Eldana's birthday

is only 4 days away! She is so excited she can hardly stand it. She's patiently watched many other people's birthdays come and go - she is so ready for her own celebration! We will be taking snacks to school that day (she's requested cupcakes and juice), going out to eat that evening and having a small party 2 days later.

For Eldana's birthday we will be donating to the Awassa Children's Project .
This organization serves children in the area of Ethiopia in which the Abigia and Eldana were living before we became a family. 'The Awassa Children's Project is an organization that promotes sensible, culturally responsible relief work aimed at assisting children primarily orphaned by AIDS, educating people in Africa's Sub-Saharan region about AIDS prevention, and offering a proactive approach towards the resolution of serious issues facing the region.' (excerpt from their website)
Although we are so blessed to have our children in our lives, we understand the tragedy that occurs in making any child an orphan. It is our responsibility to give back to the communities from which they came, and to support other children and families that are in need. This seems like a worthy organization doing good work in the community. If you are interested in donating as well, please do so. It's Christmas - time for sharing the love, giving gifts, caring for others, honoring God.... In lieu of that big screen TV you were going to get me, how about a donation instead? And Eldana really doesn't need any more toys (especially with Christmas coming a week later!) and would love to be honored on her birthday by a gift to other children in Ethiopia. Thanks!


Eldana's school sends out a newsletter every season that includes a letter from the priest. When I opened the newsletter this week, there was such a sweet surprise inside. In the first paragraph of his letter, Fr. Kevin had written "As I was thinking about all the things going on at this time of year and what I should write about to you, I noticed the snow coming down again outside and thought of Eldana, our dear student originally from Ethiopia. This precocious young lady is such a joy to be around. She reminds me to have a sense of wonder about the world and not to take things for granted, to be more inquisitive, to be happier, and to figure out a way to turn as many things as possible into a toy, a gift, or a party. I can only imagine what she makes of the snow, a totally gratuitous gift from God. With everything else going on, take a little lesson from Eldana - stop and enjoy the snow and this moment!"
What an aptly written description of her. Of course, I teared up reading it, and again when I called to read it to Matt (who choked up while driving). She is a great kid. It's awesome that others know it, too!


Tonight I am grateful for: Christmas secrets

Sleeping in...

Eldana had a 2 hour delay today due to the snow - hooray! The days when I have to get the little girls hustled around at 6:30 in the morning to take Eldana to school are rough. This morning we laid on the couch together hoping the news would say we had a cancellation, but - no such luck. It's probably good that I had to get up, get everyone ready and take her to school. Otherwise, I might still be snuggled up on the couch right now. My kids are all great snugglers, but there is too much on my to-do list for leisurely watching cartoons. Christmas is only 13 days away!

Plans for the day: work 1/2 day, do laundry, finish addressing Christmas cards, post blog (check!), get post-placement pictures ready to be mailed, have Friday night movie night, begin the Christmas gifts that need to be made, pick up pictures at drugstore, make list of gifts yet to be bought to prepare for shopping tomorrow. And, you know, mediate the every move of 2 toddlers.

I can't post pictures because I have been banned from the Pictures section of the computer by my husband due to some Christmas secret-ness. You'll have to rely on him to post pictures over the next 2 weeks until I am permitted full access to the computer again. Thanks to him for posting the other day about Quema del Diablo.

I'll be back tomorrow (maybe even tonight!) to write about Eldana's upcoming birthday. She's turning 7!

La Quema Del Diablo

The burning of the Devil.


The Devil....


putting in our selfish thoughts or sins to be burned with the devil...



prayers before the burning....

"bye, bye devil" said in a sad pathetic voice by Eliana...





December 7th is La Quema Del Diablo or The Burning of the Devil. It is celebrated in Guatemala with fireworks, bonfires, and the burning of paper mache devils full of firecrackers. It signals the start of the Christmas season. I cannot think of a better advent celebration. Our family celebrates by burning a devil filled with our bad thoughts and sins so we can better prepare ourselves for the coming of the word made flesh. We sometimes forget how important Advent is in preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ. La quema del diablo is a fun way to remind us. The hot chocolate is really good too. :)

Here it is

Well, it's the ninth. I promised I'd post again - I even wrote it in my planner so I wouldn't forget!
But, I have had the flu for 2 days and still feel pretty crummy, so this will be short.
A friend kindly suggested 'why not just post pictures?' That is too much work for me, I'm afraid. I'm thinking my Spri.te and I are headed to the couch to watch a movie and moan a little bit more.

Writing in my planner on the 12th...... blog.

Yearly update

Ok, maybe it hasn't been that long, but it's been TOO long - as is usual these days.

We are great!
We are having a wonderful holiday season so far. Thanksgiving was fabulous. St. Nicholas Day (today) has been great. Tomorrow we will celebrate Quema del Diablo (the Burning of the Devil). Christmas will be here before we know it! And before that - Eldana's birthday! Time goes so, so fast.

The girls are the best! They learn so much every day! Eliana and Abigia both have had a big change in their speech lately - significant improvements in intelligibility and complexity of communication for both.
Potty training was improving so much that I thought Abigi would start preschool in January.... but she's had a cold all week and dry diapers have been few and far between, so now I'm not sure. Eliana has no clue what the potty is for, but still insists on sitting on it several times each day so she can be like 'Abidia.
Eliana is starting to, hmmmm, love?, exploit?, her role as baby in the family, so we are trying to get a little more strict with her. She's certainly not badly behaved, but there are some tantrums now and then. Unfortunately for her they just make us laugh, so it doesn't really get her very far. We are going to REALLY start trying to get her back to sleeping in her crib. As in tonight, after she falls asleep in our bed I will sneak her over to her crib and pray that she stays there for at least an hour. We're in a deep snuggly hole of co-sleeping that is going to be hard to work our way out of.
This morning, when the girls came downstairs and Eldana realized that St. Nicholas had left treats in our stockings - she was so excited! It was so sweet to see her be so thrilled with a few trinkets and pieces of candy.
Eldana has been getting so excited for her birthday! She's been to several birthday parties since coming to the US and has been WAITING for her turn to come. So far her requests are: cake (funfetti) with large tapered candles, ice cream, a jello mold, grape juice, apple juice, water and milk.
The trouble with sparse blogging is that I never know what to write - there's so much to say that anything I do type out seems either insignificant or glossed over.

Christmas prep: Tree is 1/3 done. Other decorations: 2/3 done. Christmas cards: 1/10th done. Shopping: 1/2 done. Wrapping: ha! Baking: Haha!

Blog promise: I'll post again on 12/9.