A Visual Reminder

I often get asked, "So, are you going to share with Landon where he came from?" The answer: ABSOLUTELY! We aren't planning on making it some sort of big revealing when he's old enough to understand. We intend on making his story part of his life right from the start. As one way of doing this, we asked a dear friend of ours, Karen, to help us out by painting a mural of St. Basil's Cathedral on his bedroom wall. The timing of when it was finished made it all the more special. Karen began painting the night before we left on our 3rd trip. She finished up while we were in Russia. When we walked Landon into his room for the first night, it was there, beautifully complete on the wall in front of us! We couldn't be happier with how it turned out, and are SO SOOO grateful for Karen's sacrificial 18 hours of labor!!! 

As you can see below, this mural is right above where Landon's crib is, and it is the first thing you see when you walk into his room. We are not only using it as a visual reminder of his cultural heritage, but also to remind us of the amazing way God chose to give us our son. The more we get to know him, and the more he gets comfortable with our family, the more we can see that he truly is a perfect fit into our families. 

We also have a few items from Moscow to place on a shelf (we just have to purchase and hang the shelf!!) on the wall to the left of the mural. The nesting dolls (including the ones pictured below that our friends the Coutos from church made- too funny!), the snow globe of St. Basil's, and a picture of the three of us in front of St. Basil's on our 2nd full day together.

Today, when I started hearing his babbling over the moniter, I clicked the "video" button to see if Landon was standing up. I was pleasantly surprised to see him pointing and touching the mural while babbling. If I could only understand what he was saying! :)

Thank you Karen! We love you!