CaceyKlein.com

Late last week I suddenly realized that if I was going to put out any decorations for Easter I better do it quick. It really snuck up on me this year!

First I brought out our Easter basket. It comes complete with a stack of cards that tell the Easter story – each matching up with a hands on prop. A dear friend made it for us the first year Spencer was home – I’m excited that he is semi-old enough to understand or at least take some interest in it this year.

And secondly I created my first ever “Easter tree!” I’ve been collecting these little hanging eggs for many years but never really knew what to do with them. I saw a display in the Pottery Barn catalog that gave me this idea…

To make it I just scouted out all the trees on our property until I found a branch that would look like a tree and stuck it in a vase of water.

Many blessing to you as we celebrate our RISEN Lord!

We know it’s a little late but we intentionally postponed our Christmas letter so we could include pictures of our trip and our new baby girl! And to make it simpler we opted for a digital version. So here it is…

» Read our 2009 Letter

Day 1: We arrived in ET after a seven hour flight from Paris to Addis Ababa. We purchased our entry visa and made it through immigration without any problems. A Holt worker was there waiting at the gate to pick us up. He took us directly to our hotel, where we dropped off our luggage and tried to freshen up a little before he called us back into the van. From there we went to the Holt offices where we joined all the other families who had arrived the day before.
After our orientation we all waited with great anticipation as we were shuttled to the care center where we would finally meet our children – the moment we had anticipated for months!
They seated us downstairs in a bright and airy room. The head nurse, sister Martha, welcomed us and then one by one they brought the children in and called your name. We enjoyed watching the other families and then finally it was our turn. What a special moment when they handed us our girl! She stared up at us in wonder with her big beautiful, brown eyes. It was love at first sight!
The staff served us cake and coffee and we spent the rest of the afternoon playing with our girl. In the pictures we had received we had never seen her smile so it was a joy to watch her smile and giggle as we tickled and kissed her!

Day 2: Saturday morning Holt arranged for some site-seeing. They took us to the famous National Museum of Ethiopia, where we saw the world renown “Lucy” – the most complete human ancestor discovered anywhere in the world (if you believe in evolution). There were also many cool Ethiopian artifacts and treasures from past emperors. We had our own tour guide and it was a fun experience and great way to learn about Emma’s ET heritage. Afterward we enjoyed lunch at “Lucy’s restaurant and bar.” It was a fun atmosphere in a grass hut type style building. We played it safe and enjoyed the pizza!
The rest of the afternoon we were taken back to the care center for more bonding, play time with Emma. We brought a couple of toys along and had fun playing with her on the floor. She is very snugly and doesn’t like to be held away from our body. We also discovered that she can’t sit up very well on her own and really doesn’t like it if you try to stand her up. I think the one on one attention and the bouncer we have will help cure this in no time.

We got a kick out of the translation on the sign in front of this throne -

instead of “No Flashes” it said “No Flashlights”

~We wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas~

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

~Luke 2:8-12

By the time you read this we will have already met our little girl for the first time!

What a beautiful and amazing Christmas gift she is to our family.

I’ve been on the lookout for a “Babies First Christmas” ornament for Emma and was thrilled to stumble upon this one at Hallmark. It was exactly what I was hoping to find!

We opted to put up a small tabletop tree this year as our life is in major flux right now. Did I mentioned that on top of traveling to Ethiopia in a few weeks, we are also in escrow buying a bigger house (Yay!), and trying to rent out our current house!?! Never a dull moment around here!

Cheers!

With everyone gathered for the holiday, Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity to take some updated family photos. We rotate which side of the family we are with and this year it was our turn to be with my side of the family.With three new grandchildren added to our family this year alone we barely fit in the frame – and that’s with only three out of eight of us married! Next year we’ll have to try an aerial view just to fit us all in the picture

Nana, Papa and the Grandkids

Oldest to Youngest

Just Us

My Boy

With Thanksgiving just hours away I’ve been pondering what it means to truly be grateful. It’s easy to be thankful on Thanksgiving when you’re surrounded by family, friends and yummy food but what about all the other days of the year? I was recently encouraged and convicted by an article titled “Thanksgiving Day after Day” by Barbara Rainey…

He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me.
Psalm 50:23

Has it ever seemed surprising to you that God made the Israelites wander in the wilderness for 40 years just for grumbling and complaining? My kids may have spent 30 minutes in their rooms for griping, but 40 years? That’s some severe discipline!

One thing is crystal clear from this biblical account: God is obviously not pleased with grumbling, ungrateful hearts. And we should not tolerate grumbling either–in ourselves or in our children.

Being grateful is a choice that we readily and ritually express on Thanksgiving Day. But what do we do on other days of the year when the mood is less festive or the atmosphere is more ordinary?

Read more…

I know for myself gratefulness is not my first reaction to an uncomfortable or painful situation. It’s something I need to purposefully cultivate in my life and ask the Lord to help me see the glass half-full instead of half-empty. Listen to this perspective in the article “Gratitude is a Choice” by Nancy Leigh DeMoss…

Matthew Henry, the eighteenth-century Puritan preacher whose Bible commentary remains among the most popular of all time, was once accosted by robbers while living in London.

Perhaps you’ve experienced this yourself—whether by having your car broken into or coming home to discover that your house had been burglarized. It’s among the most unsettling things that can happen to a person. I’m sure it was, as well, for a quiet, thoughtful man of letters like Matthew Henry.

“Let me be thankful, first, because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”

What a perspective! As someone has said, “If you can’t be thankful for what you receive, be thankful for what you escape.”

Read more…

Here are some great resources that I recently discovered. You can purchase them from www.shopfamilylife.com or by clicking on the title…

A Family Prayer of Thankfulness (Laminated Card)

I thought this little card would be perfect to pass around our Thanksgiving table, having each family member take a turn reading a portion of the prayer. Or just post it on my refrigerator year round as a reminder to be thankful!

Growing Together in Gratitude: Stories of Faith for Families

I’m really excited about this little book and can’t wait to use it with my kids when they’re a bit older. It has seven accounts of people from the past and how they responded to their difficult circumstances with gratitude. Each chapter ends with a section for you to write in what your family is thankful for!

Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans.
Fight for the rights of widows.

~Isaiah 1:17

A few months ago my sweet little boy came down with the flu as children often do. He was running a fever and didn’t want to do anything but snuggle up on his mommy’s lap. As I held him and stroked his hair I began to think of what it would be like not to have a mommy to hold you when you were sick. To live in an orphanage and have no one that loves you and cares for you like a family does. To wake up in the night and feel alone. I can’t even imagine what it would feel like and it brings tears to my eyes to think of it.

We need to stand up for the cause of orphans. Live out the scripture in Isaiah 1:17 “Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.” Notice all the action words: Learn, Seek, Help, Defend, Fight. Even if you have not been called to adopt a child personally, you have been called to stand up in some way for the cause of orphans, the fatherless.

This coming Sunday, November 8th, is the first-ever Orphan Sunday, an opportunity to raise awareness and to learn how you can make a difference. It’s put on by a diverse group of organizations supporting adoption and orphan care, including Cry of the Orphan Campaign, Show Hope, Christian Alliance for Orphans, Focus on the Family and Family Life Today. Steven Curtis Chapman will also be performing a live concert! Check it out for yourself: Orphan Sunday

This Sunday is also extra special to us as it marks two years since we brought our boy home. We will be celebrating with our friends and family by sharing a Korean meal and watching the Orphan Sunday concert together!

Then…

Now…

DISNEYLAND!

Spencer absolutely loved going to Disneyland. We were a little unsure how he would do at such a young age. We thought it was highly possible that he would be scared of the rides and frightened by the Disney characters but he is such a social little guy that he loved everything!  He was enamored with so much constantly going on around him and got very excited whenever he spotted a character in costume. His favorite was meeting Mickey Mouse – he ran and gave him a big bear hug and as he walked away, looked back and blew Mickey a kiss. It was adorable! If you ask Spencer about Disneyland he tells you “Mickey hug me!”

With three full days we took our time and really enjoyed each moment. The crowds were a little thick on Saturday but thinned out tremendously on Sunday and Monday.

Day #1 – Daddy’s 31st Birthday

Cousin Addy, Aunt Marie, Aunt Sarah and a friend, Jen, joined us for the day.

Later that evening, Uncle Christian joined us and we had dinner together in Downtown Disney to celebrate Aaron’s birthday. They had great food!

Day #2 – We were on our own. We started off in Tomorrow-land with Buzz Lightyear astro blasters and ended up in Mickey’s Toon Town. Went back to our hotel for a nap and then stayed the rest of the evening to watch the firework show.

Spencer in his Mickey Ears – what a grin!

Day #3 – Aunt Marie, Cousin Addy and Uncle Christian joined us once again! We started off at the Tiki Room (they had never been!) and then took turns watching the kids so we could go on rides together as couples. It was a blast!

Disney does an amazing job decorating the park. I really enjoyed all the Fall pumpkins and colors…

I’ve been having lots of fun making homemade baby food for Emma! I tried it a few times when Spencer was a baby but didn’t have a big enough freezer at the time so it wasn’t really worth my time. Now I have a small chest freezer (which I LOVE) so I have lots of room to fill it up with baby food!

If you haven’t done it before it’s quite simple. Here’s the method I used…

• First I peeled the fruit

• Simmered it in a large pot until soft

• Drained the fruit and pureed it in a blender

• Poured the finished product into ice cube trays and stuck it in the freezer

• Once it was frozen solid I transferred it from the tray to zip-locks

It’s nice to know I have something healthy (peaches picked right off of Grammie and Pop’s tree!) to give my daughter – plus it saves money. Each ice cube tray is equal to 6 jars of baby food, which range in cost anywhere from 50 – 85 cents. Which means I save $3.00 to $5.00 per tray! That can really add up!

If you’d like to try it yourself I would recommend checking out www.wholesomebabyfood.com. They have tons of great recipes, tips and charts that list what foods to introduce at what age.