a birthday celebration

Yesterday was somebody's birthday!He turned 32. And we partied it up over here, complete with a Mickey Mouse balloon, picked out by the littles of the house.This sweet daddy even let his boys help him open his gifts. Holden kept asking me if we had gotten Jeremy a helicopter. No helicopters this time.We actually had a whole weekend of celebrating since that's my birthday style. You can't just do 1 day! Saturday night, we went out to dinner and bowling with friends. I didn't even think to bring along my camera. And guess what people! I broke 100 in bowling for my first time ever! Lauren was sweet and made Jeremy cupcakes. Complete with leopard print liners, which is just his style. :)
This is what J looks like at 7am. Makes me laugh. It takes him a little time to look (and feel) alive.
Sunday evening our little family went out to dinner at Jeremy's choice, 5 Guys.
These little boys will never complain about a cheeseburger, so Jeremy made a good choice. I love the above picture of Jeremy . . .I think he's cute. :) Even though in this picture it kind of looks like the straw is headed up Holden's nose. So then last night, we chilled at home. I made Jeremy's favorite dinner and more cupcakes. The boys really enjoyed celebrating their daddy. And I did too. My goal was to make him feel extra special and loved on his special day. I think it happened.

Spring in January

We've been having some unusally warm weather in this part of Texas. I can't say I'm in love with it. I thoroughly enjoy the changing of the seasons and experiencing each one. And I want at least 1 snow each winter. Is that too much to ask? We're still waiting on our winter snow. Just a-waiting while the afternoon temps climb to 75 on some days. But I'm not going to sit around a complain about it for long. We'll just enjoy whatever God gives us. So yesterday afternoon, we threw on last summer's shorts and played outside in the sunshine. It was nice. A beautiful day indeed!
Getting a little sun on the pastey, white legs. :)
Looks like he's about to pole vault with some trim that Jeremy had cut down. Can tall boys pole vault? Because as I sat outside yesterday, the internet told me Holden was going to be 6'3" (give or take 2"). And currently, at 43inches, he's off the charts for his height percentile. You don't understand how happy these figures make my 5'9" husband.
And then we have this cute, little b-ball player. He is in love with sports. Especially baseball, golf, football and basketball. And probably in that order.
Enjoy the sunshine, friends!

these guys.

I have to tell you that these guys have become the best of friends and sweetest of brothers. Now, I don't want to paint a false picture. They still fight, boss each other and steal toys that they honestly have no interest in, other than the fact their brother has it in his hands. But this is, by far, my favorite stage in their relationship. And I have a feeling it only gets better as they get older. I'm honestly not sure what they would do without one another.

When Holden was almost 16 months old and we decided to make ourselves available for adoption again, I was nervous. I was confident that God was nudging us to make that step. But I didn't know how all of this was going to go down. I wasn't sure if a could be a good mother to 2 babies at once. And obviously, by my own capacity, I couldn't. But by the grace of God and his guidance, we've made it so far. I know PLENTY of people do it (have kiddos close in age) and even plan it out that way. But I never saw US doing it. That was never our plan. But I've never looked back. I'm grateful that God threw my plan out the window years ago. His plan has been so much better. I know I've probably made that statement a million times on this blog. It's been the them of my life for the past several years. :) There's such blessings when we fully release control to the Father.

These boys are such wonderful playmates at this stage of their lives. Holden is now 3years (+8-ish months) and Pax is 2 years (+almost 5months). Holden constatly wants to play with Pax. He's always asking him to kick the ball with him, play chase, roll the cars, make a tent to play in, etc. Most of the time Pax is all for it and at other times he tells his big bro he's not interested. Holden is now at that social stage and really wanting to play with others most of the time. Pax isn't quite there yet. So sometimes he still prefers to play alone. Also, I hear the CUTEST conversations across the breakfast table each morning. I love hearing them talk to one another, reason through things and ask each other questions. I'm constantly, turning my back and laughing at these very real conversations. I think communication has grown their relationship. Now that Pax can talk, it's a whole new ball game for these boys. And it makes things pretty entertaining for the adults in this house.

It's easy to think that this is how our family was meant to be. But I also know that it took a very specific sequence of events, along with perfect timing to each detail. And that could only be orchestrated by God. If I think about it too long, I'm amazed. And I should be! These things don't happen by chance and I don't even like the phrase "meant to be". As if the wind might decide our destiny. Often when I think about these two boys that could have easily never crossed paths, I'm in awe by the miracle that God has made them brothers. And I'm very thankful that I'm able to be part of it.

buddies.

Last week we had a visit from some friends. Daysha and her boys came to visit for a few days. Lyndon was Holden's first friend. Ever. They are just a few weeks apart. And even though we left OKC when Holden was 17months old, he remembers his buddy. Even though he had a problem with calling Lyndon by the name "Max" ALOT. That's his other shaggy, blonde buddy.
4 little boys. We have only seen little Denton a couple of times. He's a sweetheart.
Thanks for spending part of your week with us! We loved the playtime and company!

Hair Care 101

Notice it says 101. I am NO expert. I'm just going to share our routine and what has worked for our boys. I realize that once we have a girl it could completely change. Over a month ago I sent an email of our routine and products to someone that had just adopted an African American baby boy. She had no clue what to do with his hair. And I know that I went through several products before we found what we preferred. So maybe this post can save someone a little money and time.

We only wash the boys hair every 2 weeks, unless something weird happens. Like they finger paint in there hair, or smear peanut butter in it. But those things are VERY rare. The easiest way for us to remember when to wash, is by saying the 1st and the 15th. Those are normally the dates we wash their hair. But we condition their hair at every bath. Jeremy normally gets bath duty. So he wets down their hair first, applies the conditioner and then lets it sit and moisturize while he washes their bods. Then he rinses. So that's that.

As for our daily routine, here it is. I spray down their hair with water. Then I take the wonderful Tangle Teezer and comb through their locks with no tears and no pain. The brush is incredible, if you don't have one! Next I apply the leave in conditioner and work it through the hair. And last I take a wide tooth comb and pick through the hair. And it's just as beautiful as can be, in my opinion. :) Granted Holden has NO hair right now. But even when he barely has any hair, I still apply the leave-in conditioner to moisturize. And the bath routine would stay the same also, regardless of the amount of hair on their heads. Also, I've noticed that when Jeremy does their hair in the mornings, his routine is a little bit different, but with the same end result and obviously the same products.

So here are the products we use: Carol's Daughter
They are free of Sulfates, Parabens, Petroleum, Mineral Oil, and Artificial Colors. And that stuff is important to me. Originally, when I began ordering their products, we started with the Hair Milk Original Curl Defining Trio. We used The Curl Perfecting Shampoo twice a month, The Curl Perfecting Conditioner at every bath and then the Original Curl Definer as a leave-in conditioner daily. Then I came across their Princess Tiana line. It was specifically created for kids and a little cheaper than the other stuff. So I started ordering that instead. I loved that line just as well. And right now we are running low on the boys hair products so it's almost time to re-order. Well, guess what. The Princess Tiana line is gone. Bummer. So I'll probably be going back to the Hair Milk Original Curl Defining Trio. I get the company emails, so I normally just wait for a sale and then stock up enough to earn free shipping. Because we have 2 boys with shorter hair, these products last for months. So even though, the cost is high, it really isn't. We can also just say we make up for it in haircuts since Jeremy is the only one that cuts their hair. I mentioned The Peanut in my last post. Jeremy had used a different trimmer kit in the past. Then someone from our Families Like Us group mentioned The Peanut. Jeremy immediately went out and bought it. It's made his job of being the family barber much easier. And the boys haircuts look much better because of it.

Here is Pax with his head full of hair. It is at it's longest point right now. His hair grows pretty slowly, especially in comparison to Holden's. I think he has only had 2 hair cuts, in his little life so far (almost 2 1/2 years). The boys' hair is very different from one another. Pax's feels like cotton candy. It's so soft and not as tightly curled as Holden's.
And here is my bald boy again, who will need very little hair care for a while. Last night, after the cut, I sent a picture to a friend of Holden's new do. She responded by saying "he can wear his hair so many ways." I agree. I think he's just so handsome with a head full of hair, or not even a single strand.
I love Holden and Pax's curls and I love caring for it. So that is our little routine. Hope that is helpful to someone out there. And I would love to hear what products work for you.

a peek into our week

Some cuddle time with daddy.
One morning before breakfast. I see sweet moments like this one constantly these days. Just so you understand my final pictures, notice the tiny bald spot front and center of Holden's hairline. Jeremy was framing his face with The Peanut on Monday, when Holden jerked his head. Jeremy just wanted to let it grow and eventually maybe it wouldn't be noticed. But it looked so sloppy once we would comb out his hair. So I voted to bald him. I actually LOVE Holden as a baldy. Just wait.
Caught wearing my slippers.
and then daddy's work boots.
Then last night Jeremy pulled out The Peanut again. And drastically changed his look.
And now it's as short as it has ever been. Probably a hair (haha) too short, but I know how quickly his hair grows. So it should be perfect in 1 week.

Last Round of Christmas and HAPPY NEW YEARS!

A few days AFTER Christmas, Jeremy's mom and her husband came down for a visit and to celebrate Christmas with us. We had a great day visiting with them before they headed over to spend time with Jeremy's sister. 1 measly picture was taken. Actually 4 pictures were taken in an attempt to get this one. :)Happy New Year everyone! In talking with friends recently, I get the feeling that I may be the only 30-something out there that still does New Years resolutions. Really? Anybody else out there? I love it and just can't help myself for an opportunity to set new goals. A clean slate. A new year. It gets me all excited. Welcome 2012!!
My resolutions for this year:
1)Back to bright and early morning workouts. Running outside when it's not too cold. And my 30 Day Shred video on the mornings that it is. 5-6 days per week of working out. I feel so great on the days that I work out first thing in the morning. I love the time to myself. And starting the day this way helps me to make healthier food selections the rest of my day.
2) Get organized. When children entered my life, part of my brain exited. I used to be so organized. Now I'm not. Closets are a wreck and I'm no longer so great with time management. So I'm convinced that this little notebook is going to solve those problems. It's not a calendar. It's only filled with lined paper. But it's going to help me plan and accomplish in 2012. Convinced of it, I tell ya! ;)
3) I'm searching for a Bible reading plan. Not planning on speeding through the whole thing in a year. Just taking it slow and hopefully digging in. Any thoughts on that one?

What are your New Years Resolutions? Tell me I'm not the only one!
p.s. I asked Jeremy a few nights ago if he had any resolutions. He has never been much of a resolution-maker. So his answer was something like: Why would I make resolutions only to break them 4 weeks later? OH MY GOODNESS! Could we be any more opposite here!? I do sometimes call him "my cup half empty husband". But I love him dearly. :) I'm the dreamer. He's the practical one. It works. Cheers to a new year full of blessings!