Proof!

Just in case anyone didn't believe me when I told them I went alone to Sea World on Sunday, October 21, 2007, here's a picture.



I met up with the Kindred Souls of Florida which is a Yahoo group geared for families with children who have been adopted internationally. We have families who have adopted in China, Vietnam, Guatemala, and Taiwan, just to name a few countries. We get together at least once a month for a fun outing. We have enjoyed getting to know the other families in our group, and especially have enjoyed following the journey's everyone has taken.

I went without Dan last Sunday because he had to fly up to Atlanta for work. The boys were great, and we were able to stay about three and a half hours. I used my awesome Babyhawk
for much of our trip out there, and the boys managed to get decent naps either in the stroller, or in the Babyhawk. We even did a little trick-or-treating at Spooktacular. Unfortunatly they didn't give any good candy away. :P

Have we mentioned that they're walking???

Matthew, closing in for the attack.

Not to be outdone, Nicholas runs to attack as well.

Remember us?

Yeah, yeah. I know no one reads this blog to hear about what Dan and I are doing. That's okay. We're quickly becoming used to being known as "the twin's parents", or "you're the couple that adopted the twins from Vietnam". (Seriously. We get called that!)

In case anyone has forgotten what WE look like, here's a picture that was taken at a wedding last month. (Dancing to "If You Could See What I See", which we had sung at our own wedding six years ago.)

Light a candle, say a prayer...

I imagine that most people don't know what today is. Of course, everyone knows the date is October 15th, but as of last year Congress passed a resolution to support a national day of remembrance for pregnancy and infant loss. For many of us it's a special day. The following words are from the website October15th.com: Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day is to promote Support, Education and Awareness for grieving parents nationwide (and worldwide).

Too many families grieve in silence, sometimes never coming to terms with their loss. Our goal is to help others relate to our loss, know what to say, do or not say, not do and to help families live with their loss, not "get over" their loss.

As I reflect on the idea of this day, it feels bittersweet. Right now I am listening to my two children playing downstairs. They are laughing, squealing and generally getting into mischief. Those are the sounds of pure joy. But if not for the losses that Dan and I have suffered through, I would not be given the privilege of having those sweet noises filling my house. So today I am thankful. Thankful to Alex, Nathaniel, Emma & Samantha for giving me the gift of Nicholas and Matthew. Thankful for the friends we have because of all our children. Tonight, at 7:00pm, light a candle in remembrance of those we have lost. We will.

Pumpkin Patch

On Tuesday, October 9th, I managed to join GOMOTT, the local twins club, at a local pumpkin patch. It was so fun to dress the three of us alike, and do a little exploring around all of the pumpkins and other goodies that the patch had.

On the left, Matthew stands up to explore the basket of fall gourds. Nicholas, on right, kept an eye on me to make sure he wasn't getting left behind!











Matthew gets a closer look at one of the gourds in the basket.












Not the greatest picture in the world, but have YOU tried to take pictures of eight month old twins by yourself???? Matthew's on the left, and Nicholas is on the right. The photographer who was there taking pictures for the club came over and complimented me getting "creative" with the boys. In reality, it was the only way I could get them in the same place at the same time, in hopes to get a picture of them together. :-) (By the way, the patch calls those tiny pumpkins Spookies!)


Nicholas takes a moment to try climbing over the pumpkins! I do think the boys had a good time at the pumpkin patch, and I hope we'll be able to go with Dan before Halloween.


















Matthew enjoys the straw more than story time!











If you want to see more pictures from our visit to the Pumpkin Patch, and any other pictures taken in October, check out our picture pages. Eventually I'll remember my how to log in to the gallery and upload the rest! (Quite possibly after I've had more than three hours of sleep)

Six Years!

The MacDonald family has gone from this:

October 13, 2001

to this, in just six years!

October 13, 2007

Happy anniversary to us!