Deanna and the twins -- week 30

I hope no one minds if I flex my graphics muscles a little -- these images are both a few weeks old now, and instead of scanning them I took photos of them with my new digital camera, so they're both kinda fuzzy and outdated. But what the hey, they're the most recent images I've got. And aren't they kind of spooky?

FWIW, I almost called this post "week 31", but the pregnancy doesn't officially reach that number until Thursday, so I'll play it cautious.

Nothing much new to report this week, except that Deanna came home on another "day pass" last Saturday -- which, thankfully, was our first day of real sunshine in ages. Actually, we had an hour or two of good sunshine when Deanna came home the previous time, too, on New Year's Day; that was when I parked the car in the parking lot by the beach. I think the weather likes Deanna.

Because the twins are basically "in the clear" now, our thoughts have turned from urgent life-or-death matters to subjects of a more mundane nature.

Such as paperwork. Dealing with the folks at Employment Insurance has been fun. We applied for it over a month ago, and they're still calling us and writing us to let us know that our case is being reviewed, or to ask us to give them certain bits of information that we've already given them, etc., etc. My favorite bit so far is the message that someone left on our home-phone voice-mail yesterday, saying that she called the hospital number Deanna had left for her, and "it sounded like a work number, but you say you're not at work." Have they never called sick-leave applicants at the extensions in their hospital rooms before!?

I am awed and grateful beyond words to hear and read so many people making plans to help D and me once she comes home and/or once the twins are born. During my first-ever Pascha service -- I had only known Deanna for a few months, at that time -- I remember thinking, "This would be a good environment in which to raise children." I was thinking of the service and its beautiful expression of the truth of the Resurrection. But I realize more and more that the people who attend these services and make them happen are a good environment, too, and I am glad to think that my children will be growing up among folk such as yourselves. :)

That said, as I mentioned last week, Deanna might be coming home at the end of next week, and we're not entirely sure what we'll be doing churchwise. I hope to keep coming to St. Herman's at least every other week, but Deanna doesn't want to commute all the way out to Langley in her condition, so we might also go to Holy Rez every other week, or perhaps we'll check out the Saturday liturgies at Holy Cross. Then again, by the time she comes home she'll have only 8 weeks of pregnancy left at the most, and it might take her a while to get her "land legs" back, so this should be a very temporary dilemma.

Just a couple more things. As of today, the doctors figure the boy twin is 5 pounds and the girl twin is 4 pounds -- genderwise and sizewise, we're assuming we can trust the doctors' interpretation of the ultrasounds -- and apparently they are now concerned that one of the twins has fallen behind the other. Seems like there's always something for them to be concerned about, but whatever.

Plus, Deanna tells me that she's been telling people the names of our twins, but I've been holding that information back. So, in a spirit of compromise, I can let slip that the boy's initials will probably be TL and the girl's will probably be EJ. Again, that's assuming the doctors haven't misinterpreted the ultrasounds.

Feel free to guess what those initials stand for, and to guess which of the images above goes with which name. :)