HAPPY BIRTHDAY B!

Happy birthday my sweet little man! I desperately wish I was with you today to help you realize just how special you are. However, I have faith that today—because of His infinite love (particularly for orphans) and the many that are praying for you here in the States—our Lord is doing a fine job of showing you just that. You are in great hands, B. The best. Nevertheless, I selfishly wish you could also be snuggled up in my arms.

Ahhh... I miss B. To celebrate his birthday, I had plans to make a large Russian family meal. A very unpleasant stomach virus may have spoiled those plans, but nothing could spoil our excitement over B's big day. Derek and I went out to eat (I still didn't do much eating...) with my parents, who had exciting news to share with us. World travelers that they are, they informed us that they found an "amazing vacation deal" which will take them on a cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow this spring. How amazing is that?! They will get to see where their grandchildren spent the first part of their lives. I can't tell you what it means to me to see them so excited over the possibility of experiencing our family's heritage. Everything is just fitting together so perfectly. God has a way of doing that, doesn't he?

In addition to dinner, we stopped at Target to get the birthday boy his first birthday presents! Readers, shhh! Don't tell B what he's getting! ;-) We plan on having a birthday bash for each of our kiddos once their home, on their 1/2 birthdays. Perhaps at least one of these gifts will stay unopened for the big day!

Friends, thank you rejoicing over B's birthday with us. And thank you for understanding that, though today is a wonderful day to celebrate his birth, it's also difficult in that we can't be with him. Well... here's to many more birthdays (celebrated together) to come!