Crazy Life!

Ian put it best when we showed up to Grandma and Grandpa Whitakers house not too long ago. He rang the door bell and when asked who was there Ian replied, "It's us Ian and Joel, Elise, Elliot, Mommy and Daddy." "yep, we're busy, but it's true life." He really sounded like the intro to a reality show.

That's how things are around here. "busy, by true life." When we found out we were having twins we knew it wasn't going to be easy. You really can't truly understand all the logistics of it until you're in the thick of it. Elise and Elliot are now 8 months old and we're still just barely keeping our heads above water. I read that the first year with twins would be hard, but I really thought people must be exaggerating. They weren't. I'm assuming by the time they are walking well on their own things will settle down some. I'm not saying it will be smooth sailing, but maybe I'll have some time to clean a little and go to the bathroom once in a while.

When they were infants they nursed more often and couldn't entertain themselves at all and they were floppy, thus hard to carry at the same time. Now, they entertain themselves too well by getting into everything and they want me to find time to feed them solid food and nurse them all the time. Of course I also have two lovely older boys who need my attention as well. It's nice out now so Ian and Joel get to spend a lot of time outside. This is good and bad. They get messy outside and need changing and cleaning and they track in all sorts of nature all over the floors that the babies crawl all over. Ian and Joel also have a desire to be fed every couple hours.

We are not the biggest family by far. We also are not the first family to have twins. So, I'm pretty sure we will survive. I also know how incredibly blessed we are. I know how to count my blessings and I thank my God hourly for all he's given me. I get to spend my days getting tiny hugs and sloppy kisses. I get to see the world through the eyes of my incredibly bright 5 year old. I get several good chuckles and a belly laugh or two daily over something Joel says and does. Every time I look at one of these four little faces I get a glimpse of my Heavenly Father.

I miss a clean house, but not as much as I would miss these moments.

I'm a terrible blogger.

Nothing much else to say about that. I just can't fit blogging into my schedule right now. I'm terribly sorry, but I do try to update pictures on a regular basis. Let's face it that what's really important anyway, not my ramblings. So check out the web albums.

Have a blessed day!
:) Teri

The happenings....

So again a long overdue update. I have been keeping the picture website somewhat updated so check that out.

First things first, for those who don't already know we received some wonderful news at the beginning of December. After much worry and testing Elliot's cyst has disappeared, no trace of it and nothing left to be done. We are praising God for this miracle everyday! We are so thankful for everyone's prayers for our little guy. For once an appointment over at Spectrum ended in tears of joy for Matt and I.

The twins are doing well. At their appointment last week Elliot was 10 lbs. 12 oz. and Elise was 11 lbs. 9 oz. She's our little chunky monkey, a nick name we promise her not to be used when she gets older. The doctor was very impressed with their tummy time abilities and overall health.

Joel and Ian are as interesting and active as always. I wish I had the time and energy to blog about every little thing those two come up with. From Ian not wanting to use my computer because it was "complicated with Vista" as opposed to his and daddy's that have Linux. To Joel worrying that Elise had lost her boy parts (only he uses correct terminology omitted for internet content).

We are very very blessed this Christmas. If you see us feel free to remind us of that because we do get overwhelmed and forget.

From Kiddos Nov.

Here they are!

Just a quick update, I will try to put more on line tomorrow. Today at 11:55 and 11:57 respectively, Elise Joy Whitaker and Elliot Matthew Whitaker were born at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, MI. Elise weighed 6lbs. 9oz., and was 18 inches long. Elliot was 6lbs., 12oz., and was 18 inches long. Both babies are doing well.

We have posted a few pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/greenhulk/HereTheyAre#
I will try to post more pictures tomorrow.

Not quite 37 weeks and counting...

If you check this site often I'm sure that you have realized by now that we are not good bloggers. We are very bad at keeping our blog up to date. With that in mind, here is a long overdue update. Teri is at almost 37 weeks and counting, headed toward a scheduled C-Section at Spectrum Hospital in Grand Rapids on October 2. For those of you who are now wondering to yourselves - Why would they have the babies at Spectrum instead of in Holland? - don't worry, I am getting to that.

About 2 months ago, the doctors noticed a spot on an ultrasound in the baby Boy's abdomen. Teri's doctor in town recommended that we go to a specialist in Grand Rapids. They said that they believe there is a problem with the little Boy's bowel. The doctor's feeling right now is that the spot is most likely a bowel obstruction, which will require surgery after birth. No one can be sure what the spot is until he is born and they do more tests. So, to be on the safe side, we are going to have the babies at Spectrum, where we can have Pediatric surgeons, Neonatologists, and a whole host of other doctors and nurses ready to help in whatever way is needed.

Like anyone would, we wish that we could know more before the birth, but we really just have to wait and pray at this point. We know that the whole situation is in God's hands, so we have tried to stay happy and excited about the birth. We enjoy meeting new people, having them ask about the due date and then seeing the look of shock on their faces when we tell them when it is. It's amazing how many people greet us with the odd phrase - "You look just about ready to pop!" We both really hope that nothing of the sort will happen.

If all goes as planned the babies will be born on October 2, at right around 11:30am or so. We will do our best to keep everyone updated, but I am pretty sure that we will be quite busy, so it might take a few days.

Here's an overdue update.

Here's a look at our babies at about 19 weeks along. The doctor said they are looking good. This was our big ultrasound where they check to make sure everything is okay and so far so good. Oh Yeah, if you were wondering it's a boy and a girl! We're very excited to have one of each. Actually, that will bring us to 3 boys and 1 girl, but you know what I mean.

Here's our baby boy. Click on the picture to follow it to the album.

BabyA

Here's our baby girl.

BabyB

Speaking of our other 2 boys. Sorry we haven't kept up with the posting. I feel awful that I haven't been keeping track of the funny things they say and do. I know there's been some good ones, but I just can't remember specifics. I can offer some picture updates though.

First have a look at some fun from the big parade day at Tulip Time.

Parade day fun!

If you followed that link to our album you probably already saw these, but for the sake of having a cute picture on the blog here is a slide show for a look at what the boys have been up to.

And now for twice the fun!

A little change from the norm here folks, this post is from Matt.

For those of you who were expecting to find our photo website - I apologize, I changed where our web address points to again. Chances are good that if you were going to look at our pictures you will be happy about reading this fun little blog entry too.

What do you think of when you think of October? I think of Fall, one of my absolute favorite times of the year. The leaves changing color, ripe apples to go and pick, a feel of cool crispness in the air. You may be wondering to yourself - "Self, why am I thinking about October right now, and really where is this blog entry going?" - don't worry, I am getting to that.

It just so happens that we have been thinking about this coming October quite a lot in our house recently, because we just found out that Teri is pregnant, and is due in October. Obviously, we are thrilled, in fact, we couldn't be more excited, right? That's what we thought too.

Then, last week, Teri's doctor had her come in for an ultrasound. Since I work about a half hour from home now, and the appointment was right in the middle of the day, I was unable to come, which was pretty disappointing, so Teri said she would call me right afterwards to let me know how it went. Here is approximately our conversation:

TERI:"Hi honey, so the ultrasound went well, everything looks pretty good. The babies are doing fine"
MATT: -- A BREIF MOMENT OF STUNNED SILENCE -- "The babies?"
TERI: -- LAUGHING EXCITEDLY -- "Yes, the babies - it's twins!"

So needless to say, we are both thrilled. We are blown away at the idea that our family will be going from a family of four to a family of six so quickly! At this point we don't know if they are fraternal or identical, boys, girls, or one of each. Ian and Joel know that their Mommy is going to have another baby, but we haven't really told them yet that it is going to be two. Ian is very adamant that the baby needs to be a girl, but he also seems alright with the idea of a boy - I wonder what he will think if it's one of each... I know that we can't wait to find out.

If you are interested you can either click on the link at the top left and go to our photo album, where there is a folder of pictures from the ultrasound, or you can simply click on this link.
We will try to keep posting any news here on our blog as time allows. Feel free to leave a comment to let us know that you were here and that someone is reading the blog.