Non-stop action over here!

I'm definitely ready for a breather! We got past Easter and AJ's small little birthday, but this weekend is the big shingdig. The Farm Party!! The kids have been off the wall with excitement this week as Saturday appraoches. I still have oodles of stuff to get done. As of right now, I have 24 kids and 50+ adults! UGH! I know everyone's gonna have a great time, but the preparation to make sure it turns out great is lots! I can't wait till Saturday though. Not only will I be taking lots of pictures (and of course, video) of the little ones with the ponies, feeding the quarter horse and at the petting zoo, but the package we got included a professional photographer who will take between 150-200 pictures! Woohooo!!!

Scott asked me why don't I just enjoy the party then and forget about taking pictures myself. Well, anyone that knows me well knows I can't part from my camera. :)

Speaking of cameras, guess who's buying me a brand new Canon Rebel XTi? George Bush!!! Woohoo! You know that rebate that we're all getting back to stimulate the economy? Well, the Bombardiers are making sure that they stimulate the economy. Scott said that he's tired of me whining about my plain 'ole camera, so-o-o-o-o we could get the camera that I have dreamed about! I know...nothing big for some people, but I just love the pictures that I see taken with it. I might even go as far as taking a photography class on Saturdays. I'm so excited!!! We should definitely have it before we go on our vacation! (For those of you out there that have this camera, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it and how difficult/easy it is to take great pics with it.)

Ok! So, I've totally digressed. Back to the party. The kids are thrilled and can't wait, neither can we!

Moving on now, guess where my sweetie is taking me on Sunday night? (THANK YOU ADAM FOR BABYSITTING!!!!!!!!!)

We have awesome seats to go see ::DRUMROLL PLEASE::

DEF LEPPARD with special guests: Reo Speedwagon (whose lead singer, Kevin Cronin, happened to be on Don't Forget the Lyrics tonight), and Styxx. Yes, I know. I'm old....they're old. But I love all 3 bands! I'm so excited! I was in high school when these bands were big. Let's not even try and count how many years ago that was!

And lastly, I have some huge praise reports and major milestones to share about Anna Grace!!! But, that definitely deserves it's own post, so check back soon!!!

A Blessed Easter!

HE HAS RISEN! Easter is so special in our home. Not only are we celebrating the fact that our Lord lives, but it was the first mass Kai ever attended after we came home with him, almost 2 years ago on Easter weekend. It was awesome sharing time with family and knowing that our princess, Anna Grace, is now home with us and our family is complete, well, umm...maybe. Possibly. ::smile::

Easter started off with an egg hunt on Saturday morning, where we were joined by two adorable new friends, Hailey & Hannah from Vietnam. The kids had a lot of fun, but unfortunately, it started to rain and we had to leave early. I didn't get baskets for the kids this year because I knew that their respective Godparents would, and boy(!!) did they ever! I think they thought Easter was Christmas!

After a beautiful mass on Sunday, the family all gathered, along with my sister's husband's family and had a great time at brunch, our usual tradition after mass. The kids then received all of their goodies. When we got home, I let them open their baskets and have a few chocolates and play with all their new toys. They each retreated to their own corners at first while surrounded by their goodies, and then slowly, they started sharing (wanting what the other one had) until everything broke out into pure chaos, about an hour later. At bedtime, they were all snuggled in with a new litter each of bunnies keeping them company.

All in all, it was an awesome Easter and we are so blessed not only to have such a great family, but to know that the price for our sins have been paid because God sacrificed his only son for us to have that blessing.

Here are some pictures of our weekend. Enjoy

Happy 2nd birthday, sweet baby boy!

How your Daddy found you sleeping in your crib tonight. :)

It is hard to believe that today my sweet baby boy is 2 years old! While his big party will be celebrated next week with Anna Grace (her 3rd birthday), today we had a busy day. Between an Easter egg hunt with friends and a quiet celebration at dinner with Ayi, Shu-Shu, his cousins and Po-Po stopping by, he was pooped by the end of the evening. He thoroughly enjoyed digging into his birthday cupcake and he relishes being loved on by his family.

Our little AJ,

Words cannot describe how much we love you. We have been eternally blessed by having you in our lives, little man. Although it drives us crazy, you make us laugh as you run from your brother and sister screaming, "Mine! Mine! Mine!" after grabbing whatever they had in their hands, even if it's theirs. You make a thousand expressions daily on that adorable little face.

You are so darn funny, cute and everything a little boy is supposed to be made of. You love bugs, trucks, and all types of mischief. You are quicker than the speed of lightning getting into "meshes" (messes), as you call them. And, just as quick getting out of them. You light up our lives everytime you smile at us. We absolutely adore how you love to sing to us and we can't get enough of it. We love how you sound out every letter in every word when you say, "I D-O-N-'T W-A-N-T I-T!"

You captivate us with your shy smile when you know we are talking about you, yet you crave the attention, and we can't help but give it to you. Your snuggles are priceless and can melt the coldest of hearts. Thinking about you brings a huge smile to our faces and warms our heart to no end. We love you endlessly, sweet baby. Thank you for being such a huge part of our lives.

Never in our wildest dreams, two years ago, did we ever imagine that a little person could completely and totally wrap us around their finger the way you have. You definitely make our lives complete and fill everyday with an adventure in living with AJ. Yet, we'd have it no other way, even if it means that when your Daddy walks into your bedroom after you've been asleep for 2 hours to check in on you and your brother, he finds that you have stripped down to your birthday suit and have fallen asleep that way. So cute that he had to come running and say, "You've got to go look at AJ." I did and of course, I had to run and grab the camera to take a picture.

You are a treasure in our lives. There is no way that we could ever imagine life without you. We love you....we love you....we love you....as much as the whole wide world, and back again!

Happy 2nd birthday, baby boy.

Mama and Daddy

Here are a couple of videos we took today. One is of AJ singing Happy Birthday, but after spending all day singing it to himself, he thought he'd be cute and switch it to Anna when we were recording.

The other is of him eating his cupcake. Needless to say, he was much more interested in the cupcake than he was in chatting. Enjoy!

(PLEASE REMEMBER TO SCROLL DOWN TO TURN OFF BACKGROUND MUSIC.)