Thanksgiving 2010 + a Flashback to Thanksgiving 2009

I feel like so many of us have already moved onto Christmas that it seems sort of silly to post about Thanksgiving. But it is still November for another day, so I think I am writing just in time. If you are one of those readers who mainly just scans our blog for pictures, please be sure to scroll all the way down for a collage of our first Thanksgiving (2009).

Of course, we had a ton to be thankful for this year, namely our sweet boys and their adoption finalizing just before Thanksgiving! Our precious Angel said it best here:

Just in case you can't read his writing, although it is much improved since this time last year, I will type it out:

1. Dad 2. Mom 3. house 4. dog Harvey 5. cat Snowflake 6. family 7. God

Soon he'll grasp the order, but for now he has all the important ones listed! It shocked me when I saw this....such amazing wisdom for his 7 short years! As adults we could take a lesson from his little grateful heart!

Wednesday everyone was home from school and I decided to take full advantage of my time with the boys while Daddy worked. We met up with my BFF, Jenny and her little girl, Ariana at Chick-Fil-A for lunch and some play time. Then we all went back to our house and made turkey shirts for all 3 of our little turkeys! Jenny saw the ones we made last year and loved them so I invited her to join us and make one for Ari.

Jenny was super excited to make it on the blog! I mean we are famous now, so who can blame her! HA! Here is Johnny posing with his future mother-in-law, Jenny!
We definitely benefited from Jenny's experience as a preschool teacher as she had developed a super secret short cut for tracing tiny hands! The mommas did most of the work as the project required a lot of cutting and ironing. In the meantime, the kids were happy to play together. It took a long time, but the end result was worth it! Jenny told me when Ariana wore her onesie on Thanksgiving, she proudly poked her little tummy out and pointed when asked where her turkey was! SO cute! I am happy to get my little girl fix from this sweetheart!
Our little guys were super handsome in their turkey shirts too! I am still glad I chose material over paint this year, even though it took longer and was a bit more work! I think they held up better too. If you want to try this project, I used this step by step tutorial from Treasures for Tots. I omitted the rick rack legs and used the boys' feet for the body, but otherwise I totally copied her idea! This year I even ironed on their names too since we are official!
My little turkeys got quite a few compliments on their shirts at the parade downtown. Here Jeff and Johnny are waiting for the parade to start. J had to be held up to see due to the crazed woman in front of us who brought a chair to sit in, but stood up and waved her hands every time a float came. She was trying to catch something, anything, free being thrown from the floats. Really, lady, I don't get it. You are grown, the whistles, candy, etc are for the kids. Whatever. I am fine with my little guys not blowing that crazy loud whistle all day or adding to their increasing sugar consumption.
These two were my favorite floats. I love the giant turkey and the kids were thrilled to see Santa for the first time this year!
After the parade we went to my parents' (Gran and Poppa D) house for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Here is our family picture we took before lunch. I totally made the boys change shirts to eat so they wouldn't get their shirts messy.
It worked because they still looked great for the Uptown Christmas Tree lighting that night.
Angel was a little scared to be on Jeff's shoulders, but Johnny was dancing on mine. They are so different in that way. Johnny is a daredevil to the max and Angel would much rather have his feet firmly on the ground. But really, who can blame him?
It started raining during the event, but it didn't stop Santa and Mrs. Claus from making an appearance to flip the switch and start the firework's display.
We really enjoyed the Christmas Tree lighting and may make it a tradition. I LOVE white twinkle lights, but I love them even more when my boys are posing in front of them!

Saturday and Sunday we spent time with Jeff's parents (Meme and Papa) at their house. The boys helped Papa harvest pecans and loved every minute of it! They earned us 10 lbs. of pecans too! Yum!

As promised, here is a collage of our Thanksgiving last year. Sweet Ariana is in last year's collage too. She is in the bottom left corner with her betrothed, Johnny! Whew! I am glad to have done our Thanksgiving post, so now we can decorate for Christmas! I just love this time of year!

Weekend Wrap Up

I cannot tell you how nice it is to be able to post pictures of the boys! I have some ideas for how to show you some of our photos from the last 14 months while not neglecting the present. During the holiday season, I will include some photos of our first year doing some of the traditions we have continued this year.

Dewberry Farm is a local popular attraction in the fall. It provides a full day of family fun including a hay ride out to a giant pumpkin patch and Christmas Tree farm, a petting zoo, pig races, and all kinds of other activities. Last year we went in October so we got a lot of sweet pumpkin pictures. I remember being so nervous the whole day because the boys had only been with us for a month and had no desire to walk next to us or hold our hands in this type of setting. We were so afraid we would lose them in the crowds! Jeff and I both commented on how much more relaxed we felt this time. It is amazing how much progress the boys have made in the past year!

We couldn't fit Dewberry Farm into our October this year, so we went this past Saturday. Most of the pumpkins were sold and the rest were rotten, so we decided to skip the trek out to see them. We still took the hay ride though and looked at the Christmas trees. We also went through the corn maze and I got this great picture of the boys with the hay ride behind them. I may have done a happy mommy dance after I snapped it.
We also got a family picture in front of the duck pond this year. Last year we weren't able to get a picture of all 4 of us, so I was also excited to get this one!
My 3 guys also let me take a picture of them by the barn and windmill.
This picture cracks me up! Look at that grumpy looking cow! I promise Jeff was having fun he is just incredibly awkward in pictures! He says he doesn't know "how" to smile. Ha!
We enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the corn field!
The boys loved trying some new things this year. They rode the cow train, drove some cars you pedal, and enjoyed bouncing on the giant inflated pillow!
We pealed them off the bouncy pillow long enough to take a couple of photos with the pretty sunset!

We ended the day at dusk, just as the farm closed. I am telling you, the sunset was AMAZING! I was not the only one taking a bunch of pictures of it!
Saturday night we shopped for and filled shoe boxes for Samaritan's Purse. Our church is participating in Operation Christmas Child and the kids had a goal of 100 boxes. The boys were excited to pick out toys for their "friend in another country!" Surprise, surprise the boys were determined to include as many Hot Wheels cars as possible! We also put one of their school pictures and their name and address inside. My sister made the suggestion of registering the boxes online, which allows you to track where the boxes end up. I am excited about this part because one of the things we are really working on is the concept that it is better to give than to receive. Check out my cheerful givers! Here they are just before church on Sunday with their shoe boxes.

They went to church with their daddy and I stayed home. We have only done this 2 times in the last year, but I had been fighting a cold for a week and really needed some extra rest. Especially since we had family pictures scheduled for Sunday afternoon that had already been rescheduled once due to rain. We had the photo shot sans Sunday naps so I am crossing my fingers that the pictures came out well! We are looking forward to sharing those photos with you very soon!

Thank you again for all of your sweet comments and congratulations! We are going to print them all out and save them for the boys so they will always remember how loved they are!

Introducing...

Angel David Albus

and

Jonathan Eli Albus

Here are some collages I made of each boy with a photo per month. It will take a while to catch you up, but there is much more to come! I can't believe how much they have grown and changed since we met!

Also, please read our post below for the details of our Adoption Day! We were featured in an article for the Houston Chronicle which you can read here. There are additional pictures in the link to the photo gallery! I was quickly endeared to the reporter when I found out she adopted an older child from the foster care system a few years ago! It was such an honor to have her write this sweet story about our adoption experience! This is a major shift from such a high level of privacy to being an open book! Although it is quite refreshing if you ask this proud Momma of 2!

Adoption Day

Wow, what a whirlwind of wonderfulness! November 19, 2010 will go down in the history of our family as hugely monumental! Right up there with our wedding day as one of the happiest days for us! I really can't put into words the feeling of relief and joy we feel to finally be recognized as a forever family! We have loved the boys since day 1 and truly felt like family, but this day sealed the deal. We couldn't be happier or feel more blessed to finally be here!

I am sure we will reach all new heights in the multitude of pictures on our blog for the next few weeks because these proud parents have held back for WAY too long! Thanks for your patience in looking at the back of their heads for 14 months! But now, behold the preciousness that is our boys!

Here is a photo of our little family outside the courtroom waiting our turn. The courts were celebrating National Adoption Day so we were one of 30 families finalizing adoptions in the 3 family courts downtown. Thankfully we were at the top of the docket!

My sweet sister drove all the way from Dallas to share the day with us! Thank you Sarah for making the long trip and for capturing our day in pictures!

Here we are getting sworn in and testifying. We were so blown away by the friends and family that came to be with us and by those praying and supporting us that could not be in attendance. Sweet friends from our Sunday School class, our adoption ministry, and my mom's Bible Study all took time out of their busy schedules to share in our joy! We could not be more grateful for the community we have found!

Many organizations and individuals donated their time and resources to make this day of celebration special for all the adoptive families! This picture was taken just after the adoption when the boys got their stuffed animals.

Dear lady in black,

I don't know who you are. However, you made it into one of my favorite shots from the day and therefore on the blog.

The official shot behind the bench. Jonathan may have grabbed a couple more stuffed animals as we shimmied our way back there. Little mischievous man!

This sign, professional family photos in a special frame, and a party with cake were all very sweet gestures from those who organized Harris County's celebration of National Adoption Day! The boys could barely carry all their stuffed animals, but they were happy to try!

After we left the court's celebration, we continued the fun with a family lunch at the Grotto. You can find previous posts here, here, and here about the significance of this restaurant. But it was where Jeff and I had our first real date, our rehearsal dinner, and anniversary dinners. The boys had never been to a fancy restaurant so it was a special treat! Angel may have written his name, in pen, on the cloth napkin. We are a paper napkin kind of family so who can blame him!

My mom (Gran) and dad (Poppa D) joined us for lunch, along with my sister Sarah and nephew Clayton. When Sarah told Clayton that she was coming to the boys' adoption, he told her he wanted to come too! These three boys have so much fun together and are such sweet cousins!

My parents are such proud grandparents and loved getting a photo with 3 of their 4 grandsons!

All 3 boys were well behaved at the restaurant and loved the special boy treat of octopus on the appetizer plate!! Angel and Clayton both tried their own little one and split the big one. I guess I'm officially a boy mom because I proudly took a picture!

The boys also loved the fancy dessert complete with sparkler! The waiter gave us some unlit ones for them to take home. Needless to say those are still unlit for now. What a fun treat and great ending to an amazing lunch!

We headed home and were welcomed with another wonderful surprise!

Our sweet daddy/hubby had celebratory flowers delivered!

The boys took a nap as they were exhausted from all the excitement of the day! Jeff and I tried to nap, but ended up having a great talk about how surreal it all was instead. Then the four of us rented Toy Story 3 and ordered pizza. What a truly perfect day we had! Thank you to all of you who shared it with us both in person and in spirit!

Adoption Eve

Oh.My.Goodness!! I cannot believe we finally made it to Adoption Day! The boys are in bed and I am praying they get good rest for tomorrow. Although Jeff and I have already discussed that we are going to be too excited to sleep! Everything is as ready as it is going to be at this point and I could not be happier to be mere hours away from being official! Thank you to all of our family and friends that have prayed for and supported us over the past 14 months. We are so blessed to have a community of people surrounding our family with encouragement and love. Those of you that will be in attendance tomorrow, thank you for being available. Your presence will mean so much! I am going to go wrap a few things up before trying to sleep!

FREE Christmas Cards by Shutterfly

We have family portraits scheduled this weekend with Sarah at Fish Lips Photography. I am really excited, but am hoping it doesn't pour down rain as expected. My friend (name omitted to protect the innocent) and I were chatting yesterday about family portraits and Christmas cards. We share the same level of determination in getting the perfect card with the perfect pictures. Unfortunately, our husbands don't see it the same way. I am a tad neurotic when it comes to this and my poor husband is so patient with me in this area. I have to have the perfectly coordinated outfits for everyone too. Heaven help him! He may hide along with his wallet when this time of year comes around again!

I read about this contest on Wendy's blog and I just had to join in the fun! I mean, who doesn't want 50 free Christmas cards from Shutterfly?! We use them every year and the cards always turn out beautiful! Last year we used this design and I loved the card stock and printing quality!

This year I am thinking about doing something a bit different. I love all the new cards Shutterfly has this year that provide space for a more personalized message, particularly this one. I always love when people send a Christmas letter. We have a lot to share about our family this year with our adoption finalizing just in time for the holiday season!

This one is really sweet too, especially for families like us with multiple children.

This one is a bit more contemporary than my usual taste, but I think it is really fun too!

I am looking for a card with places for at least 3 photos. I want to do a family photo and some of the boys individually. Shutterfly has a lot to chose from this year with plenty of space for multiple pictures. I especially like the ones with the initial highlighted. There are several in all different colors and they have a place for several pictures. This is great for me because I can never narrow it down! I will probably chose one of these styles this year, but may still struggle with choosing which one. I like the non-traditional color scheme of this one though.

The choices are endless and I have definitely not chosen one yet. I will have to see how our family portraits turn out! You will just have to wait to get your card in the mail to see which one we choose!

My fellow Bloggers if you too want to get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly, follow the arrow à http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Family Portraits - "A" & "J" Style

I had several really proud mommy moments lately and I just had to share a couple with you. "A" has been processing what it means to be a family and what adoption means for some time now, but we really thought "J" was sort of in a state of confusion about the whole thing. Well, the other day "J" came home with this drawing and told us it was our family. He identified each person in relationship to one another. This is the very first time he has ever done that! He's drawn pictures with some of us in it but never all of us! He told us that the first person on the left is "A" because he is the bigger brother, then himself, then Daddy and then Mommy. I thought, yay, he is catching on. Then yesterday when I was taking him to school, he asked me if we could tell his teacher his name is going to change. He said he keeps forgetting to tell her. I was THE proudest Momma when he and I walked up to her and he told her his new full name.

For comparison sake, here is one of "A"s first family portraits from February 2010. I remember thinking, "great, he thinks my hips are huge, but at least I have good hair!"

We couldn't be happier to be just ONE week away from officially becoming a forever family with our precious boys!

Weekend Wrap-Up

This past weekend was busy! I think this will be the case until after the New Year! Welcome to the holiday season! We are not complaining because it is such a fun kind of busy! But, I will probably be doing this weekend wrap up format for a while until things slow down.

Friday "A" had early dismissal and his thankful party at school. Basically the kids were at school for just a couple of hours and one of those hours was spent consuming tons of sugar and playing games! I told the teacher as we left that I knew what she was thankful for... That the thankful party was on early dismissal day so we can take these sugar crazed children home pretty soon! We were so excited because due to Jeff's new job and the opportunity to work from home he was able to come to the party this year! He worked basically all night the night before and then hurried back to work afterwards in order to make it possible. "A" just beamed when I told him about the sacrifice Daddy had made just for him! He sure loves his Daddy! Here they are working on a seasonal cross word puzzle! I LOVE watching my hubby with our boys! SO sweet!

Friday, we also had a parent/teacher conference at "J"s school. The Montessori method is an adjustment for us because the teachers don't communicate with us daily like we are used to. The conference offered us our first feed back and thankfully it was all good! "J" is learning quickly and adjusting well. He is very affectionate with all his friends too. I knew that though because every day when we get there he hugs all the kids and usually their mommys too! Definitely a little Romeo!

Saturday, our Sunday School class had a chili cook off! Jeff decided he wanted to compete. I didn't feel confident enough in my cooking to do it myself, so I was all for him giving it a try! I am so proud to report that he was the runner up! The winner Alison (pictured below with Jeff) is a super cook and it was pretty close so Jeff has every reason to be proud!
Here is what was left off his crock pot full of chili! It was a big hit and oh so yummy!
Sunday was full of fun and activity too! We went to church in the morning as usual and then went back in the evening for our church's observation of orphan Sunday. Oh and "A" ran to a birthday party in between! We also participated in a unique opportunity at church called Foundation of Prayer. Our church is expanding the building to accommodate the tremendous growth we have experienced in our children's ministry. All of the families were encouraged to write the names of our kids and those of any other children the Lord placed on our hearts on the foundation. The names will be prayed over (literally) for years to come and our prayer is that every child will come to know Jesus as the Lord of their life! Here I am writing the first memory verse we taught the boys Isaiah 43:1 and their names on the foundation of the second floor of the expansion.

They also had ink pads for the kids to leave their hand print on this canvas to be hung on the wall. We also got to take home a memento card with their hand print on it like the one framed in the left top corner of this picture.
Below is a close up of our growing boys' hand prints on the canvas! I love that their fingers overlapped! When "J" took his hand off the canvas, I saw remnants of the blue ink from "A"s hand print on his little red finger! Such sweet symbolism!
We love both our boys so dearly and feel honored to be their Mommy and Daddy! I am grateful our church gave us this opportunity to show our kiddos in such a tangible way how much they are valued by us and more importantly God!

Halloween Happenings

We did Halloween up big this year! It was a full weekend of fun! Friday night we went to "J"s school for their fall festival. Our boys were ALL about collecting candy, even if it meant doing a sack race to get to it. But, really let's face it...it is always a race at our house!

The school didn't allow masks so "A" decided not to wear his hulk costume sans mask. Instead he was a race car driver. In fact we had 3 costume changes for "A" this weekend. Each event we went to he wore a different costume that he got for his birthday from cousin Clayton.
On Saturday afternoon we went to our church's First Fest. It is always such a fun event with tons of inflatables, games, and festivities! "J" was such a cute little Superman! He got mad because his muscles got mushed when we buckled him into his car seat! Everywhere we turned people were chuckling at our little man with the BIG muscles!
"A" really showed some natural talent in the baseball themed games! He pitched in this one and swung the heck out of a ball and bat game.
"J" and Daddy had a pretty good system going on while "A" and I waited in line to ride a horse. Daddy let "J" eat a piece of candy for every one he shared with his Daddy. Smart Daddy!
"A" shocked us when he wanted to climb the rock wall. He had always been afraid of anything to do with heights but he was excited to try this! Way to go "A"!
Sunday night we went Trick or Treating in our neighborhood. It was fun to do this for the first time with the boys! This time "A" was Iron Man. Our neighbors went all out with fun decorations, a lot of great candy, and hospitality!
This house definitely won for the most elaborate decorations. The kids went into the castle and it made sounds and blew smoke. Kind of spooky, but oh so fun!

Jeff was really into taking a picture of all the kids' "loot"! They each have a whole gallon size ziplock bag full of candy, but no worries...This mommy and daddy are in control of the bags and apportion out the candy very carefully!