04-07-2013

 

Today I had the oportunity to listen to General Conference. I heard a few talks about raising children and teaching them and helping them become the best that they can be.

 

We have recently announced that we are expecting twins this October (more on that later), and these talks this weekend have really got me thinking, and quite honestly made me a little nervous. Being a parent is such a HUGE responsibility and I am a little scared that I am not going to be any good at it.

 

Matthew and I have talked a lot about this, and we know that if we just listen to the promptings of the Spirit, and do the things that we know our Heavenly Father wants us to do, we should be okay! I know that if we continue to make Heavenly Father a part of our decision making, we can do what is best for our family. I also know that as humans, we make A LOT of mistakes...me especially. There are so many parenting styles, and I know that it's important to parent each child differently, so really no one can even tell me what the best way to teach my children is. I just really hope that Matthew and I will be able to teach our children to love the Lord and the love the gospel as we do. I hope that we can raise them to have strong testimonies, and teach them to love and accept those around them. I hope that we can teach them about their ancestors (which means I need to learn a lot more about my ancestors). I want them to know where they came from and what those who came before them have gone through, and the sacrifices that were made so that we could be where we are today.

 

I know that I am just going to learn as I go, and I am so grateful for my husband, and for the friendship and partnership that we have. I am so glad that I know that I have the help and support that I need in my husband and in my family. I also know that I can turn to my Heavenly Father for help as well, and that he will give me the guidance I need.

 

But still, pray for me! I am going to need all the help I can get! :)

 

 

I did say earlier in my post that I would give more information about our growing family. It has kind of been a rough start as Matthew and I had been trying to grow our family for about 10 months. Finally one weekend, while he was fishing I decided to take a test. I was so used to seeing a negative result that when I saw two lines appear, I was SHOCKED and had to take another test the next day to just make sure. I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for the following Monday anyway, so I decided to go talk to them and have them tell me if I was for sure pregnant. The initial test came back positive, so we did an ultrasound because I had NO idea how far along I would be. My doctor thought I would be about 6 1/2 weeks so he expected to hear a heartbeat, but we saw nothing on the ultrasound. So we drew my blood, and I got a call from the nurse saying that we would have to draw blood again to make sure it was a valid pregnancy. Needless to say, this really stressed me out and had me worrying. Over the next two weeks we drew my blood a few more times and decided that there really was a baby growing. A few weeks later we went in for another ultrasound to see what was going on, and got some pretty exciting news. Instead of having just one baby (which I was so excited and thankful for) there were TWO babies!!! We were able to hear both of their little heartbeats and measure them. They measured at about 7 weeks. My doctor couldn't tell if the babies were sharing a sac or if they each had their own. Either way there were certain complications that had to be addressed, so he wanted me to go up to see a specialist. He also told us that there was a possiblity of my body absorbing one of the twins. That had us really freaked out and any discomfort or anything new my body felt, I worried. I just prayed that I still had both of my babies. The time finally came for my next ultrasound. At 10 weeks I went to see a perinatologist. I also saw both of my babies. I saw both of their heartbeats. I saw them moving around and waving their arms and rolling over! And we were able to determine that my babies are identical twins!

 

Baby B at 10 weeks

Baby A at 10 weeks

 



Both babies at 10 weeks

 

We are so excited about these two little ones!!

 

But now you might understand a little bit more about why I am so nervous about raising them and teaching them and hoping that they grow up and reach their true potential. Normally I would have one to practice on, but if I mess up terribly, I will ruin both of them! :)