Celebrations

What started as a quick bath for Caleb ended up like this...

It's so nice to have kids who love each other!

This has been will be a fun past/next few days. Saturday, my brother's family, ours and my parents went out to eat at a great Mexican resteraunt called Ted's to celebrate my parents

40 years of marraige!!! Thanks, mom and dad, for being an awesome example of commitment and growth. We kept hoping Buddy would finish up work in time to join us, but not so. So, we had 5 adults and 6 six kids ages 7 1/2 months to 12 yrs. (What happened to "never let the children out number the adults?) While we were waiting to go in, Vince Gill and the band piled out of a limo and ended up sitting 2 tables away. Alas, no pics! We did get a most-of-the-family photo, which I might try to photo shop to include Buddy. =0)During dinner, since Catherine was extremely hungry, she inhaled her food and then came over to my mom and said she felt "a little chokey." So off to the bathroom we ran, where we sat on the floor waiting. Nothing happened in the stall, but soon I heard a crying child entering the restroom and knew it was Caleb. Why, oh why did I not bring a paci? He was our dinner music off and on.

Samuel and Gabriel are quite the characters when they are together and have a difficult time eating without goofing around. Notice what Samuel decided to do to help pass the time while we were waiting for our food to be served. How nice of Ted's to provide unlimited tortillas!

11 years ago Sunday, Buddy asked me, on this very bench, to marry him (we think! there are 3 benches in close proximity and it's hard to recall, amidst all the emotions, the very one.) Just look what happened in 11 years!

Buddy had a birthday today, but since the kids thought we should celebrate when we had more time together, we celebrated yesterday. Then they decided we should write a note to excuse him from work today! He'll be home early, so we'll have to settle for that. We made his favorite meal along with some awesome chocolate cake- eggless and milkless for all the allergy conscious, which we're not. It just happened to be a cake I could make quickly without a box mix on hand.

Tomorrow Hannah Joy will be 3! Oh, how we wish we could be celebrating with her. The good news is that this is the last birthday she will ever be without her forever family. I think that's a good way to think about the waiting- the last May she'll be without us, the last Mother's Day she'll not be with her mom, etc. Happy Birthday, sweet girl!!! We're coming as fast as we can!!!