New addition in my extended family!

With much gratitude and delight I am sharing with you the news that my cousins Peet and Petra are adopting this little angel from Nigeria. She is turning five on Queen's Day, in our impossible, yet rich Dutch language known as Koninginnedag. So yes, she is royalty for sure!

This little girl, Ruthie and her adoptive parents have been waiting so patiently and so very, very long. Yi Long (pronounced eelong) is so ready to have a sister. He is eager to show her 'the ropes' as he too was adopted at age 4, from China. He integrated so beautifully into our extended family. I remember meeting him when my son Max and I visited 'home' in the Netherlands. Yi Long was already taking strides speaking Dutch while he was barely a few months in the Netherlands. He was so welcoming and loving to Max, not at all in competition, just happy to have someone to play with. This past summer we vacationed together in the US. This time around the boys were at times in competition which tells me they feel loved enough to be the boys they ultimately wish to be from moment to moment. Here's a  picture.