We lost a great man today. A man by the name of Bill, William, Dad, Grandpa, and Great Grandpa. You was a family man, a compassionate man, and a caring man. You were a man of many hobbies, from boating, to reading, building dune buggies and race cars, throw in the love of golfing and a need for adventure. I have always looked up to my grandfather for many things. I remember you helping me pull out one of my baby teeth.  I remember writing papers about you in grade school where in 2nd grade I wrote about how you were trying to become famous by sailing across the Saginaw Bay. Or in 4th grade when I wrote about you as my favorite inventor, who holds the patent in the US Patent Office for Power Assisted Rack and Pinion Steering Gear.  I remember walking down to the beach in Gulf Shores Alabama and we would stand there and skip stones over really big waves. I remember that you took me to Hooters for the very first time when I was only 11. I remember your golf ball looking muscles when you flexed his arms. I remember you would drive the motor home all day every day when you would take us on vacations to see things we have never seen before. You have left great memories for me to reflect upon. You have made an impact on my life and you will not be forgotten. I will tell stories of you to my children so they too can know what a great man you are. You have made an impact on not only my life but many others…. and your legacy will live on through those people forever.

REST IN PEACE GRANDPA FREI

Well today we heard their heart beat at the doctors and they read 160 and 170 BPM. Doc says they’re healthy babies. One of them even kicked the microphone. We are so excited. We still can’t believe how lucky we are that this is happening to us. God has given us not only one child but a second one as well.

Now that things have settled down a bit more we have started cleaning up and preparing for the little ones arrival. We started cleaning out the spare bedroom which will soon be the little kids room as well as started to organize and throw away crap which we don’t need. Trying to optimize our processes just a little. So far, being a dad is pretty fun. I get to take care of Jackie and get her everything she wants, which in turn helps out my little ones who don’t even know I exist yet. They will, once they get ears I will be talking with them.. Maybe while Jackie is sleeping.

Yes, that’s right. Today we went to the doctor to have us our first visit and see our new family members. We had a lot of questions and we were both very eager to learn everything their was to know. We made lists, bought things in for the doctor to read. We had spend the last couple weeks reading and researching and we thought we were all ready.. That nothing the doctor was going to tell us was going to surprise us. Boy were we wrong. The said we are going to be the parents of twins. Jackie immediately started crying. My jaw hit the floor. As we watched the monitor we were both in a daze looking at the 2 little things no larger than a small grain or rice, with a beating heart. We couldn’t believe it. Everything we thought and knew and read about having babies changed. We are now having two. Everything doubled. The emotions, the thoughts, the money, the strollers, the cribs and the diapers. Everything.

I was scheduled to go back to work today. I sent them an email stating I would not make it back in today. We stopped off at Taco Bell because Jackie had a craving and we both just needed to calm down.. I know.. not exactly the place you go to make your body calm down, but none the less, it worked. When we walked in we were just chatting and chatting and chatting, we were very emotional. We were all over the board. I had settled a little bit more than Jackie did and I knew she was very nervous. I said I wanted to tell everyone immediately. Everyone we already told we were having one, we then needed to tell everyone we were having two. That was the funniest part.

We used the same routine on everyone, except Rick, he beat me to the punch.. more on that in a minute. We went and called everyone and said we wanted to come over and show them the ultrasound. We showed them the picture of the the baby and explained here it is and here is the heart beat and here’s how big it is aaaand here’s the other one. We started off with Jackie’s mom, then here sister, then my parents, then Rick and Sarah, then Jackie’s other sister, then back to Jackie’s parent to tell her Dad. I had to call Mike again and Aletha the next day because they were both busy that day. But sharing the news was the best thing we could have done. You could really tell it helped settle everything in and made it more real. That night we started referring to them as Number 1 and Number 2. We are now a family of 6 (we have 2 cats.. yes they count!)