Strawberry fruit pop for a snack!

It is amazing how much life can change in a relatively short amount of time. 10 years ago, I (Brad) made the decision to do something other than college. I did not know what that “other” would be, but I knew that I needed to do something to bring more happiness into my life – travel, intern/work, wanderlust, whatever. It was not that my life was unhappy, but I could tell the decisions I made as a 19 year old and in my 2nd year of college would have more impact on my future than I wanted to admit. Was pre-med truly the major that was in God’s plan for my life? I decided through perfectly placed circumstances that I needed to get away, and I chose the Appalachian Trail.

From now until August, I’ll chronicle my time spent on the AT as a commemoration of my 6 month journey and as a celebration of life since. Don’t worry – this blog will still be about our twin girls, Sydney and Abigail! I hope that you will enjoy the reminiscing, and I hope the girls will be able to someday read these blogs to find out why Daddy always talks about his glory days when he’s out in the woods.

Joy comes from different places for different people. At this point in their lives, my daughters find great joy on the top level of our deck. They squealed when I carried the gate out the back door and motioned for them to come outside and enjoy the 70 degree temperatures. This portion of the deck is officially clean of all leaves, sticks and other debris - they took great pride in picking up each piece and throwing them through the railings. I'd love for them to be able to play on the entire deck, but there are too many points of escape and too many stairs. Of course, the girls would take breaks in their cleaning to point out each and every Eh-blain! (airplane) that flew over. Abigail would look at me after each plane passed and ask "Go?" (last picture) - as in, where did it go, Dad? I quickly found that I could not leave the girls outside or become engrossed in my own world, because both Sydney and Abigail were climbing on the railings! Abigail was almost able to reach the top of the railing on one attempt. Climbing is a favorite past-time these days - on the furniture, kitchen table, coffee tables, and in and out of their high chairs (which are at least twice as tall as they are). Other updates this week - Favorite songs: "The Wheels On The Bus" and "Our God Is So Big" (with hand motions) and the old standby, the tune to "Twinkle, Twinkle"; Favorite books: "Mi Primer Libro de Palabras" (thanks, Panda!) and "Raindrop, Plop!"; Favorite animals: the "maw, maw" (cat) or "ah-do-pu" (octopus, sounds almost like "ah-ba-ga" or Abigail); Favorite chores: "sorting" laundry with Mama and "dusting" the coffee tables or floor with just-out-of-the-dryer-clean washcloths; Favorite sayings: "No" and "Book!"; and Favorite tantrums: 1) arch back and fling head at floor or furniture, 2) bury face into furniture or floor and attempt to cry, 3) sustain a forced scream for more than 10-minutes at a time, or 4) go limp-legged when Mama or Daddy try to set them down. Take a peek at Flickr for more photos of Abigail's mad ball throwing skills, Sydney's funny window face, and both of their sweet smiles...

Saturdays are so much fun at our house, because Daddy is able to spend 'happy' time with the girls. The video shows the good times after a nap time - the sweet and happy times for Sydney and Abigail. Blogger continues to not sync with our internet video account, but you can click here and find our newest video!

Not much snow yesterday, but what had accumulated on the deck gave us a good excuse to bundle the little ones up in their killer snow suits. Thanks, Rootie! Sydney and Abigail were warmer than Mama and Daddy! This was not the girl's first snow or even the first snow of the season, but it was the first where we were all 4 home and had the energy to get out. Some areas around us had up to 4 inches of snow and multiple churches were closed this morning because of ice. As you can see from the pictures, Sydney liked the cold snow on her tounge and face; Abigail indicated that she'd take it or leave it. Oh, sorry about the lapse in posts - I'll try to add more this week; although not as much as the blogger-blitz a few weeks ago...

Our little princesses were captured beautifully in these pictures by our friend Amanda a few weeks ago. She photographed during the girls' playtime and the smiles were abundant (see flickr). Sydney and Abigail haven't felt like princesses this week as they have battled their first ear infections. Dr. Mallard said Abigail has a double ear infection and Sydney has the beginnings of an infection in one of her ears. The antibiotics should be working their magic now, and we hope life will be back to normal for the coming week.