Giving Thanks, Day Seventeen - School Thanksgiving Lunch

Today I'm thankful for school Thanksgiving lunches.

The lunch may be disgusting, but the sentiment and the tradition are fantastic.

I love being able to go have lunch with my loves and see how happy that makes them.

 I love being able to pick this little muffin up and surprise her at the end of the school day.  Can you stand the sweetness?

I am thankful that the kids are at the school they attend, and that everyone there is so warm and welcoming.  We have a fantastic school.

And I am thankful that I have the opportunity to go to Thanksgiving lunch with my loves.  There are always a lot of children there without a parent or grandparent at lunch, which makes me appreciate even more that I am able to take that time from my job to go.  

Giving Thanks, Day Sixteen - Six Months Home

Today I'm thankful for six months home with this little pumpkin!!

Giving Thanks, Day Fifteen - To Be A Mama

I am so thankful that I am lucky enough to be a mama.

These four little people are my world.

To think that I one time thought that I didn't want to have children or that I wouldn't be a good enough mama is crazy to me.

Now, I cannot imagine my life without them.

The instant David was placed in my arms for the first time, my life was different.  

I had a purpose.

Being a mama is the hardest thing I have ever done, and it is the best thing I have ever done.

I didn't know I was missing anything in my life until these monkeys came along.

They are loud and crazy and messy and naughty and wild and smart and perfect.

They make me want to be a better person, a better mother, a better friend, a better wife - every single day.

They are the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I go to bed.

They have made me more aware, more thoughtful, more conscious, and more assertive.

They have made me more tolerant of some things and less of a lot more.  

They have shown me that I need to relax about a lot of things!

They are the best little people.  

I cannot believe that they are mine.

It makes me incredibly sad that there are so many people who are unable to be mamas, who desperately want to.

My life would be incredibly empty and lonely without these littles.

They have, without a doubt, made me a better person.

They've made me be the person I am supposed to be.

I hope I can do the same for them.

Giving Thanks, Day Fourteen - Henry

I am thankful every day for my sweet, sweet Henry.

Born just 12 months and 22 days after David, my Henry is the sweetest personification of the saying, "Everything happens for a reason."  People often ask us if we tried to have David and Henry so close together. . . Uh, no.  It makes me sad now to think that I was so apprehensive about Henry's birth, because I knew how hard it was going to be to have two babies.  I should have been more trusting and more willing to see that everything truly does happen for a reason.  Henry has been my little sweet, special love from the minute he was born.

Henry is the most thoughtful, sincere, giving, generous, sensitive, empathetic, caring, sweet little person I have ever met.  He is the easiest child to parent.  He is an incredibly good, smart, happy boy.  He is creative, a hard worker, funny, thoughtful, and loving.

It's really difficult for me to find photos of Henry by himself.  He's always with someone else!

He loves his siblings so much, and is a big protector of them all.  He is the first person to stick up for someone when he thinks they need it, and the first person to comfort someone when they're sad.  He is particularly protective of David, which is ironic since he's younger than David.  Henry has an innate ability to know when someone needs his love, and he gives it freely.  If David has a cut, Henry cries because "I love David and I don't want him to hurt."  He would literally give someone the shirt off of his back if they needed it.  At 7 years old, I've heard him say on multiple occasions, "You can have it.  You need it more than me." about many things.  

He is caring and kind, and he easily makes friends at school and in his activities.  

He has loved and accepted Katie since before she was even here.  He is so proud and encouraging of her, and she is amazingly lucky to have him as her brother.  Henry has asked many times about where Katie will live when she grows up, if she will get married, and who will take care of her.  He has also said, many times, "She will live with me and my wife."  

Henry is so much fun, and he loves to play.  His most favorite thing to do is build with Legos and make movies.  He is artistic and creative, and he loves crafts.

He loves to paint pictures, draw, or make things out of clay.  He wants to give away nearly everything he makes because, as he says, "I think it will make them happy."

Henry works so hard at everything he does, and he wants to always do his best.  He is an amazing child, and I love to see his sweet face light up when he accomplishes things.  For every difficult day we've had as parents, Henry has balanced it out.    

I am so thankful that I get to be his mother and see what an incredible person he will be.  He's always been my Hurricane Henry, and I'm so happy to be in his path.

Giving Thanks, Day Thirteen - AdvoCare

I know this is going to sound ridiculous to some people, but today I am thankful for AdvoCare.  With the help of AdvoCare, I have lost over thirty pounds and am continuing to lose.  Chris has lost twelve pounds.  I seriously haven't felt this good in years.  I have more energy, sleep much, much better than I have literally probably since David was born, and am obviously getting much healthier.  Chris and I are making very big changes to how our family eats, and we're all benefitting.  AdvoCare has helped us to kickstart that and make the transition easy.  My grandfather had a heart attack and died when I was six.  My dad had a heart attack when he was forty-five and continues to have some cardiac issues.  My dad's brother had a heart attack and died when he was fifty-nine.  Chris' grandmother had a heart attack and died at a very young age.  I'd really, really like us to not die and leave our children behind because we're not making good, healthy decisions.  Obviously there are no guarantees, but I want to do everything we can to be healthy for ourselves and for our children.  Certainly I haven't lost weight strictly because I'm using AdvoCare products, but they are a huge help, and I love, love, love them.  I'm so thankful that I was introduced to the products, and I am thrilled we're using them.

So, because I love a good "before" and "after"....

May 19, 2012

November 7, 2012

And yes, I'm in a fitting room taking a picture of myself.  I'm sure my mother will love that.  Very few things are more motivating than a photo!!

Giving Thanks, Day Twelve - No Big Deal

Today I am thankful for sweet children who don't think that adoption is a big deal.

For boys who love their sister because she is their sister, and that is all.

I'm thankful for amazing children who were so flexible when adding an almost five year old child to our family that they barely missed a beat.

For brothers who snuggle their little sister in her bed just because.

I'm thankful for my incredible boys who talk about "our sister" but don't feel like it's necessary to tell people she's adopted.  When I asked why, they all answered with some variation of "because it doesn't matter".  It is not a big deal to them that Katie hasn't always been here.  She is their sister, and that's all that matters.  

It is not a big deal to them that she has Down syndrome.  I honestly don't even think they notice it.  They notice she doesn't talk like they do, but I seriously think they believe that's because she lived in Russia, not because she has Down syndrome.  The boys are her biggest fans, and when she accomplishes something or does something funny, nobody in the room cheers more loudly for her.  

I'm thankful that the differences in our family are really just no big deal.

Giving Thanks, Day Eleven - Lazy Days

Today I am thankful for warm, lazy November days.

We spent Saturday morning hanging out at home, then headed to Trader Joe's.

The boys stayed at Gigi's house and played, chasing the chickens in the back yard.

The weather was gorgeous.  We had some popsicles and just hung out for a little while after grocery shopping.

We came home and Chris raked up a big bunch of leaves for the kids while I put the groceries away.

Obviously this was Katie's first time playing in the leaves.

David was crazy for some leaf jumping!

He loved climbing around in them and burying himself.  Big stuff for a kid who couldn't stand to have one leaf on his body two years ago.

Katie had zero hesitation about it - she loved it!

The weather was amazing.  The kids played outside until dark, rolling in the leaves, throwing them at each other and squealing while they played, jumping on the trampoline, and chasing a ball around the backyard.  We had the windows open and I loved hearing them all play outside together.