Happy Birthday to Karen

8 years old now and one birthday celebration down, one more big one to go! We figure when all the family is together (which is on the horizon, yippee) we'll have a large celebration with the requested "princess" theme with pizza, cake, and ice cream (oh, and the presents -- don't forget them). These have been the same requests throughout the year of what Karen wants for her birthday celebration.

Karen did manage to embarrass me a little when she opened up the card from her Grandma. Upon opening it, she immediately began to shake it around asking, "What, no dollars?" Americanized, yes, and spoiled, maybe, and obviously now needing some fine tuning on her manners. Of course, Grandma thought it was so cute but I was rather embarrassed. That girl was seriously searching that card and envelope for money and wondered how her Grandma could've forgotten to enclose it! Silly girl!

We had a nice little celebration on Karen's birthday Sunday with a cake we baked and a few presents. The overwhelming excitement leading up to her birthday seems to have sparked an emotional side to her. She's cried several times today admitting she misses all those people from Colombia who meant so much to her. She's really expressed missing her birthmom several times in the past 2 days. She is easily the most tender of all of my children. She wondered if I thought her birthmom would remember her or remember it was her birthday. What a loaded question; what a touching time! I can't help but feel the pain their birthmom must truly feel, not really knowing the destiny of her birthchildren and holding their memory only in her heart and within her dreams. Our family prays nightly together for their birthmother, but my prayer to this dear woman is ask God to grant comfort and assuredness that her children are loved and cared for in ways that she wasn't able to fulfill. May she always be blessed by the love and protection of an endearing Father above! I pray my children will forever embrace a special love for their birthmother. On behalf of my children, Mami E -- we send hugs from afar, from a Half A Sky Away, all the way from Alaska to Colombia.