Good Things

These things are good...

bubbles on a warm summer day,



faces covered in chalk,

flying through the air,

notes on the fridge left by Ja.son,

snuggles captured on selfies,

dirt angels,

balloon animals,

kisses,

more kisses,

and homemade ice cream in a bag.

 

I want to remember these moments always.

 

I'm feeling really, really grateful for all my boys tonight.

Yea!

We went.

We were photoed.

We conquered (for the most part at least)!

Today, we had our pictures taken. I decided for us to wear our jeans and white shirts. We looked so awesome when we left our house.

And when we drove up to the location, I heard Ja.son say he wanted to play in the dirt. Sh.awn agreed. I knew we were screwed, so I let the worry go and just had fun. We were NOT wearing white shirts when we left that place, that's for sure. lol.

Sh.awn had a few tough moments--he is anti pictures right now--but, even he enjoyed it. Ja.son was on some sort of artificial high. I haven't seen that kind of energy out of him ever. He was all.over.the.place. Jack was a grump until he saw the camera on him. Then he'd light up like some sort of model. It was hilarious.

The photographer said that the pictures of the three boys together might not be ideal (this was during one of Sh.awn's moments), but she is pretty sure that she has several great shots of us as a family, the big boys together, and definitely of each kid individually. I'm all giddy at the prospect of pictures with all of us looking in the same direction. I don't even care if everyone is smiling.

The part that just amazes me most is that she's giving us all the digital pictures unedited. We'll get to pick our favorite 10 and she'll edit and print them for us. All for free. I am speechless.

I need to put my thinking cap on and come up with a good way to thank her. Anyone have any brilliant ideas?

Anyway, I can't wait to see them! (She's supposed to put sneak peaks on FB tonight...)

---

As an aside, it looks like my mom has Sjögren’s Syndrome. Her rheumatologist is pretty certain that is what she has, especially because my uncle was diagnosed with it three months ago. She had more bloodwork done today and goes back in two weeks to confirm. Anyone have any experience with this?

Random Pictures from Tonight

This week is shaping up to be a long, hard one. I'm choosing to leave all the crap at work and focus on the three little people in my life...

Ja.son's "towing" the ornament with his motorcycle to the Christmas tree.
Isn't that how all ornaments make it to the tree?
Just walking it over is SOOOO last year...

Apparently we don't feed this boy enough.
He's now taken to eating toys.

This boy just got kissed by his mommy.
He's telling me that my kisses are yucky.
And he's totally laughing about it. :)

They remind me that even when things are tough, my life is very, very good. I am so very lucky.

When It Is Right, You Know It

My in laws got their little girl. After twenty long years of waiting, after three ivfs and COUNTLESS cycles filled with that nagging hope, and not a single positive pregnancy test in all that time, they brought home a beautiful little girl from the hospital.

With a hospital stay, a wheelchair ride to the car, and the whole shebang.

They fought the fight but never thought it would matter--their dream would never come true.

After all that heartache, they won...

My heart is so, so happy for them. To see them with a little baby of their own, while knowing that they had given up the hope that they'd ever be parents, is an amazing sight.

To know that their names were suggested to the birth mom by no less than three people, all at separate times, which led the birth mom to contact them...out of the blue, is even more incredulous. She didn't want anything but a loving family for her baby.

She allowed my ILs to attend the doctor appointments and the ultrasounds.

She allowed them both in the room with her when she gave birth.

And when little A finally made her appearance, she gifted my SIL the first hold of this amazing little girl.

Only after my ILs had shared their moment with their new daughter did the birth mom want to hold her.

When she handed her back, she told them that she knows she made the right decision after seeing them together...

Ugh. It makes me tear up to think about that.

The birth mom gave them as much of the experience of being pregnant as you could get without actually being so.

The baby roomed with my ILs next door to the birth mom for their entire stay. The birth mom relinquished custody in the hospital.

She made it final when little A was three days old.

It will be an open adoption. The birth mom already has two other kids, and my BIL has made plans to take them to the movies to see the Cars2 opening. The ILs want Little A to know her other family. Her other family wants to know her, too. The birth family is comfortable that the ILs will make the final decisions on how much contact there will be between the families and when.

I am often angry with the universe for the injustice of the world. It pains me to know that some seems to so easily have it all while so many others have to struggle for everything they've got. It has made me untrusting and skeptical at times. It's also made me so appreciative when things work out the way I believe in my heart they should.

But this time?

This time I am so thankful. My heart is full.

The universe got this one right.

I'm A Lucky Girl

Really. I am.

I love all my boys very much, and they love me.

Like I said.

I am a very lucky girl.

Happy Father's Day, Babe.

Two of My Guys

Can we all just say, "Aw"?

Makes me want to have ten more...(shhh. Is.aac isn't ready to hear that yet.)