6 Pumpkins in Our Patch

We were blessed with a gorgeous Fall day and had a blast spending the morning with Nana and all of our kiddos at the Pumpkin Patch.

Makena - 13mo

Isaac - 13mo

Kayla - 13mo

Luke & Isaac

Not sure about touching the pumpkins

Girls Sitting Pretty

Our youngest Pumpkin

Having a "meltdown"

All Better

Loading up our treasures to take home and carve.

Bonding: Adoption vs. Childbirth

This topic has been on my mind lately. Our story of how God put our family together is truly one of his greatest designs ever! One that I could never have imagined or thought of all on my own. And I wondered before we first set out to adopt if people bond more with their birthchildren than their adoptive ones. So after 13 + years on our parenting journey, here's my experience.



Miracle #1, we were new to adoption,foster adoption that is, and everything was very exciting, but equally as scary. The process alone is one I can't imagine going thru w/o knowing that my God already had a plan and knew just the child He wanted to be our first miracle. So, those first moments/days of realizing that it looked like Chris was going to be OUR child was similar to a rosebud about to bloom. We were giddy and exstatic looking at this beautiful baby boy & wanting this sooooo bad, but it took a few days for us to really realize THIS was actually happening and we were to be a family. It only took a few days and when we got to bring him home that was it for me. No more questions. We just got to spend time together getting to know each other, bathing him, feeding him, dressing him up in his new clothes, singing to him, kissing him, dreaming with him, praying over him, loving him.....Everything was so new anyways as a new parent and I was a "typical first parent" stressing over everything including dirty diapers.



Miracle #2, My heart was attatched to Luke the moment they asked if we'd like to be parents again. It was instantaneous and I had not seen this baby and didn't know much other than he was 6 wks old. But it literally was that fast. Knowing we had his brother Chris and the legal risk was so low and God, totally helped push any fears away. And seeing him laying in the ER with swollen little eyes from crying, my heart was gone!



Miracle #3, With Ashley it was the same exact way. That phone call was it. And when I walked into the nursery and saw this little peanut with a ton of black hair(Be still my beating heart)! With all 3 phone calls I remember the most extreme feeling of excitement, the kind you can't contain, running thru my veins and making me shake all over. It was overwhelming!!!

Miracles #4,5,&6. I was VERY certain that I was pg the day of our FET. At the first u/s I had that same overwhelming feeling and it was HUGE when we saw 3 little heartbeats. Getting to be pregnant and see their heartbeats and watching their bodies change weekly and talking to them and feeling them move was an experience I at times didn't even dare to dream of... It was INCREDIBLE. Then there were times after being in the hospital for 6+wks when things started to become "clinical" and I started to loose my connection with these little ones for brief moments. It was weird, but nothing that the next u/s wouldn't fix! (the doc said that was common with such a long hospital stay) Then there was the delivery and I was soooo very excited to meet these miracles! I cried, Jon cried when we heard Makena's first cry...Mikayla's first cry....and Isaac's first cry and they held him up for us to see. I'll never forget that picture! But they were wisked away so quickly (which of course I wanted them to be). We were thrilled and giddy. I got to kiss each one in the resc. room. They were beautiful. Then they put be back on Magnesium Sulfate, because my bp spiked up once. And that and the pain meds really made me loopy. I couldn't go see them for 24hours. It killed me!

So here's the difference. It's a physical one. My mind was fuzzy. My heart was full. Emotionally, with the NICU environment, it wasn't a big "emotional" attatchment like I thought it would be. But I wasn't prepared for the huge physical attatchment. I heard my babies after only one other visit to see them, crying all the way in the back of the large NICU and my body physically couldn't get there soon enough. How did I know those were my babies? Talk about a Milk let down as well! Something I never had experienced. But to get to know them, each one probably started the second week when I was nursing more. And it really wasn't until we got to bring them home and just be a family that I got to really bond with Kayla, Isaac, and Makena in their own different, unique, special, one-of-a-kind ways!

So there you have my experience. I should ask Jon to write down his and see how his differs, if at all.....Each experience was different. Each child is different. But as far as my heart...It knows no difference!!!

Germ Paranoia & Pap Smear

So much for staying germ free!

(IM&M's new teething ring...the fridge)

Paranoid of Germs...

We're beyond being germophobic and our media is pushing us (parents) over the edge.

I'm not making light of the fact that swine flu is a threat, but this is getting out of hand.

I realized I might be pushing our family over the edge as well, when the second my kids walk thru the door, they feel invaded by the Germ Police.

"Did you wash your hands?" (they are very much in the habit now)

"Did you change your shirt?"

"Did you Clorox wipe down the bathroom, garage doors,& light switches?"

"Did you (heaven forbid) share a drink or food with anyone today?"

"How many times did you use your hand sanitizer at school today?"

And then, just when I decide to let my guard down, a little friend of Ashley's arrived at my home (symptom free), I let her come into my "Germ Free" home for 4+hours. And of course the moment she returns home her mother calls me to say she's running a temp of over 101!!!

When my hubby arrived home that evening he quickly assessed my passion for my new title of Germ Police and insisted that I unquaranteen Ashley from our bonus....I mean sick room. I just figured Ashley was now a carrier of what ever viral disease that was ready to attack our HOME!

(Thanks to my sister Denise for ROFL over this one! And to Jon, Ashley might have been in that room until Spring)!

On the serious side, those of us with preemies need to take precautions against RSV. And to some that means not leaving the house till Spring. If our babes were infants I'd be staying in more. And if you're one who can do this w/o going insane, my hat is off to you. But I find going out in the stroller they are in their own little safe bubble. I take GermX wipes with me EVERYWHERE and wipe down tops of tables, edges and underneath, where little hands can reach out and touch. And of course their hands get wiped down alot when we're in a public place. We leave our Pacies and toys at home so nothing goes in their mouths (except the tags on clothing at the mall). If we have runny noses (which with teething is most of the time) we stay home. And we take our precautions and pray! But we are not going to be consumed by fear. There are too many memories to make this fall now that IM&Ms are older...pumpkin patches, birthdays, & holidays.

And on a side note....Never take Triplets with you to your Annual Pap exam...In my defense I forgot I had the appt. and couldn't find anyone to come last minute. But what a memory...

Tiny room w/ triple stroller. I was undressed and sitting pretty before the nurse even asked me to change, the babes had a bird's eye view, the Doc was afraid the babies would tug on the light cord for the speculum during the exam. I rushed the Doc, continually telling him,"Ok, so let's get started, we have 2 minutes left until they loose it."OK, so a blood test, a mamogram, you'll call me, and let's get my feet in the stirrups now."" Was that it? I didn't feel a thing. Thanks to all those cervical checks in the L&D for 3+wks that had me bawling". "OK, so I think you can go now, I know you're a busy man." Really, not sure what he made of the whole appt, but a Mom's got to do what a Mom's got to do!

Love Our Maddie Girl Clips

Our first Maddie Girl Clip came in the mail. I wanted to try it out and see if one would stay in baby fine hair and it works great! And they are so cute! The only problem we have now is that K & I like the clip too and make a V line for Makena's hair. I can't wait to order some for Christmas! Just Click on Maddie Girl Clips on the right to get your own!

"They're Squeez'n My Heart"

Have you ever loved someone so much it hurt?
My Husband.
Have you ever felt so blessed that you can hardly breathe?
My Children.
Have you ever stood in awe of your life and tears stream down your cheeks?
My God.
Have you ever looked at a child and literally felt your heart being squeezed?
My Babies....All of them....Sometimes all at once....Ouch!

This new song list was put together by my hubby. Some of his faves. Thanks babe for the memories! I love you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!

Personalitly Galore-13months

There's no pics that can fully capture the persona of our IM&Ms right now.

Makena - She is our "toddler" in the sense that she looks more like a toddler than I&K, right now with her full head of hair, that begs to be curled. She doesn't mind the hair products that I subject her to after her baths. And today her curls stayed all day! I love it! She's also still 2+ lbs bigger than K. I&K are looking so much alike right now that sometimes if they're in white t-shirts from the back I'll pick up one and think it's the other. This has never happened before. They both have the same amount of hair going on which confuses the issue.
Back to our sweet Makena - She is a "momma's girl" right now and can't get enough hugs, snuggles and book reading in in a day. Her deep giggle is infectious. Her smile bright. Her big rosy cheeks very yummy!
She is the "Mommy" of the group and today summed it up. I was just laying her down at the downstairs changing table when I saw her shake her finger and say a firm "DON'T" to Isaac who was checking out the first bottom step of the stairs! I laughed thinking how "on top of things" I thought I was, but she caught him and warned him with out my knowing what her brother was up to. Thank you, Makena. But we do have a saying in our home, "Who's The Mama?"

Kayla - I'd say she's surprised us all by being the first to walk (M&I are just now starting to stand for 2 seconds by themselves) but we saw the fire in her from the beginning and though she waited to roll over to 9.5 months, she's on the go now! No, stopping this girl. Yesterday, she walked all the way down our street and half way down the other until she took a little fall. She's sooo proud of herself too! She's adorable with her fun laugh and silly noises! Her eyelashes are getting CRAZY long as well. She was the first to cut all her molars in 2 weeks..poor baby. She is leading the way in tantrums by throwing herself backwards and not seeming to care if her head hits the floor. It's hard to ignore this when I know she at times hurts herself, but I'm trying to let her have her hissy fits on her own. Socks....she loves Socks! Forget a shoe fettish...It's socks for this girl. Better if she has the basket of them strewn all over the room and 2 in each hand at all times as she walks. We moved her into the bonus room for nap time as we know she's the partier of the group most of the time. I made this decision after hearing a great party going on one day over the monitor. When I went up to be the party-pooper, much to my surprise, she was the only one awake. And the funny thing was is that she thought for sure Makena was still playing peek-a-boo with her from the other side of the crib. Now she can have her own party and let the others get some rest! Is this a glimpse into our future?......you bet it is!

Isaac - Still a love. Still looks at us with those eyes that search our souls. And the cute little smile that goes with that look is enough to put my heart over the edge! And such a boy! The kid growls and grunts and brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs over his cars! So much fun to see in contrast to his sisters. He's been very hesitant to even let us help him walk. Prefers to crawl which is ok with me. The first up our little slide though and of course the first one to fall off of it. He still loves his food and roast beef and mashed potatoes can bring about a great look of satisfaction to his face. And he's also our most trying when in some areas of our living room and he tests the waters over and over and over....sometimes while smiling at us! But today I had the gate down in the nursery as I was finishing getting M changed and I told Isaac to wait and not leave the room crawling out the door. So he stopped and inched forward and stopped and inched forward, but when he got to the doorway he waited! So I picked him up and all the way down the stairs I was telling him what a good boy he was and the kid was "BEAMING" and then to top it off he started pointing to himself...like 4 times....like "I'm a good boy"! I was amazed to see this at 13 months! Wow! I guess God just gave us a glimpse of his LOVE Language right now! Amazing!

There you have it for the 13 month olds.
Chris- is doing great and really applying himself. A little scuffle during "unsupervised tackle" football at school led to being "Unplugged" for quite a while though. He's a great kid and I don't know who's more blessed by each other, the babies or him...They just love each other bunches!

Luke- is doing well at school and seems to like everything but recess. Oh, yeah he just made 3 new friends on Friday....3 Girls...One black...One biracial....And One white.....Lord, help us all the kids a charmer!

Ashley- loves school and is really hard at work. It's a long day for her, but we're so proud of her efforts and attitude! She has lots of good friends and great teachers! God is good!

Zoo & Light the Night Walk

Do we look like we had a good time at the zoo?

We actually did, we picked a very nice sunny day but the grass was too wet to crawl in. Sorry, Makena.

Kayla got a kick out of watching the monkeys.

I&M loved watching the HUGE fish that we're right at their level.

Sissy taking Kayla for a walk

Who's walking who?

Look what I found in a tree?

My Three Big Monkeys

Monkeying around

And our Three Little Monkeys in their new stroller....

I love this thing & Craigslist was a lifesaver

Then we were all able to participate this year in the walk for Leukemia and Lymphoma

At Portland's Light the Night walk

It was late for the babies, but the weather was great and they were so entertained by all the lit balloons everywhere!

It was awesome to do this as a family....We walked in memory of our Aunt Marie and in celebrating, Jon's collegue who's a 5 Year + survivor, Wayne Mangun.

We'll for sure do this again next year and the

Race for the Cure as well.