A Sweet Little Addition

We've had a lot going on around our place these last couple months...

Most of you have been following our adoption journey,

And, 

Well...

Come July our family is going to get a little sweeter.

Mason and Jimmy are going to have a baby sister

And we couldn't be more thrilled!

Trains and Grandparents

My parents are getting ready to move across the country to serve a mission for our church.

They leave in less than a week.

I will miss them so much.

And my boys....

Oh, my boys.

Well, my parents are two of their favorite people and they ask every day if we can go to their house.

Man, they're going to miss them.

Because of the little time we have left to spend with them before they go,

We made a last minute decision and took a trip to Salt Lake City and spent the day together there.

We rode Trax and, my goodness, the boys were in heaven.

This was their first real experience with trains.

Trains + Grandparents = The best day ever.

We had fun.

Happy Thursday!

For them

If you knew me growing up you know that I've never liked getting my picture taken.

I'd much rather be behind the camera than in front of it.

Well, over the last few years I've done several projects for my family that have required me to search the archives for pictures of my mother.
Every time I found a picture of my mother with me as a child, I got so excited.

Of course, this was before the digital era and she was usually the one taking the pictures so there aren't many, but the few I found I've treasured.

This has changed my thinking a little bit.
I may not like being in front of the camera but when my children grow up and look through the pictures from their childhood I want them to see me there with them.

I want our pictures to remind them of the love I have for them.

I recently discovered an awesome lady with a similar mindset.
Every Wednesday she hosts Embrace the Camera and posts pictures of herself with her family, 

then she encourages others to get in front of the camera and link up to her blog.

She's great.

I can't get over how adorable Jimmy is in the above pic.

My Sweetie Had a Birthday!

My man turned 27 earlier this month.
Holy cow, I love that man.
I'm going to share some pictures of him throughout the years.
I recently posted wedding pics in a post about our anniversary, so head there if you want more lovey pics.

Here you will see cuteness... 

Because I can't help it.

 

Isn't he the cutest?

 

I had a secret crush on him then.

My crush wasn't so secret anymore.

Married!

He's a Mamma's boy.

First time Papa.

Baby's first camping trip.

Second time Papa.
Without him, I would have fallen apart through this part of our journey.  He is so strong.

They love him.

Davey, 

I love you more than you know.

I am so glad that we have each other.

We've faced some tough stuff together and you have held me together when I felt like I wasn't strong enough.

You are always there for me, even when I'm a punk. :)

You are a wonderful father and our boys are lucky to have you.

Thank you for your strong hugs, for holding my hand, and for always making me laugh.

Happy birthday sweetie!!!

5 Years!

5 years.

Wow, it's been a crazy 5 years.

We've grown so much and learned even more.

We're quirky and so alike (more so than either of us like to admit sometimes).

We still hold hands and say "I love you" just as much as we did in the beginning.

 (And we plan to be able to say that again in another 5 years... and another... and another.....)

I love him.

Mason is behind me looking at the pictures in this post.

He got an excited look on his face and said, "Hey, that's when you and daddy got married!!"

Then his eyebrows wrinkled and (with a really sad look on his face) he said, "Why did you leave me and Jimmy at home?  You can't leave us home when you go get married..."

Underpants

Yes, that's my Mason, with underpants on his head.

Apparently, according to him, being a pirate on a pirate ship means you have to wear underpants on your head.

All day.

Oh, Jimmy

Want to know something cool?

No, not cool, amazing?

Remember Jimmy's story?

How he was born 15 weeks early?

Remember how he has beat so many odds? 

Well, that little munchkin has been visited by a lot of professionals during these last (almost) 3 years.

Professionals who have followed his development as well as checked for many other things.

He had a very important "test" done recently. 
They asked him lots of questions

They asked me lots of questions.

They talked to him, played with him, watched him, and just hung out with him for a while.

Just to see where he is at developmentally.

And they were shocked by him.

Compared to a lot of babies born at 25 weeks gestation... well...

So many things could have been "wrong" with him.

And if they were, we would have been ok.

But... 

Developmentally, he tested right in the average range for kids his age.
He is not delayed.

Amazing.

Just came across this pic from last summer. Ahhh.. I love him.

Happy Monday!

My Boys

Feeling extremely grateful for my boys today.

The smile Jimmy gives me when he wakes up early in the morning, hugging his monkey and blanket.

The hug I get from Mason after he wakes up, comes in my room, and asks if he can cuddle with me in my bed.

Laying on Davey's chest and talking about the day, feeling warm and safe.

We all have so many things to be grateful for.

These are mine.

Happy Wednesday!

Three Babies

Yup, this is how we roll.

Hope you're having a stellar Monday.

Besides looking totally awesome in the wardrobe department,

My boys are loving life and I'm in love with how much these two adore each other.
Seriously. They LOVE each other and they never want to leave the other out.

Sure they fight like brothers do but they always end with a big hug and and an, "I'm sorry" (or "I'm saaawwwwyyy," as Jimmy would say) and then they're off to play.
I really don't know what I'd do without them.

These days Mason is asking me almost every day if we can have a baby.
He actually asks for "THREE BABIES" and no matter how many times I try to explain that babies usually come one at a time, he will not let go of it. He wants three. Nothing less. But, I know when we actually are blessed with a wee little one in our home, he'll be as happy as can be.
That's another thing about these littles... they love babies.

Maybe one day they'll get to love on our baby.

Adoption Bio

I updated our bio a bit...

Why do we have a bio?

Well, as most of you already know, we are hoping to adopt...

 We decided to write up and post a little family bio for people to refer to.

Maybe someday a miracle will happen and a sweet birth mother somewhere will read about us and will decide to place their baby with us. Maybe. I can dream right?

Click the image to enlarge.