Irish...

My husband's father is Irish and his mother is Polish.  He has always claimed that he got all of the Irish DNA and his brother got all of the Polish DNA.  Having just had a delicious meal of corned beef and cabbage in celebration of this 100% Irish heritage and St. Patrick's Day, it is good to see that we have passed this Irish DNA on to our fifth child...

Not to be forgotten is our fourth Irish child.....

With the arrival of St. Patrick's Day we are starting to believe spring is on its way.  With the sun shining, we have been able to play outside on several occasions now, giving us all hope the better weather is around the corner.  Mekdes lived outside in Ethiopia and the indoor living that she has been forced to experience here has left her longing to be outside again.  She giggles with delight when we are able to play outside and starts talking a mile a minute about what exactly she wants to do.  Margo has been shooting hoops every chance she gets and this brings a twinkle to her father's eye!  Her determination and work ethic is rather impressive for a five almost six year old.  To see her out there putting up a shot and chasing down her own rebound in her little pig tails and glasses is so adorable!  Mekdes wants nothing to do with basketball, however,  and would prefer to ride her scooter around the drive way while staring down any passer bys.

Another home visit has come and gone and I am happy to report that it went off without any alarming behaviors and/or comments.  Our social worker was able to see the bond that has formed between Margo and Mekdes as she was asking Mekdes a series of questions.  With each question, Mekdes would lean into Margo so Margo could whisper the answer in her ear.  "So, tell me what you ate for lunch, Mekdes," would be the conversation starter.  Mekdes would think for a moment and then lean into her teammate and wait for her to share the proper response.  "Grilled cheese," Margo would quietly whisper in Mekdes' ear.  It was so wonderful!  Margo proudly enumerated the many things that Mekdes is able to do now....count to ten, name some colors, know the letters in her name....to the social worker.  The proud big sister was a real champion for her little sister and it filled their mother with pure joy.  These moments are really what we live for as parents!

The longer Mekdes is with us, the more she becomes herself.  She is blossoming into a funny, affectionate, feisty, smart little girl.  It is such a privilege to see this transformation develop.  The question of nature vs. nurture is one that adoptive parents will ask themselves over and over again, I am told.  We have been able to seamlessly add Mekdes' birth mother into our daily lives and this makes me very happy.  I made a photo book for Mekdes and included her birth mother in the book.  We are able to read the book and talk about how beautiful her birth mother is and how much we love her.  The only thing Mekdes says when she sees a picture of Arbe is "outside".  I try to press for more information...did you live outside, do you remember seeing her outside at the orphanage...but I am unable to decipher what she is thinking or describing.  My goal has always been to have Arbe a part of our lives in such a way that Mekdes will never remember a MOMENT when she learned she was adopted or who her birth mother was.  We want it to always be a part of family dialogue and story and I hope that we are on our way to starting just that.