...a little {HOPE}

Love this!

{OUR} Avengers

Who needs these guys.......

When you have these {HEROES}.............................

Ethan & Nyah invited some friends over and they spent most of the day battling bad guys using Ethan's superhero gear! 
No more BAD GUYS around here!

{MISSION} impossible..

Wow!  Marty is amazing!  We just celebrated my 34th birthday and Marty pulled out all the stops!  But let me back up a bit...... Marty and I have always loved the Mission Impossible movies and just recently went and saw the 4th one which we loved.  So, knowing how much I dig Mission Impossible, he planned a birthday surprise for me that spanned over about 4 days.  He prepared {34} missions for me (or our family) to complete!  Oh,....it was so fun!  He even tape recorded some of the messages and true to form each one self-destructed in 5 seconds!  (the kids LOVED this!)   He gave a name to each mission and gave us each our own A.G.E.N.T. names which later changed to keep our identities secret (ha!)  It was so much fun and I am so grateful for a hubby who spends so much time making me feel special. 

Here are some of my favorite {MISSIONS}:

Agent Nyah Lo & Agent Hubby

Agent Ethan Jo & Agent Mommy

OPERATION Drink Run:  You will receive a phone call from Agent Hubby a.k.a Agent Daddy asking for your cooperation.  You will quickly acquire liquid refreshment at a discounted price, being "Thirsty Thursday," for each member of your team and safely transport it back to home base.

** this got me out of the house long enough for Marty to hide some gifts around the house and gear up!  When I returned he and the twins were decked out in agent apparel:  sunglasses, hats, and code names!  I came in and they were singing the mission impossible song.  I was pretty surprised to see how much Ethan and Nyah got into it!  It was hilarious! They outfitted me with my special hat and red sunglasses too! The next mission, the Italian Job, sent us to "Italy" which later brought us to the Olive Garden for dinner!  Yummo... We had to be quick because we had our Adoption Home Study scheduled that evening which is why Marty wrote this next mission....

OPERATION Amber Encounters of the Third Kind:  You will hear a knock at home base near the hour of 7:30.  Upon opening the door, you will greet a diplomat haling from LDS Family Services. (she is a spy)  You must put your best foot forward, as you notice she will ask to be shown around and will take notes of home base.  While this is very unusual, to allow so much Intel to be transcribed about home base, the opportunity to add another agent to our team is worthy of the risk.

** this cracked me up! Marty knew we had our adoption homestudy scheduled that night so he fit it right into the missions.  I thought it was so creative! I was actually really glad to have our homestudy on my birthday.  It was a gift to me to know we were that much closer in being ready to adopt again. 

OPERATION Life's a Picnic:  This is a very important operation to future missions.  It will take all (3) agents,... Red, Blue, and Pink (our new names given previously so as to stay undercover).  You must plan, create, and pack a picnic lunch in preparation for a rendezvous with Agent Green.  More details to come..

** the kids and I packed a picnic lunch and Marty took us out into nature where we ate and completed other missions having to do with tactical training and other fun things.  It was super fun..

And,...he did this for (34) different missions!  I was pretty impressed.  I really loved how excited it made Ethan and Nyah too!  I do have to mention that included in my gifts from OPERATION Italian Job, I recieved a sewing machine and a beautiful bouquet of flowers!  Isn't my hubby so wonderful!

Brigette's thoughts on being a {MOM}

This is a quote from Julie B. Beck that I love.  For me, motherhood is everything to me,...a gift I have been given by a loving Heavenly Father and because Ethan & Nyah's birth family made such a loving and couragous sacrifice.  Click the photo to read the quote! 

 click to enlarge

{BABY} mine....

The twins are getting closer to turning FIVE everyday! I can't believe it! I find myself hoping we could stop time and keep them little for a little longer. Brigette and I loved having twin babies and can't quite help thinking how amazing that time was, having a little bit of heaven in our home. I really loved getting up with Brigette at night to help feed the twins and I especially loved that we started a tradition to sing to them even in their first beginnings in the NICU. I wish,.. I could turn back the hands of the clock and take in those moments just a little bit more. I guess I'm a little sad to see that stage of their life ending although I can't help but love the fun and excitement that comes from this stage. But today,...I just want to reminisce just a little bit.

Singing to Nyah in the NICU

Holding Ethan in the NICU

Playing with my sweet baby girl

Bonding with my little buddy

I am one proud Papa and a very blessed man!

A trip around the {WORLD}...

She's done it again!  Brigette spoiled me on my birthday and sent me on a Trip Around the World.  Well, okay not literally, but she planned really fun things to do that had to do with experiencing other countries.  She even used a web translator to translate some of her messages into the language of each country.  Here is what she did....

For your birthday… a trip around the world!

Belgian Waffles~  Happy birthday!  Your wish has come true!  Today,…we’d like to give you a trip around the world!  Enjoy these Belgian gedaas,… in celebration of you on this day!

Siesta~  Now it’s time to enjoy a siesta,…some relajación and play as a family.  The twins will tell you what’s in store!  Play,..have fun, relax and be ready for your next trip.

Artic Circle~  Let’s head into the bitter cold terrain of the Artic.  There we will enjoy hádegismatur as a family!

Mission Impossible Movie ~ Let’s do the невозможная миссия and go to Russia!

Swedish Fish: ~ Let’s share a small treat,… Swedish fiskar!

Outback Steakhouse~  Let’s get some Aussie grub from down under!

French Kiss:  ~ Let’s steal a bisou francias in the moonlight!

Canada Dry: ~Let’s faites un toast dans la célébration d'entre vous Canadian Style!

Biscotti:  ~ Let’s treat ourselves to some Cioccolata calda and biscotti from Italy!

It was a great birthday and Brigette did some really creative things.  Yeah,..I pretty much have the best wife...EVER!  

--Marty

(CHRISTMAS} two thousand eleven

christmas eve. jammies. anticipation. wonder. christmas day. hot cocoa.

{CHRISTMAS} two thousand eleven!

This year was magical!  Ethan and Nyah were so giddy about everthing surrounding the holidays!  We spent quality time with our families, ate way too much yummy food and goodies, stayed up late, slept in, went to see the lights over and over and over, and rocked out to some way fun christmas music.  (Ethan and Nyah still love to sing Baby, It's Cold Outside, which they learned last year!)  Marty bought us the Michael Buble' christmas album and it is awesome!  We have it on continuous play in the car and Ethan and Nyah love jingle bells especially!  Nyah does a little shoulder shimmy while Ethan pretends to play the big band instruments.  Music is so amazing.  so contagious!

We spent time pondering our Savior, Jesus Christ, and Ethan and Nyah love telling the story of his birth.  This year, Christmas fell on Sunday so we actually "asked Santa" to come a day early so we could really focus on the Savior and family on Sunday. It worked perfect!  It made for a pretty JOYFUL weekend.  I wish I could bottle the feelings and spirt of Christmas and open it up during the year when we need some added joy and love.