Attacks

The terrorist attacks in Mumbai have left us feeling less than Thankful over this Thanksgiving. However, we are happy now to report that we have heard from the staff at Bal Asha and from Minal, the MAPS coordinator in India, and all is well. Leah is safe and sound. Now we hope and pray for things to resolve before we travel to India to bring her home. A very upsetting few days....

The Election

As this blog is a bit of a diary for Leah we would be remiss if we did not mention what happened last week. We are proud that Leah is lucky to have been born in an era and will be raised in a country where it is possible for a black man to be elected President, in a time where people have come together to stop the cycle of bigotry that has been passed down for generations.

More importantly it seems that our country now has momentum to change and fix so much of what has gone wrong — from economics to the environment, to war and humanitarian disasters — that instead of leaving Leah with a burden almost impossible to climb, there is hope that we may in fact leave a world that is better.

Birthday party pictures

My niece Michelle - she and Megan came to "babysit" the little ones...

Told you the cake was adorable! Thanks Michele!

Kade - Leah's fellow Hunter!

Maggie is wishing Leah was here to play with her instead of all of these boys!

1st Birthday!

Yesterday (November 1st) Leah turned one. It was a bitter sweet day for us... bitter because we want her here NOW and sweet because our "Hampden gang" of friends threw her a Birthday Party/Baby Shower. We were both overwhelmed by how generous everyone was from the menu that featured Indian food to the gifts it was all too much. THANK YOU EVERYONE.

A few highlights... Michele Metzler showed off her cake decorating skills once again and made an adorable elephant cake for Leah! My cousin Ty and his new bride Courtney hosted the party in their new home and gave her a radio flyer wagon Ty "assembled". Kade Bartlett gave Leah a camo hat from Cabelas to match his so they can go hunting with their Dads and I guess that means Jamie and I will go shopping when that happens!

Lots of other great gifts and again the outpouring of love from everyone was so special. Here are a few pictures courtesy of Jake of course..... Oh and I just realized it is rather amusing to see pictures of the "Mom to be" having a beer at her baby shower! Special thanks to Ty for getting us "India Pale Ale" to drink! Clever.