I Approve!

**Before I start my topic, I just realized that for some reason blogger hasn't been notifying me when I have had comments to moderate. I just moderated ALL of them that many of you have posted recently. My hugest apologies. I am sure I seem like a huge censor not letting your comments be posted. I promise, a setting got mixed up and I will be more vigilant to check a couple of places for comments to be moderated. Please take a moment and go all the way back to where I was talking about how to cut back and save money because we're all feeling the pinch, all of those posts between this most recent one and that one have great comments and ideas.**


I am a child of the 80's big time. I graduated from high school in 1987. That means I was in high school when all the best 80's high school flicks were hot. "Sixteen Candles", "Breakfast Club", and "Say Anything", which I just watched for about the eightieth time a few nights ago.

"I am the distraction going to England with your daughter, sir." Love it! Or how about, "I don't want to process anything. Or sell anything is processed. I also don't want to buy or sell anything that is bought or processed......"

I was also a huge fan of several bands in high school. Chicago and Journey were my absolute favorites. I saw Chicago in concert about five times. Journey was always too expensive.

Have you heard the news about Journey lately? They have regrouped. Steve Perry, the former lead singer didn't join the renewal. Rumors are he has some pretty major health issues one of them could be his overgrown rockstar ego. But I digress.

But have you heard? Neal Schon was looking for a new lead singer, one problem. Steve Perry has a very distinctive voice. But he was told about a guy who sounds just like Steve on YouTube. Sure enough, Neal found Arnel Pineda who was making a name for himself in his home country of the Philippines. He had also been a homeless man for several years. Neal made the call, and Arnel thought it was a hoax, as I am sure Neal thought this couldn't be for real. This little Filippino man with pipes like Steve?? Nah!

'Tis true.

And it's very cool and a little freaky too.

I am putting two links. Play a trick on a Journey fan. Play one version of Faithfully with Arnel and one with Steve, but don't let them look at the computer. I have the feeling it will be hard to pick out the real Steve. Both are live concert recordings, so you will hear little variations....let's see who can tell the difference.

Also, what got me on this kick today was this. I was listening to a pop station that was playing Journey's latest new release "After All These Years". I had heard the rumors about this Filippino guy was the new guy, and I did some googling, and here we are. But I have to add, this latest tune is nice. It is very Journey-esque in it's musicality, yet it is a great song for Arnel to start Journey's present stage in life. Very nice! Listen for it. It is so new still, I couldn't find it on YouTube.

I am telling you, I listen to Faithfully, and I want to stand up with my cigarette lighter! I love that rock ballad! But alas, as I stand in my imaginary rock concert, I am would be frisked and my lighter would be confiscated. I have to be happy holding up my cell phone with the backlight lit up. Sometimes we just can't go back.




Journey with Arnel Pineda



Journey with Steve Perry, the gold standard by which Arnel is measured by.

First Day of Summer Camp!

Pulling into camp.
With a little bit of play time JM tested out the huge tree swing.

Meeting all the camp counselors.
Meeting new friends that are also roommates for the next two day.

Nice shirt JM!
Meeting our cabin's cool counselors.

Getting ready to head off and do what campers do!

This was such a cool day for JM. Yes, I dropped him off at Bible camp where he will be residing until Tuesday morning.

I saw some cool things happen today. First, as the whole group of kids were watching the counselors being introduced, JM just kind of sat in the swarm of kids and made two new friends. They are twin boys, and it kind of happened so fast, I didn't catch their name. So while he is at camp he will be in a cabin with completely new people. Now, several other kids are at camp that are friends of ours from church and we saw them, said hi, and got excited with them. But I am proud to see my kid go off on his own, meet people and make friends like that.

Also, once we had our little picture of the cabin members for the next few days, I got to talking to one of the other moms. Then I turned around, and they were gone. No tearful good byes or angst. JM is off at camp and it looks like he will be having a great time.

One concern, it is thundering outside right now as I type this. If JM gets as freaked out as he did the last time that happened, that cabin counselor has his hands full.

On the Way to My Blog Today....

I caught my kids playing really nicely together! I was posting my earlier blog and I heard screeching, and peeked out the window. Sure enough, they invented a new way to ride the skateboard together. Quite funny! I got some video and pics. They didn't realize I was taking them. I'll hold it against them in the future. I can tell them, that it's true, they love each other.

T Minus Four Days

It is coming! Summer camp! We have gone to Target and stocked up. The warm sleeping bag, insect repellent, flashlight, sunscreen, etc. are all accounted for.

I am not concerned that my kid will have a bad time at all. I think he will do just fine.

I have a silly concern, and it truly is silly. For those of us with kids, we do realize that sometimes our silly concerns come true, and they blow up in our face. Right?

Here is my only concern. JM has always liked to sleep with a light on. If he doesn't have a light on, there can be several moments of "freaking out" that aren't pretty. I have seen him at sleepovers having a fight with a friend over leaving the light on, and he wins.

I have told the husband, this could be an issue. It will be pitch black when the lights go out at camp, and I mean pitch black.

So after our fun opening day a few weeks ago, JM was stoked and jumping up and down happy to go to camp.

I told him, to go to camp, he needs to be able to sleep in the dark. Period. There is no fighting his way out of this. "Okay Mom" was his response. Well, that was during the day. At night, he freaks out when bedtime comes. He has some pretty unusual fears of the dark, and honestly, some of them go way back three years ago when our house was burglarized, and his room was the point of entry. I don't blame him. I think we also need to nurture him out of this weird thing because it will only get worse. It also helps that our dog sleeps in his room. I know he feels safer with her there. I know I feel safer for him with her there. She will make noise if we had a repeat of a burglary.

So, for several nights, he has been sleeping with the light off in prep for camp, and I think we might be over the hump. The freaking out seems to have subsided.

And I hope my silly little concern is all for nothing. I'll let you know if I get a call that first night of camp, "Can you come and get your kid?"

My Kids are My Kids

I don't think very much at all on a daily basis that my kids don't look like me. Honestly, I don't. When we first adopted JM, in the first month or so we had him, I was super sensitive to that whole thing. It goes away fast. I also had a super bad experience on this very issue right at that time, which didn't help. That another post for the future.

But I forget about how I look to others often. We stick out like crazy as a family when we come walking down the street. I forget, and honestly, I don't even notice the curious looks anymore. For the most part, I don't care either.

Today something cool happened, and it reminded me, we are easy to notice. We went to Target. Our Target is weird in that is has two stories. So you have the choice of taking your cart upstairs via the elevator, or a fancy escalator that has a separate track just for the cart. Just trust me on that one, you have to see it to believe it.

So we send our cart down the track, while we ride the separate track. Our cart gets stuck and the track stops. So we are waiting at the bottom of the escalator while an employee comes and resets it. JM and I are are standing at the bottom looking up.

We suddenly see a white man coming down the escalator with an African American (AA) toddler in his arms. They stick out easily. I lean over to whisper to JM, "Hey, do you see them? They are like us huh?" JM has noticed race more and more these days, and I am always trying to find ways to show him we are not the only ones like us. And I took this opportunity.

Well, of course, the man sees us! Duh! I forget that vision goes both ways. He comes off the escalator and we immediately strike up the conversation of where our children came from, what agency, how old everyone is, etc. His little bundle of energy is 18 months, and cute! They are hoping to adopt again in about a year. We also realized we live in the same neighborhood and should definitely talk and get the kids together. Very nice! Hope to get to know them soon!

I also noticed at the opening day of summer camp something I hadn't seen in awhile. JM is playing in the pool. And he is the only AA child around. I am fairly close to him in a chair by the side of the pool. He is not a great swimmer and is just hanging on the side of the pool and toodling around.

I see the look, and it's not a bad look, but it's a familiar look. A few adults did the "once over" look over the crowd looking for this little boy's parents thinking he is there unsupervised. Of course, they don't see me. I don't have an ax to grind here. It is normal human behavior to be concerned for this child, and look for his parents. I just think it's very interesting. As a person who likes to "people watch", with my family in the color that it is, makes for great people watching!

I have also noticed that when it is just me and the kids in public, the first assumption, and I would assume this as well, is that my husband is AA. Again, no ax to grind here, as human beings, we try to make sense of what we are seeing. But again, it's nice to blow the assumptions occasionally.

So anyway, in all my little adventures to day, I think we might have made some new friends, and that is always a nice thing.

This is Important Part II

I did a post awhile back basically spewing my scary knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) on May 4th.

And the headlines hit last week that should add to this. Click here for the details. The summation is this, one in four New York residents has genital herpes. It is worse for minorities. In the African American community in the entire state of New York, it is 50% infected with genital herpes.

That is a lot of people.

Here are some alarming details about herpes. The big one, it is incurable. Once you have it, that is it. You have it, and you can always spread it, whether you're having an outbreak of the sores associated with it or not. Remember that statement. You can spread it whether you're having an outbreak or not.

I also know it can cause complications during childbirth, and I did some research on this. Basically, a baby passing through the birth canal coming in contact with a sore or the virus can get ocular herpes, which can lead to sight impairment or blindness. Most doctors will press for a C section birth for this reason. I have the feeling that is why Britney Spears had scheduled C sections for the birth of both of her children. Why else would a completely healthy person choose the risk of a C section? That is purely speculation on my part. But if she does have herpes, I commend her for doing the C section and thinking of her children.

As I did a bit of googling on the childbirth issue, I found a few chat rooms and blogs where mothers were talking about taking a course of antibiotics and "suppressive" drug treatment so they could have a vaginal birth. Sometimes it is effective and sometimes it isn't. The running theme was to make sure you weren't having an outbreak while giving birth.

I just don't get that. Why? Because you can spread herpes whether you're having outbreaks or not. I am not doctor, but if one can spread an uncurable STD while having sexual intercourse why would you on the face of this planet want to expose a baby to it? I don't get it.

The medical community in New York put out a statement urging people to practice safe sex. Use condoms. Let me be a little blunt here. Take a guess how much space a condom covers? Not much. Herpes blister outbreaks are not just confined to that small area. I think the fact that so many people in New York have herpes goes to show that condoms don't work.

I repeat what I have said before. There is no answer but one to this. Stay abstinent until marriage. Once married, stay faithful. I just celebrated 16 years of marriage, and these issues are not on my plate of things I worry about at all. I am glad for that!

I thank my lucky stars, but mostly God above, that I don't have these incredibly weighty issues to think about. As Christians, we have a message to give about this. And it's not just "God cares about your body and your sexuality." It is a message of health.

Moving My Office

Much work has already been done, yet when I watch this video, it seems like nothing has happened. I have worked hard on this particular corner of the basement, and it looks ugly.

What needs to happen. The clutter on the floor needs to go. A lot of that is cardboard, garbage or things to be donated. I am thinking a ginormous trip to Goodwill will feel like this is finally coming together.

Once the clutter is somewhat under control, my huge desk from the upstairs of our house is coming to that corner. You can see the new electrical work we had done on the walls. There are outlets for my computer. Heck, you can see the light fixtures. Those were not always there. For a long time we had one light bulb that was supposed to light the whole basement.

Anyway, this video represents the "middle" of this project. I am hoping the final looks a lot better than this.

Let's Count the Ways

I am not wanting to turn this into a whine fest. I just want to stop and think for a moment to count the ways we are really feeling the gas crunch right now. Or just price increases in general.

Here are a few I have felt:

1) Our minivan. Lordy! That baby takes $65 to fill up. Even when she is filled up, because she drinks from her gas tank heavily, she wants another drink pretty quickly. Ouch! That equals hundreds of dollars in our monthly budget. We really try not to drive her too much.

2) As a corollary to number one, I was driving by a used car lot yesterday. Oh my! The SUV's and minivans on that lot for a great price were a plenty.

3) Specific foods. I have seen a huge mark up on milk. A year ago, I could get a gallon of milk for $1.99. I am lucky if I can find a generic brand for $2.99.

4) Some prepared foods. I used to put a little Del Monte fruit cup in JM's lunches when he was in school. I used to be able to find them at supermarkets for about $2.00 for 8 cups. Those same stores have them for $2.74. If I buy them, I go out of my way to go to Walmart to catch them on sale for $1.74.

5) Nutrigrain bars. My kids eat these like crazy. When JM was a baby, I used to buy the super expensive organic ones. Then I discovered Nutrigrain at Costco. I can buy a huge box of 45 bars for $9.95. That is a bargain considering the individuals boxes a year ago were $1.74 in the stores, which was okay but not the great price of Costco. Now, a box of eight in the stores is $2.74. I will only buy them at Costco as long as they hold that price. I don't care if the kids hate the blueberry ones either.

6) Eggs. Honestly, I am so glad we have chickens. Last year a dozen eggs would run about $2.00 a dozen. Now, $3.00 a dozen. I pay about $15 a quarter for chicken feed. I am loving that.

7) Cheese. We are cheese snobs. We love our Tillamook or Bandon cheese. Forget Kraft! One a given day, you used to be able to find a baby loaf of Tillamook for $4.99 on sale. Maybe regular price about $5.99-$6.99. My hubbie came home the other day and was flabbergasted. "This store had their Tillamook on sale for $8.99!" Ouch! I may be doing one of two things with that. Using Bandon cheese, which is right up there with Tillamook. My husband hates it when I do this, but buy the huge loaves of cheese at Costco and freeze some. He says that detracts from the flavor. I told you we were cheese snobs.

So. No complaining. We are in this together. I want to hear your story of how you have choked on a recent cost increase that got you in the pocketbook.

But more importantly, I want to hear the solutions. We are a small knit community bound together by this strange world of blogs. Let's use the information we have, and share it.

My solution is to buy in bulk a lot. Costco, keeping my eyes on prices, consistently helps me with that. I also can't walk about of Costco without spending $100+ dollars on basic items. I always have to tell myself it's okay if I have nothing to show for what I just spent. I have three boxes of Nutrigrain bars in my basement, as a classic example.

Share some of your ideas!

Summer Camp!

Today was the day we got to go to Bible Camp's Open House and check out the camp. It's to ease young kids into the idea of camping. We went to really hype up how much fun it will be. It was fun today. I want to go to camp again. Here are the highlights without pink skies:

Tooth Fairy

I know, it's a little icky. But this is how teeth fall out. We had the tooth to our left fall out a few days ago. Now he looks a little like a rabbit, but his new teeth will cure that soon.

So the tooth fairy has been notified. She is on her way after all kids are zonked out sleeping.

Love my new camera, have I mentioned that? I took a bunch of cool pics today. Check for a new post tomorrow.

Everybody Wave!!

I am about 90% sure she is with us right now. My stalker. Everybody wave to your screen!

Who is my stalker? For those of you who are new to my blog. Do a search in the upper left corner of my blog using "Beast". It will pop up a post I did last summer called "Defanging the Beast". That explains it all.

She is looking for information! We are cat and mousing it yet again. I'll keep you posted what the next intriguing move is. I predict, she will start bugging family members. Traveling to Colorado? When? Where? Why? How? And she will continue to burn bridges with those family members, just like she has with everyone else.

I watch my sitemeter pretty good. No one from Colorado in the history I have had my blog has looked at my blog for over an hour and a half and looked at 13 different pages. Never.

I'll keep you posted!

This and That

Several things happened today.....

First, my kids came home from the beach. They have been with my inlaws since Tuesday just playing at the beach. I have been home cleaning like a crazed woman. I did the type of cleaning that can't be done with two young children right behind you. I pulled out furniture, swiffered, mopped, swept and dusted. I also got a whole lot closer to getting my ginormous desk moved to the basement. I put together a shelf last night that only made me say a few bad words.

In the picture above all of the pictured furniture was pulled out and dust bunnies galore were found. I think I found in animal fur the equivalent of two additional pets.

We got home today to find the new camera I ordered. No more pink skies! I love Kodak. I know we all have our digital camera preferences, but I love Kodak. Ever since our first digital camera, we have always had them. I did what I have always done when needing a new camera. I go to their website and look under their "refurbished" cameras. They are not new, but are about $20-$50 cheaper than a new model, and have the exact same warranty as a new one. I have never had a problem with any refurbished ones I have bought directly from them.

Anyway, I finally got to play with it tonight. Upgraded my Kodak software, etc. You are all going to laugh at me, but I have realized how not up-to-date I am on my cameras. I found the panorama feature! You take three separate pictures of a panorama, in this case my living room, and the camera "stitches" it together to make a panorama. Nice huh? My living room looks a lot bigger than it really is. Plus, it's a lot neater than it's been in a long time.

This will be fun for some upcoming travels I have. My company's big conference is coming up the third week of July. If I can find a flight that won't make me broke, it should be fun with the camera.

I just booked a flight for me and the kids to go to Colorado, where I grew up, and visit my dad. This will be a little cathartic. I haven't been back to Colorado for a long time, and there are some ghosts in my past that I will be visiting, as well as for my dad. It's time to clean them out and keep looking forward.

I am excited to take some breathtaking Rocky Mountain pictures, and show them to you. It may be my last time to take such pictures.

One More Rose Festival Post

One more thing. Rose Festival is on the riverfront of our city. Traditionally, our city has had the enjoyment of having various Naval ships come to port, just to celebrate this festival. When I was dating my husband, we were allowed to board the ships and take a tour just by showing our driver's license.

Not anymore. Thank you 9/11. The US Naval ships still come to port, but they are chain linked away from the public walk way. You can still take tours, but you need to sign up days ahead of time so that a thorough background check can be done on you. It's very different.

One aspect of this huge security that kind of gets me is the heavily armed service men standing in front of the ships. I don't know about you, but I don't see M16 rifles on a daily basis. So while we were talking on one side of the fence looking at the ships through the fence, two of these service men actually talked to us. In the past, they usually stand there and look grumpy.

I said to one of the kids, "Look at that big gun he has."

The man replied by laughing at me. I said, "What?"

He said, patting his upper arm, "These are guns. This is a rifle" and laughed.

I stand corrected. Hooah!

I took a picture of the second guy, and he just looked at me shocked and said, "You're taking a picture of me?!"

I decided not to make the comment about not seeing guns very often and just nodded yes.

Sunday Family Fun

Went to more Rose Festival activities on Sunday. There was the whole Fun Center, which is rides galore. We went with another family that has the same rainbow effect in their family as ours. Here are some highlights followed by a silly slide show.

Watch the progression of the above slide show. What do you see besides pink sky? A little three year with ants in his pants right? Actually, he is taking very seriously the job of "don't step on the crack, you'll break your mother's back." Looked like a little jumping bean.

I should tell him it doesn't work.

Happy Anniversary, My Love!

Yesterday, my man and I celebrated 16 years of marriage. I am not kidding, give us a medal!

How to describe sixteen years? Hard, fun, happy, sad, broke, sacrificial, lonely, fulfilled, hopeful, ecstatic, emotional, up, down, close, distant, separate, intimate. It's been wonderful, yet I would by lying if I said it's been all easy.

I would like to thank my husband for hanging in there with me, seriously. I am not the easiest person to be around, and yet, I couldn't do this whole family thing without him.

I would like to thank God. Without Him, I would have no example of what sacrificial love is. What it means to lay myself aside and sacrifice for someone else. I don't do a good job of it at all, but I do have an example to look at. Thank you, Lord Jesus.

Now, what did we do?! We did something we have wanted to do for awhile, but haven't done. It was our Plan B for the evening, but forget Plan A.

We had a delightful evening taking a dinner cruise down the Columbia River on the historic Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler. It is an actual sternwheeler boat, fully powered by only the paddles on the back. It was only $68 a person! We had sea food and steak for dinner, along with appetizers, salad and a dessert. Paid a little extra for a glass of wine and a bottle of Deschutes Black Butte Porter Ale (link is for Kristina), but it was so good. It was a bargain!

Here are the memories:

I Can See the Future

Here is what happened to me last night at a candle party. I'll make it quick.

Young gal is there. She is nineteen. We'll call her Annie. Here is her bullet point story we talked about:

* Her mother died last month on Mother's Day from a heart attack. She had heart problems for a long time.

* Her mother was only 38. One year younger than myself.

* Mother lead a fairly unhealthy lifestyle. Smoked tobacco and pot, ate nothing but fast food.

* Mother knew she was having problems in the end and wouldn't tell anyone except a sister, who didn't tell anyone. Left behind Annie and a few younger siblings.

Now, Annie's parents are divorced so it's a situation where her parents have married and remarried all her life. She wasn't exceptionally close to her mother, but still misses her and teared up as we chatted.

Here is the kicker:

* Annie has massive shooting pain down her arms and her heart hurts sometimes.

* She's been told by a doctor that there is evidence that Annie has been having small heart attacks.

* She can't run the length of a block without "feeling like I am going to have a heart attack." She is rail thin, picture of health, and 19. She should be able to run a half block and feel slightly winded.

* I told Annie I, as an overweight 39 year old, can run around the block and feel slightly winded. Her mouth gaped when I told her that. She doesn't know any different than her own experience.

* Annie has piercings all over her body. Nose, cartilage part of her ears, and belly button. Exceptionally painful parts of her body to be pierced.

* Annie has tattoos as well.

I was very clear to Annie. I told her the symptoms she is describing are what doctors tell a person my age to call 911 for. They are major cardiac symptoms. Especially the shooting pain down the arm.

Guess what? Annie won't see a doctor because "I am afraid of needles."

I went around a few times with her gently about this. She has the opportunity to change her fate if she got some good cardiac care. She has the family history that many of us are glad we don't have.

She won't do it. She is being a typical 19 year old who thinks she's slightly invincible and these things only happen to "old" people my age.

I can see the future, and I feel so helpless.

Junior Parade

Our city has Rose Festival time. There are tons of events all over the city you can attend. Yesterday we went to the Junior Starlight Parade. It is a parade of just kids, mostly middle school aged and younger. It is totally fun. It is fun to take the kids, it is fun to watch them enjoy it, it is a blast to watch the kids in the parade who have worked hard to be in the parade. And here are the highlights.

The below video is why my husband is no longer allowed to be the one to go with the kids to buy trinkets. The ladies on the other side of JM eventually left. I am not sure if it's because of us, but I am sure we made the decision to leave easier.

Also as I watch this video and I look at a few other things I took yesterday. The thought is dawning on me. My camera is starting to go caput. Sigh.......


Here are the highlights:

I have to say a few things that always impress me with this parade.

Schools with marching bands at junior high level. That is quite an accomplishment for a school these days to have a music program let alone a marching band program. My hubbie and I made note, none of those schools were our school district except one. Many of the schools represented were upper crust schools where funding is a non issue.

I was also impressed to see Greg Oden, the Portland Trailblazers star (kind of). Usually in this parade, we have a player who no one recognizes. You have to know some history here. Last year, Portland got the luck of the draw and got the first round draft pick in the draft. Who would they pick? It was between Greg and another hot shot in college. Months went by, who would they pick? They picked Greg. As soon as he showed up to town, he needed season ending knee surgery. Luck of the draw huh?

Also, look at him closely, he is only like 20 years old. He's a youngster! But he looks like he is my age.

Additionally, to one of my blogger friends, Kristina. We walked by one our our city's latest and greatest brew pubs. Laurelwood Brew Pub. They make their own beer on site, and serve some great pub grub. I think we might make that an attraction to see when you come to visit.

Anyway, we had fun. Wore the kids out. Went home and threw some meat on the grill. I also made one of my favorite salads for summer. Click here for the recipe. Yummy!

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Happy Birthday to my baby. He is three! It was BH's birthday this last week, and I purposely didn't dedicate a post for him on the day. Believe it or not, there will always be confusion in my mind when his birthday is, and it's part of the whole adoption process.

Three years ago, on May 28th (I looked this up to confirm it) we got the call that a baby boy was born, and the birthparents had chosen us. We were incredibly cautious. We had three, count 'em, three nasty adoptions fall through, the most recent one was less than a month behind us. We were burned. I am sure the adoption worker that called us wondered why we weren't doing the happy dance when he addressed us "Mom and Dad". Honestly, we had heard that before, and it was premature to do that, and frankly, inappropriate considering how fragile we were.

But, in that phone call, that silly adoption worker told us BH was born "today", which was the 28th. Wrong! He was born the day before, the 27th. When people ask me when he birthday is, I always have to stop and think. It's amazing how much confusion is in not just my mind, but my husband's as well.

It's all part of BH's story. I want to announce Happy Birthday in the blog world today, a day completely different than the 27th or 28th.

I love you, BH. You are my baby. You are my youngest son, and I love you dearly. In the last three years, I have seen your silliness turn into comedic genius at such a tender age.

Your goofiness help to offset the immense amount of pain it took to get you. We were hurting deeply when you were finally placed in our arms. You were medicine to our broken hearts. You came into our family silly, and hold that standard today.

You came to us with a huge, full head of hair! It was wild and silly! As the hair got cut, it was replaced with your fun giggle, your fun outlook, and your joy. You find the fun in everything. Listening to your little sing song voice as you just sing to yourself is music to our ears. Your stubborn toddler-ness, is usually addressed by one of us giving you a stern look while your other parent covers their face so you can't see them giggle.

Having you in our family, just like your older brother, shows us that God works miracles through adoption. You are an exact fit into our family. We have Daddy, the Scholar. We have Mommy, the Business Owner. We have JM, the Athlete. We have you, the Comedian.

Just like with your older brother, your presence in our family has given us the opportunity to hear a little person's voice call us "Daddy and Mommy". Those are words we wondered if we would ever hear again while swimming in a mire of adoption sludge. Hearing you say those words to us, reminds us that God gave you to us.

You are a gift. We celebrate your birthday, give you fun gifts, hug and kiss you, laugh with you, cuddle with you, etc. Your biological parents broke their hearts, and gave us you--their flesh and blood. God orchestrated giving you into our arms. All the while knowing your Dad and I got the best gift. You.

We got the best end of the deal, and we give thanks daily to your biological parents who made such a heart wrenching sacrifice. We thank God for His provision.

Happy Birthday, Baby Son. I love you.