bye bye facebook ..hello blogger

deleting Facebook....gonna get this thing up and at it again. check in soon

Welcome Khiarah and Audrianah!!

Here they are! Born early at 35.5 weeks via c-section. A couple of complications and issues but we'll write more in detail later. Wanted to get the pics posted here because it won't allow me to email to them to family and we don't have the energy or patience to figure out why not or how to fix it or what have you. The girls already look different from some of these pics..but we'll be posting more as time goes on, of course! There's not a lot of NICU pics in here just cuz it's a troubling thought and not something I feel comfortable posting a lot of pics of. God has been good as always and saw us through all of that mess but I still don't like to think back on how hard it was. But like I said, there's more to come as the days go on so stop by every now and again and check them out!

Hangin in there...

So...feeling kind of done with the pregnancy. Mommy is miserable... uncomfortable, in pain., exhausted.. just miserable. Due date is the 29th of March but we won't be going past the 9th or 10th. Trusting God that they will both be plenty healthy enough to come out then and will enjoy a normal stay at the hospital and come home after a day or 2.

Baby shower started off as a disaster (Mamaw stepping on a nail when getting out of the car and having to rush to the ER with all the food and decorations in their car.... then them having a flat tire when they came out.... having a guest have to stop at the hospital to get everything... leaving us little to no time to prepare before guests started to arrive).... but after everything got ready and calmed down, it was really nice. Enjoyed getting to see everyone and talk and catch up and just celebrate this awesomeness together. The gifts were all awesome and really thoughtful. We have some amazing friends and family and we are so thankful and truly blessed.

Justice-kymorah turned 2 on the 11th. It was like an overnight transformation too. She's doing so many new things... and saying a lot... it's unbelievable. We weren't able to make as big of a deal over her bday as we wanted to... given the snowstorm and all. Funny, there was a huge storm around her bday the year she was born too. Luckily she's still too young to even notice... and she was plenty happy with her lil ice cream cake and few presents. So blessed to have such an amazing and even-tempered kid... it's not often you see 2 year olds like that.

So that's about it for now. Just a waiting game on the twins.. could be any day now. Just keep praying they stay head down... so far the praying has been working and God's been faithful... so we don't expect any different in the days and weeks to come.

Pics sometime soon...

So it's been awhile, hasn't it??

Wow... it's been over a year. Sorry bout that. This last year has been an interesting one. To spare the crazy details we'll just sum it up -- engagement, Daddy moves in, pregnancy. Yes in THAT order before you go thinking one had something to do with the other, which is a natural thought, I know. We'd be married already if we could afford it... as in, afford the wedding we want and if it wouldn't effect our financial situations negatively. So.. we already wear our rings because for all intense purposes and as far as anyone is concerned, we're married.

Justice-kymorah will be two in a couple weeks. She is growing and developing wonderfully. She adores having daddy around permanently and is def his number one fan. She's starting to talk a lot more and is very very good at figuring different things out. She's got all the love in the world and the people who really care for and about her are involved in her life and love her very much. She's got it pretty good. She's still very well-behaved. Has her occasional normal two-year-old breakdowns but they aren't bad at all, so we can't complain. We are quite blessed with how her personality is and most people, even strangers, can tell that right way. She's an amazing blessing.

So yes, pregnancy. We're expecting TWINS in the end of March. Twin girls. Audrianah and Khiarah. Definitely really excited about that. It'll be a challenge at first but we'll get the hang of it. Three under age 3 should be fun...and all girls LOL. But God is good and never gives us anything we can't handle. We're looking forward to the adventure.

The pregnancy has been going perfectly despite mommy's inability to sit back and do nothing. The doctor's say that so far it is going as good as they could ever ask. The girls are growing accordingly. Their hearts are good (which they thought might be an issue because of one of mommy's health issues), they are growing and gaining weight as expected. They both have been head down which we are praying they stay that way so we can avoid a c-section. But there's still quite a few weeks left before they are likely in the position they will stay in. But God, as always, has been so good. He has blessed us with these children and even more, has kept them healthy and progressing positively.

We're 32 weeks along now -33 tomorrow actually (added a pregnancy and baby ticker to the page at the top and on the side). We are praying to get all 40 weeks in with no problems. But the doctor makes it sound as if they won't even allow us to go the full 40. So we just pray that GOD'S will be done, not those trying to play God. If we can get at least 37-38 weeks, I guess that would be okay. We just really want them to be fully developed and a large enough size/weight to be able to leave the hospital just like any other normal healthy babies. Trusting God for good health, no NICU stays or tubes and monitors needed, and a speedy recovery for mommy. It's a lot to ask but God is able.

We're also trusting God for work for Rob once the twins are born. He really needs to find something so we can have some income and hopefully our own health insurance. If you know of any job openings, let us know. He's smart as smart can be and learns quick for stuff he's not familiar with. Hard worker and has a family of 5 to support so..keep us in your minds, hearts, and prayers =)

That's the update for now. We'll be trying to to do them regularly....daily hopefully since mommy is supposed to be taking it easy.

Justice-kymorah Gift Registry

So to make everything easier on everyone, I registered Justice-kymorah for Christmas gifts. She's registered at Wal-Mart because no matter where you live there's a local Wal-Mart. It's under either of our names.. Renata or Justice-kymorah Sistrunk. Of course we are not expecting anything but this just avoids the awkward on-the-spot questions about what to get her. Cuz you know, you don't want to say something expensive and have people be like "ummm ok..." or if you say something less expensive, having people get all offended that I think they can't afford otherwise. So this is just easier on everyone. All different stuff, all different prices. You can even order online at http://www.walmart.com/wishlist and have it sent to the house if you don't feel like going out to the store (going in Wal-Mart is usually waaaayyy crazy around here... even more-so at Christmas time). If you are brave enough to embrace the craziness at the store just go up to one of those registry computer-looking thingies and go under wish list and put one of our names and it'll give u a list... or you can always ask a worker for help LOL. So that's it..again, really not expecting anything...just with family and friends near and far and everything this is just easier if they feel led to get a gift. So thanks ahead of time everybody. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! :0)

Mommy's Lil Lambie

Soo... we don't really "celebrate" Halloween. However, it is fun to get dressed up...well dress Justice-kymorah up anyway. So Mamaw made her this lamb costume. It's too cute really. A little on the warm side (in the pics it looks like I put make up on her ..like blush.. but really she's just hot). We went to Great Gram's nursing home... they had some festivities there.. all the old folks loved her! Mommy is eating the snacks she got tho :P

baby's first lollipop

I couldn't resist giving her this! Yes, me who didn't want to give her sweets ever. I don't care, it's fun to see her try new stuff and make funny bitter-beer looking faces. Then that excited look when she likes it... uhh priceless.

PICS!

why would I get her pics done "professionally"..she's perfect at home
hanging up on bill collectors
I LOOOVE this pic. All ready for winter!
reeeeaalllly wants to know her fortune..or learn a chinese word
the Sushi guy gave her a balloon
like that Jordie guy from Star-Trek
girls can wear dinosaurs too!!
leaf-hunting walk
Hannah, Savannah and Justice-kymorah @ Aylea's wedding
she loves this game!
Sistrunk Sock Syndrome
mommy made this carrier!

Getting Big

Everyday is something new with Justice-kymorah. She's so smart I feel like she's bored with me during the day. She needs some new fun toys... so let me just go out to the money tree and start that process. Uggh. I started registering at wal-mart for her for Christmas and then her birthday in February. I dont know of anyone getting her anything but just in case I guess. I don't know, enough about that, its depressing.

Anywho, she's a NOGGIN freak. Moose A. Moose and Zee are her best friends. Seriously they come on the tv and she's in the zone. It used to just be Baby Einstein was all she would watch but now we've added a few more shows... it's so funny to watch her watching her shows. NOGGIN is the smart channel and I swear she watches some of these shows and follows along. And if I get in front of her she does all she can to looka round me or move me out of the way.

She's in this new kick of feeding herself. I was feeding her witha baby spoon a few weeks back (she was on my lap). I put the dish on the table with the spoon in it cuz I had an itch or something and she just reaches to the dish on the table, pulls out the spoon, and puts the spoon directly to her mouth. Of course, I was shocked. This was weeeeekkkkksss ago. So I refused to let her do it on her own (they grow too fast!). So then just yesterday she snatches a fork (a GROWN UP fork) from my hand as I was trying to feed her, and does it herself! She's so smart, it's scary. She's not even 9 mos old yet and she's feeding herself.

Still no teeth and still now crawling or walking. She still does her funny little version of crawling and she also now crawls backwards (too funny!).I figured she'd be walking by now... if you could see her in her jumperoo and other walk around activity chair thing... you'd think the same. But whatever, I'm excited to see her do new things but believe me I can wait. Mommy's baby isn't a baby anymore :(

She does talk a little. She doesn't make the connection between words and what object they go with yet but its fun to hear her babble. You know, "da-da", "ba-ba", "ga-ga", etc. Even a few "ma-ma" sounds every once in awhile. Her little voice is so cute. She also is part Mariah Carey.. she does this screaming thing but its a nice high-pitched musical type scream.


She eats like a mad-woman (just like mommy). She'd eat all day long if I let her. She eats whatever mommy eats most of the time. And snacks that come in stick form. And a few days ago we started the cheerios. She still nurses a few times a day but its getting harder and harder to get her to focus long enough..thinks she gonna miss something. Then again, there are times she will pull at my shirt and swipe at my chest... which is hilarious... then she whines until I nurse her. So who knows. She gave up the cereal bottle at night thing a while ago... she hates drinking out of bottles..only her sippy cups. Which we switch to Avent from the Nuk kind we were using because the tops to the Nuk one's are terrible..like the nipple part... and I dont have the patience to deal with it. It was good for transitioning when she was 5mos old but now they just don't suit us. So Avent it is.. took her awhile to get used to it... but she's good with them now.

She fights sleep better and better. Sucks for mommy. She also gets up earlier now (also sucks for mommy). She used to get up at between 1030 and 1130 in the morning... now its like 830. She's starting to run on normal baby schedule...not cool. It's hard for me to get out of bed in the morning because of my health issues... no matter what time it is... but if I'm not fully rested, it's worse. So I guess we'll be going to bed earlier now... which will be a rough transition for me because I'm a night person... takes a long time for me to fall asleep if I go before 1am.

Well, that's it for now. My sister is out of ICU now and in rehab after her brain surgery. She'll be there for around 2 weeks I guess. But praise God that surgery went well and she gave her life to Jesus... nothing could ruin my day when I heard that! God is good..ALL the time. Ok I could go on forever about that so I'm just gonna stop now. I'll post some new pics now and hopefully post another update in a few days.

trip to NY

The balloons and what not were for my Aunt's birthday celebration thing. It was cool but everyones mind was somewhere else...at least ours were. My oldest sister had a brain hemorrhage a few weeks back landing her in th ICU and in need of brain surgery. She accepted Jesus a few hours before her surgery so praise God for that. Her surgery was successful and today she was taken out of ICU. She's still in the hospital and has a long road to full recovery but at least shes on that road! Praise God for His love and mercy and healing power. We give Him all the praise and honor and glory for this miracle. So our next visit to NY will be somewhat happier.