Thankful

Tomorrow marks 6 months since the tornado changed our lives.  I'm thankful for so many things that it's been difficult to find words and time to share them.  So, here it goes, in no particular order and absolutely not comprehensive:

*my family, both immediate and extended
*my God, who loves me even when I question or doubt His will for my life
*my husband, who loves me despite my many (and there are MANY) quirks and faults and is and amazing daddy-o to the critterbeasts
*my job, which teaches me something new everyday even if I don't want to learn
*my long-time friends, with whom I can laugh and be silly and cry without judgment
*my new friends that I am having so much fun getting to know better
*the lessons I've learned during the many trials, both physical and emotional, this year
*insurance--I think this one is self explanatory :)
*the ability to feed and clothe my family, put gas in the cars, and pay all of our bills
*my church family, because without them, the past 6 months would have been much more difficult
*my sweet princesa, whose strong will and sweet spirit challenge me to be a better mom every day
*my critterboy, who is growing up way too fast, but will forever be my baby
*how far we've come in such a short time since the storm
*my health, which has improved so much in the last 6 months that it's nothing short of a miracle
*my rheumatologist, because she listened when 3 other doctors did not
*my princesa's birthmom, who is on my mind everyday because she gave me the greatest gift imaginable in the little girl who shares so many of her physical features it has me in awe daily
*my new home, because it has felt like home from the moment we first walked in
*God's plan for my life--I am having so much fun discovering new pieces of His plan day by day and the reminder that everything, both good and bad, truly happens for a reason.

I can't think about Thanksgiving without crying.  I'm blessed beyond words.

Happy Thanksgiving!

15 months in (mostly) pictures

Here is what has been happening since my last post in May 2010:

July 2010

We went to Sea World (for the second time that summer)

 . . . and to Corpus Christi--the kids' first time to see the ocean (this was really the trip in May, but who cares!)

The kids also started a new daycare in July 2010 since the old one doesn't transport to our school district. 

August 2010

Critterboy started Pre-K.  Sadly, we don't have any pics of his first day.  See May 2011 for explanation. :)

October 2010

 For Halloween, she was Minnie Mouse, and he was a Recon Soldier

November 2010

La Princesa turned 3!  We went to Chuck E Cheese as a family and had an awesome Dora party at home with lots of friends and family.  Sadly, again, we don't have pics of the party that we can find.  See May 2011.

December 2011

Christmas fun, obviously!  Lots of eating, playing, and spending time with family.  We had more pics than this.  Again, see May 2011.

January/February

Stinkin' cold!!  We had lots of snow, below freezing temps, and made lots of cookies in our time indoors. :)

May 2011

What a crazy month this was. Quite possibly the strangest time in our lives. First . . .

I totalled my car on May 16th. Airbag burns hurt. Bad. It could have been much worse, so I'm thankful that I'm okay.

 The critterboy turned 6 on May 20th. We did a tie dye party with lots of friends.
Again, though, the pics are few.  Keep reading.

On May 24th, exactly one week after my accident, our home was destroyed by an EF-5 tornado. 
It was a total loss. 

On Memorial Day, our offer was accepted on a new home for our family.  We don't waste any time.  I have so much more to say about May.  It will have it's own post soon.  So many thoughts, so much emotion.  Just have to get it organized in my head so I can share.  What I will say now, though, is that God is so good.


June 2011

First t-ball season is complete--the Storm won the championship!

Our wild man dropped a barstool on his foot.  The verdict? 
Two broken toes and 7 stitches to hold the end of his big toe on.
Oh, and I ran from the police on the way to the ER and narrowly escaped being arrested.
Gotta keep things exciting, you know!

I had another car accident on June 18th.  No pics of that--just a fender bender, but it nearly pushed me over the edge emotionally.

On June 29th, we closed on our new home.  I like to avoid stalkers, so I won't post any pics of it here.  :)  It is perfect for us, and it felt like home right away.


July 2011

It was a crazy hot month!  We moved into our home the first week of July.  Many days were around 110 degrees, so we escaped to Colorado to visit friends and family and have some time away from all of the insanity of unpacking and getting settled at home.

August 2011

My sweet boy started Kindergarten.  When did my baby grow up?

Stay tuned for lots more posts in the coming weeks and months.  I start back to school this week (9 hours and working full time--eeeeek!), so I'll be smart and not promise anything crazy like a post a day. I know you'll forgive me.  I have so much to say and I'm sure you're DYING to read every word. :)  Until then . . . .

2 Year Familyversary

Today we celebrate the second anniversary of the day we became a family of four. It was the day that took us from being parents to a 3 year old wild man to the parents of a wild man and a spunky little princesa. A day that is etched in my memory forever. I remember waiting for my sweet girl in the lobby of the Vista Real in Guatemala City. The last time we'd ever wait there for her. We were excited to see how much she had grown and changed since we had seen her last! It was a great feeling to know that we weren't going to get on a plane to return home without her.

During our adoption process I had many times of doubt. Should we do this? Can we really parent two kids? Can we AFFORD two kids? But one look at our baby girl and all doubts were gone.

In two years she has grown and changed so much. When she came home at 6 1/2 months old, she couldn't even sit up on her own. Now she runs, jumps, climbs, and everything else a two and a half year old should do. She talks up a storm in the sweetest little voice. Some of her latest princesa-isms are "allubums" (all of them, as in "I want allubums"), "STRAWbeddies" (strawberries, which she eats by the pound!), and "smewlum" (smell them, as in sticking her feet in my face and screaming "smewlum!!!"). We play a rousing game of "What's that?" at least twice per day. Everything, even people, are labeled as a "what" in the game, and if you can't figure out what she's asking about, she'll shriek it over and over until you figure it out. We are often asks if she speaks Spanish or if she's bilingual. I'd love to say yes, but my Spanish is far from conversational, though I have taught her to repeat the alphabet and count in both languages, and she knows a few words and phrases pretty well. Our favorite is "Asta luego!" I'm excited that her next daycare teacher is from Guatemala--I can't wait to immerse her in some real Spanish!

She's even more beautiful now than she was as a little baby. She literally stops traffic with her precious little self. We've trimmed her hair twice and it's still down to the middle of her back. She looks more and more like her birthmom every day. I love that she has that physical resemblence and connection to her. We look at the photos from her time in Guatemala often and are explaining her story to her in small bits that she can understand. She's also very smart, learns everything so quickly and blows us away with her vocabulary. She's funny, happy, loving, and a very busy girl.

As a family, we've hit our stride and have a great routine that seems to work well. The kids get along great and play very well together. The critterboy looks out for his baby sister and is so gentle with her. The stinkergirl, on the other hand, is one tough cookie and already taunts and pesters her big brother. It's fun to watch their relationship grow. They are one adorable pair!

We're so blessed to have experienced the blessings of both birth and adoption and all of the challenges and joy they have brought to our lives. This day is a special one, and one we will cherish always.

I blinked . . .

. . . and then he was five. The critterboy turned five on Thursday. It is safe to say that I've been a little emotional about this milestone. During our struggles with infertility, if you had asked me if I'd ever have a child at all, I would have laughed in your face. Then along came my sweet baby boy. He was born too early and was much too small (click HERE to get the full scoop) and we watched him fight for his life as we helplessly looked on and prayed. To imagine him at 5 years old then, well, I just wanted him to come home . . . we would worry about him growing up later. And here we are. Later.

We have an amazing little man. He challenges us everyday to be better parents and better people in general. He is sensitive, caring, funny, smart (some say gifted, but I'm not into labels, so I'm not going there . . .), loving, and FULL of energy. He talks all. the. time. Things like "awesommmmme!" and "yesssssss!" are heard often. He says the sweetest things when people need to hear them most. Like the time he walked up to a sales clerk and said "Helloooo, gorgeous!" or the time he told and elderly woman who appeared to be having a bad day "You have beautiful eyes." The smiles he brings to the faces of everyone around him make my heart happy. He loves Jesus and loves to sing about Him. He knows all of the words to "Big House" and makes up his own songs like the one that goes like this: "Praise the Loo--orrrdddd" that he sings at the top of his lungs while playing anything he can find that resembles a guitar. We rock out to theHouseFM in the car everyday, and when he hears "our music" as he calls it, when we're out and about he gets really excited! He is a deep thinker--you can almost see his wheels turning as he ponders things like "When I die, will I go to Heaven?", "Why are some people not nice to other people?", "How does Jesus have so many kids?" (meaning all of us who love Him) and "Why does my cereal get soggy in milk?".

It's an amazing blessing to be his mom. He's my best little buddy and I enjoy every (well, most!) moment with him. I am so blessed to be part of his journey through life, and am a better person for being his mommy. In the fall, he will begin Pre-K. This will mean a change of everything he knows--daycare, friends, schedule, etc. While I know it will be harder on me than him, I can't help but worry about the transition. Knowing my wild man, though, he'll be just fine, and before you know it, he'll be in high school. I'd better get another box of tissues before I start thinking about that . . .

Happy Birthday my sweet boy. I love you more than you'll ever know!

And then she was 2 . . .

Miss Priss Pants is 2 years old today. Can you believe it? I certainly can't!

She is as feisty and fun as always, if not more so as she continues to add words to her exploding vocabulary. She has been putting a few words together in the past week or so, saying "Want more mama" "I did it!" and "Mama! Want bite!" She labels EVERYTHING she sees, usually with the right word, but sometimes in her own "Ry-speak". :) I love her little voice, even when she is screaming. Okay, maybe not when she's screaming . . .

Our little drama mama, her latest nick name, can hold her own with big brother and all of the little boys in her classes at daycare and Sunday school. She wants what she wants and will stop at nothing to get it. She is still addicted to her binky, but wants it less and less at home. Somehow she goes all day at daycare without it. We're still trying to figure that one out, but since she's my last baby, I'm okay with her being little a while longer.

She is a gorgeous girl! And hilarious! Anytime she hears music, she shakes her booty. It's adorable--I should really get it on video so you can see for yourself. I'll add that to my ever growing to do list. :) When I pick her up at school, she screams "Mommmmyyyyy!" and comes running to me. It's so sweet! Then, when we get home, she is my velcro baby until bedtime. She literally plasters herself to me much of the evening. I try to remember that she'll only be little once and just enjoy it.

Our little stringbean is only about 25 pounds (we go to the doctor for her well visit on Friday to find out the exact stats) and is still fairly tall. She has grown so much that she hardly looks like the same baby!

I am so blessed to have this amazing little lady in my life. She is absolutely a perfect fit for our family, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to call her my daughter.

Feliz cumpleanos, mi amor! I love you so much!

Commitment--as told by a 4 year old

While at the water park last week, hubby dearest lost his wedding ring 10 minutes into the fun. He's lost so much weight lately that it needs to be resized, and the water pouring down from above washed it right off his finger. (It was found the next day, so no worries!)

Tonight my little man asked me why mommy and daddy wear those rings. I told him that it was so that everyone could see that we are married and committed to someone. Here's his wisdom at it's finest:

Critterboy: "Mommy, I'm committed to Jacie."

Me: "Big Jacie or Little Jacie?" (one of his teachers is named Jacie, along with another critter in his class)

Critterboy: "Little Jacie.", he said shyly.

Me: "I thought you liked Kendyl best."

Critterboy: "But Kendyl wasn't there today, so I am committed to Jacie."

Thank goodness we have several more years to discuss the importance of commitment! You have to love his little grasp of the concept though, and his love of the ladies!

He steals my heart everytime he opens his mouth--I can't wait 'till Miss Priss Pants starts talking. It's gonna be a laugh a minute for sure!

Thirteen

Thirteen years ago today I married my best friend, the love of my life. We were young. And crazy in love! Today we're not as young, but just as much in love.

So much has changed, but our love has only grown stronger. In 13 years we've watched as friends' marriages crumbled while we stayed strong. We've faced lots of difficult times, but somehow learned more about each other and grew closer together as a result. We gained weight together. Lots of weight--90 lbs each at one point. We've now lost weight together--over 100 lbs combined and still losing. We've created one miracle child and adopted another. We've grown up together.

Honey, I love you even more today than I did 13 years ago. We've made wonderful memories together, and I can't wait to make even more. I seem to remember someone saying (on our wedding video no less), "Ask me in a year and we'll see if they're still happy." I think it goes without saying that we proved her wrong, don't you? Thanks for always treating me like a princess, even when I don't deserve it. You're still the love of my life, and I cherish every day with you.