Sharing What We've Been Given

Our journey to bring Allison home, though in reality was only just over a year, was a very long year where we learned to trust that God would supply for all our needs, including when our financial needs seemed insurmountable.  But He did. Through a combination of family sacrifice, fundraising, and donations we were able to cover all of our expenses without taking out a loan (which was our backup plan).  Sometimes the money we needed came in large chunks, and sometimes it came dollar by dollar.

Many of those dollars came from selling handmade jewelry on my Etsy store. But now that our fundraising is done, I want to share with others who are still on their journey to their child(ren).

If you are currently adopting, I would love to help you raise the money that you need to bring your child(ren) home.

Here's what you do:

• Become a follower of "Our Journey of Love".
• Write a blogpost about partnering with Simple Smiles and More on your family/adoption blog.
• Include a link on that post to http://www.weberadoptionstory.blogspot.com/ and http://www.simplesmilesandmore.etsy.com/
• Comment on this post to let me know that you are participating.
• You can also become a fan (and invite your friends to become fans) of Simple Smiles on Facebook so you will be notified of promotions and sales that I occasionally run for my Etsy store.

Then, when you refer someone to order, make sure they include your name and blog in the "message to seller", and I will pass on 25% of that sale back to you for your adoption expenses. Even if you purchase for yourself or gifts, I'll send 25% back to you through PayPal.

Post Adoption Home Study

We need to check in with our agency and have reports done before 3 months, 6 months, and a year from coming home. We had our first of those visits tonight.

What I realized tonight is how far we've come. We don't see Allison's transitions and adjusting when we are in the middle of it. Day by day. 24/7 But in talking with our social worker, it seems like we have overcome all of the obstacles that we had during those first days and weeks. It doesn't mean that everything will be perfect from here on out (with kids, you never get that guarantee) but we are feeling more like a fully functioning family. And it feels good.

One month

I haven't blogged here in over a week! That means that things are going well in the Weber home (since I often use my blog to sort through my thoughts when times are tougher).

Today marks one month since we arrived home with Allison. She has adjusted well to our family and one month seems like a huge milestone for us! These pictures are new ones that I haven't shared from our trip home. Alli slept in a bassinet on one of the flights for a bit. Because she can sit up, we weren't able to sleep while she was in there, but it gave our arms a break. Her first meal in the US was at Chili's at Detroit Metro (though she had baby food). And then we have our ride home, and our first moments at home as a five family!

Orphan Sunday: Part 2

Not everyone is called to adopt. But all of us are called to "look after orphans" (James 1:27).  So on this Orphan Sunday 2010, I want to ask something of you. Can you help one orphan get home to her family?

We have sweet friends who we have met through the adoption process. I remember when she called me on the phone at the very beginning of her journey and was very open and honest with her fears, reservations, and excitement, I was open about our story and where we had been and where we were going. Well this family has just sent off their dossier to Ethiopia. That big packet that hold everything with your side of the adoption paperwork. A culmination of weeks and months of work, form filling, and paper chasing. And with submission also comes one of the large payments to pay the lawyers and governments to process all that paperwork. Paperwork that will (hopefully) soon bring them their match (referral) to their daughter.

They stepped out in faith at the start of their journey, and with this most recent payment, they are struggling.

So, on Orphan Sunday 2010, can you skip your Starbucks? Can you order water at lunch? Can you eat at home today? Then, can you donate that $5-$10 to their adoption fund?  Or might you have it in you to do more?

You can read the story of the Arvayo Family here. And they have a secure PayPal link right on their site that will go directly to their adoption expenses.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. -James 1:27

Orphan Sunday

Tomorrow is Orphan Sunday. It's a day that holds a lot more meaning to me in the past two years than it did before.

Now, it's a fine line I walk between being an advocate for orphans, and being an adoptive mom. My daughter is not the "poster child" for adoption. Neither is she my "gold star" for "saving" her. One of the most awkward comments I receive now that Allison is home, and when we are out (especially as a five family and it is obvious that she is not biological) is "How wonderful of you." No one told us that when we got pregnant. Adoption was just a different way to grow our family. She forever is just another daughter in our family, though she came to us a different way.

But at the same time, I need to advocate for the children who are still without families. I know that many readers of my blog are adoptive parents themselves. But I also wonder if someone reading is like I was 2 or 5 or 20 years ago, when "Maybe I'll adopt someday" was just a small thought in the back of my mind. Adoption isn't for everyone (just like parenting isn't for everyone), but if you think that God might be leading your family down this road, may I ask, "What's stopping you?"

And whether you are reading this today, or whether you stumble upon this post years from now, my life and story are an open book. And my passion is for children to be raised in loving homes. And I will always openly and honestly answer any questions you have and talk to you about adoption to help you decide if adoption is right for your family.


Why Love Orphans? from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

PS-To read more about the dance between orphan advocate and parent of an adopted child, you can read the blogs of The Road Less Traveled and Rage Against the Minivan. Both are moms with a passion for adoption and for their children and recently wrote about this subject over a series of posts, but you can start here (if you have a few minutes or a few days to get lost reading what they write). :)

Progress

It's still a little early in the day, so I hesitate to post this, but I laid Allison down for a morning nap this morning, and although she cried in her crib for about 5 minutes, she then napped for two hours! And ever since then she has been just charming and is even sitting calmly in her high chair right next to me right now eating her lunch. (I think she is half Italian with how much she loves pasta!)

We'll play in a bit, then we'll try an afternoon nap until it is time to leave to pick the big girls up from school. Then it's Friday Happy Hour at Sonic (we go every Friday after school)!

Scheduling

If the adoption process taught me patience, adoption parenting is teaching me flexibility.

I like schedules, planning, and routine. Allison does not. I am letting her lead and hoping that she will fall into her natural schedule, and that isn't working. At all. One day she'll take one nap, the next day it's two. Today she woke up at 6:00am, had a morning bottle with Tony, and started crying at 6:30 and didn't end until I laid her back down at 7:30. And now she's out.

Thankfully I was able to run across the street to my sweet neighbor who drove the big girls to school this morning. Though I'm not a fan of Hilary, I do agree that "it takes a village" and am thankful for all the help that has been given to us.

The Bottle

This is a continuation of my thoughts from yesterday's post, here.

I thought I knew about being a mom. I have two older girls who are turning out quite well, if you ask my opinion. I spent years on the leadership of MOPS, and people have even come to me for advice on parenting once in a while.

So why do I feel like I don't know anything anymore?

Though bio parenting and adoptive parenting may look similar on the outside, now that I'm here I'm finding that there are very important, though subtle from the outside, differences.

For example, this morning Allison was having a "freak out" session. I tried playing with her, I tried holding her, I tried walking with her, I tried feeding her, and nothing worked. So I pulled out the secret weapon -- the bottle. I am trying to be consistent, and trying to get her on a schedule, and trying to build some routine, but a bottle is just what she needed/wanted and she calmed down in my arms immediately. Then we played, then she went down for a nap a few minutes ago (canceling my lunch date with my love, but I'm sure he'll give me a rain check for another day).

Even though I processed through my thoughts yesterday about 14 months vs. 3 weeks, I still had the "old" me fighting to stay strong and not give in to her fit. That she is over a year old and shouldn't be getting mid-day, just for the heck of it bottles. Goodness knows that M & E wouldn't have gotten a bottle if they acted like that at 14 months.

But the rules are different, and I have to change everything I know.

14 months or 3 weeks

One of the strangest things about adoption is trying to figure out how to relate to your new child. Biologically she is 14 1/2 months old. She crawls, she babbles, she plays with her toys, she has opinions about what she likes and wants (and doesn't like and want). But at the same time she is only a three week old. She has only been a part of our family for three weeks. She has only been in our home for three weeks. She has only been in this country for three weeks.

I have two older bio kids that I had from birth, but how I related to them at 14 months doesn't necessarily apply with Allison. By 14 months I would tell them no, and if they had a fit I would let them cry it out. But with Allison, many of the rules are different. I don't know if, when, and how to discipline. I want her to love us, trust us, and bond with us, but we also have rules and expectations in our family. So right now it is a minute by minute dance to meet her needs, remembering that in many ways, she is really a 3 week old.

I also miss some of the grace and mercy that is given to moms of newborns. She sleeps through the night, yet I am still exhausted. We have been blessed to have meals brought to us by family and friends, but sometimes it feels strange to receive a meal from a friend who has a child younger than Allison. She has it all together, and I am still feeling like the mom of a 3 week old and can't get dinner on the table for my family, but I don't have a newborn, I have a toddler. I haven't gotten a shower every day this week. It is a big accomplishment that I folded a few loads of laundry today. I was late picking the big girls up this afternoon, and if I had a 3 week old I would get the "new mom" sympathy, but instead I am just a dirty mom, a lazy mom, and just a late mom (and I'm never late at school pick up). I had to wake Allison up to pick the big girls up, and then there was her diaper change, and clothes change, and I just felt like a new mom.

Allison's Welcome Home Celebration

Arriving in Phoenix was a surreal experience as our family and friends met us at the airport to welcome Allison home.

Thank you to everyone to celebrated with us, and thank you to Korri Ray for taking these priceless photos.

Meeting Allison for the First Time

I am still playing catch up now that we can post pictures and video of Allison. Here are the first moments when I met Alli back in August.

Week 1 Wrap Up

I have so many thoughts running through my mind. And it seems like when there is a ton going on, and lots to blog about, that's when you have the least amount of time to sit and write.

But, we have been home one week. And what a week it has been.

We are totally wrapped up with our sweet baby girl, and already it is hard to remember our lives without her. The sound of her laugh and her babbling fills our days. Megan and Emily are awesome big sisters and love to play with her. We have been blessed with wonderful meals from family and friends and that is a huge load off my shoulders. We are also loving our visits with everyone who has stopped by to meet Allison.

But we are still in transistion, and we are still getting to know each other. Jumping into parenting with a 14 month old is very different than bringing home a newborn, and I don't think I was prepared for just how different it is. She is active, and she has opinions. We don't always know what she wants, but we are trying our best.

We also think that she gets tummy trouble from milk, and we have been giving her a bottle whenever she is fussy (therefore, making the long term problem worse). So, starting at bedtime, we are going to a soy formula and hope that it will help her times of intense unhappyness that just comes on suddenly.

I just wish I knew what she was thinking. What did she think when we drove out of Toukoul? What did she think that first morning when she woke up and we were still there? What did she think when we flew all those long hours on the way home? What did she think when we took her to Wal-Mart? What does she think about still being here with us? Does she understand that this is her home?

Thankfully she sleeps through the night, but I am still so tired. I am thankful that Tony is still home this week, but working from home. Next week will be the real test, and I hope we'll be ready.

Our Homecoming

Since we have just been so busy eating up every little moment with our 3 girls, my friend Korri photographed and has also blogged about our homecoming on her blog, so you can read about it and see pictures there until I get caught up.

Thank you so much Korri and everyone who celebrated with us at the airport.

http://mkjca95.blogspot.com/2010/10/adoption-homecoming.html

Home

I am so overjoyed that Allison is home, but so jet lagged from almost 48 hours of travel that I can hardly function.

I'll catch you up on all the wonderfulness in the days to come.

Our Story

Wednesday morning

Yesterday was another great visit with Allison. I am so in love with that little girl. She is doing well, and she is content to sit with us, but she is still so quiet. But yesterday she was warming us to us more and was smiling and laughing by the end of our visit.

We then spent the evening with our friends at the hotel, and had to say "See you soon" to our dear friends Ryan and Melanie, as they flew home (they were here for their court date and are also friends from home). But we love you R&M and will see you at the airport on Sunday when we come home!

Today we will go up to Entoto Mountain and this afternoon we will check Allison out of Toukoul. Our updates may be fewer after that because we are not supposed to take her out into the city.

Monday and Tuesday

We are having such a wonderful time, but of course, our best time is our time with Allison. We got to visit her yesterday, and she was just content to sit with me, and even fell asleep in my arms. I am even having a hard time sharing her with Tony right now. I am so in love with that little girl.

Since we last came, she now has three teeth. It's sad that I've missed so many milestones, but I am happy for all the milestones yet to come.

We have also loved giving out pens and dresses to the people in the city. I can't wait to share more, including pictures, when we are home.

We're Here

I feel like I'm living a dream. I woke up a few times last night in our hotel, and thought I was dreaming. I've wanted to be back in Ethiopia so much for the past 10 weeks, and especially the last two.

We are so blessed to be here with good friends, and while the orphanage was closed today, Sunday, we still had a great day sightseeing outside of the city of Addis with a van full of our friends.

Thank you to everyone who gave us pens. We had a wonderful time giving them to the children at every place we stopped. I'll have pictures when we get home (we have an internet cafe near our hotel, but the connection speed is slow).

Tomorrow morning we get a visit with Allison, and I can't wait to hold and kiss her. It was amazing to unpack all of her things in our hotel room last night when we arrived, and her crib is all ready in our room for her.

PS-Megan and Emily,
Mommy and Daddy love you so much, and we miss you and can't wait until Sunday when we will finally be the Weber 5!

Good Morning from Amsterdam

It is 8:15 am here in Amsterdam, and we have finished two out of three legs of our journey. Uneventful (which is good) and we will be meeting up with at least two other adopting families for our AMD to ADD flight.

We will arrive in Addis late at night, have dinner at the hotel, then off to sleep so that we can have a full day of sightseeing on Sunday. Then, on Monday, we will have a visit with Allison! Yay!

We love you all!

Here We Go

It feels surreal.

When I was little, I always said that I would have some biological kids, and then I would adopt. And tomorrow we will board a plane to make that dream a reality. In so many ways, Allison is already my daughter. Already Tony's daughter. Already Megan and Emily's sister. And we have missed her so much these 10 weeks.

I am so glad that we followed our hearts last summer. When we knew this was right for us. We could have ignored it, and stayed with things just as they are, but there would have been a piece of our family missing that we would never know.

In 10 days our family will be complete (for now).

Thank you for following us, praying for us, supporting us financially, donating to our garage sales, buying jewelry, and having your pictures taken. Thank you for sweet baby gifts. Thank you in advance for welcoming us home at the airport and celebrating with us. Thank you for the meals that are already lined up so that I will be able to focus on my sweet baby for those all important first weeks home.

I will try to update as often as we can while we are gone, and of course, once we are home.

Loving Ethiopia: Day 37

The grand finale!

I did it! I set out to post 23 pictures of Ethiopia (that ended up being 37 due to our Embassy woes), so that you, and eventually Allison, can know what a beautiful country it is. Ethiopia has become so dear to my heart, and in a matter of hours, I will be back on a plane headed there to bring our sweet girl to our family and her second (and forever) home.

And yes, the landscape of Ethiopia is beautiful, but what makes it such a wonderful country is it's people. So just like the grand finale at the end of the fireworks on the 4th of July, I couldn't choose just one more picture. So here are four examples of the beauty and joy in the people of Ethiopia.

We're So Close

We are so close to leaving to bring Allison home, but my eye started hurting yesterday morning. It started as an annoyance, and got worse through the day. Last night I was in pain. And to make things worse, I wear contacts, and my glasses are my only for back up and the first and last 5 minutes of the day (from the bathroom to my bed).

It also set me behind in our packing last night and today, so we have a lot to still do in less than 40 hours!

So I am heading to the doctor in a little bit and hope that he can work a miracle so I can be at the top of my game for what we have ahead of us.

Whew!

Loving Ethiopia: Day 36

This is the home of Emperor Menelik II up on the top of Mount Entoto, overlooking Addis Ababa. The building on the left is the dining hall, and the building on the right was their living quarters.

Loving Ethiopia: Day 35

Farming.

Most of the families who live outside of Addis do farming. And that farming is done with oxen and hand plowing. When we were there in late July they were planting teff, which is a grain used to make the Ethiopian staple, injera.

baby sister

Many, many years months ago, we bought this shirt for our baby sister for Christmas. (You can read about it here.) We knew she was coming, but we didn't know when or who she was. Just now, I was pulling out her clothes to take with us to Ethiopia, and the time is finally here to take her shirt to our baby sister, who we now know as our sweet Allison.

Loving Ethiopia: Day 34

It may not be fancy, but this is our home away from home. And in just a few days, we will be staying here again.

I have to recommend to everyone adopting from Toukoul that you really want to stay at YGF. You can find cheaper places to stay, or you could spend more for a more "Americanized" experience, but the staff here is so helpful and kind and understands the needs of adopting American families.

So if you are reading our blog because you are adopting from Toukoul, this will take so much stress out of your journey (and when you are adopting, you need to take every opportunity to relieve stress).

What Love Looks Like

This is what love looks like. My sweet friends, Heidi and Melissa, are part of a freezer meal exchange, and this month each of those lovely women made an extra meal to share with us! What a wonderful gift, and we are so thankful to have the task of dinners eased for a bit while we transition Allison home.

Also, my wonderful friend, Michelle, is setting up for meals to be brought to us (and also for gift cards to take out on Tony's way home from work) for the first few weeks once we are home.

I am not one of those moms who has a hot, homemade dinner on the table right at 5:00 (though I really wish I was). I am the mom that looks at the fridge at 4:30 and tries to decide what I can make with what we have, so these meals are a huge blessing to us.

PS - If you would like to be added to the schedule for meals for our family, let me know, and I can send you the Food Tidings link. We would be so grateful, and you'd probably get to meet Allison (shameless bribe -- I know). :)

October 3rd

I've been a little bit sad today. We thought that October 3rd was going to be our "Family Day". All day I've been thinking about where we would be and what we would be doing if our Embassy appointment hadn't been changed. And it makes me miss Allison, and makes me ready to have her home and start the next chapter of our lives.

But, we have not "wasted" these past two weeks while we've waited. We have received some generous donations, that we might not have received if we hadn't faced the road blocks we did. It has allowed a bit more breathing room in our finances, and that helps my stress level. We have actively been collecting donations to take to Ethiopia, and we had not set that up based on our previous travel dates. We were able to attend Megan and Emily's 1st quarter conferences, and celebrate their conferences, and some awards they received at school last week.

But now it is time to really get in gear for our final stretch before we leave on Friday. I'm sure the next few days will go quickly, yet seem so long at the same time.

And we are looking forward to October 14th -- our new "Family Day"!

Loving Ethiopia: Day 33

Girlfriends.

These girls live together in the small village where we stopped during our time outside of Addis. I am not sure of the structure of the village, if everyone is related, but I love the idea of living in community. There are about 30 people in this village, and the work, play, and live together. I feel I am doing well when I see my best friends once a week, but I would love to have this type of community.

Pens

We are so excited over the pens that we have received to take to Ethiopia. These pictures are a few more examples from our first trip, and how the kids (and young adults) treasured the pens that we are able to give. So far we have collected two gallon sized Ziploc bags full to take back. We will enlist the help of the other families we are traveling with to help us distribute the pens that we have. So thank you if you have already gotten pens to us to take, and if you would still like to send some, we are still collecting.

Loving Ethiopia: Day 32

Again, like yesterday, I don't know the story of these women, but all along the roads in the city there were women set up roasting and selling maize.

Loving Ethiopia: Day 31

I keep coming back to this picture wanting to share it, but I haven't yet, because I don't know the story behind it. But it is just a moment in time, down a street in Addis, that I captured while driving through the city.

Loving Ethiopia: Day 30

Shopping.

This is inside the store at Alli's orphanage. On our first trip, I loved that we were able to by most of what we wanted with the proceeds benefiting the orphanage, and now I am getting excited to go back and get more. We are taking two suitcases full of donations for Ethiopia, so it doesn't make sense to bring empty suitcases home. Right?

And really my goal with shopping in Ethiopia is to bring Allison's first culture into our home. Never to ignore that she is Ethiopian, but to celebrate it.

8 Days

Today is 8 days until we get on a plane and leave for Ethiopia to bring Allison home. I hope. I have a heavy feeling this morning as I remember being 8 days away from our trip, 14 days ago. I hate that some of my excitement has been lost because of the delay, because 14 days ago I was having my carpets cleaned in preparation to have a crawler in our home again, and visiting with a neighbor, and then we got the call, and the roller coaster began. I hate knowing that part of our group got their date reinstated to September 30th and they are there right now, and their children are in their arms, and I want to be happy for them, but I am sad for us.

So, Thursday, September 30th (our first Embassy date) is coming to a close in Ethiopia, and I hope we get word that on this Thursday, when our attorney went to the US Embassy that this time we are on track for our Embassy appointment. I hope that I will finally make it to 7 days until we leave to bring Allison home. Then 6, then 5, then 4.....

Loving Ethiopia: Day 29

Celebrations.

On one of our nights at the guest house, we were treated to a traditional Ethiopian dinner, followed by dancing. We enjoyed watching the dancing, and later even participated. But the employees of the guest house were so happy and had so much fun that we were blessed to be a part of it.

One Less: Matthew West

This morning on K-Love I heard about Matthew West recording a new song that was inspired by a family who adopted their daughter. Matthew West's music has a special place in my heart because I adopted his song, The Motions, as kind of a theme song that has been an encouragement to me though the bumps and wait of our adoption (read about it here). We got home and out of the car before the actual song had played, and I got doing other things, but through the day, I kept thinking about this song.

So, now it is evening, and I finally had a chance to find and hear this song. It's beautiful, and just like my post about the new VeggieTales movie, I am so glad that people are becoming aware of the needs of orphans, both domestically and internationally. There are so many children without a family, and there are so many families who could open their hearts and homes to take a child in as their own.

I am counting down the days until there is One Less little girl who has to live without her family, an One Less family who is waiting to bring their little girl home.

Loving Ethiopia: Day 28

PENS:
During our day trip to the Portuguese Bridge, we were talking with our driver, Wendi (pictured in the red jacket), and he told us that the kids love getting candy and pens. As we passed through a small town we stopped at a little store and, along with our friend Kelly (pictured holding the pens), bought most of their candy and all of their pens. This picture was taken as we stopped to see some wild baboons along the road. Whenever we stopped we were surrounded by kids either asking for something, or trying to sell something. They preferred the pens over the candy. We were so sad that we did not have many pens and decided that when we go back, we were taking pens with us. On one of our last days, we were shopping for dresses for our girls and I gave a little guy the pen I was carrying in my backpack. He came back a minute later sad because it did not work. I felt SO bad, but it was the only pen I had on me. Luckily, someone else in our group replaced it for him.
So today, I scrounged through our house and came up with a large collection of random pens; many from hotels and realtors, and even a few old SOS pens. The girls helped me test every pen, because I did not want to give out a dud again. Most of this process has had to be a mommy & daddy process, but it is fun to be able to involve the girls when we can. They had fun helping, and I could see that they knew why it was important to make sure they worked and who they were for. I love to see their little hearts be so giving and loving to a country and to a people they cannot completely understand.
If you have any pens you are interested in sending with us, and can get them to us before we leave, we would gladly get them distributed. It is amazing how, what seems to us to be, a simple ballpoint pen can bring such joy to a child. It is so much fun giving to kids who are so appreciative.

by Tony

Loving Ethiopia: Day 27

Here's another view of the outside of the Holy Trinity Cathedral. Again, it was amazingly beautiful, and I am so glad that we got to visit it. On the right side of the picture is one of the many stained glass windows. It was beautiful from the inside, and our guide told us that at night the entire cathedral glows with the stained glass when the church is lit from the inside.

What I Love: "It's A Meaningful Life"

I love that adoption is becoming more mainstream. (Either that, or we're just more aware of it). I love that adoption was highlighted in our church service this morning. I love that we know so many friends with adopted kids, especially our Ethiopian families. I love reading novels by Karen Kingsbury because she is an adoptive mom, and intertwines adoption into her stories. I love learning the Bible from Lysa TerKeurst and Renee Swope (both adoptive moms).

And, I love that VeggieTales is coming out with a new movie about an adoptive family, and that Steven Curtis Chapman is a part of this project.

First, here's the DVD trailer:



Next, watch this music video from the DVD (but have your tissues close):



And now, watch this clip from Steven Curtis Chapman to hear his heart behind the music, and his heart as an adoptive dad:

Loving Ethiopia: Day 26

This is one of the stained glass windows from the Holy Trinity Cathedral. It was interesting that in this cathedral, as well as others that we visited, they had scenes from the Old Testament on the left side of the sanctuary and New Testament scenes on the right side. They are amazingly beautiful and intricate.

Do you have shoes, blankets, or diapers?

When we were at Toukoul a few months ago, we asked what the orphanage needed that we could bring back when we came for our Embassy appointment. We were told that they needed shoes for the older children and blankets and diapers for the little ones.

So we are asking, this week can you clean out the closets of your elementary aged kids (children's size 8 up to adult size 6) and send us their gently used shoes? Or, do you have unused baby blankets that we could take with us and leave for the little ones in the orphanage?

Could you go to Wal-Mart and pick up a pair or two of new shoes to send to Ethiopia for a child who has none? Maybe a package of diapers?

If you live near Chandler, you can contact me to set up a time to drop them off. Or, if you live out of town, I can send you our address so you can ship them to us (the USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes are a great option).

Thank you!

Loving Ethiopia: Day 25

The interior of the Holy Trinity Cathedral was amazing. Up near the ceiling was this painting of the Trinity; God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Around the Trinity are four icons of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John though they are depicted as a man, an eagle, a lion, and an ox (though I don't remember who is what and why-I need to research that).

On this trip, and also when I went to Eastern Europe in college, it is so interesting to me to see different cultures worship. It makes me analyze what I believe and what is Biblically based, and what is based on culture and tradition. But it also reminds me that I love and serve a big God, who is God no matter what side of the globe I am on.

Girlfriends

I am so blessed by my girlfriends. I have been with these girls for years now and they have walked and prayed through this entire journey with me (you might remember that they threw a surprise shower for me a few months ago).

On Thursday it was starting to sink in that Friday (the day we were supposed to leave) was going to be a hard day for me, and I really should have some plans rather than just sitting at home feeling sorry for myself. So I sent out an e-mail to these girls to meet me for coffee at Paradise Bakery. Cindy stepped up and even offered her home so we could hang out longer with her little ones at home. Five of us made it to coffee, then Michelle and I continued on to Chili's to meet Melissa for lunch. Then Michelle and I headed over to the mall to start our Christmas shopping. I even got this adorable shirt for Allison for Thanksgiving.

By the time we finished there, it was time to pick Megan and Emily up from school. And I had survived what could have been a very rough day.

Thank you girlfriends! I love you all so much!

Loving Ethiopia: Day 24

In Addis, we visited the Holy Trinity Cathedral. It is breathtaking to see the beauty and care that has been put into their places of worship, in the middle of a country that has had so many struggles in its history.

What Happened?

This is where I should be. On a flight, on my way to bring Allison home. And up until last Thursday, I had no doubt that September 24th would find me on a flight to Ethiopia.

I think I have aged 10 years in the past week. So many uncertainties, and changes. But now, today is here, and we did not get the answer we were hoping and praying for. I am here, and Allison is in Ethiopia. For two more weeks.

What I really don't understand is why 3 of our 7 families are either in Addis or on their way. Why the Embassy didn't accept our file, but accepted theirs. No one has answers for us, and we may never know. But they are the three families who contacted the Embassy themselves when we were asked not to. We did what we were asked to do, and we sit at home. What happened?

I know that in a year this will all be a distant memory of a bump in the road, but today is a hard day.

Thankfully I have great girlfriends, and I am heading over to meet them for coffee and friendship. I just don't think I could stay home by myself doing my normal stay at home mom thing.

Loving Ethiopia: Day 23

Boys will be boys, even in Ethiopia.

Being the mom of girls (which I love) it amazes me every time that we have little boys over, that ANYTHING can become a weapon. A wiffle ball bat is a sword, a stick is a gun, and so forth.

Even in Ethiopia these little boys need to get their "man-ness" out, and show their strength and power. Only these boys are growing up in their father's footsteps and learning to be shepherds. They make these whips out of eucalyptus bark. And when they whip them, it makes a very loud crack. We heard it all over the countryside, and this little one was more than willing to give us a demonstration when we pulled over on the side of the road.

Loving Ethiopia: Day 22

This is a traditional Ethiopian coffee pot. After roasting the beans, they are ground by hand, and boiled in this coffee pot. Then the coffee is served in a series of three cups. The first one is extremely strong, then more water is added before each of the other two cups.

Loving Ethiopia: Day 21

On our last day at the hotel we were able to take part in a traditional coffee ceremony. I posted before that Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, and Ethiopian coffee is wonderful (you can actually purchase some here, and we get a donation back for our adoption). But it is more than just coffee and there is an entire ceremony that we were able to take part in (you can read more here).

This is the first step of the ceremony where they roasted the beans right there for us. Plus, there was a rain storm coming in, so the smell of the coffee beans and the rain was amazing.