First Christmas Thoughts

This evening we gave the boys an early Christmas present- their first Christmas ornament of their own. They have spent the last few days watching the rest of their family decorate the tree with our ornaments.  It was wonderful and strange to share with them all the stories behind each one- 'First Christmas together', 'Baby's First  Christmas', childhood ornaments of Elmo and Curious George, and all the little horse figurines that invariably result from having four horse-crazy girls over almost eighteen years. One ornament, however, was amazingly poignant this year. As we all watched it mom and dad hang it on our tree, it took us back to our last two years- paperwork, waiting, praying, crying and hoping. Knowing who our boys were, knowing their names and being able to see their pictures, and yet not being able to have them with us as we celebrated Christmas.

SIX MILLION ORPHANS IN ETHIOPIA- MINUS 2

This Christmas, two little children who spent last year in an orphanage will be celebrating the birth of our Savior with a family who loves them. They are sons, brothers, cousins, nephews, and grandsons- no longer part of the indistinct '6 million orphans' but part of a family. Has it been easy? No! But following God's plan to 'bring us a future and a hope' is never easy. It means hard work, bad days, tears, and pain. However, His plan is perfect. I can see this now clearly, in retrospect, though it was cloudy and unsure a year ago. God is good! This Christmas, our boys are home.

Six million orphans in Ethiopia alone- what can you do for them this Christmas?

Our last few months- Post 1

It seems like just yesterday that it was May and we were bringing our boys home and now- December! It's amazing the way time flies and how little posting is accomplished! :o) The fall months have been busy and rewarding for the Grant Family, full of new experiences for Ethan and Levi- visiting a fish hatchery, experiencing the fun and noise of a Grant get-together for Thanksgiving, and now preparing for the wonderful time of the year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus! It has been a fun-filled and occasionally challenging time as we introduce our boys to all the traditions and experiences that surround the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.

Since we haven't posted in a while, the stories and pictures have begun to pile up- so we decided to break down our experiences into a few individual posts for your veiwing pleasure... hope you enjoy!

This October we took two different trips to the Coleman National Fish Hatchery- a fun and informative trip we have taken as a family many times in the past and one we were eager to let the boys experience as well. We ended up making a field trip of it with two other families and we all had a blast. 



All the kids cheered as the fish tried to make it up the ladder

We watched the fish swim a little ways down the river from where hatchery ladders begin- the fish swim up the concrete ladders into the large holding tank. There is a chainlink fence just above the river bank, so everyone pressed against that and tried to get a good view!

From there we trooped to the holding tanks. It was a great chance to get an up-close look at these enomous salmon- some were several feet long! They were continually trying to jump out of the tank, and would often bang into the chainlink fence that we were bending over. Water would splash everywhere, and lots of screams and laughter ensued.

We moved to the huge tanks where they keep the growing baby fish and watched the tiny six-inch salmon work their feeder and knock the food into the water.

We showed the boys the posters on the life cycle of the salmon. I  don't think we were too successful in explaining, judging from their faces...

3 families- 17 children - 9 adopted!

We saw lots of fish, had lots of fun, and are looking forward to continuing to share fun traditions and experiences with our boys in the future!

Have a blessed December!

Savannah and Victoria