GOTCHA: Happy Luci May Day!

The night before I met you, Luci May Rediet, I felt like I was standing on the edge. Not the edge of a cliff like I was scared for what was below me. Instead I felt like I was standing on the edge of a promise. God's promise. Not a promise that our first meeting would go smoothly or that our transition would go well or that our baby would be healthy. But His promise to be my Daddy forever. His promise of unfailing love. And His promise to fulfill His purpose for me. And so fear was replaced with a new kind of waiting. A joyful anticipation of what was ahead of us. Not just in that blessed moment of first meeting our Rediet...
But also the anticipation of the years to come. Years of knowing you and loving you and watching you become. Years filled with the highs and lows of being a family. And today, we have had our first such year together. I had intended to commemorate this day with a 1 year video. I've seen many beautiful videos other families have done and it has been my intention since we returned to create one for this occasion.

But there was a teeny, tiny problem. I had no clue what I was doing. After about a year of procrastination and 3 late nights (as in 3am, 3:30am and 4:30am), I realized I had made a tragic error. I didn't realize the difference between a slideshow and a video. Unfortunately my blood, sweat, and late-night tears went into making a slideshow, not a video. You know, kind of like one a missionary would show in a church basement. Nothing wrong with that, but what I envisioned in my mind was more like something that would be shown on NBC. My delusions of grandeur are always getting me in trouble! I still desperately want to make my vision a reality, but clearly Smilebox is not the vehicle to get me where I want to go. If you have suggestions for me, please HELP! (P.s. I don't have a Mac.)

This snafu set the stage for several other less than ideal circumstances in our Luci May Day celebration. The Africa shaped cookies we set out to make turned out like this...
Totally burned (cooked for 30 minutes instead of 8-11) and formed together. My sister said it was like the Pangaea when all the continents were together before they drifted. Clever, but not what I had in mind for Lulu's celebration.

Then there was the little matter of giving in to the baby who didn't want to take a nap. It's a day named after her and all, so I figured she just wanted to get the most out of it. This was fine and dandy in the afternoon when she was happy and charming...
But didn't go over so well by the time evening rolled around and she was a Crabcake during our special dinner. Which was here...
If we adopt another little girl from Ethiopia, I think we have her name. LaliBela. How cute is that? Our LulaBella was definitely not feelin' the love for injera...
I have to admit, I can't blame her. Sadly, I do not enjoy Ethiopia's main food staple. The older kids tried things, but found most everything to be too spicy...
I can't blame them either. Truth be told, I am not a fan of much of the spicy Ethiopian food. But I am a HUGE fan of the people. And we go to meet a few of them at the restaurant like our waitress...
And the children of the owner...
And this guy...
Wait! He's not Ethiopian, he just dressed the part!

In time, Lulu warmed up and even enjoyed the corn...
From the restaurant we went on a family trip to Walmart to pick up donations to send with traveling families to the orphanage in Addis. We decided that this would be how we would celebrate each year. Instead of giving gifts to Lulu, we want to give gifts to the children and staff who are still in Ethiopia.
Then we stopped by my sister's house on our way back home and they had a surprise waiting for us...
No need for a burnt Pangaea now! I think Lulu likes chocolate chip cookie better than injera...

Sweet one who I first held one year ago, I don't know how you will feel about this day in years to come. It was truly one of the most beautiful and intense and magical days of my life. But it was all on the backdrop of loss. On your end and for your grandmother, there was so much loss. You were so scared that day. I see it more clearly now as I look at the pictures and since I know you now. But you can be confident of this, on our part there was so much gain. Immeasurable gain. For we got you...

Both in the gain and in the loss, this day is about family...
Through the gains and losses of the past and the gains and losses of the future, whatever road you walk in life...
We will walk it with you.

Thank you God for Luci May Day. Thank you God for Luci May. And thank you God for your great and precious promises. You walk us through our losses and You are my greatest Gain both now and forevermore.