Big Brother!

Alex is our oldest child.  He has always filled the role of "big brother" like a pro. He is such a good role model for his younger brothers and sisters. Alex was quite shy as a young boy and he has a more introverted personality, but when he is with his siblings he is is quite the opposite.  They have always had so much fun together...

Dancing, singing, playing practical jokes on each other (like Operation Octopus!).

Playing tickle torture, video games, and board games. 

 He has shared his love of music with them.  In fact, they were his first audience. 

He has read countless books to them, with voices for the characters :-)

He has made time to sit and talk with them, to get to know them.

He has carried them to many destinations, pushed them in strollers for miles, and held them for hours.

He has encouraged them to be creative.

Alex, has always let his brothers and sisters know how much he loves them.  

He has always been proud to be called their big brother. 

He has been so patient...

So gentle...

So loving...

So in awe of them...

So protective...

So nurturing...

Alex always has been and always will be a blessing his brothers and sisters. 

He has always been there for them and he always will.  He is loyal.

He is kind.

He is full of adventure.

 He is compassionate...

He is goofy...

He is affectionate...

He is brother....

 And we love him so!

The Yellow-Haired Younglings

Our wedding day.

Alex and Amanda were very young when Pete and I got married. We wanted to make them feel special and start making family memories right from the beginning, so we took them on a honeymoon!

Alex and Amanda greeting us when we returned from our honeymoon. 

We went to Tampa and enjoyed a long weekend at the Florida Aquarium and Busch Gardens.  

I loved the kids' enthusiasm as they danced down the streets and splashed in the water. Their matching rainbow dolphin outfits were the cutest. Remember, it was the 1990's and matching rainbow dolphin outfits were so in then. Pete and I even considered wearing ours that day ;-)

We played hard each day. Amanda usually conked out mid-day, but Alex was ready to go!

Alex and Amanda became big time Veggie Tales fans that weekend after we watched our first episode. They belly laughed all throughout "The Fib From Outer Space." Those little faces! Rosey-cheeked and out of breath from laughter. I started calling them Yellow-Haired Younglings that weekend - a term of endearment that has lasted longterm and been shared with younger siblings.

Alex was a huge orange juice fan during those early days. First thing in the morning, he asked for his  cup of O.J..  Amanda loved apple juice and sneaking bites out of sticks of butter from the refrigerator.

The Florida Aquarium became an instant family favorite.  We have returned there many times over the years.

The original Yellow-Haired Younglings

I love remembering these times with the kids.  We started many traditions in those early days that we continue to enjoy now.  I hope some of those traditions are carried on to our future grandchildren.  Way, way in the future grandchildren ;-). 

Hugs, 

Melissa

A Little Slice of Heaven

As Alex, our oldest child, prepares to get married in a little over a month, Pete and I are looking through so many pictures, sharing so many memories, and joyfully reminiscing...

Every Friday at noon, the smell of fresh baked pizza wafted through the air at the Montessori school that I worked at as a speech therapist. The picnic tables were packed with preschoolers and young elementary-aged students sipping on Capri-Suns and enjoying the cheesy, greasy pizza goodness. Those Friday pizza lunches were the best because I got to pause my work day and sit with the preschoolers. Such a funny crowd those kids!

My lunch time conversations with Alex always cracked me up. We mostly talked about V. R. Troopers and Power Rangers. Actually, since he was a wee lad and couldn't say his "r's" or "l's" at that time, we talked about "B. Aw Twoopaws" and "Powa Wangaws", and my heart just melted like mozzarella cheese. Pete and I were engaged by that time and I was really blessed to be able to have those special lunches with my future son. After lunch, I would go to Amanda's classroom and rub her back as she drifted off to sleep on her naptime cot with her bunny blanket in her hand and her thumb in her mouth. Oh, such sweet times and cherished memories! 

P.S. For some reason, pizza has always been a special go to family meal for us. The first date that Pete and I took Alex and Amanda on was to get pizza. That first date was a little slice of heaven! 🍕🍕🍕

We ate pizza, got stickers out of the gum ball machine, went to the mall and rode the kiddie train a hundred times (all crammed in together), and went to the Disney store. Good times!

Boppsey Twins, Bird Voices, and Bonfires

Alex and his lovely bride-to-be, Kelsey

Our oldest son, Alex, is getting married in 40 days!!!

Holy-Hotdogs-How-Did-That-Happen?!?

Just yesterday he was asking Pete to tie his shoes during the middle of our wedding ceremony. Time flies when you are tying shoes...

Stopping to tie Alex's shoe during our wedding ceremony.

Our original Yellow-Haired Younglings

Please excuse me over these next 40 days as I talk about our Alex a bit (a lot). After all, he was our original Yellow-Haired Youngling. 

I used to be a speech therapist at the preschool that Alex attended, and since I worked with some of his classmates, I met Alex before I even met Pete.

Alex and Corey

Alex and his cousin Corey were like the Boppsey Twins on the playground. Both blonde, about the same height, ENDLESS energy! They could often be found on the top level of the wooden fort in the play yard. There they sat plotting and planning their next lizard catch, new ways to freak out the girls in their class, and comparing farts to burps. They also created a whole new way of communicating up in that fort. They began to use the most obnoxious sounds, that we affectionately dubbed "The Bird Voice". It drove the teachers nuts! It drove us parents bonkers! At school, at home, during family get togethers-they used "The Bird Voice" constantly. At one point, we actually had to ban "The Bird Voice" in order to preserve our sanity. Then they just moved on to other crazy cousin antics, like flushing Hot Wheels cars down the toilet and burning holes in their clothes around the family bonfire. 

Ahhh memories...

These two...

Firestarters!

Those teeth though...#chiclets

A Rose By Any Other Name is Still a Rose

Right up front, I just want to say that this post is not meant to be devisive.  I truly believe that the opinions expressed on this blog are my very own.  No Toms, Dicks, or Harrys need be offended, these are simply my musings.  To each his own, what's good for the goose is not always good for the gander, and so on and so forth, blah, blah, blah...

I have been a parent for 18 years now.  It has been the BEST job I have ever had.  Really, there has been nothing like investing in the lives of our children, all six of them. Watching them grow and change from day to day.  Watching them meet physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, and social milestones.  Hovering over them in seasons, letting them fly in others.  Always praying for them, rooting for them, and sometimes correcting them when warranted.  Being a parent is not for the faint of heart and I have definitely NOT "arrived".  I still have much to learn and our children are some of the best teachers.

One of the most important lessons that our kids have taught me is that love has no boundaries.  You can't place labels on love.  It is such a profound concept, a precious endless commodity.  Being a parent places you in the very essence of love. Specifically, being a mother, brings love that is so intense and all-consuming that it is sometimes hard to discern where I end and where my children begin.  I believe "mother love" is an "all-in" place of the heart and soul.

We have six children. Some were birthed from my womb.  Some were not birthed from my womb.  All were birthed in my heart.  All have had my heart from day one.  All have had my "mother love" heart and soul.  All have been called my children. My sons and daughters.  My cherished gifts from God. All have called me "Mom", "Mommy", "Mama", "Mother", "Madre".  None have called me, "Step Mom" or "Step Mother".  It's that simple.  Just like adopted children do not refer to their parents as "Adopted Mom" or "Adopted Dad".  As a sister of brothers, who were adopted, I have always known my brothers as my brothers.  As a daughter of a dad who didn't father me, I have always called my dad, "Dad". And the dad who fathered me was, "Dad" too. Both have always had my whole heart.

And I don't call my mother-in-law, "Mother-in-Law", she's "Mom" to me.  I have two loving, moms, actually I have many "mother figures" in my life.  You can never have too much "mother love", in my opinion.

Our six children are all brothers and sisters.  There's never been "half brother" this or "half sister" that.  They are wholly loved by each other.  This is truth in our family.

So, I know there are social niceties that dictate social gatherings and often introductions come with labels, but in our family, love has these labels:  Dad, Mom, Son, Daughter, Brother, Sister...Family.

Hugs,

Melissa