15 months and counting!

So much has happened since I posted last! God has been faithful and Phillip and I are expecting another baby! This baby is due December 24th and as of today, I am 11 weeks along. The baby has been very healthy and growing at a great rate. It is very different being pregnant with one baby, as opposed to two. It is going by so fast! We're excited to welcome this new baby and the doctor thinks it may be a girl!! :o)

The boys are growing like crazy. Everyday I am seeing changes in them. Both are walking, climbing, jumping, and getting into EVERYTHING. Today Keegan said "Tickle" for the first time and can say mama, dada, baby, and is starting to say book. He is my laid back son. He rarely fusses unless he is very tired and he is content to sit and play with the same toy for an hour! He wants to see how things work, and has taken things apart more than once. He is getting his molars in and has a mouthful of teeth. I think he will be built like his grandpa Ronnie - he's tall and lean! If you ask him where mommy's baby is, he will come pat my tummy and say baby. It's the greatest thing! 

David is my adventurous son! He doesn't sit still for more than 20 seconds and goes from toy to toy to toy. He constantly is climbing onto things and has NO fear. Davy likes to climb on and off the couch. He loves to climb under the couch and pull things out. David says mama and dada but other than that, he is content to laugh and make baby noises. He's a major goofball and LOVES to make people laugh. He reminds me of my sister Lindsay, always the family clown!

Sweet baby

Phillip and I now have 3 children...David, Keegan, and a little baby that I won't meet until I get to Heaven. We found out last week that we were pregnant, and Sunday we lost the baby. The pregnancy was a shock. We weren't trying, but we were excited. Very excited. 3 positive tests changed our world for a few days. I was excited for the boys to be big brothers, anxious for where we would put a 3rd car seat, and praying that there was just one baby instead of twins!

Because it has happened so fast, I'm at a loss as to how to process all of the emotions. I went from shocked, to elated, to scared, to heartbroken. I am thankful that whatever was happening with the baby, the Lord took him or her early. I am very thankful that I was not further along. I am excited that I will meet this sweet baby soon. When Phillip and I get to Heaven, we'll meet another little Jefferson and I wonder now who he will look like? My grandparents will probably meet my little boy or girl before I will. He is getting to see my Grandpa Bill and Grandma June. My Dad's Grammie is there too. And one day Phillip and I will be there and get to see his or her precious face.

I have never been through this, and no one in our immediate families has either. We both are struggling to understand but we know that God's ways are higher than ours. We trust that He has a plan that will come from this that is far greater than anything we can imagine right now. Neither one of us want it on facebook for all of the world to see, but I've found that blogging can be a wonderful way to express feelings I can't understand. Today I'm choosing to trust in God's perfect love and peace and to rest in His will.

So much to do! So little time!

I must get better at blogging...So much happening and I rarely put it down "on paper" to remember. My babies are one. They turned one on February 21st. In the last week they have started walking and their personalities get stronger and stronger every day. My hands are full but so is my heart!

Not only are the boys growing, but Phillip and I are in a great season of spiritual growth. God is truly doing something new in us and it's amazing because it is following a season of very hard things. In the last year we have questioned so much but some things has stayed true, the faithfulness and goodness of the Lord. He has never failed, nor will He EVER fail. Our confidence is grounded in Him and we have learned to trust in a whole new dimension. God is starting to really break our hearts for those who do not have a relationship with Him. We long to see our friends find Christ and even further, people we have not met yet. Our hearts are set on being full-time missionaries, to whichever field the Lord directs us too. Our goal is not to beat people over the head with a Bible...our goal is to serve and love people just as Christ would serve and love them. We are starting to reach out to some of the children's homes, orphan care homes, and other places to ask if we can volunteer and serve. Too long have we been satisfied to go to church every Sunday and live OUR lives right...we want to reach out. We want our lives to make a difference. We are not content to stay here, raise our family, build wealth, have a big home, and everything that defines "success" to most people. We are ready to sell it all, live on very little, and raise our boys to be givers if it means we can reach one person with the message of Jesus Christ.

The time is quickly approaching when God will move us. We both feel it in our hearts. There is an excitement and a burden all in one! We'll go anywhere. Phillip and I both feel that we will eventually be in India, helping to get kids off of the streets and into a safe place. Until then, we are ready for anything. There has to be more than the way we are living and the life we are building!

Crawlers!! They're EVERYWHERE!

It's January 1, 2011 and officially the start of a brand new year! What a great day! Even though I try to not make too many resolutions, I always feel so motivated to simplify and declutter my life. It's a little harder with two growing boys!

David and Keegan are 10 months old now and I can't believe how fast the time is going! They will be one on February 21st and it is RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER! This time last year I was as big as my house, visiting Women's Hospital frequently with pre-term labor, and praying the swelling in my feet would go down. What changes a year can bring! My days now consist of playing, feeding, changing, rocking, loving, and teaching my two babies as well as maintain the house and take care of my husband. I LOVE MY LIFE. Frustrating and stressful at times? Oh yeah. It'll be that way for the rest of my life, but I wouldn't trade one minute for a different life. Thank You Jesus.

Ok, update on the boys! I'll start with Keegan!  At their last appointments Keegan was 20 pounds, 8 ounces and over 25 inches tall. Since having the tubes in his ears, he has regained his middle hearing range and is now babbling at a normal volume and tone level. He still squeals and screams some, but we're happy to hear him try to form consonants and normal sounds! He just got his 5th tooth (2 on top and 3 on bottom) and likes to bite anything he can get in his mouth, including our fingers, shoulders, hair, etc. He is crawling on all fours and is into everything! Keegan will even stand up by himself but falls right back on his behind and then laughs hysterically! It is SO cute but an indicator to us that he may be walking here before too long. Aunt Lauren recently taught him how to roll off of the couch and he has NO FEAR. If you sit him on the couch, he will dive off. Fortunately, we have always been there to catch him, but oh boy! What a little daredevil. One of his favorite things to do is to open drawers and cabinets and pull everything out. It makes a mess for me, but I am so glad to see him exploring and entertaining himself. He is great about sitting in one place too and playing with the same toy for 30-45 minutes. We have recently discovered mold in the house so we believe this may be the reason for his respiratory problems. We're in the process of getting this cleaned out so we're excited and expecting a healthy Keegan soon!!

Ok, on to David. David is definitely my little explorer. Where Keegan is happy with a toy for awhile, David gets bored very easily. If I hand him a toy, he'll look at it then set it aside, knowing that it will still be there later when he's seen all there is to see. He keeps me busy and I ALWAYS have to have an eye on him. He loves stairs, gates, and anything else he can climb! David is still in his helmet at nighttime. We go back January 18th for a recheck and hopefully we will be done with it soon! His toes have healed completely and the scar from where they took the skin graft is healing up really well. At his last check up he was just over 18 pounds and 24 inches long. He is definitely smaller than Keegs but he can hold his own! David has recently started saying "mama" and he says it ALL THE TIME! I love it. It absolutely melts my heart. He can also give "kisses" and pulls up on everything. Davy has four teeth. 2 on top and 2 on bottom. His hair is really blonde and getting pretty long. It's doing what his daddy's did and is curling on the bottom which is SO adorable!

Right now they are both sound asleep in their room. I thank the Lord for 8PM when they go down, and I thank the Lord for 8 AM when they usually get up. We are SO excited for what God is going to do in this new year!

My friend Lou Anne took these pictures of the boys! Check out her website: www.ljoycephotography.com.