the small joys in life

prego update!!!

2009-05-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

so here are some maternity shots that todd did! the first set was 27 weeks (when i was still small and only had one chin :O) the second shoot was a fun one downtown, i felt like one of todd's clients...we had a blast. that was at 31 weeks(again, i feel like that was ages and many many pounds and inches ago :o). Enjoy the pictures!!

a little pregnancy update: this has been the healthiest twin pregnancy (besides a bunch of discomfort, gas, backache ect :o), my doctor said "model twin pregnancy...so i guess that is good!! i am now almost 36 weeks (i thought i was 36, but i think i was 2 days off on my due date..anyway). There has been no gliches, no hospital visits, no bedrest, nothing....until last night!! Todd of course had a wedding today (saturday). But i definately went into labor last night. We waited here until contractions were 3-4 minutes apart and then went in, hoping to either stop labor or have the babies by 2pm, so todd could work and not miss the birth of our babies! God was so good and gracious!! Though i was in some pretty intense labor, i wasn't progressing really fast, so the doctor gave us the option of trying to stop it, because even though she is confidant the babies would be healthy at this point and we don't have to stop labor, with our schedule and the fact they aren't quite full term (full term twins is 36-38 weeks) we had that option. So all in all we were at the hospital 5 hours, and after one dose of terbutaline, contractions had slowed to a stop and we were ab le to come home!!! yea!!! i don't know if i will make it to my scheduled induction date (May 19th), but we were glad to give them a few more days to grow and todd to be able to work and not miss anything huge! God is good!! so now we wait :o)...can't wait to meet these little guys!

27 weeks

31 weeks

yes we used a tripod, not todd's favorite thing to do...but hey atleast we got a couple shot!

my few minutes of feeling like a runway model (a very large runway model!!).

where has time gone???

2009-05-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

So... a little blog love coming atcha! It has been forever, i'm not sure why...busy busy and i don't know just not into computer writing i suppose!!

little updates:

~todd had a really awesome slower season through the winter/early spring, we had tons of family time and "normal saturdays", which was awesome!

~we survived the "louisville ice storm" , lost power for 5 days, got to 30 degrees in our house (we has great friends who let us stay with them, we were totally fine!)

~got to play in the snow several times

~we all got pretty tired of cold temperatures and winter weather (i guess especially me...the girls were great, but a little stir crazy!).

~I learned to take it easy a little bit (not work out, due to back pain during pregnancy, enjoy whole days at home...usually i'm always running, workng with the girls to share and play together ect.!!).

~lerran started talking a lot! She went from, "wow we think she is a little slow", to saying whatever she wants. the most amazing thing is that i know she understands everything! Which is awesome, but also has made us up our game in terms of discipline and staying on bad behaviors! overall though, she remains: fun, easy going, pretty independent, definately adventurous, and totally sweet!

~avery continues to LOVE preschool(2 mornings a week) and is super social. she loves to report what all her friends(in neighborhood, school, church, small group) are doing and she really loves people. She definately has her moments and is still and emotional roller coaster, as well as has grown a bossy bone for sure. What i love though is how she can totally make someones day, either from a smile, giggle, or a proclamation like "oh Ashley you are my favorite girl!" This could happen for any number of reasons: you having us to your house, having your toenails painted, wearing the color orange, giving avery somthing, having skittles at your house, showing her somthing new, or just being totally cool in her book...it is quite comical!

~i had a really fun 2 day visit to see jamie farrell in march and her growing brood (sweet little jolie was 1 month old) todd kept our girls and that was an awesome get away!

~we had great visits from both sets of nanas and papas!

~lots of really fun Easter activities, including many egg hunts

~we discovered waterfront park and the adventure playground downtown louisville...the girls and i then frequented the place atleast once a week in early spring!

~babies growing in my tummy, continued to do well all winter/spring. a little small early on, but then really caught up and as of this past week the baby boy was getting down right big @ 5lbs 12oz at 35ish weeks.

~i remained completely healthy, no bedrest or crazy pregnancy symptons (other than getting really large and having 20 toes and 20 fingers growing inside me!)

~we are soo happy for warmer weather and the ability to play outside! avery is riding her bike a ton, and lerran loves to push strollers, ride on toys and swing!

~todd's busy season is now in high gear. However the Lord has been so gracious about the timing of everything and the fact that todd is pretty caught up and doesn't have really long weddings from now untill when the babies should come!

so i know that was long and random, i will post things more specifically in the next week or so!

sorry, i know that was random and long :o)

a few fun pics of the fam!

family zoo trip

making cookies (and a big 'ole mess!)

my birthday cake and my girls!! todd threw me a great surprise party and even baked a cake...what a guy!! i love fun family times like this!

todd's birthday :o)

having fun...fooling around!! they definately get at eachother, but so often they just play well and really love on eachother!! lerran's first words when she wakes up are, "eres avri?". somtimes avery will go into "get lerran" from her nap or in the morning and they will giggle and have the greatest time for like 30 minutes! avery is definately into ready lerran stories and pretending with her, and of course bossing her around :o)

cute kids, nuff said!

Snowtime

2009-01-19T11:41:00.000-08:00

Yea for snow!!! We have had some wicked cold weather here as of late, so it was fun to finally get a little snow to go along with it!! Todd has been gone for the day, so i wasn't sure about taking the girls out by myself (a lot of times new things include a little drama!). But, i wasn't pleasantly surprised! They loved it! This was quite a relief, especially considering our experience in the snow with Avery last year. Which basically included a few good pictures of me holding her after 15 minutes of screaming that she was falling through the snow. So as you might understand i was pleasantly surprised! Lerran continues to adapt to new situations well and is quite adventerous!!

We even built 2 little snowmen and snow angels!! i love snow!

Yippee!! 2 healthy babies, 1 boy, 1 girl!!

2009-01-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

So, again, thanks for all of your support! We are thrilled about these two little bambinos! We have been surprised on the gender of our children thus far, however with the sheer multitude of babies coming at once this time, we decided to throw tradition down the drain and find out their gender! I'm so glad we did! It was a sweet time with Todd, when we saw our little guy's "parts" and saw that we are having another precious girl!! Todd's face was priceless, when the Ultrasound tech said, "Baby A is a boy!". Very fun!! We both really thought it was two girls, so this was a fun surprise! We had decided to name 2 girls, Whoopsie and Daisy. I guess we'll have to come up with somthing else now!!

sweet little girl. i loved this profile shot!

both baby's bellies

best picture to actually see two babies.

speaks for itself, i think!

2009-01-10T14:51:00.000-08:00

okay, so this is a straight copy from todd's blog...it was just so funny, i had to post it as well! love to have your vote, on what our babies will be. It is so weird finding out, i love surprises, so we are trying to make this fun!!

As you may know, Emily and I are expecting twins. We've decided that we want to find out what gender(s) the babies will be so we have a little time to prepare for the madness. We'll be finding out next week. Before we do, I wanted to set up a little poll to see how prophetic y'all are.

Those of you who like to know all the facts, you may find this information helpful before you guess.
- We think they are fraternal and not identical, based on the doctor's opinion.
- I have two older sisters and one younger brother. Coincidence?
- Emily has four brothers and no sisters. Perhaps God is giving her the sisters she always wanted in the form of... daughters?
- We chose not to find out with Avery and Lerran. In both cases, we had girls.
- When Lerran was born, my good friend Jeff (who has 3 girls) said "God has decided. There's already enough man in the Pellowe house."

http://tinyurl.com/9xpwkq
this is a link to todd's blog, where you can vote (and check out his amazing work!).

Christmas in Kentucky

2009-01-08T08:03:00.000-08:00

We had the joy of hosting Christmas this year with my whole Gayer family!! All four brothers came, one sis-in-law, 2 parents, and one sweet nephew. In the words of my husband, "we had a rockin' good time!!". Our festivities included, rook games, ping pong tournaments, 1st annual Gayer talent show, traditional cinnamon roll Christmas breakfast, advent candles, lots of PS3 and movies on the big screen, Ben learning how to ride his new rip stick (and other family members trying as well, i was very nervous for people's hips), sushi dinner that Ben & kristen made, great conversation, eggnog, lots of fun with Sampson (B& K's mini dauchsand), a lot of presents, a good bit of drama from our sweet girls, and well lots of other fun times!!

It was a good time...here are some pics

avery and her sweet cousin Evan! He is a great little guy and looks just like his mommy and daddy....way to represent the red heads, Evan!

avery and lerran's "cooker hat" they recieved a new kitchen and have had a ball with it!

Daddy's labor of love. He spent many an hour putting together this kitchen...they love it!

the three cousins...pretty good shot, avery is definately the "little mama".

lerran opening a fun piano/song player. I think we should buy stock in V-tech. We defnately have kept them in business this Christmas!

Avery had fun with a piano from Jeremy.

This is an awesome vintage tractor and wagon that my dad made for Ben when he was a baby and all of us kids played with it. They gave it to Evan this Christmas...look at his huge grin!

stockings are always a ton of fun!

Todd, David, and Stephen with Todd's new Detroit Tigers blanket (from David, and lovingly stitched by mom!).

Avery loves games!!! go fish with the boys!

avery in her nurse's costume from Aunt Melissa and Uncle James in NC!

Christmas cookie fun!

cooking with Nana.

hope you all had a blessed and merry Christmas, celebrating the birth of Christ!

The joke is on us!!!!

2008-12-18T13:27:00.001-08:00

So, I've been trying to think of a really cute, clever, and funny way to say this...but I'm too tired :o).

In the words of Avery & Lerran's shirts... "Oops They did it again!".

They are both going to be big sisters, in a big way! I was really excited to tell the blog world that we are going to have a baby in June, however much to our huge surprise, I can now tell the blog world that we are going to have 2 babies in May!! That is right, we are expecting TWINS!! It was quite the shock of a lifetime, 2 weeks ago (at my 14 week appt.) when I proudly announced to the Doctor that we were ready for a third child, and she sheepishly looked at me and asked "How about a 4th". Unbelievable!!! We are excited, knowing that God is sovereign and somewhere in His funny plan, it is ordained that we should have 4 sweet children under 4 years old! In all seriousness, we are excited and humbled and completely dependent on the Lord for the strength to do this! We would covet your prayers as we walk down this very busy and fun road!!

I'm optimistic that now I am feeling better, I will be more faithful about blogging and updating our crazy lives! Thanks for living life with us, we are excited to share this journey!!

Yea for Fall!

2008-11-14T11:35:00.000-08:00

We love fall around here! It has been an exceptional one at that! Lots of mild days that amidst it getting dark right after lunch(at least thats how it feels :o) we have been able to be outside enjoying the weather. I am a little nervous for Winter. Since we moved into this new neighborhood it has been warm out and every evening we are home we are out and socializing (which I love). So...not sure what we will do when it is cold and dark, but I'm sure it will all work out.

So sorry to the blog world that I left a huge gap between this post and the last, I would like to offer several excuses like: painting the basement, moving things to the basement, todd getting anew computer...ect. However I know none are all that good! So I'm back, like it or not!

We had a blast carving and painting punkins (a shout out to Jaimie Farrel from the 'Punkin' capitol of the world!"). As well as watching the leaves change this fall. We have attempted to rake leaves and jump in the piles, but my kiddos are a little skiddish of new activities, so we mainly just thank God for the pretty leaves :o).

Some pics Todd recently took of the girls.

I guess I can take credit for this one :O).

Who said having girls isn't fun??

2008-09-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

Amidst a rather tough week with behavior (namely rough behavior from our eldest :o), and lots of drama that comes with having two highly emotional little Eve's it is fun to take time to enjoy the tea! I found the girls in their room this morning both sitting and having a tea party, it was quite cute. Though I am occasionally exhausted by how complicated girls are even at a young age (i know Todd, i do feel sorry for you :O), and am wishing for balls and trucks and the simplicity of boys, my sweet girls sure bring a lot of smiles and joy! This week has been behavior bootcamp after a week long birthday celebration with family and friends and way to many cupcakes. God is faithful and we have seen some progress, it just is hard to be consistent all the time. I'm sure all you parents out there can say amen to that! Just wanted to pass along these little joys in my life today! God bless!

Tea for two!

Strollers and baby dolls all around!

Birthday Bum

2008-09-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

Litterally! We have had a blast of a week this past week! Thanks to hurricane Ike, we were without power for 5 days, though I can honestly say it was fun! Lots of hanging out with neighbors and being outside and working around the house/yard! We also did a lot of celebrating of Avery's birthday! We had visits from both sets of Nanas and Papas, which was awesome, as well as a super fun birthday party! Our sweet little girl is growing up! I keep hearing the 3s are worse than the 2s, if that is the case, well "Lord, help!" Though I do pray that everyday anyway!! More pics to come of avery's birthday ect.! I couldn't resist this picture of a different side of the birthday girl!

Fun visits from Jeremy

2008-09-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

We have had the pleasure of several visits from Uncle J this summer as he has been in between school, traveling, 1st station, and avoiding hurricanes. It has been a blast. We all pitched in and got him a good digital camera for graduation and well, he put it to good use!

Jeremy downloaded a coloring game on his iphone. needless to say avery loved it.

A LOT

Jeremy didn't see much of his phone. On the next visit(just this week) avery remembered right away and wanted his phone, and she is always asking to see daddy's iphone to color on it. Todd made the wise choice of not installing that game :o)

some backyard fun!

Jeremy trying to teach avery to play football...she just ran away with it!

Baby Lerran's turn!

Hot air balloons in the sky! We love any and all visitors! So please come from far and wide!! I'll post you on my blog :o)

Where O Where did my baby go???

2008-08-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

It is so funny how time changes things. When avery was turning one, I was eager for her to walk and grow up and be a big girl. And now with sadness in my tone, I have to announce that my sweet little baby Lerran is growing. Though not walking yet and not talking to much, she is getting big. She is learning to pretend, read books, and sadly yes talk on the phone! Her lack of hair still keeps her looking young, but is on the upward climb. Speaking of climbing, that is her favorite thing to do she'll climb anything, stairs, slides, rock walls, you! She is a delight for now is still my little baby!!

When you sit down to read books with her, she wants no part in it unless she can hold the book and do all the pointing!

Pretty excited about her new skills with the push toys!

Guilty face, I just stole this phone from my sister :O).

Five sweet years

2008-07-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

July 26th, 2003. It was a hot hot day in Lynchburg, VA, and it was the best day of my life!!
Todd and I have such wonderful memories from our wedding and I love thinking about it...I even pulled out the VHS video today and cried like a baby...it was beautiful!

I love you, Babe! These have been the best years of my life!

I also reminisced about family and all the wonderful people who were there that witnessed our vows. We am truly blessed to have such a caring and loving family and friends! Both sets of our parents have been so influential in our lives and our wedding was a celebration of them as well!
We asked our guests that day to pray for us as we embarked on a life together, for us to put Him first, to stay faithful to one another and to raise a godly family! God has been faithful to us and we are so thankful, but all those things that we asked prayer for then are things we still pray for today and we constantly need God's love and mercy!

This is our favorite picture from our wedding! It is of us getting pelted with birdseed as we entered our lovely reception at West Manor.

Deal of the day!!

2008-07-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

so i went this evening to meet a freind for dinner at Chick-fil-a with our kiddos. Both of our husbands had worship practice, so we were like "lets grab dinner". So i am in line and ordering ....and to my sweet surprise, 4-piece chicken nugget kids meals are free on Thurs. from 5-8. It made my night and i only have 2 kids. Imagine the savings if you have more kids .... so for this reason alone I think i would like to have five or six kids (just think of the savings!!). it was like 2 gallons of gas....i was pumped! Just wanted to toss that tidbit out there, atleast in the greater Louisville area, on Thurs evenings from 5-8, free kids meals!!!

Eat Moore Chikin!!

Congrats Uncle J

2008-07-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

A big shout out to 2nd Lieutenant Jeremy Geyer!!!!

Avery, Lerran, and I had the joy of going to Colorado Springs, Co over memorial day to see my whole family and especially to see Jeremy (aka Uncle J) graduate from the Air Force Academy! Sadly Todd had to miss the festivities because of a crazy amount of may/june weddings (he was missed!!!).

All of us Gayer kids after the graduation parade, all of the pomp and circumstance of a military celebration was so much fun to watch! It was awesome to be in a truly patriotic place! I love America!

This was a family picture taken before Jeremy's swearing in ceremony. This was a really special evening, it was just his squadron (about 100 cadets, 30 or so graduating). It was intimate and each graduate was individually sworn in and then had their leuitenant stripes pinned on by their parents! We were all so proud of J!!! After that we put the kiddos to bed and headed out for a family celebration dinner! At which we all gave toasts and had a beautiful time as a family. My dad's words to Jeremy were very moving (as were everybody's) but he just so much encouraged him to go from here and pursue the Lord above all else and be a godly man! a truly great evening!

The graduation ceremony was insane. President Bush was the speaker, which was really neat and he did a great job! The crazy thing was it was raining and 40 degrees (and i only had sun dresses for the girls :O) and we were in lock down by the secret service because of the President. But 4 hours and many bags of starburst and licorice later we made it..it was great! Definately the most memorable moment of the whole time was when Jeremy recieved his diploma, he politely saluted the president, shook his hand and then chest bumped him!!!!! It was awesome!!! He was the first to do it and it was so fun to watch, President Bush was very candid and casual with the Cadets...it was great!!!

Thunderbirds flew overhead right when the graduates were officially announced and they all threw their caps in the air...very fun!

Congrats little bro, I'm so proud of you!!! I love this picture of Jeremy looking back at the academy! He was quite ready to leave those beautiful mountains and move on! He will be attending flight school in Columbus, MS after his leave this summer, in which he has been gallivanting all over Europe!!

We had some other great times while we were there in Colorado, mainly just beautiful sights and great times with family!

Avery and Lerran have the best uncles in the world!!

David and Lerran at Garden of the gods. REALLY gorgeous!

Whate'er My God Ordains is Right

2008-07-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

I don't know how often music speaks to my soul...but it happened today! After an amazing message on prayer at church, Fellowship Church Louisville, the band led us in this song of worship. The words are incredible and the lyrics equally so. This is what I want my prayer to be through life! Listen to a short clip on indelible grace's website: http://www.igracemusic.com/igracemusic/ig1/ Enjoy!

Whate'er My God Ordains Is Right

1. Whate’er my God ordains is right,Holy His will abideth.I will be still whate’er He does,And follow where He guideth.He is my God,Though dark my road.He holds me that I shall not fallWherefore to Him I leave it all
2. Whate’er my God ordains is right,He never will deceive meHe leads me by the proper path,I know He will not leave meI take, content,What He hath sentHis hand can turn my griefs awayAnd patiently I wait His day
3. Whate’er my God ordains is right,Though now this cup in drinkingMay bitter seem to my faint heart,I take it all unshrinkingMy God is true,Each morn anewSweet comfort yet shall fill my heartAnd pain and sorrow shall depart
4. Whate’er my God ordains is right, Here shall my stand be takenThough sorrow, need, or death be mine, Yet I am not forsakenMy Father’s careIs round me thereHe holds me that I shall not fallAnd so to Him I leave it all
©1998 David Braud Music.

new swing set!!

2008-07-05T05:42:00.000-07:00

so, todd and i finally crumbled. we (mainly todd, but i got on board too!) were pretty adamant about not getting a swing set for our little ones, there are several in our neighborhood we could use, it is a big expense and having just moved we don't need to spend the money....etc. however todd surprised me one day by saying he had done some research and found a used one for a killer deal! we were able to get it last week! I am so thankful that we were able to get one, as you can see from the pics avery and lerran are pretty pumped too! We invited a little neighbor boy over the other evening and he jumped around and was so giddy, i hope the new swing set will provide great opportunities to invite moms with kids over and help us get to know and invest in the lives of new neighbors!!

so, if you are ever in the area, stop on over to the pellowe pad for a little swing set fun!! Happy Summer!

2008-06-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

so here we are in the heat of summer and lovin' every minute! We recently took a fun long trip to Michigan for Lerran and her 2 cousins, michael and noah, 1st birthdays! We had a blast and were able to get some time in at the lake! here are some fun pics from that trip! Please take note that lerran is still bald and has very few teeth! She still seems so young to us, maybe it is because of the lack of hair or that she is the second child, but either way we are happy to keep it that way! She is such a sweet child and ablessing from the Lord! Happy 1st Birthday Lerran!

lerran at her party.

the three babies (note how much smaller lerran is!) lerran, micahel, and noah!

lerran alternated between cake, frosting, and lollipop...she loved it. Lets just say it was a late night!

avery on lake michigan

lerran on the boat...in her stylin' jacket.

the older set of cousins, they all loved eachother it was so fun to watch them become friends.
caedon, madi, and avery.

todd has this new thing with fishing, who would have thought? it was something fun for him to teach avery and i!

Hurray for me!! i'm officially a blogger!

2008-06-09T12:18:00.000-07:00

After years of long debate..i've decided to join the blog world...if no one reads, thats okay ...this will provide some sort of creative outlet for this girl whos days are spent with children under three(i love how my days are spent, mind you).

I will try to post occasionally the goings on of our family and what the Lord is doing in our lives, prayer requests, and of course the small joys in life!