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What I Learned in 2016

To My Beautiful Child

4 Jan

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2016 was undoubtedly my biggest year yet. HUGE! I think we go through trials and hard times to build our character. It may not be our choice to go through hard, big things, but we can let those experiences build us to be stronger, better, and more grateful. My favorite quote that I have heard is, “Some women are lost in the fire. Some women are built from it.” I believe it’s attributed to someone named Michelle K but I first heard it when my friend Courtney spoke at Alt Summit, a blog conference, in January. It spoke to me because life is TOUGH. You can let it break you or build you, and when you let it build you, you can help others make it through hard times too.

Here are the top 3 things I learned in 2016!

  1. I am STRONG. And so are you. I can’t believe I was able to endure 3 IUI’s and 3 rounds of IVF, and then carry twins while having preeclampsia. I gained 80 pounds by the time I delivered my babies, and I couldn’t walk down the stairs straight because my ankles were so swollen. I literally had to walk down sideways because my ankles wouldn’t bend. I could hardly breathe. And you know what? I’m proud of myself. I am way tougher than I thought I was. I can do really, really hard things. Doing really, really hard things is the only way to know that you can. It helps you gain confidence. I might have hard moments where I cry and think I can’t do it, but in the end, I can. And I did. And I will.
  2. Life is 90% attitude and 10% circumstance. Let’s just be honest for two seconds and say the truth. LIFE SUCKS SOMETIMES! It’s SO HARD and it pushes you to the edge of what you thought you could endure. But I’ve found that our minds are more powerful than we can comprehend, and when we decide that we are going to be happy, we can be. It’s really as simple as that. My mom said something that really hit home to me over a year ago. She said that we can’t look at our trials like they are getting in the way off our lives. We have to look at them like they are our lives. That’s why we’re here; to learn and grow. We are going to have trial after trial and we can be happy despite those trials. Life will never be perfect and the sooner we accept that and know that life is messy, we can look at it differently.
  3. Being a mother is worth every hard moment. Even though I went through so much to get my babies here, I was still worried. I knew it would be hard. You don’t become a mother because it’s the easy thing to do. What I knew I would feel, but not the full extent until I actually experienced it, is the most joy I would every feel. Sometimes you feel so much joy that you really don’t even know how to express it. I don’t think I experienced true joy until I became a mama. Until I heard my babies laughed or rocked them to sleep. It’s the most beautiful love that is otherworldly and I am so beyond grateful that I have the privilege of being Harris and Goldie’s mother.

 

Here are my favorites posts and memories from 2016:

  1. Finding out I was pregnant!
  2. Finding out we were pregnant with TWINS!
  3. The twins’ gender reveal!!! (I still can’t believe we have one of each. It is too much fun!)
  4. Our relaxing babymoon in Hawaii. This will always be one of my favorite memories with Tyer!
  5. My baby shower with my sister-in-law Rachel, the silver and gold baby shower my mom threw for me, and the beautiful summer baby shower my friends threw me. These babies were celebrated to the max and we were completely spoiled with love! The last two baby showers happened after the babies were born because they came so much earlier than expected. We had to reschedule them!
  6. Our twins’ birth story. It was challenging but what matters most is that they are healthy!
  7. Harris and Goldie coming home from the NICU!

 

Here are some of my favorite (or most memorable) pictures from 2016!

This is the day we found out we were having TWINS!

twin-pregnancy_42 twin-pregnancy_41 twin-pregnancy_39 twin-pregnancy_38

We take a #parcellsundayselfie each Sunday and post it on Instagram. It will be fun to see our family grow over the years!

twin-pregnancy_37 twin-pregnancy_36 twin-pregnancy_35 twin-pregnancy_34 twin-pregnancy_33 twin-pregnancy_32 twin-pregnancy_31 twin-pregnancy_30 twin-pregnancy_29 twin-pregnancy_28 twin-pregnancy_27 twin-pregnancy_26 twin-pregnancy_25 twin-pregnancy_24 twin-pregnancy_23 twin-pregnancy_22 twin-pregnancy_21 twin-pregnancy_20 twin-pregnancy_19 twin-pregnancy_18 twin-pregnancy_17 twin-pregnancy_16 twin-pregnancy_15 twin-pregnancy_14 twin-pregnancy_13 twin-pregnancy_12 twin-pregnancy_11 twin-pregnancy_10 twin-pregnancy_9 twin-pregnancy_8View More: http://caitlinnicolephotography.pass.us/08-jenicas-baby-shower neutral-baby-shower-196 neutral-baby-shower-682 neutral-baby-shower-222 View More: http://caitlinnicolephotography.pass.us/08-jenicas-baby-shower summer-outdoor-baby-shower-67 summer-outdoor-baby-shower-43

See what I mean?!!!!! HOLY CRAP!!

twin-pregnancy_7 twin-pregnancy_6 twin-pregnancy_5twin-pregnancy_1 twin-pregnancy View More: http://caitlinnicolephotography.pass.us/parcell-babies-birth twin-pregnancy_2

Visiting my babies for the first time since giving birth. I was SO SICK and felt so awful, I could hardly keep my eyes open. I didn’t even remember this moment until I saw pictures later and then it came back to me.

twin-pregnancy_4 twin-pregnancy_3

Right after giving birth, may body went into shock and I was shaking uncontrollably. My mom was there for me then as she always has been.

View More: http://caitlinnicolephotography.pass.us/parcell-babies-birth

Thank you, sincerely, to everyone who has messaged me a kind comment and had any type of interaction with me. It is good relationships that make this life a good one! It has been an absolute privelege to share experiences with you. THANK YOU!

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Comments

  1. Adriana says

    January 4, 2017 at 1:55 pm

    I found you through IG shortly after I found out I was pregnant as well. Even though we didn’t struggle with fertility, we lost our son (stillborn) in December 2014. I never really realized how much some people struggle to have children until we went through that and I have been praying for you, your family, and all struggling families since. I am so happy to see your twins pop up in my IG feed and admire your courage to share your story and inspire so many women/families. I, too, suffered from preeclampsia in both my pregnancies and have post partum hypertension now too 🙁 Unfortunately, my first baby didn’t make it but I am blessed to say that our second baby did (he is sleeping on me right now as I type this). I am glad you were delivered when you did and that your babies thrived and are doing so great. May God continue to bless your family always. Thanks again for sharing your story of hope, faith, and love.

    Reply
    • Jenica Parcell says

      January 4, 2017 at 2:46 pm

      Adriana,

      What a beautiful story you have, and I am so sorry to hear about your first sweet angel. I appreciate you sharing your story with me! Thinking of you, friend.

      xo

      Jenica

      Reply
  2. Sharon Walles says

    January 4, 2017 at 4:36 pm

    I recently discovered and find you to be genuine and authentic. More of what we need in the blogosphere! Thank you for sharing your story! Can’t wait to see what 2017 has in store for you. What an exciting year 2016 was for you.

    Reply
    • Jenica Parcell says

      January 5, 2017 at 11:08 am

      Thank you so much, Sharon! You are so kind!! I really appreciate that 🙂 Wishing you all the very best!

      Reply
  3. Julie says

    January 6, 2017 at 12:30 pm

    The photo of you and your mom brought me to tears! What a tender moment. No matter how old we get, there is nothing like your mom’s love and comfort. Thanks for sharing your inspiring journey to motherhood.

    Reply
    • Jenica Parcell says

      January 6, 2017 at 5:22 pm

      You are so sweet! I couldn’t agree more. We always need our mother! xo

      Reply

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My name is Jenica and I'm so glad that you're here! I started this blog in 2014 to share the best deals on the nicest things because I believe we all deserve to live the best life on less. Read more...

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