Everything in twos!

Everything is different with twins and my girls have always have a buddy. They play together and get into trouble together. The other day I was hanging laundry in our walk-in closet, so I couldn't see them, but they were right in my toddler-proofed bedroom, so I figured I was OK. All of a sudden I hear this roaring giggling and I looked out to see that they had both crawled into the bathroom. They thought they were so funny because they had sneaked away into the bathroom. They both crawl now, Sara started on Oct 30th and Emma on Nov 1st. They have gotten so big that they can no longer sleep in the same crib. It turns out that Emma really likes to play with a.k.a pull Sara's little pony tails so we have them separated now. I thought that they would never be able to sleep apart because they have slept together since we brought them home from the NICU. I was wrong, they slept great. That was it my little babies are now going to be toddlers!

This is the girls catching a ride downstairs with Daddy. (Sara is on the left and Emma on the right.) They are almost too big for me to carry them together.

Happy Thanksgiving!

These are the pies I baked with Hannah this year with her cousins, Abby & Harrison.

This year especially, I am grateful for many blessings...

• Grateful for my faith and for the atonement of Jesus Christ, and forgiveness.
• Grateful for my husband , who loves me
• Grateful for our three girls, who light up our life, sometimes at 3am!
• Grateful for my parents, past and present, and for the things that they have taught me
• Grateful for siblings
• Grateful for nieces and nephews
• Grateful for a home to live in
• Grateful for wonderful friends, new and old
• Grateful for Thanksgiving dinner to cook
• Grateful for talents
• Grateful for trials and challenges

I grateful for so many things, too many to list everything. I am grateful!

Bath Time!

You will notice that this tub is white without the mold that grew under the shower panels in our old house! I feel a lot better giving the girls a bath in this bath!

Happy Birthday!

As you can see from the pictures, it is not easy getting two little busy bodies to both look in the same direction and be cute at the same time, so take your pick!

Yes, that is Sara on the left, she is giving Emma a run for her money.

Totally identical in this pic...

Sara is cracking up, it must have been something that Emma said.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful little girls! I cannot believe it has been 11 months already! Next month we are having a 1st birthday party on Saturday December 13th, if you have any extra frequent flier miles, or happen to work for an airline, or are planning on being in town you are totally invited to a Twinerific 1st Birthday!

More moving details...

We left quite late on that Sunday, ugh, it just seemed like no matter how hard we pushed there was more to pack, clean, load, etc. Rod & Hannah left in the big rig 10:30ish and Nathan, the babies, Dojo, and I left I want to say 2ish. We fit everything we could possibly fit into the big rig, the cab and back of the truck, and in our van, and on top of the van. We cleaned the floors and fridge, made little piles in the garage for my dad and Jamie to help us take care of (Goodwill, Garbage, Boxes, Stuff we couldn't fit, etc.)--super big thanks by the way, and locked the doors and left! It was snowing, the weather and roads were horrible. I drove and Nathan said the prayers. The girls were great travelers. We made it to Lincoln, NE the first night. We stayed at a hotel thanks to Rod's travelers points. We even got to see our long time friends Adam & Ahnah & Family. We had breakfast with them on Monday morning, got to see their new house quick and hit the road. We got to Cheyenne, WY that night and relaxed in a super-seedy motel. I found a tin of tobacco under the covers-um, yuk! But it was again free, thanks to Rod's points. We left early that Tuesday morning, like 7:00 and drove pretty much straight to Eagle Mountain, UT--stopping only for gas and a quick bite once. We made great time. As soon as the big rig arrived at our new house about 10 guys were there to help unload it. Everything was in the house, basement, or garage within an hour. We had gas, power, and water set-up, but the phone, internet, DSL were another story!! We are still working on our cells that don't work in our house or on our block but, we have internet and directv, so we are doing ok. Hannah went to her new school on Thursday and loved it! We are getting everything unpacked and making it feel more like "home".

We made it! Home Sweet Home

It is beautiful here! I love my new house. We finally have internet and will soon have phone and TV too. Our stupid Qwest cell phones don't work here in this city so we are switching to Verizon. Our phone numbers will stay the same. I will post pics of the new house and our trip out as soon as I get a free moment. Thanks again to all of you who helped us pack and move. We love you!

We are heading out!

We are leaving today, later than we had planned I'm sure, for our new home in Utah. Email us if you would like our new address. We would love to hear from you! We will miss Minnesota and most of the people in it! A very special thank you to those of you who came to help at our time of need. It is official-I hate moving and packing. We are sore and exhausted and we are less than halfway done with the whole process--we still have the drive and the unload and the unpacking!

Love,

The Clarks

Now accepting help!

If you know me at all, I don't usually ask for help or even say "why sure" when help is offered, but I am in need of help and I am not too proud to ask. I still need help packing dishes and some other kitchen stuff. We also need help putting all of the furniture and boxes on the truck. The truck will be here on Thursday afternoon and my dad is chief truck packer, but we need lots of back power! I also need help cleaning the deep recesses of my house and patching/painting over holes in the walls. So if you are available anytime Thursday or Friday please come over and lend a hand. We have been working so hard every day but with two little ladies under toe we feel like we are falling short. And yes, we could still use some more boxes.

Thanks from the bottom of our hearts!

What am I supposed to get out of all of this?

If you know me at all you know that I am constantly thinking either about what happened and what my effect was on something or what is going to happen and what I am supposed to do about it. I have done this for as long as a remember. One of the questions that I have been asking myself during the last two months is "What am I supposed to be getting out of all of this?" I talk to friends about this and many have asked themselves the same question while facing a trial in life such as a loss of a loved one, loss of a job, premature birth of a child, illness, etc. I have been lucky in my life because during most of my trials I have been able to quickly assess the situation and know what I was supposed to get out of a situation. But this job loss, new career, moving to Las Vegas, then moving to Utah, etc. has really stumped me. Until this morning. Many people have said "I don't know how you do it." Meaning mom to twins and a 9 year old, and probably all of the other stuff I get involved in. I have quoted scripture in the past and just said "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." Frankly, I have muttered that under my breath at 3 in the morning, not neccessarily as an acknowledgement of it actually being the case but more as a pleading for help. Today at 5 am when Emma decided she didn't want to sleep anymore, I stumbled to the nursery to pick her up and comfort her. Soon after Sara awoke and I before I could feel sorry for myself that I am here by myself taking care of two great babies, wondering why God would send three amazing children to my self-proclaimed woefully inadiquate care, a thought came to me: I can do this, I am doing this.
We are taught that God will never give us a greater trial or burden or lesson than we can bare. I have been thinking a great deal about that and wondering just how much I can take, how much much more could possibly happen. (I do not want to find out. I will just leave that to Job from the Old Testament) But I am also comforted knowing that whatever I will face, I can know that it wouldn't be given to me unless I could handle it. I am capable of making it through this. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. That is what I am supposed to get out of all of this.

Settled on a location...

Nathan has been out west all week--ugh, it has been hard being in charge of packing and the three kids--looking into the Alternate Route to Licensure teaching programs and he found that Utah's program is probably going to be the best fit. While Las Vegas does offer a little more in the pay department, Utah has a lower cost of living and is not as HOT! He checked out living situations in both places and found we could have more for the money and in a "safer" area in Utah. So we are excited to announce that we will be moving to Utah and he found us a house to live in and everything. One of the bonus aspects to this house is that is on the same street as Nathan's brother Trevor and Rebekah and their 6 kids. It is at the end of a cul de sac and Hannah will be able to ride her bike to school if she wants. We can see mountains out of every window of the house. We don't know what the future holds beyond that, but we are grateful to have such kind friends and family here and there to help us and to love us.