Christmas

Christmas is by far my favorite time of the year. Everyone for the most part is jolly and in good spirits. I love entertaining and having company and the house just feels warmer all around. Having three boys made it that much more fun! I am a big fan of traditions so we continued a few things we have started and made a few new along the way. Leading up to Christmas day, Jon and I like to teach Jake about Jesus's birth and focus our bible time with him more on that special day. We also enjoy Santa and his generous spirit and the way he too can help us celebrate! This year I showed Jake a Veggie Tales movie on the true story of St. Nicholas. It was wonderful and we both really enjoyed. Hoping to make that a new tradition as Will and Kevin get older and understand more. We used our advent calendar which Jake was really into this year. Had breakfast with Santa and Poppel. Jake and his cousins went to their annual movie day with Mommel. We attended Christmas Eve service, left out cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer and wrapped the doorways to our family room so we could burst through on Christmas morning. My personal favorite. This year was the first year we started sharing Christmas with both sides of the family. Up until this year we have rotated holidays. Last year, we did Thanksgiving in New Jersey and were scheduled for Christmas in Baltimore. Then, Will arrived!!! This year we tried something new that we would like to do each year from now on. We did Christmas Eve here with Jon's side of the family and early Christmas morning here as our little fam then headed down to Baltimore afterwards. It worked out really nicely. We spent all of Christmas day and night there then headed home. We were all tired, but it was worth it to celebrate with everyone we love!

A Special Celebration

Yesterday marked one year since our little William was born. I just can't believe it has been a year. Seems so surreal. I always knew I wanted to adopt a child. I knew that I would. However, I never knew just how much I would love and adore him. I never knew that it would feel exactly the same as having your own. I never knew that his life would open my eyes to a whole new world called open adoption. I never knew I would welcome his birth mother into our life and adore her too. I never knew that he would change my soul forever. I am so lucky God has chose us as his parents and he as our son. Will is a sweet and lovable little boy. His smile melts my heart and when I hold him I can't help but squeeze him and kiss his chubby little cheeks. He is as loud as a lion and as cuddly as a bear. He is just precious to Jon and I. Happy Birthday medium boy!!

Christmas Concert

Jake had his first chorus concert Friday night. His school put on a little Christmas concert and it was adorable. Jake was placed right in front of the stage on the floor. It made me think of my mom. She used to drive me nuts telling me over and over again to stand in the middle of pictures...I was always shoved and moved out of the way in group shots I guess... I was a little bit of a push over growing up...So, I was proud to see my Jakers right smack in the middle. We had perfect view of our little Wigglesworth...I was a little worried though because he showed his true self and wiggled and stretched throughout the entire show. Poor kid has Jon's restless leg syndrome for sure! It was a riot. Jon and I were cracking up. He was also way more into watching the kids around him then the audience... totally Jake... no notice of others what so ever... love it. He also had to wear a headband that kept itching him and falling down in his eyes... His teacher caught my eye and made a funny itching motion.... such an "itcher" my biggest boy is...ugh, it was cute. She kindly removed it after the second song because it became obvious that it was driving him nuts. During the third or fourth song, I guess he was getting stiff so he decided it was an excellent time for a full body stretch across the floor! Once again, his teacher and I were dying... My Jakers... never ceases to make me laugh! As much as his lack of inhibition drives me insane some days... I hope he never loses it.

Tis the Reason...

This week is slightly more overwhelming than most. With Christmas soon approaching, ornament orders rolling in and Will's first birthday party being on Sunday, I feel a little nutty. I feel like Tom Cruise from Jerry Maquire in the scene where he freaks out.... well not exactly, but that is a great scene and I often think of it when I'm overwhelmed and it makes me laugh.
I am very excited for Will's birthday. A little in disbelief that it has been a year... brings me back to all the fertility issues and adoption appts. and then to those first few days and it still feels like a movie sometimes. We are just so lucky. Will's birth mother and a few of her friends are coming to his party this year. I have to admit that it makes me feel a little more pressured to have things perfect. However, I was telling Jon about how I was feeling this weekend and he admitted to feeling a little the same. That made me feel better. We are very excited to share more of Will's life with her, but we both just feel that we want our enormous love for him to show that day. I know that sounds silly. I know it naturally will show through our actions and words and that God is in control of all of it anyway. My prayer is that our family is welcoming and and she feels right at home. It is such a unique relationship that we are blessed to have and I want it all to go smoothly. Well, here are some quick picture updates... back to my"to do" list...

Brooklyn Visit

Nikki and I took the boys to Brooklyn for the day to surprise Uncle Mike for his birthday. Katie helped outwith the sneaky snake skills. Thanks Katie! it was cute to see Mike peer down his stairway wondering what the ruckus was to see us climbing the steps with or army of men. It was a quick trip but a fun one. We went to a local park, checked out our favorite toy store, went to lunch and spent time with Mike, Katie and their pup Patty. I can't believe my little brother is 28! Makes me feel old. Happy b-day Mike... you have truly become a wonderful man, brother and uncle. I'm so proud of you. You'll always be my annoyingly adorable little brother fondly referred to as Head to me though(it's like an orange on a toothpick)! Love You.

Thanksgiving...little behind I know...

Well things are busy over here, which is the new norm and I am a little behind on updating my blog. Have a feeling this may also be a new norm...
This Thanksgiving we decided to stay home even though we are majorly due for a Baltimore visit. It just felt a little too overwhelming to travel with the three boys. So, we decided to stay and have plans to head down to B-more for Christmas. Luckily, Will's birthday falls in the middle so we will see everyone then too. That helps!
Thanksgiving was nice. A little busier this year as we have added two boys to the gaggle of kids running around, but it was very fun. Jon and Dana took the boys to see the local high school football game that they seem to have made a tradition. Jake loved it! Jon said he even made a friend and was playing soccer during the game... shocker... the kid makes friends everywhere we go! Jill and Dana hosted and their twins are due any day now so we tried to make her relax as much as possible. Not easy for a mom of three! Dana and Jill got the turkey from the Amish market and it was scrumptious! Mommel did most of the cooking, but we tried to help out as much as we could. I handled decor and a dessert. Abby's boyfriend, Thomas, formally referred to as Tomas'... handled the dishes. Major points... and everyone did their part helping with the kids, which included the dad's bathing the dirty wee things after they had played outside for hours. Jake went through three pairs of pants that day. Why did I have three pairs of his pants with me you ask??... the world will never know... but thank goodness I did! It was also a special Thanksgiving for many reasons. For one, Will and Kevin share their first together. Oh how thankful Jon and I are to have such a big family. To think that we were a family of three this time last year and now have five stockings hanging from my mantel... God's grace overwhelms my heart. like I mentioned, the twins are due son and we are so thankful Jill's pregnancy has progressed beautifully! Twins...Also, having Nikki and Eko living here this year has been wonderful. My sister and I are very close and now our hubbs and boys get to be too. Too many blessings to mention. I felt God right there this year pointing them all out to me! Here are some pics of the Turkey escapades!

Decorations by Jo and Jake... fingerprints by Jake...

Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See No Evil

Boys... Oh Boys...

Sibling rivalry has begun at our house! Already? Really? Jake has realized that Will is human, has opinions and likes toys too. Will has realized that Jake has certain toys that are "Jake" toys and that he will let Will know when he wants him not to bother him. Mommy has realized that it isn't soo fun breaking up fights between boys... all day... Well maybe not all day... but it certainly feels like it sometimes. There are days when I feel like all I say to Jake is," Be kind. Is that a good choice? Are you thinking before you act buddy? Remember gentleness..." I feel bad. I know it has been a big year for Jake. Gaining two siblings after having mommy all to himself for three years. At the same time, I want to continue to teach him and Will how to respect each other and love each other. I know they are young, but it is so important to me that they have a nice relationship. Just like in teaching, I try very hard to focus on the positive with my kids. It helps my attitude and my mind set stay positive. Some days it is easier than others that's for sure, but I haven't found nagging, yelling or continuous asking to be effective with kids. They both respond to my patience, consistency and positivity best. So, I have started a "kindness chain" at our house! Whenever I see kindness or gentleness between brothers I add a link to our chain and when the chain hits the counter we have a special reward. It is working nicely so far. We are on chain number two.
Other than that, I find myself constantly talking about how God gave us the ability to be gentle and kind and even though it can be hard, we must try to choose it when we are frustrated or annoyed... many many a talks about feelings, using our words and gentleness around here! I am seeing improvement though and that makes me happy! By the end of the day... I am definitely feeling the toll of having a toddler and two babies... soo tired. Jon and I are usually falling asleep by nine! Crazy how things change.


As crazy as things are right now, I know that with children everything is in phases. So, I am trying to stop every so often, breathe and just stare at my kids. They are growing up sooo fast already. I just keep remembering... "It won't be like this for long... so enjoy and soak in their sweetness when you can!" I'm also hearing my moms words a lot. I feel like she would say," Who cares that the floors aren't as clean as they once were?.. Your hair looks awful? or the laundry is piling up?.. life is about family and this stuff doesn't go up with you!" Wish she was here to tell me herself, but she certainly ingrained it in my brain!


Speaking of mom, Monday morning I was bringing Jake to school and was about to unbuckle his car seat when he says," Mommy? Why is your mommy with Jesus and the angels?" I almost fanted. After a busy morning of getting Jake ready and preparing the babies for the trek to Jake's school and back. I stopped short. We have talked about her many times before, but I looked around to see if there was something that sparked this thought. Nothing... he was just thinking about her... He then proceeded to ask me all about her. What was her name? What was her hair like? What clothes did she wear? Then... Mommy do you miss her? Ugh... I could have died right there. As the tears began to fall I expained once again why she is in Heaven and he asked if he could go there too. I told him what he has to do in order to go to Heaven as I have many times and he said he wanted too. He started to talk to Jesus and then said,"Nah... I don't feel like talkin' to him right now.." I love this about being a mom. Each day is exciting and new. Every moment is unexpected. All in a days work...

Yes, I said gentle about fifty times in this two second video... I'm aware...

Will at 11 Months