Celebrating Life!!!

One of the most wonderful ways to remember a loved one who has left us is to celebrate their life. Hubby's mom left us 3 1/2 years ago and it is painfully and uniquely hard for all of us who miss her so very much. But, one of the ways that we remember her is by celebrating her life on her birthday. As a tradition since the day we held her memorial service we have gotten together with Hubby's sister and her family and celebrated.
We celebrate what a wonderful woman Grandma D was. We celebrate what an amazing and wonderful family we have. We celebrate what it means to live life to its fullest... and to be thankful for each beautiful day we are blessed with. We celebrate because we know our Grandma D is in a beautiful place... free from pain and suffering. And, we celebrate because we know that is what D would want and we feel her watching over us and our silly antics as we play.
Our morning began with my sweet Belle in her crib singing Happy Birthday to herself (coincidence... maybe). We got together and played some great games of basketball, made a delicious cake (yes H the cream cheese makes a boxed cake tastier), wrote our messages on our balloons like we always do, walked them up to the lake and let them soar up to Heaven. The kids love to write sweet messages to Grandma D (okay the adults too) and we always try and see whose is in the lead to see which one of our message will reach Heaven first. I think Hubby is claiming this year.
Happy Birthday D... we miss you!

Cuddlebear's Debut

I love Cuddlebear.
You would think being the younger brother he would copy Captain's every move. So, when we asked him what type of sport he wanted to play you can bet I was taken back at first by his request was for singing lessons (I was thinking baseball or basketball like Captain of course). Well, he worked very hard learning his group songs and an adorable solo of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" last Tuesday. It was the cutest little performance. And, I think that we may have a Rock Star on our hands!!!

Happy Saturday

Mother's Day Weekend & Agency Change

My Mother's Day was a blast!!!
We spent the night at a beautiful relaxing resort (okay maybe not relaxing with 3 kids) but we definitely had a lot of fun. I love all of the creative games the kids (and yes that includes Hubby) can come up with i.e. the race above... is Captain's face not hilarious...lol.
And, we also made a big decision in our adoption plans. We decided to change placement agencies. This was a hard decision to make, but Hubby and I are very confident in our decision and we are excited about the direction we are going. I will post more about the change and the new agency a little later.
Happy Belated Mothers Day to all the mommies and mommies in waiting out there!!!

My Smarty Pants Kid- (you may need to turn the volume down)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It's been awhile :)

So, a lot has been going on over here. We are almost through our spring season at work, helping schools get donations, Captain's basketball, Cuddlebear's singing, school end of the year mumbo jumbo, home study paperwork, moving our work office, my doctors and dentist appt.'s... ugh!!!

So, we took a few weeks off of adoption- schmoption to see where things were going with our current agency and to see if a switch was needed (we are still trying to figure this one out). This led to us realizing that summer is here and we will have to move slower through our paperwork process the next few months b/c our summer funds get a little tight (ahhh.. the seasonal business). I am still working on a yard sale for those who so graciously said you could donate some of your used stuff... I am thinking sometime in June. But, with the slow down means our 3-Day Weekends Full of Fun are coming... hip hip hooray.

Hubby and I started this last year and it is fantastic. We take Fridays off the entire summer and we do day trips around our state and little night stays here and there. I am so excited b/c we get a little sneak peek at the summer get-aways this weekend because we are going away for Mother's Day. I can't wait!!!! I feel like we get so much closer with the kids and we really all bond and re-connect as a family. And, the great thing is there are so many ways to do this on a tight budget. We bring snacks, food, & our ice chest from home. We already have all our beach/ outside toys that we bring with us. We stop at my fav place Trader Joes and pick up pre-made sandwiches etc... near our beach or hotel. And, it is so much fun when you look up local beaches and parks online (yelp helps). Being a tourist in your own town and its surrounding community has so many perks... you should try it!!! I could not believe how many places were an hour away and yet I had never traveled to them before.

As I have been trying to step back from the adoption process I sort of stepped away from my blog too. Which is why I may have overcompensated with some cute pics of the kiddos below. I think my kids are so darn cute... so YES I know I am "that" mom :) Oh, well... at least hopefully the grandparents will enjoy!!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

May 7th- World AIDS Orphans Day

Today is World AIDS Orphans Day. There is a wonderful post you should read... just click here.
Go read it... please!!!

Rich Stearns, President of World Vision, US said,
"I believe that this could very well be looked back on as the sin of our generation. I look at my parents and ask, where were they during the civil rights movement? I look at my grandparents and ask, what were they doing when the holocaust in Europe was occurring with regard to the Jews, and why didn't they speak up? And when we think of our great, great, great-grandparents, we think how could they have sat by and allowed slavery to exist? And I believe that our children and their children, 40 or 50 years from now, are going to ask me, what did you do while 40 million children became orphans in Africa?"

Here are some of the facts from Erin's post (Erin is the mother to 11 children some HIV+ ):

• There are over 15 million children orphaned by AIDS living around the world RIGHT NOW. 15 million is the equivalent to the number of all of the people living in New York, Paris, and Bangkok combined. That is an awful lot of children.
• Well over 12 million AIDS orphans live in Sub-Saharan Africa, alone.
• Experts believe that millions more orphans remain unaccounted for in India, China and Russia.
• At least 10 million more children will be orphans by AIDS by 2010.

Do you know how many TOTAL global confirmed cases of the swine flu there have been? As of today (May 6), there have been 1,516 cases. Do you know how many people, world wide, have died of the swine flu as of today?? 31. And look at all the hype... all the action... all the caring.

Do you know how many people around the world DIED of HIV/AIDS in 2007? An estimated TWO MILLION people. That is over 5,400 people a day, dieing of HIV/AIDS. It has been estimated that now, in 2009, 6,500 people will die every day from AIDS, and an estimated 6,000 of those people will leave behind children when they die.

You can read the facts on the World AIDS Orphans Day website by clicking here.