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!

Simple Summer

Bereket loves to smile for my smartphone. It seems like we are snapping photos of her doing cute things all the time.  I caught one of my all time favorites snapshots Monday.  We were having a special mommy-daughter day that started with brunch at Coffee Cabin in St. Charles.  We had our coffee, chocolate milk and warm cinnamon rolls out on the deck and then Bereket stretched out in one of their over-sized wooden chairs.  She looked so blissfully happy. To me this photo says, "I am content in this sweet moment of a beautiful day."

Our summer has been filled with sweet, simple moments. Like Bereket trying her first onion ring on an outing with my parents to the old-fashioned A and W Drive-In in Spring Valley.  They were so good! (As was the ice cream that followed!)

We spent the 4th of July at one of our favorite places near where Jason's parents live, Sunset Gardens Farm where you can enjoy live music and yummy wood-fire pizza.  Bereket was so happy to pet their sweet farm dog, her smile lit up the night! 

People stop us all the time to remark on Bereket's beautiful eyes. Yes, they amaze me, too! 

The simple joy of not having to comb Bereket's hair for a few weeks has been one of the greatest summer blessings! Her new braids produced a few tears at the hair salon,  but afterward she got to pick out a small treat at the nearby toy store to reward her 90 minutes of sitting.

Perhaps summer's sweetest small gifts can be found at a county fair.  We've been to two this year.  In addition to eating pizza and petting bunnies at the Winona County Fair, Bereket loved every second of her pony ride and got to pick two carnival rides on the midway.

In all honesty, the spinning strawberry in the Berry Go Round didn't sit will with my stomach, but it was so worth it to see B's big smile as she wend round and round!

This week we had an outing to the Olmsted County Fair with Bereket's special neighborhood friend, Carson.  They share a love for adventure and got a big thrill out of milking a mechanical cow together.

Love these smiles, Love Summer. I wish it could last forever.  We've got another month to go and we will savor every simple pleasure.

Great Adventures in Moab and Wisconsin

A few weeks ago, Jason and I got away. We took a three-night escape to Moab, Utah that had been in the planning stages for more than a year. Funny to plan that long for such a short trip, but this mini vacation had special significance. It was a chance to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and my 40th birthday.  It would be our first trip away from our daughter.

Moab is a mecca for adventure seekers...and that was us.  We also love to stay at small and unique properties. When I read the reviews for Sunflower Hill Luxury Inn on Tripadvisor, I knew instantly we'd found the perfect combination and booked our flights.  When we arrived at the inn six months later, we were hot and exhausted.  But the bed and breakfast lived up to every one of my great expectations. 

The staff even left  a card and gifts of chocolate and fancy lip balm in our room  to help us celebrate our milestones!

A perfect place to lay our heads and a perfect landscape for adventure!  For three blissful days, we had thrills on the rocks and on the water.

When we took a 2-hour New Zealand-style jet boat  tour on the Colorado River, I didn't want it to end! The spins and scenery were amazing. As I laughed and screamed, I thought, "This is an adventure worthy of turning 40!"

But Jason and I weren't the only ones making incredible memories, back home some very special adventures were being had as well.  About a week before our trip, a friend texted me and asked if I was worried about leaving Bereket. I honestly replied, "Not a bit! I think things are going to go great!"  In the weeks leading up to our trip, we began to ask Bereket if she wanted to go on her own vacation to Grandma and Grandpa's house, and she did! Very badly! She got very excited and asked every day if it was time to go to Grandpa's house.  She told anyone who would listen that she was going to stay with Grandma and go on a picnic.  Jason's parents were excited too and started making plans of fun things to do with their granddaughter.

And what a four days they had together!  The first big adventure was helping Grandpa mow the lawn with his big tractor!

There were trips to McDonalds for chicken nuggets and ice cream, golfing at the country club and lots of adventures walking Sofie.

But the highlight of the weekend was a big fishing trip on the Mississippi River! Bereket practiced her technique with the brand new Barbie fishing pole Jason got her.

And just look at all the fish they caught!

Throughout our trip, we got email updates and photos on how things were going in Wisconsin.  I think Grandma wanted to both share the excitement and make sure we knew that everything was going "just fine." Actually, things were going great...for everyone!

Aside from daycare, Jason and I have never hired a babysitter.  But we know from our adoption classes and from the advice of a lot of other parents we admire, that time away can be a very good thing for a mom and dad. And it was! This escape was so great for us in so many ways and I'm so thankful to Jason's parents for watching Bereket for these 4 days.

We did a small bit of shopping before leaving Moab to find some thank-you gifts for Jason's mom and for our amazing friend Jolene in Minneapolis who hosted us the night before our 6 a.m. flight and then took us to and from the airport. What an incredible friend you are, Jolene! Seeing you was another sweet part of this whole experience!  But one gift was missing.  We didn't see anything special that said, "Buy me for Bereket! I am the perfect souvenir for your little girl!" That is until we made a quick stop in the airport gift shop in Grand Junction, Colorado on the way home. There, Jason spied a blue heart "diamond" necklace with a "B" on it. That necklace did scream, "I am perfect for Bereket!"

And she has worn it nearly every day since we came home.  We love you, Bereket! It was so much easier coming home from a wonderful trip...knowing we were coming home to you!

The Girl We Adore is Four

Our sweet little girl isn't quite so little any more. She is officially 4-years-old today.  We celebrated with a party Saturday that featured a lot of Bereket's favorite things and we got to enjoy them with some of her favorite people!

Jason got a little creative with chalk and made a big "guestbook" on the driveway for Bereket's guests to sign when they arrived. What a great idea!

 

Bereket had one thing she insisted on for her party: a "Frozen" themed cake.  When I picked up the cake at the Hy-Vee bakery, I could hardly wait to show Bereket. It was perfect!

Bereket had fun opening each special gift.

Bereket even got a Barbie television reporter microphone and camera from Grandma and Grandpa Rebhahn (to be like her Momma...Look out world!)

The day was filled with laughter, silliness, smiles and catching up.

And lots of thrills in the backyard around a teeter-totter from Auntie Julie and Uncle Keith.

Bereket loves campfires so we continued the sugar high from birthday cake and pink lemonade with smores in the backyard.  It was the perfect ending to a great day.

Grandma and Grandpa Rebhahn spent the night and we all had more fun Sunday with a trip to Como Zoo in St. Paul.  One of Bereket's favorite parts of going to the zoo is riding the bus from the park and ride lot!

Just before we left Como Park, I took this picture of my beautiful birthday girl in front of a pink Azalea tree.

Today's celebrating will be small in comparison to Saturday's excitement. Bereket will bring treats to her daycare friends and she'll likely ride her birthday bike in our cul-de-sac this evening.  I guess those are big things in the eyes of a 4-year-old.  Today we give thanks for another year with our girl.