Merry Christmas!

We went to Greg's parents on Christmas Day. It was wonderful. Elsa was very open to her new family. We can't let anyone but Greg and I hold her, feed her, or take care of her needs because she has had so many caretakers and she has to learn that only Greg and I are her parents, but the family found ways to connect with her. She even doled out hugs without being prompted. She really loved her Aunt Drew. We all sat on the floor and played with a crochet ball that was a Christmas gift for Elsa, rolling it back and forth to her. She enjoyed all the attention. When she ran up to her cousin Jack, to give him a full body hug, he thought he was under attack and stepped aside, in what he thought was the nick of time. Elsa ended up doing a face plant on the carpet. We had no idea that Jack had become so agile. Once Jack understood that Elsa was attacking him out of love and not aggression, he was happy to let Elsa jump on him. Elsa is quite tough and didn't hold it against him. In fact, she was delighted that he accepted several hugs after the face-plant incident. Elsa even gave hugs to her Grandpa, Papa-Paul. That is big progress considering that she was terrified of men a week ago.

Jack is 8 now, but when he was a baby he named his Grandma "Waga." Somehow, it sounded like "Grandma" to him. It stuck, so we all call Greg's mom, "Waga." The word for Grandma in Russian in Babushka. "Baba" for short, like "Gramma," then the first name after it. So, Ursula's name now is "Baba Waga." Is that the cutest or what?

So, in addition to playing with Jack, Elsa also played with Finn, 6. Finn was kind enough to bring out big legos for Elsa to play with, and Tyrone, 8 months. Uncle Dylan was there, and Elsa liked him, too. She really liked Baba Waga and asked her to pick her up. I'm sure it was very hard for Baba Waga not to...

What a difference a year makes. My mom died last Christmas day. I was by her bedside in Illinois. Our nephew, Seth, was gravely ill, at the time, as well. And Greg and I had been in the China adoption program for a few years at that point. It has been a difficult year, with many changes. Mom is gone, Seth has had some very difficult, but highly successful surgeries. He turned 17 and is healthy and happy. Greg and I have been blessed with a beautiful baby girl. Not Chinese, as it turns out, but Russian is just fine with us. My sister, Vickie, told me last New Year's Eve that the year would be filled with trials and tribulations but that by the end of the year, we would be victorious. How is that for a good, solid, and very TRUE word? We got in right under the wire, but victorious we are...and very, very blessed.