13 Years

 I woke up this morning to this beautiful bouquet.  Today is our anniversary.  I LOVE my husband!  We've had an amazing 13 years together and I look forward to many more years together.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The kids decorated these boxes for their class parties today. (The kids are in Spanish Immersion and if their name is not a Hispanic name they get a new one--Dexter's Spanish name is Daniel, Truman's is Tito & Eve's is Eva.)

2011 Christmas Video

Twelve months in under three minutes...

For some reason we can't get this to play in Full Screen mode unless we click on the YouTube button in the bottom right and watch the video on YouTube. Weird.

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

Is there anything cuter than a kindergartener missing a tooth? I don't think so. This kindergartner is especially cute in his Indian costume.

We've got two traditions. We decorate our back door with "thankful" leaves and we run/walk a charity 5K.

Oh yeah, tradition number three...our Utah family comes over for dinner. My parents were here this year and it was GREAT to spend time with them!

Terrific Two!

Best Friend: Laura

Favorite Toy: Baby doll

Loves to Say: "I just joking!"

Couldn't live without: Peanut butter

How different life would be...

The other day a good friend asked, “Do you think about how different Sitota’s life would be if she hadn’t been adopted by your family?” I get this question every so often, and usually the question is followed with a comment like, “You are so good to adopt. She is so lucky.” When my friend asked me this I felt the same awkward feeling I always do.

I have come to strongly dislike the question without knowing why. I stumbled through a response, just as I always do, not being able to translate my feelings into words. That night, while rocking Sitota before bedtime, I looked at her and reflected on “the question,” wondering why it makes me uncomfortable.

Then it hit me and I started to cry. Sitota has blessed our family more that I ever thought possible. She has made us a more humble, caring and compassionate family. I have an 8-year-old who regularly donates some of her allowance to build wells in Africa. I have an 11-year-old who cried with me when I told him that things were not going well with Ethiopian adoptions, and that some orphans may never be adopted. I have children who want to donate our Disneyland savings to help starving children in Somalia. I have a family who think people with different skin color are beautiful. These examples don’t even begin to touch on how deeply our lives have been changed.

So, I finally have a verbal answer to “the question.” We are the lucky ones. And yes, I think about how different life would be if we hadn’t adopted Sitota, our lives would be different. I think about it every day, and I thank God, every night, for Sitota.

Dear Tooth Fairy

A few months ago, Dexter lost a tooth while outside on the deck. The tooth fell between the boards and under the deck. The kids searched for it for days, but never found it.

Yesterday, Dexter lost another tooth and left this note for the tooth fairy.