About half way through our stay, I was up on the beach building sand castles with Elijah and Brody. Johnny, Emery, Kelly and Javaris were enjoying the water and each other’s company when a small group of people came walking by me yelling something in their direction. I looked up to see Johnny jump up and walk over something with a very startled expression on his face. There was some confusion and then they started getting out of the water as quickly as they could. Javaris said he’d had enough of the water after that. To the right of them, I saw a huge gray shadow in the wave. Then I heard the group of people saying that there was a manatee! Johnny had jumped up and walked across the manatee’s back! How crazy is that?! We knew that manatees lived nearby, but we never expected to meet one at the beach. It was swimming right in their direction and didn’t stop, so the only choice he had was to try to jump over it. It kinda freaked them all out a bit and thank goodness Kelly had just taken Emery from Johnny a couple of minutes before it happened. Just for confirmation and peace of mind, Johnny asked the lifeguard if that really had been a manatee. She said it definitely was and that she would have warned them that it was near by in the water if she had seen it sooner. Thank God it was a “just” a manatee!

After all the excitement, everyone decided to mostly play in the sand with the babies until we left. We had a lot of fun together that day, but I’m sure the “manatee attack” will always make that day especially memorable. It’s just too bad I didn’t get a picture of it!

The kids enjoyed the park and we had traditional summer party food… hamburgers and hotdogs.  A big thank you to our family and friends who helped make it special! Our sweet friend, Brittany, did a fabulous job on the cake. Larry aka La La drew some adorable Toy Story artwork and decorated for us. Daddy also decorated and then joined Papa at the grill. Grammy aka Greanbean and Nanny helped with food, wrangling little Freemans and photography. I’m always nervous about putting together little events like this, but with the help of awesome people, it always turns out nice. It was a great day of fun and making new memories. The only thing I wanted to do, but didn’t, was get a group picture of all the kids.

Happy Birthday to my first born little Loves!!! I’m looking forward to lots of fun three year old adventures with you!!!

It’s so hard to believe an entire year has passed. It’s also not hard to believe. So much has happened since our little twins were pulled into the world so very early… twelve weeks early. Understandably, I was scared and uncertain of what would happen and how incredibly small my babies would be. They were each less than two pounds and I had never seen a baby that small before. Johnny, however, wasn’t really very scared at all. God gave him immediate peace and certainty that both babies would be just fine. He was amazing. Right from their birth he reacted as any proud father does when their full term baby comes into the world. While I recovered from surgery, he happily took family members one after another into the NICU to see our two new additions. While I was unable to leave my room to visit the twins he told me everything about them and brought pictures. Emery (at 1 lb 6 oz, 11 1/2 in) was already a feisty little girl with attitude, while Elijah (1 lb 9oz, 13 in) was very calm and relaxed. Throughout my weeklong hospital stay, recovery and so on he was just what I needed to make it through. He showed me what it is to really truly trust in God and give over your doubts and fears. God told him everything would be fine, so he just knew it. I’m still so thankful for that lesson and living example.

God did give me a peace as well. He constantly let me know that my tiny precious wonders would somehow make it through. But, being a new mother immediately separated from my newborn twins who were to be hospitalized for three months and being the worrisome person that I am, I was guilty of letting the fear and doubt in from time to time. Being afraid and letting worry rule me has definitely been my biggest struggle. Throughout the twins hospitalization, God was working on me. Each day I had no choice but to trust in God. There wasn’t a thing I could do to help my babies except for be there to talk to them and hold them when given the opportunity. I just had to trust that God would heal them and help them to continue to develop into the much bigger, healthy babies I had expected to give birth to. I learned to trust him and give up the control that I felt more comfortable having.

It was amazing watching Emery and Elijah grow and change every day. I did my best to visit them almost every day. On the days that I tried to let myself rest at home, I thought about them constantly and felt bad for not being there. I took pictures at every visit so I could document even the smallest changes and kept track of their weights and each milestone they reached. I’m still in awe when I look back at those pictures. They gradually went from IVs, feeding tubes and canulas for oxygen flow to bottle feeding and breathing without any help. They had only minor issues throughout their NICU stay. God took care of each and every one. We unexpectedly were able to bring them home on the same day, which is almost unheard of when it comes to twins in hospital care. The nurses and doctors told us not to tell the other NICU parents of twins, so they wouldn’t be disappointed. Another huge blessing was that neither of them required oxygen or apnea monitors at home. Usually micropreemies need extra equipment and care than other babies when they go home from the hospital. We were blessed to just bring our babies home without all the extra baggage. Emery and Elijah Freeman were released from Winnie Palmer Hospital on October 3, 2007 after 80 days in the NICU. It was the hardest time of our lives, but also the most blessed. The twins had some follow-up appointments with various specialists after they came home just to make sure they were okay. Both babies were fine and haven’t had any subsequent problems, other than being small and minor developmental delays. I think they’ve had maybe three colds at the most in their first year of life.

They have been wonderful babies. Emery is still a feisty little girl with plenty of attitude when she needs it. She was a fighter right from the beginning. So it’s appropriate that her name means, strong and powerful. She’s still a little thing, only 14 pounds, but she makes sure that she never goes unnoticed. She is quite the Mama’s girl. Elijah is still our sweet little ball of love. He is definitely the silliest baby I have ever known. He is always making funny faces and laughing and smiling and making all kinds of noises. He has developed a special bond with Daddy already. As long as Dad’s around, he’s perfectly happy and content. They turned one year old on July 14, 2008 and I have never been more proud or felt more accomplished. Really it’s theirs and God’s accomplishment. Johnny and I fall in love with them a little more everyday.

So, as I look back, I can only rejoice and be glad in what God has done. Emery and Elijah are living testimonies of his faithfulness and love for us. I waited my whole life to be a mommy and it didn’t start out like I planned, but through it all Johnny and I have been blessed beyond measure. We look forward to watching them continue to grow and learn and become what God created them to be. I know that he has a plan for each of them. More than ever before, I have learned to trust in Christ alone.

The unfortunate part of turning 18 months old is that I had to go to the doctor. Daddy took me to see Dr. Stockett at Pediatrics In Brevard last week. I did not enjoy myself. It turns out that I was very behind on shots because I wasn’t able to go to the doctor for a while. That means I have to get caught up, which means bunches of shots at one time… which is horrible. So first, I saw the doctor. She confirmed that I’m awesome. I’m right on target developmentally in every area. I can stack blocks, I can say lots of words, I can turn  the pages of a book… yada yada yada. I was also weighed and measured. I am 26 pounds and 3 ounces, which means I am in the 60th percentile for weight. I am 33 inches tall, which means I am in the 78th percentile for height. I’m a big healthy boy!

After all of that, which wasn’t so bad, the doctor left and the nurse brought needles! Aaahhh! She gave me six shots! It was horrifying! I cried! When it was over, I cried on Daddy and he gave me hugs and kisses and told me it would be okay. I mostly stopped crying, but kept pouting. Daddy got me dressed again and told me it was all done. I said back to him, “ah duh”, and we headed out the door. I saw that mean old nurse in the hallway on the way out and steered clear of her, just in case she had any more needles on her. I also gave her quite a look as we passed.

As a prize for my bravery, I received stickers and a Clifford book. Those were nice things, but I felt that I definitely deserved more after enduring those shots. So, Daddy and Mama took me to Chili’s later for dinner. Elijah and Emery got to come too though. The food was awesome! I especially loved the tortilla chips and salsa/ranch dip! I also had chicken, fries and cheese quesadillas. I’d say the chips and dip were a more appropriate consolation for those shots. I definitely felt better after that!

Now, I’m looking forward to all the new things I will learn and do between now and my second birthday! Bring on the adventure!

Here’s a couple shots of 18 month old me while blogging. Notice the amazing Nemo undies. I love to wear them over my diaper because I loooove Nemo!

I sat with my La La to watch the movie. He’s my best buddy. He shared lemon heads with me and I behaved perfectly the whole time. I loved that the movie started out with a train scene! Choo choo trains are my most favorite things. It couldn’t have been better! Emery sat with Nanny and Brody switched between Daddy and Mommy throughout the movie. We all had such a great time! I can’t wait until it comes out on dvd so I can watch it again!