Thankful...

We have much to be thankful for this year... Here is an attempt in no particualr order.

- First and foremost... We're both thankful to get to be married to each other - Diana could just be saying this to be nice but I really mean it ;) - I never knew you could have so much fun just being with someone. I know I am a better man for being with Diana. I hope she could say the same - well, except not a better man but a better woman

- We have 2 babies and they are home with us now - seems like so long ago this whole journey started

- Our familiy is incredible - our parents, grand parents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins... you've all been so great to us

- Our friends - seriously, you guys have gone so far to show us your love. thanks for making life more fun. from serving us, to giving us a chance to serve you, to challenging us to be the people we should be, for laughing with us and for crying with us... it just makes life better

- Medical Staff at Wake Med - our nurses, nurse practioners, and doctors were absolutely incredible. from our first night meeting with dr. Khera talking about earl labor and delivery to our last day there with Aidan and Addison's nurses we were blown away by their service, sincere concern, and compassion

- Our jobs - things are crazy right now. we consider ourselves fortunate to have a way to have income right now

- Health Insurance (I know everyone doesnt have this. we do. if we didn't we would probably be bankrupt. seriously. in a way... it's my fault your insurance cost alot. 2 babies born 3 months early cost a bit. we got a bill for Addison the other day. WOW.)

- Tanner - We have a great dog

- Our Roommates - we share a house with another family. things are hard when you live with people sometimes. it challenges you to examine lots of decisions you make and how you communicate. overall it's a really cool thing. i think it makes you a better person. kinda like a second marriage, which would be wierd. overall, they are pretty cool. we love them very much.

- Music - All aspects of it. that it is alive. for what it can do inside you. that i get to listen to it. that i get to play it. for the people i get to play it with... this is proobably the coolest part.

- Exercise - diana and i both enjoy it. she is thankful for her ability to run and go to the YMCA. lately i have been training at CrossFit and working specifically in Brazilian Jui-Jitsu. this is very close to wrestling in many ways. not sure why this is so much fun for me but it is. in some ways i feel i am better at this stuff than anything else in my life.

- Scent - I like when things smell good. i love how certain aromas can take you to a certain place. coffee, ocean air, oranges, basil, flowers... i will stop here.

- Where it all comes from - different people attribute things to different places. we attribute all that we have been given to God our creator. we are ever grateful for the gifts that we have been given in our life and our hope is to honor God in response. he is the author of all that is good and right. he is our provider and i believe everything on this list comes by Him.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

-Jason and Diana (Aidan and Addison and Tanner)

WARNING REALLY CUTE BABIES BELOW

Here our some of our favorite photos from the past couple of weeks...

Addison on her way to her first doctor appointment



Our little genius



Loves the pink chair!



Love the pink pants!



Aidan on his way home



The empty bed...



Addison laying with Daddy



Aidan in his favorite...the swing




Together...

Aidan is home!!!

Yep, we have our little man home! We were told this past weekend it could be as early as Wednesday that he could come home. Then we got a call Monday morning and the doctors asked if we wanted to bring our son home?!?!?!?!? Our answer was an astounding "Heck yes we do." (think Napolean Dynamite)

So now we are 2 days into having our entire family together and it's great. Seeing them together in our house seems to good to be true. It is a bit of a whirlwind getting adjusted to their eating and sleeping (and our lack of sleeping) and all that stuff but so far so good. We're just happy to have them home. I hate leaving my house now. I really do. This is unfortunate because I have to... well, you know... work and stuff.

Praise our God He has brought our family together. I get the feeling that an adventure we have never began to dream of is about to settle in. I pray we love and live the way we should. I pray we don't miss a moment of the excitement (I don;t think we have yt.)

I promise to get some pics (and video) up as soon as I can.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers,

-Jason, Diana, Aidan, and Addison

ps - I went to bed last night feeling under the weather and awoke this morning feeling sick. This could put us in quite the predicament as we are trying to keep sickness away from the kiddos... So regarding this I could use some prayer and... a good doctor downtown if anyone knows of any. I dont have one.

Safety For our Children's ;)

**funny video at bottom - reward for reading long post**

Hey guys... The childrens are doing great. A l ot of folks have asked about seeing them so we're writing this post as a head's up as to what to expect from us over the next few months when it comes to the babies.

First of all, thanks so much for the prayers, love, and support. I feel like I have said it 1,000 times but it still isn't enough. We have amazing friends and family. We are excited for you all to meet them and they are excited to meet you too (I mean, I assume they are.. they can't really talk yet.)

Secondly, as you are about to meet them we wanted to give you a heads up about somethings our doctors from the ICN (intensive care nursery), our nurses, nurse practitioners, and our pediatrician has drilled into our heads. We want you to know about something called RSV (respiratory syncytial virus.) Though most babies by the age of 2 have had RSV, for term babies, it may appear no different than a common cold. For premature babies it can show itself in quite a different way. Babies born before 36 weeks (Aidan and Addision were born at 28 weeks) are at the highest risk for pneumonia, bronchiolitis, RSV, and other possible fatal complications.

Preventing the spread of RSV is very difficult. Since we've just spent over 80 days (and counting) at the hospital we're gonna do all we can to avoid having to go back and to keep our babies healthy during RSV season (October - April.) RSV can be spread through touching, in the air by coughing or sneezing, or by touching an infected object (like these.) The virus can live as long as six hours on hands and up to twelve hours on objects, and it spreads very easily, especially from child to child.

When I first heard about this I thought, "don't they need to build up their immune system anyway?" The doctors have assured me the quick answer to that is, "No." Since our babies were so premature they have not acquired the necessary immunities to fight off infection. If they contract this virus they could have to go back to the hospital again and may develop serious complications.

So, to help us out with our quest to keep them at home and healthy we will ask you to follow a few guidelines when you stop by:

1. When you get here, please wash your hands and use hand sanitizer (it's not hard to find in our house right now ;)

2. If you're sick, live with someone who is sick, or have been in contact with someone who is sick during the day it probably isn't the best idea for you to stop by. (on a side note - if you are sick and need something.. feel free to give us a call and we'd love to help you out ;)

3. If you smoke, we ask that you change your clothes and not smoke before you come by as premature babies lungs are very sensitive to smoke (mostly during first two years of life.) (This is even hard for me as I enjoy smoking a pipe all through the fall and winter.)

Unfortunately we will not be bringing them out to large social gatherings thru the winter which is tough on Diana and I because we are so social. Their lungs are still very fragile until they are two years old and our goal is to make it thru these first two years without contracting this virus. Believe me this was not the plan we had for our kids and not the easiest thing to do. Diana and I are both a bit the type to throw caution to the wind with our own lives. We've always been adventurers of sorts but we do feel this is the best for them over the long haul.

I hope this stuff makes sense and if you've got any questions feel free to ask. We're so excited about being parents and hope that we can raise our children in a way that shows them and the world a love that is special. Thanks for playing a part in that with us.

Love and Peace,

-Jason and Diana

ps - writing this seemed like a public service announcement

Addison is Home!!!

Yesterday (Friday) was an incredible day. Many prayers were answered and our daughter has gotten to come home. It was a bit difficult for us though as Aidan just isn't ready yet to come home. When we first had to leave them at the hospital it was tough but we both knew in our minds they were there together. This is the fist time they have really been apart not to mention we cant be there 24/7 either. None the less I know he is excited for his sister to come home and get the place ready for him.

Since she has been home she has gotten her first bath at home, has been eating well, and Diana has not been able to put her down.

Here are some pics we've taken over the last few days.

You can tell they love each other already...

Telling secrets too...

This is just a cute picture - DAH HAH

Addison just found out she was going home...

Telling her brother bye for now...

Loaded up and coming home!!!

Diana finally getting to rest with our baby girl...

Same position... different location.

First bath at home...

All confy in her crib...

Finally at home...

One last one for safe measure...

So she is home safe and sound. Diana and I would like to ask you all to keep all of us, espeacially Aidan, in your thoughts and prayers right now. He is having a little more difficulty catching onto this little thing called... eating. You see it's quite necesary for growth and satiability to put food in your body on your own power. Right now he has good days and bad. Some feedings he takes it all himself and others he just runs out of gas and they have to feed him through a tube. It's not that he is way behind and more that Addison is just moving at a faster than normal speed but either way we still would love to get our boy home.
Here is a shot of the big boy...

So - here is to our daughter coming home. Hopefully Aidan will soon to follow. I've been home for 1 day with my daughter and I dont want to leave to do anything. I am sure there will be bad days.. but with what we've gone through... I am really appreciating this time with her.

Thanks be to our God!!!

-Jason

Noshavember

Well, I have other friends participating in this madness called Noshavember. Perhaps I too, will participate. I do have a moderate headstart due to my busyness (laziness) over the past 2 weeks. Perhaps we will keep a weekly photo log here just to monitor progress.

Here is today's photo. We'll do this again in a week.

Photo Shoot!!!

Our brilliantly talented friend (almost family kindof) has taken some new pics of our babies. I am only gonna put a few of them up here but you can find the rest of them on her blog. These are from a couple weeks back so Aidan and Addison have both grown a bit even since here.

Health wise they are doing well. They are both off of oxygen... well, from outside help ya know... they are breathing plenty of oxygen from just the room ;) The next big step is getting to where they can eat all of their meals themselves. They are still a little reliant on their feeding tube though they have made a ton of progress. They just get a little tired after a while and lose focus. Once they get this down though, they will be comin home!!!!

Well, here is what you really want to see...
Addison's tiny hands...


There aren't words for looking down at them... so many things I want to tell them...


I am not sure what happened here... I turned around for 5 minutes and my daughter has a tutu on.... This was actually a gift from a friend who makes them... you can track her down here if you want one ;)

I think we have our hands full...


Our beautiful babies...

Again, we're so thankful for all of the love and support throughout this entire process. It has been as beautiful and as challenging as anything Diana and I have ever experienced together. It has lead us to crying one second and dancing the next and I know has brought us closer than we ever thought we could be.

Much love...

-Jason