What a year 2006 was! Just about every year in the decade that Josh and I have been married has been a “big year” in one way or another…

In 1996 we were married and our first son was born.
In 1997 we bought and moved into our first home.
In 1998 our second son was born.
In 1999 our third son was born.
In 2000 we moved cross country and into a new home.
In 2001 we started our first adoption.
In 2002 our Maggie came home from Vietnam.
In 2003 Amanda came home from S. Korea.
In 2004 we got to be in the room when our sweet Marcus was born, and then just a few months later we had a “surprise” adoption, when our Mercy and Des joined our family.
In 2005 we moved in to our home (where I want to live until I am old and gray!) and started the process to adopt Benjamin.
And in 2006, we brought Ben home, met Belane and returned to Ethiopia to bring home Belane.

But for me, 2006 was a lot more than just “the year of Ben and Belane”. 2006 was a year of happiness, adventure, change, prayer, stress, big decisions, changes of heart, faith, hope, anticipation, anxiety, joy and love. It was a year which for me, was one full of emotion, and one in which I feel I really “grew” as a person. I look back to this time last year, and the Erin of Dec. 2005 was a lot more “unknowing” and had a different way of looking at the world and life.

In 2006, my trips to Ethiopia really changed the way I think about a lot of things. I was not naïve last year… I knew that there were people suffering from poverty and lack of food and illnesses…but to SEE it first hand and experience it close up, is life changing.

I stood in a mud and straw house where my son lived for five years…where his parents died, and his remaining family made the heart wrenching decision to place him in an orphanage with the hope of a different and better life for him.

I rode in taxis and walked down streets and witnessed countless people living in dire conditions…handicapped people, young people, old people, mothers and fathers and grandparents and babies.

I sat in orphanages full of children, hanging on my arms, calling me “Mommy”, desperate for attention and love and someone to belong to. I "knew" those kids were there before...but to hear their voices, and feel their hands on me and look into their eyes, made it much more real.

I walked into an orphanage full of children with HIV, expecting to see a room full of sad, sick and dieing children, and instead was surprised to find a room full of smiling, happy, vibrant and joyful children…and even more surprising was finding my child among them.

Continued here...