No, this is not a daycare...

Recently Thad's sister Stephanie and her family were in town for graduation weekend.  Stephanie and her husband Mike have 5 children like us and whenever we get a chance to get the our families together and go out in public, we are often asked "is this a daycare?"  Or "all these children all yours?"  

Thankfully our morning at the beach was quiet and the children could actually play without strangers staring at their parents like they were freaks for having SOOOO MANY kids. 

Our boys love their cousins, and all 10 get along really well...so well, that you can't really always tell that there are actually 10 kids.  

As you can see, they had a great time :)  

THE BIG DAY!!!

After toiling hard for 3 years, Thaddeus graduated from law school.  But he didn't just walk away with one degree...he earned 2 degrees (which normally take 4 years to complete) in just 3 years.  On Sat. May 10, he received both his Juris Doctor degree and a Masters in Government.  And because he won't at all tell you how well he did...I will do some of that for him, proud wife and best friend that I am :)

His law school career was a good one.  Better than the average.  His 1st year he served as a Student Senator in the Student Body Administration; got 3rd place in the intramural negotiations competition and finished the year securing a place on the honors tract for placing within the top 15% of his class. His 2nd year he served as VP of the Federalist Society, competed in the ABA Alternative Dispute Resolution competition, WON the intramural Trial Ad. competition and welcomed his 5th son into the world.  

His 3rd year, of course went just as well.  It started off with an invitation to the Federalist Society's banquet where the guest list included the President of the United States, 3 Supreme Court Justices, presidential candidate--Rudy Guillani (ok, i have no clue how to spell that) and a few other political big wigs.  This honor is only give to approximately 20 outstanding students.  He spent the rest of the year serving as President of the Federalist Society and on the ADR board, for which he again competed and placed 4th at the National Environmental competition ( which arguably, he and his partner won, but we won't bother you with that).

Despite being incredibly involved and busy,  I and the boys were far from being neglected.  Some close friends dubbed Thaddeus "Patch Adams" because he did very well though he only seemed to crack the books when it came time for finals.  He found time to coach the boys' soccer team, learn karate, and date his wife.  

To say that I am blessed and proud would be an understatement.  I love you Taddeus and am thankful that I get to spend this life with you.

Jack Jack is now 1 :)

Jack, the youngest of our little clan, is now 1.  We had a quiet celebration for him.  Just our little family spent the day making it special for him.  I think the most fun for him was spending a bit of the morning in the outfit that he wore when he arrived into our world.   I won't be posting that pic though ;)  Happy Birthday Jack Jack!  Please don't grow up to fast.

Sammy turns 5!

Can you believe it???  I know I am actually over a month late on posting this, but hey, he won't care right :)  

After discussing daily what Sammy wanted for a party, we decided to cook out with friends and have the popular pinata.  Sammy is quite popular here in our little village.  Both adults and children love spending time with him.  His motto is "be friends with everyone; like everyone."   Oh, and he often says, "don't do drug's."  Such a wise little guy he is :)

May the Force be with you, young AnaQuinn

Our boys looooovvvveeee Star Wars. We've got light sabers, shirts, legos, costumes, movies, video games and great imaginations! Not a day goes by that at least one of them is role playing a Star Wars character. But we have noticed some interesting changes in one little boy in particular. Its like he is actually morphing into the character he role plays. And after examining pictures we are seeing our dear Quinn begin to look like the little boy who plays Anakin in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. I have started calling him AnaQuinn. AnaQuinn has a dark side too (i know surprise, right?). He loves to steal candy, take his brothers toys and hide them, and argue (hmmm, could he someday be a lawyer like his daddy??) Yet he loves to rescue the good guys, kill the bad guys, and cuddle with his mama at night.

Watch out! We know Karate!!

As of January this year, Thaddeus, Collin, Aidan and Sam have been learning karate' at a local christian dojo here in Virginia Beach. Thaddeus and Collin are in the regular beginner's class, and Sam and Aidan are a part of "Little Dragons" ( which is a special program designed for 4-6 yr. old's and teaches them basic kicks, blocks, punches as well as safety, character, and spiritual strengths). This has been one of the BEST things that the boys have been involved in. Two weeks ago, our shy, sweet Collin went through an hour and a half long test and earned his yellow belt. All on his own because Thaddeus was away at another competition for school. It was awesome to see his self-confidence boost up from this experience. I think I was the most nervous mom in the dojo that night. I swung between joy and tears the whole time. I wanted to be like Mr. Miagi (from the Karate Kid) and tell Collin to "wax on, wax off." Okay, just kidding:) But I am really so proud of all my "karate kids."

Aidan got glasses

That is right...our dear son Aidan can now see! What was just supposed to be a first-time visit to the optometrist, turned into a realization that Aidan was extremely far-sighted. At first I thought he was just trying to be silly and not actually read what he was supposed to, but as the squinting kept up I realized that he did need glasses. That he hasn't "just" been guessing at words during his reading assignment, but that he really was having a hard time seeing them. So we told the doc thanks, and off we walked to the selection of glasses where Aidan picked out a cute pair of blue metallic frames. Everyone in the neighborhood has commented on how adorable he looks. So whatcha think?

A Work in Progress

After much thought and a little persuasion from my dear husband, I have decided to join the world of bloggers.  Really though, I am just creating this to show off the blessings that my life revolves around.  The little blessings that have a unique way of reminding me that I, like this site, am a work in progress.