driver recommendation

Here is the driver we liked best. He speaks English well and will take you wherever you want to go. He has driven almost exclusively for adoptive families for the last 12 years. Take him a bumper sticker of your state, He puts them all over the inside of his car and tells his clients about them. He took us shopping, for a tour of the city and all around to wherever we wanted to go. He knows every place and the best way to get there. He even translated all the jabbering of our boys. That was priceless. While we were there the going rate was 50 birr an hour. Pay him whatever is the going rate, rounded up and give him tips every time. Not at all expected but SOOOO appreciated. He is a great guy. Take his number with you and when you want to go out give him an advance call to reserve him as your driver. He will be happy to drive you.

Terefe Konde: 091-121-05-17 or at 011-122-26-22.

to my family

Hi,
I am going to gradually post a bunch of stuff for families who are adopting. It comes up in searches and I want it to be available. So, since you automatically get an update and is not so easy to undo and re do that...... you will get some very non-pertinent posts delivered to your email. Please feel free to delete these. :) I will try to title them so that you will know that it is this sort of post.
Thanks.
Jill

Guest House recommendation New Flower Guest House

Guest House Recommendation:
We stayed at the New Flower Guest House in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia while we were there for the adoption. The New Flower is run by Helen and her very capable staff. It is a great place to be. This new house is really a great place. It has a large courtyard for kids to play in. While it is centrally located and very convenient to the city in general it is in a very safe neighborhood and feels secluded. While the guests are not limited to adoptive families it is frequented by such. It is really nice to be with other families who are adopting. It is also great to have someone who can translate for you what your child is saying, if you are adopting an older child. It is also really handy that they will also tell your child to listen to you, Mom and Dad. For translation they are always helpful and we felt they were not intrusive.

A word on bathroom accommodations in Ethiopia in general: Hot water is not often plumbed in like it is here. Nicer accommodations like the New Flower have installed hot water heaters in each shower. It take some practice but is a definite luxury in Ethiopia. Most of the rooms have showers but larger plastic tubs are available to wash your baby or toddler in.

The New Flower recently got a dryer! This is a huge perk and luxury. When you have your laundry done it is done MUCH faster and this is especially good in the winter when nothing every drys.

You can expect to be treated well and you will find yourself in good and helpful hands with Helen and her staff at the New Flower Guest House in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Please check out their web site by clicking on New Flower.

A dad from our agency recently stayed at the New Flower and this is what he has to say about it:
The New Flower is maybe a 4 minute drive from the airport, really close. (New Flower will have someone pick you up if you need it). The New Flower was really nice, but the people who worked there made it an even better experience. Yonathon, the main man, was awesome. The two drivers, Ayela and Alozar, were great as well.
For the first week we stayed at the New Flower with only one of us leaving at a time as to not ruffle any feathers. However, once you start venturing out you begin to see something that you didn't expect. Families from all over the world with their Ethiopian children in the middle of the grocery store, a cafe, a museum, etc... You also find others that may have said you were wrong in wanting to venture out, out with their children as well. Hmmmm. :) I will say that the New Flower Guest House is located in the middle of a nice district/area and that the people here might be more accepting than some of the other Guest House locations. The NF was approximately 1/4 mile from the Friendship Mall, which was a 4 story building that housed a grocery store, internet cafe, a place called Kaldi's (looked exactly like Starbucks). It's located about 1/2 mile from a really nice cafe called Limetree that has WiFi where some families have been able to Skype with video. It's about 3/4 mile from a pharmacy where you can get antibiotics, cough medicine, etc.. over the counter without prescription. The (IAN) Care Center and Sele Enat are about a 10 minute drive. All in all, the New Flower is in a awesome location.  If you need to buy something and you think your getting ripped off have someone at your guest house who is Ethiopian buy it for you. I needed a 4GB USB Flash Drive and they were quoting be 1500 Birr ($120). I knew that was ridiculous. Yonathon went up there and got it for 450 Birr ($35).

Thanks Matt for letting me post this for other families!

Newsletter

Check out our Christmas 2008 Newsletter
If you click on the word Newsletter it should take you to the PDF file of our newsletter. Merry Christmas to you all and hope to hear from all our friends and family this year too!!

Photograher extrordinaire

See our new photos! Wow! They are great. To see all the photos we just had taken go to this link.
http://pacionephotography.smugmug.com/gallery/6479941_WfjHP

Need photos taken of your family? Holly Pacione Photography (blog) is a great place to start! Contact Holly at hollypacionephotography@gmail.com
See Holly's portfolio (web site) on line.

doing great

Well, I think that many of you are wondering how we are doing. Sorry it has been so long since I posted. Things are a bit busy around here. I find I am not even checking in to email regularly. We are all doing great!!!! I can not emphasize that enough. We could not have asked for a better transition and better preparation for the boys for a new home and family. We have two very normal three year old boys. At this point the only thing is that they speak a lot of Amharic. They talk to each other all the time. English is coming more and more and they are really trying hard. They are SOOOOO cute and charming. No, they are not being good for mom and dad for the initial honeymoon time. They are NORMAL, they say no and get stubborn and all the other things that kids just do. We count this as credit to their birth parents who loved them and wanted them until they were separated in this life, and to the wonderful child care center they were brought to, the short time they were there and ultimately the providence of God. We are so grateful.
They have learned to say some cute things. In stores people talk to them, they say "hi boys, how are you?" they are learning to say, "I'm Happy!", which they truly are. Happiness exudes from them. They are just plain happy. They even go around the house saying in a humming sort of way, "happy, happy, happy, happy...." It is so cute. They are also often asked," what is your name?" so they are learning that that means you may say your name at that prompt. Another one is "how old are you?" They say back in a joyful and exuberant way, "I am three!". Then they smile really big and get silly. Of course they only do this when Mommy prompts them, but soon they will generalize. They are going to have to learn a respose to "are you twins?" Ummm no, not really. I can not believe the number of people who tell me they look so much a like and even identical. What!!!!???? They are from two different tribal groups. They look nothing alike other than skin color. I mean Nate does not even have curly hair. That is so funny. Ok back on topic. We also sing a lot and they have down a few songs: ABCDEFG.......; Jesus Loves Me; God is so Good; and we are learning My God is so Big... and also that infamous Barny song, I love you, you love me, we're a happy family. They will go through what will happen or what did happen with me. They tell me about our routine.... it is something like this at lunch time; " Mommy! uhh lunch, yes.....after uhh then book, yes..... then latenya time, uhhh sleeping time, yes. Stay in bed, no talking, stay in bed, mommy come (get) you, shoes on, go in the car, Phoebe and Olivia in the car, uhhh home, yes!" I affirm, yes this is what will happen, good job remembering and telling me all about it. Yesterday Dave came home a little early and took them all to the school down the road to ride bikes and play on the swings and slides. The boys came rushing in to tell me all about it. It went something like this, " Mommy! Daddy go in the car, Kedus, Nati, Phoebe, Olivia in the car, bikes in the car, ummm uhhh, go in the car, go bikes, home, yes!" It is just so cute. They are so eager to share it all too.
They love Big Bird and Elmo. They like Thomas the train and Lightning McQueen.
We have a great routine, everyone goes to school and work and then we have "school" in which Mommy tries her hardest to get the boys to remember their colors, next to impossible, and to correctly name all sorts of other objects, which is generally a sinch. What is up with the colors I don't know. We just thought of the fact that some boys are colorblind, maybe this is their deal, but, who knows right now. We also play matching games and copy me games that are physical and educational. Then we watch Seseme Street. Then they play and I do "something" which usually is not much because I play inbetween. Then it is lunch and then the nap routine, which includes singing and reading, when they are both up from that we go get sisters from school and then it is snack and play with sisters time and then Daddy comes home, and that is the highlight of the day. Daddy is the man! Dinner and bedtime routine which includes family devotions, prayer and singing and mommy rocking time alone. Of course in there are are the things we do with the girls and time for mom and dad too.
My mom comes to help me on Thursdays, that is a great day! So, the boys are getting used to her, she will be the baby sitter. We tried out a short stint for parent teacher conferences, they boys were a little unsure, but they were fine and happy when we got home. All is well.
Dave's dad is visiting and the boys were shy at first but have warmed up considerably in just a few hours.
Kedus is really artistically inclined. I think he and the girls will have a great time with art. He is also really skilled physically, that will be an asset as he is so small. Nate is the funny boy. Always finding a way to be silly. We are working with him on appreciating him when he is not silly too, so that he sees that we like him and others will to. Be silly, but don't hide behind it.
It will be very helpful when they get english communication down. There is a lot lost in comprehenstion of what mom and dad want them to do and what they want to tell us. They are generally good natured and fairly compliant to a healthy degree.
Phoebe and Olivia are doing really well too. They are learning to define their own space and needs and stand up for that kindly and persistantly. The boys are learning to respect that. It is good for them to have the routine of school and that consistancy. Our home routine is good for them too. Predictable. This week is October break and we are delighted to have them home for a week. Dave will get some time off too. Phoebe, at almost 11, is mature enough, in our opionion to handle Harry Potter and has started the first book. Still waiting to see if she likes it. Olivia, is starting the Fablehaven books and so far loves it, that is just her thing. If you like Fantasy like she and I do, go check out the Fablehaven books, there are two now! This is reading on the same level as Harry Potter but not as heavy in subject matter. Much better than the wonderful Spiderwick series which are rather easy reads. The girls are doing very well in school and enjoying every bit of it really. Olivia has really blossomed and is much more sociable than in past years and talks about several girls who she plays with, not just the one or two friends. She is doing well in school and is becoming more motivated as she understands more. She is becoming more balanced too. We recently learned that her reading ability and comprehensiton is significantly higher than her grade level. She is doing great this year and we are so proud of her. Phoebe is a gem of a friend, really, not to brag or anything, but the kind of friend every parent wants for their own daughter. She is a motivated and eager student and that makes her a joy for her teachers. She strives for her best, and lands right in at the gifted and talented student level, not that we have that at TCA, but, she just is. We are not pushy parents, we just want them to do their best at their own pace. They certainly out pace me! What fantastic kids.
We plan to go up to the Ethiopian Evangelical Church tomorrow and then to an Ethipoian restaurant. The boys will go nuts over the Injera!!! They have not had it since the night we left Ehthiopia. Dave's dad and my parents are going to come with us. That ought to be an experience for everyone. Dave and I did this before we went but did not have the girls with us for that outing.
Enough for now. Happy update. :)
Jill

Adoption Slideshow

I (Dave) have made another slideshow using the pictures from the adoption and our first few days together as a family. It begins with all of us getting ready for each other, then many photos of Sele Enat orphanage, then time together as a family at the New Flower Guest House. The song "Brave" is one that God really used in Jill's heart during the application process, and seems to describe our adventure pretty well. Enjoy!

Ethiopia video

The first of several videos of our trip to Ethiopia is posted on YouTube (the link is right above this post)! This first one is of various street and landscape scenes during our trip. The song is by a Christian Ethiopian artist named Dagi. He is kind of the Ethiopian equivalent of Chris Tomlin.

Future videos will be of the adoption. Enjoy!

ages and stages

Well, Monday the boys saw the Dr. for the first time. They did great............ until it was time for shots. We have no medical records on them and so we are starting the immunization process on them from the beginning. YUCK! I really hate this part, seeing your baby cry and knowing it is necessary. I guess that is how it is in life too, hard times come and are necessary to make the person, but so not fun. They screamed and cried so furiously. Afterward they sat on my lap and had a sucker. Sitting on my lap was good comfort too. I am glad for that. The rest of the day and the next day they both wanted mommy to hold them and pick them up. So, there is one good thing about shots!!!! *BIG* boys wanting their Mommy. They each had bad dreams too and needed comforting. And welcomed it.
The most interesting development is the age of our boys. I have mentioned this earlier, but will again. The first dates for birth we were given were Kedus Dec. 2004 and Nate Aug. 2004. This would make them 3 and 4, Kedus is clearly older so that is not accurate. Their birth certificates say Kedus May 2005 and Nate Nov. 2005. This would make them 3 and 2, Nate is obviously NOT 2. From my playing with them purposfully to see what they can do according to growth and development charts and such... I figured that Nate was about 3 or 3.5 and Kedus was 3.5 and I have been suspecting that he is 4 from what he can do. But, he is sooo small for 4. Well, that was one of the main questions for our Dr. She asked a bunch of questions, which I knew the answers to because I have been "testing" them on things. She observed them and had them do all sorts of things and of course examined them. She went out to think about it. Then came back and said she would give her best guess as to their ages as Kedus at 4.5 and Nate at 3.5. OK we know another boy who is about Nate's size who is really sort of small for his age and he is 3 and will be 4 this month. But, Kedus... I have never heard of a child who is 4 and a half who is this small!!! I hope he grows fast! This could put them in different grades at school which may be a good thing. Sooo, we are considering what to do about this. We have the opportunity to make their birthdays as accurate as possible with the readoption in the state of Colorado. But, what is best for them here?

Lately I have been telling them that I am their Mommy using the Amharic word for Mommy. They are not sure this is true, I can tell by their facial expressions. But, tonight after I told them that they would not kiss me. They usually do this ok. Then they had a moment to think about it and then were happy to give kiss and hug and even smiles as I tucked them in to bed. We thought this may help them to transition. I think it is already. It is important to feel the hard or sad feelings. Even though they can not really understand me totally yet, I have been telling each of them their basic story and reassuring them of their permenance here and our love, safety and trustworthyness. All important things. Eventually they will understand me and this will be part of their routine and accepted knowledge. I finally ordered the photos of Ethiopia for their room. They have a magnatized wall area with frames. In the frames will go photos of friends and loved ones and our family. They can take them down when they want to. They really like looking at them on the computer and naming people. That is fun. There is a lot of feeling there too. I am watching for it to come out in their own unique ways.
These are truly sweet little boys. Eager to please and to help. Willing to be Mommy's "big boy baby" and Daddy's buddy. Happy to be a little brother to Phoebe and Olivia. They copy us in English a lot these days, but it is still early and they have eachother to talk to so they do not have the huge need to learn. All in all things are going well.

new baby doll company

https://www2900.ssldomain.com/preciousbabydolls/order/store/aboutus.asp
Follow this link to see a company that makes dolls from around the world to tell the story of adoption. They currently have America, Guatemala, Russia and China. I understand they are making one for Ethiopia now.
Very neat!

amazing kids... all 4!

Hi all,
I has been an interesting almost two weeks home. I have been SOOOO sick. Then Phoebe got it, Keds got it, Dave got it and something else. No one got it as bad as me. Now it is August allergies setting in for me, so I doubt I will fully recover any time soon. But, I am feeling pretty good, and almost normal, which is more than I can say for the first 6 months after the birth of our two daughters. :)

I have been playing some games with the boys to test their ages. I am convinced that Kedus' sister is accurate in her age and birthday for Kedus, not that I ever doubted it. Kedus is an overachiever. Nate is right up there with Keds as we are pretty sure that he is actually 3 and likely 4 next SPRING. His personality is not as type A, so he lacks motivation and he is very casual and layed back. He tends to be average to underachiever. Since this discovery, they will be in the same grade. We think due to their personalities being so very different they will do best in different classrooms. So, do I have twins, well almost! Nate was given Aug as an estimate when we first got his papers. Not likely. On his newly issued Ethiopian Birth certificate it says he is 3 in November. But, he is already 3 as best as we can figure.

Last night I went to the parent orientation for Phoebe and Olivia's classes. There are some great changes at TCA this year and I would guess at a credit going to our new curriculum-character director, who was Olivia's second grade teacher. She is AWESOME! Most schools do not have this position, she works with the staff and oversees and directs the material and how it is presented, she makes the school cohesive in educational material and presentation, anyway good things this year! The teachers we are blessed to have this year are phenomenal. We are so excited for the year.

When I left home everyone was fine with that. Dave said that it was ok with the boys until it was bed time. The lights out and kisses ended with crying for mommy. Ok, that is sad and all, but I was happy that they BOTH wanted me! Kedus is now napping on my lap to be sure I do not go anywhere at this sleeping time. This morning Keds and Nate were talking and we got the idea that they were recounting last night and mommy going and not there at bed time and now look she is here! Then daddy will go to work and he comes home when we are awake seemed to be the next part of the story. Well, I am sure they will get used to that idea soon enough. They are very happy when everyone comes home from school and work each day.

Phoebe and Olivia have exceeded our hopes for them in big sisterhood and big big sisterhood. Phoebe is very nurturing and motherly, but that seems to work ok. They still know mommy vs. sister. Olivia is fun and she plays, she is exuberantly sought after. Oluvia is what they call her. They are both a big help. We are glad that we can still talk at dinner and other times. It is good to have the boys go to be early and then we have time with the girls. So far so good.

Here are a few photos.
Jill

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

home at last!

Hi all. We traveled home and made it, all people are in tact and all bags are home. We were so happy to see friendly faces at the airport! Thanks Mama and Daddy, Aunt Holly, May, Irene and Jane for coming to see us!
We are totally exhausted. Nate slept all night in his own bed, happily! Ked was not so sleepy as he slept on nearly every flight. That was nice for me, but not so good for Daddy in the night. He came up to our room three times and ended up staying in our bed very early in the morining. I am certifiably sick. So, slept heavily. We have the monitor all the way up and i still did not hear anything except for Dave one time get up. I did hear myself coughing! :( Anyway, other than the little dog -Jigs- tinish woosha, all is well. They are just going to have to get used to him. He is still our fuzzy baby.
I am looking forward to nap time and hope all will sleep.
It is all cloudy and rainy here, just like it is in Ethiopia now as it is the rainy season. Same temp. too. Interesting. I was looking forward to warm weather.
Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. We appreciate it. See you all eventually!
I have tons of thoughts and will try to post them here as i can. So, if you are interested keep checking in here. I will also post photos when we get to them. First it is laundry time. I have 5 bags and they all have stinky, damp, dirty clothes needing washed. I will have to un roll them from all the loot we brought back!

have a great day.

Update 8-15

Hello,
First things first. We got the American Visas for the boys yesterday and the German trasit visas for them today. good news!

We went to a hot springs today. It was about 2 hours out of town. It was a beautiful drive through Africa. here it is winter with rain. eveything is soo green. we enjoyed a swim in a nice pool at a resort that would make a great secluded honeymoon retrat for any couple.
Nate is having a hard time with mommy. I think he is feeling a divided loyalty to his birthmom and me. IT will take some time, but it will be ok. he really just wants daddy, as he never knew his dad that would make sense. poor little guy. it has got to be rough. keds had this at first but seems to be over that for now. for now is they key phrase. it will be ok.
the boys have never swam, nor had water for fun , here children are told to stay away from water because it is dangerous and dirty. a lady there interpreted for us and nate said that it must have rained and rained adn now the river is full. daddy is goin in there and his shorts are going to get dirty and I am not going. kedus just sat on my lap and huddled. it was too scary to think of. nate then said that he would not want to take a bath with all the people in that, he wants to just take one in the house we are staying at. :) What a silly boy. they did eventually get in , lured by a big ball. they had a lot of fun splashing, but at first acted like it was a bath, cleaning their face adn hair. it was really funny. when it was time to get out, they both said they did not want to go. Kedus shows ability in swiming, he automatically kicked and such, nate, he just splaashed.
we have been observing a lot of difference in behaviour between them. we feel that Kedus is truly 3 1/2 and that nate is 2 1/2 . the ladies here at the guest house agree. they are the same size, but keds was 2 months early when he was born and that would account for his size. His sister is tiny too, so he just inherits small genes.
well, that is all for tonight. we will leave here sun night. tomorrow is saturday.
please pray for us in our preparation for travel. for the flight with the boys, phoebe and olivia to get the attention they need....

Thanks!~

If you have been praying for the tiny baby: his mom got all his paperwork two weeks early and tickes and they will leave for US on monday. thank you.

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

Embassy appointment

We had our US embassy appointment today. Wed. 8-13. It all went well and there were no questions. We Will get the boys Ethiopian passport adn visas tomorrow. We will then take all the papers to the Germany embasy to get the german transit visa. So, all is good. Pray that we get the visas all done tomorrow Thursday 8-13. Thank you.

That is really all we did today. We did get photos done for traveling through Germany.

The little tiny 4 month old baby who is 5 pounds is out of the hospital and they are trying to expedidte the papers for him to go home earlier. pray for a speedy embassy date and that they can find flight home very soon. Thanks.

The guest house did a coffee ceremony for us all tonight. It was very nice. I am so allergic to the air here. I have a terrible sore throat and a cough. Same as I had in Bolivia. Anyway, the coffeee ceremnoy is very smokey and there is incence, my throat is worse now. oh well.

Dave is having a great time with a pastor who is here from New York. I think he has a new friend. He is so good at making friends. I am having a nice time talking to moms in the evening.

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

no tantrums today

We had a day of no temper tantrums from the boys! Yeah. We drove around the town, with permission, and did not get out of the car. we took photos of landmarks and the big market. it was really very neat. Oliva was squished and obsessed with it. that was bad. by the time we were on our way home she had pretty much lost it. Nati threw up, ate too many gummy bears, and it was the end of happiness. but it is good now!!
We met with our agecy rep adn got our papers in order. OUr embassy appointmetn is tomorrow. Please pray for the following : that everything would go smoothly at the US embassy, that we will get teh visas thursday am. That we will get our Germany transit visas finished Thursday also.
Thanks!!

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

update

hi all,
There are a lot of families here! All of us have boys, some are babies, then a set of twins 12-18 months old. Just doing the army crawl. Small!!! I am sooo glad our boys are older than that. Then another just 3 year old who is tiny. Then our boys. i saw a 4 year old adn he is for sure older than our boys in every way. Two families are from Denmark! Please pray for the youngest baby. 4 months old, he is only 5 pounds. He is bonding well with mommy and eating high calorie formula! :) alert and well. However, he has shigelia and dehydration and has been admited to the hospital. Dave had shigelia in Bolivia. It is bad, but very common. waterborn bacterial infection. Please pray for his recovery and his momma and auntie to feel reassured.

We had s cheduled to visit our compasion child today all of us. With the new regulation s we had to leav the boys at the house with a baby sitter when this was posed to them as an idea, it was wildly unpopular!!!!!! so, daddy stayed. It was SOOOOOOOO Dissappointing to not be able to all go. But, it is the way it is. We took at taxi to the main office, met the translator and went to the chuch where the center is. We met the boy we s ponsor and his mother there. they asked to to their home. we went in the taxi part of the way and walked in on a hiking path the rest of the way. it was slippery with the mud of rainy season. Their home is a one room smaller than our room at the house here. There was a cot and three beches and a small table. Behind a curtain was the box of kitchen items and more blankets. They gave us bread and tea. the bread is getting expensive, what a sacrifice for them. Also the tea was quite possibly the best tea i
have every had. of course they use a ton of sugar here in all the tea adn coffee. It had a cinnamon taste. I will t ry to buy some. In bolvia we only saw this sort of poverty from a distance . I had never been in the home. Beautiful family, I believe the mom had been to high school as she spoke english some. I was so blessed to see them and to know they all attend the evangelical church there. We gave all the gifts and they were very happy. We are not allowed to give money so when we get home we will give the gift we intended to give. The family was previously homeless, living in a shelter of scavenged plastic taped together. They saved up and bought the supplies to build the house they liv in now. it is not government owned but not really owned by anyone. they could be kicked out of the area any time along with the hundeds of neighbors. I suspect it is not likely. However they may be given a fine repeatedly. the view from their house "yard" is
stunning. It looks down on lush vally with a river you can hear well. eucaplitice trees adn all sorts of foliage. it was so b eautiful. i said how much i liked it and they thought that was odd. :) ALL THE children go to school. We walked out and back to the taxi. Children wanted to talk english. one question they ask is how old are you? I told them 36! They look at me with wide eyes. I don't know what they think.
This afternoon i stayed with the boys adn Dave and the girls went to confirm our tickets home-good., and to the museum where Lucy is. oldest human remains - well almost. they were allowed to take photos so we will trade stories this evening after the boys go to bed.
Today the boys were very very good. Fun, cute loving. We read a book that is a my fisrst words book. They say all the words afer me. So cute.

dinner is nearly ready and the boys are wild with excitemten this evening. so by for now.

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

Hello from Ethiopia

So, you wonder what we have been doing. We have been playing a lot of kwaas. that is ball. The girls and I went to shoping yesterday, Dave stayed with the boys. We went to several different areas and bought many things. They mine silver here. One place was twice as expensive as the next. Too bad I did not know before. The drivers don't take you to places where you have to barter. Too bad. I like doing it. This week Dave will go out and I will stay wit;h; the boys. Tomorrow we visit Compassion but can not take the boys. This is the only time we will use a baby sitter. One of the girls here will watch them in the morning. We had this planned a long time ago, so did not know. Wed. we have the embassy appointmetn. Apparently it goes quickly but we still covet your prayers. Thank you.

Today Naty told Kedus that if he did not eat his dinner he would not go to america. Then Kedus sulked. This was very silly and we had help ensuring that this was not so. They are testing us too. today they each disobeyed purposfully and the item had to be taken away. but, they each had a melt down. This ha acctually happend a few times. but not too bad except once. We are grateful to have those around who speak Amharic>

We did get to go to church today... approved. It was great! It was an english service. There is a cafe called Denver Cafe in the same building. Their logo is the Denver Bronco logo. Very cool.

All for now.

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

Daddy MOmmy sister!

WOW! today the boys said Daddy Mommy sister! Daddy, Daddy daddy is very fun to say. Very cool. We are learing a lot of Amharic. Many things. We have extreamely happy boys. I will try to tell you a little about each. Kedus, I think he is really 3 almost 4. his real birthday is near Christmas which is Jan 7 here. We will see. But, his sister is quite sure he is not 4. He colors in the lines, he choses colors deliberately. He is silly and willful. but he obeys very well w hen he udnerstands. he likes to show off and is quite good a soccer. he stops, catches and kicks adn he NEVER misses. He can kick to a certain place purposfully and well. He can spin the ball with his hand. he runs fast. He props his little foot up on the ball and puts his hand on his hip and looks at you sideways like "i am really something!" He has a little wimper when he does not ge t his way adn he pouts. but, that is not working on mommy daddy and he is starting to get that. He is
small at 2T and sometimes a 3T but 3 is large on him. He will be a a3 soon. He is left handed. he sings alot of the time. he is delightlfu.
Both boys are comming to mommy daddy for help and to show us things and to cuddle up in the morining. Today The girls and i went out to shop. The boys aked where is mommy? And were happy to have us home. They both love kwaass! Ball adn Makinas! cars. They are both potty trained, but wear a pull up at night. They can eat with a fork and spoon! They both talk constantly. like we know whta they are sying. :)
Nati (that is what he is called) is quieter in some ways and not such a show off. He is super cuddly and likes to snuggle in the moring. HE colors like a younger kid, he stays in the lines but it is more of a scribble, he is sttarting to select cloras on purpose. He also is small. size 2T or some 3. he needs 3 in the shirt fo his big tummy, That boy can eat for sure. He is delightful and cute as can be. he is righ t handed and loves soccer. he kicks hard and can spin the ball. he uses the fork well but does somehow get food eveywhere, jigs is going to love him. he love milk. everything he eats.

They were well cared for at Sele Enat. very loved and well fed and everything. they had a little shool in the moring for counting and bible songs adn stories.

i need to try to send this now. maybe it will work.
more later.
sorry fo the bad typing this is a stiff board and if i take time to correct it i loose the connection. !
Jill

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

update

Hi all,
We got here just fine. all our bags came together. We were happily met at the airport Tue. Wed we went to the orphanage to get our sons. we took them home that day. they were called out to meet us and they gave us hugs, shy ones. they had the photos we sent around their necks on the lanyards we put them on. they were well worn they showed us them. we spent some time there. (i am using the dial up and old keyboard here, it is stiff and hard to write, pardon my mistakes). The boys hav a scheule and it is good and they go to "school' i the morning to count, and sing bible song s and stories, etc. when we went back to the house they were quiet. they aked hana if this was the time. they had asked her if she would take them in the van when their parents came. yes this is the time.
so far they talk to eachother a lot in amharic. we are picking up on soem needed phrases and words that are helpful. it is good. they talk to us. come to and with us willingly. ask to b picked up and for food, etc.... they sleep fine so far, day nap and night. they love soccer adn play pretty well. they love cars and coloring. they DO NOT like stuffed animals. scarry!
new rules, we can not go in public places with them because there is gossip among the people of child trafficing. not true, but still a concern for the govt. regarding public relations. they need time to e ducate the populace on adoption. so, it is best that we are stayiang in a guest house . those in hotels are not allowed to take their kids out of the orphanage to stay with them. guest house is ok right now. it is ok. it is ok to go to not much populatted places and out of town. we will do that. better anywy. we will have to do a bab sitter for certain things , but one of us will stay with them at the house when the other and the gilrs go out sometim es. ok.
guest house is good. they are moving to a better location after we go. It will be good. The people here are nice and friendly. it is a lot like bolivia. e veryone is doing well and no one is sick. it is good. phoebe loves it here. olivia is doing ok. the camera card is full adn we can not load it to the computer so i am glad we all have our cameras and the video which we can download and 6 disopsable cameras just in case!
thank you for your continued prayers. so far so good. still waiting for them to realize this is fo r reals., Kedus hsa a few sad times when wakign up. it is ok .
love,
Jill Dave, POKN
:)
"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

we are here

 we are here. 22.5 hour plane ride. tired. all our bags came, we were met by Abebe! We have our rooms. so, all is well. we will go to the      boys tomorrow.
Good night for now.  it is 10 pm
Jill"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

Basement and we are off!

So, we are leaving in the morning!!! WOW we can not believe it is actually time. We hope to meet our sons on Wednesday!

Please pray for our safe travels, attachment and bonding time. All four of us are going, we will come home SIX! Thanks for your prayers and all your help.

The basement is ready! My parents, Jerry and Ricki, our girls, Phoebe and Olivia, and a friend Stephan have all pitched in to help us get it ready at the last minute. We are so thankful for these extra hands.

So, off we go to get our sons. We hope to update this blog via e mail. So, stay tuned. Don't know if we can attach photos or not yet.

Visa 37

Well, we got word today that the Visa 37 is in the US Embassy office in Addis Ababa. Yeah!
Now to finish that packing. Dave is working on the musts in the basement. The boys room is just about put together.
We are thanking God for the arrival of our visa 37, the last immigration paper needed. It shows all the appropriate info.

Please keep us in your prayers as we are traveling and getting our sons! See their photos to the right!
Jill

date of birth

Well, we are well on our way to travel to get those little boys of ours home. We leave the 4th of August. Of course we are waiting on a few little details. Oh I mean BIG.
#1 the Visa 37 seems to have taken the scenic route to Addis Ababa. It is being searched for. Pray for this if you think of us! We need this there ASAP! Like Friday at the latest.
#2 the basement. This week we hope that a certain door comes in and our bathroom counter top. The rest of the carpet goes in too and Dave is finishing the trim. It looks awesome!

Other than that we are packing, cleaning, gathering papers, etc.....

Speaking of papers, we got a copy of the adoption decree! So nice to see it in print, makes it SOOOO real. Also we got the re-made up birth certificates. Ok, birthdates must be very hard to come by there for orphans. On the inital papers they were both born in 2004 making them 3. One had a birth month in August the other in December, in which they turn 4. NOW they are both born in 2005 making them 2. One with a birth month in May, already 3, and the other in November, will be 3. Like our family needs any more May or November birthdays! From their photos I say they are 3 or 4. A family who recently traveled said clothing size 2 and 3 will likely fit them well. So............... the mystery remains, how old are our sons? Stay tuned to find out.

Their names are also now different. They added Dave's name. So, now they are Natnael David Habib and Kidus David Habib. Notice the different spellings of their first names.
When we do the readopt in Colorado we will be able to alter the names and birth dates if needed. I think we need to know how old they seem to be by ability, etc..... We will visit the Dr and dentist. :) Fun times ahead!

Have a great day!

Travel dates

We have our airline tickets!!! We are going to leave Denver on August 4th t noon. We will return to Denver on August 18th, most likely 5:22 pm. We are waiting to see which return flights come through. It is really really full on all the flights so we are waiting to see how it turns out. The travel agent, Susan Parr, is working on it so we don't have to. :)

Today Jake and Jeff and my parents helped us move a ton of stuff over to the house from storage. We brought over toy shelves, craft and office cabinets, desk, chairs, beds for the boys, etc..... It was great to have such good help.

In the afternoon my parents helped us with some of the work. We cleaned up the cabinets (these are circa 1880-1900 cabinets out of First Methodist's Hibbard Hall when it was remodeled in the 50's). My mom sanded down the maple counter tops. Lots got done.

Monday the lights and outlets will be in!! Dave continues to work on the beautiful trim work and I will continue to paint. The tile is done and it is really really really nice. Some of the carpet is even in. It is really coming together.

There is so much to do and only two weeks to do it in. All in good time. I wish I could have a magic wand to finish it all and get over there to get our boys all at once. But, it doesn't work like that. Soon enough we will have them in our arms for good.

Have a great day!

blogger check

Checking to see if photos transfer over.

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

post check

I am checking to see if posting via email works. We will need to do this from Ethiopia.
Hope it works!

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

Due date: August 11ish

OH WOW! We have our I171H, immigration permission for the boys to the USA! We got our appointment date with the US Embassy in Ethiopia for August 13th. One month from yesterday. So, from what I understand..... we receive the boys on the Monday before (11th) and have the embassy appointment Wed. and final papers on the Friday (15th). We will probably fly home the 18th. School starts the 21st!
So now I am looking at airline tickets and accommodations, etc.... YEAH!

We had our international shots last week. Not so fun.

The basement is drywalled and painted and the tile and carpet will be done this week. Electric and plumbing fixtures will finish next week.

The church had a very nice adoption shower for us last week also. It is so nice to know how many people are supportive of us and this adventure.

I finished Toddler Adoption, finally. It is a good book, but i have a hard time getting through books that are not fiction. :) Fantasy in particular. I highlighted for Dave. He is reading, There is No Me Without You. VERY good book, a must read. Fascinating so a quicker read even though it is 3x as thick. :) Now I have to zoom through Attaching in Adoption. Glad that the other book covered that in some detail as well.

The girls are doing Vacation Bible School this week. Their project is money for the orphanage in Ethiopia. We hope to find what they would like to have and give it to them as a gift. We are so grateful for the care they have and are giving the boys and all the other children as well.

We are so eager to wrap our arms around our little sons and love them in person.

Until later......

weekend away

This past weekend Dave and I went away together before chaos comes to our house. We hope to travel early August to gather our sons from Ethiopia. I think I posted that they/we passed the court date on the first time around. Yea!!!

So, anyway, the girls spent the weekend with Grampa and Gram. Had a great time! They both ended the last of their swimming lessons for the season too.

Dave and I went to Denver. Had a great do nothing sort of day Saturday. Stayed downtown, had a nice walk on 16th Street Mall. Went to a picnic for families who have or are in process of an Ethiopian adoption. Strange to be the new person, but good to see others "like us". It was fun to pick out all the little boys who seem about the size of our boys.

Sunday we went to the Ethiopian Evangelical Church in Denver. It was a WONDERFUL experience. I think we will make a good effort to go there once a month or so from now on. We are unlikely to ever understand Amharic well enough to not need a translation. ( I did pick out familiar sounding phrases. Incentive to learn them. ) But, these wonderful people know that and are equipped with a little box with ear phones that you can listen to a translation with. The woman translating had the most beautiful annunciation and smooth voice. The service was so wonderful and uplifting and full of the truth of God and the Bible. It was just exactly what we needed at that time. God has a way of doing that! It will be a wonderful way to stay in touch with Ethiopia and what God is doing there. It is in Aurora so it is only about 45 min from home. I love to hear the languages of earth worshiping the one true God. In heaven I hope to hear all of them at once, but be able to understand every single thing. Oh, how wonderful it will be. I have to say, though, if there is a Heavenly language, which I don't think there is, it should be Amharic. That is one very very beautiful language. I love the tones, the sounds, the inflection. Beautiful. And the music. Not one song tune I ever heard before, but all that beautiful Ethiopian smooth, emotion infused music. I LOVE IT. East Africa is VERY different from West Africa. The translator gave us the words. They were almost straight out of the Psalms. Anyway, it was a very worshipful Sunday morning for us.
A funny thing..... they ask for first time visitors to stand up in the service to introduce them selves. Ok, we were the only white people there (feranji) so, it was obvious that we were visitors and they all were wondering what brought us in. Of course adoption is a logical answer. They were very happy to hear of this and the pastor said "bless you for this good and needed thing you are doing. Your sons will grow up to look like these beautiful people around you. " Yes in deed a very beautiful and handsome people. I was glad that they were glad for us to adopt "their" children. Ethiopians tend to claim all Ethiopian national children as "theirs". The village thing. A nice woman talked with us after the service and told us how to say the boys' names correctly. This was good as we have not been saying them correctly. I have to say, that in general I tend to not notice "race" or color. So, being the only white people there was not in the least bit uncomfortable. The standing up was, and would be anywhere! However, lately, I have been noticing people who have Ethiopian characteristics.
This is a congregation larger than our home church. I would say there were about 500 people there. The service started at 10:30 and filled up until about 11. The web site said it ends at 12:30. 1:00 was more like it. And well worth it too.

We went to eat at an Ethiopian restaurant for lunch. There were a few customers at the bar to watch a soccer tournament. Big sport. We had Habesha. It was good. I ordered mild and it was hot, my lips were burning. Dave had medium. HOT. It was a lot like Korma, an Afghan dish. You eat it with the bread, which is not at all like Afghan nahn. It is spongy pancake. Tangy. A big part of this was to see if my system can handle Ethiopian food. I took all my meds afterwards. I think I will stick to "tasting" rather than eating Ethiopian food. I was not so well after. But, the effects were nothing like I expected. For that I am really really grateful. The owner has just opened a restaurant in Addis. So, we got his brochures. He said go here, it is clean and safe. :) That is a very good thing to know. These are friendly and warm people.

We also read a Scientific American article on gene mapping. Fascinating!!!!!! More evidence the human race starting out in Africa, the horn of Africa to be exact. That would be Ethiopia! The gene studies are so interesting to me. Good thing since I am married to a science guy.

Anyway, a great weekend together, meeting other families, a wonderful church, food experiment..........

All for now.

court date passed!

WOW! The court approved the adoption on the first try! No problems. Now we wait for the translation of the adoption decree and the new birth certificates to be issued. Then we will get a firm embassy date. We also are waiting for the immigration permission papers to come. They estimate a late July travel... maybe early August..... we will see. The boys will get photos of their new family and life next week sometime.

On the preparatory note.... we are waiting on an inspection for the basement tomorrow to pass. ALL the others have passed on the first try. This is the last one before drywall can go in. Please pray for that to go well. Then the drywall goes in and we are well on our way to a finished area.

Thank you for your prayers and outpouring of love for us all.
Jill and Dave and the girls

Adoption Shower

It's a shower to celebrate the upcoming adoption of Natenael and Kedus into the Khaliqi family!
Let's join together as they anticipate and prepare for the arrival of their sons from Ethiopia.

Forestgate is having an adoption shower for the Khaliqi family.
Tuesday evening, July 8th, 2008 , 7-9 PM at Forestgate. Families are welcome!

We have included some gift ideas and information from Jill and helpful ways you can also contribute to the orphanage:
Jill has registered at Target, Wal-mart and Amazon. com. They are all listed under Jill Khaliqi as a baby registry. They can also be accessed on line.
Things they could really use are: pj's and pants (adjustable waist is preferred on pants) in size 3-5. Winter coats and fleece jackets in size 3 and 4. The booster seats for the table, the car seats and safety bed rails would be especially useful.
If anyone is interested in just giving a donation to the orphanage they would be very happy about that. Checks can be made to the church with Pennies for Orphans in the memo.
Another need that Jill has noted is that the orphanage appreciates receiving basic over the counter kids medications. They are not readily available there. Parents often take such donations when they go. If each family attending the shower can bring one over the counter medicine item: Tylenol, cold meds, eye drops, children's Benadryl, simethicone, immodium, Kaopectate, etc. it would greatly help the orphanage.

Kindly RSVP for the shower to Evelyn Ulsh, 548-8422, ejulsh@comcast.net.

great day

We just had a really great day. The girls are currently taking swimming lessons. Thursday and Friday had to be canceled due to a broken pipe. We are making up on Saturdays. Today we went to lessons, on the way we listened to Adventures in Odyssey. After swimming we went to the downtown library. Then to lunch and back to the pool. We swam until it began to thunder and rain. We then got a $5 pizza to eat at home and used their Baskin Robins coupons from the library reading program. Then we went home and ate pizza and watched a movie. Nanny McPhee. A good one in our opinion. The girls are playing a little, and playing very nicely. Off to bed soon to rest for another day. At every turn we thought, oh next summer we will have two more! Oh what a difference it will be. We notice all the children, especially boys who are between 2 and 5 years old. We wonder how old they really are. Hmmmm. We will see when it is time. Looking forward to finding out all about them!!

another update, court date

Hi family and friends,
We want to let you know that the court date for our boys in Ethiopia is this MONDAY June 23. Their Monday starts 9 hours before our Monday. So, when it is 11 pm on Sunday night it will be 7 am Monday morning in Ethiopia. This court procedure will finalize the adoption on the Ethiopian side. They have been reviewing all the papers for the boys and for us. At this court appointment things are settled or other papers are requested. Witnesses of the children's status as orphans are summoned, if any are available. After this (if it passes) then they issue birth certificates for the boys with the sur name changed to David Habib (this is how they do last names there). Incidentally, Dave's name is like they do it in Ethiopia, and much of the world. Your name, your dad's name, your grandfather's name. :) Along with the birth certificate a passport and visa will be obtained for each boy and all preparations will be made. The adoption at this point is final in Ethiopia and they are OURS! Then we will get an invitation for the US embassy appointment and we will go to Ethiopia to get them. One little catch among many possible.......... we have to have the immigration form called I 171 H in order to bring them home. We are still waiting for that. Pray for God's perfect timing in all these transactions. He knows the best time for all of this to come together.
Thanks!
Jill and Dave

progress

Hi,
We would like to update you on the adoption progress. Things have moved so fast. We got word today on the finalization of the boys who we will be adopting. Both are age 3 and should be 4 by the end of the year. The ministry is now reviewing the files of the boys and us. There is a court appointment set but we are not aware of the exact date as of yet. Please continue to pray for the following:
1. the health and safety of the boys
2. the speed of court and that they will pass on the first date
3. that the immigration papers (I171H) will come by the 18th of July.
4. that we will find the most affordable travel options available as cost of travel has increased a great deal.
5. that we will be prepared for the boys and them for us.

gift registries

Hi,
Church is going to be having a kid shower for us!! It will be either July 8 or 10. That is so thoughtful of them. If you are in the area and don't go to Forestgate and are not my relative (will be invited already) and you want to come that is WONDERFUL. You are invited!!!! Please send an email to Evelyn at ejulsh@comcast.net. She will send you details. I asked her to plan on this. So, consider yourself invited PLEASE!

I have put together three gift lists as is customary for showers.
Wal-mart
Target
Amazon.com
all are accessible on line or the ones which have stores in the store. The best list is on Amazon.

Of course if someone just wants to give a gift to the orphanage (Pennies for Orphans) we would be so happy with that. Checks can be written to the church. This is not for our adoption expenses at all.

Thanks!
Jill

Here is a web site that has a bunch of great articles n Ethiopian adoption. I enjoyed a bunch of them.

http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/ethiopia_adoption.php

So, we are waiting for a court date and final settlement on WHO we are adopting. I think we will know tomorrow or Tuesday on the WHO and I hope also the court date. We pray that they pass the court date the first time through. This is a time when the court of Ethiopia looks at the papers of the boys and sees that they are in order and they are adoptable. They look at the papers of the family who they are matched to and see that they are in order and a good family. Some things that would delay a court would be power outages, over booking, in correct papers, supplies running out, etc. So, we wait.

What do we do while we wait? Well, we take swimming lessons (with some friends), finish the basement, garden ( We put in 4 trees and I am reworking a few overgrown beds), work (Dave has big work in June with students and teachers) , read books, blogs, web sites, group email, learn all we can, try our hand at Amharic, go to a picnic with other families who adopted or are in process from Ethiopia, we went to see Prince Caspian (good), and we saw an African drum group at the Pikes Peak Center (interesting). I am also finding out what to do in Ethiopia, and hoping to get there for less than we have seen listed. :)

Well, waiting is not my strong suit. But we have lots to do. Still eager to hear good news from the land of our son's birth!

Another article on Ethiopia

Here is another link to an article on Ethiopia. This one is AIDS ministry by SIM and MTW. Funny that this was in our other magazine (on line) that we get and overlapped a bit with the World article.
http://byfaithonline.com/page/pca-people/aids-ministry-serves-as-a-means-of-reconciliation

Interesting World article and PBS show

We just got our World Magazine for the month of June. Front cover is Ethiopia!!!! Of course I sat down to read it right away. Here are the two articles. We are pleased to discover that our church denomination mission board (MTW) is cooperating with the mission board we served with (SIM) on an HIV project. Very good.
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/14057
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/14071
http://www.addislive.com/content/view/11107/46/

Also PBS just aired a special documentary on women's health issue called Fistula. Here is the link to that one. I guess you can watch it on line.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/beautiful/

I am encouraged that the world is looking at Ethiopia. Things are getting better there. Time will tell, but things are looking up.

Enjoy.

What's new?

This is an interesting article on adoptions in Ethiopia. Cut and paste into your browser window.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/04/us/04adopt.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

In other news, Information from Ethiopia has come that one of the boys we had hoped to adopt is not at the time available, however, he will remain at the orphanage while they get his papers together in hopes that things will fall into place for him to be adopted. So, we will be adopting two of the originally referred three. We are happy to know who we intend to bring home as our sons! Now, we wait for our dossier to be translated into Amharic. This week it should go to the correct government official who will then set a court date for the boys. A court date is to show that their papers are in fact ready and accurate and that no remaining family are able to care for the child. In the case of these boys, this should not pose a problem. We also wait for the immigration paperwork which allows us to claim an orphan as immediate relative to be processed. That was received by USCIS on Friday May 23. So, we hope that the boys will get and pass court by July 10. We hope that our immigration papers for them will come in shortly after that. IF this happens we could potentially travel in late July or early August. This is what we pray will happen. If not, the boys will be assigned a court date after courts open again, early October and we would be able to travel in early November. Not ideal. Please pray with us that we would indeed be able to travel by early August.

What do we do while we wait? Finish that basement!, make photo books to send to the boys to pre-introduce ourselves to them, sew, start to make their Life Books (like a baby book or adoption book that tells all we can know of their story, we hope to learn more when we are there), read all the books we are half way through on Ethiopia and adoption, learn Amharic phrases, get an idea of things we want to see and do while in country, finish school and take swimming lessons, VBS, some camping?, Wait.

The Joy of Building

The other night I (Dave), was waxing philosophical on the joys of building stuff. I had just polished off the stack of framing lumber that had been delivered to our house a few weeks ago. No longer were there just a bunch of sticks of 2x lying outside in a tidy (mostly) bundle, but they turned into walls, door jams, base plates, and shower enclosures. Anyone who has built something knows this feeling of taking what is an inanimate pile and turning it into something that is yours. Conceived in your mind, built with your hands, and eventually enjoyed by your family. God made us to be builders because He is the builder. He takes what is formless and lifeless and conceives, crafts, and builds what is beautiful, enjoyable, and His. So many aspects of life mirror this building quality of God, yet none more than family. That God sees fit to bless us with spouses, and children, pets, plots of land, careers, hobbies and gives us the opportunity to start building is an amazing picture of His grace in our lives (Jeremiah 29:4-7). Whatever phase of life and building we find ourselves, I pray that we build what will last after we are gone, that we will build on what really matters. Was it a coincidence that Jesus made His living as a framer?

construction

progress

Well, the basement is almost framed. The plumbing has been roughed out. I have ordered carpet and tile and secured a tile installer who will also pour the shower pan. We got a sink base out of a "bones pile" at a fancy kitchen and bath store. It was $100 and would ordinarily sell for about $400. Cherry wood, beautiful finish, two sets of drawers. Getting bids on electric and drywall. I have been collecting things for the room. I found just the quilts I had hoped for on close out at Ross. I had to go to several stores to find two, soft fleece blankets too, plastic laundry baskets, etc.... I read in one of the books that buying the things for the child makes it feel real. It sure does. But having somewhere to put them other than the living room will be great too! Soon enough.
I am sick at home today. In bed most of the day. I have had a rough spring with sickness. I am usually never ill. Oh well. This too shall pass.
Olivia is writing a wonderful poem, she is sick too. Better than I am at this point.

How I Wish I Were A Bird
By Olivia

How I wish I were a bird,
I could fly o-so-high,
But not just a little normal bird, but a big hawk
instead I would try to help the gardeners get rid of all the rodents
and have a tasty breakfast, lunch and dinner,
but I am just a little helpless worm,
who lives under the ground trying not to be seen by a bird
Oh, how I wish I were a bird.

Well, off I go.

video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSdP6PqsbJY
I saw this on another site. I like the song and video. Rawanda.

giving

If any one is interested in the pennies project please contact us personally at jillanddave@yahoo.com. TCA and FPC are participating.
Jill

nothing new

We are still waiting to hear about the status of one of the boys we are hoping to adopt. If he is unadaptable due to paper issues we will still have two. This will not be a problem. I do not know if there is such a thing as foster care. I wonder if it would be possible if a child is not able to get the right papers for adoption. Hmmm?

I was wrong on the time frame of my last post. Our dossier went to DC Tue. It is expected back Fri or Mon. Then the whole package will go to Ethiopia that same day or the next. It takes about 4 days fastest post to get there. Then it will be translated and attached to the dossiers of the boys and then on to another government roller coaster. Then the boys get court dates and we hope they pass first time, then two weeks to complete paperwork and then we travel.

Well, we are still waiting on word regarding the status of one of the boys. I am not a good waiter, learning.

referral

Well, after a great deal of prayer and searching and question asking (information gathering) of friends and those who are home with Ethiopian children, and of our agency...... we feel that the best situation for our family and for the boys will be to have two sons. Picking the two was not hard, we had known for quite some time which two we felt a stronger "connection" to, if that is possible with a photo, I understand it is. :) Due to a signed agreement, I may not post photos or the names of our boys until we have finished our embassy work, in Ethiopia after we go get them. This is going to be a long time.

Well, a little info. Both of our boys are approximated to be about 3 years old. They seem to be quite lively little fellows and have winning smiles and happy countenances. We are so excited to go get them and have them home at last.

Both boys were totally cleared for adoption. One may have some new issues due to some policy. We do not know any details. We are praying that it will be an easily resolved issue and that things will still move quickly enough for us to travel in August. Please pray with us.

We just saw a little video bite of one of the boys and he is just so very endearing. I can not wait to call them mine, kiss their little heads and faces and give them love and mothering. We are very aware of the difficulty that will come as we all transition. We are pleased that a company which does a lot of publishing regarding adoption has finished a book and cd set on Amharic for adoptive families, done by native speakers. Yippee!!! We will start learning as soon as it gets here. I want to tell my boys how much their mommy loves them right away. I hope they can understand me.

I am doing another State Department run Mon and Tue of this week to speed along papers. I think Wed. we have a good chance of having the dossier sent to DC, that should take 1-2 weeks, we are hoping for one. Wed. or Thursday we should be able to send our papers for immigration approval as well. At this same time all the papers will be drawn up for the boys, to attach to our dossier.

Well, things are moving. Staying interesting for sure. Our faith in the wonderful work of God and His direction in our lives in all aspects is a very good thing. Sustaining, reassuring.

Brave (long)

Today I drove in a blizzard to Denver to drop off a paper at IAN and to drop off the dossier for notarization. I asked myself while going about 25 on the highway all the way from Castle Rock to Denver, why I did not just wait until tomorrow. I guess there are a few reasons.... 1. I said I would do it today, and I do what I say. 2. If I wait until Friday then I have to wait until Monday to pick it up (yes, I a doing it again tomorrow to pick it up). 3. because I am a mom, and just like I love my girls and would do nearly anything for them.... I love my boys. So, I got there, got everything done and got info on the three boys who are waiting. ( I MAY NOT share info about them on this blog or on line anywhere until after they are ours -that would be after the embassy date in Ethiopia). Sorry. I want to follow the rules because, I am a rule keeper and I want things to continue to go well for other families.

So a new development arrises, we are approved for 4 kids 0-7. We said we want 2 boys under 5. There are 3 boys under 5. Our hearts say to keep them together, they are buddies. That counts for a lot really, when you are talking about a lot of loss.............

On the way home, I drove praying about this, with a really heavy heart. I had several verses rolling around my head and a bunch of songs that are meaningful to me. God's providence and care for each of us. Our path so often comes to us through difficult circumstances and that is certainly the case in adoption. Our hearts desire has names. Names are real.

These are just a few of the verses rumbling in my mind. I have so so many more.

1. Mark 10:27
   Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."
   

Ephesians 3: 20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

So, then I decided to hear the radio. This song came on.

Brave

(Nichole Nordeman, Jay Joyce)
For Charlie, who rearranged my fearful heart.

The gate is wide
The road is paved in moderation
The crowd is kind and quick to pull you in
Welcome to the middle ground
You're safe and sound and
Until now it's where I've been

'Cause it's been fear that ties me down to everything
But it's been love, Your love, that cuts the strings

So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave

I am small
And I speak when I'm spoken to
But I am willing to risk it all
I say Your name
Just Your name and I'm ready to jump
Even ready to fall...

Why did I take this vow of compromise?
Why did I try to keep it all inside?

So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave

I've never known a fire that didn't begin with a flame
Every storm will start with just a drop of rain
But if you believe in me
That changes everything
So long, I'm gone

So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
I wanna be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave

Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

These and many others are some of my most cherished verses. I am a person naturally given to fear of the unknown. I am also a person who has a desire to unearth the unknown, maybe so that there is less to be afraid of, but it is also fun. How do I do anything, let alone unearth the unknown or do the interesting things I long to do if I am afraid of the unknown? In our life together so far Dave and I have done more and seen more than most people our age.

I team teach ladies Bible Study at church. In January we ended the book of Jonah. Now, I got a really unusual take home, practical application. I read about Jonah not doing what God wanted him to do. Then he did it but not willingly. He missed the blessing that could have been his. The question for me was this: "What are you not doing that God has asked you to do? Why?" At that point we had been talking very seriously about adoption for at least a year or more. I was struggling with being comfortable. Too comfortable. Yet not feeling settled at all really. Something is missing. I knew it but was not willing to go forward. Why? Fear of the unknown, all that could go wrong....... I ask myself if that is a good reason for not doing what I KNOW I should be about? Am I Jonah? Yes, I have a reason to be afraid. But, God says "Do not be afraid". I came home in tears of gratfulness for that release of fear to do what is right, what deep down I longed to do. Ok.... we are on our way, full throttle forward. Find the boys, bring them home. I love them dearly. I am not afraid. I am realistic, but I am not afraid.

Fast forward to today. Three? I am afraid. Part of me thinks to myself; "Say what girl? I thought you were over this! God talked to you, did he not? You got his hand, go forward." The other part of me says, "But... what if... where...how...?"

I remember all the verses, I remember countless song lyrics. Then this one comes on the radio. Tears spurt out of my eyes. Fear stress coming out. I know it, it has a name. Fear must go. I will be brave. My sons are brave, my daughters are brave. I too will be brave. If God wants us to have three then it WILL work out. Financially something will make it possible. I know we can love three. I know we need them and they need us. Why? How? But......... "with God all things are possible" "Do not fear, for I am with you", "and Jesus said, let the little children come.", "The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want... yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (and my boys have) I am with you...my cup overflows, surly goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life..." . Yes, God can do it.

So, on to living free of fear.

encouraging link

There is a great blog post on this blog by another mom (not the one who has this post). I did nto feel right in copying it to mine but if you follow this link and scroll down to a post called to have a family or something very similar read that one. It is really good and encouraging. http://wewillbringthemhome.blogspot.com/

CBI and progress

Monday I called the CBI office to check on our finger print cards. They were no where to be found. Later the nice lady called me and said she found them and it looks like they should be done this week. FBI too! Well, against all odds, they are in today! FBI still pending but Fri looks like a good possibility, hoping anyway. We pick up police clearance tomorrow. Dr. papers Fri and Mon. Review the final Home Study report Tuesday. Then off it goes to the state for approval and then we get a referral! Then we send our I600A (Homeland security/immigration forms for pre application for orphan adoption- Colorado now requires a completed home study to send this in. Lots of people just got theirs sent back because it did not have the home study in it) and the dossier (yes, we have to paperwork for that done) for certification and authentication, then it goes to Ethiopia and to their courts. We are praying that all court process' clear by the first of July. This would clear us to travel late summer. If it happens it would be against all odds. This we pray for. So far everything has been faster than expected. Holding my breath and praying. If not we go late fall. Going at all is what counts really. I just do not want my little boys to wait too long for their mama and daddy. How is it that you can love someone so much and you don't even know their name, or who they are. It is an amazing thing.

Jill

Ethiopia birthplace of humanity

This is very interesting science. The Bible upholds a lot of this as well, the garden of eden was likely in the area of Ethiopia which is refered to as Cush in the Bible. King James version uses Ethiopia some 45 times. Moses' wife was thought to be Ethiopian. Dave read a book called the Seven Daughters of Eve. It was about the study below. Some of the oldest human remains have been found in Ethiopia. Whatever you think..... it is at least interesting.
Jill

DNA studies map human migration
The pattern of genetic mutations offers evidence that an ancient band of explorers left what is now Ethiopia and went on to colonize most of the world.


By Karen Kaplan Los Angeles Times Staff Writer February 22, 2008

Scrutinizing the DNA of 938 people from 51 distinct populations around the world, geneticists have created a detailed map of how humans spread from their home base in sub-Saharan Africa to populate the farthest reaches of the globe over the last 100,000 years.

The pattern of genetic mutations, to be published today in the journal Science, offers striking evidence that an ancient band of explorers left what is now Ethiopia and -- along with their descendants -- went on to colonize North Africa, the Middle East, Europe, southern and central Asia, Australia and its surrounding islands, the Americas and East Asia.

A second analysis based on some of the same DNA samples corroborated the results. Those findings, published Thursday in the journal Nature, demonstrated that the greater the geographic distance between a population and its African ancestors, the more changes had accumulated in its genes. The story of human migration revealed by DNA "complements what's known through history, linguistics or anthropology," said Jun Li, a University of Michigan human geneticist and lead author of the Science study.

Both research groups relied on DNA from blood samples collected by anthropologists around the world as part of the Human Genome Diversity Project, a controversial effort from the mid-1990s to gather genetic specimens from thousands of populations, including many indigenous tribes. Previous studies have relied on data from the International HapMap Consortium, which cataloged DNA from 269 people of Nigerian, Japanese, Chinese and European descent. "Instead of saying a particular person's genome is from Africa, this kind of data allows us to say which part of Africa they were from," said Andrew Singleton, chief of the molecular genetics section at the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Md., and senior author of the Nature report.

In both studies, the researchers analyzed more than half a million single-letter changes among the approximately 3 billion As, Cs, Ts and Gs that make up the human genome. Those changes -- called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs -- begin as random mutations and accumulate over time as they are passed from one generation to the next. Each time a small group left its home territory to found a new population, the migration ultimately led to a unique pattern of SNPs. Comparing those patterns, the researchers were able to show that humans spread around the globe through a series of migrations that originated from a location near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

With the expanded DNA data set, Li and his colleagues were able to make finer distinctions among groups that were previously treated as homogeneous. In Europe, for example, the researchers were able to distinguish between Orcadians from present-day Scotland, the French, Tuscans and northern Italians from what is now Bergamo, Italy. In the Far East, population geneticists had previously surmised that northern and southern Han Chinese were distinct populations and that the Japanese islands were populated by northern Han. "Now we have direct evidence that that's true," Li said. Singleton's group also studied collections of SNPs called haplotypes that tend to be inherited en masse, as well as DNA segments known as copy number variants that appear with different frequencies in different individuals.

By creating a catalog of normal genetic variability among different groups of people, the studies will help medical researchers pinpoint the role of genes in specific diseases, said Singleton, whose lab is part of the National Institutes of Health. A third study, also published in Nature, compared SNPs in 20 European Americans to those in 15 African Americans and found that, on average, a higher proportion of the European American SNPs were likely to be harmful. Overall, the African American genomes had more SNPs, reflecting the fact that they are descended from an older population, said senior author Carlos Bustamante, an assistant professor of biological statistics and computational biology at Cornell University.

By using a computer algorithm, researchers determined that 12% of the SNPs unique to African Americans were "probably damaging," compared with 16% of the SNPs found only in the European Americans. He and his colleagues surmised that the discrepancy could be traced to the relatively small and homogenous group that first inhabited Europe. Any harmful mutations they brought with them would have spread more quickly through the isolated group. Such effects have been observed in European subgroups, such as Ashkenazi Jews and Icelanders, Bustamante said. The results suggest that larger populations could be vulnerable to "founder effects" as well, he said. The studies were funded by the NIH, the National Science Foundation and private foundations.

karen.kaplan@latimes.com

Where we are at

You may wonder, well more likely not really, but then again, if you are reading this you might just wonder............. We had our last home study meeting on Sat. April 12th. Now our adoption case worker will write it up. It will take her about two weeks. We are still waiting on the CBI and FBI reports and the child abuse registry to come back. We anticipate seeing those mid to late May. I do not see why it takes so long since there is no record of any kind on any account. :) Oh well. We are also waiting for Dr. papers, we anticipate those next week. Once those are in then it can go to the state for approval, takes a few days. Once it is back we hope to have some little boys "placed" with us. Then we add the home study sealed report to the dossier (which is also ready minus the police report, which should have been here by now. I will have to call Monday, and the Dr. letter - next week) Then we can send that to be certified by the state and then authenticated by our agency and then they will send it to Ethiopia. Then Ethiopia will do their court routine and then give us an invitation to come with an Embassy date. Then we will buy expensive tickets and go to Ethiopia to gather up our boys and see their birth country and then come home, all of us together at last. When will this happen you ask? Well if things are fast, we have a very, very, small, slight chance of going late summer. However, that would mean they would have to be done with the court routine in Ethiopia before July 15. The more likely is late October or November. Court holiday is July 15 to September 30 this year. The girls will miss an awful lot of school if we go then. We will see.

On another note. Phoebe is sick. Fever, laying in bed, runny nose, sore throat. I think she will be home tomorrow. She just had a sore throat yesterday and we went to our home study meeting, went to Park Meadows Mall for fun, and Bible Study. After Bible Study we saw how much worse she had gotten in just a short time. She and I stayed home today.

At Park Meadows we went in the Pottery Barn Kids shop. We saw a great idea for the boys to have double loft beds, when they are bigger. And, decided on a room theme. We are going to do a zoo theme, or jungle/safari animals. They had the cutest felt animals. I made the birds today and we are going to make the alligator and giraffe too. I am using flannel. Maybe I will even make up some other ones like a lion. Lion is the symbol for Ethiopia, that could be fun. I am looking for two solid blue (slate or country blue, not too navy, not really pastel sky) quilts that are either tube sewn (stripes, lines) or squares or a non flowery matilese. I have not found any affordable ones. If you do let me know! Reversible is ok. The other colours I plan to use are light taupe and chocolate.

Have a great week.
Jill

Announcement of Adoption

Good News to share!
We have decided to adopt our sons from Ethiopia! Oh yes, I said sons. We hope to bring home two boys, under the age of 5, to join our fun family. Yes, I said adopt! Why? you ask. Ok, it is obvious we have two biological children, hence the question. We want sons, you can not guarantee that with a biological birth-yet; we believe that the world is overpopulated for the current and practical distribution of natural resources and wealth; we know that there are children in the world, a great many, who do not have a loving family to call their own and every child deserves a family of their own; we are Christians and have taken to heart God's desire that we as Christians care for the orphan, and adoption as a means to do so fits well with our other beliefs and desires; we have wanted to adopt for, well, as long as we have known each other and the time is right. You may not agree with all those reasons, but they don't have to be yours. :) Yes, I said Ethiopia. Yes, that is in Africa. Why? you ask again. Well, why not!? Every child deserved a loving family of their own. There are other factors concerning stability and such too. After beginning our research on the country, we are totally sold on the incredible nation of Ethiopia! Take a look at our links if you are interested.

We are all so very excited and hope that you can share our enthusiasm too. I have decided to keep a blog so that others can easily access information about our adoption as they have interest and time. I should be able to update while we are in Ethiopia as well. Yes, we hope to all travel and see the country while we are there.

We began to look for an agency and research countries in late January. In late February we decided on Ethiopia. In early March we decided on International Adoption Net (IAN). We applied and began our home study. Most people we tell are very supportive and want to be part of the adventure in some way. Scroll down for some ideas of how you can be involved IF it interests you.