The plan....It was the day before "back to school", I had soo much to do to get the boys ready. I had big plans to completely clean the house from top to bottom, organise all the clothes etc, prepare a lovely dinner and make homemade cookies. I wanted the children to be bathed early, pj's on, and I wanted Mark to be able to give them a blessing, we would read stories,sing songs, kiss them and tuck them into bed early so they would be well rested and ready for an early morning. That was my plan!!!!
What actually happened?..... I offered to babysit for my favorite little 4 month old twin boys. I figured I could still get everything I wanted done, while helping our cousins out at the same time. Sooo....... I tried to clean as best I could amidst the craziness of 6 little people. Every time I got one project done, The toddlers had created a new one for me to tackle! The older two were tearing the couch apart to make a fort, while little Owen jumped on the oven door like a trampolene! Milo the dog made a suspicious puddle, while one of the babies let me know it was time for another bottle. It was certainly busy!!!
By evening I was starting to get a bit frazzled, I could not make the meal I had planned on, because the oven door would not close properly (due to the previous jumping incident) we ended up eating taco bell! I was trying to fold up the mountain of laundry while Ava kept knocking over each pile. There were no warm chewy homemade cookies, and the children were not bathed and they did not smell of coconut lotion. (more like dried mud and smelly socks). Nothing had gone at all like I had hoped for. Almost at the end of my patience, I snapped at Mark... lets just get the blessings done! Mark pulled over a chair into the living room and began saying the prayer... I could barely hear him because Owen was hitting Ava over the head with the tv remote. I was about to completely lose it and give up on the whole idea, when something amazing happened.............
I looked over at Kyle, he was quietly sniffling to himself in the corner of the couch. I ushered him over to my lap and asked him why he was crying. He told me he felt very happy inside and it was giving him "happy tears". He said his heart felt warm. He was feeling the spirit! Everything changed in that instant! Suddenly it didn't matter to me that the house was a mess, the oven was broken, we didn't have the perfect meal or fresh cookies, none of that was important any more. All that mattered were the precious little people who have been entrusted to our care. Their feelings, their happiness. For amidst the craziness, the loudness, the chaos.... Four little people are growing. They are watching us, They are following our example, they are building their own character and gaining a testimony of their own. I am grateful for yet another lesson taught by my child.
After three boys, I anxiously awaited the birth of my little girl, Finally, someone to dress up pretty, who wouldn't burp the alphabet, talk about farts or wipe their nose on the couch. She would be a little lady who was clean and polite....... hmmmmmmm...........
Look What my little princess found......
introducing our newest addition....... "lizzy"
Me-" Brody, I think he is dead!!!" Brody-" yeah we know but we just want to pretend he's alive!!!"
I actually just said the sentence "can we please take the dead lizard off my bed!!"
Brody~"mum... it hurts my feelings when you say my friend is disgusting!!!"
Mum there's a problem.... I just dropped lizzy in the laundry pile!!!
Apparently the boy gene has taken over! I look forward to many more years of lizards, frogs and mice carcass fun! farts, wedgies, forts and smelly socks! I love my life!!!
Brody is SIX!!!!!
I can hardly believe it!! What a brilliant boy he is!!
here are some pics of his party.
Brody is a wonderful little person! He has a happy nature and very playful. He is quick to make people laugh! He loves school, and is really good at football/soccer. He has always been a cautious boy until recently.... He loves an adventure, I took the boys to a swim park recently and Brody was the first to slide down the HUGE slide!! He loves to please others and is a kind hearted and sweet little boy.
We LOVE our little Brody!!!
July 2012 was a monumental month in the fairy tale we call life.
***Ava's reunion***
On Thursday 12th July, Ava got to meet her birth mother and bio sister for the first time!! I was soo excited to see "T" and to finally meet Ava's biological sister.
We went over to Mayte's house and let the kids all play in the water together. It was very comfortable and lovely to spend time together and to see Ava interact with her birth family. Ava of course loved all the attention and performed to anyone willing to look her way.
We were able to have a nice big family dinner with all of the Pugmire family and most of Ava's biological family, it was very special to see everyone together. Ava's birth mother, sister and Puertorican grandma, grandpa, aunt and bio cousins were all there along with her adoptive family, cousins and grandparents.
It was just amazing to see how much love surrounds her, and how adoption truly is a miracle!
Our precious gift from Heavenly Father, given to us through the love of her birth mother.... we will never forget what we have been blessed with.
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Kyle's reunion....
Bright and early the next morning, we set off on our road trip to Texas, to meet Kyle's birth parents. It was a long journey and involved MANY stops off at the side of the road, and several gas station encounters. We ate waaay too much fast food and watched aLOT of movies, but finally we arrived in San Antonio Texas. We arranged with Shannon and Patrick to meet up at IHOP first thing in the morning. The following morning I woke up early but it was still dark so I went back to sleep, I woke up every 15 minutes but I knew it must still be really early because it was still soo dark in our hotel room, finally a thought dawned on me "blackout curtains???" ooooooh nooooo.... I jumped up and opened the curtains, allowing the sun to fill the room, all of a sudden I felt panicked, we were late!! I urgently awoke everybody and called Patrick's cell phone to apologise and make a plan. We really struggled to understand each other on the phone with our accents. We decided to meet up at the Alamo.
Mark and I walked from our hotel with the children, I felt myself looking at everybody we encountered to see if I would recognise them. San Antonio is FUN there was sooo much to see,
we got in line at the Alamo, and I saw them coming towards us, Finally.... our lovely birth mother Shannon and her amazing husband Patrick... Kyle's wonderful birth parents! This was really happening!!
When Kyle saw them he immediately got really shy and was hiding his face. Patrick soon coaxed him out and the rest of the weekend they were inseparable!! It was beautiful to witness. I remember thinking how cool it must be for Kyle to see all these pieces of his puzzle together. We spent the day together on the Riverwalk, we went on a boat and then we got some mexican food!! It was alot of fun.
Shannon asked us if we wanted to go swimming in their apartment complex, we decided we wanted to take the little ones back to the hotel to nap, but asked if kyle and Brody could go swimming with them. It was a great idea!! The boys had soo much fun with Shannon and Patrick, and They got to spend some time with Kyle. It was perfect!!
The next day we all went to Seaworld together, it was amazing!! Kyle was following Patrick around the park like a little puppy!! We had a great day together. We spent that night at Shannon and Patricks house, Patrick made us a delicious dinner. They were sooo kind to us. We love them!
The following day it was time to leave, It was hard to say goodbye, so while Shannon and Patrick were at work, we had kyle write some messages to them on post-its and stick them all around the house!
We absolutely loved spending time with our family in Texas, we love you both and miss you xxx
quote of the week.. Brody~ "I wish I had a birthmother!!!!"
How did we get soo lucky????
