Be Prepared

I  am married to an Eagle Scout.  He has told me numerous times (as I make fun of him for some of his forethought decisions) the Boy Scout Motto that was instilled in him to "BE PREPARED!"  I have come to LOVE this trait about him, as we will be out and about somewhere and I need something that he has already thought of packing, etc.... He is sometimes :) one step ahead of me.  I think the Boy Scout Motto, and my husband have worn off on me a bit...

This past week we have made the decision to transfer doctors to a multiples specialist downtown in the Medical Center.  After much prayer and thought, we decided that this is the best choice for these girls and for me.  After meeting with this new Dr. who we really like and are so thankful for his expertise, we learned the I needed to have a little procedure done, in hopes of prolonging the time these girls spend in my womb. 

This morning was the procedure, I had to be put under so I was a little nervous thinking about that last night.  This has been the first thing so far since learning about the Triplets that has really made it feel even more REAL.  There are times where I do just stop and think, HOLY COW how the heck did we get here?!?!!  And this morning was definitely one of those moments! 

As Tigh and I were driving down to the hospital early this morning my mind was flooded with ALL sorts of thoughts and emotions of how we can "BE PREPARED" for these months ahead.  I have heard stories of bed rest for weeks, possibly months, babies in the NICU with feeding tubes, monitors, IV poles, surgery, etc.... I had a moment of all this running through my mind and thinking ok how can we prepare, especially since most of this will be taking place downtown now.  What can I do to get everything in order for my son, for our family?  What do you do when you KNOW the season ahead of you is going to be one filled with some hard places, and intense moments? As soon as I was thinking this, this simple over used verse popped into my head and quickly brought me peace.... 

 "GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD!"  Matthew 6:11

Sometimes all we can do is rest in TODAY, and know that he will give us exactly what we need to make it through this day.  And I am so thankful that is enough.  I can not always BE PREPARED by myself, but with HIM I can BE PREPARED for anything that will come our way. 

Our Dr. who we were previously seeing (who we absolutely love by the way), told me this week that I am a no longer a mother, no longer a wife or a daughter, for the time being I am a HUMAN INCUBATOR! So I am doing just that and enjoying these days with Gray, mostly laying down.   I have happily accepted the fact that he watches WAY too many Baby Einstein Videos in a day, but I LOVE laying next to him watching him smile and laugh.  We spend WAY too much time eating snacks and meals together ALL throughout the day, but I absolutely love that I get to be the one here with him chowing down. And finally I am no longer concerned with the state of the house....if pulling every toy out and scattering it all over the floor is entertainment for a short 20 minutes, then I am all for it. (Thanks Mom and Tigh for cleaning it all up at the end of the day:) Here are some pictures of us doing what we do best these days......

Drink our morning drinks together in bed! Yes I am wearing Christmas Pajama bottoms---It's just part of the Piccadilly Circus! 

Gray's toy room destruction at it's finest! Notice he is standing on a toy to reach new places! 

Breakfast in bed, with Tucker and Toons! 

So with all that being said, as my new job title of Human Incubator I will rest, I will continue to CHERISH every second Gray and I have laying around together, and I will continue to give thanks to our Maker who continues to provide and PREPARE me with exactly what I need to get through today! 

The Verdict Is In....

It's official-- 3 GIRLS are on their way to the Holmstrom House!! We would have been thrilled if it went either way boys or girls, but we are so excited for this new adventure and are just continuing to pray for 3 healthy little loves.  Looks like Gray & Tigh will be out numbered after all. ;) Now on to the nursery and adding a little pink to this place....and to start saving for 3 weddings.... 

Piccadilly "Pink" Circus and a Few Pics...

The last two weeks have been interesting and great practice for us to learn how to be better at accepting to “expect the unexpected!”

I’ll start with the move. We moved into my parents house about two weeks ago.  The first week was really rough on Gray, but he is doing much better now and I think becoming more adjusted to his new home.  Merging of our two families has been quite interesting.  We officially “ONLY” have 2 dogs, 2 horse, a cat and one child under this roof right now…..I had to stop and marvel at these numbers this past week as I stood in the kitchen looking at a glass pyrex container of green beans that fell out of the refrigerator and shattered on the tile floor when I opened the door, all while Gray was trying to “feed” the dogs, a.k.a throw handfuls of dog food across the floor, as this is all happening I look down because I feel something wet and notice the bottom of my skirt is floating in the dogs water bowl.  Y’all I had to stop and think for a moment…this little bit of chaos is with one child….what in the world is it going to look with 3 more?!?!?!?! I can’t help but laugh (ok maybe there is some crying when I think of it) but at that very moment in the kitchen laughter broke out between my mom and I!   For all of these little incidents and MANY more ahead….we have decided to call this new adventure, or our official home name “Piccadilly Circus!”  (Thanks Angie our British Blood for the help with the name) For those of you who are not familiar with what Piccadilly Circus is, it is a busy public square , where main roads intersect in the the heart of London.  When Tigh and I visited London, we fell in love with this spot, and the name of it…. That was about 3 years ago.  Little did we know, it would be a great name for our busy daily rhythm of life! So a plaque must be made soon to be placed outside the door, warning all who enter the Holmstrom House….”Welcome to Piccadilly Circus!”

So now for the “pink” part.  Two weeks ago we went in for our normal two week ultrasound and asked the technician if she could take a guess at the gender of the babes.  To make a long story short…after holding our breath and looking at each baby she concluded that ALL of them were BOYS!! She pointed and showed us that special little part that could mean nothing else beside boy! We were a little shocked, me especially because this pregnancy has been SOOO different than with Gray.  However after finding out they were all boys, I just thought this sickness was due to the fact that we are magnifying it times 3! Tigh and I were happy with this verdict, although we had hoped to maybe get 1 girl out of this deal just to experience raising both genders and the different bonds that are formed with each.  But with all that being said we were excited at the thought of our own little scout troop on the way.

This past Tuesday I went to go see a new Dr. a Maternal Fetal Specialist who I will continue to see every 2 weeks.   During the ultrasound, I asked the tech if he would take a guess at the genders, he said “absolutely not, if I see the gender and am positive of what it is, then I will tell you!” …. So the ultrasound begins and again to make a long story short after examining all 3 babies, he points out to me that all 3 are............. GIRLS!!!!!!  My heart kinda skips a beat yet again…(there has been a lot of that through this so far, again learning to accept how to expect the unexpected). After asking him about 5 times, “ARE YOU SURE” and him responding with “yes, and let’s let the dr confirm,” I sat there in complete skepticism.  The Dr. came in and after doing an extensive ultrasound, pointed out to me the three parts that looked totally different than what we saw last week, and confirmed we have 3 GIRLS in the oven!!!! 

I’m still not convinced.  After being told all boys, and coming to terms with what that may look or feel like for our family (a picture of me being VERY tired chasing 4 boys) to the opposite extreme of 3 girls (still a picture of me being very tired, but maybe they will play with baby dolls for moments at a time??) I am going to give it another 2 weeks until the next ultrasound to really allow myself to believe it, even though it has now been confirmed by 2 people! (that persister in me, just wants to really make sure)

Either way boy or girl, at the end of the day our heart is that these babies will be healthy.  The appointment with the specialist was a tough one as we had to discuss all the risks and complications that can happen to both the babies and myself… I left the appointment in complete surrender to our Maker.   Our hope and faith is in him alone and we know that he has a story written for each one of these babies, whether that means they come home with us, or go home with him.  Trying to prepare my heart for all avenues has been tough, but I continue to re-site the verse in my head that I clung to while Gray was in the NICU and we were unsure of the outcome of his health.  Col. 1:17 “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” He has this story written for each of these little lives, and we will trust that it is just the way he wants it.

Below are a few my favorite ultrasound pics from the past couple of visits…. Please continue to pray with us for the health, development, and growth of these sweet little babies, we appreciate it more than words can say!

THIS IS MY FAVORITE!!! (now they are too big to all fit in one picture) :) 

Baby A- Boxing! 

Sweet Baby B's Face and Belly

Two little loves, living in close quarters... sharing a room! 

Home Sweet Home

I am currently sitting in my living room (eating a bowl of popcorn) for the last Saturday I will get to enjoy this little house.  Life in 3 weeks has changed DRASTICALLY!! We have processed through many different options and scenarios of how to accommodate our family doubling in less than 5 months from now...  After much thought, prayer, and debate we have decided to sell our sweet home.  

We are so incredibly thankful to my generous parents that have offered to accept our massive clan under their roof, until we pick up our new rhythm of having 4 kids under the age of 2!   We are thankful for this option for many reasons, we will have WAY more space both inside and out, we will be able to save some money (or use it all for diapers and formula), and one of the big decision makers was the fact that my mom has graciously offered to help with night time feedings which will make a WORLD of difference.  Tigh is going to need to be able to sleep through the night and continue to get up for work at 4:30am to catch the bus into Downtown.  This help she will give will be a LIFESAVER in the first few months of adjusting with our new little ones. 

Although we are so excited for this new adventure it is very bittersweet as this was Tigh and my first home together, and the home that we brought Grayson  to for the very first time.  I  remember the day we closed on it and I couldn't believe it was ours... the people who we bought it from were not even out of the driveway yet and I was already painting the walls.  We have such beautiful memories here together that we will never forget, and I am thankful for those.  

But as I sit here and reflect on our 3 years in this home,  I am reminded that "home" is not this physical building, but where Tigh and Gray are, and where ever we are together Christ is with us and that is "home." So with that truth I am able to find a peace wherever we may go.

On a less serious note, with all that being said it is still my hope that we don't end up like the nursery rhyme of "The Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe"..I'll leave you with the lyrics of that..... It may become my new reality.... ;) 

There was an old woman

Who lived in a shoe.

She had so many children 

She didn’t know what to do.

She gave them some broth

And a big slice of bread,

Kissed them all soundly

And sent them to bed.  

And Three....Make Six!!!

Well, I gave up on the blogging idea long ago, as you can see it has been two years since a new post has been shared.  However so many people have asked us to share our new adventure with them and I think this will be the best way to do it.  So here is yet again another attempt at blogging-- we shall see how it goes.  

About 6 weeks ago Tigh and I found out that we were expecting.  We were about 3 weeks pregnant... I know of very few people who find out they are pregnant at three weeks, but I was feeling really sick and decided to take a test.  It was positive.  We were excited and having had a child already my momma brain had forgotten the process.....I called the dr to schedule our first ultrasound and they said we had to wait 5 weeks until I was about 8 weeks along.  

So 5 weeks and waiting.... in those 5 weeks I have never felt so sick.  I called many of my friends who are also expecting their second child... asking them if they are as sick as I am was.  They all said no, and "maybe it's a girl, cause you're so sick."  Well I just thought to myself if this child is a girl, it is one fierce child and it is going to come into this world with a vengeance!   Then I started asking friends are you already showing??? "No not much, but maybe you are showing because it's your second and you pop out faster..." I quickly went to the store and bought some oversized shirts because I thought people would start talking if they saw how far my belly was already sticking out.  

Twins runs on my grandfather's side of the family, and I began having this crazy thought that I may be pregnant with twins!!! I started Googling "how to know if you are expecting twins before an ultrasound."  Tigh thought I was nuts, and said I was going to drive myself insane if I continued to pry for this answer.

8 weeks FINALLY arrived, and it was Monday morning.  My mom came over to watch Gray.  I stumbled around to get myself upright and dressed to go to the dr.  Since I had been horizontal on the couch all the weeks beforehand.  We got to the Dr. and went into the ultrasound room.  Angie, the ultrasound tech who also did all of Grayson's ultrasound began doing her job.  As I looked at the screen I saw what I thought were two sacs....In my head I thought "OMGoodness it is twins, this all makes sense."  After a few minutes...that seemed like hours, Angie finally spoke and said...."Well, Y'all are expecting TRIPLETS!!!!"  

Are you ready for it.... Here is what everyone asks us----- "WHAT DID YOU DO IN THAT MOMENT!?!?!?!"  I so wish I could answer that questions and say I handled it with so much grace, and I was so brave....but that would be so far from the truth.  I began balling my eyes out, covered my eyes and said "NO" about 8,00 times.. followed by "No I can't do this, No I don't want to do this, No we can't afford this, how could God think that we could handle this?"  Tigh being the champ that he is, chuckled and said "Well God sure does have a sense of humor, and I am going to work my butt off, we are going to do this."   Praise God for giving me such an amazing man to walk this journey with.  He is such a rock and I am beyond blessed to call him mine.  

Through my hysteria Angie finished the ultrasound and shared with us the 3 strong heartbeats.  I couldn't calm myself down long enough to really listen and allow such a precious sound to really penetrate my ears.  Angie left the room and told us she would give us a few minutes so I could get collected.  About 15 minutes later, we reappeared.  We went and sat in the waiting room in complete and utter shock and disbelief.  We both just stared at the wall until our name was called to see the dr.  Once we were in the room waiting for the dr.  we called our moms.  I was still in complete tears and after sharing the news with both my mom and mother in law, I begged..... I begged them to promise to help us, I begged them to promise that we didn't have to do this alone..... They both responded with such comfort that we were going to walk this road together as a family and that brought me some peace.  

Dr. R came in and through my tears I asked him my first question..."Does this really happen to people?"  His response...."Yes, and you, me, Tigh and God are going to get you through this!" We discussed all the details.  And much to my surprise he explained to us that we did in fact get pregnant with twins and one egg divided making Triplets.  We will have a set of Identicals and then a Singleton (fraternal twin)! (I can say now that that is very exciting to me, it wasn't at the time of first being told.) 

I sit here today exactly a week after finding out and my heart couldn't be happier.  I believe I have experienced every emotion known to man in the past week.  I have asked God so many questions as to why he chose me to bring three of his children into this world at once.  My eyes were quickly open to the fact that about 2 months ago I began feverishly listening to this song called "Oceans" by Hillsong and I prayed this prayer about 30 times....

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

Let me walk upon the waters

Wherever You would call me

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

And my faith will be made stronger

In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your Name

Keep my eyes above the waves

My soul will rest in Your embrace

I am Yours and You are mine

My fears, my doubts, my disbelief were quietly hushed by an overwhelming sense of God telling me, "you asked me to take you deeper, you asked me to make your faith in me stronger, you asked me to lead you beyond your own trust....."  and here we are.   In the past week I have experienced God's complete control over this, and have felt a closeness to him like no other. I have NO idea what this road is going to be like.  I know there are probably going to be extreme highs and extreme lows.  I also know that I have made the choice to be strong and brave for these babies, and that I am going to do everything I can for them.  God has shown us an abundance of Grace this past week through the community of family and friends that he has surrounded us with.  My heart is so full to the brim of thanksgiving for the people who have stepped up and said, "We support you guys, we love you guys, we are praying, we are here, you do not need to walk through this alone."  Because of God's grace and all of our friends and family, we know that we can get through whatever may be ahead.  We are beyond excited for this journey.  I have said it before and I will say it again we know it is going to be BEAUTIFULLY CHAOTIC!  We are ready to hang on for dear life and enjoy the ride!  

Here's to The Holmstrom Family.....Party of SIX!!!!!! 

Way Over Due....

Wow! I have not written on here in way too long.  The crazy thing is I have actually had time to do it, I just forgot all about it....maybe it's "Baby Brain."  That's right Baby Brain! A lot has happened in the past few months, where to start......


First, I resigned from teaching to take a job at our church Woodlands Point Community Church.  God opened all the right doors at just the right time for this amazing opportunity.  As much as I love teaching, I love what I am doing 1000X more! I am the Elementary Kids Director for their Children's Ministry.  I have never been happier at a job then I am now.  I look forward to work everyday, and am so thankful for the opportunity God has given me.  I most certainly do not feel qualified to be in the position I am, but God continues to blow me away with giving me what I need when I need it the most!  


Next, Tigh and I are EXPECTING! We found out at the end of May.  I am about 15 weeks along right now and feeling GREAT! My due date is Feb. 7.  I have been so blessed.  I breezed through my first trimester with NO problems other then being dizzy if I stand too long.  After one near fainting episode-- I quickly realized I need to eat every 2 hours, drink lots of water, and not stand stationary for long periods of time. Things since then have been great.  I have not been sick at all.  Truly thankful for that, as I have many friends where this has not been the case.  Our first ultrasound was amazing.  Getting to hear the heartbeat was so wonderful.  Here is a picture of our little peanut at 5 weeks.  

We went back for our second ultrasound at 11 weeks.  This one blew me away.  I have had a few friends who have told me to drink orange juice before going to an ultrasound, as it is supposed to get the baby moving.  Well I forgot-- so right as we pulled in I took a sip of Tigh's extra sweet sugary coffee (YUCK).  We went in for the ultrasound and got to see some MAJOR action.  My heart melted instantly-- little arms were flying, legs were kicking, and at one point the ultrasound tech let out a little "ahhhh" because of the baby jumping so much.  :)  I was in love.  The tech also told us it's looking like a BOY! She pointed out...well you know....about 4 to 5 times.  We are not 100% sure but from the looks of things that is what we are thinking.  5 more weeks and time will tell.  Here are some pictures of our sweet....boy??

Check out those lips sticking out! :) 

Contentment...what a belly! 

Needless to say- my heart is bursting during this season Tigh and I are in.  After the year we are coming off of-- it does our hearts well to know that we are entering a new phase of life.  One we know little about, but are so excited to walk through together.  This verse has stuck out to me as we found out about our pregnancy--

"I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing." Ezekiel 34:26

Thankful for the season of blessing we are in! 

Saving the best for last....My mom is doing extremely well and for that I could fall to my knees daily shouting praise! She has finished her treatments and is feeling great.  She has been redoing our kitchen, and helping me with "nesting" things around the house.  I love our days together, and take them in more then ever before.  

Life is as busy as ever, but sweeter then ever! 

THINGS TO CELEBRATE!

This week there is a lot to celebrate in my family.  Monday my mom goes for her 6th and final Chemo treatment after a very long 8 months. My dad and I will be there with her.  She told me there is a big bell you ring upon completion of your last treatment.  Let me just say that we are going to be RINGING that bell for the whole place to hear, along with the loudest cheering they have ever heard! Watching her go through this has been the hardest thing I have ever experienced in my life.  There are days I just cry my eyes out asking why God, how is this happening to your people?  But then there are days where I cry my eyes out praising and thanking him for bringing her this far along through this trial.  Everyday I wake up and thank him for giving me another day with my family I love so very much.  Here is a picture of her that my dad took.  Isn't she beautiful? 

On a lighter note..I am also celebrating my 2 week Winter Break from work!!!!! hahaha Tigh just found out he has a week off of work too.  I can't wait to spend some time with him. 

I have many, many projects lined up for the break.  First, of course baking.  I want to carry on my Grandmother's tradition of having a million cookies at Christmas time.  On the cookie menu- cookies from the Cookie Press:

followed by Almond Yule Logs:

Followed by Molasses:

My other project is to have a little Modge Podge Maddness!! I bought some really cool bottles I want to Modge Podge some vintage paper on, as well as a 3 tier candle holder that I am going to fix up a bit.

  I have crocheting to do... which I have been doing but getting really frustrated with for one reason or another, but my mom and I have a few days of "therapeutic" crocheting to do.  When she does it with me, it is much more relaxing because she knows what she is doing and I don't. :) I am looking forward to it.

 

And finally my biggest project I want to tackle is this amazing Book Wreath

My friend made one and it turned out beautiful! I can't wait to start! I don't know where I am going to put it in the house, but I'm sure I will find a spot.  Here is the link if you are interested in making one!  http://livingwithlindsay.com/2009/11/librarians-please-avert-your-eyes.html

 

Busy week-- I better go get started.  Pictures to follow if I get any of these projects finished.