It’s been about a year and a half since Andy’s surgery. It feels like a lot more than that. A lot can change in a year. Actually, in the summer of 2013 we learned a lot can change in just two months.

For instance, you can find out your husband has a tumor. Then you can get it diagnosed as muscle cancer, create a plan of action with specialized surgeons, go to South America to get your mind off things, come back home, bite your nails while he undergoes surgery to get the the 16-inch tumor removed and then help him recover – all in two months.

And then it’s already fall. And then winter. And then spring. And then it’s summer again and in that time you’ve transformed your home office into a nursery, had your world rocked by an ultrasound tech who declared twins and then met the littlest loves of your life.

It’s been a crazy year and now that all is said and done I’ll let you in a few things that didn’t get mentioned on the blog for privacy reasons but now are fair game to tell you.

First of all, that trip to Colombia that I described as a random little getaway was anything but. When we bought those plane tickets it was to be our last hurrah before we started trying for a family. The trip was meant to be special all along but it was only after we got the cancer news that it turned into something doubly important. (Need a refresher? Catch up with this post: Where we’re headed: Colombia and Cancer)

Secondly, I never really went into how and when we found out it was twins. Let me tell you, it was the biggest shock of my entire life… bigger than even finding out your husband has cancer. (In retrospect, a lump the size of a brick on someone’s backside should have raised a few more red flags.) When the ultrasound tech moved her magic wand around and said that there were two in there I truly had no clue what she was talking about.

Me: “Two of what?”

Ultrasound Tech: “Two babies.”

Me: “……”

Ultrasound Tech: “It’s twins. You’re having twins!”

Me: “Are you joking?”

Ultrasound Tech: “No, you’re having twins. It’s always so fun to see people’s responses when I get to tell them it’s twins! Dad usually has to sit down.”

I look over to see that Andy has indeed sat down.

Me: “What?”

Ultrasound Tech: “You’re having twins.”

Me: “You’re kidding? Wait… what?”

Ultrasound Tech: “It’s twins!”

Me: “You’re joking?”

Ultrasound Tech: “Umm. We don’t really joke about things like that.”

At this point I’ve got some big goofy grin on my face and am completely having an out-of-body sitcom-like experience. Twins don’t run in our family. But nonetheless, even though twins weren’t on our radar, they were up on that screen. They were wonderful and special and there were indeed two of them. But while it was the most shocking news of my life, it was also the best. We’d wanted two kids and this seemed like a pretty efficient way to create a family. It’s pretty special and so are they.

Thirdly, this last year I watched as my bathroom scale climbed up to 200 pounds. Yep, 200. That’s no typo. Thankfully it’s dutifully climbing back down to a number that doesn’t make my head spin.

So after a topsy-turvy year and a half, things are stabilizing here at our house. The twins are five months old and things are so much easier than they were at the beginning. Millie is sleeping through the night and Paige is well on her way to doing the same. We’ve had a few scares with Paige’s reflux and three incidents where she stopped breathing but we have a handle on that now too. After her last episode we started her on just the tiniest amount medicine and her whole little world has turned around and she is a much happier and healthier baby. Also, a few weeks ago Andy went in for another MRI to make sure that pesky tumor isn’t returning and we were happy to hear that it is nowhere to be found.

So we’re in a really good place right now and we’re in a really good groove. And here I am ready to shake things up. Andy just had his company luncheon yesterday and while we don’t have any concrete information about trips, there were some whispers of a busy upcoming year. I’m stir-crazy and I’m excited… and the girls are too, I just know it.