Lazy Sunday........

It's Sunday, and we are being so lazy..........  No really, all the kids and myself are at the trampoline park and we are still wearing our pajamas😂.  Our weeks are always so busy with school and work, sports practice for the boys and dance for Tay, studying, cleaning, yard work, meal prep, etc......  You all get it, sometimes it's nice to just have a lazy day.  So today, I do not even feel bad that none of us showered, did our hair, or even got dressed before we left the house.  I feel like a bit of a rebel, but I also know that tomorrow the crazy race starts all over and I won't have a chance to be lazy.  Happy Sunday everyone!

Colorblind.........

I have always told my kids that I am colorblind because when it comes to skin color, I am colorblind. So, a couple of weeks ago this was a conversation I had with the kids........

Tayvia: "Mommy, the boys are lying and tell me that you are colorblind".

Mom: "I am colorblind".

Paxton: (points to a green piece of paper) "What color is this paper"?

Mom: "Green".

Tayvia & Paxton: "See you are not colorblind"

Mom: "I am colorblind about skin color".

Tayvia: "What color is my skin"?

Mom: "The same as yours".

Tayvia: "No mommy, I am brown and you are white"!

Mom: "That's not how it works in my world.  We are all the same skin color".

Kyser: "What mom is really saying is that she is metaphorically color blind".

Mom:  "Yep, that smart thing that Kyser just said"!!!!!

I L💜VE them so much and all of their curiosity and purity 😍!!!

Friends are the BEST!

I am so blessed to have many dear friends.  I am also lucky to live in Arizona, which is a winter  destination for many of my northern friends.  I recently got to see one of my favorite people and it made be so very happy😁.  Thank you so much Jill for taking time out of your vacation schedule to spend with me.  It means the world to me when I get to spend time with wonderful people!  This girl right here is a true gem and she truly makes the world a better place💜.

Sometimes I just do not understand.........

Sometimes I just do not understand why certain things happen.  3 years ago I lost a very dear friend to cancer.  Now, another one of my favorite people on the planet has also been diagnosed.  These amazing women were and are my age!  It just does not make sense.  Why God do these things happen?  And I know there are so many of us that wonder why we and the ones we love must weather these storms?  The only thing I take comfort in knowing is that God is the almighty healer, the supreme doctor, and the one who is in control of it all.  So, I am grateful that God is on my friend's side and he will carry her through this diagnosis and time of needed healing for her body.  I also know that I need to be so grateful for all of my many blessings and to take care of my body because it is the only vessel that I have to get me through my time here on earth.  Many prayers to all of the people who need healing in this world🙏.

Spring Break

We were lucky to have our family come visit us over Spring Break!  It was so nice being able to spend time with them and enjoy some nice weather!  Of course we took our cousins to do one of our favorite things-feed the ducks🦆.  It was hard to go back to work and school after all this fun!!!!

Instant Family

I got to spend the past 4 days with the kids because they were on Spring Break.  It's always so fun to see them interact, fight, then love on each other, etc.  We love watching movies so in addition to see "Captain Marvel" in the theaters (which was great), we also bought the movie "Instant Family".  We had seen it in theaters a couple months back but it was fun to re-watch it while we were all bundled up together on the couch.  Of course, the kids are super curious about adoption, and this movie was great for us to watch in order for them to understand a bit better.  Now, the movie was about adopting 3 kids out of foster care (hence the title Instant Family), but there were several times during the movie when they would ask "hey mom, did you have to do that in order to adopt us"?  Naturally I would say yes, and then they would be surprised that I had to do those same things.  For instance, taking parenting classes and being CPR and First Aid certified.  Which is interesting to me because nothing is required to carry and birth a child.  I know people have said to me before, "oh yeah you became a parent the easy way".  Let me break this down, adopting is not easy in any way.  It is true that the physical parts of pregnancy and child birth are not present, but the emotional toil is almost unbearable.  And then there's the continual moments throughout life when people stare at us and ask me questions like "where were they born".......  But, adoption has been the most amazing gift that God has ever given me so I don't care if people stare or ask me ridiculous questions.  These are my kids and I wouldn't trade them for the world! I love you so much Kyser, Paxton, and Tayvia💙💚💜

Family Time

We are so very blessed to have an amazing family who all love to come visit us (more often than not in the winter because they come from North Dakota).  My sister, niece, and nephew arrived late on Thursday night and we spent all day yesterday playing because my kids are on Spring Break.  I used to get anxious about a mess in my house, but as I get older, I have learned to embrace the chaos and the mess.  It really is better than being in this big house all by myself.  So today, I am grateful for family time that leads to a mess🙏💚💛💙💜🖤.

Fierce

As Tayvia and I were laying in her the other night, the is how our conversation unfolded...........

Tayiva: "Mommy, what does that say"?  (She was pointing to one of the signs on her wall).

Mom: "And though she be but little, she is fierce".  (Which is by Shakespeare)

Tayvia: "What does that mean"?

Mom: "It means that even though you are little, you are strong and tough".

Tayvia: "But mommy, I am not as tough as Kyser".

Mom: "Kyser is 10 and your big brother.  You do not need to be as tough as him.  Ok Tay, here's a question for you.  If someone were to come along and try to hurt your puppies, what would you do?"

Tayvia: "I would twist their arm and throw them on the ground"! (With a glare in her eye and without even thinking twice).

Mom: "Point proven"!

Keep being fierce Tayvia Rose and don't ever change!!!  Love you to the moon and back baby girl😘

Faith in Humanity

I am in need of a faith in humanity restoration today!  After disappointment, we all struggle with moving forward and finding the good in people again.  And in a world of social media and news where it seems that all we hear are the bad things (shootings, road rage, crashed planes, the chaos of our government, etc.), it often feels good to hear a story about people doing the right thing.  So, here are some examples that will make you start to believe there are still good people in the world!  Have a blessed Monday🙏!

Life Can Be Full of Disappointments

Throughout life, there are always going to be ups and downs-like a rollercoaster.  For me, the greatest disappointments are those in which people we love and bring into our circle turn out to be someone different than they portrayed themselves to be.  I would say one of my greatest attributes and downfalls is the fact that I am too trusting.  It's great because I don't ever pass judgements on people, but it's also bad because I get the carpet pulled out from under my feet sometimes.  But through it all, I have learned to weather the storm and that I am ultimately stronger than I ever believed myself to be.  So today, I will gather my strength and move on with life.  I have an amazing family, network of friends, and the most awesome kids on the planet.  And of course, God's always got my back and I know he has plans for me that I cannot see at this time 🙏.  I will continue to Walk By Faith👣........

Boy Mom

I love being a mom, and for the first four years of my mom life, I only had boys.  So I am accustomed to boys.  My boys have really grown into their personalities this past year and I love sitting back and just watching them be themselves.  Here are conversations I had this week with each of the boys:

Kyser: "Mommy, I want to go to work with you this week".

Mom: "Ok, I would love you to come with me.  What made you want to do that instead of spend your Spring Break lounging at home"?

Kyser: "Well mom, you told me that you would pay me $5/hour to come work with you and I really need to get that quick cash💰"!

Mom: "😂.  Ok buddy, I will put you to work this week"!
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Paxton: "Mom, here's a joke for you.........  Your mama is so stupid that she took Snoop Dog for a walk"!

Mom: "😂"!!!!!
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I do not know where they learn this stuff, but I love that they keep me laughing.  Love you boys😘

I L💜VE This Girl!

I cannot tell you how much I love my dog Sally.  She came to me two years ago during a very rough period in my life and she was MY rescue dog.  Isn't it great how our pets always love us unconditionally and are SO excited to see us?  Sally is my kids first pet and her name was chosen by them.  This is how they picked her name:

Mom: "Ok kids, as long as you can agree on a name for a girl dog, we will use that name" (I was expecting this process to take days considering all 3 kids had to agree).

3 minutes later............................................

Kyser (the spokesperson): "Mommy, we picked a name.  We want to name her Sally.  We know how much you love and miss your friend Sally so we want you to always have Sally around from now on".

At this point I start to tear up because this gesture by my kids was incredibly sweet and thoughtful.  You see, Sally was one of my dearest friends from dental school.  One of the top 5 nicest people I have ever known.  A couple years after we graduated, she was diagnosed with a rare lymphoma and after a valiant 18 month fight, she lost her battle with cancer.  I was devastated😭.  So the fact that my kids named our dog Sally makes this dog extra special to me.

Now, here's another crazy thing.  I have never had a personal opinion on reincarnation.  I didn't believe or nor believe in it.  But let me tell you something, my dog is my girlfriend reincarnated and she brings me comfort in ways that no one else can.  I thank God all the time for bringing Sally back to me😊.

So today is Sally's 2nd birthday.  Happy Birthday my beloved dog🐶!!!!!!!!!!!

Some Days I Wonder........

Some days I wonder what it would be like to be a man.  No, I do not want to be a man.  I wonder if I would encounter the same struggles if I were a man.  For example, as a female dentist working in a co-located business which is predominantly male, I think that I encounter struggles that a man in my position would not.  There have been times in which I have been told to do something, to which my response was "no thanks"(for a good reason), and then I am the difficult person in the room.  I think that a strong men are seen as a leaders and a strong woman are seen a pushy, needy, b*^#hy (I have been called all of these and even more).  I just wish that gender could be removed as a factor on how we react to and treat people and we could just take people at face value.  I am so grateful that my parents always taught me that I can do anything a man can do, and I believe this to my core.  So when I get treated a certain kind of way just because I am a female, it gets me a little worked up.  

Not only do we get treated differently, we also make less money.  "According to data from the US Census Bureau, the average gender pay gap in the United States is around 19.5%, meaning that, on average, a woman earns 80.5% less than her male counterpart. That gap can be larger or smaller depending on the state someone lives in" (https://www.businessinsider.com/gender-wage-pay-gap-charts-2017-3#the-gender-wage-gap-varies-widely-depending-on-the-state-1).  So to all of my women out there, stay strong.  Our time is coming when we really will be true equals to men.  To all the men out there, please see women as your equal and treat them no differently than you would your male counterparts.  In reality, we are all working for the same greater good!

Thank you Rosa Parks for not only advocating for racial equality but also for gender equality!

We Love our Grandparents💚

We are so lucky to have our Grandparents come visit us often.  They are the perfect blend of fun and spoiling so we are all in 7th heaven while they are here!  This past weekend, they helped us celebrate mommy's birthday and we also spent some good quality time outdoors.  Grandma and Grandpa live in North Dakota so our 70-80 degree weather all weekend had them wanting to soak up the sun 😎.  We enjoyed watching the boys play Lacrosse on Saturday and were also able to get new sneakers for all of the kids because they are growing like weeds!  On Sunday, Grandpa took the kids fishing while Grandma made brownies (everyones favorite) and later painted Tayvia's nails.  Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for everything you do for us!  We love you so much 💚

About Last Week........

Last week was brutal!  I am still tired from last week and it's already time to start this week😳.  The Lacrosse practice schedule switched at the last minute on Monday and that began the craziness of the week.  I also had a very busy/interesting/challenging week at work and when that happens, I am exhausted by the time I get home and start my second job as mom/chauffeur/chef/maid/etc........  One good impromptu move that the kids and I made was leaving the house early one morning before school and stopping by Starbucks for breakfast.  We don't do this very often so it really was a treat to sip our coffee/tea and eat breakfast🍵🌯.  When life gets crazy, I need to slow down if even for a couple minutes to enjoy breakfast with my favorite people on the planet🖤.  Thank you to my sister for sending the Starbucks gift card for my birthday!

This Warms My Heart 💙

I cannot explain how much it warms my heart to watch my boys growing up together.  They are only 11 months apart in age.  As I look back at the decision to adopt 2 babies in less than a year, it truly seems like complete insanity.  I was a 3rd year dental student when Kyser was born (right before Christmas) and a 4th year dental student when Paxton was born (right before Thanksgiving).  What in the world was I thinking?  You know what, I wasn't thinking.  I was simply walking by faith and I knew that God had a plan that was greater than my wildest dreams.  I mean, who is so blessed to adopt 2 amazing little boys in less than a year?  That's right - this all happened because it was all part of God's divine plan.  Don't get me wrong, the argue ad fight like any siblings would, but they truly are each others best friends.  If one of them were to be picked on by someone else, the other brother would be the first one helping to defend.  And as the years go by and I get to see my boys getting closer and closer, it makes my heart smile 💙😁.  It's especially fun watching them play sports together.  They are both getting so big and handsome.  I am the luckiest mama on the planet!