Snuggle-bug

Keith is happy to be home. We went to visit family in OK for 10 days and when we came home - he was all a twitter. For the past 4 days he has crawled up on my lap and snuggled with me, usually for an hour or so. Today he fell asleep and I cherished that special time with him. I can sense that he is growing more and more attached to his mama and looks to me for comfort - I love it.

He was evaluated for his Speech & OT goals and they said that he has exceeded them and has jumped up 15-20 months in his abilities = WOW!

When I first brought the twins home, I spent a lot of time snuggling and rocking the kids before bedtime. I realize that I have been slacking off in this and am trying to get back in the habit. Tonight I sang to each child individually, while rocking them before bed (even Anna). They each LOVED it. I will definitely repeat this action as much as possible. I could feel that wonderful connection of mama to child and the powerful influence it had over each of us. I am so blessed in my life to have these 3 sweet children and a wonderful, considerate husband.

Yes, we are thinking about adopting again. Since we are scheduled the move this fall - we don't think we'll begin the process until we move. Thanks for your encouragement!

The current plan

So, we have decided to go ahead and list our house for sale. Tyler & I have talked over some options for us if/when our house sells and we still have some time before we report to our next station. If our house sells before we move, we plan to box up almost the whole house and move it into a storage unit and then stay in a small apartment with just the necessities before we move. I like this option because we can save some money before we move AND when it's time to actually move, most of our belongings are already packed up so we'll just need to load the u-haul and we're off! So that's the current plan. Let's hope our house sells quickly so we can stop worrying about it!

VML list

We found out that we're on the vulnerable to move list and will be set to move on the fall move cycle: between october and january. We were informed that there is a chance we'll be moving to Florida. We should find out in a month to 2 months. For those military families out there - when did you list your house for sale? Before or after you get your orders? I'm worried that if we don't list our house soon that we may be shipping out in october or november and still have a house on the market. On the other hand, what if our house sells quickly and we don't need to move until January?

How did you know?

How did you know when your family was complete or when you needed to add more children to the mix? I am curious to hear especially from you out there that have adopted more than once. How long did you wait before you adopted again? How did you raise the funds?

Hello Zucchini

We came home from our 10 day trip to OK to find a cucumber and 2 HUGE zucchinis!

Can you believe the size of that thing? Oh my goodness! Now for what I need from all my faithful readers: ZUCCHINI RECIPES!!!

Fun-time photos

The power of a silly mama to make her baby smile...

What fun it is to be a mama.

Vacation to OKLAHOMA!

We took a 10 day trip to Oklahoma to introduce the twins to our family there. Enjoy the pictures!
Dana - we saw this and thought of you, so we took a picture!


Anna swimming at Grammy's & Pa-Pa's house in Bartlesville.

Keith's first time swimming - he loved it!

Kristina's first time swimming - can you see that smile of hers?

The kids had a great time with their cousins!

My mil, Melanie, and sil, Tisha - expecting her 5th baby, a girl!

My mil, Melanie, & I. I am so blessed to have a fantastic mother-in-law!

Keith LOVED playing with his great grandpa Fred!

The girls chatting about the latest gossip! Left to right: Rhonda, Jill, Becky?, Tisha, Grandma Madeline, Melanie.

Our trip to Mazzios Pizza - they have THE BEST salad bar, YUM!

Keith with his cousin, Josiah.

Keith swimming with Pa-Pa.

Anna & Maddie swimming together. Anna did NOT want to leave her cousins in Bartlesville! They had such a fun time together.

I persuaded Melanie & Tisha to join me for a pedicure. Look at our pretty toes! Any guesses on which are mine?

Pa-Pa rocking the kids to sleep.

It was a 12 hour trip to OK - these kids were real troopers on their first road trip!

We drove down to Edmond, OK, where Anna spent a couple of days with her Aunt Alleigh - they have a very special relationship. Alleigh is Anna's favorite person of all time - just ask her!

Keith & Kristina met their Opa and Grandma for the first time.

Because we were in the van more often than usual, the kids would fall asleep at random times.

Kristina sleeps with her mouth open - isn't she adorable?

I want to thank you all for your prayers for my sister, Jennifer, & Willis. They seem to be doing okay. We took them out for dinner at a place called BJ's. Left to right: Shelbee, Evan, Willis, Tyler, Keith, Kristina, Me, Jennifer, Mom, & Coulter.

We realized that the middle row could recline so the kids could sleep without their heads hanging in front of them. Nice.

Tyler worked at Panda Express while we lived in Stillwater. They have the BEST sesame chicken ever. YUM! Left to right: Keith, Tyler, Jill, Kristina, Mom, Evan, & Shelbee.

The twins playing the piano at their great grandma Marty's house.

Anna crying when she had to come back from spending time with her Aunt Alleigh. :o*(

More piano time.

Aw, yes, the big meal with the family. Left to right: Kristina, Tyler, Evan, Shelbee, Grandpa, Mom (hiding behind Coulter), Coulter, Willis, Jennifer, Anna, & Grandma.

Tyler & Coulter.

A rousing game of Settlers of Catan. Evan & I tied for winning - we had to quit early.

Shelbee & Kristina, Keith & Evan - Coincidentally, Evan's middle name is Keith - after our Grandpa McElwain.

Mom, Jennifer, & Willis.

Mom reading "Elbert and the bad word" to Anna.

Our last dinner out with Coulter at Johnny Carinos - Tyler & my favorite Italian restaurant. Coulter is leaving in September to serve a mission in the Dominican Republic.

Anna specifically asked for her great grandma Marty to scoop her some ice cream because she gave her "a lot." :o)

The kids sleeping in the hotel in St. Louis on our drive back to OH.

We had a great time with family, but are also happy to be home again! Home, sweet, home.