Merry Christmas from the Riebens!

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Celebrating Christ

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Dear Family and Friends, This year will mark a radical change in the way that our family celebrates Christmas. For years we have struggled to find a balance between gift giving/receiving and celebrating the real "reason for the season," the birth and life of our Savior, Jesus Christ. While we feel that we have come closer to finding that balance each year, we still walk away feeling mediocre at best. As the Christmas season has crept steadily nearer, we have found ourselves on our knees many times, pleading with the Father for His guidance on how we can best celebrate Christ this Christmas. As I was studying my scriptures I came upon a passage in Deuteronomy (24:19-21): "When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless and for the widow: that the Lord they God shall bless thee in all the work of thine hands. When thou beatest thine olive tree, tho...
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An Adoption Update

There is risk in adoption. Risk of loss. Risk of heartache. Some people shelter their hearts by keeping their journeys private. Historically, I have always been an open book, sharing each step of our journey; failures and successes. It helps to write things down and of course, the support from family, friends and even strangers is priceless. This adoption has been different. In the past 18+ months we have experienced three significant losses. The most recent was the "loss" of our two little boys in Eastern Europe. While the decision to withdraw our commitment was absolutely the right thing for our family, letting those little boys go shattered my heart. Fortunately they are both home and thriving in loving families now and that sorrow has turned to joy. Those of you who have followed our family for awhile might also remember the loss of "Little Boy" in Bulgaria. My heart still aches for him, but had we been able to proceed with his adoption, we would not have been...
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Bittersweet

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Today was my last day with sweet Lily. Our time today was bittersweet. Today was the birthday of a little boy in her group and there was going to be a party to celebrate. She didn't want to miss it and so she came to me this morning crying. She cried for most of our visit (she thought she was missing the party), but the sweet part of our time together was that she came to me and allowed me to hold and comfort her while she cried. Generally I do not like to see my children sad or hurting and Lily is no exception, BUT it was wonderful to be the person she came to for love and comfort. I held her, rocked her and rubbed her back while she cried and, despite her unhappiness, it was a wonderful bonding moment for both of us. Fortunately, Lily did NOT miss the party! When it was time, her caregiver came and invited us all to join them for the festivities. They sang to the birthday boy, gave him hugs, kisses and some small gifts and then enjoyed sweets from the bakery, music, dancing and e...
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