New Pictures...

Parker gives his brother kisses!! This is the first time they have seen eachother since they were born~they have missed being together!!

Mommy is feeding Mitchell while he is "kangaroo-ing"

Mitchell loves his brother so much!!

As it turns out~Santa visits the NICU, so the boys told him everything they wanted for Christmas!!

Mommy's first time to hold Mitchell and Parker together!!

Parker is snug as a bug!!

Parker is sleeping soundly!!

Mitchell is over all the lights and noise~he just wants some peace and quiet!!

Finally I get some rest!!

Good News...

Well, Kyle told me that my posts are a little too wordy, so I am going to try to work on that!! I just want to make sure I don't leave out any details!!

Mitchell's progress:
He has gained weight and now weighs~ 2 lbs. 14.4 oz.
He is weening off his canula!!
He finally finished his photo-therapy for jaundice!!


Parker's progress:
He has stepped down to 1 liter of oxygen instead of 2 in his canula!!
His IV has been removed~hooray!!
He has lost some weight and now weighs~2 lbs. 6 oz.~they think it's because of not having the IV fluids~hopefully this will improve soon!!


Keep praying for our precious little boys!!

Our progress and new pictures below...

Well, I finally got discharged from the hospital last Friday night. If you had asked me a couple of weeks ago how I would react when I finally got to go home, I probably would have said that I would be so happy and relieved to get out of prison. Much to my surprise, my reaction was quite different!! Before the boys arrived, I was counting down the minutes until I could get out of that crazy place!! But, once they got here, I loved being so close to them, so leaving was a devastating experience!! We went to eat at Outback and I just cried!! I felt guilty for being away from them!! When we got home, we went to bed and I just cried myself to sleep!! I was so worried that something might happen and I wouldn't be there!! Slowly, I have adjusted to being away from them!! No one can visit them except us and grandparents and I can't drive for 2 weeks, so this makes it quite difficult for me to visit them!! Mom is taking off from school 1/2 a day all this week, so she can take to see them. It is so frustrating not being able to drive because I could go visit in the morning as well!! It's wierd just sitting around all morning when I could be there, but I know it's just temporary!! Anyways, Parker is now up to 2 lbs. 8 oz. on his one week birthday which is really really good!! Mitchell weighs 2 lbs. 12 oz. so he still has a couple of ounces before he makes it back to his birth weight. Parker is finished with his photo-therapy (for jaundice) but Mitchell is still laying on a little mat that has lights on it (it looks like he's in the tanning bed-ha!). Parker had an x-ray today of his head to check for bleeding in his brain and he passed!! Mitchell will have the x-ray done tomorrow. Parker is eating 13 ml of breast milk through a feeding tube and Mitchell is eating 10 ml through his feeding tube. They are just doing so good and we know it's because they have been surrounded in prayer!! God is so good and we have been abundantly blessed!! For those of you who know about Brian Ray's twin babies, you might have already seen this on his website, but I just thought it was such a neat story that I wanted to share it with everyone because it definitely applies to us as well...

There was a group of women in a Bible study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three they came across verse three which says, "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week the woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that, in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot - then she thought again about the verse, that He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. For if the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's the easy part -- when I see my image reflected in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep His hand on you and watch over you until He sees His image in you.

Please continue to keep our little boys in your prayers as they work so hard to get big enough and healthy enough to come home!!

New Pictures

Parker's photo-therapy for jaundice...he loves his first pair of sunglasses!!

Mommy's first time to cuddle with Mitchell!!

Mommy loves her sweet Mitchell!!

Mommy is so happy when she gets to hold her baby boys!!

Mommy & Daddy's first time to "kangaroo" (hold the babies in our shirts so they hear our heart beating and stay warm!!~I thought this was a little weird at first, but it's really precious!!) with Mitchell (in mommy's hands) and Parker (in daddy's hands)!!

Mitchell has opened his little eyes to see what is going on around him!!

Mitchell is so comfy sleeping on his Daddy's chest!!

Daddy loves Mitchell so much!!

Parker loves sleeping on his belly just like Mommy!!

Parker loves holding his Daddy's hand!!

Daddy's first time to hold Mitchell and snuggle with him!!