September 15: The Day that My Life Almost Changed but Didn't. And then Did.

Dear Isaac,

One year ago today is the first day I saw your face.

Your picture appeared on the list, and we inquired about you immediately. We went to sleep excited that night. We might have a son!

Unfortunately, our social worker was out of the office the next 2 (very long and news-less) days, and finally, on that Friday, we heard back.

Sadly, a different family already had your file. I was disappointed all weekend.

Then on Monday, we got an email from our social worker that the other family turned out not to be your family, and your information was again available for review if we were still interested. Of course we were! So she sent us your file.

I admit I was a bit surprised how little there was. That a whole little life could be summed up on two pages and a picture of a little boy in flowered pants, crying and holding his ear. I wondered if your ear was hurting, or if you just happened to be touching it. I wondered how you felt about flowered pants, (even tho I assure you that you looked very handsome even in flowered pants). I wondered if they just plopped you down by some wall all alone and started taking pictures with lights flashing in your eyes, and I thought that would be scary to someone so little. I wanted to give you a hug.

The next couple of days were spend talking, praying, researching, talking to the pediatrician, praying, forbidding ourselves from talking anymore, praying , and finally... knowing with full certainty and peace that you were our son.

We let the social worker know.

We celebrated.

Then we left on a conveniently pre-arranged weekend get-away, where we talked and dreamed about you the whole time, and stared at your picture constantly, willing you to smile.

You do that now. Smile, I mean. You smile a lot. I love that. In fact, I'm pretty sure I love everything that you do. I might love your occasional temper tantrums a wee bit less than I love your hugs, but we'll not dwell on that now.

1 year. Think how things change in one year. I didn't even know what I was missing.

And now I could never go back.

You are my hero, kiddo.

I love you to bits.

Love,

Mommy.

Scout

Aunt Amber came to visit last week, which was a lot of fun, of course. We visited the pet store while she was here (a dangerous place, really. I wanted to come home with a lot of terribly cute little furry animals, but restrained myself enough that all I got were a few of the 27 cent goldfish* to add to our dwindling tank.**)

... but Amber got a new hamster!

To date, I have remained unsuccessful in convincing John that Isaac really needs a pet hamster, so I guess Amber and Scout will just have to come back to visit!

"I want to touch it."

"Look!"

So much fun.

*Yes, I splurged. There were 13 cent goldfish. However, contrary to the Usual Rules of the Animal Kingdom, the big ones were cuter.

**So we bought three fish 3+ years ago, and we were finally down to one. (I know, right? Who knew that a little fish could live to darn long?!) So anyway, since he was so adamantly refusing to be flushed into eternal swirling peace, I made the executive decision that we might as well get him some new friends (John didn't mind- he probably didn't even remember we still had the first one!) ...and also move the tank to a place where Isaac can see it more handily and will actually enjoy them. So far, so good. Isaac really likes feeding them and watching them zooming around eating. :)

In Which He Exhibits His Healthy Ego.

This morning, as I was getting Isaac dressed, he grinned up at me and said, "Mommy, I cute!"

(which, of course, he was.)

Melkam Enkutatash!

As you may recall... Ethiopia uses the Julian calendar, which gives them 12 months of 30 days and a 13th month of 5 days (6 days in leap year). The Ethiopian calendar is 8 years behind the Gregorian calendar from January to September and 7 years behind between September 11 and January 8. (Happy 2003!)

Enkutatash means the "gift of jewels". When the famous Queen of Sheba returned from her visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her back by replenishing her treasury with many jewels. The spring festival has been celebrated since this early time and as the rainy season ends, dancing and singing can be heard at every village in the green countryside. Meskerem (September) is a month of transition from the old year to the new. Traditionally, Enkutatash was celebrated by giving a bouquet of flowers, although cards and formal new years' greetings are customary more recently. It is also a time to express hopes and dreams for the future.

The rainy season has apparently not ended here,

so our day was lazy and more relaxing,

and sadly, included no bouquets of flowers.

This is how my boys spent some of the afternoon:

5 Years

Happy Anniversary, John!

Little Red Wagon

Great-Grandma W donated us a little red wagon, and it is lot of fun!

And it's super snazzy with its colorful guardrails! :)

Checkin' it out.

Takin' it for a spin.

Goin' for a ride!

Thanks, Great-Grandma!

And Happy 8 months Forever-versary, baby boy!

Guess What We're Doing Here

If you know me,

and you know him,

then you know that he is a mimic,

and I have a particular habit...

And if you put it all together, you should be able to guess what he is doing here:

Give up?

He's twirling his hair. :)

So Silly.