What a Phone-y

They're one year old ... going on 14. (Hadley top / Leila bottom)

Open, Shut Them

My main purpose for blogging tonight is to share this video. Hadley and Leila have learned the actions to "Open, Shut Them" and I'm proud to show off their new skills! Sorry that my videos are always dark. It's a combination of a cheap camera and the fact that our house doesn't have great lighting.



But I also want to share something I've been thinking about lately. One of our new favorite activities in the VanHorn house is reading books. We've been reading to the girls since they were born, but now they know what books are called ("gook") and often bring books to me during the day to read to them. They both crawl into my lap to listen to the story and point at the pictures. In those moments, I think, boy, I'm glad God gave me two legs -- a lap for each girl!

I know the human race was made with two arms, two legs, even two breasts, as a part of God's plan. But sometimes I realize that God was thinking of me when he gave us two of all of those things. There's no way I could handle having twins without having two of everything (especially while nursing!), and it's one of those things that I hardly ever think about. He's got good foresight, that guy. But I guess I've known that all along.

Deck the Haul: A Little Compassion

This is Rehema. She's from Tanzania, and she's the child that we're now sponsoring through Compassion International. This is what we've decided to do with the money that I saved during Christmas.

When we were deciding what to do with the money, I initially thought we would give to World Vision or Samaritan's Purse. I love the idea of giving a goat or a mosquito net (among so many other things) -- basic life necessities that can change lives. The reason we went in this direction instead was that I didn't want to spend the $66 we had saved, pat myself on the back, and walk away. I wanted to make a year-round commitment to making a positive change in somebody's life. What a blessing to us AND Rehema!

I'm looking forward to spending even less so that we can give even more in the future.

Hopalong Hadley

Well, it's been over two months since I posted Leila's first steps. It's been over a month since Hadley took her first steps, so if you're a very faithful follower, you may have noticed that I haven't posted a video of her walking. The reason is pretty simple: she hasn't taken more than a few steps at a time yet. I don't even have time to grab my camera before she's back on the ground. I'm not worried about her development; I think it's just a matter of preference. She still prefers to crawl, or better yet, walk on her knees ... which is pretty funny to watch. So, here's her debut: all three of Hadley's ways of transportation.

Celebrating the New Year With a Little Bubbly

(Hadley/Leila)

No Days Like Snow Days

(Leila)

Today is the kind of sunny, snowy day that looks great to play in ... from the inside. As I write, it's 18 degrees out, and I'm pretty sure that's the high for the day. So, our family will stay in, relaxing from our ten days spent visiting both sides of the family, and play with our Christmas presents that haven't been played with yet because of said vacation.

However, a couple of weeks ago, we did actually get out in the snow. We have little snowsuits for the girls, and I pulled Daddy's socks all the way up their arms for "mittens", since they pull regular mittens off.

One of the most frequent questions that I hear about the twins is "what are their personality differences?" Honestly, for the first year, I didn't have an answer. They ate, slept, and cried at pretty much the same times. (That definitely should have been a clue that they were identical!) The best thing I could come up with was that I thought Hadley would be more dominant because she had to nurse first, every time. Now, though, their personalities are becoming clear. Leila is spunky and enters every room with "hiiiiiiiii!" Hadley is sweet and stays in Mommy or Daddy's arms for a while before getting used to a new situation.

So, you can imagine how that looks while playing in the snow for the first time. A little like this (Leila/Hadley):

After which, Hadley ended up in my arms:

And Leila tried eating snow.

Enjoy the snow, if you received any, and Happy New Year!