Whoppers Anyone?

Oh I am sorry, THE BABIES ATE THEM ALL! The entire box! Thankfully they did not choke and they are not allergic to chocolate. Declan was just as guilty as Dawson, but Dawson was caught red-handed. They couldn't just eat them, they had to smear them all over the wall, the carpet, and each other.

Merry Christmas!

Although Christmas wasn't white here in Indiana, we had a wonderful day. The kids didn't wake us up until 830 a.m. and we were able to stall them until about 915 or so before opening presents. Santa was good to us this year, but as always he went OVERBOARD. We say every year how we have got to cut back, but as the kids get older it gets harder for Santa I am afraid. It is very hard to instill the True meaning of Christmas to the kids when they get everything they ask for. We need to try harder as parents to give more of ourselves as a family. It's easy to buy for a needy family, but I don't think the lesson is learned. It's funny, Teach the Children is one of my favorite holiday stories. Matt holding Dawson on the left, Declan on the right. Look at those curls! The babies got a tooth for Christmas. Just poking through, but a tooth none the less. Declan is getting top right tooth. While Dawson is getting the opposite top left tooth. Kind of crazy.

We're 10!

10 Months, that is. The boys love playing in the sheers. Dawson above. Declan below.

Bright Baby Blues! I think their eyes will remain blue, what do you think? Atleast Declan's will. Declan seems to be Carter all over again. And Dawson seems to resemble Evan more. Ev has green eyes. Who knows? Both Evan and Carter are left handed, could we possibly have 4 left handed boys? I wonder what the odds of having 4 left handed children would be?

You know you are old when.....

You know you are getting old when...... You are older than your Doctor (who cannot possibly know anything). Your favorite music Classic Rock, is now considered "OLDIES". Matt is sensitive about his age. The funny thing is..... he will always be 6 years OLDER than me!

Christmas Letters

Evan mailing his letter to Santa. Indpls has a mailbox just for Santa. It is our annual tradition to have the boys mail their Christmas wish lists. Afterwards we read a story about the true meaning of Christmas and all of the symbols of Christmas.
Carter in his true character. Carter has misplaced his coat! How on earth one can lose a coat when it is 20 degrees outside? The problem is that he & Evan exchanged Colts jerseys as their Christmas gifts to each other on Friday. Carter will not take it off. He refused to wear a coat over his jersey as well. So I am hoping that he left it at the church on Friday. Until I can get down to Greenwood to retrieve it, he looks like a rag muffin. Oh well, to be a kid ...........

Good as New!

Believe it or not Declan has had 5 or more ear infections since birth! No one would believe me, Dawson has always been the needier of the two. But today 12/11/07 Declan received tubes in his ears. He was a champ! He came out of anesthesia angry at the world, but it only lasted about 20 minutes. He was not supposed to have any milk until mid afternoon. We got home from the hospital about 10 am and immeadiately Declan stole Dawson's bottle of milk! He didn't have any adverse effects thank goodness.

Ahhhhhh Colorado!

Beautiful Huh? This was our view of the Zephyr Mt. Logde at Winter Park. It was a winter wonderland for sure . The snow seemed more magical than dangerous.
Although the base of the mountain was 4 feet deep, there were only a handful of runs open. This was the first official week of snow in Winter Park.
This was me after a full day of skiing WInter Park. Still smiling and intact! I actually remembered more than I thought I would. Matt was bushed and soaking wet! He did a full day of snow boarding lessons. He is a terrific skier, but tried snowboarding out.
Okay, terrible picture of me, but the scenery was too cute. Mountain village all the way! This trip just solidified my desire to move to Colorado. I cannot wait to make it my home! We are still planning on making the move in the fall. The kids will be starting school in the Douglas or Jefferson County school districts.

Mediocre at Best

So these are the pictures we have to chose from for our Christmas cards. I guess for now we really cannot be choosey. The babies don't smile on demand for when a camera is involved and we were already hard pressed to get one good photo out of 75 or so even before the babies came along. So for now this will have to do.
Where's Matt's head? Carter was singing his ABC's and 123's.
I swear I did not drug Dawson.
The babies were cold and miserable. And Carter was supposed to be holding Declan? It is definitely a toss up as to which photo to use.

I AM A MOM

I am grateful for the opportunity to stay home and raise my children. I am officially a MOM. No second job on the side. I am not employed by anyone except my husband and children. It sounds silly, but I constantly have this internal conflict about working or staying home. The $ was awesome, but what price could you put on raising your children (or regret for not raising your children). I am heeding the counsel of Henry B Eyring and am writing down at least a few of the things I am grateful for each and everyday. Stay tuned.

Few Differences

To date there are very few differences between the babies. Dawson got his first tooth 1 day before Declan. Declan saya DADADADADA. Dawson shakes his head NO all the time. We ask him silly questions and he shakes his head NO. We get a kick out of it. They are both getting blonde curly hair. Declan has had more ear infections and will be receiving tubes soon. Dawson had a bad spell of exzema, no ear trouble. It is diffiult to treat them as the individuals they are. I am certain as they grow older and develop bigger personalities they will beg for individualism. Maybe? This is all unfamiliar territory for us. Fun Stuff!

Before or After Turkey Dinner?

Matt & Dawson Thanksgiving Day 07'

Rocket Science!

I am grateful for Matt and his love of science. The boys get a kick out of learning about rockets and engines and gravity and combustion etc. It is pretty sad when as parents our bribe for doing good deads is spare rocket engines.
Out of sequence, but you get the idea.

Note to Self: Do not drink after Carter

I took a sip of Carter's Root Beer and I got more than I asked for. Soda isn't supposed to have chunks in it! YUCK!

Wicked!

I don't know these people, but I wanted a picture of the sign. I am no photogragher or I would have managed to get only the sign and no people. I practically got trampled taking this picture.
Me, Melissa, Krista & Ali outside the Oriental Theatre in Chicago. (11/10/07)

Declan (left) and Dawson (right)

There is not too much that we can't do.

Big Boys! 9 months old now!

Just playing. Pulling up and cruising along everything!
Comfy. Dawson on top.
Uh, Oh. Busted!
What kind of damage can we do here?
The race is on!

What have we created?

I guess it could be way worse. A funny story about Evan. As many of you know I have been purging "stuff" around the house lately. Well, I needed to get up into the attic to find the Halloween bin. The boys love it when we pull down the magical stairs that come down from the ceiling in the garage. They especially love to get up into the attic. Anyhow, as I was looking for the Halloween bin I got distracted and started throwing down garage sale items and bins full of clothes I needed to sort etc.. Next thing I know Evan had created 3 signs and taped them on the inside of the garage door. The signs read "KEEP", "SELL", "TOSS". He would ask, "which pile does this belong in"? Sound familiar? Needless to say he has been watching TLC and HGTV w/us. Evan's vocabulary and his comprehension of the goings on around him never ceases to amaze us. We are definitely raising a little Matt!

Am I Good Enough?

While I was on bed rest for 10 weeks I had way too much time to think. I have pondered many a night as to why Heavenly Father is sending all of these twins to this earth at this time. Why my family? While I feel extremely blessed, I also feel so inadequate. Am I a good enough mother? Will my boys be as valient and faithful as the 2,000 Stripling Warriors? In this time of great turmoil in the world and knowing it will only get worse before it gets better, it causes one to wonder why there is such an increase in the amount of multiple births being born these days. I have read so many journal articles on this very topic and there really is no clear answer as to why this is happening. There are speculations, but does anyone really know? Will our son's be called to war? Will our son's be called on missions to usher in the Savior in the final days? Will they be strong enough to accept their callings? Am I doing all that I can do to make sure that their callings are fulfilled?

Buyer's Remorse

I am so annoyed! I pride myself in being a good shopper. I love to shop and I can find good deals. For instance I went to the Gap Outlet and bought 5 items. My total was less then the price of the most expensive item I bought( Carter's jeans $14.99, total purchase including 4 more shirts was $14.79). However, on Friday I took all 4 kids to Portrait Innovations to get their pictures taken. NO small task w/ 4 kids and clothing changes. The babies have not had their pictures taken since they were 13 weeks old. They are now 8 months old! Anyhow, the last time I went, I went to the Plainfield store. I wasn't too impressed w/ the guy who took the babies pictures. He did however manage to snap a few good shots. This time I went to the Carmel store to try and avoid a repeat performance from last time. EVEN WORSE! This chic was terrible. Out of more than 130 shots there were only 4 good ones. SERIOUSLY! Come on, that is rediculous. Dawson would not smile for anything! But the photographer certainly did not help the situation. I typically love this place and have recommended it to atleast 5 of my friends( who have all had good luck). In fact I believe I have earned a complimentary package for all of my referrals. Anyhow, when it came time to select the pictures three of the boys had really good individual shots. But what was I to do. Only buy three kid's pictures. What kind of mom would do that? I originally went in for the kid's Holiday pictures. None of the pictures in their "holiday" clothes turned out. So annoying! So I was forced into buying 4 packages (including Dawson's terrible picture) and spending way too much money. Why did I feel so pressured into buying any pictures, when all I really wanted was a cute Holiday picture? To top it all off after this stressful experience we were off to the Doctor's office for our flu shots!

Imagination Station

It is always interesting what the boys will come up with when the TV, video games and bikes are taken away. This is no ordinary empty diaper box, this is the "Baby Express", you know a Zoo train just for babies. Admission is FREE of charge Carter expained,"because the babies couldn't possibly have money, silly".
Carter is the engine. Declan is the poor passenger.
Evan provided scenery. This is a monkey, there were also sharks and giraffes.
What is a Zoo train ride w/o music? Fun times! Until Dad comes downstairs to discover the huge mess made in the process!

This Can't Be Too Comfy!

Soo Big

Matt and the boys hiked around the Keystone Arch in Nauvoo, IL. The river bed was dry, but Carter still managed to get his shoe all wet and he let everyone know how disgusted he was about it.

Meet the Happy Couple

Jean and Jerre Bentley wed in the Nauvoo Temple on Saturday September 15, 2007

7 months old!

The sink, good enough for one baby, even better for two babies. I don't know why I haven't thought of this sooner. Until now I have been bathing them seperately one right after another. This is such a time-saver.

Do you think they are teething or are they just in what Freud would call their oral stage?

The babies love to cuddle. We are having a hard time getting them to sleep, they won't leave one another alone. Once they are asleep they love cuddling.
Dawson getting into businness.
Carter takes full advantage of his captive audience as he puts on a puppet show for the babies.

Prelude to Chaos!

For about two weeks now we have watched the boys rock back and forth on their knees and lunge. They get where they want to go. Not a full blown crawl YET! Can you imagine the havic they will cause? We love them and are so blessed that they are not delayed in anyway, if anything they seemed to be more advanced!

Remembering 9/11/01

It was sobering to think about the events of 9/11/01 today. I can remember the first news broadcast about the first plane that crashed into the first tower, I was doing my psych rotation. I was actually on the pych unit. There was a gentleman that thought he was God and was always preaching to the patients about how everyone was going to hell. Well, this day he felt that he was validated. He knew that indeed the world was ending and everyone in it were hell-bound. Needless to say, the television was turned off. I remember Matt was traveling that day, by airplane, heading for California. His plane was grounded as was all air traffic, thank goodness. I remember crying all evening as I watched the TV. Evan was just about 18 months old toddling around, not a care in the world. Meanwhile I was talking w/ Matt on the phone getting updated on his traveling arrangements. If I remember right he was stranded in St Louis. The transportation in and out of the city was very limited. Either everything was already booked or shut down. Finally he and 5 or 6 other coworkers managed to secure and drive a rental car home. There were not enough seats for everyone, but they made it work. No one was left behind. I had an army of people, including our Bishop, calling the house to check on Matt and his whereabouts. When he finally made it home, he was then able to watch the footage of the plane crashes. How devastated and sick we felt as we watched in horror and disbelief. Fast forward to 9/11/07. I am at home w/ 4 children now as Matt is away in California on businness. I am so grateful that he was not on an airplane and very grateful indeed that today was uneventful.

Say Cheese!

Dawson on the left, Declan on the right, which is unusual because I try to always have Dawson on the right( so later on down the road I can always know who is who). It is getting much easier to tell them apart now!





The things we do while Evan is at school and Daddy at work. See what I mean about telling them apart? These must have been totally candid pictures because again, Dawson is on the left( I wouldn't have known that for certain, except for the picture above).

Look Ma we're sitting up!

This one is easy, Dawson is on the left, Declan on the right.



Feisty Little Guys!

Every boy needs a pair of cowboy boots! Not every boy chooses RED. That's our Carter!