Snapshots of a Season

How do you sum up a season of love and light in just a few paragraphs?  We have a few more days with family in Wisconsin ahead of us, but things are quieter. The presents under the tree are now empty boxes and Jason and his parents are "back to work" for one day before the weekend.

Despite two yucky colds in a row to hit our home, there has been a lot to savor this Christmas and Bereket has been right in the middle of all the joy.

It all started with something that's becoming a tradition with Auntie Jolene, a trip to see the holiday production at the Children's Theatre in Minneapolis the weekend before Thanksgiving (while Jason is in Wisconsin hunting). This year, we saw "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." At first, Bereket was afraid of the Grinch, but she has been obsessed with the grouchy green guy with a heart two sizes too small ever since!

The theatre fun continued the very next day at Mayo High School in Rochester. We enjoyed a production of "Cinderella" with our special friends Kathy and Addison and Axel and Lilli. Afterward, the children got to meet Cinderella herself!

The day after "Cinderella", the first yucky cold hit our home. It took a toll on Thanksgiving. Rather than host a celebration in our home, we just met my family at the Festival of Trees. Jason and I kept our distance to not spread our germs, but Bereket was healthy and enjoyed exploring all the beautiful trees and Santa's workshop with her cousins.

Bereket also sent off a top secret letter to the North Pole.

Jason and Bereket decorated our little tree Thanksgiving weekend.

Some new additions to the décor this year were four special sock snowmen that Bereket made with Grandma LuAnn. We also painted a special owl ornament.

Bereket made many Christmas crafts at her daycare. This holiday worksheet shows what a big girl she is getting to be. Bereket did such a great job of coloring in the lines and writing her name!

We surprised Jason with an early birthday present, a tour of Rochester's Christmas lights on the trolley! Last year we took the "south" tour, but this year we took the "north" tour and enjoyed it even more.

Bereket sang in her second church Christmas program. She did such an amazing job up on stage and we were so proud of her. After the concert, she called Grandma LuAnn and said, "I did a really good job!" Yes, Bereket, you did!

Bereket's first Christmas present this year was a special delivery from her beloved Kokeb. We had to try on the new Sophia the First princess gown right away!

More special Disney gifts followed. On Christmas Eve, Bereket and her cousins all opened their gift from Jason and I at the same time. Inside, they found a snowflake ticket and learned that we would be taking them to "Frozen on Ice" at the Target Center in April! Just 3 and a half months to wait!

On Christmas Day, Bereket was delighted to get a Frozen dress and slippers from Grandma and Grandpa Rebhahn.

Next she opened a beautiful Elsa necklace to go with her new dress!

The most exciting gift though was a doll that drinks water from a bottle and then pees in a diaper. Bereket spent the entire weekend feeding and diapering her baby and when she ran out of dry diapers, she held a potty training session in Grandma's bathroom!

But in Bereket's eyes, helping others open their gifts is just as much fun as opening her own!

But Christmas is about so much more than gifts.  We were blessed by a beautiful Christmas Eve service at the church I grew up in. Oh, the anticipation of singing "Silent Night" by candlelight!

As we left Elstad, I was overcome by the beauty of this little country church and its stained glass windows. When I snapped this quick photo, it looked like God's hope and light was just pouring out into the night.

This morning, when I checked my email, there was a message from Macy's asking if I got everything I wanted for Christmas. If not, there was a sale sure to replace any disappointment. Thank you Macy's for the offer, but I've been blessed with all I need or could ask for this Christmas.

 

 

 

New Treasures

Daylight Saving Time ended overnight. That means an extra hour of sleep for Jason and Bereket and an extra hour where I can quietly write at the kitchen table.  As I watch the sun coming up earlier outside, I am soaking in all the changes underway inside our home, too.

This weekend Jason's parents came to help with an outdoor project.  A tree in the backyard had become an eyesore and needed to come down. It is now a beautiful pile of firewood.   Dick and LuAnn came a night early so they could experience trick or treating with their granddaughter.

LuAnn had surprised Bereket a month ago with a beautiful Anna dress (from Frozen) and Bereket could not wait to wear it!

Bereket got to test it out Wednesday night at her AWANA costume party at church. 

As much as Bereket loved her costume, I felt like something was missing. Thursday we went to the store to find some accessories for it. I looked at a pretty blue scepter that played the song, "Let it Go!" but decided not to splurge on it.  But guess what, Bereket's grandparents had found the same special accessory in a store where they live and brought it along as a Halloween surprise!  With her treat bucket in one hand and her special scepter in her other, Bereket gave me a quick, "Love you Mom, Bye!" as she headed out the door to trick or treat with her daddy and grandparents.  Her expression said "Here I come, world!" I felt that she suddenly seemed like such a big girl.

On Saturday, while the guys tackled the tree, LuAnn and Bereket and I went to a holiday craft and antique fair in the country. It was in a barn that was crowded with both merchandise and shoppers. I was feeling cold and looking for a space heater in the barn when I saw an antique vanity set with turquoise drawers and a matching turquoise bench. It was buried under piles of merchandise for sale but I could tell it was special. It had a huge round mirror. It matched Bereket's bedroom curtains. I could see my little girl sitting on that bench looking at herself in her umbrella pajamas.

After checking for imperfections, of which there are many, I still decided it was just right and I told a lady working at the sale that I would take it.

LuAnn and I spent Saturday afternoon re-arranging Bereket's room.  The first thing I moved out was her little pink vanity set. It was a very special Christmas gift from Dick and LuAnn and I still remember the day Bereket unwrapped that big box.

Christmas 2011

 

We've had so many fun beauty shop hours in front of that little set. 

Last night, Bereket checked out her new big-girl bedroom. I think she loves it.

 

I do too...and I especially love that when she woke up this morning she still was my little girl who needed cuddles and to be close to Mommy. I guess new furniture doesn't change that.

Ballpark Bucket List

When I think of childhood memories with my dad, I remember how he loved to take us to games  at Met Stadium. I remember the friends we went with, wearing a sundress in the stands, and stopping for pizza afterward at Bilotti's in Rochester on the way home. I don't remember any family outings to the Metrodome. Maybe it just wasn't quite as fun indoors.

In more recent decades, Dad has preferred watching his favorite Minnesota teams in the comfort of  his living room, relaxing on his recliner and enjoying the precision of  his high definition television. He often mentions there is no better seat to watch the game.  So he surprised me last summer when I asked him if he had a bucket list. He did! And it had two things on it: a Twins game at Target Field and a Vikings game at their new stadium once it is complete. 

 

This weekend we crossed the first item off his list!  With some advice from a friend who is a regular at Target Field, I found 7 tickets for great seats at an excellent price for the September 7th afternoon game against the Angels.  So Sunday we all squeezed into the Sorento and headed north!

 

If there's anything my dad loves as much as sports, it is trains. So of course we took the light rail into downtown. The trip from Fort Snelling to Target Field was an adventure in itself!

 

 

Game day was sunny and warm with near cloudless skies and a gentle breeze. Weather like this is why outdoor stadiums can be so much more fun than the Metrodome!

 

Dad loved teaching his granddaughters a little about the game.

 

I had printed off the ballpark menu so everyone could pick their favorite eats for the game. Dad choose Walleye, Mom had a hotdog, and the kids loved their pizza and chicken strips! Jason and I enjoyed a Summit Pale Ale in the sunshine.

Those calories came in handy for trying to attract the "Flex Cam."

A few ice cream cones for dessert helped give the kids extra energy for one final thrill. Even though it was a work and school night for us all, we stayed late so the kids could run the bases after the game. It was worth the wait!

 

 

On the way home, Dad said he had a great day (even though the Twins lost 14-4 and the Vikings had a huge win over the Rams 34-6 at the very same time that he could have been watching!). We all had a great day together. The weather this week is expected to turn quite cold so I am very thankful for this late summer adventure on a perfect sunny day none of us will soon forget.

Hilawe Sisters

I've been thinking a lot this summer about sisterhood.  There are sisters though birth, sisters through adoption, sisters through marriage, sorority sisters, and then there are Hilawe Sisters. Bereket has been blessed to spend some extra special time with her Hilawe Sister this summer and I've been so touched by watching this relationship grow.

Bereket and Kokeb knew each other long before they knew their forever families.  They were each other's family at Hilawe Foundation in Addis Ababa. They shared ther crib, their toys, their clothes,  their meals, their precious nannies, and every waking moment of each and every day until Jason and I and Brian and Jill were allowed to make our second trips to Ethiopia to bring our precious girls home.

Bereket came home to Minnesota in October of 2011, Kokeb made her journey to Wisconsin two months later. Since then, we've visited each other's homes, had a beach party, a trip to the Children's Museum in La Crosse, and a reunion with their Hilawe Brother, James, who now lives in Milwaukee.

It had been 6 months since the girls last saw each other when our families met up at Ethiopian Family Camp in Paynesville, Minnesota last month.  Now that the girls are getting a little older, they're understanding their special connection a little better.  They spent much of their time at camp holding hands!

They also did lots of "big girl" things like go swimming and ride their bikes.

 

One of the highlights of camp was a cultural dinner Saturday night. This was a "dress up" affair. Bereket was so honored that Kokeb let her wear one of the special dresses her parents bought for her in Ethiopia.

The girls shared many secrets as they waited for the big meal. I can't help but wonder what they were talking about! I must admit these are two of my favorite photos of the girls!

And I love this one of the whole gang!

Two weeks after Ethiopian Family Camp, the girls were re-united for a day at Princess Camp in Rochester. It was "just the two of them" (along with Belle, Snow White, and some other young princess campers!)

 

The fun continued after Princess Camp as Bereket introduced Kokeb and her mom to one of our favorite restaurants, Whistle Binkies on the Lake.

Love, friendship and sisterhood built on adoption. We celebrate these blessings!