short but... ok just short..

I haven't been on this thing in fo-eva. Soooo.... too much happening to report right now, just a note to say we are praying for you Ang and Glenn! YOU KNOW we know how you feel and if you need anything we are here.
I am sleepy- more to some later!

Sad

So it has been a tough weekend. My Godmama has been getting older and more sick for a while now, but my family called me last week to tell me she was worse. We went this weekend to see her in the hospital and I was floored at how she had digressed since I last saw her. It broke my heart at her frailness and the huge change it is from how I always remember her.
If you know Jonathan and I from when we have been little, you know what a huge role our Godparents play in our lives and how they never missed a soccer game or an event, how Christmas was as huge at their house for us as ours, and Halloween meant going to their house. I lost my Godfather in a freak fall at his work many years ago, and now Estella has maybe a few months to go. They have told her she will not go back home and I see she is devestated at that. She is tired and slurring her words due to strokes. I wanted the girls to see her as much as possible, just for my sake really. Jonathan and I will have to plan the funeral and I am at a loss. Please pray for our family and our strength.

So much going on!

Oh my gosh- where to start... sooo, Tot turned the big 1 year on Feb. 26th! I can hardly believe it! Bella turned 2 March 19th! My little babies! We had a great party in Pinehurst and the girls had a blast. No toys were allowed (though I'll let Uncles and Aunts slide ;)... so the girls got a ton of clothes and books- and best of all, Uncle Jonathan made a gorgeous little table and chairs for them- he has become quite the woodworker and has made them beautiful things we will treasure for generations to come! I have pics of all the festivities of course, and am sharing a few on my blog. You can find all the rest along with future pics, at http://gunterfamily.snapfish.com/snapfish

We took the girls to an Easter festival in Aberdeen the weekend before Easter and Bella was not quite as fond of looking for eggs as she was running and playing with other little ones. She absolutely LOVED the Easter Bunny and ran to him right away saying "Hey Bunny!" She would not leave this bunny alone, stalking him for awhile...When we left, she took my hand and led me to the poor fellow and said "Bye Bunny". Tot, meanwhile, was oblivious. LOL

In other girls' news, Bella climbed out of her crib one morning when Eric went to check on her, so I freaked out about broken arms and legs and possible head trauma, so we started our search for a Toddler Bed. We found the perfect one and got an amazing deal! It is so cute, and she adores it. She does, however, get out and poke Tot in her crib. I am working on this. :)

Little Tot is not yet walking- and no matter what anyone says, I believe in her and know she is taking her own sweet time and will do it when she is good and ready. She is doing the "Golum walk" where she puts one leg up and slides the other. She walks along furniture and takes a few steps on her own, but no long strolls. She can, however, say Mama, Daddy, Bebba, NO and some other cute things...

School is going really great, although I have a couple tough classes right now... Great Books is making me certainly think much harder than I have in a long time- or ever really... discussing Plato, Socrates and the Greeks is much more fun than I originally thought it would be :) My professor I ADORE, he is into theater and is from NYC, having performed there and you just know it when you meet him.

Congrats to all the preggers out there! Goodness, seems like everyone we know- we are so thrilled for you all and can not wait to share all the joy and madness little ones bring!!

More later- promise. Shannon, I want cool layouts like yours- teach me! :)

No Naps and my Epiphany

Bella decided to wear this today:
Naptime? Ummm no. Not in the Gunter house.

Crazy week. Girls are NOT napping. They refuse. Little freaks of nature get like 10 hours a night but will not nap. Mommy is TIRED! Had a major math test (I call it major) last night and stinkin aced it. Ok, so I haven't gotten it back yet and I could be surprised by a low grade but I THINK I aced it. :)

Yesterday I thought I was gonna go nuts, seriously- whacko. The girls were SCREAMING all day and I had my test at 6pm I HAD to study for. They wouldn't nap, I left them in their criobs for an hour and 1/2 and NO NAP! That had to be the hardest day of motherhood thus far... ahh terrible two's... so true, so true. Anyone thinking of having a child should have to spend a day with a 2 yr. old. Ok, no- then we wouldn't reproduce.

I have added pics to show the reason I can only be crazy for so long... good thing these kids are cute :) And yes, the pics of Tot in her crib are from "naptime".

On a more personal note, I have been feeling inspired lately. God has been infusing me with this new freedom in my soul. Hard to explain and almost something I want to hold close to me and not tell ;) but He is showing me things. You know how you go for a time and don't feel anything (yay for not going on feelings)... well, that can be a letdown and you start to notice you aren't taking everything to Him all the time, just when you are mad or sad or need something? Well, after spending much needed time with God more regularly, I have begun to hear His whispers of blessing. Eric and I have been blessed this last year more than I could tell you here, and we are amazed at His faithfulness and mercy on us as we do not deserve any of it. In the words of Francine "I love it when God shows up and shows off" lol... I have been feeling the sting of conviction about serving others however, and know I need to get out of my little world and into changing things I complain about. I could go on and on about this topic... To stay short, I so TOTALLY agree with a pastor we heard preach on God's hand releasing our country from his grasp... he was saying how long could we expect to be blessed when we are pushing God further and further away? So many pastors are focusing on "feel good, be good, everything is great, you will be blessed if you ask"... makes me want to vomit. Our world is falling. Desperately we must pray for the lost.

Pray for me as I will be alone for a week it looks like while Eric goes to help with Evangelism Training at The Cove in Asheville in March for work. I am scared and will be lonely :)

Anyway, off my box now. Guess being with Eric infuses me with some of his passions. Which isn't such a bad thing!

A couple new blogs... keep scrolling, there's more!

Some pictures taken at The Abbey last weekend:

It's been a long time!!

Aww- look at Bella riding through the Irish Countryside! LOL ;)

our babies are so big now! Can you believe it? Or how happy Bella is in her winter gear? LOL

Wow! It's been forever since I last wrote anything! Sorry! Christmas was a whirlwind! We had a family dinner party here at our house which was sooo much fun! I cooked a ham! Yes, a whole ham! And it was amazing tasting if I do say so myself (thanks Paula Deen). The girls got so much for Christmas they are set on toys until 2012. Eric got me gorgeous diamond earrings- i will have to post a pic later! We also got ourselves a Digital Canon Rebel camera, which Eric is obsessed with now.

Lots going on here. Bella is growing so quickly in her agility, speech and all kinds of development! (LOL.. i realize my education class jargon is cropping up)... She is saying little sentences now, especially when we don't press her for them and she is just babbling to herself. Some she is using a lot are... "NO Ta Ta" (No Tot Tot- remember we call Lauren Tot), "Mommy, come here" and "bahdow" (I love you). Tot is zooming as well- standing on her own (sniff, sniff) and wanting so badly to walk. They are so cute together! Bella is full out running, working on her jumping, loves dancing and singing, is so incredibly independent and is interested in "tray" (trains- especially Polar Express), Barney and Elmo, she is also into being a WWF trainer right now and wants to wrestle with Tot, which send Tot into a crying fit and speed crawling to Mommy. It's really quite funny. Anytime Bella comes near her, Tot squeezes whatever toy she has tightly and whimpers since she knows she'll either be tossed down or her toy will be taken. So sad! Ok, that isn't so cute, huh? BUT, there are sweet times where they play their version of peek-a-boo or tag and just roll laughing. No one can make them laugh like their sister. I love this- I can already see this amazing bond between them. Bella loves Tot like crazy and takes me to her when she cries, hands her the bottle and tries to help change her. (Then tries to body slam her).. but it's all outta love. Little Tot is so different than Bella. When we prayed for a cuddler, boy did we ever get one! She is a total Mommy's girl right now- wants to be cuddled and held constantly. Where Bella was independent and pushed us away when we tried to hug her (as early as a few months!?), Tot whimpers for us to pick her up and clasps our legs. She's a chubbly bubbly, only 4- YES 4 pounds away from Bella's weight!!! People more and more ask if they're twins. I can't wait for them to be the same size and to dress them the same LOL...

As for the adults, we are great. Eric's job is awesome and he loves it. My schoolwork is fantastic so far (straight A's last semester), although I have math this session so I am scared! My professor is from India which helps me not-so-much. His accent is deep and although neat sounding, unhelpful when you are not understanding. It hasn't been bad so far, but we just started yesterday hahaha... my other class I LOVE.

I have also met a couple good friends here after a long time of being immersed in babyworld. It is nice to get out some. We also have been visiting a great church- we shall see if it's a home for us!

I am also SO excited about the trip Eric and I have planned for our honeymoon sans babies to the coast. We are staying in the B&B we stayed in last year and loved. I cannot explain what it means to have this trip to look forward to!
:) pics to come will be even better- we are still reading the longer-than-the-Bible instruction book.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This week starts the craziness of the Holidays- we are traveling to see family this week for Thanskgiving, so we put up our Christmas stuff already! It looks beautiful if I do say so myself! I'll have to post a pic later.

The girls had been sick for a couple weeks' and then I caught it (thanks, girls)... I am not over it yet and it's been a couple weeks for me having sinusy stuff. Yuck. I have been busy taking some pics since the camera is back in commission: enjoy!

Have to go watch Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts on Oprah now HAHA... I'll post more when more happens!