We had a little singing and cookie eating time at Makaria's school.With both a milk and egg allergy, we settled on non-cake things for our celebrations. We called them "Birthday, cookies cakes," at the school while pulling the "We foreigners do weird things" card with the Chinese kids. For them, birthdays ALWAYS mean cake, so we had to make up an explanation on the spot.
She decided that she wanted to go to McDonald's for her birthday meal.
So we loaded onto the bus and headed into town for some fine dining.
We celebrated a little early because we had a dear friend that was
moving back the States before Makaria's actual birthday and we wanted
her there to celebrate with us.
When you are a 5-year old girl, receiving wands and princess stamps is about the best thing to ever happen to you.
The fact that this sweet smile and joyful heart has been with us for 4 years makes me shake my head in disbelief. She still hasn't been able to figure out the adoption thing yet. We talk about it openly in our family and her most recent conclusions have been, "Mommy, you remember when I was a baby and you left me in the airport and then had to come back and get me?" And, "Mommy, remember how you went and got me in Ethiopia and then brought me back and put me in your stomach and then I came out?!" As a sidenote, I love that 5-year olds speak in commas and not periods.
As we went around and encouraged her with all the things we love about her, here are a few:
Loves to serve
Joyful
Such a curious student
Hard worker
Great little sister
Compassionate
The next day, we had friends over and had apple pie. I will say that making a desert for a child allergic to both milk and eggs is quite a feat. But we did it and had a wonderful time. Hubs' birthday is right around the corner, so we threw him into the birthday mix too.
We love you sweet girl! Happy Birthday!
