Just Us

Well....I was going to bed early tonight.  However, I received a text from a sister at about 7:50 pm. "Miss America pageant....10 minute warning. "  Now for any of you that have spent much time at the Dunn house growing up....you know that all talking...homework...etc ceases when a pageant is on.  As strange as this may seem, it was actually a Dunn girl/Papa Dirk tradition.  Yea...I said it.  Papa Dirk was a part of this special family time too.  Although he would FAKE that he was only watching to prove us wrong that our "picks" were not really worthy of the crown.  Then, he would end up sitting through the whole competition and celebrate loudly when his "pick" stole the crown. Growing up in a family of girls, there were always lots of dressing up, talent competitions, performances, and pageants in the family living room.  So watching REAL pageants on t.v. became another one of those friendly competitions.  We would all pick our favorites a...

August....just the sound of this month gives me such mixed feelings.  The sight of school supplies creates a strange feeling....almost nauseating...but at the same time the excitement of a new school year.  If you are not a teacher and are wondering what these last few weeks "off" are like for those of us teachers, well wait no longer.  It goes a little like this.... (NOTE: I'm leaving out a HUUUUUUGGGGEEE part.  Juggling being a mom and wife too!!!! I don't want you reading this post and have an anxiety attack. :)) *Wake up....make to-do list. One for home and one for your "other " home. *Attempt to cross off SOMETHING on your home list without becoming extremely overwhelmed with your other list...that is just waiting.....with all those other empty lines that you know will be full by the end of the day with many other things that have yet to be done. *If by chance you are able to go to school during the day, you are greeted by a empty classroom that s...

"AHHHHHHH!!!! Reid-Reid get me!! AHHH!!! Save me! Save me momma/daddy!"  Recently, these have become Rylee's favorite words when playing with her brother.  She LOVES it when he chases her...but hates to be caught.  Following our screaming, giggling morning chase around the house, I got to thinking how quiet...boring....empty it would be to have Reid without Rylee or Rylee without Reid. When we found out we were having twins, I had all kinds of emotions....joy, shock, disbelief...pretty much saying to God, "Really?  You really picked us for THIS? You must be mistaken...or joking...but I guess we will go with it.  You know what You're doing."  Funny how He works.  Dan and I both come from families with twins....so you think we would be prepared...maybe anticipating something like this...but we weren't.   There are so many sweet moments that make me realize what being "together" means to Reid and Rylee.  One of my favorite parts of the da...

It's amazing me lately how much I am learning about life through these two little rambunctious two year olds.  Yesterday was another lesson learned. So Rylee has become very aware of everyone's owies and has become extremely concerned with a couple little owies on Dan's leg.....nothing big but she is SO concerned.  For some reason, she calls owies--> hurts.  Randomly she will come grab my hand saying, "Come Mommy...daddy's hurts...need kisses." Sooo I was saying a prayer with the twins before bed last night.  After praying for a good night's rest, I started praying for daddy who was fishing.  Before I could even finish praying for Dan, she quickly she sits up in bed and shouts--"AND DADDY'S HURTS!!!!!"  I smiled and continued to pray for his hurts. :) Long after hearing their shouts of "AMEN" or Reid's "A-NEN" and closing their door last night, I have been thinking about Rylee's sweet little voice remindin...

So as the reality of summer begins to really set in......I realize I left something out about our summer in our last post.  While the twins and I chill at home enjoying the sunshine, our daddy's days are quite different.  While the Hutchings' house sleeps....Dan is getting ready for the day quietly making sure not to wake us all.  Ten minutes before he leaves, he stops whatever he is doing to go with me to get Reid and Rylee out of bed.  2 LOUD squeals which always include DADDY greet us when the door opens.  And for some reason he has to leave before they're up, they notice right away asking, "Where's daddy? Daddy?"  This is usually followed by a thorough search around the house for him.  Which leads me to why I titled this post.  While we are home enjoying our summer days, daddy is hard at work spending time with other kids that also need his patience, love and guidance.  We are so blessed to have a father that works so hard to make a diffe...

Well summertime is finally here and one of my goals this summer is to get back into blogging about the crazy times at the Hutchings' household.  Seems quite comical that my last post was about being a busy mom.....and that was FOREVER ago! :) Life is still busy and I'm convinced that is pretty much going to be a constant in our lives.  But with SUMMER....comes more quiet moments, more cuddle time, more sitting while drinking coffee, more sunshine, and more time spent just hanging out being mom.  Although I love spending time with my sweet 5 year olds in kindergarten, there are two little people that have captured my heart in two short years. Reid is one of the most joyful, loving little boys I've ever met.  He is always willing to give you a BIG hug and hold your hand as he leads you around.  He is such a sweetie....and soooooo ornery at the same time!  He is always finding something to get into, take apart, or use to antagonize his sister.  He...

Sooooo....as you can see I am posting at 12:41 am. The twins both were in bed by 11 and now it's time for mom to catch up on her to-do list. I remember a time when I made a new list each day....NOW I am lucky if I can accomplish one or two things from my list in several days. But I wouldn't change this busy-ness for the world! All my life, I've always been busy. Whether it was 80,000 different activities in high school or balancing classes/activities in college or being in charge of 20 kindergarteners, I have always functioned better when on the go. It's easy now to see that God was just preparing me to be a mom. No other job requires more endurance, consistency, determination, and PRAYER. But no other job/activity/to-do has ever given me more joy or been more rewarding. :) Soooo....I have only a week before I head back to school. Soooo.....I plan to be busy! Busy changing diapers, feeding, rocking, talking, playing, kissin'.........busy being a mo...