Photo Session

 I did a couple of photo sessions with my kids. I was trying to get pictures for our Christmas card. I could never be a kid photographer. NEVER. I took over 900 pictures between the two sessions. I was happy that a handful turned out!

 They were getting so sick of taking pictures. I kept bribing them to smile.

This is my favorite picture. I'm going to get this blown up! I love it!

Happy 5th Birthday!

 Happy Birthday, Ethan and Mia! You two are so special to us and I thank God all of the time for choosing us.

Mike and I wanted to be parents for a long time. We needed help getting pregnant, and I thought it was never going to happen. We went through so much in terms of fertility treatments. We were on our last IUI (the doctor then wanted us to move to IVF.) I was blown away when I had a positive pregnancy test. I was nervous and happy at the same time because of the chance of multiples.

Going in for that first ultrasound was nerve wracking. I was only 4 weeks 4 days, but I could see two tiny black holes. I thanked God over and over. Not only did he bless us, but he gave us two. I also thanked him for not giving us anymore than that!

Their birth is such a special memory for me. I'll always remember everything that happened that day. Ethan was the first out and the doctor said, "it's a boy!" I was so happy when he started squawking. I saw him for a split second before the NICU team took him to the warmer.

I secretly hoped that baby #2 was a girl. Mia was born 9 minutes later, and I heard the doctor say, "it's a girl!" Mia squawked as well and the NICU team rushed her off. I couldn't believe that God gave me two perfect little babies!

Our patience was rewarded that day with two little babies. Little did we know how much our lives would change. We love you so much!

Thank you God for another year with our children!

Birthday Party Time

 We had a joint birthday party for Janai (born December 17th) and Ethan and Mia (born December 19th.) It was a small family birthday. My parents were unable to make it due to a blizzard. I guess that's the bad part about having a winter birthday!

We had a ton of good food. Mike's mom made a bunch of yummy appetizers and we had sloppy joes. The kids always have fun when their cousins come over. Ethan and Mia were beyond excited for their birthday party.

 I usually order a cake, but this year, I decided to make cupcakes. The kids were happy with them. They like anything with sprinkles.

 Janai turned 11 years old. It's hard to believe that she's this old all ready. She came to her party wearing make-up. I think she did a pretty good job putting it on.

 Uncle Billy gave Mia a princess accessory kit. The girls love playing dress-up.

 Of course, Riley and Jude had to get in there and help Mia open her presents.

 Mia is absolutely obsessed with Monster High Dolls. I'm not quite sure how she found out about them, but she talks about "Monster Dollies" all of the time. She was pretty excited about Uncle Mark's gift.

 Mike and I gave Ethan a castle for his birthday gift. He's really into action stuff right now. It has a jail for bad people. We also gave him some knights for his castle.

 We bought Mia the princess castle. She saw it on amazon and told me over and over how she wanted it. It's from Melissa and Doug. I really like their toys. It folds out and has many different accessories.

 Sarah and Steve bought Ethan this batman hoodie. He loves anything super hero so he was pretty happy with it!

 We gave Janai, "Just Dance 3." It's really fun. All of the adults tried it, and we looked pretty awkward trying to dance and keep up with moves. All of the kids tried it as well. It was really funny watching Ethan, Mia, and Riley dance. We got them on video so I'll have to upload that sometime.

Awesome Video

I thought this video was too funny not to share. This sums up Mike and me!

Christmas Card 2012

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

I've all ready ordered my Christmas cards! Can you believe it?

Happy Late Thanksgiving!

I realize I'm really late with posting this! This year, we celebrated with Mike's side of the family. We both had to work on Wednesday until 5:30pm. Mike's parents watched the kids for us on Wednesday so we didn't have to pay an extra day (thanks again!) They left early afternoon with the kids to go to Sharman's house (Mike's aunt.)

Mike and I left after we got off work. The ride down there was so quiet and relaxing! :) We played some cards on Wednesday night and had a bunch of appetizers. Their favorite card game is canasta. I'm proud to say Tom and I won both hands. Mike likes to trash talk so I always like it when I beat him. He gets really quiet!

We had all of the traditional Thanksgiving food. The guys watched some football and then it was time for us to leave. I had to work Friday at 8am. There was no Black Friday Shopping for me this year.

I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving!

Cancun

 Mike and I went to Cancun, Mexico in the beginning of October. One of his best friends was married down there. It was a great get-away for us. We'd all ready been to Cancun, so we stayed in the resort the entire time.

 It was pretty fancy! It was definitely an upgrade from the spring break trip. (Mike and I met in Cancun on spring break 13 years ago!)

 The red flag was out the entire time due to jelly fish. I was pretty bummed that we flew all this way and we couldn't go in the water. We sat on the beach quite a bit.

 Our room was really nice. It had a huge hot tub, king-sized bed, and balcony.

 We went with another couple, Joe and Mandy. Mike has been friends with Joe since high school. It was fun hanging out with them!

Mike was one of the groomsmen. It was so hot and humid there. I felt sorry for all the guys wearing long-sleeves.

Nate and Nikki. It was a nice ceremony.

The resort was all-inclusive so we ate and drank non-stop. The food was pretty decent and the service was good. I'd definitely recommend the Moon Palace!

The kids were well taken care of. Jenna and Kelly watched them for a few days and then my mom took over. We missed the kids and were ready to get back but Mike and I really needed to get away. It was fun spending time together!