Now, whether or not that's a true statement (some people actually cringe when I say "two babies"), her reaction made my day. Is it her Chinese background, or a generally good outlook on life that prompted her words? In any case, I'll always remember them.
After being married eight years, James & I will welcome our daughters as answers to a lot of prayer. They'll be named Miriam Anna & Lily Eleanor and called Mary & Lily. We've been getting ready by taking Bradley Method classes, combining the guest room & office, freezing dinners, and putting the nursery together. Fortunately, James keeps us from cluttering up, motivates me to start (and finish) projects with him, and has mad painting skills. After he repainted the walls, we painted a pink dogwood tree in the nursery. The bluebird was all James - isn't he cute?
God is taking care of us in so many ways. We've been blessed with friends who have twins already - the Patricks, the Thrashers, the Greers, the Weathers; our families are excited & supportive; and folks have passed on to us all kinds of great baby gear.
I got to see lots of Crownovers at James's cousin's June wedding. We visited Maryland last month, where our nephew Brody gave us a glimpse of the energy & joy we'll soon add to our house. Long-time family friends let us use their place in Gulf Shores for a "babymoon" (kind of like a honeymoon). Salt water is wonderful to be in when you're pregnant; just beware of jellyfish and have white vinegar on hand in case one wraps around your wrist. 
Another big blessing started out as a bummer. After drinking a vile vial of syrup, waiting an hour, and getting jabbed with a needle, I failed the first sugar test (it screens for gestational diabetes). Nobody wants diabetes, and I dreaded the upcoming three-hour test, which requires drinking twice as much syrup, waiting through three one-hour intervals, and getting pricked three times . Driving home, I was so bummed out I decided to drop by a garage sale. You know, small-scale shopping therapy. In addition to cute used baby clothes, they had brand-new cloth diapers - the $20 a piece ones we've registered for - for 50 cents each! It occured to me how much I could profit on eBay, but the folks selling them were raising money for their ministry to widows and orphans. They couldn't even give away these non-Pampers that had been donated for the poor. This wasn't all about me, I realized. I told them the online value of their boxes (roughly 40 times what they thought), then timidly asked if I could still buy some at two-for-a-dollar. "Sure," they said, "a deal's a deal!" So this old-fashioned family is set for life with diapers; we've discovered an ancient method to avoid buying baby formula; and we praise God for providing everything we need!
(By the way, I passed the second sugar test. And as James pointed out, without failing the first one, I wouldn't have gone to that garage sale.)
