Catie, Jesse and Mary Visit!

Tate’s birth-family came last Sunday for a lovely visit! We were very excited to finally spend some time with Jesse, Catie’s new hubby! They make such an adorable couple!

Laugh Out Loud Visit

Jordan, Jim and Konda came for a wonderful visit this evening. Chase took about 3 1/2 minutes to warm up and he was off and running with his usual antics.

OK – these pictures aren’t our normal birth-family visit fare, but Konda is the true photographer and I will wait patiently for her disc of 548 pictures to arrive and re-post then! We had a lovely visit with lots of hugs and tons of laughs. Chase’s birthday loot was full of bubble making supplies and a cool play-do set. Big brother also came away with a bubble maker. After some bubble-making on the deck, we enjoyed dinner and then some crazy fun with the boys. We love you guys!!!

Wonderful visit!

Catie, Tate’s birthmom, came up for a visit with her Mom Mary this morning. It was so lovely to see them both. What a blessing to have Catie and her family in our lives. Catie came bearing gifts of course, one for Tate and Chase. Tate’s mechanical dump truck was an instant hit and Chase’s alphabet book with the flippy letters will bring many hours of fun! We caught up on each other’s family and then Tate gave Catie a tour of his fort and little maze of bushes in the back yard. What a treat! We love you all!!

Better late than never…

Our last visit with Jordan, Konda and Jim back in December was special, as always! As Konda is the photographer, I left it to her to take all the photos and didn’t even pull out my camera. Konda was kind enough to send me 2 discs worth of pictures! Here are just a sampling from the visit.

Smilebox

Jordan, Jim and Konda came for a lovely visit the Sunday before last. There is no blog entry about it because I didn’t take my camera out – blog entries need pictures! Konda is a much better picture taker than I and does such a good job of capturing everything. So I felt like I could take the night off and mooch off her collection. But until I get copies of her pictures from our time together, here is a link to a Smilebox Konda put together from some of the pictures she took.

THANKS KONDA! It is wonderful!

Click here to view Smilebox collage

A Special Visit with Catie and Carrie

Catie, Tate’s birthmom, came over for a visit on Saturday morning. Carrie, Catie’s sister, came along too, which is always so much fun. Something was different about this visit, Tate is starting to understand a bit more. During his prayer at lunch, Tate thanked God that Catie, his birthmom, was here to visit. He doesn’t really understand what “birthmom” means, but I think he knows she is someone special to our family and we have a unique connection to her.

Last week, we talked a little bit about how Tate grew in Catie’s tummy and that God knew he was meant for our family and Catie knew too. No matter how much he understands or doesn’t understand, I think the point is strong and clear – Catie loved him enough, we prayed for him to be part of our family and God designed the whole thing!

Catie brought a fun birthday gift for Tate (all about bugs and insects) and they played with that for a while. Catie also loved on Chase, who took to her right away. Catie has such a gift with children, no wonder she is a nanny! Then we ate lunch, played a little more and then it was time for nap and we said our goodbyes. It is always so wonderful to catch up and allow Tate and Catie to bond. We LOVE you Catie!!! And thanks for snapping all the great shots Carrie – I probably wouldn’t have any if you hadn’t taken over!

 

Reflections of Mother’s Day

Mother’s day always gets me misty-eyed and weepy. Celebrating this day is a bit multifaceted for me. First, I get to rejoice in the fantastic Moms/Grandmas in my life.

MOM: Thanks for putting up with me, I was a little booger at times growing up, but you always supported and loved me and you helped me become the woman I am today. And now I get the privilege of calling you “friend”.

MIL: I can hardly remember when you weren’t in my life, supporting me and treating me like your own – thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I also get to celebrate being a Mom myself, it is the most amazing experience and what I was meant to be. But more than anything, my heart is bursting with gratefulness and love for two outstanding, extraordinary young women whom I am proud to call our Birthmoms – Catie and Jordan! I would not have had the amazing honor of ever being a Mom if it weren’t for the grace of these two.

I suppose on this day my heart aches a bit as I try to imagine their side of the adoption story, what they willingly gave and the love they have for these two beautiful, adorable, totally outrageously-terrific children. At the same time, I pray daily God overflows their heart with peace and joy with their selfless decision.

Catie and Jordan, the words “thank you” seem too simple to explain how I feel….I am grateful, humbled, honored and overjoyed that you shared these gifts with us. You both know how loved and adored you are, we are forever intertwined and you are part of our forever family. Our cup runneth over! These two treasures - Tate and Chase – are blessings from above. Without your wisdom, sacrifice and courage, we would not be the richest, happiest and proudest of parents.

To all the

Moms in our

lives, we

love you!!!!

Thanks Birth-family!

Jordan, Jim and Konda came up for a wonderful visit last Sunday! They arrived just after the boys woke up from their naps. Susan was so excited to finally get to meet everyone! They brought two totally groovy Easter baskets, which Tate opened eagerly. The baskets were filled with books, egg shaped chalk, a music Baby Einstein DVD (to encourage Chase’s dancing tendencies), mini-chia pets, an adorable outfit for Chase and stickers!

Being her crafty-self, Konda also brought a fun activity, which she couldn’t have pulled out at a better time – you know, when the cars have lost a little of their luster and the adults keep talking and talking about things he really can’t follow. The foam egg decorating worked out perfectly (which we have done several times over already with the remaining supplies). We ordered some pizza from Bojos, I tossed a salad together and we had a fun meal.

You all are such a blessing to us, many times over, thank you! :)

Look at the totally rockin’ cut out letters for the baskets!

Here are a few of the egg creations.

Chase was doted on every second of the afternoon and ate it up!

What a cute picture! I love it!

Here is all of us, minus Grandmommy, who was taking the picture.

Tate talked Jim into a good dose of car racing.

Fun visit with Catie and Carrie!

Catie, Tate's birthmom, came up today with her sister for a visit. It was so wonderful to see them both. Things have changed so much over the last 4 years; both of their lives are so different, it is always fun to catch up. Tate was, of course, center stage! He was his cute self, making everyone laugh frequently.

He is well aware of the fact that Catie will do pretty much anything Tate asks....SO, his first request was to read a story from the new Thomas book he received at Christmas.

Then it was on to the train track and he even talked Carrie into joining it!

Catie came bearing gifts and Tate had a grand time opening them up. She gave him this very cool big castle that you build and then color along with brand new markers. Catie also gave Tate a stepping stone kit for this spring.

After an early lunch, it was time to say good-bye. Thanks for driving up Catie, it is always so wonderful to see you!

AWESOME VISIT!

Jordan and Konda came up for dinner and a fun visit today! It was SO much fun to catch up and see them lovin' on the boys. Jim wasn't able to make it up, which was a bummer, but Tate talked to him on the phone to say "thanks" for the cool Thomas DVD!

 

Konda and Jordan always come bearing gifts - and something is usually homemade with Konda's special creative touch! This visit they brought the boys some sweat outfits and a stacking toy for Chase. Konda made this adorable mini Christmas tree with totally cool ornaments made from cinnamon sticks. She also made these super cute Christmas ornaments - one for each of us! Tate's goodie-bag also included this cute Nativity set that she sat and put together with Tate for around 30 minutes.

 

Thanks for trekking your way to our home you guys! It is always a joy to see you! 

Fun videos from visit with Jordan and fam

I just got to the flip videos Tyler shot at our get together with Jordan! Why is it that boxing with little boys comes natural to men? It is so funny! Boys need men in their lives, that is for sure!

Wonderful visit with Jordan and fam!

Today we had the special treat of seeing Jordan, Konda and Jim - Chase's birth-family. Chase was kissed for 4 hours straight! We are blessed to have such a wonderful family in our lives! Here is Jordan cuddling Chase.

We walked up and down the Boulder farmers market (which is a smorgasbord of wonderfully yummy organic produce) and then found a prime spot down by the creek where we chatted and lunched.

 

Here is Tate enjoying the drippy goodness of a fresh farmers market peach as a little mid-morning snack.

Jim had some special bonding time with both of the boys down by the creek. Cuddle time with Chase and some extended rock-hunting with Tate.

It was nice and cool in the shade, but mighty hot everywhere else. Alas, Tate and Chase became hot and tired and it was time to say good-bye.

Thank you for being so fantastically honest, loving and excited about Chase and Tate you guys! We love you!!!