their daddy's mind! 
• Trying to dress a baby is like trying to thread a wet lasagna noodle through the eye of a needle--- Impossible!  There should be classes for this.

(The above outfits are actually the 'easiest outfits' we own.  They are compliments of my friend, Kyrsten!  Check out her Etsy Store.)

• NICU nurses are some of the most wonderful people in the world.  

• Post-partum hormones are... interesting!  Unexplainable tears, anyone?
• People in India told us we should hire live-in help for the babies.  Maybe they were on to something!
• When Thai people question me about the twins' genders, they most often ask, "Boy or Woman?"  I have a hard time referring to my infant daughter as a "woman."  It makes me laugh every time. 

And last but not least:

• After admiring our new family of 6, a taxi driver asked Jason "if the factory was closed," to which we both quickly responded, "YES, SIR!  This 'baby factory' is most definitely closed!"  Sleep deprivation, postpartum hormones, showers of urine, and projectile vomiting have sealed the deal!  But I'm cherishing every minute I get with these four beautiful gifts that have made me a Mama!