1st halloween ever*

Halloween is BIG here where we live... we decided to take part for the fun of dressing up and for the trick-or-treating.  Around the corner from where we live there was an arm and a leg sticking out from the postbox and kellen asked me every day for a week...mommy, please don't get an arm and a leg...it's scary'.  

We've made it a positive and sweet halloween... i introduce to you... 

Batman & Tinkerbell 

 can we please get going? Where are all the treats? 

 come bella, this way...

most of the people in our compound gathering at the swimming pool

before we go out trick-and-treating

there were quite a big number of children... 

 batman protected tinkerbell through the chaos

 there were some brilliant costumes, even the adults dressed up... 

enough now! where is all this treats you are speaking off? 

nobody is put off by the rain...

 made for brilliant puddle jumping... 

think bella enjoyed that the most... 

"ok, i'm tired. go home. sweets are done. 

no more treats. time for bed".

a very tired little tinker bell... and batman? 

he was off sharing all his treats with the kids

knocking on our door xx

*it was his idea to share his treats with the kids when ours was finish... 
i'm such a proud mama :-) 

when i look into her eyes*

i loved her before i even met her. i had one photo of her and 2 days later after the excitement of the call i was staring at her in the only photo we had, looking for little things that can tell me more about who she is, when i realised how sad she looked. i burst out in tears. 

i wanted to pick her up and hold her. i wanted to tell her how much she is loved and wanted. i wanted to tell her how long we have waited for HER and how many prayers we've asked to get to her... how long it took to hold our baby in our arms... i wanted to rock her and sing her to sleep... i wanted to trace her little face with my finger and stare into her eyes and with my eyes, without one word, she would feel how much we loved her. 

the first night she slept in her own cot, with her mama and daddy right next to her, she did not wake. she slept for hours on end. we were waiting in the lounge for her to make a peep so that we 'have to' pick her up... but she didn't wake. with every movement i jumped up and ran to the room, to see that she is still sleeping. disappointed i turned around, because my mom said you don't wake a sleeping baby :-).  at 9 o'clock that evening she turned around and made a tiny sound, on which i ran to the room and i swooped her up in my arms and started talking to her... with the idea to wake her. i just couldn't wait any more.. i wanted to talk to my daughter. 

everything about that conversation was magical. 

it's one year later.  she is in awe of everything around her. her eyes lit up when she sees her daddy and every morning the first person she looks for and call is 'ba-ba' (boeta).. her brother.  when she sees her brother she gets a little jump in her feet as if she is getting ready for take-off. she totally adores him. he asked me the other day why she always follows him (and he is only 5....imagine when he is 10!)... the only answer i had for him is that he is her superhero. we are what her life is about.

on the evening of 22/08/11, she became a daughter, a sister, a daddy's girl, a granddaughter, a cousin, a friend loved my many many people. she made our family rich and happy. we are the luckiest people alive that God chose us to parent this little beautiful girl.

today, i looked into her little eyes and i saw something different...a challenge, a 'i want to see what mama is going to do' look, and i knew it was just the beginning of this little brave girl for whom our social worker had to fight to get her place in our family. i saw determination to get what is hers and i saw adventure... 

today i saw her fierceness and passion to stand up for herself, i saw braveness and softness all at once. i saw a little girl who has changed so much since that first little photo... i see happiness. 

adventure*

“Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” – Mark Jenkins
adventure...
[noun] a wild and exciting undertaking (not necessarily lawful)
Synonyms: escapade, risky venture, dangerous undertaking

Since Kellen was 18months old, I showed him maps of the world. I told him about all the 'adventures' we are going to go on and the far away places we are going to explore and discover. I told him stories of all the places we have been to and how i'm going to show him as much as possible of our beautiful world.

today we went to the airport to pick up his daddy.  early morning we had this conversation:

he: mommy, can we go earlier to walk around in the airport?
me: of course. do you want to walk around in the airport? that is a great idea.
he:  mommy, to fly is such a big adventure. i love adventure.
me: 'gasp'... my heart racing.. he understands... yay!!! he is going to be world traveller!
me:  yes, it is big adventure. mommy loves adventure too. and i love that you think of flying and travelling as an adventure.  just imagine all the places we are going to see... smell...experience...
he:  mommy, when can we fly again. i want to go to malaysia.

me:  be still my heart!

we are going to travel the world.
we are going to meet new people and experience how they live.
we are going to help people in other countries.
we are going to interact and learn from other cultures.
we will taste all their traditional foods.
we will drink their traditional drinks.
we will partake in this grand adventure that is life!

Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.

Anais Nin