Proud

I am proud of this guy.  He did something today that took courage, humility, integrity, and faith.  I'll wait until the time is right to share the details, but for now, I am just proud.

I have learned that...

Adoption is addicting, and incredible, and amazing!  What a blessing!

Parenting is humbling...oh so humbling.

I would do anything for my babies, Anything.

Infertility is gut-wrenching and painful.  I don't know that the memory of what we went through will ever lose its sting.

I need more patience.

Lance is a good dad!  I love watching how he loves the boys and how they love him right back!

Mommy guilt is intense when you bring your second baby home and suddenly can't give 100% of your attention to your first little sweetie anymore.

Mommy guilt subsides. ;)

I'm not that different from mothers who have chosen to place their child up for adoption.  If anything, they are stronger than me.

God is awesome!  He takes good care of our family.

I am a tough mom.  I love to snuggle and smooch my boys, but I do not coddle.

I can't do it all.  And when I try, we all suffer for it.

I'm not that sensitive to uneducated comments or ideas about adoption.  I was ignorant about adoption until we experienced it.

I am super sensitive to uneducated comments or ideas about special needs.  The "R" word makes me cringe.  Maybe it's because I think my special needs boy is perfect. ;)

Two children raised by the same parents can be completely different!

Sleep is overrated.

I miss sleep. ;)

There are a million and one ways to be a good mom.  No need for judgment.

Being a mom is such an amazing gift and so much more than I could have imagined!

Are they twins?

Nice lady sitting near us at our hotel breakfast: "Your boys are so cute!  I just recently applied to adopt twins and we are so excited!"

Me: "Thanks. Congratulations on your upcoming adoption!" (Thinking to myself that it's going to be awkward if this conversation continues and I have to tell her B&C are not twins).

For the record, the boys were not wearing matching outfits and the nice lady at breakfast was the third person to assume the boys were twins in less than 30 minutes.

Yep, pretty much any time we go out in public, we get asked over and over again, "Are they twins?"  Maybe we should just start saying yes.  It's really not a big deal, but I do hope that it doesn't give Caysen or Beckett a complex as they get older.  This isn't one of those situations they tell you about in parenting books...so we wing it.  And hope and pray we're doing the right thing.

On a Whim

I decided last minute to take a quick trip to Texas for my nephew's high-school graduation.  And by last minute, I mean I decided to go for it about noon on Thursday and we were packed up and headed down the road later that evening.  Lance had to work so it was just Beckett, Caysen, and myself.  Here are some pics of our little adventure:

 

We stayed the night in a hotel on our way to TX.  It wasn't one of my best nights of sleep, but the boys slept great! ;)

 

It was hot when we got to Texas (bad quality phone pic, sorry)!

Beckett and Caysen got to meet their uncle Marlon!!

And they got to see Aunt Lori too! :)

Fun at the pool!

My nephew, Kirk, after his graduation.  I feel so small!

The boys also got to spend some quality time with their cousin Tenley! Thanks Lisa for taking these pics!!

Silly boy!

Caysen likes to make goofy faces!

Carpool.

More silly faces.

The kids had so much fun together!!