Blessed by the Body

Lately I have become more aware of how we have been blessed by the Body. Sometimes in the hurriedness of everyday life I take for granted the acts of kindness and love that we recieve from our brothers and sisters in Christ. This past month our family rotated sickness for about 3-4 weeks - it was less than enjoyable, truly it was pitiful. But, in the midst of fevers, runny noses, and endless coughs God showed up. He showed up in the friends and family who came over to help us with the babies (specifically the 24 hours I was bedridden with flu). He showed up in the people who brought us meals (this is a pic of the yummy Sushi that the Oh's made for us). He showed up in the people who encouraged and prayed for us. And, He showed up in Jeff and I as we served one another in the midst of being sick and tiered ourselves.
God is good and faithful. I am reminded that the Body of Christ is sweet.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was good. I got to spend some time playing with the kiddos, some time alone on a long walk, some time to read and garden, and some prime time with my hubby over an Italian dinner. The morning began as all Sunday morning's do - a bit hurried. Jeff left for church at 7am and I rushed around like usual wishing that I had arisen from bed 20 minutes earlier. Although I was running short on time I just had to attempt a photo of the tots before leaving for church. This was fairly amusing as every time I tried to get the little people to stand together Caleb ran down the driveway.

Here's Carissa looking giving her brother a look - enough all ready, let's pose for the pic!
Despite her brother Carissa said "cheese" and gave a winning smile to melt my heart

My attempt at pictures sitting on the stairs. We know who the bossy one is - Carissa was pointing to the seat next to her telling Caleb to sit down!
Sunday Safari boy and sister gardening after an afternoon nap

18 Month Milestone

*Today our little munchkins are 18 months old!*

(Carissa at the park - she loves to swing and to explore around her)

Carissa, being the older twin by a mere 30 seconds is a fun loving tot.

What she loves:

• her brother - she gives him kisses and pats him lovingly on the back
• to be held - she's a mama's girl, but if mama isn't around she'll find other arms to hold her
• her pacifier - she calls it a 'sah', but only gets it during nap/bed time
• her baby - she loves to carry her baby around and cradle her to 'rock-a-bye-baby'
• shoes - she loves all shoes and she's learning how to put them on herself
• being outside - probably influenced by her brother

What she's doing:

• walking - finally!
• speaking lots of words - too many to count!
• saying animal sounds - moo, baa, ruff ruff, meow, fish face
• pointing to familiar objects in books
• identifying parts of the body
• feeding herself with a fork/spoon
• scribbling w/ crayons
• going pee in the potty - sometimes

(Caleb at the park - he loves going down the slide)

Caleb, the younger sibling, is a ham.

What he loves:

• his sister, he likes to give her hugss
• books, books, books
• being outside - it doesn't matter if he is racing down the driveway or sidewalk, playing in the backyard, at the park, whatever - if its outside he's happy
• his pacifier, blankie, and musical giraffe at night night time
• watching Sesame Street while sitting in his little chair
• going bye-bye. Caleb stands at the door leading out to our garage and says 'bye bye' over and over and over...
• to be in control - when he doesn't get his way everyone knows it. WAH!
  

What he's doing:

• running
• speaking quite a few words
• making animal sounds - moo, meow, ruff ruff
• pointing out familiar objects in books
• able to climb in and out of chairs
• identifying parts of the body
• feeding himself with a fork/spoon
• scribbling w/ crayons
• wrecking our house - Caleb is constantly getting into something. He has learned how to open the kitchen pantry, every drawer in the house, you name it-he can get in to it

Proud Pottier

We've got a Proud Pottier in the Kintner Clan! Today, at only 17 months old, Carissa peed in her new potty 4 times! This morning Daddy assembled the new potty chair that Nana bought Caleb and Carissa a couple of weeks ago. With curiosity Carissa wanted to try it out so Mommy sat her on the cushy seat and wah-lah a few minutes later she peed! Later she peed again, and again and again. Zip-A-Dee-Pee-Dah!

Twined together

Did you know?
"Twin" comes from the German word "twine" meaning "two together."

from 'Day 1' Carissa Joy and Caleb Jackson were intertwined. The best of friends, they show their love towards one another in tangible ways every day.

(9 months)
They crack each other up. Caleb is especially smitten with Carissa and thinks that she is very funny.


(11 months)
They console one another. When one twin is crying the other twin will pat the upset twin on the back or the head showing genuine concern - its like saying "I'm here, its okay". Or, one will bring the other a blanket or favorite toy. It is really sweet.

(17 months)
Lately they have been showing love through hugs. One never knows though if the sweetness will turn sour in an instant of tackling or hair pulling. Nonetheless, it is precious for a moment.

Carissa Joy (17 months)

Caleb Jackson (17 months)
symbol for "twin happiness"

Nana & Grandad visit COS!

Nana and Grandad came to see us in Colorado Springs. We had a great visit!

On Sunday we met up with the Kintner's in Castle Rock for dinner. My only request of the evening was a picture of the kids with both sets of grandparents.

Pictured here is: Papa, Grandma, Carissa, Nana, Caleb, and Grandad

We had beautiful weather. One day we took Caleb and Carissa to a park that has a playground and a pond with ducks. They loved feeding the ducks!

After swinging, and sliding the twins took a long spin on the merry-go-round.

Carissa Joy all Locked Up

After church last week Carissa locked herself in the car - alone. While loading the twins into the Honda Carissa grabbed my keys. She loves to play with keys so I didn't think twice about letting her have them. With Caleb tugging on my leg I threw in my purse and the diaper bag in the back seat, shut the door and walked Caleb around to the other side of the car. En route I heard the doors lock. Immediately my heart leapt - Oh No!!! Carissa locked herself into the car!!!

I began to panic. No cell phone (it was locked in the car), no husband (he was teaching Sunday School at our home church), no extra keys. If I was at our home church it would have been a no brain er -use Jeff's keys. But, for the first time since living in Colorado Springs we were at another church because my Mom and Lance had been the keynote speakers for their services. Anyway, my only immediate solution was to convince Carissa to press the exact button that would un-lock the car. My 'mom' instincts kicked in and I tried to make Carissa think that we were playing games of 'peek-a-boo' and 'press the button on the key' through the window. I knew that if she freaked out she would throw the keys and then all hope of her actually un-locking the doors would be lost. To my dismay her left index finger kept touching the un-lock button but she was using her right thumb to press the all of the other buttons including...the Panic button! This created quite the scene. Not only was the panic horn reverberating loudly through the parking lot, but I was dancing around, making funny faces, and yelling at her through the window while also trying to entertain Caleb and make sure that he didn't run out in the street and get hit by a car. Carissa did begin to freak out a tad but luckily she shut off the panic button and calmed down. At this point I decided that leaving her alone to 'play' with the keys may result in her pressing the right button. Thankfully, after about 20 minutes she pressed the un-lock button and we were able to depart the church parking lot without the help of the police, the paparrazi, or anyone for that matter. This is me trying to capture the moment through the tinted windows.

Instead of showing Carissa locked in the car, its just my reflection.