On Friday evening I received one of those phone calls that leaves you dropping all that you were doing, forgetting what ever may of been bothering you, and praying frantically without ceasing. My very good friend Jen, who was 30 weeks pregnant with identical twin boys, called to say her water broke. As fast as I could move I jumped into my car and drove (the speed limit) to their house to pick up their son Derek.
We met Mike and Jen in our birthing class. They sat two seats away, and had a due date 3 days before us. Jen and I both joined the same baby group and in this past year our families have grown very close. Mike and Jen are people that both Joe and I respect and very much admire. They have a Christian faith very much like our own, and have similar convictions about what that faith should look like played out in their lives. As parents, they have very similar parenting styles. As people, they are about as sincere, real and honest as it gets.
Mike and Jen went strait to the hospital, where Jen was quickly given the terbutaline shot to stop labor and put on a magnesium drip. However, the contractions never fully stopped and by late Saturday night a C-Section was needed to deliver their tiny precious twin boys, Nate and Will. Nate and Will are doing much better than would be expected, but please follow their blog and pray for the boys.
http://mikeandjensnews.blogspot.com/Derek knows us really well, and he has spent a good amount of time at our house. But as any parent of a young child knows change is hard on kids, even when the parents are there. If you put L (our child who has been sleeping 12 + hours through the night since 9 weeks) in her pack-n-play in a new location and all bets are off as far as sleep goes. I also know that no matter how familiar a place is it is not the same as being home and with your own mom and dad. We were expecting a rough weekend with sleepless nights. We didn't mind one bit. Our number one concern with Derek at our house was making him feel loved, safe, and comfortable. We didn't care if it was going to be a difficult weekend for us; we were just very concerned about the little guy being away from his parents for the first time.
We prayed a lot, Mike and Jen prayed a lot, their families and friends prayed a lot. And God was with all of us. Without a doubt the Lord was in our home comforting Derek. The moment I brought him back L and Derek greeted each other with a big hug. We fed them dinner, Joe played with them very hard for an hour or so, and then we began bedtime routines. L first cause we knew she would instantly fall asleep, and then Derek. To our surprise Derek also instantly fell asleep, and to our greater surprise he did not wake again till 8 am in the morning.
Upon waking the next day he greeted me with a big smile and a hug. He instantly wanted to see L and they quickly resumed their playtime from the night before. The morning went great, and then at nap time we were surprised even more. At his home Derek often sings himself to sleep, and not surprisingly started to sing when we laid him down in his room at our house. But L instantly started singing back! The two of them, in their own rooms with their doors shut, sang rounds to each other for about 30 minutes before they both fell asleep for a two hour nap! The same thing occurred the next day at nap time too.
The stories of the weekend are endless. Derek and L often held hands in the car as we drove. They shared their food with each other, and their toys. There was not one fight between the two of them, and even more impressive neither child had tantrum the entire weekend! Derek fit right into our family as if he had always belonged there. We were all very sad to say good bye to him on Sunday evening (Jen's mom was able to fly in and stay with them).
Topless Friday night dinner. Enjoy it while you can kiddos.
Now on to Morning Playtime!
L shared her prized Elmo Shoes with Derek.
And if you look closely you will see that L happily wore her pink fairy shoes.
Derek liked to give L rides on her push car. L happily accepted the offers.
Sharing string cheese.
Picking up some speed.
Tunnel time!
They thought it was really funny if they went through the tunnel at the same time but opposite directions.
Conversing about something.
They both look rather guilty here.
The funny thing about the slide is Derek never went on it. Derek is a child of no fear, and is master climber. But instead of going on the slide himself he would direct and cheer L on.
See Clapping for L.
And L liking the attention.
L clapping Derek on as he turns up the volume on the ipod. I honestly think we played Raffi's "Six Little Ducks" song about two dozen times in a row.
Derek always bring L her sippy cup of milk.
Derek likes to clean floors. I mean really likes to clean floors. He would use the popcorn popper as his vacuum while carrying the broom and dustpan.
L thought she would come help.
Note how Derek is now carrying the popper as he sweep.
That's right I clean.
And I am super cute. Didn't you read my shirt?
They played chase endlessly. Derek would chase L one direction. They both laugh. Then L would chase Derek the other direction. They both laugh. On and on it went.
