The Nursery..

I wanted to share with everyone pics of the nursery murals that my Mom did while I was in the hospital. She did such an amazing job. I had asked her to consider painting the nursery early in my pregnancy...little did I know at the time I caused her some stress over this. I knew she would do a good job, everything she touches is always beautiful. If for no other reason that she will work until it is perfect! As ya'll can see she is extremely talented and put a lot of love into the paintings. Even knowing how talented Mom is, I never imagined it would turn out as great as it did.

She also put the cribs together, made curtains, decorated the room, put the bedding together, got all of the laundry done, and pretty much completely organized the entire closet. On top of all of that, she did our laundry, cooked Brian breakfast in the mornings, and brought me things to the hospital. I could have NEVER gotten any of this done on my own. Prior to going in the hospital I had slowed down ALOT. Sitting or standing for any amount of time either caused pain...or contractions. After getting home from the hospital I could barely walk across the room, much less decorate a room! She really took over, saw what needed to be done, and got it done. As I've said before, I have the greatest Mom in the whole world. While she couldn't take away any of the discomfort or uncertainty I was feeling...she did what she does best. She put my mind at ease...I knew that when the time came to bring these little guys home everything would be ready and perfect. And it certainly was. Check it out for yourselves...

This is Ben's mural that goes over his bed. Notice the "Welcome to the Jungle" sign...quite fitting, huh?
Here's Jack's alligator. Pretty fitting for his personality I'd say!
And here's our little Monkey's picture for over her bed. Notice the tiara and purse! You can't tell from this picture, but they are done in sparkly paint...so cute!
Here's the palm tree, complete with 3-D monkeys sitting on coconuts. You should have seen the fits that those coconuts gave my Mom. Apparently it's pretty difficult to crack one?
Another big thanks goes out to Nana who made all of the babies' bed's bumper pads and dust ruffles. Each baby had a different color and material. They look so good in the room and with the cribs. She also made covers for a rocking chair and a glider...We sure do use those a lot.

I can't tell you how many hours Mom must have spent not only on setting up the room, but getting the whole house ready. She made trip after trip to various stores to make returns for me and buy necessities. She even put together "Command Central" downstairs in our room. This is where the babies will be located for a few months before they get to enjoy their new digs upstairs...

All the mental preparation in the world can't get you ready for having premature babies. Even all those days and hours spent in bed at home or at the hospital thinking about what was to come couldn't really get my mind ready for the emotions I would feel the days and weeks after they were born. I knew they would be little, I knew they would have to stay for a period of time in the NICU, and I knew that they would have to work on simple things like feeding and temperature regulation. I thought I was fully prepared, but now I know that there is just no way to be prepared for it all. Your heart just goes out to them when you see them in their little isolettes, or stuck under those stupid phototherapy lights. You worry about how they are feeling, what is happening when you aren't there, and how all of this will affect them in the future. You want to make it all better...and quick! It's so hard to leave them up at the hospital, but there's just nothing that you can do but let them rest and grow and get strong.

I imagine this is how my Mom felt the whole time. She gave me the best gift in the whole world...peace of mind. She let me just worry about myself and the babies and she took care of all of the things that I couldn't. I know there is no way I could ever repay her. I just home I'm half the Mom she is. I know I've got pretty big shoes to fill.

On a less sappy note, I thought I would leave ya'll with some humor. The babies are getting so big! They got a clean bill of health last week from the pediatrician. In one week they had all gained a 1/2 pound. Jack is up to 6 lbs 1 oz, Lily 5 lbs 10 oz, and Ben 5 lbs 4 oz. This week both Lily and Jack are out of preemie diapers... They are even wearing a few newborn outfits because the preemie ones are too small - YEAH! So, I go to get Jack out of the crib and I find this. Apparently he didn't have enough room in his outfit so he tried to get out. Pretty funny, huh?