Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed holiday season. We spent our New Year at home just the 3 of us. I had a secret plan to keep Eva up until midnight, partly to see if she could stay up and partly because I really wanted to hoop, holler, and cheer with her when the ball dropped. John talked me out of it and Eva went to bed around 9:30 that night.
I don't ever remember being this excited to bring in the New Year. I was jumping up and down, quietly cheering. Maybe it had to do with that beautiful baby sleeping upstairs in her bed. Maybe it had to do with how blessed I felt in that moment (and still do). Maybe it had to do with the adventure and journey that we're on with this 2nd adoption and how far it will take us during this calendar year. Whatever it may be, I welcome it and look forward to everything God has in store for me and for us as a couple and as a family.
Melkam Gena! Today is also the day that Ethiopia celebrates Christmas. Ethiopians follow a different calendar than we do here....there is a 7-year gap between ours and theirs. So they are actually following the calendar year for 2004! There has been much celebration today. This is also the day where their 40-day fast ends. The morning begins with huge service and then everyone breaks their fast with a large meal consisting of meat and injera.
Unfortunately, we did not celebrate Melkam Gena this year. We did, however, already discuss how we plan to incorporate celebrating it next year and the new traditions that Eva will have.
Over the Christmas holiday, we spent 10 days in sunny, beautiful Florida. Of those 10 days, there were only 2 or 3 days where it either rained all day or was in the 40s. These are some of our favorite pics taken over the course of our holiday. Enjoy!
She's not even 2 yet, and already she's starting to look grown. Oh my!!
Eva just woke up from her nap and had the munchies. She loved snacking on her pizza! We were outside on the lanai. The sound of the water fountain was heaven!
This is one of my absolute favorite pics! Eva is sitting with her Gaia while she reads T'was The Night Before Christmas to her. This was actually on Christmas Eve. So blessed to be able to capture this moment. Eva LOVES being read to.
Some of my parents' friends dropped by the day after Christmas to meet Eva. One of them also came bearing gifts for her. And Eva thought she was done opening gifts! It's a little laptop computer where the little mouse actually moves. See her little right hand? My girl is serious about listening to the music on her new toy
Eva and her Poppi watching Dora the Explorer. My dad had no clue about Dora before this trip. He is quickly becoming an expert and has actually learned a couple of spanish words. Go Dad!!
Everyday my dad practices playing his bass guitar. He sounds really good....and Eva thinks so too. What makes this picture really cute is the fact that her jammies that she's wearing say Girls Rock and the "i " in girls and the "o" in rock make a guitar! Eva helped her Poppi practice the whole vacation
Just waking up in the morning, munching on her cereal and drinking milk in her sippy cup. What's on TV? What else? Dora! Life is good
There is a community being developed very close to the community where my parents live. It's perfect for us. We visited it back in August and were anxious to see it again. One of the models has a swingset in the backyard. Eva made sure Daddy made a beeline right to it.
This picture was taken the day defore we left. Since her first ride in the golf cart, Eva was hooked and asked for a "ride" everyday thereafter. Unfortunately we couldn't some days, but Gaia was not about to let her Eva go back home without one more ride. This day we left in the evening to see the sunset and to try to find the moon. We also got lucky and found some Christmas lights too!
I love all the fun the family had and wish I was there!!
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