I hope that all of you had a very Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful holiday, and the only thing missing was some good news from Ethiopia.

It is very common for holidays to be an emotional and challenging time for children who were adopted, as it is normal to think about the people you love and miss during the holidays, and all of the "going ons" and excitement can put kids into emotional overdrive.

The first Christmas that Mercy and Des were home with us, Mercy had a big breakdown. Their birth mom had promised a lot of things to the girls when she placed them with us a few months earlier, and at that point the letters, calls, etc. were not coming. She had promised several times that she would send them something for Christmas, and when Christmas arrived without so much as a card, I think Mercy finally accepted that her birth mom wasn't going to do the things that she said. It was so hard to hold her in my arms and feel her sob in disappointment and heartbreak.

But now it is three years later, and things were very different this year. The kids are all very settled now and they were all in very good spirits. Despite the high level of excitement, they were all really well behaved and we had a ton of fun with them. We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas day, and a wonderful week leading up to it. My brother and his girl friend are here, and the week has been full of our family traditions, some new and some old.

As we spent all day Saturday at the sledding hill, as we loaded up in the van to go to church on Sunday, as we all went to our favorite restaurant for Christmas Eve brunch, as we curled up on Christmas Eve in new pajamas and blankets to watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and to listen to Ryan read the Christmas story in the Book of Luke, as we opened piles and piles of presents and then ate more than our fair share of cinnamon rolls and orange rolls on Christmas morning, as we laughed ourselves silly playing "Sing Star" and "Dance Dance Revolution" as a family Christmas night and as we tucked in ten of the most amazing children ever put on this earth for bed last night, I was overwhelmed with love and gratitude for the family I have the honor of belonging to.

I am grateful that each one of my children are here and that they are happy and healthy. I am grateful that they love us, and that they have accepted us as their parents and claimed each other as their brothers and sisters. I am grateful for a husband with a huge heart, that values me and our children more than anything.

I am grateful that next year, this ache in my heart will be gone, and that at the end of the Christmas morning chaos, there will not be a stocking hanging untouched, because it's owner is still thousands of miles away in an orphanage.

It truly was a wonderful, almost perfect, Christmas. We had so much fun, joy, laughter and love. And even though I did not get what I most wanted for Christmas, I am hoping that my gift will arrive just a wee bit late.

I hope that your Christmas was filled with all of the joy and love of family.