Spring Fever

"I'm not freaking out now. This is fun!" Jack insisted on us pushing him higher and higher. We were informed that we need to buy him wings so he can fly.

Hello beautiful. Swinging is so much fun!

A Special Announcement

Yes, you read Jack's shirt right. Guess who's a big brother again!!!

We are so excited to announce the arrival of our beautiful son, Liam through the miracle of adoption. God has been so good to us. We are incredibly blessed to have these boys and their birth families in our lives. We finalized Liam's adoption and celebrated with his birth family today. Now, Jack has two little brothers - Liam and Eli, his birth mother's son.

We know God is present in our lives. I've keenly felt his presence during our sons' adoptions. I also feel that I have a couple of Grandmas pulling for us on the other side. Jack's birthday just happens to fall on my mother's birthday. Liam's birthday falls on my grandma Rose's birthday (my mom's mom). Sometimes, I think Grandma Rose (I'm sure Grandma Mary is a cohort) is up there looking down and saying, "Yes, I'm here. Did you think I'd forget about you?" Now I'll never forget my grandma's or mom's birthdays.

I would like to thank mom for tagging along with us on our adoption trip. She was a big help with Jack. She made the trip a lot easier for us. Mom and the rest of our families have been very supportive of us and our dreams to have a family.

No words or gesture can express how much love and gratitude we feel towards our sons' birth families. They treat us like family and have welcomed both boys in their arms. Our sons have so many people who love them.

Please say a prayer for women and men who choose adoption for their babies. Adoption is a tough decision but it is one made with so much love, a pure love that gives them the strength to put their child's needs before their own. I would also ask that you pray for women who are pregnant and not sure what to do with the life God has given them. Please pray that they feel God's presence in their lives and that they choose life for their precious miracles.

I'll post more pictures in the future. As you can imagine, I've taken quite a few of Liam over the past 7 months.

"To make something special, you just have to believe it's special." — Mr.Ping, Kung Fu Panda.

Tonight, after a thrilling (insert sarcasm here) trip to Cost Cutters, Jack was thirsty. I told him I had special water for him. To make it even better, the water was in a small plastic bottle. Big boy bottle, I told him. Later he complimented me on the water. It was so good. Snow water, he called it because the label has a mountain with snow on it. In reality, the bottle was an empty one I had at work and the water was tap water. But he believed it was special and that made all the difference.

Speaking of special, here's one big guy who is very special. Check out his new hairdo.

You Look Boo-tiful

I rarely get dressed up these days, meaning very rarely do I wear a dress or skirt. I have plenty of dress slacks and those are my preferred get-ups for work when we have interviews. Most days, I'm just happy if my pants fit and my zipper is up before I run out the door. So, when all the pants were in the wash last night, I resolved myself to shave (e-gads) and wear a skirt to church. Jack sweetly said, "You look boo-tiful mommy" when he saw me. I momentarily forgot about the razor burn. :)

The Mascot Experience

I spent my lunch hour getting hot and bothered in an Easter Bunny suit. Okay, so I received a lot more positive responses than negative so I wasn't really bothered but I sure was hot. Sweat running in my eyes, burning - and that was probably only 20 minutes into the experience.

I've performed as a mascot before - as the NBC peacock at a local affiliate and a baby tiger at a local hospital. I even performed with Red Bird when he came to town for a now defunct minor baseball team's game. It's really kind of fun to slip into a mascot costume and do things you normally wouldn't do like shake your groove thing in front of the city building.

Most people loved me. It didn't hurt that I was handing out candy as I walked. One person said, "You've made me so happy." I saw a couple of people I knew so I gave them hugs and even let this next guy "punch" me.

I was punched in the gut one time when I played the peacock at a station event. A small kid punched me while one of their parents stood by and did NOTHING! Excuse me?

Being around the children is one of the best parts about the "job." Thankfully, this little girl was sleeping because sometimes the wee ones cry and you just wave and walk away hoping not to upset them more.

These crazy girls were on a caffeine or sugar high. My co-worker thought they were high. They were stopped at a red light and wanted a picture. I ran over, gave them some candy and then they took a picture. The blonde was way too excited.

Who can ask for anything more? Really. (Had to hold the helmet so it didn't fall off!) Love that form.

Girlie Night and Mascot Madness

I watched "The Chorus Line" with my friend Velvet tonight. It was so fun to have a girlie night. Velvet, if you win tickets to see Mamma Mia and you need someone to go with, please give me a call. Love Abba!

Tomorrow, I will be headed downtown in an Easter Bunny outfit to promote an upcoming Parks and Recreation event. I think past late night television shows have inspired my latest idea. My co-worker is going to film people's reactions. After all, it's not everyday you see the EB walking around handing out candy. I also have a skit in mind that includes broken Tootsie rolls. Chew on that one for a while.

Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Amen

Jack is learning his prayers! We say the "Our Father," "Hail Mary" and the "Guardian Angel" prayers at night. I was so proud of him a couple of weeks ago when he said part of the "Our Father" during mass.

As Catholics, we begin our prayer with the sign of the cross, "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen." Tonight, Jack was snuggling with his bestie, Piggy and his good friend, Kirby. After he made the sign of the cross, Jack reached over and gave Pig and Kirby the sign of the cross too. Awe...