The Sweetest Valentine

The best gift I ever got for Valentines Day was a heart-shaped box of chocolates. I guess my sister and I were pretty special, because we got this gift from our father every singe year.  From when we were young girls to when we were in college, my dad gave each of us a large box of wonderful Brach's chocolates.  It was such a treasured gift. The memories I have of getting that box at the breakfast table each February 14th are truly the sweetest from childhood.

My sister and I would run to the kitchen drawer and grab a knife.  We would cut into each piece of chocolate until we found the caramel ones (usually they were the squares).  We would eat those first.  Then my sister would go for the coconut ones.  I didn't like coconut, so I would trade her mine for something more appealing in her box.  The boxes would last for a few days until just the cut-up pieces of our least favorite chocolates remained.

Today Bereket got a special package from Papa in the mail. It was a heart-shaped box of chocolates! Just a little smaller than the kind my sister and I got as kids.

Friday marks our third Valentine's Day with Bereket. While she doesn't yet know who Cupid is, she is starting to grasp the idea of "Valentines" and the special treats that come with them.

On Sunday, Jason's parents came for an early Valentine's visit.  It was so much fun!  After eating pizza for lunch, we had a special Red Velvet cake with a heart design on heart plates.

Then Jason's dad helped Bereket "decorate" for the big day.

Finally Bereket got to open some special Valentine's Day gifts.  She looks sooo cute in this little sweater.

It was a day filled with laughs and hugs.

We've also been busy filling out princess Valentine cards with castle-shaped suckers.  Bereket put a lot of thought into each friend and if that friend should get Belle, Cinderella or Ariel. 

We've had fun mailing the Valentines to special friends and cousins and delivering them to friends in our neighborhood.

I'm not sure what our family Valentine's traditions will grow to be.  Maybe each year will be a little different.

What I do know is that my parents set a great example of what it is to grow up in a home where you know you are loved on Valentine's Day and every day.  This year cupid made a special delivery of a bright red Kurig and some gourmet coffee to my mom.  It was to say thank-you and I love you. Mom, I hope you know just how special you are as you enjoy your morning coffee.

From Our House to Yours, Happy Valentine's Day!

Making Paradise a Priority

The necessities in life are food, shelter and water.  For our family, living in Minnesota means a fourth necessity: a warm escape in the dead of winter.  It is at the very top of my priority list.

Jason and I aren't the best "winter people" and it is a lifeline knowing that we'll get to escape the cold, snow and ice, even if just for a week. It really does help to make it through the worst of it.

Our recent trip to Negril, Jamaica was booked in October.  We told Bereket she would be going to the beach about 10 days before we left. She was ecstatic... and filled with questions.  Would we ride in the plane first or on the bus? The beach is in India? Was Dee-dah coming along? Those last two questions were a direct result of Jason's recent business trip.  Bereket has developed a new concern of being "left behind."

Bereket told everyone she encountered she was going to the beach. The children at her daycare heard about it all day long. Whenever someone asked Bereket how she was, she responded, "I am going to the beach!" I think that means, I am good.

At bath time, the tub was the "sand" and the faucet was a  "waterfall."  She began planning out our days in Jamaica and telling us repeated what our itinerary would be, "First we swim, then we build a sand castle, have a snack, then we swim, then we build a castle, have a snack.." You get the picture.

I won't lie. The journey to and from Negril isn't an easy one. Especially when the first plane out of Minneapolis leaves at 6:30 a.m.  A 2.5 hour flight to Atlanta, a 2.5 hour lay-over in Atlanta, a 1 hour wait in a customs line in Montego Bay, a 1 hour wait for a bus to Negril, a 1.5 hour bus ride to Negril that turned into 2 hours because of traffic.  The journey home to Minnesota was about the same although the layover in Atlanta was 5 hours instead of 2.5. We rode the train, the moving sidewalk and the escalators again and again and again to pass those 5 hours.  Did I mention I have a fear of escalators? And the Atlanta airport's are some of the tallest I have experienced.

Sweet picture from one of the quieter moments on our journey to paradise.

In the customs line to get into Jamaica, Bereket had had enough waiting. She knew she had finally made it to "the beach" and she wanted outside! There was a tall, glamorous couple ahead of us in line. They had been the last couple to board our flight in Atlanta. Watching them, I decided they were fashion models...probably headed to Jamaica for a swimsuit shoot for some magazine.  The female fashion model had now removed her black leather jacket to reveal a tiny black tank top with her expensive jeans.  I felt a little unfashionable suddenly.  As Bereket squirmed and whined, I noticed people in line were watching us. "Bereket, please behave..we're almost there!" I pleaded.  I didn't realize the male fashion model was among those that had taken interest in my impatient child. I was surprised and mortified when he handed her a package of peanut M and M's. "Hopefully this will help her make it a little longer," he said.  I was feeling embarrassed at having disturbed the models when they asked me where Bereket was from.  Their expression turned wistful when I told them Ethiopia.  I suddenly understood they were not annoyed with our child, they were watching her for an entirely different reason.  "We have been on a waiting list for three years to adopt from Ethiopia.  We have been #25 on our agency's waiting list for months."  We began sharing stories about our adoption journeys.  The couple was from Oklahoma. They were waiting for a boy aged 0-4. They had 4 biological children, but their family wasn't complete and they longed for the child they were waiting for in Ethiopia. Suddenly the wait in line was over too quickly.  The models (I never found out what they really did for a living) were called to one immigration booth, we were called to another. They waived at us after their passports were stamped.

We never saw the beautiful couple again but I am so thankful for that brief encounter.  What a perfect reminder about why we really take a family vacation. Yes, it is to escape winter...but more importantly it is to indulge in time together.  Time without the distractions of work, television, the internet, commitments. Our long, hard wait to become a family is over.  What a blessing to just be together.

I took this picture of Bereket and Jason during our first dinner in Negril.  It speaks perfectly about why we take a family vacation.

The week was spent mostly in the water with breaks on the beach to build a sand castle or have a snack.

 

Yes, Jason and I did get tired trying to keep up with a busy, over-stimulated 3-year-old in her perfect paradise.  We took turns having a "time out" on the lounge chair or on the beach massage table to recharge.

Mommy's "time out." Bereket came over and tickled me twice!

Bereket asked to have her hair braided on the beach. It was the first time her hair had been braided since she lived in Ethiopia. Afterward, she proclaimed, "I look like a girl!"

 

As always happens on vacation, the time went by too fast.

We came home to a second "polar vortex".  It was so cold, almost all schools in Minnesota were closed.  I have been tired and have struggled getting the laundry done and getting "back into the swing of things."  But I am so, so thankful for 6 nights away in paradise..with my two special people.