Our New Addition

No, I am not talking about the new addition of a family member, but rather the space that will someday be the place our girls will call their own. After many months of interrupted construction, it is finally done! It is beautiful. It amazes me that all of this space was just sitting up there under our roof. Lucky for me, I have an adventurous, creative husband who had a vision and the skills that could make it happen. I, of course, stood by the sidelines with a doubtful look on my face, trying to catch every bit of dust that floated through the air. Now that the dust has settled, and I've had a chance to put my own touch on this space, it makes me yearn for baby number four that much more. Still, it is comforting to sit upstairs, read a book, and feel a little closer to completing our family. All of the blood, sweat and tears were so worth it. (Okay, so skip the blood and tears part, but definitely the sweat!)

The Hope Chest

Before Thanksgiving break, my caring, compassionate group of 5th grade students created what they called "The Hope Chest". They researched items to sell, compared prices, created posters, wrote creative announcemnts and "applied" for "jobs". They then sold small toys and candy to students throughout the school on four different dates. Amazingly, after the second date, they sold out and we had to re-order. After the third date, we had nothing left. So, we contacted Delivering Hope to plead for some bracelets to be sent to us ASAP. On the next selling date, we nearly sold out of the bracelets, having only 14 left. After Thanksgiving break, they were gone...

All said and done, these wonderful students raised $500 to be used to buy formula (and maybe vitamins) for the sweet babies in Ethiopia. They ALSO made $300 from selling the bracelets, which we in turn, sent back to the non-profit organization Delivering Hope.

I have hope! These beautiful students are our future.

Guest

Today was a wonderful day! I had the honor of having Pastor Yared visit my school. He educated and entertained my students for over an hour while he shared his knowledge of Ethiopia. He taught us a song, showed us some dancing and entertained all of our questions; which were very great in number! I have wonderful, inquisitive, caring students who were a great audience. I feel so lucky to be blessed with so many wonderful people in my life. It is so much richer because of all of them!

Ethiopian Cultural Festival

Yesterday, our family traveled to Indianapolis to attend an Ethiopian Cultural Festival hosted for families who have, or are in the process of, adopting from Ethiopia. As always, it was a wonderful experience with excellent food, singing, dancing and fellowship. We were able to visit with friends and acquaintences, meet more families and connect with a pastor who lives in Fort Wayne! We feel so lucky to have such a welcoming, supportive community of Ethiopian families so close to us.

"Great people have big hearts." -Ethiopian Proverb

Birthdays

I ran this morning down a beautiful path near our house. Surrounded by the multi-colored trees, the river and the quiet morning sounds of animals, I had my daily dose of medicine. For me, running is like that. It's medicine for my heart, soul, mind and body. It provides a time of quiet solitude during which I can think and pray, pray and think...Sometimes I have to run a little longer just to get the thinking done.

So, with my feet beating a steady rhythm on the pavement, I had the opportunity to reflect on my previous day. Yesterday we celebrated the birth of my three, beautiful children. They were all born within eight days of each other in October, so we had a triple birthday party where we did a lot of celebrating. So, naturally, I'm thinking....Is our baby girl born yet? If she is, where was she born, and was there anyone there celebrating her birth? Could she possibly be another October birthday? Where is she now? Maybe she is still in her mother's belly, awaiting the day we will all celebrate.

I pray that wherever she is, God is watching over her and protecting her. Regardless of the answer to my questions, she was born into my heart a long time ago. I know that the day we get to see her beautiful face, it will be like a birthday all over again. We will celebrate and celebrate and celebrate!

FTIA Family Play Date

Today, Piper, my friend, Diana, and I traveled to Martinsville, Indiana to spend the afternoon with families who have or are in the process of adopting through FTIA. The babies all played while the parents shared experiences and information, as well as answered each other's questions. It is a wonderful group who is committed to helping each other through this emotional roller coaster. We got to meet the newest baby to arrive home. She is an 8-month old, sweet little peanut! She is a beauty! Piper practiced sharing baby dolls, although she was very reluctant to do so! We'll need to keep practicing this skill. Over...and over....and over....

Our Day Trip to Indianapolis Grace Ethiopian Church

Today, my mom, Piper and I traveled to Indy for a gathering of adoptive families and Ethiopian families to learn more about one of the more prevalent languages in Ethiopia, Amharic. We laughed as we attempted to pronounce the names and the many foreign sounds of the language. During a time of fellowship after the lesson, we were able to meet another FTIA family, as well as meet some other families and children. I feel lucky to have also had the chance to chat with another family whose journey to Ethiopia and back has very recently ended with a beautiful baby girl home in her parents' arms. What a wonderful group of people we have within our grasp to share experiences with, learn from and foster friendships with! Thank you Pastor Yosef for organizing this event!

After feeding our spirit with these amazing people, we traveled to Abyssinia, an Ethiopian restaurant, to feed our bellies with some delicious food! Can you tell that Piper loved it?

Little Goody 2-Shoes

Check out these super cute necklaces for $6! An amazing 11- year old in Missouri named Sami is selling these, along with other designs. She donates the proceeds of her sales to Children's HopeChest in order to help purchase shoes for children in Ethiopia. I think they'd make great gifts, although I have to admit that I bought a couple for myself! Click on Sami's name to see her website!

Dossier to Ethiopia!

What a relief to make it this far in our journey! After 5 months of paper chasing, notarizations, fingerprint appointments and worry...our dossier has been sent to Ethiopia (July 30th, actually)! Now our wait really begins! Now is the time where the word "patience" will really be tested. In honor of that, we have decided to sponsor a little girl named Patience Mahoro who lives in Uganda with her father. Our sponsorship will help provide her with food and the opportunity for school. Our sponsorship is through a local agency, Forgotten Children International, so check it out! There are lots of kiddos left in need of sponsors! Just think...$25 a month is probably less than you spend on one family meal out. Every little bit makes a difference!