four

yesterday (and the day before, cuz we spread it out a bit) was a special one for AJ.  his fourth "gotcha day", or adoption day or family day, as many prefer.  that's another blog post. but don't wait for it! :) our boys have always known this day as "gotcha day" so we aren't going to change it on them now, even though we understand there are more accurate word choices floating out there now. 

every year this day hits in the middle of all things Christmas.  it comes up fast, and i'm usually somewhat taken aback by the thoughts that come with it.  it's big, it's the most amazing memory, it's the reminder of God's direct and clear miracle in this sweet boy's life (and ours!), it's the loss, it's the joy, it's a lot.  i won't talk about it much here as i touched on some adoption related stuff last month.  but honestly, every year this is significant for me as i remember (here's the blog post from the actual day we took the bumpy ride back to our guesthouse with our new son on my lap), feel overwhelming gratitude, and put into motion a way to highlight this day for our son. 

we had a yummy and spicy African chicken stew over rice, Ethiopian honey bread and cream puffs for dessert.  AJ wanted to decorate his own, and did a fabulous job...

 

 

AJ got a new t-shirt and a letter from me...here's one bit from what i wrote...

 

"But then, God did something BIG!  God saw your struggles, He saw the losses…He saw your need for a forever family to grow up into.  He saw your personality and your character and He decided you would fit well here!  With us!  He looked at this crazy family in Canada, and He knew I longed to be a mommy to another child, and He knew Hudson would do well to have a brown brother in his forever family~ and He chose you, to be with us, FOREVER!!!  And He did all of that through a spectacular miracle!  I can’t wait until you are old enough to understand more of the details and we can share how this whole journey to Ethiopia began….God clearly gave us you..." 

 

 

in my life, it's definitely during the times of refection and looking back that my perspective for the future is that much clearer.  thankful for that!  thankful for this sweet seven year old on his special day...