2015...and life goes on.

Well, here we are. Can it be over 5 years since this blog was started already? Obviously, the time spent becoming a family has taken time away from the blog. This will likely be the last blog post. In the past few years, there have been smiles, tears, laughs, cries, hugs, arguments, ups, downs...all the things you would expect from a family. We remember the good times and try to learn from the bad times. This is a journey that I dare say none of us ever expected to make, but I believe none of us would have done in any different.

Today finds Anyssa a happy 10 year-old 4th grader. She's prospering as an American girl with a real mom and dad. She loves watching TV and movies and playing Wii. She has a bed full of stuffies. She is working hard on reading and loves being read to. She is great at math and dancing. She's been the Bolingbrook Power Dancer of the Year and has performed on stage with the group MANY times. She attends SPARKS at Good Shepherd and has a strong faith foundation. She has fun with her friends and loves spending time with her sisters. She is on her 3rd bike and loves riding it along with her scooter. She is a Pokémon collector and trader. She loves to climb trees. She cares for and feeds the animals who call our yard their home. She's a great "big sister" to Figaro. As big as she grows, she still loves to be carried and to ride on Dad's shoulders. She's visited Disneyworld. She swam in the Gulf of Mexico and has collected shells on the beach. Every Christmas, Elfina (her very own "elf on a shelf") comes to visit. She is a smart, caring girl. She is beautiful...inside and out. I can only hope that we've brought as much joy to her life as she's brought to ours. Only time will tell.

The love of a family is life's greatest blessing.