Easter

Nope. Not one picture of the kids dressed in their Easter best, well, because it was a busy morning. Instead I took a few of the kids testing the candy for poisonous ingredients (it's an excuse they've learned from the parents).

Last night I made Easter cookies with Spencer. Each ingredient signifies a portion of the Easter story (i.e. eggs=new life, salt=tears shed by Jesus' followers, white=purity) and I found it to be a fairly simple way to explain Jesus' death and resurrection. I just about teared up today as I heard Spencer telling the Easter story as we ate our cookies. To think that he's beginning to understand why Jesus died for him just blows me away.

Its so easy to get lost in the details and forget the significance of the Easter story. Before you know it, things become complicated. As you're probably well aware, "complicated" doesn't work so well with little ones, especially if you'd like the meaning to stick. As I explained the power of the resurrection to Spencer, I found my eyes reopened to the simplicity of the story. Today I saw Easter through the eyes of my son. And like never before, I find myself holding tight to the promise provided to me through His death and I'm refusing to let go.

Now that's a good reason to eat some cookies :)

The kids and I colored our eggs this afternoon. Spencer ensured each egg was as vibrant as possible. I'm almost certain the color will make it through the shell. Thankfully, I'm not a fan of hard boiled eggs :).

Mia observed from her perch (AKA highchair). After seeing Spencer's mess, I was a bit hesitant to involve our adventurous daughter in the egg dying process. Instead, she was provided plenty of stickers and made her own little mess. My carpet is thanking me!

We're going camping?!

Spencer's been a bit excited about this camping business he's overheard. We missed out on roughin' it last year because we were hesitant to make any plans without knowing when Mia would be coming home. This summer will be different, or so we hope :).

With our camping trip in mind, he announced he was going to get us packed. I thought this "packing" would be interesting enough, so I went along with the plan. Spencer decided it would be best to use our rolling suitcases (I think we'd most likely be laughed at) and then invaded the cabinets. He finished earlier than I expected. Apparently we'll be taking the trip without any clothing, but plenty of smelly stuff, including: deodorant ("Daddy needs to wear this everyday so he won't stink"...glad I was left out of that one!), baby oil (your curious aren't you?), bar soap, and a bottle of lotion I've had since before we were married (spring cleaning?!). And all this packaged nicely in a small zippered case.

Now that would make for an interesting camping trip.

Specification required

We've had some beautiful weather here lately and we're both getting the itch to work on the yard. How long will that itch last? We shall see.

Yesterday I was outside sizing up our out-of-control lavender bush. Deciding it needed a haircut, I went looking for our prune shears without any luck. Before we had shears, we resorted to using scissors instead and I thought I'd revisit the old days and get a pair from the junk drawer. Spencer and Mia were playing in the garage and I figured I'd be gone for 30 seconds max, so I asked Spencer to watch his little sis.

I did come back within 30 seconds and Spencer did watch Mia as he had promised. The problem was he watched Mia crawl under the car to fetch a few stale cheerios she spotted AND eat them. Next time I will be far more specific...if there is a next time!

Wii crazy

Imagine how surprised Alfonso was when I brought up buying a video game system. I had played the Wii during my trip to Tennessee and I laughed more than I had in awhile. In case you're not familiar, many of the games require physical activity and the players are able to interact. Here are two pictures from a boxing match between son and father (now there's a way to get out some aggression). The first shows Spencer ahead and beating Pa as he had in the prior match. The second picture shows his reaction as he realized he just can't win every match. Poor guy!

It's feeling (a little) like spring!

Spencer says the darnedest things!

I just love having a four year old. Yes, I do miss the early years when I look through pictures, but I'm finding I enjoy each new stage more than the last (of course, there were a few I REALLY didn't care for). The conversations we have with Spencer sure make me look forward to the day Mia will communicate more.

If you have kids around this age, you probably realize how much they hear even when it appears they're not listening at all. We had a discussion in the car about (finally) paying off our car. A few days later, Spencer brought the subject up. This is that conversation:

S: Mom, what kind of car are we going to get now?
M: Honey, we just paid the money we owed for this car. Daddy and I are happy not to have a loan anymore. We aren't planning on buying a new car any time soon.
S: What's a loan?
M: (Insert my boring and brief description of a loan here)
S: No, Mom! Alone means you're by yourself!

For the life of me, I just couldn't figure out how to use the word "loan" in a sentence without using an "a" in front. So, the confusion continues.

I picked Spencer up from school and as usual, we discuss his day and it's happenings. I was slightly disturbed when he mentioned that the read a book about a man who was shot with a gun. We were in the car at the time which meant Spencer didn't notice my stunned reaction in the front seat. I kept the conversation going and that's when I realized he had "read" a book about Martin Luther King, Jr. I still think this may be a bit of a mature subject for a group of preschoolers, but it did provide an opportunity to have a meaningful conversation about the real world, even the ugly parts.

Last night as we were driving home, he proclaimed the following:

"Martin Luther King said love and peach. Some other people said hate."

And that wasn't some goof up on the keyboard. He did indeed say MLK stood for "peach".

I love this kid!

We just got back from a six day trip to Disneyland. There will be more on that trip later :)

I'm still wondering what prompted my desire to go on a three mile walk with the kids after we just returned from a trip FULL of walking. Both kids were crying when we got back to the car. Such is life with kids. Sure makes you appreciate the fun times more!

She's a hoot!

Mia's not talking much yet, but she's quickly learned that we're not fans of whining. For the most part, she's given up on the whole whining business. If she wants something, she claps as that's her (silent) version of please. This was something we began to teach her in Guatemala when we realized she was a clapper. But clapping only works if the person is looking at you, so that left Mia in a tough spot.

Just recently, Mia found her solution. If you've got something she wants, she says "baby, baby, baby" or "Mimi, mimi, mimi". Its hard not to laugh.

A Preschool Memory

Today has been far better than yesterday. I feel safe writing that since both kids are currently passed out cold.

Before bed tonight we ran around the house singing this song. I don't know why I remembered it all of a sudden, but the kids thought it was funny and I found myself laughing too.

I am slowly going crazy...one, two, three, four, five, six. Switch

Crazy going slowly am I...six, five, four, three, two, one. Switch

For best results, repeat the song several times and a bit quicker each time.

Try it. I swear you'll be laughing soon.

The answer is an enthusiastic YES!

In a few days, I'll be headed to Tennessee with Natalie to visit our Tracy and her new baby boy, Sullivan. Natalie asked me a few days ago if I was excited about our upcoming trip. As expected my answer was a "yes", but I'm a creature of habit and the thought of getting on a plane and out of my routine isn't normally something that gets me jazzed.

That is until today. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will get a gal more excited about a little trip than spending two torturous hours at the Social Security Office with two kiddos on their not-so-best behavior. Seriously, I thought I was going to go insane.

So, Natalie, the answer isn't a simple "yes", but a "YEEESSS!!!!"

Did you hear that?!

Spencer's Party

On Friday we hosted a late birthday party for Spencer. With all the holiday madness, we have the real party a few weeks late. Hopefully, he doesn't resent us in the future :) I'm a Christmas baby too, so I think I'm fairly sensitive when it comes to recognizing his birthday.

So, we had seven kids over for a pirate treasure hunt. We had a blast! It was the first year we asked for the kiddos to be dropped off solo and we acted like complete goof balls which probably would not have happened had the moms been here too. We had four treasure maps ready and one by one, we recovered the booty. Our poor pirate pinata didn't fair too well as I still see various pieces of "him" in our front yard.

After the hunting, we had a crazy sword fight. It was us against the kids and because we're the adults, you can probably guess who got hurt in the mix (and if you don't have a guess, the picture above will probably explain well enough). At one point, I was cornered by all seven kids. And yes, I did scream...loud.

Our re-adoption hearing took place a few days ago. In the case of international adoptions, this is more a formality than anything (not that it isn't a special event). After the hearing, Mia is now recognized by the State of California as Mia Gloria. In some ways, the hearing does reflect the change taking place in our household. There's a sense of cohesiveness more and more each and every day.

Before we learned of Mia, we already had the name as a favorite. We never talked much about a middle name, and I'm glad we didn't. Gloria was the name given to Mia by her mom and I think the combination of the two is amazing. In case you're not familiar with Spanish, Mia translates to "my" or "mine" and the meaning of the name Gloria is "glory to God".

From the time we decided to add to our family through adoption, we received praise for "rescuing" a child. At first, I wasn't uncomfortable with that mindset, but that changed quickly. Now that Mia is home, I realize we were never the ones made brave through this process. Although our choice to adopt wasn't the catalyst for her loss, it still hurts to be praised when I feel a deep sadness for all Mia's lost: her mom, dad, family, culture and foster family. And that's why her name is a perfect fit for all the glory and praise for her life belongs to God.

This is the result of, "Mia, make your funny face!". What a little ham! And another pic to show her *NEW* pigtails.

I made it!

Before bed last night, I had a sudden urge to purge my hidden treasures (you might refer to this as "junk"). I'm fairly certain it had something to do with a conversation that I had with a group of ladies at MOPS. Us Moms are always trying to figure out how to tackle the monster that is our house.

So, with Spence in tow, we went into his room to go through his baby clothes. Obviously, I've been putting this off for a long while now. I just didn't want to say a final goodbye to those baby years. It was neat to go through the clothes together. I pulled out a premie size sleeper that he wore in his hospital pictures and said, "Spencer, can you believe you fit in this tiny thing?!" He'd pull out a shirt or a pair of pants and say, "Mom, will this fit me?". Sorry pal, it has been awhile since you wore 12-18 months clothing! He did manage to squeeze into a very small fleece pajama set and stretched one of his tiny baby hats over his head. I had to help with that one, but we got it on. It was quite a sight.

What I thought would be so painful was not. I didn't lose my little baby as I tossed clothes into the giveaway bag, he's been gone for some time now. Sure I miss his tiny toes and gurgly laugh, but I wouldn't trade our time now for anything. So as I packed away a few of my favorites I imagined the day I'd reopen this box for him when he has his own little one on the way and again say "Spencer, can you believe you fit in this tiny thing?"

No you didn't!

I came home from the gym yesterday to this little number. In the past, I've given Alfonso a hard time about his choice of outfits for Mia. I think he just opens the drawer, closes his eyes and grabs.

He was pretty surprised when I kept her in the outfit even when we ventured out. He took her in a department store alone, and said more than a few ladies commented on her cuteness. That's strange because when I carried her around I just got funny looks. What a double standard, eh?!

Our first (and late) Christmas as a family of four

One very good reason to use a tripod, and another to show the power abused.

I still can't figure out how in the world little Mia managed to make the same face in both pictures. Apparently she didn't get the "Funny Face" memo.

Christmas, our second stop

Can't pass up a firehouse Christmas dinner!

Christmas with the parents

Alfonso had to work his first Christmas since he started with the department, so just the three of us went to my parent's place. This year's theme included an 'Ugly Sweater Contest'. Apparently the theme is pretty popular and after a semi-exhausting, last-minute search, I just made our sweaters. I glued candy canes to mine and spelled "Merry Christmas". Believe it or not, not a single candy cane was harmed as I managed to spell the phrase without any breaks (unless you consider hot glue harmful). Spencer had his shirt decorated with Christmas tree marshmallows just as he requested. By the end of the day, only a third of remained. I think eating the marshmallows was in the plan from the very beginning, wouldn't you say?! I found an ugly enough sweater for Mia at the thrift store, but everyone thought it was cute. My Grandma was voted the winner. She had her very tacky sweater handmade by a friend. It included half a table runner, lots of bows and too many jingle bells. She deserved the win.

This Christmas was so different than the last. I enjoy Christmas, but last year we were separated from Mia. We had returned from our visit with her a few days before Christmas and I was down. I have a new appreciation for Christmas this year.

Happy birthday Jesus!

Now it's really official!

Our early birthday celebration yesterday led to some confusion. Spencer wanted some extra confirmation this morning that now he was really four. No pretending pal, you're four!

We went to Chuck E. Cheese with some friends and had the whole place practically to ourselves. Spencer had a blast spending his tokens. I might have spent a few myself (that bowling game a little addictive). The picture above shows just how he decided to spend his birthday money from Grandma.

Now it is time to write that annual birthday letter. Throughout the year I write down a few events or funnies from the month and and use the list to jog my memory as I write the letter. I'm sure it is something that will be cherished in the future.