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Stephanie Howell

reading, organizing, shopping, momming too close to the sun. Home is wherever the Army sends us.

what a year. (x2)

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a year ago i gave birth to two baby girls. one was 6 lbs. 4 oz. and we named her Lucy Claire. one was 4 lbs 12 oz. and we named her Catherine Bennett.

i was scared. i didn’t know how i was going to handle two babies.

i didn’t know how i was going to handle four children under five.

one year ago they wheeled me into the operating room and i didn’t know what to expect. i certainly didn’t expect to deliver two babies in three pushes! i certainly didn’t expect to not even know i was in labor (the babies were so big, i ALWAYS felt like i was having contractions!!). i certainly didn’t expect to have no pain or recovery after the delivery. i think God knew i’d need my strength,ha!

a year ago jimmy and i had a quiet thanksgiving in a hospital room as we looked at our two daughters…marveled over them…and talked in hushed tones about the future.

everything about them, EVERYTHING…has been unexpected. from  the moment they told us they saw two heartbeats…everything has been a surprise.an adventure.

they have turned our worlds upside down.

they have taught us all more than we ever could have known.

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and i NEVER could have anticipated how FUN this would be. watching them together is a blessing. it is so interesting, and wild, and exhausting, and funny, and scary, and did i mention exhausting?

i became a better mother this year. i became more patient, more loving, more able to just soak it all in.

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they are my “gentle reminders” from God. my nudges.my reminders that i am not in charge. i am not the one that knows what is in store.

they are proof that WE CAN. every time we think we CAN’T handle something as a family, we do. they are proof that we are stronger, better than we think.

 

they are beautiful. they are wild. they are EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING. they have taught me that my love can MULTIPLY. my love has not been divided. i now love four little girls with more love than i knew i had.

 

they are our saving graces.

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happy birthday, cate.

happy birthday, lucy.

thank you for lighting our lives and filling our hearts.

xoxo,mama

Comments

  1. What a complete sweet family you have!
    Have a blessed Thanksgiving with Birthday girls!!
    Enjoy watching/read about your family life with the girls!

  6. Happy birthday Cate! Happy birthday Lucy! Have a wonderful & exciting first birthday. 🙂

  13. This is the only place on the web that I cry when reading a birthday post!! Just beautiful! What a Thanksgiving blessing. 🙂

  15. You have so many blessings and they are all beautiful. Have a blessed and happy thanksgiving. Happy Birthday Cate & Lucy!

  19. they are too cute for words! happy birthday cate and lucy. happy thanksgiving to you and yours, stephanie. you truly have a beautiful family.

  22. happy birthday cate and lucy! I can’t believe you two are ONE! it’s a joy to follow your life and see your smiling faces on your mama’s blog. you two are miracles!! xoxox

  23. Wow! Congratulations, Happy Birthday to the babies, Happy Thanksgiving to you. Every.single.time. you blog about Cate and Lucy you make my ovaries hurt 😉

  25. Happy birthday, Cate and Lucy.
    And, congratulations, Stephanie! You have so much to be thankful for and so much to be proud of.

  30. It’s my daughter’s birthday today too (the 25th–I’m in Australia) so Happy birthday Lucy and Cate, I have so enjoyed watching you grow and learning strength from your mama, because whether she knows it or not, her blog helps me to find strength when i dont think I have it. I think “if steph can do it with FOUR girls and a hubby who is away as much as J is, i can do it in my circumstance’.
    Thank you for being such wonderful little darlings (and to my darling too :))

  32. Oh Steph…life has gotten in the way of my blog reading lately, so I haven’t had a chance to enjoy your sweet family! The girls are gorgeous! and so big! Happy Birthday Lucy and Cate!!!

  34. OMG they are just so cute!!! Happy Birthday girls and a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!!

  35. What a sweet post! Happy birthday to your sweet angels and Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! Beautiful family you have there 🙂

  44. Happy first birthday to Lucy & Cate, the most beautiful babies I have ever seen.
    Stephanie, I know that you appreciate that your cup runneth over!
    Best wishes to the Howell family for another year of health, love, fun & adventure

  45. happy birthday to all of you. This brings back sweet memories of when my girls turned one. They will be eleven by the end of December. They say time flies. Well, trust me, it does. No fear, your blog, your scrapbook pages will keep your memories alive. Not only for you but also for them. (and for us, thank you!)

  46. Happy Birthday to your sweet girls. I really have to stop reading your posts at work…they always make me tear up!

  47. Happy birthday to your little beauties. I hope this doesn’t sound stalker-ish, but I love them! Such great expressions on those little faces 🙂

  48. Happy Birthday Cate & Lucy (&mama&daddy&bigs)!! I feel like the bigger a family gets, the birthdays belong to everyone. Each year is such an accomplishment and a treasured gift. Cheers!!

  51. Happy Birthday Miss CAte and Miss Lucy!
    can’t believe you two beautiful fun little girls are ONE already! times goes too FAST!
    Stephanie, they are AMAZING, it’s been a BLAST watching them grown and become their own little person!
    love it so much!!!
    it’s so hard to have a birthday ON the HOlidays or even near the Holidays!
    Savannah is a Christmas Eve baby, so I know how hard it is, yet such a GREAT blessing/gift to be thankful for at the same time!
    hugs to you all!
    tara

  52. Happy Birthday to two little cuties! Lucy and Cate, it is so hard to think you are already one!!! You are lucky to have such a great mom, dad and big sisters!

  54. happy belated bday!!!! I just got home so I had not been able to post anything for you. My little logan turned 1 as well on the nineteen, Indeed this year has been such a blur….so fast. What did you end up getting for the babies, I just got the little fisher price phone like the one we used to have when we were little, I felt horrible getting one more toy in this house with 2 other boys. Did you go shopping again for your ball on dec 3rd??? I am sure you will look gorgeous as always. I loved your post about not even getting Christmas dresses for the girls or getting your tree up. I think as mothers, we are almost our worst enemies trying to do all it all. I am giving my self a break this year and constantly saying to myself, I am doing the best I can. I hope your thanksgiving was lovely, very much to be thankful indeed. I for one I am very thankful to have found your blog more than a year ago. You are awesome!!! Can’t wait to hear about the ball….What ideas do you have????

  55. A huge hug from Sweden. Your post is what I needed to hear today. So empowering and inspiring. I too am a mother of three girls of which two are twins. I know how you feel and I love reading about your life. Plus, I love the scrapbooking too!

  56. hi lovely story of your two girls i also have twin boys who are now 12 teenagers, i had 4 under 4 it was fun we were always busy at kindy and school then