Twins 11th birthday

February 16th is the day the Lord blessed us with twins. Their birthday fell on President's day this year, just like 11 years ago when they were born. They started the day eating a breakfast of cereal - their pick of anything, Mom can't say no. They then opened their gifts. It is neat to see how creative the girls get with each other's gifts. We then headed out to spend some time at Parks at Chehaw. We enjoyed seeing the different animals they had there and then spent some time at the big playground. It was a beautiful day! We then headed towards home after such a great weekend. Happy birthday girls! May the Lord erupt into your lives in this next year!

Weekend Trip

We took advantage of the 3 day weekend and headed up to Georgia. Our reason for going was two fold - one was visiting a Civil War site since we are studying that time period now and the second was to do something enjoyable for the twins 11th birthday which fell on President's Day this year. Mike's uncle and aunt who live outside of Albany opened up their home to us which was a blessing. They had a nice big back yard for the girls to play in along with a hot tub that all of enjoyed some. They even had a duck named Stanley. Longlegged girl fell in love with him.





Andersonville is the site of a former Confederate prisoner of war camp. It was very sombering to walk around and read of how 45,000 Union prisoners lived here. It was only planned to hold 6,000 and was expanded quickly to hold more but the conditions were still very crowded, unsanitary and awful. It is amazing that the number was only 13,000 who died here by the end of the war. There is also a museum dedicated to POW's in all wars but we decided not to walk through it with the girls. Dh scanned through it and felt there was some info that was too graphic for the girls, especially the younger ones.

This spring was considered to be a miracle. It sprung up during a storm at a time when fresh water was greatly needed in the camp. The prisoners originally used cups on sticks to reach the water since it was in the "deadline", an area that the prisoners would be shot at if they stepped into it. The guards later agreed to let them cross over to reach the water.



These are all graves of the soldiers who died in the camp and it is only a tip of the iceberg.

Thoughts on the Octuplets

So I watched the special interviewing the CA Octuplet mom tonight. Really we should say, the mom of 6 plus octuplets. I am very conflicted over this situation. On one hand, I agree with her that life begins at conception and that we are not the ones to decide which life(s) should end in the womb. Children are a blessing from the Lord! No doubt on that one. However, we then have to look at the question of should she have had IVF done when she already has 6 children, is single, not currently working and attending school. While I do not agree with destroying the embryos, I do believe there was the option of allowing someone else to use them.

Will we, as taxpayers, end up helping her with these children? She seems to think not but can you imagine the costs. The medical alone is going to be outrageous and then the possibility of disabilities is higher. Then what about daycare while she is working as she apparently intends to.

I am mostly just thinking out loud here. I don't know the right or wrong answer here but I do know the One who is in control of it all and regardless, He allowed those babies to be born for a reason. I am amazed at how well they are doing and know that is only because of His grace. I pray they might continue to defy the odds and grow into strong, healthy children. Most of all, I pray their mom truly knows Him and teaches them to know Him also.