Congratulations Joe!

Joe graduated last week and is now officially an orthodontist. Congratulations hon, you did it! We both never thought that this day would come, but it finally did after 10 years of college and a lot of hard work! I am so proud of you and the sacrifices that you've made so that you can provide for our family.

After an amazing dinner, speeches from his professors, and a slideshow from the 1st year residents, Joe accepted his Masters degree and Orthodontics certificate. Each graduating resident spoke and Joe did a great job even though he didn't prepare anything ahead of time (typical Joe). He was actually caught off gaurd, but recovered nicely. My favorite part was when he thanked me for being such a wonderul support. I would have to agree!

It was so much fun to have Tom and Suzy visit for this occasion. We always have a blast when they visit and this time was no exception. One of the things that we did while they were here was to visit a toy train museum. Tom is a big collector of Lionel toy trains and it was fun to take the boys and watch their reactions to all of the trains.

We also went to the zoo which was really fun. It happened to be a nice and warm day, so of course everyone in the city of Milwaukee wanted to get outdoors and enjoy the weather...the zoo was absolutely packed. Samuel's favorite thing was the petting zoo with the goats. We made 2 trips because he enjoyed it so much. Here is a video of Samuel in the middle of goats, trying to feed them. He had no fear! He just walks in and sticks food right into their mouths.

So now that Joe has graduated you may be wondering about our plans. After A LOT of searching, the best opportunity that met both criteria of being by family as well as being a good practice opportunity for Joe is in Kissimmee and St. Cloud Florida. The only hitch (which is a big one) is that Joe will have to take the Florida boards to practice there. To all my dental friends, you can understand how painful this process is for Joe to do all over again. He is currently there right now taking a refresher class and then the boards. Save some of your pity for me though, because while he is gone for 2 WEEKS, I am here by myself with the kids. My family was not able to come and all of my friends have either moved or are on vacation. Please pray that I can maintain my sanity without any adult interaction during this time! To Joe in Florida: you are such a trooper and I am so proud of all of your accomplishments so far. I admire and respect you so much. Good luck in Gainesville.

May fun

Below is a video showing a little of the love-hate relationship between Samuel and our cat Chloe...Samuel is all about the love (which he shows by pulling her tail and poking her in the eyes) and therefore Chloe is more on the opposite spectrum. The top of our recliner used to be Chloe's "spot" to sit until Samuel got old enough to climb on and bother her. Now she's usually forced to find another place to sit because of Samuel, but not without a fight! (Don't worry, she doesn't have front claws)

Here is a video of Mason in his little jumperoo. I think babies look so funny when they're in these things and Mason is no exception! He usually won't stop bouncing as long as he's in there and I have to take him out so that he'll rest.

Happy late birthday Tara! Jada and I had so much fun taking Tara (middle) out for her first pedicure. For some reason, Tara's lady gave her the deluxe pedicure and treatment while Jada and I felt jipped, but I'm wondering if she went the extra mile due to guilt...? Here's the funny story: We were talking about Tara's upcoming cruise and new bathing suits, and Tara mentioned that she wanted to lose 5 pounds . Well the lady doing Tara's pedicure piped in just then and said, "no, 10 pounds". We thought that maybe since the lady had a thick accent, there was miscommunication, so we asked her "what?" or "come again?" She then smiled and said, clear as day, "lose 10 pounds". I was baffled, but Tara didn't miss a beat and cheerfully said "yeah, maybe I should lose 10 lbs. or maybe even 15!" The crazy thing is that Tara doesn't even need to lose 1 pound...she is so fit and seriously runs 10 miles a day, which is why we thought the whole thing was funnier than anything. Well, we certainly didn't tip well, but all in all, I think Tara enjoyed her first pedicure experience. To my "Wisconsin BFF's", I will miss you both so much! I will always remember our workouts, lunches, girls nights out, and many more great times.

Fun pictures of the boys

It's rare to get a picture of both boys smiling, or even just looking at the camera so I had to include this picture. Mason is usually our serious one and only graces us with his smiles on occasion. The only reason why he is smiling so big here is because he's by his brother and for some reason always finds him hysterical.

Can you tell that I really want a girl someday? Thanks to Tara, I inherited a couple of bows and have put them to good use (although Joe definitely does NOT agree!) I don't think she meant for me to use them on my boys, but I decided that it's best to torture them with this kind of thing while they're babies and won't remember this in the future! Unfornately for Joe and the kids, this is not the only time I've put bows in their hair! Ok, now this may seem mean to take pictures of my children when they are obviously upset, but this is an "I told you so" picture. Do you know how many times I told Samuel to leave the stroller alone? After blocking it and trying to distract him countless times, I decided to let him learn the hard way. So like any good mom, I grabbed my camera and waited for him to learn his lesson.

Below is a video of Samuel our little kangaroo. I can always tell when Samuel has waken up in the morning by the sound of "boing, boing, boing" on his crib mattress. He will literally jump in his crib for sometimes up to 30 minutes and not make a peep. I feel bad for the mattress, but at least I get to sleep-in just a little longer! The video is long and for the grandparents' sake, but if you just watch the beginning you'll get the idea!

Spring Break 2008-Florida

Here is Samuel at a lake in St. Cloud, FL. He had just barely walked in the sand for the first time and found wading in the water to be just as intriguing. He kept walking back and forth, back and forth just staring at his feet.

How can you visit Orlando without a trip to Disney World? Since Samuel has a habit of running anywhere he pleases, we decided to get him one of those monkey backpacks to restrain him somewhat. He absolutely loved it until he realized it was hooked onto a leash. Try imagining a little 1 year old throwing tantrums on the ground in the middle of long and crowded lines. That part of our Disney experience was not the funnest!

Luckily my dad is a big guy and Samuel finds him intimidating. It was nice to hand Samuel right over to him whenever he needed to calm down a bit. Mason is

just happy to be by Samuel. You put him anywhere near Samuel and he starts laughing hysterically. Forget the characters, rides, and music. All he needs is Samuel nearby and he's entertained. It was so nice to get help from my parents while we were there. I love grandparents!

During our visit we were able to see my good friend Sarah and her daughter Kaley. It seems like just yesterday we were complaining to one another about the glories of pregancy, and yet our babies are so big already! How time flies!

We also got to celebrate Easter with my parents which was really fun. They got to experience Samuel's first easter egg hunt with us which I loved. The best part was that for some reason, after picking up the eggs, Samuel would run over to my sister and throw the egg right at her head. If you knew my sister, you would think this was especially hilarious as well. That is why she is sulking in the corner by the bushes. I probably should have stopped him, but I was too busy laughing.

Our Family Story

Here, Joe and I are enjoying our last cruise in September 2006 right before our lives turned upside down. In this picture we are trying to decide between steak or crab and what our plans were for the next day. Should we snorkle or relax by the pool? Oh, such hard decisions!!! Little did we know that we were enjoying our last vacation for a long, long, LONG time!!

As many of you know, Joe and I were blessed to become adoptive parents soon after we applied for adoption. When we got back from this cruise, we were soon chosen to become adoptive parents and in December found ourselves in South Carolina awaiting our first son Samuel to be born. Although very emotional, the adoption process turned out to be such an amazing experience and I would not change a thing about it. Samuel was born on New Year's Eve and we were able to take him home from the hospital. Joe and I could not think of a better way to begin a new year. WHAT A YEAR! The blessings continued to pour our way because 2 months later, I realized that I had been pregnant even before Samuel's birth. So in September 2007, just 1 year from when that care-free cruise picture was taken, Joe and I doubled our family size. We thought the whole thing was pretty funny too until Mason was born and reality set in!! (The last baby picture is Mason) So yes, our lives have certainly changed and we are still adjusting to the chaos of parenting two little babies. However, we never forget that they are both our miracle babies and are so grateful for the added meaning that they have brought to our lives.