Adopted Mommy

Yesterday we got some great news!  My husband was offered a position with another company.  It was a huge load off his shoulders, as he felt he needed to make more money for our family.  I had a scheduled OB/GYN appointment out of town (I love my doctor, so I will travel 20 minutes to see him).  Since the appointment was so late in the day, I asked my husband if he wanted to go out to dinner after I was done so we could celebrate his new position.  He agreed and we loaded up the kids after he came home from work and headed to Tracy Kaiser.  They waited for me in the car.  As I finished up and went to get blood work done, he text me that he had to call AAA.  Apparently the battery was dead.  Ugh!  By the time I was done at the laboratory, I headed outside and saw a tow truck already there.  Our Suburban was being jumped but it would not work. This tow truck driver quickly decided it was the alternator and was calling for another tow truck for us to take us home (so all 4 of us could f

2015 is officially here!  I cannot believe how fast time is flying by each passing year.  2014 definitely had some highs and lows.  I try not to focus on the negative but I will admit I've had better years.  Thankfully my family is healthy so I certainly cannot complain. Our family highlight of the year was most certainly going to Disneyland.  The kids were incredibly excited from the moment we purchased our vacation months in advance.  We decided to go during my birthday, which made it a little extra special.  I was able to wear my "It's My Birthday" pin the entire trip and received many well wishes from the park staff.  But seeing the kids' eyes light up made our very first family vacation even more memorable.  I think waiting until they were old/tall enough to ride the majority of the rides (if they wanted to) and not having to worry about a stroller or nap times was a great decision for our family.  We were truly surprised how well the kids did on the car r

So our dear friends have season passes to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.  There are a few times during the year where they have free passes for guests.  The kids and I were invited to join in on the fun yesterday for the Holiday in the Park.  Both of the husbands worked so it was up to the mommies to take 4 kids about an hour and a half away from home.  I have to tell you my friend definitely knows how to make the trip inexpensive.  I drove, so I only had a to use gas money to get there and she had her season ticket parking pass.  The kids and I were free to get into the park.  They had refillable cups from previous visits so soda refills were only $1 and her hot cocoa refills were $2.  I paid for a new hot cocoa mug for $7 and with the wristband they gave me I had free refills all day.  It was perfect with the cold, windy weather and the kids and I just shared the mug of yummy cocoa to stay warm all day. Along with their season passes, our friends have the food meals added so they ge

So this year for Christmas Eve Brunch, we were invited to my brother and sister-in-law's house for an Ugly Christmas Sweater party.  Of course Jeff had to go with the totally inappropriate deer humping shirt he found on Amazon.  The kids made their own after a trip to JoAnn's.  They picked out the items they wanted to use and with my in app and paper coupons it only cost me $11 for the both of them-I was pretty proud of myself!  Both had a blast picking out how they wanted to design their shirts and did a great job making it to their specifications.  I had found for my work party a sweater and matching leggings at Kohl's that were totally tacky-I LOVED them!  Not sure if I'll need them for next year but at least I have it in my closet and don't have to worry about last minute shopping for a new sweater.  We seriously just had a blast picking out our shirts, it didn't matter who won or lost (no contest prize was given anyways, so it's all good!).  This Chri

Yes, I know!  It's literally been 3 years since I've last blogged.  I've been a little busy working full time and working on my master's degree.  It's way too complicated to write at the moment, but most of you pretty much know what's going on.  Well, since I'm back, I thought I'd share something about the kids (as I usually do).  We just celebrated David's 3rd Adoption Day anniversary on Thursday.  It was interesting that as we reflected on this special occasion that Katarina this week brought up our family situation a few times this week.  It all started with "Mommy, you're the best Mommy I ever had!" when I said goodnight to her one evening.  She's known for a long time she didn't come from Mommy's tummy.  Katarina asked me when she was 3 years old why brother was blue eyed and she ended up being brown eyed.  Of course, I answered with, "God made you both that way."  Then, when she saw others with "bellie

Wow! Has it really been that long since we've added to our blog? Well, here's some of the stuff that happened during October.... Of course the kids went trick-or-treating! Katarina was Tinkerbell (her choice) and David wore his dragon costume (Old Navy has the cutest costumes). Dina's brother and sister-in-law invited us all over to their house in Stockton. It was fun to be able to spend Baby Maddox's first Halloween with him (and David's first Halloween as a Graves). Justin showed us around the neighborhood and the kids had a wonderful time getting candy! David's pumpkin after being carved! :) Katarina's finished product. She drew the eyes, nose and mouth! So, of course, it's a little small. :) But, she had fun! It's even better when it's their own design! Sunday, October 25, we took the kids to Dell Oso farms to the Pumpkin Maze. Lathrop/Manteca is known for its' pumpkins. While we didn't stay too long, the kids had fu