I am so pleased to announce that we have finally received our Simply Love T-shirt's! The shirt's have been counted and sorted and will be on their way to you no later than Monday. We know it is not nearly as exciting as movement on the wait list, but still exciting because you will all be sporting our cause on your backs. Hopefully the shirts will give you great opportunity's to tell others about the orphans in Ethiopia and remind you to pray for our orphan as we seek to bring them home.
Don't forget, there are a few extra shirts still available in Design B if any of you latecomers are interested! And thank you again to everyone who donated via a T-shirt, we know you will wear them as proudly as we will. :-)
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Finally something!
I had resigned myself to having nothing fun to post, but then was pleasantly surprised yesterday that there was finally some movement on the waiting list. A little 4mo old girl has found a home, which is wonderful news and even though it does not really change things on our wait, I was excited to have something to post. But as I sat down to right this an email arrived letting us know that an infant boy has also found a home! So after two weeks of nothing, we get two days of something. Here's to hoping for three days of something!
Or new numbers are...
Baby Girl - #45
Baby Boy- #23
Toddler Girl - #10
Sibling Group - #15
Or new numbers are...
Baby Girl - #45
Baby Boy- #23
Toddler Girl - #10
Sibling Group - #15
Friday, September 10, 2010
Ethiopian Basics 103...
Ugghhh... it has been slow moving the past couple of weeks! As I mentioned before, we were very spoiled with all the movement on the lists and have now come to expect it. Well, in an attempt to distract myself, I am posting another short "lesson" on Ethiopia and its culture. Enjoy!
Ethiopian Basics 103
Tomorrow is the Ethiopian New Year (Enkutatash)!
Ethiopia still retains the Julian calendar, in which the year is divided into 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th month of 5 days and 6 days in leap year. The Ethiopian calendar is 8 years behind the Gregorian calendar from January to September and 7 years behind between September 11 and January 8.
Enkutatash means the "gift of jewels". When the famous Queen of Sheba returned from her expensive jaunt to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her bolts by replenishing her treasury with inku or jewels. The spring festival has been celebrated since this early times and as the rains come to their abrupt end, dancing and singing can be heard at every village in the green countryside.
But Enkutatash is not exclusively a religious holiday. Today's Enkutatash is also the season for exchanging formal new year greetings and cards among the urban sophisticated - in lieu or the traditional bouquet of flowers.
(information taken from www.tourismethiopia.org)
Ethiopian Basics 103
Tomorrow is the Ethiopian New Year (Enkutatash)!
Ethiopia still retains the Julian calendar, in which the year is divided into 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th month of 5 days and 6 days in leap year. The Ethiopian calendar is 8 years behind the Gregorian calendar from January to September and 7 years behind between September 11 and January 8.
Enkutatash means the "gift of jewels". When the famous Queen of Sheba returned from her expensive jaunt to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her bolts by replenishing her treasury with inku or jewels. The spring festival has been celebrated since this early times and as the rains come to their abrupt end, dancing and singing can be heard at every village in the green countryside.
But Enkutatash is not exclusively a religious holiday. Today's Enkutatash is also the season for exchanging formal new year greetings and cards among the urban sophisticated - in lieu or the traditional bouquet of flowers.
(information taken from www.tourismethiopia.org)
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Better late than never...
So due to Addie's Birthday, Brandon's work schedule and Addie now battling a stomach bug, I am a little late in posting this news, but we did move up in a couple of categories last week. I am hopeful that we will see more movement this week, but we are always hopeful for that!
Baby Girl - #46
Baby Boy- #24
Toddler Girl - #11
Sibling Group - #15
Baby Girl - #46
Baby Boy- #24
Toddler Girl - #11
Sibling Group - #15
Monday, August 30, 2010
Ethiopian Basics 102 and Misc...
Well, we have definitely been spoiled by all the movement on the waiting list the past 7 weeks, because this past week was a disappointment when there was no activity at all! It's funny how quickly your expectations can change when you start out on such a high.
On another note, I just want to remind you all again that we will be placing our T-shirt order on Wednesday the 1st. So if you still want to donate to our Adoption fund and have a cool T-shirt as a reminder of your donation, act now! Secondly, if you have any other great ideas of fundraisers that we could do, please pass them along. We are looking for creative ways to make this adoption a debt free one!
Now for Ethiopian Basics 102:
Ethiopian Time
Ethiopia is three hours ahead of Greenwich mean time. Time remains constant throughout the year. The Ethiopian day is calculated in a manner similar to that in many equatorial countries, where day and night are always the same length: counting starts at Western 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Western 7:00 a.m. is therefore one o'clock, noon is six, 6:00 p.m. is twelve o'clock, and so on.
Ethiopian month: Gregorian calendar:
Meskerem (New Year) 11 September - 10 October
Tikimt 11 October - 9 November
Hidar 10 November - 9 December
Tahsas 10 December - 8 January
Tir 9 January - 7 February
Yakatit 8 February - 9 March
Maggabit 10 March - 8 April
Miyazya 9 April - 8 May
Ginbot 9 May - 7 June
Sene 8 June - 7 July
Hamle 8 July - 6 August
Nehasa 7 August - 6 September
Pagume 6 - 10 September
(information from www.tourismethiopia.org)
On another note, I just want to remind you all again that we will be placing our T-shirt order on Wednesday the 1st. So if you still want to donate to our Adoption fund and have a cool T-shirt as a reminder of your donation, act now! Secondly, if you have any other great ideas of fundraisers that we could do, please pass them along. We are looking for creative ways to make this adoption a debt free one!
Now for Ethiopian Basics 102:
Common Meetings and Greetings:
Hello Halo
Good morning Endemn adderu
Good afternoon Endemin walu
Good evening Endemin ameshu
Good-bye Dehna hunu
How are you? Tenayistillign
I am well Dehna negn
Thank you (very much) (Betam) ameseghinallehu
Ethiopia is three hours ahead of Greenwich mean time. Time remains constant throughout the year. The Ethiopian day is calculated in a manner similar to that in many equatorial countries, where day and night are always the same length: counting starts at Western 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Western 7:00 a.m. is therefore one o'clock, noon is six, 6:00 p.m. is twelve o'clock, and so on.
Ethiopian month: Gregorian calendar:
Meskerem (New Year) 11 September - 10 October
Tikimt 11 October - 9 November
Hidar 10 November - 9 December
Tahsas 10 December - 8 January
Tir 9 January - 7 February
Yakatit 8 February - 9 March
Maggabit 10 March - 8 April
Miyazya 9 April - 8 May
Ginbot 9 May - 7 June
Sene 8 June - 7 July
Hamle 8 July - 6 August
Nehasa 7 August - 6 September
Pagume 6 - 10 September
(information from www.tourismethiopia.org)
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
T-shirt Order (finally!)...
Hi everyone,
We just wanted to let you know that we are finally going to order your T-shirts this upcoming week! Once we have placed the order we are expecting to have the shirts about 7-10 days later. And then, if you live in San Antonio we will find you out and pass yours onto you or if you don't then we will get them in the mail A.S.A.P. If you know anyone else who would like to "purchase" a shirt, please let them know this is the last call! Thank you again for your patience as we have been getting this order together.
Ordering on the 1st of September!
We just wanted to let you know that we are finally going to order your T-shirts this upcoming week! Once we have placed the order we are expecting to have the shirts about 7-10 days later. And then, if you live in San Antonio we will find you out and pass yours onto you or if you don't then we will get them in the mail A.S.A.P. If you know anyone else who would like to "purchase" a shirt, please let them know this is the last call! Thank you again for your patience as we have been getting this order together.
Ordering on the 1st of September!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Ethiopian orphans
This is a video that another friend adopting from Ethiopia shared with us. If you have a minute, take a look! You will see sweet little faces and get a sense of the need that these orphans have.
http://vimeo.com/3565906
http://vimeo.com/3565906
Friday, August 20, 2010
The next step...
Since we have been climbing so steadily up the waiting list, we finally get to move on to the next step of International adoption. Immigration! We have filled out our Orphan Petition, made copies of all relevant documents and need only to include a nice "fat" cashier's check. Ha, ha. Thankfully, all this information we already had accessible because of our Home Study and Dossier. This step is really not that complicated, but is intimidating when you consider that these people have the ability to deny your child entrance into the States!
After this we get to wait some more, lots of waiting, but all good things are worth waiting for. At least we are one step closer to this being final.
After this we get to wait some more, lots of waiting, but all good things are worth waiting for. At least we are one step closer to this being final.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
It's Moving fast...
So please to announce that the waiting list has moved again! This has been going along much faster than we ever expected. We have only been on the waiting list since the beginning of July and have moved roughly 14 times. That is an average of 2 times a week, amazing! With all that said we are currently...
Baby Girl - #47
Baby Boy- #25
Toddler Girl - #11
Sibling Group - #15
Baby Girl - #47
Baby Boy- #25
Toddler Girl - #11
Sibling Group - #15
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Just in...
Another family has accepted a referral for an infant boy, so we have moved up on a couple of the waiting lists! We are as follows...
Baby Girl - #49
Baby Boy- #27
Toddler Girl - #13
Sibling Group - #17
Baby Girl - #49
Baby Boy- #27
Toddler Girl - #13
Sibling Group - #17
Friday, August 13, 2010
3 is a Magic Number...
Baby Girl - #49
Baby Boy- #29
Toddler Girl - #13
Sibling Group - #19
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Up, Up and away...
Well, just as I was lamenting the fact that we had not moved at all this week on the waiting list, which was especially depressing because we jumped up so much last week, then we get the following subject line via email...
Baby Girl - #52
3 referrals today!
Woo-hoo! What a wonderful surprise at the end of the week. But then there is always tomorrow if we dare hope for more great news this week...
Baby Girl - #52
Baby Boy- #31
Toddler Girl - #16
Sibling Group - #20
Thoughts...
Where to start...hmmmmm....
Over the past couple of weeks we have been made aware of some other families and the realism of their adoption process. What I mean is that things don't/haven't gone as planned. I am thankful that God has made us aware of these "complications" because in the midst of our excitement and expectations, we need to be aware of what reality is likely to be.
We hope and pray for a healthy child that would adjust easily into our family, but in all likelihood this is not going to be the case. The child will have already experienced loss and grief greater than most of us will ever know. And of course the way a child handles those things may not be so graceful! (The way I handle things that are hard is not that graceful!) But our desire is to continue forward in this process knowing the reality of what is to come, but also fully trusting that this child/children is meant to be in our home because we know that "all things work for good, for those that love Him and are called to His purpose."(Jer. 29:11)
I am thankful for one lesson, in particular, that we learned with Addie in the NICU - God does not promise us a healthy child, or even a child at all, and are we to only "accept good from God and not trouble?" (Job 2:10) No, God is sovereign regardless of the circumstances and we can be "confident the He who has begun a good work in us will carry it to completion." (Phil. 1:6) Sadly, I know that this lesson will probably have to be learned over and over in our lifetime! It is easy to become complacent and comfortable with the many blessings that God has given us. Prayerfully, we would not do so with this adoption, but will rest fully on Him and His word.
We would ask that you would all be in prayer for our soon to be daughter or son, that they would be receiving food, shelter, care and love right now, where ever they are. That God would be, even now, knitting their little hearts to ours. And that our hearts would be knitted to theirs, so whatever challenges we are to face with them, we would face with the same love and courage that we would give to Addie and Ian.
Over the past couple of weeks we have been made aware of some other families and the realism of their adoption process. What I mean is that things don't/haven't gone as planned. I am thankful that God has made us aware of these "complications" because in the midst of our excitement and expectations, we need to be aware of what reality is likely to be.
We hope and pray for a healthy child that would adjust easily into our family, but in all likelihood this is not going to be the case. The child will have already experienced loss and grief greater than most of us will ever know. And of course the way a child handles those things may not be so graceful! (The way I handle things that are hard is not that graceful!) But our desire is to continue forward in this process knowing the reality of what is to come, but also fully trusting that this child/children is meant to be in our home because we know that "all things work for good, for those that love Him and are called to His purpose."(Jer. 29:11)
I am thankful for one lesson, in particular, that we learned with Addie in the NICU - God does not promise us a healthy child, or even a child at all, and are we to only "accept good from God and not trouble?" (Job 2:10) No, God is sovereign regardless of the circumstances and we can be "confident the He who has begun a good work in us will carry it to completion." (Phil. 1:6) Sadly, I know that this lesson will probably have to be learned over and over in our lifetime! It is easy to become complacent and comfortable with the many blessings that God has given us. Prayerfully, we would not do so with this adoption, but will rest fully on Him and His word.
We would ask that you would all be in prayer for our soon to be daughter or son, that they would be receiving food, shelter, care and love right now, where ever they are. That God would be, even now, knitting their little hearts to ours. And that our hearts would be knitted to theirs, so whatever challenges we are to face with them, we would face with the same love and courage that we would give to Addie and Ian.
Friday, August 6, 2010
News flash...
What a day! Another family accepted a referral today so, we have moved up a couple more spots. The list is as follows...
Baby Girl - #53
Baby Boy- #33
Toddler Girl - #17
Sibling Group - #20
We sure would love it if this continued!
Baby Girl - #53
Baby Boy- #33
Toddler Girl - #17
Sibling Group - #20
We sure would love it if this continued!
Moving on up!
Well, I should definitely learn to pay closer attention to our Agency's blog spot! We have moved up three times this past week and I did not realize it until today. It is kind of a bummer to have missed the excitement of moving three times in a week, but then again it is exciting to see our numbers change more drastically by not realizing that we have moved! ha ha. So our current place in line is as follows...
Baby Girl - #54
Baby Boy- #33
Toddler Girl - #18
Sibling Group - #20
And I would just like to say that it is very exciting to see that we have finally hit the teens on at least one list! YEAH!
Baby Girl - #54
Baby Boy- #33
Toddler Girl - #18
Sibling Group - #20
And I would just like to say that it is very exciting to see that we have finally hit the teens on at least one list! YEAH!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
T-shirt Fundraiser Update...
We just wanted to update those of you who have donated to our adoption by participating in our T-shirt fundraiser. We were really hoping to get our T-shirt order placed by the end of July, but due to traveling we are going to push it back a little further. In addition, we need to "sell" about 25 more shirts to comfortably meet our minimum order. The company who is providing the shirts is a Christian business that provides adopting families a wonderful discount so 75% of our sales goes directly into our adoption fund! With that said they do ask that we order a minimum quantity of shirts. Once we have met that we will place your T-shirt order. Thank you for your patience as we raise money and we will keep you all updated on your shirts! We can't wait to see you all wearing them and knowing that we are so supported by all of your prayers and love.
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Thank you!
A huge Thank You to all of you who have donated a T-shirt or money towards our adoption! We are hopeful that we will have met our minimum by the end of the month and can have your shirts out to you sometime in August. Please be sure to check the blog for updates.
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
More Referrals have been accepted!
This is always great news to get! Not only for the family that will be welcoming another child into their home and the orphan that has no home, but for us as well, because we get to move up on the waiting list. Our new "positions" in line are...
Baby Girl - #57
Baby Boy- #36
Toddler Girl - #20
Sibling Group - #23
Baby Girl - #57
Baby Boy- #36
Toddler Girl - #20
Sibling Group - #23
Friday, July 16, 2010
More movement!
We are very excited to say that we have had movement on the waiting list for the past three days! So we are now...
Baby Girl - #58
Baby Boy- #36
Toddler Girl - #21
Sibling Group - #24
Wow, if only we could get movement like this every week we could have our new son or daughter by the end of the year!
Baby Girl - #58
Baby Boy- #36
Toddler Girl - #21
Sibling Group - #24
Wow, if only we could get movement like this every week we could have our new son or daughter by the end of the year!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Ethiopian Basics 101...
I thought that in the interim of more exciting news concerning the progress of our adoption, that I would post some information about Ethiopia, the people, language and culture. Of course all of this information is new to us as well, so you can learn right along side us! The following are a few basics about their alphabet and some translations of common words, all are taken from www.tourismethiopia.org. My hope is to do several of these posts over the course of our adoption. So until next time, enjoy the short lesson!
Simple pronunciation guide:
a as the a in father
e as the e in set
i as the i in ship
o as the o in go
u as the oo in boot
gn as the gn in compagne (French)
Amharic spellings that follow are phonetical as per the above guide to aid in pronunciation.
Simple pronunciation guide:
a as the a in father
e as the e in set
i as the i in ship
o as the o in go
u as the oo in boot
gn as the gn in compagne (French)
Amharic spellings that follow are phonetical as per the above guide to aid in pronunciation.
| Numbers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| One And Two Hulet Three Sost Four Arat Five Amist Six Sidist Seven Sebat Eight Semmint Nine Setegn Ten Asser | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Days of the week | ||||||||
| Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday | Ihud Segno Maksegno Erob Hamus Arb Kidame | |||||||
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