Bryan's Birthday

We spent the weekend celebrating Bryan's 32nd birthday.  His actual birthday was on Saturday so we started off the morning bright and early before Caleb's 8:30 flag football game.  We made cinnamon rolls & coffee for Daddy and then he opened his presents.

Caleb wrote "DAD" on the card and signed his name inside.  He has been working so hard on his handwriting at school and has made a lot of progress.  I know it makes us both smile to see his scribbly handwriting on paper!  Caleb had already told Bryan that he & Joshua got him new pajamas several days before but Bryan still acted surprised and excited.  They got him tall sized pajamas since most pajama pants look like capris on him :)  I got Bryan a tv to put in the garage.  He hopes to start working out in the garage on our elliptical and doing P90X as well.

After Caleb's flag football game (which we watched in 44 degree weather!) we brought Joshua home for a nap since he woke up at 5am.  We packed up our things for my cousin's wedding that evening and headed to eat lunch at one of Bryan's favorite places, C&J's BBQ before heading out of town.

On Sunday we had Bryan's birthday party.  Bryan had been somewhat ambivalent about having a birthday celebration but I am so glad we did because Caleb was really, really excited about it.  He reminded Bryan no less than 30 times that he was having a party.  Both of our parents and Bryan's sister Carolyn, husband Billy & son Will joined us in College Station for a birthday lunch.  We missed Craig & Michelle who were flying home from watching the Aggies BTHO Auburn.  Whoop!

I made Pioneer Woman's Chicken Parmigiana for lunch and it was delicious!  I will never go back to my old way of making it.   Here is her awesome recipe:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/10/chicken-parmigiana/

For dessert I went the easy route and picked up a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and white chocolate covered strawberries from HEB.  It was a yummy meal and we had such a good time visiting with our families.

The boys at the kid table

Bryan blowing out his candles with the help of the boys

Bryan, I hope you had a special birthday!  I am so grateful that God chose me to be your wife.  You are an incredible leader, husband, father, physician and friend.  You are a true servant in our family and a such a source of fun, love, and encouragement for our boys.  You are my very best friend who has stood by me at my best and my worst.  I can think of no other person I'd rather spend my life with!  I am grateful for how God has used you in my life and how He continues to grow you as a husband and father.  I pray that the year to come is full of many blessings and opportunities to grow closer to our savior.  I love you! Happy Birthday!

Taylor & Courtney's Wedding

 This weekend my cousin Taylor married Courtney, his high school sweetheart.  They are both originally from Corsicana (my parents hometown) and were married at a beautiful camp/ranch in nearby Kerens, TX.  We drove out with the boys on Saturday afternoon, got changed in my parents' room at the camp and went to the wedding in the small white chapel on the grounds there.  I wish I could say our boys were showing model behavior but I'd probably get struck down by lightning.  They could have been worse, and we did the best we could - but still ended up outside the church by the time Taylor & Courtney got to their vows.

After the ceremony we had time to take a family photo while we all looked clean and before anybody spilled something on their nice clothes.  By some miracle we managed to get the best family photo we have taken in a long time.  Everybody is smiling - and with a normal smile!  Everyone is looking at the camera!  The lighting is good - no shadows on our faces!  Seriously, it is a family with small children photo miracle.  People, don't be shocked if you see this picture on our Christmas card in your mailbox in the next couple months.  I'm not sure it is worth the stress of trying to get a better picture than this one!

We also managed to get a sweet picture of my parents, who will celebrate 40 years of marriage in December!

The boys enjoyed running around in the grass and visiting the candy station while we waited for the reception to start.  It was a great way to burn off energy (and sugar up to get more energy) while we waited.

Once we were inside the reception tent I saw this cute decoration that was on the head table.  Too funny!

It was great to see my Dad's side of the family who we don't get to visit with as often as we'd like.  Caleb had never met my Dad's brother Billy and he took a special liking to him!  He wanted to follow him around the tent and have him sit with us for dinner.  It was pretty cute and funny.  Caleb also decided that he wanted to wear the baby hat I found in my coat pocket along with Bryan's scarf.  What can I say, he is his own person!  He looked like kind of a nut but he was warm.

My Dad, Caleb and his Great Uncle Billy

After dinner was over we changed the boys into their pajamas, loaded up in the truck and made the almost 3 hour drive back home.  We made it back safely around 11pm and were able to easily transfer the boys to their beds for the rest of the night.  It was a long day but well worth it to celebrate my cousin & his new bride!  Congratulations, Taylor & Courtney!

A Visit from the Campbells

Last weekend one of my very best friends from college, Jamie, and her husband Nick and oldest daughter Lainey came to College Station.  Nick and his college buddies have an annual "brew-b-que" tailgate and we were happy to have them stay with us now that we live here in God's country, aka Aggieland.  Jamie & Nick's youngest daughter Lucy stayed in Dallas with grandparents since tailgating is not exactly conducive to naptime!

We had a great visit! It was so fun to see Caleb & Lainey play together.  Caleb is only 5 months older than Lainey.  Luckily Lainey enjoyed playing outside in the dirt, building water towers and building houses with wooden blocks.  I am looking forward to Lucy visiting in the future because she and Joshua are only 2 months apart in age.

Caleb and Lainey had fun being silly on the guest bed downstairs.

It was all fun and games until Lainey fell :(

Luckily she was ok!

Caleb, Joshua & Lainey enjoying a snack

 Jamie helped me get dinner ready on Friday night.

I wish we could team up every night! 

It is much more fun to cook and clean up the kitchen with a friend!

On Saturday morning Caleb had a flag football game.  Although I wouldn't say he loves the sport, he does enjoy being a part of the team and is participating more and more.  At this game he even agreed to play running back, something he had previously refused to do.  I wouldn't say there was a lot of running involved but we are just proud of him for making progress in his own way.  Lainey cheered for Caleb from the sidelines!

Caleb (#7) in the team huddle

Caleb playing quarterback and handing off the ball

This is classic Caleb during the game.  Every other boy ready for the play, and he's turned around looking the opposite direction :)

Caleb clapping and playing with the football on the sidelines with one of his coaches.

The coaches are so encouraging and kind to Caleb and 

have made this a very positive experience for him!

My parents were also in town for Caleb's game as they had been on their anniversary trip during the previous games.  Caleb was thrilled to see them and have them as a playmate when we got home while Lainey & Jamie went to tailgate and explore campus. 

On both Friday & Saturday night Jamie and I had the gift of uninterrupted conversation while our kids were in bed!  Nobody asked us to go potty, get them a sippy cup or if they could go outside.  It was such a treat to have face-to-face time with one of my dearest friends.  I've been blessed by wonderful friendships with girls I have known since college.  We have all seen each other through many ups and downs.  Time talking with them is always an encouragement and blessing to me, and was by far the best part of our visit!

Thanks for staying with us, Jamie, Nick & Lainey!  We hope you will book your next Aggieland visit at Hotel Pickett!! 

Caleb's Gotcha Day 2012

Today marks 4 years since we carried a tiny, blonde haired blue eyed baby boy out of the Belovodsk orphanage in Kyrgyzstan.  I could not imagine that the small, weak, screaming baby we held in the car would become such an incredible little boy.  Caleb has not only grown into a strong, healthy child but he is also bright, funny and so unique.  On October 9, 2008 in a country on the other side of the world our lives transformed from being childless and heartbroken to being full of joy and exciting experiences with our new son.

Taking off Caleb's orphanage clothes to put on his Gotcha Day outfit.  It was the first time he had his own clothes.

Carrying our son out of the orphanage in Kyrgyzstan.  The caregivers wanted us to bundle him up (shirt, sweater, pants, hat and fleece snowsuit) even though it was only about 65 degrees outside!

Every year we celebrate Caleb's Gotcha Day as a way to mark the day we became a family.  We realize that some day he may not want to focus on this day, or he may want it to be a more private celebration and of course we will honor that.  But today after we reminded him what day it was and talked about ways to celebrate he turned to Bryan and said, "Did you remember it's my 'doption day?!?!".  We want the adoption of all of our children to be something that is celebrated because not only is it an incredible way to build our family, it is also a tangible representation of God's faithfulness!  We pray He would be honored in how we parent all of our kids.

We told Caleb that he could pick any restaurant he wanted for dinner tonight and that we would go look at water towers afterwards.  After much deliberation he chose to eat at Chicken Oil Co, a hole in the wall College Station classic that serves burgers and fries.  The main reason Caleb chose Chicken Oil Co:  it is located across the street from the Bryan water tower.

Caleb brought his ball that is decorated to look like the top of the Bryan water tower.  Here he is showing the water tower his own water tower topper from the Chicken Oil parking lot.

Bryan and the boys headed into Chicken Oil

They had live music tonight and both of the boys really enjoyed it although Caleb did say it was too loud a couple of times.

Enjoying the band while eating his supper

Joshua loves to dip anything in ketchup and also loves to wear Daddy's hat

Keeping it classy at dinner - examining his own belly, which he later rubbed with ketchup-coated french fries.

After dinner Caleb chose to drive past the Aggie water tower that is on campus.  Bryan was able to pull over on campus and we let the boys out so they could get a good look.  Caleb loved it, and interestingly enough Joshua has started to point to water towers when we are driving, even if Caleb is not there.  He says, "Hi tow" and "Bye tow" and waves when we drive by.

I'm not sure we will ever cease to be amazed by what God has done to make us parents.  From the hurt and sadness of infertility has come two beautiful children that we know were placed in our arms by a loving, faithful Father.  When we look at Caleb and Joshua, we see answered prayer and reminders of our own adoption into God's family.

Caleb Daniel, you are the answer to the prayer of my heart.  You will always be my first baby and the one who changed the course of our lives.  Your story is a testimony to God's faithfulness and His providence.  We know with complete confidence that He has big plans for you and we are honored that He chose us to shepherd you through life.  We pray that you would know Him as your savior, that you would know His and our unconditional love, and that you would be able to look at your whole life and see Him at work throughout it.  We love you, our precious boy!

Caleb's First Flag Football Game

Saturday was Caleb's first flag football game.  Bryan's parents drove up that morning and met us at the field so they could watch the game.  The game was pretty funny!  The coaches had to physically put each boy in place before each play, sometimes even picking them up and setting them in place.  The boys rotated thru playing center, quarterback and running back and also had a set rotation to sub in and out of the game.  The center would hike the ball (hand it off, basically) and once the quarterback had given it to the running back the coaches would have to yell "GO!" so the boys knew they needed to do something.  

Caleb took his turn at each position but I wouldn't say he's super interested in the game at this point.  Some of the kids - especially those who have played before or who have older siblings - really get what they are supposed to do.  There were funny moments like kids running the wrong direction and pulling flags of the defense while carrying the ball.

Sometime during the third quarter Caleb decided he was DONE.  We noticed he was not really participating as evidenced by this picture:

See the kid on the far right sitting on the ground?  That would be our sweet boy.

When it was his turn to sub out he started playing in the dirt and then refused to go back in.  Bryan went and talked to him, telling him it was time to play again and Caleb said, "But I already played enough!  The game is TOO LONG!".  Bryan told him he could either play again or stand and cheer for his team, but he could not turn his back to the team on the sidelines and play in the dirt.  He chose to stand and cheer for the last few minutes of the game.

Even though Caleb wasn't super enthusiastic about the game, his coaches handled the situation really well.  They were patient with him and encouraged him and said we would just work our way up to having him play longer in the game.

By Monday night's practice Caleb was running around with his team scrimmaging and having a fantastic time.  We can tell he does enjoy being a part of the team even if he doesn't have a really competitive spirit :)

We are looking forward to seeing how he improves in the weeks to come!

Photo Dump

Joshua has recently figured out that you are supposed to smile and say cheese when you have your picture taken and his version of that looks kind of like a disgruntled old man:

We are starting to enter that funny toddler phase where Joshua does things all day to crack us up.  He certainly has his own fashion ideas lately and recently threw a fit when I wouldn't let him take a nap in his Little Einsteins swimsuit!

When he woke up from that nap (in regular clothes, not a swimsuit) he wanted to wear his swim hat so I obliged.  He wore it around the house all afternoon while playing with balloons and posed making his cheese face.

And another funny toddler moment -- Today (without us knowing) Joshua put on one of Caleb's socks over his own socks.  He was so proud of himself:

And a closeup of his sock handiwork on the right foot.  I'm pretty impressed that he was able to put on a sock like that!

Caleb helping me dust in our master bedroom:

Post ice cream sandwich face:

Caleb's popsicle face:

I don't see how this could be a comfortable way to watch TV:

And last but not least, Joshua's Halloween costume came in the mail today!  He LOVES Cookie Monster so he's pretty excited about it!

On my To Do list for next week:  start working on Caleb's requested costume -- The Eiffel Tower!

A&M vs Arkansas Weekend

Once again, behind on my blogging so I'm going to do my best to get back on track!

Last weekend my parents came to town on Friday hoping to attend Caleb's first flag football game.  Unfortunately it rained a ton overnight and the game was cancelled.  Luckily the skies cleared for most of the A&M game so my parents were still able to attend and not get soaking wet!  We were also happy to have my good friend from college, Anne and her husband Steve at our house on Friday night before the game.  Anne and I both had a brief lapse of judgment and forgot we are no longer sophomores in college and that talking until 1am is not wise!

I didn't take very many pictures that weekend but did manage to get one of my Dad enjoying breakfast with the boys at their little table in our breakfast room.

It rained off and on all day so the boys got to enjoy playing with the rainwater spilling out of the gutter when it wasn't raining outside.  I'm pretty sure they went thru 2-3 changes of clothes each that day!!