The Murphy Family

This is August.  Pretty much the same as July, but just as cute and silly, so it deserves its own post too.  This moment was like a dream come true for Logan.  He could spray a water bottle (favorite thing in the world to do) at his brother's face and not get in trouble.   Puttin' out the vibe here.  Mason thought he looked pretty snazzy (that is so a word my mom would say.  It makes me happy that it's the first one that came to my mind.  I like to be like my mom) so he wanted a pic taken before church.  I love Logan's confidence in this.  He felt like he looked equally good in just some undies.  I have to agree.  My sis brought Mason that shirt from Hawaii.  It's a 12 month.  He found it and really wanted to wear it because he said it still fits.  I had to have him try it on before he would believe that it does not, in fact, fit.  I have never seen a pic that makes me want to c...

We are pretty much home bodies.  I love to be home.  My kids, usually, love to be home.  We aren't big vacationers.  Don't get me wrong, we like to get out of town for awhile, but not for long and we are always really happy to be home again.  So, this is how we spend most days.     Mason is all about having a friend over...all day, every day if possible.  He also loves to be a superhero.  So, friends playing superhero is just about as good as it gets.   This was Mason's superhero that he created all by himself.  That is a voice changer, a flashlight and a hard hat.  He couldn't ever decide on a name for himself, but he had some pretty sweet powers.  Yesterday he said that our dog, Lizzie, was his sidekick and that her super power was doggy breath.  Love my boys and their imaginations.  Legos are about 25 percent of each and every day.  Mason likes them alot, but Logan LOVES them....

So, the boys have been begging me for a LONG time to get them a puppy.  And, by boys I mean my little boys and my big boy.  Dan grew up with house dogs and loved them.  I tried to warn him that he didn't remember how much work they were because his mom was undoubtedly doing all of the annoying stuff.  He insisted.  So, since our kids are older and we will have a pretty big gap between Logan and our next baby, we figured it should be now or never.  And, obviously NOW won out.  I saw this little sweetie online and decided we had to have her.  She is a cockapoo and the boys let everyone know that.  She is not introduced as Lizzie, it's usually, "this is our cockapoo.  We decided if a boy is going to have a dog, it might as well be a cockapoo.  It sounds like a potty word but they can say it whenever they want with no repercussions.  What could be more perfect?  So, here we are, a d...

Well, Father's Day is being celebrated next week because I threw up on the real day.  Dan spent his day watching the kids all day while his wife lied in bed sick.  He spent the day cleaning up a weeks worth of our stuff and packing it, driving two hours with said sick wife, making mac n' cheese and hot dogs for dinner for us all, and putting the kids to bed.  Yeah, so his Father's day was not ideal, but that boy took it like a champ and managed to still be happy.  I always say I hope our kids get his ability to maintain a happy attitude through life and I am constantly reminded of that when life gets crazy and he makes it all okay.  So, even though we are pretending Father's Day hasn't happened at this house, I just can't let the week go by without letting my sweet hubby know that he is awesome!  Thank you for taking care of us financially, physically and spiritually.  It has been a crazy 6 months and I feel like you deserve this Father...

We found out on Wednesday at our ultrasound that both little twin boys had recently passed away.  It was not quite what we were hoping for, but luckily it was what we were preparing ourselves for.  I delivered them yesterday and Dan and I had a little time with them.  It was harder than we could have prepared ourselves for but pretty sweet too.  We decided to name them after our Dads who we think are pretty great guys.  It just seemed really perfect.  Carter Callis Murphy and Bennett Darrell Murphy have changed us for the better in just a few months.  We are better people because of the prayers we have felt and the service we and our kids have seen over the last few months.  Mason frequently asks who is bringing dinner :) (yes, I am a little embarrassed to admit that, but it also makes me laugh a lot) and comments about how nice each person is to serve us.  We don't feel like we have been denied any blessings because there has been plenty of ...

Well, things have changed a lot since my last post.  A week ago, we heard the dreaded words, "It's twin to twin transfusion."  This is when nutrients from one of the twins goes to the other and one baby gets really small.  I had been in 2 weeks before and things were great so we weren't expecting such a dramatic change.  There is a procedure they can to to try to possibly stop this, but the mother can't be having any issues and since I am, we can't do the procedure.  I had always thought that if twin to twin came up, we would have the procedure to go to, so that was a bit of a shock to hear that there is nothing we can do.  So, we wait.  The docs are quite confident that both babies will pass away, but you just can't ever say for sure.  Nothing had changed at our appointment yesterday so we will wait another week and see.       So, there is a quick update.  We are doing well.  We really are, we promise.  No, we are n...

Here is a quick update from today's ultrasound.  The babies look awesome and right on with growth.  The fluid levels were good, which is what they look for in mono-di twins like ours.  They want to know that one of the twins is not stealing nutrients from the other.  Good fluid and bladder are good indicators.  So, for now, they look great.  They will continue to do ultrasounds every 2 weeks until we hit about 28 weeks, at which point that will be less of a concern.  So, the babies are doing great.  The concern now  is that the blood in my uterus will irritate the babies' sac and cause the membranes to rupture.  So, we will just pray they don't, and carry on hopeful.  We were able to see alot of organs and stuff which was great.  We were also able to see some anatomy (luckily, because I went in thinking we would find out the gender and if we hadn't I would have cried, so phew).  In case you hadn't guessed, we have 2 more s...

So, we had an appointment yesterday and had another ultrasound.  I have to start by saying that in the first ultrasound the technician searched for so long for a membrane separating the babies and couldn't find one.  This would have meant me being hospitalized at 24 weeks until delivery and some guaranteed NICU time for the babies.  Needless to say, we were praying really hard that we would find a membrane.  Dan kept joking that they were going to build a wall during the week.  Well, as soon as the babies popped up on the screen yesterday, there was a visible membrane between them.  Hallelujah.  Lots of gasping and feelings of relief as we realized how much better our circumstances got at that moment.  So, one hurdle down, a million more to go :).  Every time there is a lot of bleeding, we of course worry that we are on the miscarriage road, so it was really nice to see heartbeats right away.  Those babies are growing and healthy and jus...

Well, it has been emotional to say the least, at the little Murphy household, and probably all around the households of friends and family of the Murphy household.  It all starts in October.  In October I was 10 weeks along and had a miscarriage.  We had been hoping for a baby for awhile and it was sad to  think of starting again.  So, obviously, we were very sad and dissapointed, but know this is something most women experience during their child bearing years so we were okay with it.  Fast forward to Wednesday, March 28.  I am 12 weeks pregnant.  I have horrible stomach pain most of the day and based on other circumstances am 100 % sure I have started the process of miscarrying again.  The midwives agree that I am most likely miscarrying and I decide to just stay home and take care of it.  So much sadness.  Wondering what is wrong and planning to move forward with the tests to see what is happening.  We decide I need to go se...

Well, friends, if you are here then you hopefully have some creative juices flowing through you and you can help me do this.  I have a main living space that has a million functions and I love it that way, but I need to figure out how to make it work.  I think you can get an idea of how the room flows with all of these pics.  Help.  Give me any ideas you have.  I love the pics on my walls.  I love bright.  I am not afraid of bright.  I want to use the colors in the pics on the wall.  I like happy and bright but not tacky.  K- go.  That back wall needs to be a different color than the rest.  WE will be repainting the rest white but I want that wall to be different.  We are thinking gray.  That is also where I want my organization station on the wall.  Probably some magnet/chalk board something and I need storage for kids art supplies so I am wondering about a repurposed dresser or shelf of some sort. oh, and ab...

So, yeah, our babies sleep with us for a long time.  Sometimes it makes us crazy, but we love it alot.  Nothing better than having a baby wake up, realize they are right by you, and go right back to sleep.  My babies are 2 and 4 and do a pretty good job of sleeping in their own beds now.  If they wake up and want to come in our bed, we usually let them, but it isn't the norm anymore.  Although it is way nice to have our bed back to ourselves (it's only a queen which makes for some overly snuggly nights with bigger kids), it is also really nice to have them come back.  Both boys have been sick for the last few days and have been sleeping in our bed so we can listen to them breath (icky croup).  I must say, there is nothing better than feeling a 2 year old, chubby, warm hand stroke your face while he looks into your eyes and smiles a ridiculously sweet "I'm all cozy and happy" smile.  That is what happened ...