| I am sleepy |
but I'll write anyways. Here are some updates:
Lance and I supervised 40 student volunteers at the Breakforth worship conference this past weekend. Well to be honest Lance did the supervising. I did volunteer which made for a tiring weekend. I did go to some sessions and now have things to think about and areas to grow in.
My parents are visiting. They, and Steven, were out for Breakforth - Steven left Monday morning, dad will leave Friday, and mom will leave next Monday. It is very nice to have them here. We see them often in BC, but they hadn't been out together for a visit in awhile (2 years since dad had been here).
We had an ultrasound on Thursday and everything is looking good. The technicians kept saying, "You have beautiful babies". That was very encouraging. One technician looked right at me and said, "You're doing everything right". I loved hearing that. Besides being music to a perfectionists ears as Lance pointed out, it was reassuring. I tend to be quite the worrier. Lately I'd been worrying that I hadn't been eating enough vegetables. Anyways I KNOW that according to the books I am NOT doing EVERYTHING right (but who does). I just felt that God was speaking to me through the tech, letting me know that he is doing a great job knitting the little ones together and that I'm doing alright too.
Got some maternity clothes loaned to me from Jena F, Cara and Heidi (co-workers wife). I have been blessed. I will still need to do a bit of purchasing, but probably just a couple pairs of pants. I did buy a pair of super comfy yoga type pants from Walmart - hooray for $9 pants! Mom and I plan to head to Edmonton on Friday and hit up the Old Navy maternity section - I've heard they've got good stuff at reasonable prices. I have some Christmas money from the Odegards that was taped to an index card that read: Gift Card, for Maternity pants/jeans, love: Bernell and Linda. I am grateful.
Somedays I feel peaceful and not burdened by a list of things to do. Other days I get weighed down. I would like to learn to have the peace even when there is much to be accomplished. I'd like to have the peace even if I have a completely unproductive day. Peace that passes understanding must not be connected to circumstances, otherwise it would be easy to understand. I know that peace is available and I know I have it sometimes. I'd sure like to have it in the everyday.
The babies are sure moving a lot. Right now as I type their kicking pretty strong. I think that Lance will be able to feel them from the outside soon. Sometimes they move so much I feel a little sick - like I have a queasy stomach. I think I'm just not used to having anything moving around down there. Despite the occasional discomfort I absolutely love feeling them move!
I'm 20 weeks now - half way. Over half way, considering my doctor said to expect the twins in early June. That's just four months away!
Please pray for Lance and I as we have decisions to make regarding our future employment and housing. Our three year contract is up at CLBI and there are some staffing rearrangements that may happen here. So there is some uncertainty - but some trust too.
Food hits lately:
Applesauce cups, spoon size shredded wheat with bran, toast with a generous amount of butter, grapes, smoothies, Purdy's sugar free chocolate (special ordered from my mom seeing as Camrose lacks a Purdy's) organic apples (I may be fooling myself but I really do think they taste better than regular), walnuts, toasted almonds and as before Kraft Dinner. I enjoyed eating this for lunch, and having the leftovers for supper. That will probably satisfy me of KD for awhile.
I had two people ask me over the weekend if I was expecting. HOORAY! People can tell! I was delighted to be asked and delighted to answer that yes I am, and that there are two babies in there.
Well, I think I'll head towards bed. Our room is a mess, but thankfully that doesn't hinder my sleep.
I hope that you are doing well. May you know God's peace.
Aimee |
|
|
|
| Bread for Shannon |
The recipe is from the "More with Less" cookbook. I changed it slightly as noted below.
Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Mix together:
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup non fat dry milk
1 Tbsp salt
2pkg dry yeast (or 2 Tbsp)
Heat in a saucepan until warm:
3 cups water
1/2 cup honey
2 Tbsp oil
Pour warm (not hot) liquid over flour mixture and mix for 3minutes.
Stir in:
1 cup whole wheat flour
4-4 1/2 cups white flour
Knead 5 minutes using additional flour if necessary. Place is greased bowl, turn, let rise till doubles (40 min or so).
Punch down, divide dough in half and form loaves. Place in greased bread pans. Cover and let rise 40-45 minutes. Bake at 375F for 40-45 minutes.
Adjustments:
I used molasses in place of honey. I also had no powdered milk so I skipped that and used 1 1/2 cups milk and 1 1/2 cups water instead of all water. I also think I only used 3 - 3 1/2 cups white flour at the end - I guess it just depends with bread. I'm not a pro, but it sure looked like it didn't need more flour and ended up turning out great. My mom says an important thing about bread is kneading it for the exact amount of time the recipe says - so I do that and things turn out fine. I thought heating the liquids in a saucepan would be a hassle but it didn't take long at all and was fine.
The only problem with homemade bread is it sure disappears faster than storebought - I think I could finish a loaf by myself by the end of today. I will use self-control and not do that, but I'd like to!
Thanks already to those who've commented on my growing belly - I just love it, and am glad to get to show it to you! |
|
|
|
| Here I am |
Here's me with two little ones (they're hiding) at 18.5 weeks. My hands are holding my shirt tight so you can have a better look, they're not arching my back to make me look bigger - in case it looks that way. |
|
|
|
| Overlooked |
I forget to welcome Xandra to the readership of Hummingbird. Thanks for stopping by. I will try to check out the book you recommended. I'll also try to post sweetish sugar free treat recipes now and again. Hope that your pregnancy is going well.
I also have forgotten to put up a link to my brother Steve and his wife Carolyn's blog. As you know they are expecting their first child in June too! Their due date is before ours, but since twins usually come a bit early I think our little ones will be born first. I think it's odd that our kids will be older than theirs, but in actuality, judging from conception, they're younger. Anyways, I've added a link to their blog. Enjoy their updates and crazy photos. |
|
|
|
| Perhaps a Brief Post |
I was anticipating having photos to post for this entry. I got as far as charging the batteries so I can use the school's digital camera so I can finally share with you pictures of our home - including the still present Christmas tree - and my growing belly. I think I can get some photos taken tomorrow and can post them in the near future.
Tonight I've been reading a book called "Art and Soul: signposts for Christians in the Arts". I'm scheduled to teach a night class starting in February - about Christianity and the arts, including a studio component so I've got a stack of books to tackle in preparation for the course.
On a different and currently annoying note, I think I will have to retire the jeans I'm currently wearing - uncomfortable, even with a ponytail holder extender thing.
I enjoyed two grapefruits today - Rio Red Star I think they're called. I'm convinced that they inject red die and sugar into them. They're so lusciously red and perfectly sweet. Yummy. Half way through my second one I was thinking about cutting open a third. That will have to wait till morning.
Had a productive day a work today. That feels good.
I've got a potential CD design project and have a meeting with the songwriter tomorrow night. Before then I better get organized and make a semi-official looking price list.
The babies are moving lots lately and I love it!
Well I'm tired and think I'll head to bed.
See you later.
Aimee |
|
|
|
| Major Happiness |
I found this photo opportunity while on our road trip from Winnipeg to Abbotsford this summer it totally cracked me up. A pretty big boast for a teeny pamphlet found in a bag of Crispy Mini snacks. As you may have suspected, it did not lead me to major happiness. I think it included a coupon and an inspirational quote from Ghandi. Oh dear. |
|
|
|
| Prenatal Updates and Beating the System |
I had my monthly prenatal appointment here are the stats:
Weight gain: 7.7lbs! Hooray, last time I had lost 2lbs, and have been trying to eat a lot so I'll gain - appears to be working!
Heart Beats: They've got them! Which we already saw on the ultrasound, but now I got to hear them. They sounded like galloping horses under water.
Growth: My uterus is now just below my belly button - apparently this is about where a woman who is 20wks pregnant with one baby would be. I'm 17 wks with two, so feel encouraged about their growth.
Ultrasound: We have an ultrasound scheduled for January 26. Lance is very excited!
Future: The doctor said, two times over the course of the appointment, "You're going to need some different clothes very soon". I plan to scope out thrift stores and sales for super low rise pants that will hopefully work till I'm big enough for maternity clothes. No luck today, only high waisted and tapered jeans available. Not for me.
Movement: I felt the babies move for the first time on Saturday. I was sitting reading and felt a "tap, tap" inside my lower abdomen. Now, I've had all my other organs for 25 years and I've never felt anything like that, so I deduced it must've been the babies. Since then I think I've felt them a bit here and there. I'm really looking forward to when I can really feel them more often.
I felt the appointment went really well. And left with a big grin on my face. Lance had a meeting so couldn't come, but asked me to report all the details. He kept asking if the doctor said anything else, pumping me for information. Usually I overdo it with details in his opinion well in this case there's no way I could overdo it.
He is so excited about these little ones. Yesterday he said, "I just can't wait till we have babies to take care of... I'm bored" We both chuckled at this realizing that when these little ones come we won't have time to be bored. I told him I'm so glad about how excited he is, I just appreciate it so much. To him it's the only choice, why would he not be over-the-top excited? I know this isn't a given and so don't take it for granted. He continues to be such a blessing to me.
Beating the System
I had a dental check-up today. First one since being married. We didn't get benefits until recently (like within the last year) and therefore didn't see the dentist. Anyways I finally booked the appointment and went. Well folks, I beat the system. Apparently my teeth and gums looked so good that the dentist was wondering if I'd had them cleaned recently. Nope. And to be honest with you all - I NEVER floss. I just brush twice a day. That's it. Lance brought up the fact that I don't eat sugar, ah, perhaps that contributes as well. Anyways I was glad to hear that despite my dental hiatus I was in great shape. When the receptionist asked if I wanted to book a cleaning I politely declined. I also got imprints taken for a night guard. Yuck that was an unpleasant experience, but hopefully worth it. I'm a notorious teeth grinder and have lots of jaw/neck/headache pain because of it. We're hoping that this will help. I'm not looking forward to learning to sleep with it but I'm sure I'll get used to it.
Well that's all for today - oh yeah, update on the dishes, I haven't done them every night, but am certainly still on top of them. Feeling encouraged about this but realize I better not let my guard down.
Hope you are well.
Aimee |
|
|
|
| Truth |
It has become clearer to me this fall how important it is for people to have a right understanding of who God is, and who they are. Sounds simple, but of course it is not. I think it is a long process of realization to get to this point - in fact, I don't think anyone actually "gets there" until they get to heaven. I can predict in my own life that the more I believe God is who he says he is, and that what he thinks about me is true, and the more I realize who I am, that certain issues will become non-issues.
Anyways the point of this "before I rush off to work blog" is to ask you to pray for our students. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would remind them, deep in their hearts, about what is true. The truth about them, the truth about God, and the truth about what He thinks of them. This is hugely important and urgent today particularly for one of our students.
Thanks.
Aimee
ps. 17 weeks today |
|
|
|
| Super-Commenters |
Wow. Commenting sure increases blog motivation. Okay, now I'll try to respond to all those - or atleast some of them.
Heidi, whether or not you ever announce you are having twins, your blog is still a riot to read (I think the success of this last entry was that I shared my housekeeping follies and my wacky dream) Also, thanks for the soapy sinkful idea.
Marsha and Shannon - thanks for the c-section comments they were encouraging. The doctor I'm seeing right now (who I'll only see till 20 wks) said it was 90% sure that I'd have a c-section. This was very disappointing to me as - like Marsha, I'd been looking forward to a "drug free natural birth". I'd read that the positions of the babies determines what they'll do and asked the doctor about that. He just said that c-section was the best way to go - seemed like regardless of positioning - I got the impression that it was more convenient for everyone - and thus better. Anyways, I didn't push the issue with him but plan to get more info from my future doctor who isn't a GP, but an OBGYN - who I'll see around 20 wks or so. I've been reminded by two friends, in addition to Marsha, that really the most important thing is getting those babies out healthy. Amen to that. I'm just not looking forward to the possibility of looking after newborn twins following abdominal surgery. But at this point I'm still fairly uneducated and uninformed about this all - I'll keep you posted.
Fraternal/Identical - Katelyn asked this question on the Abarbalog and I answered in the comments, here's what I said:
Hi Katelyn, Thanks again for the hearty congratulations. I have been learning a lot about twins lately because I certainly have a reason to. Karen is right about a shared placenta indicating identical twins -- but identical twins can also have their own placentas. Whether or not they end up sharing a placenta depends on when the egg divides and becomes two embryos. The earlier the division, the more likely they are to have their own placentas. Fraternal twins don't share a placenta but can sometimes look like they do -- this happens when the placentas attach quite near each other in the uterus. This can lead people to expect identical twins when they are actually fraternal. Our twins each have their own placenta - so they could be either. The ultrasound lady gave us the impression they were fraternal and the radiologist gave us the impression they were identical so I'll guess we'll wait and see. Sometimes even after twins are born the only way to tell what type they are is to have DNA testing. Identical twins, due to conditions in the womb, do not always look alike. A sure indicator of fraternal twins is having one of each sex. Another piece of info I learned is that when twins share a placenta more complications can arise such as something called "twin to twin transference" where the twins don't get equal amounts of what they need and one suffers because of that. I'm grateful ours each have their own.
So there you have it, from my very recently (as in this week) acquired knowledge. Anyone more educated may feel free to add/correct.
a very excited mom to be,
Aimee
We just got back from our one night retreat with the students. It went very well and I was extremely proud of Lance for planning and leading the bulk of it. He arranged for a speaker to come (Ted Hill, local pastor) and speak about worship - I napped through the inconveniently schedule sessions - 10 - 12:30, that's nap time - but did catch the evening one - very good. Lance led a teambuilding session, as well as a discussion time on how to make second semester great. I can't sum it up, but as I was sitting there I realized I was beaming with pride. He is such a gifted communicator - he was saying things that people needed to hear, in a clear, interesting, understandable, gentle, funny way. Yup, very proud.
We're glad to be home - that kind of event can be tiring. It was the perfect length.
Oh, and since I always have something to say about food : I made curried chicken the other night and it turned out great. I froze the leftovers and look forward to the time and energy they'll save me in the future. Also, inspired by Marsha's smoothie comment, I made an extra big smoothie and froze part in a little nalgene water bottle. I took it out the next morning and by lunch when I was famished I had something to give me energy while I made ... Kraft Dinner.
Links - I'm adding two new links. I'm adding Lisa-Maries blog - relatively new Hummingbird reader, with a brand new blog. As well as Shannon's blog. I'm not sure why I don't add links to all the blogs I read (maybe I'd be embarassed by the length of the list - and perhaps I like my odd little routine of linking to some through others). But anyways, I realized that many of you readers might never track down Shannon's blog by the link on Kristal's blog - and Shannon's blog is definitely worth the read.
I think that's all for now. I'm off to do some dishes!
Aimee |
|
|
|
| Welcome and Correction |
I'd like to welcome new readers to Hummingbird. My announcement of our twins caused many a secret reader to burst forth from hiding. I don't even know some of you. Welcome just the same. A special welcome to one of my Camp Luther campers from days gone by - Lisa-Marie!
If you've read the recent comments on the last post you would've read that the Rostads (coworkers at CLBI) are expecting as well. This is true. The part about them expecting twins isn't correct - I think just miscommunication. They are ten weeks and haven't yet had an ultrasound (ultrasounds usually happen around 18wks I think). An ultrasound or hearing two heartbeats would indicate twins - I was taking with Kim today to clarify, and they have had neither. So as far as they know there is just one little one growing in her womb.
Things are going well with us. I'm 16 weeks now and showing nicely, in my opinion. Eating has been going relatively well thanks in part to our spotlessly clean kitchen. Okay that's an exagerration. Spotless would imply that the spills and dirt all over our floor aren't there and that I've washed the walls or something. What I mean is that Lance did a number on our gigantic pile of dishes (some atleast a month old) - I think "spread" would be a more accurate term than "pile". Anyways I pitched in a bit too and our kitchen is clean - and has been since Sunday night. That's right folks, I've been washing dishes daily and have kept on top of things for three days! I love our kitchen and love it being clean. That being said I must also say that we haven't eaten supper here since it's been clean, so the amount of dishes have been significantly less. But today I'm making supper and plan to have the kitchen clean again before bed. Oh I hope this becomes a habit - how many days to make a habit - 7, 10, 21? Anyone know. I've never gotten far enough to know. :)
The students come back today and we go on a on night retreat leaving tomorrow morning - ah, another day the kitchen will stay clean!
I dreamt last night we had our babies - two girls. The thing is the dream entirely skipped labor. Filling in the blanks of the dream it seems that I had to go somewhere important so must've dropped off my womb at the hospital and came back later to find our two girls. Not how I'd planned it but was glad to have them. Tried breastfeeding and it went okay - except it was difficult without the twins nursing pillow my sister told me about yesterday. Then the dream went wonky. One of the girls turned into a black and white border collie puppy - which I breastfed too, in hopes that she would turn back into a little girl. I think it was working too, but then I woke up. Also a part of the dream was a Christmas gift from the Schulz's. A huge box of pajamas - like 20 pairs of plastic wrapped tops and bottoms. The box was delivered by a semi truck pulling a flat bed trailer. There was nothing on the trailer except my box. (I did receive a Christmas gift from the Schulzes, but it was a cordless phone and came on the greyhound bus, not a flat bed). I was kind of hoping for pajamas from Lance this year, didn't get them, but was showered with other great gifts -- thanks Steve and Carolyn for really pulling through for me in my dream, you guys went all out!
Okay, off to make supper. Curried chicken on rice I think. Plan to have leftovers to freeze for quick access snacks and lunches.
Hope you are well.
Aimee |
|
|
|
|
|
posted by Aimee at 
