6 short days...

In six short days, I will lose a lot of weight. :)

In six short days, these little boys who have kicked me so much from the inside, will be on the outside!

In six short days, my little girl will be a big sister.

In six short days, I will begin learning how to function on minimal amounts of sleep.

In six short days, I will be changing lots of diapers.

In six short days, I will walk out of my house as a mom of one, and come home with two more kids.

In six short days, we will become a family of five.

In six short days, I will meet the boys we have prayed for to overcome so much.

In six short days, I will get to meet my two little precious babies that I already love so much.

In six short days, my life will be irrevocably changed...and I can't wait.

In fourteen short days, I may need to re-read this post as a reminder of how excited I was about the whirlwind of chaos that will be going on in my house. :)

Things I don't want to forget...

  Cami is at a really fun age. She is talking more and more each day and really giving us a glimpse into her personality. There have been a few moments lately where I silently reminded myself to "remember this moment". Here are a few:

  The first "remember this moment" is funny, but not necessarily a moment we will encourage to Cami to continue having. Unfortunately, Cami has picked up a new word in her vocabulary..."Dang-it". I'm not sure where she learned it- could have been when Bryan and my dad were putting in ceiling fans, could have been when I dropped something and had to figure out how to bend over to pick it up. Regardless of where she learned it, it is engrained in her brain. The thing that really blows my mind is that she is able to use it in the right context- when she drops her doll, when "Gabba" is all over, or when she comes to a closed door she can't open.
 The other day, she said the word again, and Bryan went over to Cami and tapped her mouth and said "No Cami. We don't use that word". As he walked away, she quietly whispered three times, "dang-it, dang-it, dang-it"
 We better watch what we say, because little ears are listening.

 The other moment was at nap-time. Cami has transitioned to a "big-girl" bed as we get ready for the boys. Bryan was peeking in on her at nap time through the door to see if she was sleeping or what she was doing. He came back and reported that Cami was playing with her "baby" and all of a sudden chucked her on the floor. Then she looked over the side of the bed and said, "Sowwy" (she can't say her r's- this meant "sorry") and then snuggled in to take her nap.

 Yesterday, another fun moment came when she got home from daycare. She got down on her hands and knees and started hopping around saying "ribbit, ribbit" and telling us she was a "frog".  Where does she learn this?

 Time is flying and I know that things won't always be like this. I continue to remind myself in the business of getting ready for babies, wrapping sub plans up at work, trying to make dinner, or whatever else takes up our time,  that it is important to take time to remember these funny, naughty and cute priceless moments.

I'm learning...

 Cami is getting to the age where actual "parenting" is needing to take place. She can willfully disobey, not listen to us and make more and more decisions for herself. As we now have a more active role than just taking care of her physical needs and giving lots of kisses and hugs, I am learning that there is a fine line between "over-parenting" and "under-parenting".
 I'm quickly seeing why it can be easier to give in when she wants something, but it isn't necessarily better. It's faster and makes her "happy" for the moment, but it isn't teaching her. It would be so easy to just give her one more snack, rationalize why it really wouldn't be that big of a deal to let her "play with my phone" (which ends up meaning lots of deleted numbers in my phone) and let her watch just one more episode of "Yo Gabba Gabba". However, this isn't teaching her boundaries and that actions have consequences, and that "no" really means "no".
 I also see how easy it is to go on the other side of the fence, constantly stopping her before she can hurt herself or make a mess or make a bad decision. However, this means not allowing her to explore her environment, see how things work and learn lessons first-hand. This isn't giving her enough freedom to make choices or letting her learn things on her own, through her own mistakes.
 I'm learning that parenting is a delicate balancing act and it can be easy to rationalize most decisions I make. I'm learning there is no such thing as the "perfect parent".  I'm learning that parenting takes patience, prayer and lots of love. I'm learning that I'll never know it all and I won't always make the right decision. I'm learning...

Swagger Wagon

As time is getting closer for the twins to make their arrival, things are rapidly changing at the Branderhorst home. We have moved our living room up to our front room, making the back room now the boys' room. We have hung up their basketball hoop, bought paint, ceiling fans, bedding, a crib, and more. And our biggest new purchase is... a mini-van. And I couldn't be more excited...and scared.

Bryan has been researching prices for "gently-used" mini-vans for the last couple of months. On Sunday, he found the perfect one for us. A silver 2009 Toyota Sienna. I was so excited about this new purchase that I showed my students the "Swagger Wagon" video posted below.

  Swagger Wagon

              Today, when I drove up in my sweet new ride, a group of students shouted out "We love that Swagger Wagon". I just proudly gave them a head nod.

              However, as excited as I am about this purchase, I am very nervous. I don't have the best driving skills. In fact, I have developed a habit of hitting stationary objects, particularly when backing out...like other cars, trees, our house... You know, the kind of things that just jump out at you. Most of my family kindly offers to drive when we go places together. And when my mom can't avoid riding with me, she grips the side handle as hard as she can and often hits her imaginary brake.

              This was not such a big deal when I was driving our '98 Camry with 192,000 miles on it. However, I don't think it will go over so well with my lovely hubby if I swipe the mirror off of this van.

              So, on Tuesday, my first day officially driving our new vehicle, I backed out of the garage very carefully and very slowly. I didn't come close to hitting anything, only had to pull forward to try again twice and was on the road a short two and a half minutes later!

              That same afternoon, I pulled into our driveway, so proud that I had driven our van for a whole day and had not come close to hitting a single thing. As I was getting out of the van to open our gate, mentally patting myself on the back for my excellent driving, the van started moving forward. I quickly realized that I had forgot to put it in park. Luckily, I scrambled back into my seat (as quickly as a woman 29 weeks pregnant with twins can "scramble") and was able to get my foot on the brakes just before we got too close to the gate. I put it in park and let out a loud sigh of relief. That had been close.

              But, now it has been almost a week. No more near accidents. Gotten my back-out time down to a 1:55 and I am feeling good. So, anyone need a ride?

Geek Alert

 I am taking a six week photoshop basics class with some of my co-workers, taught by a co-worker. I am having so much fun! I am realizing how much I love going to school and how much I love to learn. I get excited on Wednesdays because I know I have class that night.

Here is our first project from class. I can't wait to try it out on my own and see if I can remember all the things I learned!

Peace

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." 

John 14:27

This pregnancy has been an emotional roller coaster, but through it all I feel that I have truly learned what it means to have peace. I've learned that peace doesn't mean things will necessarily turn out how we want them to, but it is feeling God's presence and knowing that he will be with me to weather the storm. Peace doesn't make sense, because it comes in times when you should be freaking out, crying and scared. God's peace is truly a one that "transcends all understanding".


As I look back over the last 22 weeks of this pregnancy, there have been so many moments where God has filled me with his peace, even without knowing what the result would be.


When I drove home from my clinic to wait for the pregnancy test results, I felt peace. I didn't know if it worked, but I felt an overwhelming sense of peace.


When doctor after doctor told us we should basically wait for "Baby B" to miscarry, I was overwhelmed with a sense of peace.


When the doctor's told us that there may be issues with the development of "Baby B's" foot, I still felt peace.


When another doctor told us there was a soft marker for a chromosomal abnormality on "Baby B", I allowed myself to freak out, to stress, read article after article on the internet. But after a day on my own, I turned to God and again felt his peace.


Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 


 This verse has truly been lived and seen in my life. My heart and mind have been guarded from all the dark places it could go throughout this because of the peace that I have felt in knowing Christ and knowing that he is in control.


I still don't know how things are going to happen. I still have no guarantee that things will go smoothly. But I do know that I am wrapped in the arms of a God who loves me so incredibly much and the greatest gift he has given me in the roller coaster of a pregnancy is His peace. 

My 8th grade superhero

 As I was leading the class in a very educational review game to prepare for our upcoming test, a student was patiently sitting there, raising his hand. I felt like we were on a roll, so I didn't necessarily call on him as soon as I saw his hand go up.

However, he continued to keep his hand up, I realized it  wasn't going down and must be important, so I called on him.

Me: "Sean?"

Student: " Um, I think there is a big cockroach crawling around by your foot..."

I quickly look down and sure enough there is a large, creepy, crawly cockroach running rampant by my foot. With as much dignity I could muster, I screamed and ran to the back of the room.

Very quickly, chaos ensued. Students were laughing. Others were also squealing. And many boys raced to the front of the room to get a closer look at the specimen.

 One boy, particularly brave in my opinion, stepped on the bug and picked it up. He looked at me , still frozen against the back wall and proudly stated, "I got it, Mrs B!" He proceeded to walk it toward the door when it started squirming in his hands, and he dropped it...in my purse.

 Then, I really started freaking out. I think one student was about to bring over a paper bag for me to breath in.

"Get that thing out of there!" I screamed.

Two middle school boys start going through my purse, trying to find the little bugger ( I was very thankful I had actually just spent some time cleaning it out). And once again, my 8th grade hero was able to locate the cockroach, pull it out of my purse and toss it in the bushes outside.

It only took a good 5 minutes to get the class calmed down...and it will only take the rest of the year for me to convince them that I am a professional.

Moral of the Story: Don't take yourself too seriously...no one else is either.