Went to a seminar on hair and skin care for African children today. I don’t even know where to start, so I’ll just say we learned lots. If we have girls, lots of work ahead of us. Both of my sisters and my sister in law came with me. Lots of dads there, which I found very cool. Adam would have been there, but he’s on < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />
I did get some good news. We’re further along on the waiting list than we thought (#70 - I thought we were closer to 100), and got a better idea of how the wait works. About half of the people ahead of us also want siblings. However, most have said that they will take siblings or a single. So, when we get the weekly report on how many babies were referred, even if they are all singles, some of them went to families who asked for either, so we still move up on the list! At the same time, we’ve been warned that the wait for siblings has been between 6 and 12 months after dossier is certified and returned (so, 6-12 months after December 4). All in God’s time.
This week TWELVE babies were referred - a record. The ages were 3 weeks to 5 months.
Also there’s a couple who have gone to the different seminars and we always get to talking. The husband went to high school in the district next to Adam and graduated either the same year or the year before/after - and they know some people in common - small world. We finally exchanged contact information, so we hope to get together soon. Also, they are just a couple away from us on the list. Wouldn’t it be cool if we get to travel together!
Hey kids. Yesterday President Obama was inaugurated as our 44th President. We both think he is going to make the changes that need to be made, and has the leadership that we need to make this country strong again. However, I can’t help but see that we will be bringing you home to a country led by another decendant of Africa. I don’t think it’s a sign that we went with the right country, but instead a sign that the country we are bringing you home to, as a whole, is going to be a tiny bit more tolerant and accepting of you now, than it was when we made our decision, and that’s a good thing. I sure hope and pray that by the time you are old enough to read this that we are right.
Or simply, Merry Christmas. There are different ways of saying Merry Christmas in Amharic.
Christmas is celebrated in Ethiopia today!
Below was in our weekly report. HOH is “House of Hope” which is the transition home the kids go to after they are referred to their parents. It’s one the places we can stay once we get our referral.
January 7, is Christmas Day in Ethiopia!!!! Today begins the celebration. There was a big party at the HOH. The Children, staff, and one of our adopting families, enjoyed the day which started with a “church/prayer service”, and singing at the HOH. There was also lots of food and fun to be had. A group on a mission trip visited the HOH giving out gifts to the children, reading stories, and just making this a wonderful day for the staff and children.
Some additional information that is useless to just about everyone but us… Legend has it that the King bearing frankincense was King Balthazar of Ethiopia.
http://childrenshopeint.blogspot.com/2008/12/and-referrals-keep-coming.html
They were also at the last two seminars we went to. Also Heidi played ball with my sister-in-law growing up. Small world, indeed.
We’re so excited for them!!
Happy New Year - and what a huge year it looks to be!!