Pockets!

A few weeks ago, LB discovered that his pants have pockets. He thinks they are the coolest thing ever and utilizes them quite often. Pretty darn cute!

Goosebumps!

A pretty amazing thing happened this weekend. Here is how it began. D was craving Ethiopian food so we decided to meet our friends at one of the Ethiopian restaurants in town. I am really hoping that one of these days I will work up the courage to try and make Ethiopian food but for this occasion heading out to a restaurant was the obvious choice. I also just love watching LB eat injera. It makes my heart happy. LB wasn't very interested in sitting at the table when we first got there so rather than having a screaming child we chose to let him around the place. Most of the people there were Ethiopian and they didn't seem to mind that LB was running up and down the aisles. Some of them even spoke a little Amharic to him. LB was very generous in giving high fives and shouting "hi" to everyone he ran past. When the food arrived LB did behave and ate a lot of yellow split peas, carrots and injera. YAY!

Here is the part where you need to prepare yourself to experience serious goosebumps! After dinner LB was running around again and while I was chasing him I ended up talking to an older Ethiopian gentleman. He asked me where LB was from and I told him that he was from Awassa. (For those of you unfamiliar with Ethiopia, that is a capital of the Southern Region of Ethiopia.) LB was born in Awassa and his home village is not far from there. I always tell people he is from Awassa because most of the Ethiopians I have met haven't heard of his home village. The man started telling me how beautiful the southern region was and asked if I had been there. I told him that unfortunately we didn't make it there while we were in Ethiopia and that we spent the majority of our time in Addis. The man was from Addis so we talked about some of the things we saw and did while we were there. I expressed to him my strong desire to travel back to Ethiopia and to go to Awassa. He then proceeded to tell me that if I do go to Awassa then I need to go to a town not far from there. He then said the name of LB's home village! I asked him to repeat it to make sure I heard him correctly. And he said it very clearly. I told him that was LB's home village and was where his Ethiopian family lived. He was as shocked as me! He said it is very lush and beautiful. I was basically in a state of shock the whole night. Of all the villages in Ethiopia this man tells me that I have to go visit the place where my extended Ethiopian family lives. The place that any time I think about I have to hold back tears. The place where my heart lives. I just couldn't believe it. D and I talk about Ethiopia all the time and often when my mind is wandering before falling asleep I will think about Ethiopia. I feel like there is something more to our story involving Ethiopia. I can't quite connect all the dots yet but I do feel like I am getting closer. I just have to be patient in figuring it all out. Several days after that conversation I still just say to myself, "Wow!"

I ordered a new shirt for LB recently and since it was a warm day I decided Ezra should wear it. Given the events of the weekend, it just seemed appropriate.

I sure do love this string cheese eating, funny face making, Ethiopian boy of mine.

New Ride

We have been very lucky in the hand-me-down department. LB's very well dressed cousin is just a few months older but significantly taller so that has worked out in our favor. Also, D's cousin, Kelli, has two boys and even though she lives in Illinois she always comes to Ohio with a car load of stuff for LB. I am sure LB could care less about the cute clothes he is receiving but on Kelli's latest trip she brought him a new ride. I wish I could have captured the look on his face the first time he took it for a spin. Priceless. The photo and video give you a pretty good idea as to how pleased LB is with his new found independence.

Fall 2011 Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago, LB and I made a quick trip to Tulsa to spend some time with my parents and sister. Tulsa is really beautiful in the fall so I decided it would be a great time for our friend, Maggie, to take some photos of LB again. Last year we got really lucky and had a 70 degree day at the end of December. I knew it was doubtful that would happen again so we met Maggie at the park one of the mornings we were in town and thankfully LB was in the mood to light it up in front of the camera. Maggie did a fantastic job capturing his personality and these photos are truly priceless. I picked my 10 favorite, which was an impossible task.

My mother-in-law made the comment that the final photo is very symbolic in showing how far LB has come. You can't really see the beginning of the winding road but it is there off in the light and he is standing tall at the end of it. When she told me that I had to hold back tears because I could totally see what she was visualizing. I am very thankful to her for pointing that out to me.

Okay, so I have to share one more. When Maggie was done taking photos, LB and my mom were sharing a little hug. Maggie pulled out her camera and captured that brief moment. It might just be the sweetest photo I have ever seen.

Thank you, Maggie.