Eli Turns 4 (and Erin turns 29…again!)

Growing up, I had a tradition of celebrating my birthday with my Grandpa Ray (Edie Raye’s namesake). My grandpa passed away five years ago, but I fondly remember our celebrations together at Azteca fighting over who would get to wear the sombrero for our annual birthday picture together!

What could make my birthday better…how about now sharing it with my son! Yep. Eli and I have the same birthday!

I’ll never forget our initial referral conversation with our adoption coordinator as she explained to us what little information she had on “Eli”. She said, “He is three years old and does have a known birth date of February 22nd.” (Most children in Ethiopian adoption don’t have a “known” birth date.) Joel and I just looked at each other, tears in our eyes unable to speak. Finally, Joel, with a little laugh, managed to explain to her that that was also my birthday. Another sign. Yep. Eli was meant to be ours. I remember exactly what I was doing on 2/22/05, the day he was born. What a special gift.

We celebrated our birthdays with friends and family. We ordered Ethiopian food and dined on doro wat and injera and a car themed birthday cake, chosen by the birthday boy! It was a great celebration. Eli received wonderful gifts and had a great celebration. He sang, “Happy Birthday…” for about 10 days afterward. Now, every time he receives something new, he says, “Oh! Happy birthday!” I think he liked his birthday and I definitely enjoyed sharing the day with a loved one again. Grandpa Ray would like that too.