Christmas is coming....

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world,

and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.
Norman Vincent Peale

I return to work on Monday, it is hard to believe it has been 12 weeks since I boarded a plane for Ethiopia. Things are going really well, Theo is healthy and happy. Last week, we attended a friend's birthday party... The guests included 4 children from Ethiopia, one child from China, and one child from Germany. We joked it was like an advertisement for Benetton.... Theo and I also had a photo shoot with a fabulous photographer... All in all a great week.

Happy Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,


For rest and shelter of the night,


For health and food, for love and friends,


For everything Thy goodness sends.


Ralph Waldo Emerson

OH MY!

A few weeks ago, I visited my niece Lilee's preschool classroom.... she was student of the week and requested that Theo and I visit and read a story to her class. I was super-duper excited and I decided to read E is for Ethiopia and share a popcorn snack.... We had a good time, Lilee was excited to share her new cousin with her friends and I educated the class on Ethiopia.... I focused on the coffee ceremony in Ethiopia.... which includes popcorn......Fast forward to yesterday... I was again with Lilee and my sister in law visiting the grade school for the Thanksgiving program.... a preschool mom was also at the program and came up to say hello and inquire about my little cutie.... my sister in law was explaining Theo and mentioned that he visited the pre-school class... the mom immediately said....Well, now I get it .... hmmmm... what do you 'get' exactly? we asked in unison.... Well you see my daughter came home from school one day and said.... mom I know where babies come from, I was a little concerned and then she told me babies are from Ethiopia....

It is a good thing I teach high school....

A Week at the Beach

Many new experiences and lots of firsts....

first tooth, blowing kisses, crawling on hands and knees,

and pulling up to standing....

It was a busy week!

10 months....

It is hard to believe my sweet boy is ten months old….

He is more discerning these days… it is safe to say he knows his mama….

I am amazed by the gains he has made in the past 7 weeks……

My gifted child figured out this week how to remove the safety covers from the outlets…. I thought this was just a rare one-time event, alas, he is a master and has exhibited his mad skills in many different places…..

I guess it is safe to say his fine motor skills are just fine.

We had fun times this week…. Ault Park, Children’s Museum, & the Zoo. The best animal at the zoo was the giraffe, the merry-go-round giraffe…. Lilee was super excited to share her favorite place at the zoo with cousin Theo….

We ended the week with a two & a half hour flight to visit Grammy & Re in Florida….

My veteran flyer was a rock star…. and quite the entertainer-

Happy Halloween

Halloween was filled with treats for Theo...

He received his Certificate of Citizenship,

he dressed in festive holiday wear & he tried his first Lollipop....

But when we pulled out the costume, he was a scared little lion....

Another Fun First

Swinging in the park with his cousins....

Georgia was quite satisfied to push Theo in the swing

in return she received some fabulous belly laughs...

Clearly the swing is a winner.

5 weeks

....5 weeks home....

This week we were blessed by an amazing celebration

hosted by Grammy's friends

Theo received so many special things ....

The best part?

Boxes, Tissue Paper, and Tape!

As we approach Halloween....

My favorite little monster.