Nearing the End

What a change a week can make!  Last week was so beautiful and warm, that we spent quite a bit of time outside.  Kera always loves going on walks, so I make it a point to try to take her out every day.  Last week I decided that maybe she was big enough to go to the playground.  She looked so tiny in the swing, but she absolutely loved it!  She is definitely a thrill seeker... she loves being thrown into the air, hung upside down, trying to escape her swing (yes, she's strapped in) and she thinks it's fun to fall backward onto the couch when we're trying to hold her.  So swinging was right up her alley.  The slide, on the other hand, was not so much fun.  She wasn't upset or anything, she just didn't seem to care.  Maybe when she's big enough to go down by herself (Troy was holding her) she'll care more.
As much as I loved last week's weather, I was so excited to wake up this morning to snow!  Granted, it wasn't much (less than an inch), but now that I'm working from home and have no need to leave the house, I would welcome a nice snowy winter.  Plus, I was excited to introduce Keragan to snow.  What a let down, though, as she was completely unimpressed!!!  I kept trying to point it out to her looking out the window, but she was distracted by the trees, the cat, and her toys, and everything else other than the snow.  Maybe once we get a few more inches she'll notice it.
Next week is a big one for our family.  While Kera's been in our hearts and our lives for the past seven months, she hasn't legally been ours.  Next Tuesday is our court date for our finalization, which means she will legally be a Sommers!  We have our final social worker visit this week, reviewe all of the final paperwork and submit it to the court, and then we'll be ready to go!  Initially it was hard for me to get excited about the finalization, because in our hearts and minds she was ours in every way.  So, this just seemed more like a formality.  However, as it's gotten closer, I've gotten more excited about it.  In fact, we decided to have a little Open House as a way to celebrate, and also to thank people for all of their support over the past year.  I'm trying to come up with fun activities/tokens of appreciation, but I'm kind of having a hard time with it.  Anyone have any ideas?  Also, if you're reading this and would like to come to the Open House, email or call me for details.