Mommy Time

I LOVE spending time with my boys (Shane included too). Sure makes being a stay-at-home mom much more fun. :o) God sure knew what He was doing when He gave us Ayden and Evan.

Mommy & Evan being silly

Mommy squeezing little Ayden

Mommy kissing Evan

Mommy holding Ayden & Evan

Super Bowl

Ayden & Evan make their best/scariest game faces!

Last year (2009) when we watched the Super Bowl, we thought it would be fitting to dress the kids in OUR favorite team's official apparel (thanks to their Aunt Yvette for getting them these clothes. Granted, neither the Chicago Bears nor the Jacksonville Jaguars were in the Super Bowl, but we didn't care.

Grandpa & Grandma King

Grandpa and Grandma King (Gary and Joyce) watch the kiddos while Shane and I are at Bible study. It's an huge blessing to us that they live close and are willing to watch the kids for us. Then again, one doesn't have to twist grandparents' arms too much.

Waking Up Is Hard To Do!

Waking up is hard to do ... for some. Early on we noticed once Ayden woke ... he was ready to start the day, and thought everyone else should be too. Evan on the other hand, took a while to actually get his eyes open. It was just so hard for him!

Evan & Ayden

Things today haven't changed. Ayden is typically the first to wake up and chatters and chatters until someone comes to get him. Often I'll walk into a room and find Evan still asleep. Guess he just tunes Ayden out.

Feeding Time

Once I was on my own with the boys ... I had to learn pretty quickly how to feed them both at the same time. Let me tell you, that was a little tricky to figure out what would be easiest. However, the more I practiced, the better it got.

Mom feeding Evan and Ayden

Of course, I made sure that Shane knew how to feed them both too. He was totally up for the challenge. Then again, not too much scares or stresses him.

Dad feeding Ayden and Evan

3 Month Photos

Ayden & Evan

Silly little Ayden & Evan

Ayden Louis

Evan Russell

Laughable little Evan

Ayden & Evan

Ayden (notice his scar from his surgery)

(Video) Hiccups!

Quite frequently, Evan had hiccups even in the womb. And once he was born ... they didn't stop. Both Ayden and Evan had mild colic (which really felt severe at times ... it was awful) and moderate reflux. Well, some people suspect that hiccups accompany reflux. Don't know if there is any truth to that statement, but if Ayden and Evan were to be "experiments" to validate that theory ... it'd be a hands down FACT! They had hiccups numerous times, daily.

Shane As A Father

Ayden and Evan have the best Dad ever. Shane is an amazing father. He loves spending time with the kids, and does whatever he can to help me with things in the house (even if that means simply occupying the kiddos so I can get a few things done).

I can't say enough how blessed I am, that God paired me with Shane. I'm so grateful.

(Video) 1st Christmas

Ayden & Evan (Christmas Day 2008)

The kids grow so quickly, so here's a video to help remind you how little they used to be. This video was taken on Christmas Day 2008. At times, it's difficult to recall just how small these guys were, the sweet little noises they made ... and the special way babies smells.

FINALLY Home

Ayden & Evan with Mom

FINALLY we had both boys at home ... all 4 Kings under on roof.  That first night together was awesome.  The journey of getting this point was rough, but we learned about God's goodness, faithfulness, love and patience.  I told Shane early on, that for my birthday (Nvember 27th - same as the date on the above photo), all I wanted was for both boys to be home ... and they were (with only a week to spare).

Ayden & Evan taking a nap.

Evan & Ayden ... we laugh at this because it looks like Evan is frustrated with Ayden

Comparison Side By Side

Here are a couple of compaison photos of the boys while in the NICU.

Evan & Ayden

Evan & Ayden

Evan's NICU Experience

The name "Evan" means "God is gracious."  And God was definitely gracious with Evan!  Evan's NICU stay was only 3.5 weeks long.  It is often said that the smaller baby is the first to go home because that baby knows how to deal with "stress."  In many cases, the smaller baby has had to deal with environmental stresses already when in the womb (fighting for space, food etc.); therefore, once he or she is born ... they are ready to "fight" in the same manner.

For Evan, his stay was all at St. Elizabeth's, and his main concern was weight gain.  By the time we brought him home, he was 4 lbs 10 ozs.  Still very tiny, but he was such a trooper! 

Ayden's NICU Experience

Ayden spent roughly 6 weeks in the NICU at St. Elizabeth's. He developed NEC issues in his intestines, which can be quite serious for infants and can have lasting developmental affects. He also began to vomit regularly and could hardly keep any milk down. [Sigh]. After a couple of blood transfusions and the Neonatologists from Lincoln talking with the Neonatologists from Children's Hospital, it was concluded that he be moved up to Omaha. Shane and I began to wonder if God gave us twins because He knew that we'd only be bringing one child home with us. Those were TOUGH days (to put it lightly).

While at Children's Hospital, a surgeon wanted to do exploratory surgery on Ayden. No one at Children's Hospital knew what was wrong with our son. Fortunately, none of his intestine had to be removed. Instead, to the surgeon’s surprise, he found that Ayden's appendix had ruptured! That was only the 2nd time that has happened at Children's Hospital. Ayden was fortunate ... and so were we. After a week-long stay at the NICU at Children's, we were able to bring him home to be reunited with Evan!

Ready Or Not

Ready or not ... the Ayden Louis and Evan Russell came (2 months early)!  They were born on September 27, 2008 at 1:17 p.m. and 1:18 p.m.  We were thrilled to finally get to meet them, but knew we also had a battle ahead of us before we'd get to bring these two littles ones home.

Ayden weighed in at 4 lbs 3ozs and was 17 inches long.

Evan weighed in at 3 lbs 10 ozs and was 17.5 inches long.

They each had a tough battle ahead of them, which also made it a battle for Mom and Dad.  Inspite of MANY tough days and nights, we learned that God is good all the time ... and that all the time God is good.  We knew God had a plan ... we just hoped that His plan included the boys coming home with us.  Luckily our prayers were answered.

Changes Ahead

Two and a half years flew by, and we felt God was giving us the go-ahead to "expand."  We were SHOCKED to learn that we were infact expecting twins!!  Excitment, fear, joy, anxiousness ... somehow all co-existed.  But we trusted that God knew what He was doing, and that He'd help us through the process of raising (more like surviving) twins.

In The Beginning ...

On June 17, 2005 ... Shane and I were married! We honeymooned in Jamaica and came back to live in Lincoln.

After a fast 2 year period in Lincoln, we moved to Bennet, Nebraska. Bennet is short drive southeast of Lincoln (about 10 minutes) and is the hometown where Shane Shane grew up.

Shane works in Lincoln at as a Traffic Engineer at Olsson Associates, and I am a stay-at-home mom.