Update and Thanks....

Hey All,
For those of you needing an update, my sister-in-law Andrea (Justin's sister) has been put on long term hospital bed rest with the twins. Basically, she is 23 weeks right now, and they are not viable until 24 weeks....so at least one more week until they could even try to save them. Good news is she's been there a week now, and nothing has changed as far as more contractions or anything--PRAISE GOD! They are really hoping she'll have a very long, very uneventful and very boring 2-3 months more in the hospital. And I could not agree more! Next week Wed or Thurs they will be starting her on steroids to help the babies grow a little more quickly, in case they do come early. We'd really love for them to make it to 30 or more weeks, and that's what we're praying hard for.

Let's see, in other news, I had a super fun day with McKayla, their 2 1/2 year old, and can I brag that she is SO super smart? I had to stop in at school to deal with some field trip paperwork, so I took her to see the fish I have in my classroom. She was SO excited and kept saying "Swim fishies, swim!!!" Afterwards, she started saying "Fishies, what does fishies start with?" At first I wasn't sure what she was saying, and then I caught on, so I said, "Well, what does fishies start with??" She replied "ffff, Fishies starts with F!!!" Um, holy cow, the 2 1/2 year old is doing phonics? Wow! Then she continued saying, "And frogs! Frogs starts with F!" Throughout the day I received various phonics lessons. Later, when we visited Andrea, it was confirmed that they have been talking about the sounds letters make, and words that start with those sounds. Andrea was amazed when she realized a few weeks ago that McKayla not only knows the letters, but their sounds and words that start with them. I guess I don't know many 2 1/2 year olds, but she sure seems smart to me =)! I was also playing a kids CD for her (she has a copy of it at home that they play) and the "months of the year" song was playing. All of a sudden she started singing along. Not only does she know that, but also the days of the week. She's too cute. Anyhow, enough bragging. Yikes, what will it be like when I have THREE nieces to brag on?

Well, I think that's all for now. Hope you're all doing well and thanks again to all of you who are praying for Andrea and the twins!

Prayers Needed

Many of you probably got an email from me about this, but just in case, please keep Andrea, Justin's sister, in your prayers. She's in the hospital now with a possible infection and is having contractions. Obviously with twins pre term labor is a big concern, but right now they think the contractions are very small and due to the infection causing her uterus irritation. At any rate, they need many prayers for all of that, and for everything to work out when she is on bed rest at home. She may be on bed rest for quite awhile. Thanks all!

Birthday Weekend Fun

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting about our trip to OK City for my birthday weekend. We met my parents there and had a wonderful time!! On Friday, my mom and I got in a quick bit of shopping (of course!) and then we enjoyed a fun dinner at the Shogun Steak House. They even sang to me in Japanese and took our picture. If I can get it scanned and it turns out ok, I'll post it for you all to see. Saturday my mom and I enjoyed a day of marathon shopping, while the boys went golfing. Justin was a very good sport and did 18 holes with my dad. They both enjoyed the male bonding time, and the beautiful weather. Saturday night my parents had purchased us all tickets to a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater. We all weren't sure what to expect, but it turns out it is an outreach ministry of a church-HOW COOL! It's in the back area of a church and members serve as the waiters, waitresses, etc. The food was SO good, and the theater part was hilarious. Guess who even got pulled up on stage for audience participation, yep, yours truly. I proudly shook mini maracas and did crazy hand motions to "I've Got Friends in Low Places". Good thing I know that song. Anyhow, I even got to keep one of my maracas....fun times. We were all quite impressed and were so glad that the proceeds go to help the church's outreach. Very cool.
On Sunday we saw one of the coolest science exhibits ever! While chatting with a couple at our table on Saturday night we discovered that the Science Museum had the "Our Body-The Universe Within" exhibit. We had planned on going to the zoo, but quickly decided preserved and dissected bodies would be MUCH better. And wow-it was SO awesome! If it's in your area or near you, you really should go! It was definitely worth it and we spent a good couple of hours just in that exhibit. The museum also had tons of other exhibits, enough that we could have gone back for a second day! Some other time I guess! Sunday night we had a nice time playing cards at the hotel to wrap up our big weekend. Unfortunately, Monday it was time to eat an early breakfast and head out our separate ways. But, it was a really wonderful weekend and I'm so glad to have spent my birthday with my parents, it's been about 7 or 8 years since I've been able to see them on my actual birthday, pretty cool. (If you know my family, you know that birthdays are a really BIG deal).

Aside from that trip, we've been continuing to adjust to having Mozart added to our family. It's going pretty well, and actually Sierra is the one who "acts out" sometimes. Earlier this week both Justin and I's shoes were chewed up (she's never touched them before) and a pair of my slippers met their demise. We've learned to put everything up, though yesterday she tried the rug, but I think discovered it wasn't much to chew up. Who knows what she will try today...we'll find out!

We are also anxiously awaiting the arrival our of twin nieces, yep, that's right-two more girls! You don't even realize how much fun I will have shopping for three girls! I've already started! Andrea is doing well, but is feeling quite huge. She's measuring at 30 weeks, even though she's only at 21! The only thing identified as a potential problem so far is one of the babies only has one umbilical artery. This could be nothing, or a sign of a heart defect. All the other chromosomal tests have been normal, so they are hoping that there is no heart defect present when they do the echocardiogram in a couple of weeks. If that comes up clear that will be a really good sign. We are all praying that everything with both babies will be perfect and normal!

Last but not least, our very good friends from CO-Michael and Jennifer (pictured in the post about Justin's 30th birthday) had their baby girl yesterday! So, we happily welcome Aubrey Marie into the Haas family and wish them the best!!!!

Take care everyone--and you teachers out there, hang in there...the end is in sight!!!!