Hannah and Hilary turn 20!!

People have asked me many times what it is like having twins. I am sure that I give a different answer every time, but in truth, it is amazing! I have loved having twins and it has been a fantastic trip through these past 20 years! It has been crazy at times, that's for sure. (Puberty in stereo was interesting, but it only lasted a couple of years so it is all good!! :p) )

Our trip down the road of twinhood started when Ben was about 2 years old. I had really wanted a girl when I was expecting him and was rather sad when he turned out to be a boy. (I was going to name her Melissa, but obviously Melissa wasn't appropriate so we named him Ben.)
We loved Ben very much, but I really wanted another girl and so when we decided to have just one more baby, I really hoped it would be a girl. Emily shared my feelings and she was so cute; whenever it was her turn to pray, she would ask Heavenly Father to "make Mommies baby a sister." (I think it was her sweet plea that brought about the twins. Heavenly Father was so touched by her entreaties that he said, "Lets give her two!")

I was deathly ill at the beginning and middle and most of the end of the pregnancy. Other than that, things went well. I grew so quickly. After each Dr. visit, my mother would ask me if it was twins. The doctor had delivered all of the other kids, but Aaron, and as each one was about 10 oz bigger than the one before, he told me that this one was following the pattern and would be bigger than Ben's 8lbs 6ozs.

I went to my appt. in November and the dr. was out delivering a baby, but since my baby wasn't due until Valentines day, the nurse did the weighing and measuring. Upon reviewing my chart later that day, my Dr. notated to have me have an ultrasound as I had grown an enormous amount since my last appt. I didn't make it to my next appt. My water broke on December 3rd and when we called the Dr. to report, he said to head to the hospital but not to let anyone check me inside until he arrived and we could do an ultrasound. He wanted to see where the placenta was. (I had had a placenta previa with Ben.) During the ultrasound, the technician said, "Here is the placenta," and then, "Here is another placenta!" That is when we discovered it was twins.

I was flown to the U of U Medical Center where I laid around leaking for 3 weeks. At the time, it was one of only 8 places in the US where they had surfactant, an experimental drug used to soften the preemies lungs. After 3 weeks and no twins, they sent me back to Idaho where the twins were born a few days later via C-section.

The birth of the twins was a fantastic, wonderful time and the last 20 years have been the same. They have brought so much joy and love into our family and they are dearly loved! They are my little girls and I am so proud of the beautiful women that they are becoming!!

I'll be home for Christmas!!

As you can see from the picture, we had just about everyone home this year for Christmas! Hannah was the only one not able to join us. She was down for Thanksgiving, so she was not able to come down again for Christmas. We really missed her!

We had an amazing time together! There were 15 of us and so everything we did, we did big! Christmas Eve was Isaac's birthday and we celebrated it by having a party on a grand scale. We also celebrated for Levi, Aaron, Sarah, Eli, Hannah, Hilary, Luke and Scott's birthdays which are also in December. Whooo Hooo!!

Christmas Eve we also acted out the first Christmas while Scott read from the Bible. It was awesome! We even had enough people for all the parts, including a donkey and a camel!! (Last year there was only the twins and Luke and so we didn't have quite the production we had this year!!) It was an amazing evening!

Santa found us here in Washington even though there isn't any snow. We had a great time opening presents and I think everyone was happy with what they received. It was fun to have kids around again as they are always so excited about everything and it is so fun to watch them!! We gave each of the kids a photo album and later I gave them a packet of pictures I had been saving for them and it was so neat to watch them looking at the pictures and putting them in their albums.

I have really enjoyed watching the kids interact with each other and to feel the love that they share. I also love watching the kids with Scott. He is such an amazing father and it really warms my heart to see them hanging out together! I think that is what I miss the most about them all being gone. I love having the kids here!

Aaron in pictures

Wasn't Aaron cute??? The boys, Aaron and Luke cruising in the lawn mower!
Not exactly 4 generations, but here are 4 Ekstrom males!!

Happy Birthday to Aaron

Aaron is 25 today! Can you believe it??? It seems just like yesterday that I was pushing him into this world!! I remember the night before he was born so well. We had taken Emily and Levi to Pocatello to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Ekstrom for a few days (we were living in Franklin Idaho by then) and on the way home the contractions started. We arrived home and got everything ready and settled down to time the contractions. Scott pulled out a yellow legal pad and started writing down the time with every contraction. We started playing Yahtzee to pass the time and we actually played all night long. I don't know how many games we played, but the legal pad had 3 or 4 columns of times on it by morning. We called the doctor's office first thing and he had us come in to the office so that he could check me out. We did and we waited for a couple of hours for them to "squeeze" me in. The doctor saw me sitting out in the waiting room and really blew up at the office staff for keeping me out there. He checked me and sent me directly to the hospital where Aaron was delivered a couple more hours later!

Aaron come into the world full of enthusiasm and energy and has kept that up his whole life. As a young boy he was always busy, always up for a game or ready for an adventure. He was usually the first one to try something new or to come up with an idea for a new game. He was (and is) a joy to be around and usually kept us laughing at his antics or stories!! He has always been a hard worker and was usually the first one to get his jobs done, many times lending a hand to the slow poke. He has always been very determined and focused on his goals.

Today, Aaron is still that young boy, only bigger. He is full of energy and is busy and organized and works hard. His enthusiasm is contagious and you can't help but feel energized and uplifted when you are working by his side. He is a thoughtful and caring son and brother and is a loving husband and father. The energy and determination that he had as a young boy have propelled Aaron forward and his ability to set and achieve goals is one key to his success. Aaron can see what needs to be done and isn't afraid to work hard to accomplish it!

I am so proud of Aaron for the man he has become. It has been a privilege to watch him grow from a cuddly little toddler to a handsome, strong, loving man. How I love you, Aaron!

Levi through the years!

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Levi. I am not very good at the whole colage thing, but I think you can see him in the pictures.


Here we are with Levi at the MTC right before we left him there. It is Hannah, Levi, Luke, me and Hilary.

This picture was taken this Thanksgiving. It is Levi, Hannah and Scott. Aren't they pretty!!

Our son turns 27

27 years ago we had just moved to Preston Idaho. Since I was 8 months pregnant, we made weekly trips back to Pocatello to visit Dr. Lackey. About the end of November he told us that I had better stay in town as the baby could arrive any day so Emily, then just a year old, and I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Ekstrom. A week went by and no baby so we decided to go home to Preston. A day or two later, the baby let us know that he/she was getting ready to join us and so we hurried back to Pocatello. About the time we arrived, the contractions stopped so Scott dropped me off at my parents house while he and his Dad ran a couple of errands. No sooner had he left me, than the contractions started again in earnest. I was worried that Scott would not get back in time and really had myself worked up, but he returned and we headed to the hospital. It wasn't long before we delivered a beautiful, dark haired little boy. We named him Levi Thomas. Levi for his Great Grandpa and Thomas for his Grandpa. He was so sweet and cuddly.

The next morning in the wee hours, they brought me the baby to be fed. I sat up in my bed and propped myself up and reached for the tiny child. I carefully unwrapped him and looked down into his little face. I immediately felt a pounding in my chest and a lump in my stomach. I checked the tag on the blanket and sure enough it said, "Baby boy Ekstrom", but somehow I knew that this was not my baby. I tried reasoning with myself, "Of course this is your baby, the tag says so. " The new mother in the other bed in the room sensed my distress and asked what was wrong. I told her that the baby they brought me was not my baby and she echoed my thoughts. What did the tag say? Of course it was my baby. The longer I held the impostor, the more panic threatened to consume me. I leaped to my feet and ran out into the hall. A nurse coming out of a room a few doors down saw me and before she could voice her question, I cried out, "This is NOT my baby!!" She immediately came to my side speaking calmly and soon had the baby unwrapped so that she could read the ankle tag. Her face flushed as she said in a surprised voice, "You're right, Mrs. Ekstrom, this is not your baby. Why don't you go back to your room while I get this straightened out. She took the baby away while another nurse urged me to return to my room, but my feet were rooted to the floor and I refused to be calmed until I held my little Levi in my arms. In a few minutes the nurse returned with a tiny bundle of blue which she laid into my arms. I nervously lifted the blanket and looked into the eyes of my little baby boy. Tears coursed down my cheeks as I silently thanked our Heavenly Father for that little blessing!!

I have repeated that prayer every day for the last 27 years! I am so thankful for my Levi. He is a thoughtful and sensitive son and brother. He has brought joy and laughter and sunshine and music into our home. He is a friend to everyone and has a way of listening and caring that makes people feel better when they are around him. He is an awesome person and I am very proud to be his mother!!

Happy Birthday, Levi!!

29 years and a day!

Yesterday was our 29th wedding anniversary. Can you believe it?? It doesn't seem that long ago; time has seemingly just flown by! As you can see by the above pictures, there is a little bit more of each of us to love! Scott is a little (tee, hee!) balder and amazingly enough, my hair is similar to the 'do' I sported back then. Who knew??? Gone with Scott's hair are the enormous glasses I wore then, but I really think that Scott still has that enormous tie!

Beyond the physical changes that are so obvious, we have both grown so much. I remember the feelings of expectation and anticipation that I felt that day as we left the Temple together that night so long ago. I trusted Scott so much. I knew that he would take care of me and any children we would have (I wanted 6-once again, who knew???) I hoped that I would be a good wife to him and that he would always feel loved and valued.

29 years later, Scott still has my trust. He has always worked so hard to provide for us and he has been an amazing husband and father. He loves me and he has always considered me and my needs and done all he could to secure my happiness. I hope that I have always done the same for him. We have had ups and downs over the years, but we have tried to reach out to each other and take each other by the hand and go forward together.

Scott has been an amazing father and earlier this week I witnessed the proof of this. I was scheduled to work a clinic in Spokane and so I drove up the night before and stayed the night with Lynze and Aaron. It was so fun to be with them and to watch Aaron as a husband and father; to see the tender way he cares for his family. The moment that touched me so profoundly was early the next morning when I was preparing to leave the house to head to the clinic, Aaron got up and put on some shoes and went outside to start my car for me and scrape the snow off the windows. He came back for a broom and went back out and swept all the snow off my car. He did just what Scott would have done for me had he been there. My heart swelled with love for a man who has lived a life so selflessly and who set such a wonderful example for his children; and for a son who unselfishly demonstrated his love for me in such a powerful way.

I just asked Scott if he feels loved and valued and he put his arms around me and gave me a long thoughtful kiss. I'll take that as a YES! (He agrees!!)

I don't know if we will live long enough to celebrate 29 more years, but what I do know is that we will keep moving forward together.