star light. star bright.

... one & one-half months & we begin our journey to the second phase of our adoption timeline : )

so where exactly are we in our adoption process?
it has officially been 1 year since we made our decision to adopt from Ethiopia.
we made our decision in jan., 2010. as everyone is aware that was when the economy was in the 'eye' of its' flop. this affected our decision to postpone getting started, slightly; because one of our steps toward our adoption is refinancing our home to use some of our equity. well, with the market being at a standstill at that time we decided to focus on another project, which was to finish reconstruction of our garage into a bedroom. our bedroom; as our 'old' room will now be for our son. so, we spent a good part of 2010 working on the room. it was a step toward being prepared for our home appraisal as well. it must be completed first. and i am happy to say our room has been built; which included some sore muscles and some sweat on our part which involved constructing an entire new floor base, removing all old interior trim that had once been part of the garage (thanks B) hanging new drywall, taping & mudding it, two coats of paint, creating a closet and now... as of Monday , we will be able to pay off our carpet which is being held hostage and get in down in our room. we have done all of this with our own two hands. wouldnt have it any other way. so what does this mean. well, it means that the appraisal is just around the corner (originally we had hoped to get it done by the first of the year, but with property taxes, bills, paying off the carpet, and christmas, well, it had to be postponed a bit longer, since the appraisal itself it not cheap). the market is picking back up and we are ready to go for it. with the economy it is a guessing game, but we know whatever part of our equity we can get back, is better than none and will enable us to start with our homestudy plus get some agency fees paid. i continue to do seasonal fund raiser projects. we both have concrete faith that we need not worry about the lot of adoption fees ahead but rather be firm in our belief that God does provide. our purpose is to adopt our little boy from ethiopia, keeping him safe, and we firmly walk hand and hand knowing that one day he will be here with us, cozied up under a safe fuzzy blanket, cuddling his parents; and if truth be known he will probably prefer to stay in his mom & dads room for some time as we adjust , the one that was built toward the dream of his homecoming, versus his own room. and , well, that is just a-okay with us! a-okay X a zillion. because mommy cant wait for all those snuggles & hugs, looking around our room remembering our goal, and realizing it has come to be while snuggled within my arms .

hope endures in Lincolns symbolic shadow

Happy birthday Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. !!

sidenote: i came across a blog post today i would like to link to Here ; one siblings' words for his brother.

lullaby

walking our path

in reference to the following graceful poem, the line 'the other prayed for a child, And God led her straight to you' intrigues me from two angles. while we were ttc (trying to conceive), adoption was not the 'safety net' for us and it did not enter our minds as such. when we miscarried, something changed. instantly. see, I could and did conceive; I was pregnant for a short time. when we miscarried, something transformed. had we decided to continue ttc , chances are we may get pregnant again. after the m/c, something immediately abruptly awoke within myself. we no longer try to conceive & our precautions are concreted. it was as if we knew all along that we needed to walk the path of adoption. to find our son. to give him, to give us, the family as, for us, it was intended.our first choice was within us all along; it just took awhile to see it.God has led our hearts.
the unknown authors poem of love reads:
' Once there were two women, Who never knew each other.One you do not remember, The other you call mother.Two different lives. Shaped to make yours one,
One became your guiding star, The other became your sun.The first gave you life, And the second taught you to live it.And the first gave you a need for love, And the second was there to give it.One gave you a nationality. The other gave you a name.One gave you the seeds of talent, The other gave you aim.One gave you emotions, The other calmed your fears.One saw your first sweet smile, The other dried your tears.One gave you up, It was all that she could do.The other prayed for a child, And God led her straight to you.And now you ask me through your tears, The age old question through the years.Heredity or environment, Which are you a product of?Neither, my Darling, Neither, Just two different kinds of love ' .
-Author Unknown

Merry Christmas Ethiopia

Beautiful celebration at

Lalibela ;

video footage.

Christmas in Ethiopia is called 'Ganna' and is celebrated on January 7.

2011

happy new year!

book

we were gifted a book this holiday season from my aunt which is entitled 'Ethiopian Voices, Tsion's Life ' . The author and her husband themselves have adopted from Ethiopia. Quote " in response to the lack of Ethiopian resources for adoptive families "... she wrote her first book and now this one.

i have yet to read through all the pages but i can say so far that the photos, taken from a freelance photographer, are goegeous.

the book offers insight into the translation of Amharic words into English as it tells the journey/story of one girls life in Ethiopia.

on a cozy night i plan to cuddle up, take in the beautiful photos, learn some new words; while reading her story.

hands across the world

R. Kelly & One8; the group is made up of 2Face (Nigeria), Alikiba (Tanzania), Amani (Kenya), Fally Ipupa (DRC), 4X4 (Ghana), JK (Zambia) Movaizhalene (Gabon) & Navio (Uganda).

and, from our family to yours, happy holidays.