Christmas

The thought of what the first Christmas must have been like takes my breath away. What a gift. This song by Chris Rice really captures the wonder of that moment.

Welcome to Our World

 I love Christmas time. Time with family is so precious. A chance to slow down and re-assess what is really important before the start of the new year. A time, hopefully, to slow down enough to thank God for what we have and prepare to walk with Him into the future.

We have had our prerequisite viewing of The Nativity Story, Elf, The Santa Clause, plus all of those adorable claymation Christmas movies from my childhood. I have been listening to Christmas music since Thanksgiving (a certain seven year old has even started to sing along when I am not in the room!) Yesterday, Little Man reminded me that we hadn't done any of our Christmas cookies-so we spent the morning baking three delightful little numbers (Finnish Spice Cookies for Grandma, Sugar Cookies for the kids, and  Pecan Chocolate Angels for me) then headed to Grandma and Grandpa's for Christmas Eve.

We were blessed to have my older brother's family and their new baby with us (one week old, and cuuuuuuuuuute!) but sad that my other three siblings and their families were not able to make it. Thank goodness for the webcam.

 This year our family also celebrated Christmas without one very important member-Baby B. It is surreal to have one child here and one child far away. Although we have never met her yet, we miss Baby B already. The Haiti coordinator from our agency assured me that every child at the orphanage is able to celebrate Christmas, and receive their own gifts.

I am sure they are doing a great job, but I want her home. 

Yesterday. 

So we pray, try to stay busy, and send as many care packages as possible until we can go to meet Baby B.

Treasure your family.

Merry Christmas.

 

Cooking, Learning, and Waiting

Waiting for a referral is hard. This time around, it seems almost unreal that I will receive a referral...ever. And if I do get a referral, that it will actually result in my child coming home to be part of our family. Keeping myself busy and moving forward helps to hold off this negative train of thought.

With Little Man, I spent the year or so before he came home learning Amharic and trying to educate myself about the culture of Ethiopia. By the time I went to Addis Ababa, I had learned enough Amharic to understand some of what was being said around me, although I didn't have the confidence to speak it myself. It helped pass the time, and I felt like I was preparing myself to become part of his culture. That seemed only fair since he was going to be asked to assimilate to ours. I want to make sure that my children are always proud of their birth countries.

Food is love they say. Since Little Man and I both love food, we are going to be learning how to make some Haitian recipes while we wait for Baby B. Over the past (almost) four years, I have tried out several different Ethiopian dishes. Some have been a success, some not so much. Little Man loves when I make anything Ethiopian and will tell me " This is so good Mama, you should enter it in one of those recipe contests!" What a sweetie. I know he's not necessarily the best judge, but he appreciates the effort. Hopefully I will be as successful with Haitian dishes.
 
 As for learning Kreyole, I am really hoping the three years of French that I took in high school will come in handy. The odds are that I will be bringing home a toddler again (Little Man was almost 3 when he came home). It is sooooo hard for a little one who has just learned to communicate to suddenly be plopped down into another culture where once again-no one understands them! The Amharic I had learned really helped with Little Man's transition, so I am hoping that learning Kreyole will help Baby B.

I have to remind myself of Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

In the meantime, I will cook... "Lè pou manje!"