Our Fun Weekend!

Jacob and I have had a great, but busy weekend! First, let me start by saying that I will post a picture this week...I have gotten so many texts, comments, Facebook messages, etc., requesting one so that will be taken care of at some point this week, I promise!! This week was fun because it appears that I am obviously showing! One of the joys of working in an elementary school is hearing their reactions to my news. Thursday, one of our first graders walked into my office, stared at me, and then said "Mrs. Fox, are you going to have a baby?" His reaction was even funnier when I answered by saying "Yes, two of them!"...he had a really funny look on his face and then informed me that I didn't look THAT big! I love my job and getting to be around the kids...I was also told this week by another one that they thought Rupert would be a great name for one of them if they were a boy!

Anyway, back to the weekend! Friday, our school secretary, Hayley, called me and told me that I had a delivery waiting in the office. When I walked in, I was surprised and excited to see a dozen roses with a note from Jacob! That was definently a good start to the weekend! Friday night, I decided that the babies were craving crab legs, so we went to Red Lobster and it was WONDERFUL...I LOVE crab legs and their biscuits aren't bad either! After we left, we went and rented a movie but about halfway through it I fell asleep...I'm not exactly a night owl these days! :)

Saturday, we woke up to a BEAUTIFUL day...our car said it was 79 degrees! I had quite a few things that I needed to get done inside (laundry), but I couldn't make myself stay inside! Cooper and I went for a 3 mile walk, which was the first I have done in awhile, but I felt great and hope to continue! Jacob was busy washing both of our cars and cleaning them completely out! After that, we got ready and met one of Jacob's coworkers and his wife and headed to Lonoke to go to the annual Farm Bureau kick off, which was in McGhee. We had the privilege of riding in a Limo Bus to the kick off and had a great time with all of Jacob's coworkers and their wives. One of the funniest parts of the night was when our driver informed us that she was a Loretta Lynn impersonator, so of course we had to have her sing a song! It was an especially neat trip for me because my great grandparents lived in McGhee, and we went there every Christmas when I was little! The dinner was at the Country Club, which was where we always ate when we went to visit, so it was a good little trip down memory lane! Anyone who knows me well knows that I am an emotional person and love memories from my childhood! :) We got home around 12:30 last night, and I was proud of myself for staying up the whole time, haha, but we really did have a great time!

Jacob and I on the limo bus (sorry, it's a sitting down picture)

Today has been another great day! We had lunch at Bill and Linda's (our Cabot parents) after church, then took a trip to the gym to get a little walking in for me! :) The weather this weekend has been beautiful and I will be sad when it gets cold again...it really has been a great weekend!

15 weeks!

Today I am officially 15 weeks pregnant!! I get weekly emails informing me of my babies growth, progress, and what they're up to these days! According to the email today, they are around 4 inches long from their head to their toes (about the size of an apple). They can also move all of their limbs and joints now...I was also told that at 14 weeks, twins begin playing together, which is just so much fun to think about! The email also said that their taste buds are forming, and they can now sense light if a flashlight is pointed towards my stomach...I don't think I'll be trying that anytime though! haha I love getting these weekly reminders about them, and I look forward to each Thursday when I will get another one! Can't believe that this pregnancy has gone by this fast already...they will be here before we know it! :)

On another note, I started back to grad school tonight! I was supposed to start back last week, but the snow postponed the excitement! ha I am SOOO excited to say that this is my last semester of grad school and I will graduate in May! It is so obvious that God had his planned all figured out for me...graduate in May, have babies in June! Perfect!! We got to go around tonight and tell something interesting about ourselves, and I bet you can't guess what mine was! :) They were all so excited to hear my news and watch me grow throughout the semester!

This is my shortest post so far, but I'm exhausted from a long day, so it's off to bed! I might start putting weekly pictures of myself next week...but I'm not promising anything..haha. We'll shall see!! Happy Friday tomorrow!!

Frequently Asked Questions

Lately, I get a lot of the same questions, which is PERFECTLY fine with me because it is nice to know that so many people care! :) I figured I could answer the basic ones on here for those of you who I do not see often! For awhile now, I was constantly asked when Jacob and I would begin having children. Although a few close friends knew of our struggle with this, I chose to use "grad school" as an excuse. That seemed to satisfy everyone and they agreed that it was a good idea to finish that first! Luckily, I will graduate in May before having them at the end of June! Okay, now on to the current questions....

1. Are you sick?
I have been so grateful to answer a big NO to this one! When I found out I was having twins, I was told by multiple people that I would be double as sick. However, I have not been sick one day! There were times that I wondered if I really was pregnant because I haven't even felt sick (knock on wood). I am very, very thankful for this...although I was ready and prepared because my good friend, Janelle, mailed me some Preggie Pops (along with some other WONDERFUL "Mom-to-be" gifts).  

2. How are you feeling?
Most days,  my answer is that I am feeling great! I will be honest that in the first trimester, I thought that I would not make it through the day because I was so tired! I would come home from work and take a long nap, then go to sleep at 8:00 (literally). I think Jacob was a little worried that this would be the rest of our lives, but I've managed to be better about this lately. :) Also at the beginning of my pregnancy, I was VERY emotional for a few days. I vividly remember one day that I got to work and the emotions just hit me hard, so I went into my office, shut my blinds, locked my door, and cried for a good 10 minutes. After that, I was good to go! The other day that I remember the most for being emotional was when Jacob walked in our house from work and I was sitting on the couch SOBBING! Haha...I laugh now thinking about the look on his face when he saw me. He was very sweet and caring as he asked me what was wrong....and to that answer, he got a hysterical "I don't know!" I'm pretty sure it took a lot out of him not to laugh at that moment and I can't say that I blame him. Now that the second trimester is in full swing, I feel great! When I stand up too quickly, I get a little dizzy.....I can control that though and I would much rather have that side effect than sickness!

3. Why are you not showing?? (Until this week)
I have been able to conceal my bump pretty well until this week! Do not get me wrong, I do not want to hide it at all....it's just at that little awkward phase where people are not quite sure what to say! This week though, I was told that I for sure have a bump...which I'm excited about...even though I was told this week that I'm getting "bumpy"! I have started wearing maternity jeans, but that's all so far! Jacob is very jealous of my maternity jeans and thinks that he should get a pair too...haha. For all of you who feel I'm not as big as I should be...you just wait! :)

4. Do you think it's a boy/girl mix? 2 girls? 2 boys?
I honestly have no idea what I think. I have had mixed feelings and it really does change every week! My college roommate, Meghon, had a dream the week before I found out that I was pregnant that I was going to  have twins! She was right about that part, but we'll see if she was right about her dream of their gender (2 boys). I think Jacob is very concerned about the possibility of two girls, which I think is pretty funny to think about! There are many people placing bets and they have been all over the place, so I am very excited to know!

5. Do you have any cravings?
The first trimester, I really did not have much of an appetite and when I did eat, it was never heavy foods. The one thing that I could not handle seeing, smelling, eating, etc. was any form of beef! That has passed now and my appetite is back! I have learned that I have to eat every 2-3 hours, but I eat smaller meals when I do eat! Jacob thought it was funny when I leaned over during church and asked him if anyone would care if I took the whole communion cracker because I was STARVING! He gave me a look and said "don't you dare!" I may have to start keeping snacks in my purse! haha


If I think of anymore questions, I will have a second post! These are the major ones that I get asked daily...but once again, it NEVER bothers me to talk about my sweet babies, so feel free to ask anytime!

Appointments Until Now

I feel like I need to catch up on my appointments up until this point! It is AMAZING to see our babies grow and it is really hard to believe that they grow as fast as they do! One of the benefits of being pregnant with twins is that I have gotten an ultrasound at each appointment. I told my doctor that I had some very jealous friends who only got to see their baby a couple of times the whole pregnancy...his response was "tell them to work a little harder to have twins, then they can see theirs too!" By the way, I have a wonderful doctor! He is very caring and supportive and is very excited for us! My friend, Pam, is a nurse in the Labor/Delivery unit where I will have the little ones and she and my doctor get a good laugh every time that they see each other about us having twins! I am going to go ahead and say how thankful I am to have a friend like Pam that I know is going to take care of me and our babies...she has been with us through this whole journey and she is wonderful! Okay, now on to our appointments...

6 weeks and our surprise is revealed

Baby A- measuring 10.8mm

Baby B- measuring 10.1mm (we are able to get better views of Baby A because of their positioning)

At the beginning of our pregnancy, we have been going every 3 weeks (which I LOVE). My second appointment was at 9 weeks. Jacob had an appointment for work that day and my Mom and sister were in town, so they got to go with me to this one. For this appointment, my shock had worn off quite a bit, but I was very nervous and wanted to make sure that they both were still doing good. This is one of my favorite pictures because they are starting to look like little babies and it is probably the last time we will have a group picture of them until they're born because they will be too big to fit in one screen.

Group shot at 9 weeks- It's amazing because I can see little arms and legs!

Baby A- measuring 26.7mm (no wonder I'm so tired, they almost tripled in size in 3 weeks)

Baby B- measuring 25.9mm- love that he/she looks like a little person curled up!

My next appointment had to be postponed a week because of snow! Jacob and I were shocked and amazed at how much they had grown. Jacob's eyes were glued to the screen and he couldn't believe how much they were moving and how I couldn't feel it at all.

Baby A- measuring 72.8mm

Baby B- measuring 69.8mm

I am very excited to keep seeing our babies grow!

Big Surprise!!

On the morning of December 3, Jacob and I went to our first doctors appointment. At 6 weeks pregnant, I was EXTREMELY nervous and felt like it still wasn't real. After about 30 minutes of waiting, they took us back and did an ultrasound. I will never forget Dr. Mark's words as he began the ultrasound. As I watched on a smaller screen, I saw a "baby" with a little heartbeat. I can not even begin to explain the feeling that came over me. After looking for about 10 seconds, he said he was going to come right back to that. His next words I will never forget! He said "there's one sac, and there's the other sac." At first I thought he was joking, but when he began to label them Baby A and Baby B, I knew that he was not joking! I started laughing and put my hand over my face, then looked at Jacob to see what his reaction was. I asked him if he was going to pass out on me, and he assured me that he wasn't going to and he reached over and held my hand! It was such a sweet moment as we saw our babies for the first time! As we walked out of the room after it was over, all of the nurses began congratulating us and told us that we were there only set of twins right now, so they are so excited about it! Leaving the doctors office, I just couldn't stop laughing and saying that I could not believe this was really happening! When we got in the car, the tears began flowing as we both were so excited and knew that we were so blessed to be getting two babies at one time! :)

After calming ourselves down, I knew that we needed to call all of our family! They were all anxiously waiting the appointment and couldn't wait to hear how it went! We called my Dad first and he was shocked and SO excited when we told him! I have the sweetest Dad and he is going to be such an amazing grandfather...I loved sharing the news with him! After that, we called Jacob's mom (Ruth) and she had REALLY been waiting on this call. Jacob told her that it was a good thing we had two good grandmothers because we are going to need them for our two babies!! The tears began flowing again! haha...we have an emotional family if you can't tell! We had to get Jacob's Dad out of a meeting, so he called us and Jacob talked to him and told him the news and I will never forget the tears rolling down his face as he talked to his Dad about our two sweet babies that we were expecting! Jacob is not typically an emotional person, so this has been an adjustment for him! :) My mom is a kindergarten teacher, so I was waiting for her to call me on her lunch break. I had tried to think of all kinds of clever ways to tell her the news, but as soon as she said hi, I just said "Mom, there's two!!!" My mom is normally a pretty calm person, but after a few moments of silence, she began SCREAMING! I still laugh thinking about it! I asked her where she was and she said in the teachers lounge, so there is no telling what the other teachers thought was going on! After being vocal about our big news, she was afraid that my sister, Hannah, was going to find out from someone else (news travels fast in El Dorado)! She ran during her lunch break to my sisters school and got her out of class, which scared her to death when her Mom showed up in the middle of the day in the counselors office! She had Hannah call me and very nervously, she began to talk...I told her that she was going to be an aunt to twins and she was in shock as she said "SHUTUP" over and over and over again! After the whole counseling center heard her yelling this, my mom had to explain to them what was happening. Our other siblings, my brother Hayden, and Jacob's sisters, Jessie and Jenna, called when they were out of class and we told them the news! I will never forget the memories we have of telling our family, friends, and coworkers! The look on their faces were priceless and I wish I could have a picture of all of the reactions! It was a day we will never forget!

A New Journey!

Jacob and I have now been married 3 and a half years! We both are blessed with wonderful jobs and wonderful coworkers to work with! We added one to our family a few months after we got married, a maltese named Cooper. Jacob saw that as his way of keeping my "baby fever" under control for at least a few years! :) We love Cooper, but about a year and a half ago we decided that it was time to expand our family a little more! Jacob is WONDERFUL with all of our friends children and I have always known that he would make a wonderful Dad! I have always thought of myself as someone who was born to be a mom, so that was an easy decision for me to make! After a lengthy, emotional journey of trying to begin our family, we realized that it was not in our timing, but we needed to rely on God's plan for us and what his timeline for us was. In the meantime, Jacob and I were both blessed with new jobs and our relationship has grown so much stronger. We knew that God was laying out his plans for us gradually and we just needed to trust him and follow along with His plan!

On November 12, which was 7 years from our first date, I woke up to a surprise that will have changed my life forever! After many, many negative tests, I finally had a positive one! I will never forget the feeling of shock, disbelief, and excitement! I had gotten an "I Love Dad" onesie, as well as a "Me and My Dad" Little Critters book months ago in anticipation that this day would come. Although I thought I would be able to make a big production of it, I couldn't wait! At 5:45 a.m. I woke Jacob up screaming and jumping up and down and threw the gifts towards him! After he woke up, he kept asking if I was sure, and after seeing proof himself, he became very excited! It was VERY hard to go to work that day and carry on normally, not being able to tell anyone my exciting news! It still felt VERY unreal, but we were so excited!!! 

With Thanksgiving approaching, we knew that there was NO WAY that we would be able to keep this from our families! Since we were spending this Thanksgiving with my family, we called Jacob's family and told them that Jacob had a joke that he wanted to tell them (which is not unusual). After getting Jeff, Ruth, and Jessie on speaker phone, Jacob asked his mom what she would be like to be called as a grandmother....after a few moments of silence, she hesitantly asked why, then the screaming and crying began! Although I would have rather told them in person, it was a phone call we will never forget! A couple of days later, I went to El Dorado to be with my family for Thanksgiving. On the way there, I called my Dad and told him our exciting news because he was working out of town and wouldn't be there when we got there! After being there about 15 minutes, I could not wait any longer! I had bought my mom a Pandora charm of a baby carriage and nonchalantly given it to her and said I just wanted her to have a little sometime special after a long week at work as a kindergarten teacher! :) With my brother and sister there, Mom opened the little package and stared at it for what seemed to be like FOREVER (Hannah wasn't paying attention at this point because she was sad I didn't bring her something for her stressful week as a high school junior). At first she thought it was a train, but it clicked and she looked at me and screamed "ARE YOU PREGNANT????" At that moment, Hannah started jumping up and down and screaming hysterically and all three of us jumped up and down, hugging, and screaming. Hayden was excited too, but he did not show it quite the same way! After we calmed down and called my Dad, the crying began! We are all so excited about starting our family and I knew that our baby would be so blessed with an amazing extended family and friends to support them!

The Beginning of the Fox Family Blog! :)

In the past year, I have loved reading other friends blogs! Up until now though, I did not feel like there was too much going on in our life that would be "blog worthy" reading to others who know us! However, now there is a little excitement in our lives and with friends and family living in other cities and states, I figured this would be a helpful way of keeping up with us! :)