Update on Babies

No babies yet! I cannot believe that we have made it this far. I am 36 weeks now. Just about full term for twins. If someone would have told me that we would be considering being induced I would have told them they were crazy. Well believe it or not I have a date set to be induced (which is Dec 30 at 6:30am). Both Devin and I are hoping that I will spontaneously go into labor but we will see what is the plan for us. Someone told me this but I can't remember who, but they are totally right... We were talking about how I can't believe the babies are still in they said that our prayers are being answered. Which made me pause and think that Heavenly Father has certainly blessed us by keeping them in and having them stay in as long as possible. These babies are sure our Miracle babies. I can't wait to meet them.

Christmas Time

Devin decided to go all out decorating our house with Christmas lights. The pictures really don't do the view justice, but it still looks beautiful.

The Late Update on Thanksgiving

For some reason I have not updated you on our Thanksgiving. We had a great Thanksgiving with good food, company and plenty of games. Instead of having the traditional turkey we had cornish game hens. They were delicious. Here are a few pictures of our dinner.

"Hot" Date

Last night I was joking with Devin about going on a hot date with me. Knowing that because of the bedrest the date would probably be me on one couch and Devin on the other. After dinner he got in his snow suit and said he was going to play with the dog outside in the 7 degree weather. About a half hour later he came in and told me to get in my warmest clothes and go outside. To my surprise he had a nice fire started and a perfect spot for me to sit. So we did have a nice time bundled up next to the warm fire. It was fun to do something other than wacthing TV.

I've Been Tagged

This is my fifth picture from my fifth folder. It is not as exciting as I had hope but brought back some great memories. This was taken on a ski trip at in Squrriel Hallow in Idaho in Jaunurary 2006. This is our favorite place to ski. I really do miss it. We haven't found a place like this to ski since being in Alaska. Of course there are several wonderful trails but nothing like this. One of my favorite things is breaking in a trail after a huge snow fall. We spent most of our weekends in the winter at Squrriel Hallow. I hope to ski there again someday.

Had a Great Time at the Shower

On Saturday November 8, 2008 I had some friends from the ward put on a baby shower for me. It was so much fun. Cammie and Tina worked very hard to make it perfect. I had friends from the ward and friends from Anchorage. I have a slide show of some pictures that were taken. Just a heads up on my part... I was not focusing on being a model for pictures so please excuse some of the funny faces that I make. I have concluded from this experience that people are very generous and thoughtful. For all of you out there THANK YOU!

Baby Shower

Here are some update pictures of the pregnant Jenny. Hope you enjoy!

Fall is coming to a close

As I am looking out the window this morning... it is SNOWING!!!!! I have mixed feelings about the snow coming so early. On one hand I don't want Fall to be officially over, on the other hand, the snow looks so beautiful coming down and I get a little excited to see it come. It must be because I don't have to go outside in it. :) With the realization that winter is coming... we are getting ready for those little babies to come. Devin has been working very hard to move all of our stuff from the office into the old guest room. He has finally gotten the mess organized and the babies room is now completely empty waiting for furniture to fill it up. I have been doing my best in being a good "incubator" as Devin calls me. I had no idea how hard it would be to lay around all the time. There are a few moments I go insane, but I am trying to keep myself busy reading and watching movies. I have decided that I really can't stand the media protrayl of life. The more I watch these shows about fashion and celebrities and how things should be arranged in certain rooms I get annoyed. Their views are so skewed and unrealistic. Their styles are hideous and so worldly I can hardly handle it. But have found myself watching them more and more. Funny how things work I guess. Hope everyone is doing well. Until next time...

Life Is Changing

It is amazing how life can change in a blink of an eye. Our little twins wanted to come a little too soon (23 weeks) so as of last Tuesday I have been put on complete bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy. On Friday I had surgery to help keep those babies in for a few more months. I was in the hospital for 6 days and am now at home on the couch. Devin and I are so lucky to have such wonderful family. Thank you for your love, support and prayers. We have felt your love and truly appreciate the phone calls and ideas on how to keep me sane until these sweet little babies come.
So, for a few months you may be getting more of my thoughts than my adventures on this blog and very few pictures.

"The Fruits of our Labors"

The time came for us to harvest all the vegtables. I can not quiet explain the simple pleasure of planting, harvesting and eating the "fruits of our labors". We were able to share our harvest with some friends who enjoyed our potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, peas and a rasberry cobbler from Ruth's bushes. Our flowers in the front have finally decided to bloom. I guess we picked fall flowers. At any rate, these flowers are beautiful and fun to watch bloom.

Valdez

For our Fifth Anniversary Devin surprised me with a trip to Valdez. We were lucky to get beautiful weather for our drive. It was approximately 5 hours to get there from our house.

Of course there were a few stops along the way.

A highlight of the trip was discovering we could hike right up to the Worthington Glacier. It was spectacular. Once in Valdez, we explored and found some beautiful scenery.

We spent the night in Valdez and took the Ferry to Whittier. The ferry ride was incredible with the views.

We did get a little excitement when "code blue" was announced over the intercom stating that there was an overturned Kayak in the water in some very rough seas. We were able to see the rescue mission take place with the ferry rescue boat.

Of course, to get home from Whittier we went through a 2 mile long tunnel going beneath a mountain. This was one trip I have wanted to do and am so glad we were able to do it together.

It's a BOY! It's a GIRL!

We found out on Thursday that we are expecting a Boy and a Girl! We could not feel any happier. Things are looking really good so far. They are growing big and fast. The boy is at 10 ounces already and the girl is at 9 ounces. Normal is 7 ounces, so Jenny's belly is measuring at 24 weeks instead of 20.

Visiting Family

I had such a wonderful trip visiting my Family! I was able to first visit Utah. The best part about visiting Utah is that I have so much family there I can try and squeeze a visit with everyone. I was able to stay with Mom, Dad and Scottie. We had a lot of nice talks, good food and happy moments. Mom and Dad tried to make my stay as memorable as possible which I think they did a great jobat! I also was able to spend most days with Michele and Olivia. It was fun to see Michele's house and get to know my cute little niece. I did so much that it would take me forever to tell you about it but in a nutshell here are a few things that I was able to do: Mom had a baby shower for me that was so much fun!!! I was able to go to Bear Lake, eat the best shake at Caspers Malt Shoppe, go on a picinic to Smithfield Canyon, Visit Lillie and Clark and family, meet Hannah for the first time, see Chris and Konae and Ryker, and the list goes on and on.

The Second part of my trip was visiting North Carolina. I had never been back east but it was so fun. I think the best part of it was seeing my sister Anna and her family. It had been 2 1/2 years since I had seen her and her family. I also got to meet my two year old niece Aleah. It was fun to see how Anna's life is. I only got a glimpse, but do know that she is a role model to me and hope I can juggle family, work (teaching piano and home schooling) and Church callings the way she does. I cannot tell you all what a wonderful and meaningful trip I had. It was in a way an end and a beginning of a new chapter in my life. Thank you to all of you for your hospitality and the memories. I love you!

A Fun Saturday

We decided since Devin is home for a few days to enjoy the time together with a nice walk at Matanuska River Park and then end the day with a picnic. Mom and Dad Lucas were able to meet us at Mirror lake for a pleasant evening. We had great food, excellent company and a game of Skipbo to end the night.

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Expecting Twins

For those of you who don't know, Devin and I are expecting twins! We are due around late December, early January. Because the gestational period is different for twins it is really hard to give an exact date of when we are due. We are thrilled to have this miracle happen in our lives. At this point we have a couple hints as to what we may be having but wanted to get what you all think so vote and we will see if you are close.

Gone Fishing

On a very spontaneous note, Devin decided to go commercial fishing for the season. He left this morning to go down to Kenai. Adam (his cousin) had a few people decide they didn't want to fish last minute and didn't have a full crew so asked Devin if he was interested. Of course, Devin couldn't say no so he is off doing what he loves! Luckily he has enough time off from work and has a very supportive boss to let him go. Although Lexie and I will miss him at home during the week we'll see him on the weekends.

Holiday Weekend in Kenai

This 4th of July we spent the weekend in Kenai. It was nice to get away from the bigger city and just relax. We went to the parade and little carnival that the city of Kenai put together. We also spent a lot of time on the beach. We took a nice long agate walk, played with Lexie and enjoyed the peaceful sounds of the ocean. Overall, it was a great way to spend the holiday weekend.

Combat Camping

On Friday night we went out to Burma Landing which is a pretty popular spot to go salmon fishing. Devin packed all our things and as soon as I came home for work we headed out there. It is about an hour or so drive from our house. This campsite was like one I had never seen before. It was a small camp area but they seemed to cram in a lot of people. Each campsite had 3 tables and fire pits, and a place to pitch tents if you were lucky. We had two neighbors a father-daughter duo and some RV campers. We lucked out because they were quiet and we were able to enjoy our campfire in peace (except for some other RV campers that decide to jack up there radios!). All in all it was a nice get-a-way. The King Salmon were running slow and it started pouring rain during the night so we slept in a couple of hours and got up and left. One of these days we will have to go during a weeknight after work to see if we can catch ourselves some salmon.

Made it Back

On Monday we were able to make it back to the Gold Mint Trail at Hatcher Pass. This time we came prepared but didn't really need to be. The weather was beautiful, the scenery gorgeous and the trail was easy.

We were even able to see a beaver! This was my first time seeing one in the wild. Lexie had fun swimming in some of the beaver ponds as well. Fortunatley she didn't meet any beavers in the ponds she swam in.

Not Prepared for Summer in Alaska

Devin and I decided to go out and enjoy the Alaskan beauty that surrounds us. So we hopped in the car and drove to Hatcher Pass. As we were driving up there it started to rain. Wanting to go on a long walk we decided to keep going. When we got to our destination we realized that we didn't have our rain jackets (Devin didn't even have a sweater to wear). By this time it was pouring so we decided to go back to one of our favorite places to walk in Palmer called the Matanuska River Park. When we got there we started walking and realized that we didn't have mosquito spray. We got eaten alive on a short ten minute walk! We stopped for a picture to post on the blog but Devin was getting "attacked" while taking the pictures that none of them turned out. So the moral of the story is... always have a rain jacket and always have bug spray when you are venturing out in the Alaskan wilderness. You never know what your going to get. I guarantee that the rest of the summer we will!

Finally an update

We have received several requests for an update to our blog. It has been over 6 months since the last post. As I look back at the last six months it seems there has been a lot that has happened in our lives. In January we went on a crusie to Mexico. Which was an adventure that will never be forgotten. If fact we are already planning to go on another one in five years. Anyone up for an adventure with us? This winter Devin has been super busy traveling throughout the United States, mostly to the East coast. His travels are finally calming down for the summer! I am very excited because there is so much to do here. Devin has already checked several items off the the to-do list. He has fixed the fence, helped build a flower bed in the front under the window, put sod down in some spots in the yard that were bare and the thing I love the most is he helped dig an area for our small garden. This area is primarily for potatoes, zuccini and pumpkins. I hope it works. I always look forward to the summer. Hopefully we can do some camping and I think we are going to try our hands at fishing next week. This week we have been focusing on fixing our living room up. It is nice to have some new decorations to spice it up a little. I will get some pictures up soon. I will try and keep the blog up to date since life is changing soon for us. More to come!!!!!