What a day

It has been a whirlwind of a day.

First, safe travels to my friend Theresa. She is on her way to pick up her sweet daughter the fabulous Miss Orange in Ethiopia.

Second, HUGE congrats to my friend Rachel and her family for passing court in Ethiopia.

And then in our news, Kiya's blood tests for Hepatitis C came back NEGATIVE :) We are so thrilled that she is still testing negative for the disease. And it gets better, the doctor said we will repeat blood work in 1 year. No more blood tests at least for awhile :)

After I got this fabulous news, I went and ordered Kiya's birthday cake. It is set to be picked up on Wednesday. Also being picked up on Wednesday are balloons or boons as we like to call them. (If you haven't read the Belly Button book it is a must).

This weekend brings lots of things to do. Some friends are moving to Tennessee after the holidays so we are going out for Ethiopian food before they leave. We will miss them for sure. Dave is off to the Packer game on Sunday and then we have to go grocery shopping for Thanksgiving which is a HUGE task.

For now I am hoping to catch a little nap if Kiya naps that is....

This year it's different

For many years while we struggled with infertility, the holidays were hard. I mean really hard. I would look at women at church who were pregnant and wonder when is it my turn. Yeah not my finest moments.

As we ventured into adoption, I would wonder maybe this year I can buy a Halloween costume for my child or a Christmas outfit?? It was the same year after year for more years than I care to recall. The holidays brought a deep seeded sadness. I think I hid it fairly well who knows, maybe I didn't but I think I did.

I dreaded opening the door on Halloween or walking in the mall at Christmas. It brought about too many what ifs and I wonders.

This year it is different. This year I am a Mom. I am finally a Mom. Kiya will be here for the holidays. I can share all the traditions and make new ones with her. It finally really happened. All the what ifs and I wonders are now I can's and we will.

I will bake Christmas cookies with Kiya and decorate the tree. We will celebrate Thanksgiving as a family and she can have her first bites of pumpkin pie. All those pictures of what I hoped for in the future are coming true.

This year it is real. This year the holidays won't bring sadness. They will bring pure joy. Joy like I have never experienced before. I feel joy everyday when I look at Kiya and I am so excited to be able to share this time of year with her. I know she won't remember her first Thanksgiving or Christmas but I do hope she knows how much we love her and how grateful we are to have her in our lives.

I predicted many many months ago that 2009 would finally be our year. And boy has it ever. This year without a doubt has been and will always be one of the best years of our lives.