Christmas...

He's been here three whole months!  I feel like an update is in order.
First off I'll start with the obvious and most current...Christmas!
Obviously, it was a special Christmas for us.  Last year at this time we were planning to travel to Russia to meet another little boy only to find out a few days later that we were probably not a good fit for him as a family.  It was a hard time filled with anxiety and ultimately sadness.  This year was so different.  First off with regards to that little boy we recently found out that he has found a home!  He happily spent his first Christmas with his forever family too, a family that was better suited to his needs than us.  We are so thankful to know that God provided for him and that in the end our decision was what was best for him and not just us.  I'm amazed at how God worked it all out and how His plan was there all along.

Our family this year felt complete.  We are loving the balance of two girls, two boys.  While things are way more chaotic sometimes and loud and crazy...we still love it.  No more wondering what God had in store for us.  No more wondering if our son was out in the world scared and alone.  He was there, sitting in front of us with his feet dangling from the stool at the breakfast bar asking for "bilinis"(crepes) and chocolate milk for breakfast .  It seemed that Christmas time was more miraculous...I kept looking at him and thinking "how did you get here?" and "why haven't you been with us all along? you are obviously ours"

We did our typical Christmas things.  We made cookies, gingerbread houses, christmas ornaments...etc...  Kasen got to meet all of my mom's side of the family.  We had a great party complete with a bonfire and hayride.  We went to Acadian Village with friends and Kasen had so many firsts...he sat on Santa's lap, he saw a whole village of Christmas lights, he rode his first carnival ride, had his first fireworks experience!  He went to sleep that night and said "Mom I had good day" 

The boys really got into the Santa thing this year and went to bed on Christmas Eve bursting with excitement.  Chritmas morning was fun as usual but more bustling with an extra kiddo in the house. Kasen did get overwhelmed occasionally and more on that later but overall his Christmas was hopefully something he will never forget!  I know we will never forget his reaction to it all.  At one point I asked "Kasen did Santa come?"  He said "Yes, presents"  I said "yes you were a good boy.  I love you Merry Christmas."  He said back to me "Say it again momma" and hugged my neck.  Heart melt...teary eyes... :)
After all the presents were opened and the chaos of the day gone we all climbed into my bed to read about the birth of Jesus before bed.  Kasen likes to point out the baby Jesus and we hope he has some understanding of what Christmas is really about.
Above are a couple of shots from the past few week.  I hope all of you had a very special Christmas!