Getting Stronger

I finally got to feel the babies yesterday! Up until now, Maranda has been having all of the fun, getting to feel the little ones play around in there. Well, I’m sure it’s not always fun, especially since one of them seems to be quite the kicker.

But finally, when Maranda was sitting on the couch, one of the girls seems a little riled up. She asked me to come over and to see if I could feel it, and sure enough, she gave one big push against my palm. It’s not what I expected. I thought that the kicks would be sharper and quicker, but this one pushed outward slowly. It was really neat. Maybe she was stretching more than kicking. Either way, I am just glad that I get to finally feel my babies instead of having to ask all of the time if they are moving or not.

It’s still pretty early for me to be able to feel them. The readings we have say that fathers usually feel the babies around 28 weeks, but we are only at week 23! We still have a while to go, but for those of you who want to know… the babies are probably about 1.5 lbs each now. ~A

Face of One

This one is a little bit harder to see. The baby is laying on her side, and she's facing toward you.The forehead is is the darker area on the left, and you can see her right eye really well. I think she has a hand curled up under her chin.

If you have a better understanding of what all is in this picture, feel free to leave a comment. ~A

Photo of Heads

This picture is of the other end. Since they were in the same position, they were "spooning" in the womb.

You can see how close the babies' heads are together. I think this is similar to how they were before.

New Ultrasound Pictures!

Another perk to having twins means more frequent ultrasounds. Even though the pictures from the ultrasounds done in the doctor's office are not of such high quality as the ones done previously at the hospital, we wanted to include some of them on the blog for people back home.

This picture is of the twins' rumps and thighs. The tech told us that this picture is very rare because it shows the twins in the exact same position. This hardly ever happens. ~A&M

Strong Women

Right now, I’m still trying find time to finish The Tender Bar by JR Moehringer. Today I read about JR’s grandmother, an avid storyteller who was worn by an abusive husband. Moehringer paints his grandmother so vividly and so poetically, I could not help but draw parallels with my own grandmother—another woman who can tell a heck of a story and who survived an alcoholic husband (who thankfully changed his ways).

It made me think of a CD I have been listening to for almost 24 hours. Last night, a friend of mine gave me a copy of the CD Woman King by Iron & Wine. The entire CD sings stories about strong women, and I must admit the lyrics are amazing. (Thank you, Collin. I think I am already driving Maranda crazy with placing the songs on repeat.)

With my life surrounded by strong, amazing women and storytelling, I began to think about my daughters. I pictured myself telling them stories—but not about castles and princesses. I foresee myself telling them the true stories of the women who each had a part in birthing them, in one way or another. I want to liberate my daughters before society gets the chance to dictate weakness to them.

I want to tell them about Arsula Gravett, their great-grandmother who survived the depression, birthed five children at home, and still hears God as if He were drinking coffee with her in her house up on the hill.

I want to tell them about Loa Kendrick, a great-great-grandmother who still is a talented artist and craftswoman and still has plenty of fire left in her to warm the coldest of rooms.

I want to tell them about Mildred Coulter O’Neal, a great-grandmother who was one of the earliest female basketball players in Tennessee, who played Center when the Center actually stood at mid-court and each half had three-on-three under each basket.

I want to tell them about Kim McBath, their grandmother who never stops for a second and can practically do anything she envisions in her mind.

I want to tell them about Linda Isbill, their great-grandmother who can feed an army of relatives with her cooking, take care of the whole family, and still have time to enjoy the flowers.

I want to tell them about Angie Sharp and Megan McBath, their aunts who both were talented athletes, tough as nails, but have the tenderest of hearts.

I want to tell them about Kathryn Coulter, their grandmother who raised a brilliant son and taught him about God in a way only she could and who understands and values the importance of family—regardless of the miles between them.

I want to tell them about Maranda Coulter, their mother who was strong enough to deny her own wants and desires to help support their father while he finished graduate school.

But as a man, I want to be sure that the strength Maleah and Madelyn possess does not stem from a father who neglected them or caused them to guard against pain. I want their strength to grow from security in who they are, in freedom of expression, in hope that dreams do not have to remain distant goals. I want them to realize that they will become what they set their minds to and that their mother and I will do anything we can to get them there. ~A

The Labor Day before the Labor

Because Maranda is pregnant with twins, we cannot travel past the last week of October. By travel, I mean that Maranda cannot go further than an hour away from the hospital where she plans to deliver.

Checking our schedules this week, Maranda realized that October is almost packed, so if are going to visit family and friends in East Tennessee, we would need to do so in September. So this weekend, we are heading back to Greenback and Maryville to see Maranda’s side of the family. On the last weekend of September, we’ll travel back to Sale Creek and Dayton for my side of the family and the baby shower Mom is throwing for us at White Oak Baptist. It will be good to see everyone.

After that, we won’t be traveling home until February or March 2007. It seems so odd not to be going home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. At least East Tennessee can come to us this year. We could be separated like many of the Armed Forces around the globe. In comparison, three hours doesn’t seem that far away. ~A