Sweet Dreams

This weekend was a big first: Bereket's first sleepover at a friend's house.  She got to experience it with her very first friend, Kokeb.

 

Kokeb's mom, Jill, mentioned during a water park weekend last winter that they would like Bereket to come stay overnight sometime. Jason's class reunion in La Crosse this weekend turned out to be the perfect opportunity for the girls to have their special night.

 

Bereket had a lot of questions about spending the night at their new house. She was curious about what they would eat and if someone would snuggle her at night. But when Jason and I dropped her off on Saturday, there were no tears! Just excitement.

 

Jason and I smiled at all the pictures Jill texted us of the fun things the girls were doing. First up: apple picking at a local orchard. I love this photo!

Other adventures included hair braiding (Jill is so talented!) and a movie.

And I am guessing these two had a lot to talk about even after the lights went out!

We met the Andersons at their church Sunday morning. Bereket was all dressed up in one of Kokeb's fancy dresses.  After Bereket changed back into her own clothes, we all hugged goodbye.

We'd only made it a block out of the church parking lot before Bereket was fast asleep. I imagine she was dreaming about the next time the girls will be able to get together and do it all over again.

 

And Off She Goes!

This morning we put our baby girl on the school bus for her first official day of kindergarten. I guess she's really not a baby anymore but a bigger girl headed off into a world of learning, making new friends and becoming less dependent on Mommy and Daddy as she navigates this whole new routine on her own.

Bereket goes to Longfellow Elementary, Rochester's year-round "choice" school. We love Longfellow's small size and think the longer breaks in the fall and spring will be wonderful for family travel (to Disney and Ethiopia and other wonderful places!) but this big change for our little family came fast! We had applied for a spot at Longfellow last December but Bereket's name was not drawn in the January lottery. About 4 weeks ago, her name was picked in a late drawing for some leftover spots. I was mentally prepared for Bereket to start school on September 10th not July 29th! This was a great opportunity though, so out with the September plan and in with a new backpack! And finding that perfect pack took a few tries. Go figure, Elsa and Anna was the keeper!

 

We picked up the required glue and pencils and Bereket's new schoolmate Anthony outfitted her in some great Longfellow spirit wear.

Just in time, Bereket had all she needed to "Meet the Teacher" a.k.a. Mrs. Clauson.

Bereket reported to a day-long mini session with Mrs. Clauson on Monday to prepare for the real deal today.  Jason dropped her off Monday morning and a tearful momma waited in the parking lot to pick her up in the afternoon. I begged Bereket the entire drive home to tell me every detail. She told me a few things.

 

 

Mrs. Clauson wrote a note after the mini session saying that Bereket was respectful and would be a good role model in the classroom. Today I am thankful for the many people who have helped to get her ready for this big step. People like Bereket's beloved daycare provider and preschool teacher, Jenna.

I pray that Bereket will make good choices and special friends. Like Cinderella, I pray that she will have courage and be kind. Here's to a new, great adventure.

Paris in June

22 years ago, my sister and her future husband spent a day touring Monet's garden and his charming village of Giverny. She always dreamed of returning to this fairytale place and made a promise to bring her daughter Isabelle there for a 10th birthday trip. Somehow I scored an invitation to join them and we left on our fabulous 6 day adventure on June 8th.

Our Paris trip took us to places like the Palace of Versailles (where we splurged on lunch at the Tea Room where Marie Antoinette herself once played cards) and the great chateaus of Fontainebleau and Vaux le Vicomte. We even took a 3 hour bicycle tour in the countryside.  But it was at the beautiful water lily garden where Monet found the inspiration for his paintings, that I found some inspiration for my own life.

The afternoon before our trip to Giverny, we stopped by the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris. Its a small museum where you can sit and gaze at 8 large murals of Monet's beloved lilies. I snapped a photo of my favorite. It shows his water garden in a blaze of color at sunset.

Once we navigated the confusing Gare du Nord train station and found seats on what we hoped was the right train (it was!) we exhaled, watching the city fade away.    

The village of Giverny is simply charming. My sister called it, "The Lanesboro of France!" We were intrigued by the quaint shops and cafes, but first the garden! Our goal was to enjoy the water lilies before the crowds. And we did, for about two minutes.

While in France, I was reading a book written by a woman who left a stressful life as a copywriter in Los Angeles and sold everything she owned to begin a new life traveling around Europe and working as an artist. She wrote, "Travelers live by this rule: collect as many experiences as you can."  I connected with those words and I was reading them in a place perfect for collecting experiences. I tried to be present in every moment...savoring every sip of strong dark coffee and rosé wine. I tried to stop at every flower shop I passed and smell the beautiful blooms that spilled out into the streets. When we were in a taxi or in our hotel room, I opened the window to hear the beautiful sounds of the city around us.

I entered Monet's precious lily garden in the same frame of mind. I wanted to absorb the sweet smells, the sounds of the birds, the gentle floating lilies, the explosion of colors, even the bit of humidity in the air. It was the loveliest of places.

And then came the masses...with their cameras and selfie sticks.  I watched as tourists rushed from one end of the pond to another. They were in "the photo zone" looking for the perfect spot to capture themselves in this famous garden. They took one picture of themselves, then four more because the first three weren't quite right.  Then they rushed on to the next spot to repeat the process. Others impatiently waited for their turn. Did they feel the peace of this place? The beauty? The magic that inspired some of the world's most famous paintings?  In the gift shop, I found a postcard with a photo of Claude Monet among his lovely flowers. I could almost hear him saying, "No selfie sticks in my garden!!"

I found myself looking for tucked away places away from tourists where I could soak in the moment. Isabelle followed me to a bench on the edge of the garden.  There we met a lovely woman from Northern England. She was painting a small watercolor. She was on a garden tour of France and she was sketching or painting her memories of each lovely place she went. Her small notebook would be her memories of her trip. What a beautiful way to truly experience the beauty around her.

With the busyness of life and children, I knew going into this trip that this time with my sister and my niece was to be treasured. And I did.  Then we came home to this little girl at the airport shuttle stop. "Bonjour! Welcome Home!" 

A sweet homecoming...as I reflect on all the things I love about Paris..and all that I love about the ladies I got to experience it with this summer.

Splash! Bereket is 5!



There's no doubt about it, our girl LOVES the water.  The beach and the pool are Bereket's very favorite places and she is thrilled to be starting three weeks of swimming lessons soon.
 

Back in November, Jason and I were at a charity auction and discovered a "swimming party for 10" at the Rochester Area Family Y on the silent auction. We knew that was the perfect gift for Bereket's 5th birthday. Her first "friends" birthday party would be a swimming party!

We were able to have the party the actual night of her birthday, Friday, May 29th. Bereket addressed invitations for her three cousins Isabelle, Daniel, and Nils; her cul-de-sac friends Sierra, Carson, Eli and Isaac; her church friend Layla; and her friend Xavier who lives a few blocks from us. Everyone who was invited could make it.

Once all the guests arrived, we enjoyed cake and snacks with a pool view.

Our fancy spread

Bereket floating in a pool (not exactly as we envisioned it, but we went with it)

The invitation said "no gifts" but Bereket did get a few wonderful packages to open.

Bereket and Layla then had a quick Frozen themed fashion show before getting in the water.

Finally, swim time and Nils couldn't have been more excited!

When we got home from the party, we let Bereket stay up late to have one last piece of cake and play with her presents. She started off the next morning the very same way. What a great start to Bereket's big 5th year of life.





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.