Singing and Choreographed Dance Moves!!

Out of the many daily joys Austin and Logan bring me....I have to admit, that the one thing they do that entertains Gary and I to no end is their singing and dancing!

I have video from when they were 14 months old and dancing to Hi-5 and Barney - doing all the dance steps along with their favorite characters. Backyardigans is also one of their favorites!

However, their recent obsession, thanks to a beach trip with good friends Ryann and Cannon, is High School Musical.

They pretty much have the whole movie memorized, but here are some highlights...

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Fashion Police!!

Remember when I used to dress the twins SO cute? Adorable matching outfits? Coordinating colors. Just precious! For the past year, Nonnie and I snagged sale items - little cargo shorts, Bermuda's, etc. all in anticipation of another great Successful Fashion Summer!

But, none of it, none of it is getting worn.

Because Frick and Frack have started dressing themselves.

All. the. time.

And despite the many, many clothing options available to them, they basically rotate out the same three or four basketball shorts and number shirts.

This is Logan's all time standard "go to" outfit. He'll either wear his Red number shirt or he'll wear Austin's (creating quite the chaos when he throws people off)!

I thought Austin was pretty cute this day (butt picking aside)- sleeveless tank, khaki dress pants and work boots (minus socks). He sorta had a look going on!

And some days, the superheroes come out!

And yes, we leave the house like this.

It's just too much to fight. And besides, the costumes get a lot of attention. Cute, right?

But then, there are times. Where the cuteness factor may not be so ah, evident...and well, it's hard for me to swallow that folks might think that I. did. this.

...or this....

And while Logan's pairing of black soccer socks with white tennis shoes isn't exactly overly offensive...

And while we can all appreciate a good tucked in shirt...

I'm thinking the bedroom slippers, "....just like in Polar Express, Mom" may be a tough sell!

My loves....

It's very unusual for me to get a good picture of both my boys and of course, I didn't get this one either. Tracey snapped it for me a while back and I just found it again.

I LOVE it. I LOVE them!! A girl could loose herself in those sweet little faces!

Movies!

We finally made it to the movies!! (Remember last summer's attempt lasted 5 seconds into the previews before we went screaming and yelling out of the theatre!?)

This year's attempt didn't start off well - I didn't think they were actually going to enter the dark scary place. But the arrival of Van gave them safety in numbers!!

That's a really BIG TV, Mom!!

Thankfully, no surround sound to scare the ba-jeebies out of them. They did great! Their first movie experience was "Horton Here's a Who." Or at least the first 1 hour of it! But we're giving them credit for the whole thing!

Now, for your viewing pleasure, here is The Anatomy of a Group shot:

Step 1: Yell, "Okay, group hug! Get together, boys!"

Step 2: Get the boys to stay in the photo shooting area by gently pushing, er, urging them to stay put.



Step 3: When you see what's about to happen say, "Too much hugging, gentle, gentle...."



Step 4: Laugh hysterically when it happens anyway....


Step 5: Give the Mommies what they want...

All three boys looking at the camera....and smiling...and no, that's not a choke hold!

Thanks Van and Tracey for another great, fun day!!

Calling all adoptive friends/parents...

Do you remember what it was like WAITING for your child to come home?

Visiting them, holding them, breathing in everything about them and then having to say good-bye? to. your. child!?!

Having to watch your child grow up in pictures.

Do you remember being glued to your computer - hitting refresh and send/receive ALL day long - hoping, begging, pleading for any e-mails with news?

Trying to get on with life while half of your mind/body and soul lived 1,000 miles away from you?

Do you remember the community of blogs and forums that suffered alongside with you and got you through it all?

Could you imagine.

doing.

it.

for.

FOUR
.
.
.
.
YEARS!?!?


There's a very special family that has been doing just that! In May 2005, a little 7 year old boy and his 5 year old sister were growing up in an orphanage when their forever Mommy and Daddy found them.

There have been been visits.

There have been good-byes.

There have been "It's over" moments, where they were told nothing else could be done to bring them home.

And there have been moments of hope. Like 2 years ago when all adoptions were shutting down in Guatemala and all of a sudden there was a glimmer of hope, maybe just maybe a way to bring their children home, this Mommy and Daddy (once again) flew into a panic and scrambled around for paperwork and somehow managed to start the process of bringing home their children.

Again.

At the helm of this crazy story is a remarkable woman. A woman of amazing obedience and faith who serves a God she might not understand, but one she undeniably loves and trusts and gives her whole life to.

Dawn might not know it, but she really, really kept me going during my excruciatingly-long-to-me 14 month journey to bringing home my babies. When others were accomplishing this feat with remarkable speed at 6 and 8 months and bringing home babies, Dawn simply walked beside me, saying "I know. I know. It is difficult." She cheered me on. She provided strength and support and most importantly she made me feel like I was not alone.

Friends do that.

These wonderful little children of hers, now 12 and 9 ARE coming home.

Sometime.

Maybe in another few months.

Maybe in about 5 or 6 months.

It's a whole new world out there. One none of us are familiar with - the old language of PGN, pinks, etc have all been replaced. There's a small little band that are getting each other through the ever changing maze.

But not en masse.

Like there used to be.

For us.

So - would you take a moment and go spread some love? Maybe get hooked on her story. Pray for her and her family. All of them!

It's going to be a long 6 months. Sure would be nice if she had some company. Some folks to walk along the path with her.

www.prayingthemhome.blogspot.com