Every year for the last 6 years i have done a Christmas calendar for Torrey and my parents. It started off very elaborately back in my scrapbook days when each page of the 3 calendars were painstakingly hand crafted taking 40+ hours per calendar. I loved each one but after the first 2 years I had to give up the scrapbooking and took on a more simplistic approach. Now I just put together a few of my favorite pics into a publisher file and print them into a calendar. I am glad to have made the change if only for the fact that I will always have a copy of the calendars. Thought it would be fun to share some of my favorites of our kids since I have been such a lousy blogger this year.
January (well these were really taken in December this year). This is Sefan's first time sledding. She LOVED it! Her legs have become so strong over the last 6 months as she marched up the hill like a trooper. The first we took of her her was one of her and daddy together on the sled because it was the most important to Sefan. Wubitu has a picture of T and her sledding the 2nd day she was home from Ethiopia and Sefan was very very jealous of that picture. I can't wait to give Sefan even more wonderful experiences for her to treasure.February: Wuby & Sefan think the one where they are feeding each other is really funny. The lovely couple included here is Torrey's brother Luke and his wife Miriam. Luke is currently stationed in Afghanistan. This was taken at his graduation a few weeks before he was deployed. The kids really enjoyed staying on the army base and we may have some future soldiers from our household as a result of this trip.
March: These were taken the first month Sefan was home at T's cousin's wedding. Oh and one after Wuby's school Christmas program.April: Carter and Sefan share a birthday April 29th. They also share a birthday with their great grandpa Hugh Ehrman and T's uncle Kevin Ehrman! Evidence that Sefan was definitely our meant to be!!
May/June: Some summer pics! Missing the warm temperatures already!!
July: Noah will turn 10 this year!! 10!!!
August: This was taken at my parent's lake house a few weeks before we left to pick up Sefan. I was sure to include her in here because she gets very upset when she sees pics of the family without her in it. She is getting better about understanding that we very much wanted her to be with us and were sad that we had to wait so long to bring her home. I can't wait to take her out in the boats this summer!

September: Next year Wuby starts Kindergarten!! She is super excited!! We still are not sure if Sefan will go also but most likely I will keep her home another year to avoid "twinning" the girls further.
October: My absolute favorite season FALL!!! Sefan asks every time we go to my parents' house how long before we get to go trick or treating again! She totally digs American holidays!! Wuby is an old pro about it now.
Wuby turned 5 this year. It is incredible to think that she is so big. Last week we rewatched Wuby's History video to see who in her family she gets her fabulous face from. We are so blessed to have this incredible video for her. There is hardly a day that passes that I don't feel the bittersweet twinge of joy as I see this little girl grow and realize how much her birthfamily is missing. She truly is joy bottled up and overflowing. (p.s. I don't make her pose that way...she always does that when she sees the camera)
December: A few of our family. One taken at church by my fab friend Krista and one taken at home in front of our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I let the kids decorate without making any "adjustments" to their decorating this year. It is amazing how much you learn to let go as your family grows!!

2009 was so full! Full of joy, struggle, deep sorrow, thought, personal growth, and outrage at injustice and corruption. Overall I am thankful that at the end of a very trying year I have a fabulous family. Yeah...I say that a lot huh! Seriously though, I am so deeply in love with my family that I seriously have to pinch myself sometimes when I have two little girls wrapping their little arms around my neck and smothering me with kisses and 2 not so little boys who make me laugh and make me proud of their sweet character as they grow into little men and my fabulous husband who works hard and loves so tenderly.

Maybe I am just glad that Sefan's transition has gone so well and we are finally feeling "full". The journey to bring children home through International Adoption is so hard... and virtually impossible to explain to someone who hasn't lived it. I think we are all glad to finally be at the end of waiting for others to bring our family together and we now feel like we can start the rest of our lives because we are all here and accounted for... no more thinking about what it will be like when the remaining members of our family join us. We are now in full control (well as in control as anyone is of their own destiny) Now are thoughts are more focused on living every moment and enjoying raising the children we longed for. The future we imagine together is so exciting and I can't wait to see what 2010 hold for us!