Here are some photos from the past.

This shows one of the many times the park has flooded.

Cutie boy Matthew eating at Grandma's.

William before opening day for little league.

Patriotic Valerie.

Audrey with Mommy & Daddy
(08-05-07)

Addison awake 08-07-07

Day 10

Carrie with Audrey

Audrey on her side

Addison on her tummy

Wedding, Cheerleader Clinic and Weird Van

Over the weekend I traveled to Tennessee for the wedding of Tim Phillips and Moriah. I rode down in the Ayers' van with Terry Lynn, Briana (12), Cassie (10), and Dawson (8). We caravaned down with Carol Purdy and her kids Luke and Sarah.

The wedding was at the Historic Rock Castle (about 6 blocks from the Phillips' home) in Hendersonville which is just outside of Nashville. The temps that day were over 100 degrees and after the 7 p.m. outdoor ceremony it rained, which caused the humidity to raise to at least 200%. Tim escorted the grandmothers and mothers to their seats before the bridesmaids were escorted down the sidewalk by the groomsmen. Among the groomsmen were Chris Coleman and Josiah Loveland, both from Anderson. Carolyn Phillips and Rebekah Phillips were two of the bridesmaids. Grace Phillips (8) played the violin before and during the ceremony and Libby Phillips & Andrew Phillips were the flower girl and ring bearer.

About 85 friends and family, including the wedding party, attended the reception in the back yard of the Castle. A lasagna dinner was catered by Olive Garden. Just as I finished eating, the rain poured down so we ran under the trees and up on the Castle's porch. I sat with Tim's grandma, Teresa Maher, on the porch bench. While we were talking, we noticed a crowd out at the waterfront (the Castle is on a lake) so we went out to investigate. In advance, Tim had ordered a speedboat to come and whisk his new wife and him away for their honeymoon. They didn't even get to cut the cake!! So, we went and ate cake without them. We hung around for a while talking and meeting Liz's friend Kathy. Later we drove to the Phillips' house to hang out and let the kids play.

Liz Phillips (mom of the groom) and Terry Lynn Ayers.

Van we passed on the way home from Tennessee.

We stopped in Lapel on Sunday afternoon to see the house Travis Ayers is building for his uncle. His father, Terry, and his brother, Mitchell, were helping. All the outside work needs to be done by Wednesday because Travis is getting married on Saturday and will be gone for a few days on his honeymoon.

Here are Karyn's cat Hoblette and dog Simon. Hobs (his real name) was recently in a tragic accident with Simon and received shaken kitty syndrome. He was taken to the hospital and is now home and recovering. He is seen here after the accident. Michael took the two photos with his new iPhone.

Valerie recently attended the week long Shenandoah Cheerleader Clinic. One night they dressed in their blue and gold crazy outfits. She learned to do more chants and cheers and had a great time with her friends.

The Twins at Day 4

Audrey sleeping

Hurray from Addison!

Addison's touchdown!

Boy, do the girls have different personalities already.

Audrey, the older and bigger, is having trouble with stopped breathing episodes. Her oxygen levels go down and then her heart rate slows and eventually stops. They have to watch her very carefully. Joey and Carrie have been allowed to touch the girls but when they touch Audrey she gets too excited and stops breathing. Since she is on a ventilator she will not be fed any milk until her breathing levels out. She is on an IV. She is also been given a sedative to keep her calm so she doesn't open her eyes. She has lots of blond hair.

Addison on the other hand is a fighter. The doctors say that her fighting attitude is usual for the smaller baby since she is used to fighting for nutrients inside Carrie. She is lanky and active. Joey has seen her with her eyes open. Addison was finally fed mother's milk yesterday. Carrie has been pumping every two hours since the babies were born. The nurses said she kept down 1.5 cc. At that rate Carrie will run out of milk soon. She was only getting about 1 cc per pumping. Hopefully her milk will let down soon.

Fortunately the theory on feeding babies has gone back to mother's milk being the best. If the mother can't provide milk, the hospital uses other mothers' milk and in a last ditch effort they resort to formula. YEAH!!

I read in the newspaper yesterday that Indiana is opening its third milk bank, in Muncie. The Bloomington milk bank reports that their freezers are full. The other bank is in Michigan City. When I was nursing and had extra milk I inquired about donating and was told that could never happen as there is too much risk if tainted milk. Well, I guess they have changed their minds. Too late for me, though. Don't think I can start producing now.