Happy Mother's Day!

A view out our front door looking across our yard.... It's one of those moments where you can stand in awe of how gorgeous nature really is. I just loved the picture and because Mother's Day is one of my favorite days of the year, this seemed to fit well with today! I am so incredibly thankful to be MOM!And I know every day how much of a miracle it is that I have Rylan in my life. It still amazes me that we made it through that adoption, along with every other family who used our former agency. The determination of all these mothers has finally brought each and every child home!
And for Cameron,..... he gave me my first taste of motherhood. It was so wonderful that it brought us to Rylan. His adoption was also a sheer miracle as there were lots and up and downs until we were united forever! I am the luckiest mom ever!
And I am so grateful for my mom (in the white sitting) and for my sister who is a mom (in white kneeling), and for all the other incredible ladies in my life... some mom's, some not yet! Because even if your not a mom, as a woman you are an influence in the life of a child somewhere. Maybe as an aunt, a cousin, or a friend... all pictured with me in this photo!
And to my mother-in-law (on the far left) and my sister-in-law (on the far right), you have set some real examples of what mothering is all about!
And to the mother's out there who have loved our children while we were waiting for them. I wish I had a picture on my laptop I could download of the foster family Cameron stayed with during his adoption process, because they like Corelli were absolutely wonderful! They put their hearts on the line knowing that they were helping to raise these children only to see them leave to their forever families. Something I'm not sure I could ever do.
And to the birth mother's of my children. For their selfless sacrifice to bring these children into the world. My kids will always know these wonderful ladies and how much they loved them. I can only hope that they have the piece of mind knowing that we love these boys unconditionally, and them too! Some day, we will find them again to tell them in person!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all!

Random Pics!

Thought I'd share some random photos over the past couple weeks. The boys and I managed to slip in a nigh at Wisconsin Dells with my mom, my sister, and my niece! We got an awesome deal on the room, $39.99, so we could hardly pass it up. It rained the entire weekend, both there and at home... so it was perfect for indoor swimming. We tried one outside activity and took a ride on the Wisconsin Dells Ducks! The kids loved it, even thought it was freezing!!! We brought blankets with for the ride. This "Duck" travels on both land and water and gives you a tour of the area. I so wished I could have got my camera out to take a picture of the most tender moment yet between the boys. Rylan was by the window and Cameron in the middle, I squeezed on the outside of the seat. We were wrapped up under a quilt and about half way through the tour, Rylan started falling asleep. He layed his head on Cameron and just snuggled right into him! Cameron looked over at me to see if I was looking and I just smiled at him and didn't say anything... He sort of raised his eyebrows, but didn't move (or move his brother off him)! Before long, Cameron was snuggling up to Rylan. It was SO cute! There are lots of nice exchanges between the boys but I'd still say not as many as I'd like. They do play without fighting about 80% of the time.... which is huge progress to me! Last summer I'd have rated it at a 30%. Cameron isn't highly affectionate with Rylan though, so this was huge! Almost like the moment I had waited all year to see! Here was my niece Eryn with the boys on the Duck. Before we left the station we had torearrange our seating. It goes fast at times so we didn't want to lose any kids out the open windows!

At the pool, we can always find fun there! All 3 kids love the water and played really nice together!
Brotherly Love, YES!!!!

Sunday when we left the weather cleared long enough for us to stop off at this little railroad. We'd been there once before and Cameron loves the place! It's a miniature railroad and the train wasn't running, but the owners were nice enough to let us look around. Tourist season and most activities in Wisconsin Dells don't start until Memorial Day Weekend.
More hands on looking and touching!
He's turning from cute, into handsome!
An Easter Egg Hunt at my mom and dad's!

My dad giving Rylan some encouragement during the hunt! It didn't take long for Rylan to catch on to finding goodies in the yard!
My mom and dad have this wood tiled floor they've wanted to replace for awhile. The tiles come loose the kids are always ripping parts of it up and putting it back together like a puzzle. Well, after Easter dinner we gave them tools and let them go at it! The next day the floor was getting replaced with laminate wood. The kids has a blast and made a good demolition team!