Dear Kenya,
I am very late writing your 5 month blog - you are already six months now! Your fifth month has been a busy one so I am a bit behind. There has been so much to share with you - Thanksgiving, your daddy's 30th birthday party, getting ready for Christmas, and more. But across the nation, life and all the festivities stopped this past week. A horrific tragedy happened in a Connecticut elementary school that has the nation shaken. Twenty little children, and some very special teachers, will be spending Christmas in heaven this year. I am sure you will read and learn all about it when you're older. Lately I have been holding you tighter and longer, and yesterday in church I couldn't stop checking my watch to see when we could pick you up. It is so hard to understand why things like this happen. God created our world with so much beauty, but it can be a very dark and scary place. I learn that a little more everyday. But God is the light that we have in this dark place and I hope you always seek Him to guide you through the dark. I hope and pray that someday when you're older, the world will be a better place, but lately I just don't know. So I hope you will please forgive for all the times I hold your hand a little too tight or keep you too close. I can't imagine how hard it will be someday to watch you step up on one of those big yellow school buses. I am glad today is not that day. I hope that you never have to witness a tragedy like this one. But if you do, always remember to reach out in any way you can. Even if it is just saying a daily prayer or lighting a candle, remember that every drop in the bucket counts. And sometimes that bucket will just overflow with love and goodness. I know it sure did when everyone stopped to pray and help when we needed them to for us. Never doubt that every action you take matters and will make a difference.
I have lots of photos to share with you from this past month. Here are some of Thanksgiving, which we spent with Grandpa and Grandma Dorr in Beverly Hills...
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| Shot of the family on Thanksgiving |
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| New party dress from Grandma Debbie and your turkey headband I made you |
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| Check out that turkey butt |
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| Mommy and Kenya on Thanksgiving |
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| Mommy's little turkey!! |
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| Modeling your headband! |
Your Auntie Lisa and I had so much fun making turkey headbands for you and Zoe that I started making Christmas headbands too. I already made a whole blog full of those photos here, but here is one of my favorites...
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| Oh and did I mention that you have two teeth now? That and you're rolling around like crazy! You are growing up way too fast!! |
We have had lots of good memories with family at our little house in Kalamazoo, here are just a few...
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| little Mexican Kenya hanging out! |
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| Que te pasa?? |
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| Sleeping beauty |
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| Date night at Finley's Restaurant |
Then there was Daddy's 30th birthday party. I tried really hard to keep it a surprise, and he was pretty surprised!! There were 34 people in all, and your Auntie Pam flew all the way out from Boston, she sure loves your daddy, and YOU. We had it at Bilbo's Pizza, which is one of your dad's favorite restaurants and where we used to go on dates when we were dating in college... especially on Valentine's Day, we always went there for their heart-shaped pizzas.
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| 30 candles all lit up for Daddy |
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| Daddy and cousin Abram really got into it with the cake |
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| Auntie Pam loves her niece!! |
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| More pizza for Daddy's birthday... you look like you might love it just as much as he does... he says he wants to grind it up to give you for your first food! |
And of course there have been lots more special visits and gifts from all those who love you (this isn't all, there are just always way too many to list)... You are SOOO loved by SOOO many!!
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| The staff at Central Elementary School in Owosso where your momma used to teach sent these beautiful books for you. We have been reading them in the rocking chair in front of the fireplace ALL the time! You especially love lifting all the flaps in "Where is Baby's Belly Button?" |
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| We got taken out to Olga's Restaurant with some of my all-time favorite girls - Teri, Ashley, Lauren, and Megan (just missed Kaitlyn this time) And we saw the actor Tim Allen there too! |
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| Having fun with Auntie Ashley... you LOVE to play with people's faces these days! You often try to pick my nose for me WHILE you are nursing, pretty impressive. :) |
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| Here you are in some favorite pajamas from your great Aunt Brad! I think if she had it her way, she would fill our entire closet with clothes for you! |
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| Modeling an outfit from your Auntie Tracey! She sent you a whole package full of Christmas presents. And she just announced she is having a little BOY of her own. We all can't wait to meet him! |
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| Playing with some new toys from Auntie Tracey's Christmas package - including your first purse! |
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| Your Auntie Lisa was so kind to spend a whole afternoon last week taking pictures of you in all mommy's headbands she made. Here is one of you sans headband (and you are definitely just as cute without it!) |
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| Here you are in Jackson meeting Santa Clause for the first time |
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| We tried to keep you awake for the Christmas puppet show but you just couldn't make it |
Like I said, Christmas is coming soon and we have been busy getting ready. It has been a little hard for us to adjust to Christmas in the U.S.A. It makes me sad to see how much the true meaning of Christmas often gets lost here. When we were in the D.R., the biggest part of celebrating Christmas for us was celebrating the birth of Jesus. We did it at school, at church, at parties, and the focus was always fellowship with one another while celebrating Him. And both years we were there, we gave little gifts to all of the kids from the barrios and they were SO excited. Each gift bag contained a couple of pencils and maybe a piece of fruit but they were always so thankful to get a gift for Christmas, even if that was their only one. I learned so much from those kids, but mostly just to be thankful for everything that I have and not want for more (I'll be honest sometimes I REALLY did yearn for more, like for milkshakes every night I was preggo with you!) So I hope you understand that we are never ever going to give you stacks and stacks of presents under the tree and give you every single thing you want like some other families might do. This is because I want you to be grateful for everything you have and know the true meaning of Christmas - it's not presents, or Santa or lights or cookies or music - it's that a baby was born in a manger who came to save us. All the other stuff is fun too, but I hope that HE is who you always celebrate every Christmas.
Okay, well gotta get to bed. Since you hate to sleep lately and love to party all night every night, you have one tired momma. (I think it's a teething thing... I hope). Next time I write, I will have lots more Christmas pictures to share with you (and New Year's too) - we have big plans with all the family!
Love you forever and always, to the moon and back... Your momma xoxo
