Last night, as we were at Vince's office with our dear friends Chris & Michelle, decorating the office Christmas tree, I checked the site where we receive pictures of S & Y. I was surprised with the picture above! Not only is my son holding the ziploc bag that I had sent via UPS to a family traveling to pick up their own adorable twins, BUT, he's wearing the Cardinals shirt I picked up for him at Target. I hugged and kissed that shirt, blessed it, cried over it, and zipped it in a ziploc for S to take out of that ziploc and wear. There it is, he's wearing it! Surreal. Does he have any idea who the Arizona Cardinals are, of course not. Will he before his next birthday? You betcha!

My girl is holding my ziploc. If you look close, you can see the Arizona book we sent. A new friend of mine, who is from Eritrea, the country that borders Ethiopia, translated little things I wrote to Y in the book. I showed her our beautiful desert, our city, and the mountains that we like to escape to during the hot summer. I told her about how in the winter we get a cabin up north in the mountains to see the snow. I cannot explain the feelings of seeing her holding the little bag of love I put together just for her. It has a cute little dress in it, and I hope she loves it. I've noticed that she always has girly girl clothes on, and her cute necklace points to her sweet style. Really, I just never knew how much I needed a little girl.

My new little man has a bunch of pictures holding a firetruck I sent him. I think he loves it. He will be getting more little cars and trucks in the near future. It looked like in almost every picture he was holding onto it. I hugged and kissed that firetruck just for you S! I'm so glad you love it.

Pigtails. I have boys, gel, and faux-hauxs at my house these days, no pigtails. Pigtails, braids, ponytails, and all sort of hair-do's I know nothing about coming soon to the Dorazio house!

Vince and I stayed up till almost 2am scouring the pictures for every detail we could gather on S & Y. Our agency has a great network of parents who are going back and forth to Ethiopia for court and embassy/pick-up trips. Every time someone goes, we have the opportunity to send a little something. It's not much, but a few fun things, and lots of pictures of our family. I have no idea of the impact of our little gifts, but I've been told that the pictures are the most important for the kids.

I know for our family, the pictures we receive from the traveling families are a lifeline. Every picture shows that our kids have changed, they've grown a little, and if we look closely enough we see their little personalities. One day soon, I'll get to go, hug my very own kids for myself, and take hundreds of pictures of orphans who may, or may not have families waiting to bring them home. I think I need a new camera.

Good night sweet Y & S. You are in our thoughts every minute of every day. We cleaned out the attic and garage this weekend to make room for all the extra things we'll acquire when you get here. We're looking at furniture for the boys room, so the 3 of you will fit in one room, and looking at colors for your room Y! I wonder what your favorite color will be? We love you, and Jack prayed tonight that you would come home soon. He prays that every single day, as well as all our friends, family, and the kid's classes at school. Our family just has one goal these days, and it's "Bring S & Y home!"