Jesus is the Reason

This was our 10th Christmas together! Does that mean we are getting old or we were young when we met? Take your pick. It started as just the two of us, then three, now five! Our Christmases keep getting bigger... and better!
In the past, we have gon to my in-laws church on Christmas Eve and then go to their house for supper and presents. That changed this year because, well, it is just too hard to move all our kids around that much, that late. Sooooo, this year we went over to their house for lunch. Of course we weren't on time because Walter killed a nice buck that morning. None the less, we made it. Lunch was good and the company was great! We ate, had dessert, and opened presents. David was into the gift opening this year and he could read who they were to and from. Dillan and Daniel layed around with bows on their heads. We went home that afternoon to get ready for Santa and put away stuff.
That night, my dad came and we did gifts with him. Then cleaned again.
The next morning, David came into our room to wake us up. We got up and came into the living room to find that Santa had visited our house. He even left David a note telling how good of a cook he is. There were the gifts, trampoline, Hot Wheels Wall Track, Wii things, Cars 2 Monopoly, and more. We opened presents together, then Dillan woke up and looked at his toys. Last was Daniel.
Round 4 was at my mom's house. Everyone was there including my granparents, in-laws, and parents. We had breakfast for lunch. A new tradition started a few years back. We sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus before we eat and David blows out the candle. I guess two more kiddos will join him next year. The babies went to sleep and slept through everything almost. Dillan even had a bad diaper, so no one could sit beside him, but he didn't care. He just slept right through it. He's the one that matters anyway, right??? David was super excited about his microscope from Mawmaw and Pop. Yeah, the excitement were you kiss all over the box and carry it around everywhere saying I am going to be a scientist when I grow up.
At about 7:30 Christmas night, I noticed some gigts were missing. I go to the computer room where all our packed boxes are and there sat a box labeled PRESENTS! Yep, a whole box full. Most of them were ever wrapped. So, we had Christmas again!
Christmas was a good one. We have been blessed with a great family. Our boys have a lot of people who love them. And for that, I am grateful.

Somebody Call Wal-Mart, I Think I Lost My Mind!

Tuesday night I realized we were almost out of formula for Daniel and we were about two wipes away from being out of toilet paper too! Two things you can't go without! I went ahead and got myself ready for a trip to Wal-Mart with ALL 3 kids. Yes, I do have to psych myself up for it! I wake up, get all of them fed, dressed, diaper bag packed, bottles ready for just in case, and all the other jazz it takes to venture out these days. We load up and head out. On the way, I call my dad and he decides to meet us there.

We get to Wal-Mart and I get the stroller out. Yes, we have to take the stroller because no groceries will fit in a buggy with two car seats in it. Imagine that! As soon as I get Dillan's seat out, he frowns and begins to whine. I looked at my dad and said "Oh great, this is going to be good," with a smirk on my face.

I plug him up with the handy dandy pacifier (whoever invented that thing is a stinkin genious) and in we go. We start on the hygiene side of WM. A little whine here, a little whine there. David and I are in charge of the buggy; Dad is in charge of the stroller. We make it to the toilet paper and there is more whining from Dillan. Eggs, drinks, and cheese is picked up. Then we go to the formula isle. This is where the whining gets strong. Dillan gets cranked up and I think my dad was tuning it out. I get him out of the seat and decide to carry him in one arm, drag the buggy in the other and finish shopping.

You would think that would solve everything, right? WRONG! Daniel decided it was his turn to start about ohhhhhhh 3 minutes later. I noticed my walking got a little faster. When I saw people I knew (or the ones I didn't bc everyone stops you when you have twin babies) I just said hey and didn't let up. We made it to the register and I put Dillan back down in his seat. They were both quiet for a minute. One even went to sleep. Believe it or not, I can't even remember which one went to sleep. That kind of thing seems to happen a lot these days. :)

Anyway, we made it out alive. As I drove home, I smiled to myself and thanked God for my funny, wonderful family that keeps me on my toes. I love the humor of life. I don't think I would take away the chaos, stress, and whining of my life. Well, okay, maybe the whining... it could go.

We got home and unloaded. Dillan had already began screaming on the way and David had to start feeding him int he ba ck seat. I told David to call Wal-Mart. He asked Why? I said because I think I lost my mind. He started laughing and said he did too. About 10 minutes later, David was eating lunch and said Mama, you're doing a good job, a good job. I said at what? He said at taking care of us! It brought a HUMONGOUS smile to my face.

Ahhh, the joys of life.

My, How Things Change

Dillan and Daniel are 3 1/2 months old now! It is hard to believe. It doesn't seem like too long ago I was on bed rest, praying my babies would grow enough to be healthy. Whoa, are they healthy! They are my little chunky monkeys. I think Dillan is about 14 pounds and Daniel about 13. They both have the sweetest smiles and are cooing quiet a bit now. They are so different in their looks and personalities. Dillan has the white boy syndrome like me and Daniel has darker skin. Dillan has bright blue eyes like David and Daniel's are brownish green. Daniel's hair is black and Dillan's is very light. Daniel can roll from belly to back and has for a while. Dillan hasn't conquered that task... probably due to the extra weight he has!

They both spit up sonstantly, so they will have an upper GI done Monday. Maybe we can find some relief. I know it doesn't feel good and it is so aggravating to have to keep wiping it off.



David is doing great in kindergarten. He can read entire books and his teacher let him start taking AR quizzes early! He gets excited about the tests! He made a 100 on a first grade book today.

He takes care of his little brothers. His patience and love for them is greater than I ever expected. I figured he may want to send them back, but that's not the case.

David's personality is still so funny! He cracks us all up. He averages about 4 smiley faces out of 5 at school. For some reason he can't keep it together for all 5 days! Maybe it is because I give him a dollar if he has 4 good days. We are about to have to up that.

The First 8 Weeks with Dillan and Daniel

The first 8 weeks... some are curious to know what it was like with twin babies and a 5 year old in kindergarten. Well, it's not as hard as I thought it would be. No, I DID NOT say it was EASY! Just not as hard. Anyway, a day for us includes: waking up at 6:30, reminding David to do all the things he needs to do to be ready for school, feed David, sometimes I have to feed the boys (depending on what time they awoke during the night), get myself dressed (sometimes), fix me a shake to drink on the ride, load the car seats, and drive the 30 minute drive to Eclectic. We come back home most of the time and wash clothes, dishes, and hang out. Dillan and Daniel still eat every 3 hours and this is what they look like when they are hungry.
This is sweet Dillan And precious Daniel

One morning we got home, I gave them a bath, and they stayed awake a while and played together

Dillan went to sleep!

In the afternoons, I load the babies back up and we go get David. None of my boys lasted on this trip back home!

Roll Tide Peeps!

The tradition continued regardless of the addition on 4 babies. The Quinn's, Hall's, and Segers' watched the first Alabama game together. Roll Tide! Anyway, we took some time to take pictures of the cousins. Matt Hall is my first cousin (my mom and his mom are sisters). He is his wife, Leslie, had twin girls (Hallie and Callie) on June 22 and we had the boys on August 4. They are 6 weeks apart.
I hope they will grow up as close as Matt and I were. Maybe they won't be bad influences on each other! :)

Dillan and Daniel Going Home

Dillan was able to come home right away on August 8, 2011

Daniel stayed 13 days in the hospital due to breathing issues. We were so happy when he joined us.

My Baby is in Kindergarten!

David James Quinn did what every 5 year old does... he went to Kindergarten. On August 16, 2011 Walter and I walked our baby to Mrs. Kelley's classroom at Eclectic Elementary School. Only 6 kids were there that day and 4 of them were already sitting at a big table. There was a coloring page in front of each chair. Mrs. Kelley showed David how to unpack his bag and where to put his folder. He went and sat down in front of a coloring page. He doesn't like coloring so I thought he would tell her. Fortunately, he did not. He began coloring instead. The room was extrememly quiet... until David sat down. He grabbed a red crayon and announced he was coloring the apple red. Then the same with the yellow pencil and so on. He wasn't shy at all. I wonder what his teacher thought??? Walter and I told him bye and we loved him. He said the same and that was that.

Baby Showers

Wetumpka Elementary School Diaper Shower

Friends and Family~ Faith Baptist Church

New Home Baptist Church

Another Journey Begins... the Birth of Daniel and Dillan

Sunday, July 31, 2011, I had a baby shower at my church. Everything went great. That night I had some hard contractions and then they went away. The same thing happened the following day. I had a doctor's appointment August 2nd and I had a feeling Dr. Martin would be sending me to the hospital. Out of all the contractions I have had, I don't know why I felt this time it would be it. My Aunt NaNa came and picked me up for my doctor's appointment. My feet were so swollen. Let me change that. My whole entire legs were swollen from my toes up to my thighs! They were so tight and sore. Anyways... I got called back to the room. Thank God because my circulation was cut off from sitting and I was having to stand. The nurse commented on my "significantly swollen" body. Dr. Marting was in soon after. He snatched my list of questions out of my hands. I said you are about to send me to the hospital aren't you? He answered with "Yea, essentially". He checked me and I was 3-4 centimeters dilated. I told him I REALLY needed to go by Wal-Mart to get some batteries. That was totally out of the question. He requested I go home, get my bags, and beat him back to the hospital. The plan was for me to spend the night there and do a 24 hour urine to test for protein and such, so I did. On Thursday morning, August 4, they would give me fluids, an epidural, then break my water. He said he would be done at the office by 1:00 and then we would probably have babies.
Fast forward to August 4. Urine was fine and so was mama and babies. Nurse Jennie (I love her) woke me up at 4:00 to go to Labor and Delivery. She asked if I had been feeling contractions because I was having them regularly. I told her no, I was sleeping! She moved my rather quickly. We got there and Niki started my fluids. Walter was concerned with the tv at this time and I was contracting and they were HURTING! How did I naturally start contracting on the same day the dr wanted me to deliver. AMAZING! The man came in to give me my epidural. I had to get up and when I did... MY WATER BROKE ALL OVER THE FLOOR! I looked at the nurse and said, I think my water just broke. She looked at me in shock and said are you serious? Walter yells, did you just pee all over the floor??? The man tells me to hurry up and get back on the table because I am about to start hurting bad. I listened. That epidural was more painful than the last time. They also made Walter leave the room at this time. I later found out he went out and called all the grandparents since things seemed to be progressing faster than expected. After the epi was in place, they checked my cervix. I was 5 cm. At about 8:00, Dr. Martin came in to check me. He said I was ready. READY? What? Already? (Later I would find out he felt the head when he checked me). Mom and Walter started getting on their scrubs since I had to birth in the OR. Within minutes, we were off to the OR. We got there and people were running around everywhere setting things up.
I was going to attempt this vaginally because I knew it was better for my babies. Baby B was still transverse/breech, but there was a 66% chance they would be able to turn him after A delivered. My feet were put in stirrups. I told Dr. Martin I felt pressure. He replied, I am sure you do, you are about to spontaneously give birth! Minutes later I was told to push. I pushed 10 seconds and heard them suctioning his mouth. I pushed 2 more seconds and heard the magical scream from who would later be named Dillan by his older brother. Then on to Daniel. Three doctors immediately began trying to turn him. An ultrasound was on my belly watching him and his heart rate. After about the 3rd attempt, it hit me. I needed to be praying. So I did. Walter said he would turn and then spin back around to where he was. Then, Dr. Marting went in to try to turn him. That's when I heard his heart rate went down and we are going to have to do a C-section. Organized chaos started again. Things were getting thrown out of the way. Walter and mom were ushered out until things were ready, and a curtain went up.
Then I heard the anesthesiologist told me to tell her if I felt anything. I was okay, so the procedure went on. Then I heard my sweet Daniel cry. Next thing I knew I had pain in my lower stomach. I started looking behind me for the anesthesiologist and she wasn't there. I said "Ow" in a medium voice. She was at the back of the room and didn't respond. So I shouted "OW!" She came and gave me a dose of something in my IV. Dr. Martin began again. Same exact thing happened again! More meds given. Dr. Martin waited a couple of minutes to start again. No more pain. In the mean time, Brandy brought Dillan over to see me before he was taken to the nursery. Later, I would find out Daniel had to have fluid taken off his lungs by some tube because he didn't come through the birth canal and have all of it squeezed out. It is amazing how God made things work. He was put in the well baby nursery extended care on oxygen. I was taken to recovery alone. Then Walter and David came.
Next thing I know they took me back to the Labor and Delivery room. Dillan was brought in to stay with us. All my visitors came in too. Daniel could not join us and I couldn't get up. Therefore, I didn't meet my little guy until 12 hours later. Heartbreaking...
The next few days were rough. When I was in my room, Dillan was with me. I went to the nursery to see Daniel. Early Saturday morning the pediatrician came in and told me they had to move Daniel to the NICU because his calcium levels went down. They would have to give him an IV. Things got harder from this point on. First, I am not a very emotional person, but this made me cry. Now to visit Daniel, we had to go to NICU, scrub our hands and arms, and touch him through a incubator. He was in there alone, had an IV in his tiny hand, oxygen in his nose, and a feeding tube in his mouth. Only 2 people were allowed to visit at a time. Between, feeding, pumping, taking care of Dillan, visiting Daniel, having 6 fever blisters show up from all the stress, steroids, and hormones, and seeing visitors, the days were busy and overwhelming. My nerves were gone!
I was able to stay one extra night so I could be with both boys. Then Monday came. I got to take one child home and leave the other one behind to grow and get strong. I was happy and devastated at the same time. This was the start of a whirlwind week...

The End of Preschool... Beginning of Something New

David attended K3 and K4 at First Baptist Church in Wetumpka. It was a great place to be. He met new friends, learned all his letters and sounds, can read 3 letter words, counts to 100, and loves books. He had library time, music class, and computer once a week. Throughout the year, the school had different celebrations. They had a Fall Festival, Turkey Trot where they had a race, The Polar Express Day, Grandparent's Day Breakfast, and end of year festivities. David loved his teachers, Mrs. Woodruff and Mrs. Johnson, this year. They were great with him. These pictures are from the Graduation Program where David was Uncle Sam.

Nothing Like A Twin Pregnancy

So I left you with last time with me being put on bed rest at 22.5 weeks pregnant with Dillan John and Daniel Jeremiah. You probably wonder how that happened. Well... it was Mother's Day, 2011. A great day. We woke up as a family, went to church, and then went to my grandparent's (Peggy and Buford Haynes) house for lunch. I was feeling fine. We bought 12 acres of land this year and it was loaded with blackberries. David loves blackberries and so do I. We decided to go over to the land and eat some. After all, it's the memories that count. Boy, did we make a memory! We came home and David took a nap. A little while later, I felt pressure. A LOT OF PRESSURE! I sat down for a little while and then David woke up. All three of us walked out in the yard. I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I came in and took a bath. No change. I called the doctor on call. He told me to take some Tylenol and if that didn't work, go to the hospital. I did and sat down in the recliner. When I stood up, I couldn't straighten up. I was walking bow-legged. I looked at Walter and said we gotta go! We all loaded up in the car, dropped David off with my mom, and went to East.
We arrived and things moved FAST! The nurse quickly asked me questions, hooked me up to monitors to watch contractions and the babies' heart beats. She said things looked okay. About 10 minutes later, she came rushing in my room with a hand full of stuff. She said I was contracting every 2-4 minutes! IVs started going in, cathera, they checked me. Thank God I was only dilated a fingertip. All of this was very overwhelming. I couldn't be strong any longer. I started crying. Walter looked very worried. We didn't know what was going on or what to expect. We knew if our babies were born, their chances were not good at all. The pill they had given me did not work, an IV of magnesium was started. We will refer to this drug as the devil drug from now on.
The magnesium made me feel drugged and drunk or maybe the day after doing drugs and drinking. The inside of my face was on extremely hot, I looked like I was sunburned, I couldn't see straight, and I was weak. I couldn't even see who people were without closing one of my eyes. When the tv was on, I would close my eyes and just listen. David came to visit and I will never forget the look on his face. He looked at me with such concern and fear. The way I looked and all the IVs in me... he knew. I stayed on the devil drug for 2 or 3 days. They started lowering the dose to see how my body reacted. Eventually the IVs were gone. The total hospital stay was 6 days. The day I came home was joyous, even though I would be on bed rest from here to the end.
I came home and we set up everything for me in the living room around the recliner. I was to lay unless I got up to go to the bathroom, shower, or get some lunch. My family, friends, and church family took action immediately. The started bringing dinner almost every night. That was wonderful . It was one less thing Walter had to do after coming home. He already had to get David to my dad's or Walter's parents each morning, work all day, pick David up, feed us and the goat, clean the kitchen, get David clean, and put him to bed. This killed me. My summer days were always for me and David to hang out, go shopping, to the park, Pump It Up, swimming, to the beach. We spent each day on a different adventure. His adventures would now be with his grandparents. Thinking about this was one of the only things that made me cry. How does he feel? Does he understand? I found ways to spend time with him in the afternoons and weekends. We played board games (I'm the Queen of Uno Attack), read books online, snuggled, and watched movies together. Eventually, I could go outside late in the evenings and watch him play for short periods of time.
Three weeks after coming home, at 26 weeks, labor was on again. To the hospital we went. Same events over. Nurses rushing in, IVs, cathera, devil drug, and this time steroids. I was contracting every two minutes, so they were in a hurry. Steroid shot in the hip; I screamed! It was very painful ( found out the nurse was in such a hurry that she didn't swap the "mixing" needle to the one that goes in the skin). Walter decided to say a joke at this moment about David getting his dramatic behavior from his mama. At this time, words I am not proud of came spilling out. I glared at him, gritted my teeth, and yelled "I will kick you in the _____!" The room went silent.
This trip went the way the first trip did except it only lasted 3 days this time. Back home we went for more bed rest. It didn't end here.
About 4 weeks later, I was having some contractions, itching on my palms, bottom of my feet, all around, and some pain in my right side. This time we were sent to TRIOG. I told them I thought I had something called cholestasis, which is uncommon. Of course, the doctor on call, Dr. Williams, did not listen. He was actually rude and told me he's been doing this for a long time and to trust him. Famous last words... Anyway ultrasound showed my right kidney was completely closed off. Admitted again. The next morning, dye was injected, xray taken. Blocked, but didn't know why. Baby A's head blocked the bottom of the urethra. Two hours later, same thing. I was finally allowed to eat around 2:00. At 5:00, another xray. Walter came to visit and Dr. Butha showed up at my door. He came all the way back to the hospital to tell me I would have no stint, Baby A had moved, and that was what had blocked the kidney. That was music to our ears! Another praise. He even got Dr. Martin to come and sign discharge papers for me to leave that night! Awesome.
I have been home ever since. I monitor myself for contractions with a machine twice a day and send it to a nurse. She calls me and tells me what she sees. That gives me a peace of mind. I am now 34.5 weeks and have been told they will not stop labor this time. I can't believe this journey is almost over and another beginning. I am determined to do what it takes to keep my babies healthy. Me being miserable is worth our sons being as healthy as possible. Walter has been great, David has been great, and so has everyone else around us. The support amazes me. Right now, both babies weigh over 5 pounds according to the ultrasound. I want them to be over 6, but I will be happy with healthy. Only 2.5 weeks left, at the most. I can't wait!
For the record, I contemplated putting these pictures on here. Belly pictures are not the most attractive thing in the world to me.

About 8/9 weeks

About 16 weeks

About 26 weeks

About 32 weeks