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!

Sugar Overload!

This is what you get when you have WAY too much fun at your brother's birthday party! We had all you can eat fresh popped popcorn and blue-rasberry snowcones (we rented machines).... there is no telling how many snowcones he polished off. Throw in the cake and 3 helpings of ice cream I "heard" he was fed. Then one huge pinata that he got plenty of candy from (and ate an unspecified amount while we weren't looking). This is what we had at the end of a fun-filled day!!! I thought these pics were hillarious! You can see that little sparkle in this boys eyes... and this isn't just the sugar. That's all the timE1

Happy Easter

Just wanting to wish everyone a blessed Easter! Last night we colored egss with the boys and it went rather well. Rylan started off with a tantrum of some sort that I'm not sure even yet what it was about. Eventually he scraped himself up off the floor and came out to the kitchen. Once he saw what we were doing, he loved it! Both kids did a nice job on the eggs, and NO spills! We have a couple cracked eggs... but hey, I expected that. Today we started off our morning with Cameron first jumping into our bed hollering "Happy Easter"! Rylan, whose normally an early bird and up by 6-6:30am decided to sleep until 7:15. Cameron had a LONG 1/2 wait for his brother to get up, but once he did, they were SO excited about the Easter Bunny having been here! Once again, there was no shortage of candy, but the good ole Easter Bunny gets more and more crafty each year! This year some of the eggs were filled with quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies! There were also small gifts like art supplies that Cameron loves and some hot wheels cars that Rylan loves, not mention a few cans of silly string! Way to go Easter Bunny! These were some very happy, non-sugar high, kids!
We're off to my mom's around 2pm for dinner. Turkey and all the trimmings, yum! Then to John's parents for dessert. I have one more day off work tomorrow... YIPPIE! Althoug the boys and I will be going to the dentist for their first appts. I can't guarantee that will be a good time. More pics to follow on that!

Happy 6th Birthday Cameron!

Wow, I can't believe my guy is 6 years old today! I couldn't sleep last night as I kept dreaming about his birth. I think I'm having a hard time on this birthday because it's a transition from a preschooler to elementary aged boy! I can see him growing up so fast, yet am thankful he needs me yet in so many ways. You won't find me rushing him through these years. I enjoy every moment, even the "pull your hair out" days!
Let me take you back to the days leading up to Cameron's birth. We met his birth mom when she was over months 8 month pregnant. She had picked us from a book of waiting families wanting to adopt. When I received that call from the adoption agency telling us a birth mom wanted to meet us, it was like a rush I've never felt. So many years of unsuccessful pregnancy and loss came down to that moment! Just a short couple weeks later, we were at her school meeting her, her mother, and her social worker. She was just 14 years old. John and I were so nervous that we could barely contain ourselves! Once we met the family, we hit it off almost immediately and conversation flowed well. At the end of our meeting birth grandma invited us to a doctor appt birth mom had scheduled. We were able to meet her doctor and were introduced as the baby's parents! The doctor was very receptive and we were so excited. Cameron's birth mom was very shy. I thought we'd be sitting in the waiting room while she had her appt, but she allowed us in the room.... but we did leave during the "exam". She didn't know what she was having, which was even more exciting! During the exam the doctor let us hear the baby's heartbeat, which was the first time I'd ever experienced anything like that. I couldn't help it, I cried and was barely consolable! It was then that Alicia told us that she intended to have an abortion, until she heard the heartbeat early in her pregnancy. It just wasn't the right option for her. I give this young woman all the credit in the world. She carried this child for 9 very long months, gave birth, and made a responsible adoption plan that would allow her to go on with her life, and for this baby to have his. I can't imagine the ridicule she faced at school for this. The responses she might have got from strangers as she told them of her plans. People not understanding how she could so this. She had a sense of peace with it but that didn't mean it wasn't hard....
Around 11pm on April 3rd we'd received a call that Alicia went into labor. The weather was horrible, there was a sleet storm. They told us we didn't have to come....but this was something that I wasn't about to miss! John and I packed up and got out of the house before midnight. The trip normally would take about 3hrs. That night, it was well over 5hrs of driving in the worst conditions ever before we arrived. We checked in at the hospital desk and took a seat. It wasn't but 5 min before we were ushered back. We stood outside Alicia's hospital room door and watched as our son entered the world! All 8lbs 13ozs of him!!! The nurse whisked him away to clean him up and brought him out to us. I was frozen. She extended her arms to mine and said "congratulations mom and dad, you have a new son"! More crying.... I'm crying now! It was incredible! I got a hospital bracelet to enter the nursery and we were put in a room next to Alicia with the baby. She completely trusted us. John fed him his first bottle, I did his first diaper. We would go back and forth from room to room to visit with Alicia, yet not spend too much time in there with the baby. She was feeling uncomfortable and we could tell. We gave her space and we gave her alone time with the baby. When it came time to do the birth certificate, she told the nurse that we would be naming him. And so we did, Cameron James. Although we felt certain that this adoption would go through, there is alway that possiblity that something could happen. We had issues, that's to the say the least... but Alicia never wavered from her decision. She knew this child was meant to be ours. And so the story goes... you all know the ending!
So today not only do we celebrate the incredible birth of our child, but we honor his birth mother, Alicia. Without her, we wouldn't have this amazing little person in our lives. She gave us the opportunity to be parents! She will always have a piece of our hearts.

Cameron, immediately after he was born... what a bundle!
Bathtime! Even then he knew how to "cover" himself!
Proud Daddy!
Daddy and Cameron all decked out in their Harley Davidson gear!
Some of my favorite pictures of Cameron were taken in this pumpkin patch!
He still loves daddy's boot!
Adoption Finalization Day - Dec 2003
Christmas 2003! What a happy boy!
Swimming Classes when Cameron was about 2yrs old!
Mother's Day pictures at 3yrs old. I cherish this picture!
John and I holding on to our BIG boy!
He loves his trains!!!

St. Patty's Day - From my mom!

My mom sent me this! Cameron and Rylan thought it was hillarious! It's me and both boys of course with my sister and my niece. Enjoy!!!

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The Caped Crusader!

Not only does Rylan think he's a warrior, but he's now our caped crusader! We like to call him "Super Teddy".... Not only does he have a new "Super Hero" cape (courtesty of his daycare mom's toy box) he found the perfect teddy bear winter hat to match! He flies around the house waving his cape doing some pretty snazy moves! No one better get in his way as he takes his job very seriously! I couldn't get him to smile for pictures. He was SO serious! This is where my kids are very different. Cameron owns nothing with a super hero on it. I mean that! He's never like them. Looks like we'll be buying a few new toys for Mr. Rylan soon. Maybe these he'll get to be the boss of for once!!!