The soft colors of two oil paintings – a lily and a daisy – lend their impressionistic style to a quiet Los Angeles home. While this may not seem unusual, for Eva Halina and husband, Christopher Rich, these are the most beautiful canvases in the world until the real inspiration arrives.

In just a few weeks the couple's twin girls, Lily and Daisy, will make their debut. Halina, a model/actress, and Rich, co-star of the WB's hit comedy Reba, admit this means making lots of final preparations before a whirlwind of events.

Still, counters Halina, it has been important to spend time with an oil and canvas muse, one which inspired her to create a painting for each of her long-awaited babies.

Baby Times Two
While Halina and her husband were excited to begin their family, they weren't expecting to hit the jackpot. "When the ultrasound showed twins, we nearly had a heart attack," says Polish-born Halina, through her telltale accent. "We got more than we bargained for!"

At 29 weeks, Halina is at once ready to see her babies and determined to carry them as close to term as possible, but it's not an easy balance to strike. "I'm uncomfortable as we speak," she says. "I know they need more time before they are born, but I'm ready for them."

So is Rich. In fact, the couple planned the babies' arrivals to coincide with his yearly hiatus from the set of Reba, where he plays Brock Hart opposite Reba McIntyre.

The hit show, now in its third season, tackles matters of everyday life including issues of divorce, teen pregnancy and single parenting. Rich's character is a dentist and father of three who fell for his assistant, left his soccer mom wife and helped send a once tight-knit family unit into disarray.

Rich, who grew up in Dallas, Texas, describes his character as a "typical Texan guy who loves football, flirting and the occasional beer." Although Hart loves his kids and has always provided for his family, he tends to exhibit "arrested adolescent development," says Rich.

Despite the authority with which Rich plays his small-screen character, the similarities stop there: He and wife Eva exhibit an easy-going dedication to each other and the family they are building.

Fit for Life
Halina's twin pregnancy changed her life in many ways, but especially her exercise routine. A former Olympic gymnast, Halina's daily yoga was set aside during a four-month bout with morning sickness.

Today, however, Halina has resumed her penchant for long hillside walks and embarked on a prenatal exercise regime. Although she is in excellent health and has no physician-imposed restrictions, she is careful about her activities during a high-risk pregnancy. "Plus, I'm so heavy, I can hardly breathe," says Halina, who has gained only 45 pounds.

Born in Warsaw, Poland, Halina has spent a lifetime staying fit. When she was 5, she was selected to begin training for the Polish gymnastics team. For the next 10 years, her life revolved around the state-run program and culminated during the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. The best all-round gymnast in Poland and favored to medal in the uneven bars, a devastating knee injury ended Halina's dream of Olympic glory.

Halina's lengthy recovery, however, resulted in a new career. The petite gymnast grew to her present 5 feet 9 inches in record time, and at 17, she became a trapeze artist. After she toured Eastern Europe with the Julinek Circus, she turned to modeling and by 1985 had been crowned Miss Poland. She traveled to Norway, Germany, Italy and France, modeling for such publications as Vogue, Elle, Esquire and Cosmopolitan.

Halina starred in a few European commercials and in 1990, decided to give the United States a shot. She arrived in Miami with $100, limited English and an audition for a Coors Light commercial. She booked the spot, and for the next five years, she was seen "tapping the Rockies." Other commercials for Diet Coke, Pepsi and Levis soon followed.

Halina moved to Los Angeles in 1995 to study acting and since that time has appeared on Friends, The Pretender, VIP and The Drew Carey Show as well as starred as Eva Kirov on the action-adventure series, The Dream Team, shot entirely on location in Puerto Rico.

Today, however, Halina's real life action-adventure is well under way – and Rich's adventure is just beginning. "We were driving home from dinner last night and I said, 'I can't wait to hold the girls in my arms,' and she said, 'I can't wait for you to hold them, too!'" says Rich, laughing.

While Rich is currently Halina's on-duty masseuse, offering daily foot massages, he realizes he'll play a featured role once the twins are born. "Men like to think 'we're' getting pregnant, but they quickly learn their wife is the one who's pregnant," says Rich, who has a 12-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. "Right now, I just try to encourage Eva and tell her how beautiful she is."

A Mom in the Making
Halina and Rich already have the date set for a Cesarean delivery, but are hoping the babies arrive vaginally before the scheduled procedure. And, while Halina plans to breastfeed, she's a bit apprehensive about the logistics. "I'm going to try breastfeeding," she says. "I can't imagine how to physically do it. How will I hold both babies? But I'm definitely going to try."

While she's contemplating such things, Halina's ordered two cribs, and, as an artist, she has plenty of ideas for nursery décor. "I'm excited to have a painter come in and put stripes on the walls," she says.

"Stripes?" says Rich, laughing, then recovers. "The other thing I've learned is that pregnant women are always right."

Life After Baby
While the two search for a compromise on their babies' nursery design, Halina is working hard to come to terms with what life will mean with twins. "I can't even imagine having two babies," she says. "I really don't know what to expect. It's exciting and terrifying."

Halina has been so absorbed in the impending births, she's not given much thought to resuming her career. "I'm sure I'm going to go back, but it all depends how much I want to stay home," she says. "I'm fortunate that with Chrissy, it's possible for me not to work."

While Rich's role on Reba will continue to occupy his time eight months out of the year, he'll spend the babies' first four months of life at home. "I get to be a stay-at-home dad," says Rich, who is a 20-minute commute from an average 9-to-2 day on the set. "I have the best life."

Which is one of the reasons the two will hire a full-time nanny to help them care for their twins. "We want to enjoy our time with the babies and have help so we can also have quiet time together," says Halina. "We want to maintain the babies when they come, but also our relationship."

"Pregnancy is a test," says Rich. "It can push you apart because your wife is much more demanding, achey, cranky and hormonal. You must remember to love and adore your pregnant wife. She's going through a pretty tough time."

"We're making people," says Halina, smiling.

"Yes," says Rich. "We're making people."

When this interview was conducted, Eva Halina was pregnant with twins. On March 30, 2004, she gave birth to Lily Hanna and Daisy Grace.