a little slice of heaven

Without bragging too much- Lets just say we got to enjoy a beautiful cabin up in the woods for a couple days last week as we celebrated Aria's 6th Bday!

Aria and Brielle loved playing by the river and finding all the COOL stuff around the cabin and property- they found hidden doors, keys in stumps, little critters, neat carvings in the wood details o the house and outside and a fish and crawdad too!

 The first day of fishing Brielle caught a lil' guy and the second day- Aria decided to dangle a worm in the water off the ledge and caught a crawdad. He was a meaty looking one too!

Her birthday was a success and so much fun ( pics on that to come)! Thanks everyone who made it so and thanks to Gma Betty for ALL your help!

This is the gorgeous view of the mountains and valley and river we had right out our window and from the campfire area! we truly enjoyed this retreat and will come back again!

I'm so happy our summer had been a blast and we have 2.5 weeks left ( can't believe it's almost over)

Its bittersweet for sure! Things to look forward to that i will post on and have guest posts on:

Our kids summer wrap up

Birth Families and Bio Families- 

where to share and when to draw the line

What a birth mom is looking for

Helping in your community

Seeking instead of waiting

Foster care's pros and cons

Success in the FC System

and so much more.

Hope you are all having a very fun summer!

MANners!

Being a mom of boys if FAR more exhausting than it has been when my girls were small. Let's be real here for a moment and compare...

Girls only once touched their own poo.
Gman- has taken off his own diaper more than i can count on all appendages and played in his feces!

Girls hardly ate their foods or finished everything on their plates
GMan- CANNOT eat enough. He could finish 2-3 servings, if i let him.

Girls want to Dance around things and hop from here and there
Gman- Bulldozes into you and anything he can!



The differences are astounding and it has nothing to do with wether my kids come from my body or their birth momma's tummy. Boys are rough and tough and
yet they are cuddly mommas boys. Im so in LOVE with my big boys and so happy to be their momma!
Gavin is amazed and so animated about everything wether its a airplane or a bug flying around!
  He can jump and gallop and kiss and hug just about anyone.

Slade is rolling around, starting to get up and push forward almost an army crawl and he says " mamma " He grabs everything and it all goes in his mouth. He smiles and giggles but is mainly a clingy love bug. He sucks his two fingers and toes! Its my favorite!

I just hope and pray and try every day to be the best Mom to my Little Dudes!

Project Cuddle- an affordable option for adoption

 I found this awesome site via FB! I wanted to see what projectcuddle.org was all about!

And  I found out! This organization was set up to SAVE babies from abandonment. According to the site research, over 20,000 babies in the US are abandoned every year. Lots of them are not even saved , meaning they end up in places like trash cans, boxes, ally dumpsters and so on. Some are placed by the parents in hospitals, fire stations and other places via the Safe Haven Law.

Learn how to be a Rescue( adoptive) Family and SAVE a child while gaining a precious member of your family! The Big difference with this Org , is that they DO NOT CHARGE A THING!!! What? Is this TrUe? 

Well, according to the site- you do your own home study thru a reputable agency ( I know you can get one in CO for about 1,850.), and plan on having money set aside for travel, baby needs and such(please see site for ALL info).

I think this is a great org and I'm excited to get involved when I have  more time in my life ( like  6 months- a year from now- but who knows could be sooner). Check under the volunteer link and see what you can do to help save Babies in your area. Back when i lived in Las Vegas, there were a reported 20-25 babies left at hospitals or thru the safe haven law each month. That doesn't count the ones that were discarded.

It breaks my heart but, this really happens and I personally know over 30 couples who would love to have a child to fill their  empty arms and full hearts.
If you are reading this and need assistance in any way please don't hesitate to call them or any other great contact you might have. I could give you many numbers but i'd prefer you go directly to the source. Thanks!

Life and Balance...

 SO... Obviously life is very busy right now so, things suffer. Let's be real- having REAL balance in your life is an absurd goal when it comes to a summer schedule!  ( i shutter at the sound of that word)! That's why i'd rather  have a routine. See that sounds like I'm not so rigid, right?

My routine includes waking up each morning- often before the sun is fully up- to nurse Slade, watering the garden, weeding, breakfast for four, chores, swim practice , cleaning, lunch, a small amount of rest or down time then onto the next meal and more cleaning. It never ends. Once the boys go down at 6:30, im off to the gym or for a walk or whatevs. Sometimes, there are wrenches thrown in this plan/routine, like bumps and bruises, dental appts, dr. appts, jury duty, poop clean up ( man an his digestive issues), deep cleaning, errands and so on . Its exhausting being a mom of 4! Im worn out every day. Mind you, i have to often make 2-3 diff. foods per meal b/c of food allergies.  My sink if almost always full of dishes and without  my babysitter or house helper- it would totally suffer even worse.SO, YEAH, IF MY HOME ISN'T PERFECT- ITS B/C I ACTUALLY LIVE A FULL LIFE! And here's my sign....

Also, Ive lost 56 lbs since i had Slade and i have plenty more to loose still. but, Im doing a great job ( yes Im patting myself on the back)!!!

I think anyone who sets a goal  and makes progress should be congratulated- Give yourself props- by all means- you deserve it. One of the gals in my IRON WARRIOR class said that Im a little Over confident but she later recanted and said she wishes that she had more confidence in herself. I've never thought of myself as a confident but, i sure as heck KNOW that I'm worth something!SO, that's why i work HARD and SMART when it comes to workouts, my kids, life and such. Lifes just too short to hold back!

In closing, My life isn't perfect or hardly ever in BALANCE b/c there are things that take precedence over other things each and every day. Naturally, an out of balance life means you are LIVING it to the fullest and my life IS in HARMONY as much as it can be right now! My kids are healthy and happy and growing like weeds! My relationship with my husband is great and we go on dates almost every weekend! What more could i ask for? Life is just Wonderful, chaos and all and i wouldn't have it any other way!

Birth Families- an extension of LOVE!!!

So , its been 7.5 years since our first open adoption and here's where we stand with everyone.( at least from my vantage point)...

Brielle's Birth mom, Kara, has a full open adoption relationship- we visit when we can ( she is two states away) . Her parents and siblings and grandparents all keep in touch. We all visit when we can which is at least once a year but we shoot for more. we last saw her and the family in June! We love and miss them and are sad they are so far away but that's life! We have our birth families stay in our home when they visit and we stay with them when the opportunity arises. ANd we look forward to planning a vacation together next couple of years!

Brielle's Birth dad- Kyle is still keeping his distance and still keeping his eye on us through FB and this blog but, that's all he can do right now and we respect that. His parents want more communication but we need to figure this all out again- its been 7 years since we have seen them. they are sweet and we are excited to see what unfolds- his family just moved back to LV so now both Birth families are there
( of B's). Now that she is older- we have to take her feelings in consideration with all of this.

Brielle reads her Placement /Sealing Day card that Kara wrote her often and she loves it. Its a special card just to her and when she read it the other day- i just lost it! I'm a huge baby when it comes to EMO stuff!

Gavin's Birth families....

Jessica ( his tummy momma) is still in contact with us and we text and FB here and there and chat on the phone whenever possible. We miss her- we haven't seen her since last July. It's kinda sad-its been a year. We totally want her to come visit but understand that she has a new life- working, friends, dating and fun and we are so glad she can have all those things and experiences. She is amazing ( and still gorgeous)!!! I hope she always knows how much we love her and WANT her to be around whenever she can. We see her family around her whenever we travel through UT and can't wait for the day again! They are all great peeps!

Dustin, Gmans Birth father- is growing up like crazy.

He bought a house, is working hard and dating a sweet lady we really like! They may end up hitched but who knows! He just saw us in early June! We visit with his Brother, Mom and dad and have met his siblings and extended family as well. they too are fabulous people!!! We stay with Gma Tammy when we go to UT mostly! ( btw-we call ALL our grandparents, grandpa and grandma, which makes our kids look like they have about 7 sets of grand folks!- hey you can never have too much love).

All in all- we LOVE our birth families- I'm trying my best to be a good communicator but Alas, I'm flawed so, If i've ever offended or not communicated properly- Im very sorry.


We Value these relationships and know that this WORKS FOR US- though it may not work for others!

We have no idea at this moment when we adopt again.
BUT- we know we will one day- just not for at least....

three years or more!
We think about foster care ( since we did all that training) and overseas adoption as well.
I'm content right now with my 2 in diapers and 2 in full day school this fall.
We love our crazy life and are so glad it's been made this way. We are a HYBRID family in the adoption spectrum
and our parents may have to SHARE our kids with many grandparents but, that's just how it is- We wouldn't have our special kids with out our birth families and we celebrate them and really have adopted their entire families!~~~~


PS.  sweet & funny bits...
 Brielle- wrote her letter to Santa early this year it reads
" Dear Santa, i don't wont enything this year- i just want everywon on erth to have fun!"

Aria- still- once in a while asks who her birth family is (silly girl) and can often be heard around the house saying : fire in the hole!

Gavin tried to figure out what Slade was doing while he was nursing the other day so he leaned over and kissed the side of my boob twice trying to copy Slade- then he patted it- like he does to Slade's head. Then he hopped down and went on his merry way to his Cars- it was cute and hilarious! Curious little guy! Love it!

* pic of Dustin swinging Gman around at the splash pad in LV and Gman splashing back!

**fun video of Gavin's personality and playfulness when we went to breakfast with Dustin, his mom and his girl and Gma Betty!

Back in the Saddle

WOW! I cant believe 6 months has flown by so quickly! Where did the time go? I am so happy to announce that i will be back blogging again with my main emphasis on family, my family, adoption and issues related to all aspects in between. You might occasionally here a few reviews on books, products and such but mainly the above stuff. So, yeah, I can back track too much ( or you'd get bore to tears of a million flash back fridays ( i will post a few) but the next bit should get you up to speed...

Where are we now? Staying put in the Denver Area suburbs, raising 4 kids, swimming& lessons, workouts, walks, naps, gardening, hanging out with friends, learning to balance life, going on dates with my hubby ( we just celebrated 11 yr on the 5th of July!) and building a business. My husband is loving the real estate company and the ownership position. Its tons of work but well worth it! The kids are growing like weeds! we tube down rivers, do gym and dance and B fly fishes and we had a great vacation in SD and Disneyland! Yep we finally went and even bought  year passes ( we WILL be back!)  Here's a few pics from our trip( tons missing from other phones/cameras)

The girls before we took off and Gavin on HIS B-DAY! 

  IN TOON TOWN and D-Land!

  SLADE Happy at Lunch for G-man! We celebrated his bday at a nice restaurant in Downtown Disney and he got a special Sorbet ( since he is allergic to WHEAT, SOY and DAIRY)

 Grandpa Danny was so great and patient the WHOLE trip. we loved Having him and our time together!

 The girls couldn't stop climbing on this statue. 

 Brielle and Her Special Snow white outfit! ( with her dwarves in the back)

 The girl who  pouts while she has everything- ARIA !

This is just a few of the pictures, obviously! And To say the Least- It really was so magical! I will talk about visiting the birth parents we were able to see while on our trip in another post! Just know- i will be posting again! YAY! hope you are all enjoying your summer vacations too!