Malia's "Happy, Happy to You!" Finally!!!!!!!

I haven't had time to post much lately, its been too busy. I plan to post things from Christmas in the next few days, but for now I must post Malia's birthday! It is much too important to wait until I've posted Christmas stuff!


Malia's birthday, or her "Happy, Happy to You", as she would say finally arrived yesterday! She had been begging for her birthday ever since Morgun had his. Almost every day she would mention that "my Happy, Happy to You loooong time!" The day began with much excitement! I decorated the cake and put up balloons. Malia played, licked icing and practically danced around the house! In spite of all the excitement she did have a long nap, much to my amazement. We picked out a butterfly cake and it turned out well!




Friends of ours, Wayne and Ruth, Jaidyn and Ty joined us in celebrating. We decided to keep the affair fairly low key so as not to overwhelm Malia. Malia had difficulty blowing out the candles, but managed with help from Papa, who held her closer, and Jayden, who helped her blow!

Yummy! Malia had first choice in picking what part of the cake she wanted and picked a cupcake.

Malia giggled and squeeled as she was opening her presents! This was a change from Christmas Day. This time around she had a better understanding of how things work. I also think she realized that she is just as important as the boys are. Its almost as though a weight was lifted as we celebrated. She kept saying "Oh my goodness!" and "Awesome!". She also keeps saying "I a lucky girl!" It really blessed our hearts to see her so excited! I thank God every day for this child! She has such a joyful spirit one can't help but smile!

More giggles!

We gave Malia a little Asian Corolle doll. She opened the gift and immediately kissed the box the doll was in. I didn't catch the kiss on camera, but did get it on video! Precious!

The chest with dress up clothes was a hit!! All the other kids were almost as excited as Malia!

The pretty little princess with her doll!

Homemade Ornaments, etc

I meant to share this photo a few weeks ago, just before the river froze. It was very beautiful to look out the window first thing in the morning and see the mist rising from the river. We joke that the gravel pile in the distance is a mountain, making the scene that much more enjoyable! :) Somehow this scene reminds me of God's peace and goodness. It fills my heart with all things good!



We have a tradition in our family of making an ornament every Christmas! This year we made a snowflake, which turned out to look more like a flower. As the boys get older I'm amazed that they are still interested in these crafty creations. And yet once again, they did a fantastic job and loved it, although I did end up finishing Morgun and Malia's. I was amazed that Malia could easily get the beads on the thin wire. As you can see she was very proud of herself!





Malia continues to learn new words and use them appropriately. The other day she told Morgun he was "stupid". We explained that it was inappropriate and she appologized. A few minutes later, I asked her to wash her hands which she did not want to do. She grumbled as she went to wash her hands and said "Mama stupid!" Needless to say the consequences were greater this time. I know its about exploring language and boundaries, and yet it is a little annoying and a little funny at the same time! This girl definitely has personality!

Copy Cat

My brother, Andrew came home from Rwanda last week, after being gone for 5 weeks. Malia has always liked Andrew, but has kept her distance. She would smile at him from across the room, but refused to go to him. The other night Andrew came over for supper and before I had time to say "hi", she was dragging Andrew around by the hand showing him her Christmas tree and anything else she could think of. All evening she kept going back to him and even began talking like him. Andrew described his trip as "amazing". Starting that evening, Malia has started describing everything as "amazing!"





Malia loves to do what the boys do. When she naps she thinks they should also be napping. If they wear slippers, she wears slippers. If they wear their bathrobe, so does she. The only bathrobe she has is a hand me down from Morgun. Its so cute on her, I'm thinking I won't bother buying her a different one!




A few weeks ago, Malia and I were having lunch. We were sitting side by side having a tender moment, touching heads and kissing. She looked at me with her big beautiful brown eyes, filled with love and a soft smile on her face and said "Shut up!" I couldn't help but laugh! She must have heard the boys say it to each other and misunderstood what it meant!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas. . .

Our household has been hopping with the kids making gifts for each other, shopping, decorating and baking. I've done about 98% of my shopping, and have wrapped everything I have bought so far. We decorated a gingerbread house again this year with great difficulty. Yes, it came as a kit, but somehow I still managed to get a somewhat odd looking little house. The kids did the decorating and thought it looked very good! I love the effort and concentration that goes into the decorating!








Christmas is my favorite time of year, and over the years I have collected a variety of decorations. Perhaps one of the reasons I like the season so much is because it helps hide, at least a bit, the ongoing construction in our home. It just make the house look that much nicer!
In the first years of our marriage money was tight, so we were creative and decorated our tree with popcorn,homemade gingerbread men and bows. I still love this tree and put it up in my basement every year!




This tree sits in our living room and is a more traditional tree. I love the shiny gold!




This must be my favorite tree! It has a snowman theme, and I've enjoyed collecting items for it over the past few years. I love, love snowmen and my kitchen, which happens to be blue and yellow, is the perfect spot for this tree!





I hope you're all having as much fun as we are getting ready for Christmas! I thank God for sending His Son, Jesus so many years ago! I love celebrating His Birthday! Merry Christmas!

"Out of the Mouths of Babes"

Alex is a thinker and tends to worry over little things. It can cause some behavioural problems and stress. That's the negative side of his personality. The positive side is that it makes him very loving and sensitive to the needs of others. Last night Alex was talking with Martin before bedtime and shared that "I was scared to go to China, but I'm glad we did! I'm ready for us to go again!" He meant that we should adopt again! Tonight he prayed that if God wants us to adopt again that He would show us and we would know what we should do. He melts my heart!