What can you DO??

I'm sure that you have all seen the unbelievable pictures of the tsunami and earthquake disaster in Japan by now. I have been seeing images,thinking of how horrible it is, and praying for the people but I kept thinking, but what should I do??? I don't feel like I am doing anything.

Last night during some of the coverage it was mentioned that Samaritan's Purse was in Japan delivering food, medical supplies, etc. and the love of God. I knew this group as the Christian organization that delivers the Operation Christmas Child boxes each holiday season but they do so much more. Check out their website for lots of specific areas you can give or just donate to where they need it the most. The area of Japan that was hit is the least evangelized in all of Japan. So in addition to praying that God will use this tragedy to his glory and lead these people to his open arms of love, you can join me and donate by clicking the link below. Or figure out something else we can do. I'd love to hear your ideas! 

donate to Samaritan's Purse Japan relief

Rodeo!!

Back in February Ryan entered his first ranch rodeo!!! The kids and I were excited to go and watch him compete with a team of 3 other guys in Lyons. I just haven't managed to get it blogged about! I have to say that my pictures turned out very crummy. We sat on the first row so the kids could run around and I wouldn't have to worry about them falling off the bleachers. Which means the fence was right in the middle of my pictures and the camera tended to focus on it instead of the cowboys! Silly camera - sometimes it can't figure out what is really important. Hmmm . . . sounds a little like me sometimes. Anyway, the guys competed in 4 events that involved things cowboys do on the ranch like roping, sorting, penning, loading in trailers, and doctoring (including wrestling a BIG steer to the ground). Here was our team. Sorry, best picture I got.  

Mark, JP, Ryan, and Brad

Brad and Ryan in action

We had a lot of fun cheering them on. Our team definitely had the biggest fan section! They took 4th overall but if a couple crazy things hadn't gone wrong they could have easily taken 2nd or even won the whole thing! And the world championship team was there and complimented them. They did look pretty good if I do say so myself!

The kids had fun watching and playing. They loved watching the horses and cows. Someone had a little pony there too which Braden adored.

Addyson was just the perfect height that the fence was right in her way so she crouched down really low so she could get a good view. They clapped and cheered for daddy! We had a great time.

We headed back last weekend just to watch. No participation this time - Ryan's back is giving him a little trouble and he thought they might be working in the fields so they didn't sign up. But Addyson and Braden had a great time sitting with daddy and watching all the action. There was a goat scramble that we watched and they really liked the little goats. But possibly their favorite part was playing in the dirt! Fun family times!

Check out our room . . .

Here is before:

2 baby cribs

And here we are after:

2 toddler beds!!!!

After a lot of hard work . . .

(Braden is pretty good with tools for a 2-year-old)

(Addyson mostly did some "coloring" on the

sit-n-spin. She's not too into tools.)

they were tuckered out and ready for big kid beds!!

The first night they were so tired they fell right asleep. I think this was a tougher deal for mommy and daddy than the kids! Addyson ended up in our room halfway through the night because her teeth were hurting and she was crying. But Braden woke up in the morning, found some toys to play with for a while, and then headed to our room. They like their big beds. They climb up themselves. (see the little step stools? They're not quite tall enough to get up all on their own yet. Those are just phone books covered in duct tape. Isn't that a good idea I got from Parents as Teachers!!!) They climb up during the day to read books or play in each others' beds. And last night at bedtime I had to go back in their room and settle them down because they were laughing so hard and Braden had joined Addyson in her bed for some wrestling and playing. They were having such a good time together. I'm glad they'll have each other to hang out with during thunderstorms or when they're scared of the dark or just want to giggle some more in the others' bed. So glad this adjustment is going well! Probably another perk to having twins. Two doing something new together isn't nearly as scary as all by yourself!!! I like perks like this one or throwing one birthday party for two kids better than the feeding two infants type perks!!! Yeah for toddlers!!

Also, just to keep you up to date, we had their 2 year check-up at the pediatrician on Monday. Addyson weighed 19.2 pounds (we were so hoping for 20 pounds but not yet!!!) which is not even close to the charts but she's still following her own curve. She was 30 inches tall which put here in the 4 percentile for height. Yippee!!! Braden weighed 30.4 pounds which puts him in the 90th percentile. Maybe because he ate all her Smarties at the office because she was too scared to even eat candy. That is very scared if you know much about Addyson, our candy lover. Yikes - they were not impressed. They are getting much more aware of their surroundings I suppose. That along with tantrums and still fighting molars make for some interesting times! Have you ever had 2 toddlers literally climb you like a tree because they are so scared!!! Fun times. Oh yeah, and Braden is 33 1/8 inches tall which was in the 38th perentile. Everything else looked fine. Addyson gets to go back for a weight check in 6 months. Our pediatrician mentioned again that we have tested Addyson for everything that would slow down her growth so she must just be small and we'll keep an eye on her. Otherwise no appointments scheduled until they are 3!! Dr. Patron must be lonely without seeing us every couple weeks like the old days!!!

For lunch today we had a picnic on the back of daddy's pickup truck. We're hoping to enjoy some more sunshine this afternoon after naps. Yeah for spring!!!

Make tracks to our jungle for our 2nd birthday party!

We had a jungle-themed 2nd birthday party for Addyson and Braden on Friday, March 4! First we had supper with some family and friends. Yummy pulled pork and all the fixin's.

Next we opened presents!

Then it was time for CAKE!!!

Ryan and I made the cakes together this year and had a lot of fun doing it!

Addyson's monkey cake

Braden's lion cake.

 He can make a good ROAR if you ask him what a lion says!!!

And that wasn't going to quite be enough cake for everyone so I made some lion paw print cupcakes too!

Here they are all together!

We sang happy birthday to Addyson and Braden separately and lit their sparkler candles. They thought they were pretty fun to watch!

Then Ryan thought they should take a last chance to blow out some birthday candles.

And then the best part - eating cake!!

They got plenty of special attention - which they both love!

And then two sleepy 2 year olds were ready for bed!

We had a great time celebrating! And I had a lot of fun making the jungle decorations.

jungle vines on the stair rails (made out of grocery sacks and paper leaves)

animal tracks on the wall

more jungle vines in the doorway

The 4 of us colored these jungle animals to hang and we all had fun doing that together!

Here are closeups of some of my favorites :

Addyson's ape

Braden's giraffe and tiger

And of course you need balloons and stuffed jungle animals!

And a happy birthday banner

And zebra tracks on the floor. Looks like he might be hiding in the closet!

What a fun time celebrating God's precious gifts!

Our 2 cuties are TWO!!!

Today is Addyson and Braden's 2nd birthday!

We started the day off with candles in their

donuts for breakfast!

We spent the morning playing mostly and working on those yucky two year molars. I saw a tiny glimpse of white in Addyson's mouth yesterday so at least there is some progress to see . . . other than the HUGE sores and callouses on her thumbs which she sucks so hard and then repeatedly asks me to kiss because they hurt. Someday I will be sad she is too grown up to suck her thumb and ask for kisses. But today we are loving our toddlers just as they are!!!

We had cupcakes at lunch which I forgot to take a picture of. They are both pros at eating them by now! And they both blew out their OWN candle. Ryan said Addyson used her nose to blow hers out. That's our Addyson!!! :)

Then after a little brotherly love,

we opened PRESENTS!!!

Yeah!!!

Addyson got a bunch of girly stuff . . .

And Braden got mostly trucks, trucks, and more trucks.

oh yeah, and some sunglasses.

And soon there will be a swingset somewhere in our backyard!!

And do you know what the best part about sharing a birthday with your twin is???

When you get done playing with your new toys, you get to switch and play with more new toys!! Who says girls can't play with trucks and boys can't play with bracelets!!!

Now, back to the birthday cakes. We're having a party tomorrow night, so check back later for more pictures!!!