sarah's blog

Last week we went to the U2 360 Tour in Edmonton. This is our second time seeing this tour except the first time we were super close on the floor of an indoor venue and this time we had nosebleed section seats in an outdoor one. While the experience was not as intense as the first time (the best concert I have ever seen) it was still amazing to see the show from a new vantage point, and get some good shots o my iPhone too.

If you’re going to see this tour I highly recommend you spring for floor seats – if you like the intensity of being caught up in it all. There is nothing like seeing that giant spider/spaceship towering over you with the sound of Bono all around you. There were moments I forgot where I was, it was that all-consuming. If that doesn’t make you want to go out and buy tickets close enough that maybe Bono will touch you and you’ll never wash that arm again, at least go for the lowest level of seating, it’s well worth it.

Both J and I said we’d see them again. In an indoor venue. With floor tickets. Maybe we can even get in that inner ring…

Yes I shared this on Facebook already and yes, I am sharing it again. Because if you like Death Cab for Cutie or want to see “The FIRST LIVE, SCRIPTED, ONE-TAKE MUSIC VIDEO SHOOT. EVER.” you should check this out. And then check out the making of video if you’re nerdy about it like we were.

I’d also like to say I have a huge music video crush on the bassist solely because of his awesome walk. If I played the bass that is how I would do it.

Pre-order the album CODES and KEYS

Today our babies are one month old. I can’t believe that much time has passed since I was sitting in the case room of labour and delivery at Burnaby Hospital thinking how did I go from a routine doctor’s appointment to putting on a hospital gown in a matter of hours?!

A month ago today, just a few hours from now actually, I was sitting in that case room looking like this:

And by 11:00pm that night I looked very different and so did our lives. The fact that I haven’t blogged since then is just one small symptom of this massive change. I feel like I reordering my day, my time, my life from scratch and figuring out how all the things I used to do from brushing my teeth to making dinner to going to the grocery store are going to fit around the daily lives of two little humans.

One month is huge. They look so different from those skinny little preemies we visited in the NICU. They have chubby cheeks and little pot bellies and they cry like real little newborns (preemies don’t really cry, it was nice). They are hungry seemingly all the time, enjoy being in the bath but hate the parts before and after and would be held through all their naps if we would do it.

Having one month old preemies is a whole different ballgame though. We don’t really know how much past their “real” full-term date they will act like newborns. They may still want to eat every 3 hours or they may begin to mature and sleep longer. Their bodies have gotten stronger from use but they are still as small as a newborn and get tired and overstimulated like one. It is a process of learning and trying to respond to them where they’re at in their unique journey, no matter what the books say they will or won’t do.

Our lives are crazy. Unrecognizable. Beautiful. We run a 24 hour operation here and the coffee consumption has increased. But in the middle of it all there is the our family, the four of us. Every day we get to know each other more and our new life continues to take shape. It doesn’t look like what I thought, and it’s not always easy, but they were totally worth it.

Click on the images to see them full-size.

We spent our anniversary dinner at Kobe Steakhouse in Vancouver. I got the steak, John got the steak, lobster and shrimp. I tried the shrimp and lobster and agreed seafood is delicious when it’s quality.

Watching them cook your food was all part of the experience, one that we both agreed was an excellent way to celebrate 4 years together.

Exactly four years ago I married a guy I really wanted but didn’t fully know how much I needed.

My best friend, my partner, the relationship in which I have learned the most about myself and been changed – usually the hard way. The way love looks and feels changes over time, even in four years, but as we’ve stuck with it through good, bad, fun and hard, we’re seeing it turn into something more than we could have anticipated.

I thank God for giving me someone with such a character of commitment and faithfulness – to me, to our family and to his faith in Jesus. I can think about anniversaries to come and raising our kids because I know we’re in this together.

Happy anniversary to my best friend for life.

These pictures are really low quality because our scanner crapped out and I literally had to hold up the ultrasound photos to my webcam because they needed to get to my mom and dad as fast as possible.

On Friday we got to see the babies again at an extremely long ultrasound for which my husband had to sit in the waiting room for about an hour. One baby wouldn’t roll over for a good shot of the spine and heart and the other just generally would not stay still. It’s standard procedure, no dads while they take all the dozens of medically necessary images and measurements and then they can come in for the fun stuff like that’s a hand and that’s a heart and yes your kid’s head is suppose to be that big.

But the big news is, our kids are either not very modest or were caught off-guard by 7:30am appointment and gave us great gender confirmation. No you cannot tell in these pictures, we didn’t ask for those ones!

A whopping 12 of you can pat yourselves on the back for guessing right in the poll.

Here is our healthy little boy.

And his beautiful sister.

I was waiting to post about my brother’s wedding but I don’t have the pictures I want yet so I’ll put a hold on that and post a few shots of our kiddos – how things are looking inside and out.

Is it weird that the fact that I got the plug in this picture actually bugs me?

Say hello to Baby A, which is what they affectionately call the baby closest to the exit. You can’t see in the still shot but that little dot by its mouth is its hand it was trying to put in its mouth.

And this is Baby B, who is slightly above its sibling but off to my left side and sitting down so far it is practically beside Baby A. My new sister-in-law said this picture made her hear the Lion King music in her head. I promise to make John recreate this scene with this exact child in the future, Haleigh.

Ever wondered what I would look like with twins the size of lemons inside? Well, here’s a rush job photo I just took on my webcam to give you an idea. I need to take some better ones to give you an idea how much I expand during the day.

I have to say, these babies are hiding themselves well. I almost wish I had one of those high-powered jobs where I didn’t want anyone to find out because I would be so good at that.

I’m not complaining though, I know the day may come when I won’t even enjoy normal activities and I am not going to take it for granted that I enjoy them now. (more…)