We’ll begin from the entrance point.

A couple of years ago, my mother-in-law gave us this gigantic stuffed ladybug embroidered with those little valentine hearts with messages on them all over her body.  We still love the M-i-L, but seriously, how tacky is this thing?

And how PERFECT for a creepy greeting to the newly-returned couple.  It says “oh, yes, we most certainly did do unspeakable things to your place while you were away.  Welcome home!”

And welcomed they were.  Here are their happy faces upon airport pickup (which fell to me, since guess who’s home during the day and available for such things… ah, the irony).

That’s not to imply they’re naive.  No.  They know.  And here’s the first glimpse of their interior:

It’s great that they’re so up-beat about it all.  ‘Cause here’s what we did…

1.  It’s not your grandmother’s crotchet project.

In every – and we do mean EVERY – room of the house.  It’s remarkable how little yarn costs at the Dollar Store.

2. Got Mice?

(I sincerely hope this is one of the [half dozen or so] gummy rodents they have already located.  Otherwise, I’ve just helped them out.  And we wouldn’t want that…)

3.  Wall of Horror

This one is going to make no sense to anyone who doesn’t know Amy’s #1 verbal cringe-trigger:  any word that contains “ipple” in it.  I was told this was the FIRST prank to be taken down.  That’s how powerful it was.   Cost me $5 at the Family Dollar.  Success!

4.  Good luck with that “Quiet Night In!”

Our friend Ethan and the twins very meticulously moved every one of their DVD’s to another case.

5.  Oh the things you can do with clothing.

          a)  Turn them all inside-out and re-hang/fold them and put them away (pictured below, our friend Leila, industriously flipping)

          b)  Slip mothballs into all the pockets, so Chris has to go to work smelling like an old, old man  (actually, this one back-fired a bit… turns out the smell of mothballs makes him nauseous… oopsies!)

          c)  ”How Do I Look?” – prank version.  Gonna NOT post those pix for all blogsterity to see.  But we took pictures of ourselves in their clothes doing our best impressions of their mannerisms, all around their house.  Nothing says “we were here” like an album full of your best friends and relatives all gussied up in your wardrobe.

6. Clinkity-clink-clink clink.

2,000 tiny beads + medicine cabinets, shelves, and other assorted surfaces.

In case you’re wondering, yes, we’re still friends siblings. 

Birthday Dinner at Pachanga Cocina Mexicana

We redeemed their free birthday meals at Pachanga the Sunday before their birthday.  Sorry for the grainy pictures; I only had my cell phone camera.

Yes, the icecream dessert is about the size of José’s head:

Diving in:

Fortunately, only Bear likes maraschino cherries, so there’s no debate who gets it:

See those two blurs?  Those are their maracas.  No, it was not a quiet dinner. 

Una Fiesta

Later that day, the Hispanic ministry of which we are part threw a joint birthday pool party for the twins and for their friend Nicole whose birthday just happens to be the day after theirs.  Piñata and all!

Everyone got in on the action, from the littlest to the adults…

… well, except for this one.  But she gets a pass; she’s only one month old.

Birthday Mamas – Ana (right) and me – and our friend Reyna.  I would like to point out that despite my appearance  (and actual heritage), I am NOT the one “shakin’ my shamrock.” 

Birthday at the Fair

For their actual birthday on the 19th, the boys wanted to have their Tío Steven over for a sleepover and then go someplace fun, so we hit a local county fair with some friends, bought the all-you-can-ride wristbands, and stayed till 10 p.m.! 

And then the Actual, Official Birthday Party We Planned

… was another pool party.  And I have a thing about putting kids online in swimwear, so I won’t.  But I do have one shot I’m happy to show you:  the other mamarazzi – my mother-in-law.  We love her.

Oh, and the enormous pile of gifts (that’s me trying desperately to write down who gave what for thank-you note purposes).

So, yeah, that’s where I’ve been for the last week and a half.  The boys are officially 6 years old!  And it OUGHTA be official… what with all this celebrating…

Feliz Cumpleaños, Mis Hijos.

For any of you local to Maryland, they fly over twice – the Tuesday and Wednesday of Commissioning Week (always listed on the USNA website).  Tuesday’s fly-over is the practice run and usually ends up starting later than the 2 p.m. listed start-time.  Wednesday’s is the actual show.  We’ve done both, and aside from parking being harder to find on Wednesday, the shows are equally great.  We usually sit right near the water, so the boys get some climbing-on-the-rocks-and-watching-the-boats time in while we wait for the show to start.

There’s nothing quite like having fighter jets doing loops right over your head!  (There’s also nothing quite that loud, so we take earplugs just in case the boys want them.)

This year came with an unexpected bonus, though.  The pilots of the U.S. Coast Guard helicopter that always stands at-the-ready during the show let the kids climb inside!  Most of us PARENTS have never been in a chopper, but the twins and their friends have!

Almost made up for the fact that when we arrived at the visitor’s center a very by-the-book guard made us return to our van with our blankets and football – because we had chosen to carry them in a backpack.  The backpack itself being not allowed – the contents were fine.  (!!!Fake “security” measures drive me nuts!!!)  Oh well, I’ll be prepared to bring nothing in hand next year.  Other than the boys’ die cast Blue Angels and my camera, which come every year, of course.

Three years running, and many more to come, I hope!

(2008 – Nice ‘plugs, right?)

(2009 – Model Angels in-hand, Chopper out of reach)

(2010 – No more chubby cheeks or poochy tummies!    )

Today is our kids’ 3^rd “Gotcha Day.”  For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s the third anniversary of when we “got” them, the day we first met our sons.

January 22, 2007.  Even when I’m old and senile, I’m pretty sure I will not forget that day.  Two little men came toddling into the lobby of our hotel in Guatemala City, clutching their foster mom’s hands with one hand and photos of us in their other.

Tiny two and a half year olds (the size of one year olds by U.S. growth chart standards).  Huge brown eyes, chubby cheeks, dark brown hair, bow-shaped lips.

And when they stopped in front of us, they looked down at their pictures, up at us… then up some more, since we’re so tall compared to what they were used to in Guatemala … and declared “Mamá.  Papá.”

And so our names were assigned to us by our own kids.

It’s the adoption equivalent to the just-after-birth moment.  Not everything sank in right away.  We felt like we were just the babysitters or something for the first week.  And they didn’t know what was going on.  No, it was a long while before “We + They” equaled “Normal.”

But that was the day that we became a united family.

So every year on January 22^nd, we look back and celebrate.  We let them pick how we celebrate, each time, so this year we’re going to Medieval Times, since they’re really into knights and battles… and eating. 

And every January, I pull out their “treasure boxes” which I filled with souvenirs from that trip, pictures, the outfits and shoes they were wearing, and the first toys we gave them that day.

Then we grab their scrapbooks and re-read their stories.

Amazingly, they can still fit into the outfits.  Yes, the pants are way too short and their tummies show, but the only ridiculously-tiny items are their old shoes.  Any year now I’m going to have to settle for the “hold them up in front of you and smile!” shot, but not yet.  Still, how quickly three years have passed.

On the other hand, though, it seems like they’ve been with us forever.

“Happy 3^rd Gotcha Day!” to two of the greatest loves of my life.  I’m so glad God gave us the privilege of being your parents.  You are more than we ever could have dreamed of in sons.

Los amo con todo mi corazón,

- Mamá

When we got married, Fred’s mom assigned us Christmas Eve dinner as “our” holiday (his oldest sister Lisa has Thanksgiving with her husband … we’re still waiting for his other older sister Kathryn to get hers. [Hey Kath!])  Then Christmas Day begins with just the four of us here, a brunch at Fred’s mom’s, back to our house to host my side of the family, and then the end-of-day hang-out with friends so we can decompress and review the highlights (or funniest moments).

This year’s biggest surprise for the twins didn’t actually involve spending money.  They’ve been dying to watch the Star Wars movies for quite some time now, but we thought they were a little young.  Then this year they managed to check out every Early Reader book on Star Wars the county library system has to offer, memorized all the characters, and saved up their allowance money jointly to buy Lego Star Wars for the Wii, thus gaining knowledge of much of the plotline of the series.  And for his final oral presentation at our co-op, Bear gave a persuasive speech about why he should be allowed to watch the Star Wars movies.  And he had good points.

So their surprise was that we borrowed the whole set of six movies from a friend, and we’re going to watch them over the course of the week while Fred’s off work.

And I found some really cute costumes for their favorite stuffed animals to go along with the theme.  Those did cost money, as Fred keeps reminding me.  ‘Cause they were from “Build A Bear Workshop.”  Not cheap.  But I tell myself they’re getting the $12/apiece worth of enjoyment out of them. 

Hope you all had a great holiday, as well!

34th Street, Baltimore

The Snow Held All the Way Till Christmas!  (and then got rained away in a day…)

Table Set…

…And we had a kids’ table this year (when did I get this old?!!!)

The big people’s table (Fred’s side of the family), minus me:

Here I am!  (mamarazzi)

My knights (who ate their Nerf swords, no lie, so we’ll see if we can manage not to kill each other with wooden ones)

Switching to a Western motif , with their favorite cousin

Christmas morning (pre-coffee, if you can’t tell from Fred’s face) 

A very excited José, showing his monkey his new Darth Vader outfit

The best-dressed stuffed animals on our block

My side of the fam (minus Fred… gotta use the tripod one of these times!)

A handsome sibling set, if a proud firstborn does say so herself!

Off to bed…

… but yes, they were all ready for Star Wars this morning when we woke up!

Some of the best things in life are free (thx, TÍo Chris!)

For now, though, here’s the story of the First Christmas, foreshortened a bit by this Mama who’s about done spending time with hot glue and toilet paper tubes! 

The Christmas Story

(Taken from Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2: 1-40, Matthew 2:1-21)

During the reign of King Herod of Judea, God sent an angel named Gabriel to the home of a young woman named Mary who lived in the town of Nazareth in Galilee.

He said to her, “Greetings, highly favored one!  The Lord is with you.”

Mary  was startled and a little bit scared.  But the angel said to her, “Don’t be frightened.  God loves you very much and is pleased with how you are living your life.  He is going to give you a child – a son – and you are to name him Jesus.  He will be unlike any other person and will be called the Son of God.  He will be the King over God’s people forever.”

“How can this happen?” Mary asked, “I am a virgin.”

 The angel explained, “Nothing is impossible with God.  The Holy Spirit will come and make this happen, so that the child to be born will be called the Son of God.”

 Mary answered, “I am the Lord’s servant; so let everything happen as you have said.”  And Gabriel left her.

 Now Mary was engaged to marry a man named Joseph,

but when he found out she was having a baby and knew it was not his child, he planned to break off the engagement quietly.  He was a good man and though he was upset, he did not want to publicly humiliate Mary for what she had done.  But after he had made his decision, an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him about God’s plan and Mary’s role as Jesus’ mother.

“She will have a son, God’s Son, and you are to name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” the angel told Joseph.  When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel had told him and married Mary and brought her into his home.

But during that time, the Roman ruler, Caesar Augustus, decided he wanted to count all the subjects in his empire, so he issued a decree that everyone man had to take his family and go to his home town to register.  So Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he was one of David’s descendants.  There were so many travelers in Bethlehem, however, that they could not find any place to stay.  Mary was very close to having her baby, and finally, one of the innkeepers felt sorry for them and offered them the use of his stable.

While they were there, Jesus was born.  Mary wrapped him up in strips of cloth and put him in a manger.

Just outside of town, there were shepherds living out in the fields, taking care of their sheep that night. 

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the space around him lit up.  The shepherds were terrified!  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.  I have great news to tell you!  Today, in Bethlehem, a Savior has been born; he is Christ the Lord.  You’ll know it’s him: he’s wrapped up in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 Suddenly, a crowd of angels appeared, calling out “Glory to God in heaven, and peace on earth for his chosen people.” 

When the angels left, the shepherds hurried into Bethlehem to see this baby about whom they’d been told.  They found Joseph, Mary, and little Jesus lying in the manger.

They were so excited they told everyone they passed as they returned to their sheep.  The people who heard them were surprised!  But Mary quietly thought about everything in her heart.

Eight days after his birth, it was time for Jesus to be circumcised and dedicated to the Lord, so Mary and Joseph took him to the Temple in Jerusalem.

There was a holy man in Jerusalem named Simeon who sensed the Holy Spirit prompting him to visit the Temple that day.  God had promised Simeon that he would not die before seeing the promised Messiah.  When he saw Jesus, he knew this was the One, so he took him in his arms and thanked God for him. 

That same day, there was also a prophetess named Anna who lived in the Temple and was waiting for the Messiah.  When she met Mary and Joseph and Jesus, she knew he was the One, and she also thanked God for him.

Meanwhile, Magi from the east had seen a star in the sky and traveled to Jerusalem looking for a newborn king. 

They arrived at King Herod’s palace, expecting the baby to be there.  But King Herod knew nothing about it and was very worried because he didn’t want a new king to have been born.  He asked the chief priests and teachers of the law to tell him where the Christ was to be born, and they told him, “in Bethlehem.”

So King Herod called the Magi back to meet with him secretly, and he told them to go to Bethlehem, find the child, and then report back to him so he could go worship him too.  The wise men went on their way, following the star till it stopped over the house where Jesus and his parents were.  They were overjoyed to meet him, and they gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 

But they were warned in a dream not to return to King Herod, so the wise men went home a different way.

When they had left, God sent an angel to warn Joseph in a dream to take Mary and Jesus and run away to Egypt because Herod was jealous of Jesus and wanted to kill him.  So Joseph packed up his family, and they fled.

Herod soon realized he had been tricked by the Magi and that they weren’t coming back.  Furious, he ordered his soldiers to go to Bethlehem and to the villages around it and to kill every boy who was two years old or younger.  He would be the only king, he thought.

But God had already protected Jesus and his parents and they were safely out of the way of Herod’s soldiers.  Once Herod died, an angel visited Joseph in another dream and told him it was safe to return to Israel.  But when Joseph heard that Herod’s son Archelaus was the new king, he decided to avoid Judea and took Mary and Jesus to Galilee instead.  And so Jesus grew up in Nazareth.

—————————————————————————- 

(The Whole Cast)

Our Thanksgiving Craft – Native American Headband Napkin Rings:

Sometimes, the little thermometer thing never does pop up, and then you gotta stab the turkey a few times…

After ensuring that no food poisoning would occur:

Kids all tucked in for the night.  Cheers!

The picture that will, no doubt, be showing up in our Christmas cards/emails (the one-time-annually good pic of all 4 of us):

The boys and TÍa Lori making Thanksgiving Dinner for their stuffed animals:

Little photog in-training (my niece) - Yea!  There will be more than one of me!

The inlaws:

Thanksgiving Night Kid-aoke

Hope most of you got some great deals on the awesome sales this weekend!  I’ll have to just live vicariously this time around.

It started in 2007, the year we brought them home.  Because Fred and I had been hoping to get them here by Christmas 2006 or at least shortly thereafter, we never took down our trees.  (We have two – remnants of our pre-marital days when we each owned homes.)  Consequently, H & J came home on January 25th, 2007 to brightly lit trees and a bunch of wrapped gifts.  They liked how pretty they were but had no idea what Christmas meant here, so they actually left the gifts alone until we felt ready to host the extended family for a belated Christmas party. In mid-February.

But, oh, once they figured out what presents were!  Christmas was the greatest thing they’d ever heard of!  (at least till they experienced a birthday party later that year)

So in October ‘07, somebody (we’ll blame Fred’s mom…it was probably her) mentioned that Christmas was coming again!  The boys couldn’t contain themselves, and they begged me to put up the tree.  And because they were so darned cute with their little Spanish accents and all that, I couldn’t say no.

Then on October 31st, my sisters experienced a house fire at their place, and one of them came to live with us for what turned out to be a year while their house was put back together.  She told me a few days after the fire that even though she had been so upset about what had happened, when she came to crash on our couch that night and the Christmas lights were on, it was really comforting on an otherwise horrible night.

She was still with us the following October, but it seemed like she’d be moving back home in November, so of course we had to put the trees back up early, so she could enjoy them one more time before she moved home.

I’m a sentimental sucker.  Yes, I know.

So this year, the precedent has kind of been set.  No, we don’t have any extra houseguests, and sadly the Spanish accents and chubby cheeks are things of the past.  But the little men are still awfully cute, so when they asked to put up our tree this afternoon, I found myself back out in the garage hauling out rubbermaid tubs that really ought to be Fred’s job to carry.  I think he’s gotten used to just coming home to a lit tree at some random point in the Fall.

I realize we’re skipping over a few key dates of significance in our haste, but nevertheless “Merry Octobermas from our Family to Yours!”