A Beautiful Walk

So, there was a flurry of referrals earlier in the month and I've been holding off posting in hopes that we'd be in the 30's for this post. (Why does 39 sound so much lower than 40??)  At any rate, we haven't moved much at all the last few weeks and I know you have all been missing my deep insight (humor me) so here we are at number 42.  Not too bad though, I'll take it!

A few weeks ago Steve and I watched an amazing documentary called A Walk to Beautiful.  It follows the journey of 5 Ethiopian woman who suffered horrific childbirth complications that resulted in them being shunned from their villages and forced to lives of shame and loneliness.  When they hear about the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, they each decide to make the long journey to the capital city in hopes of regaining their dignity.  The story is told through their eyes and with their voices.

While people in the US argue over natural vs. drugs vs. c-section, it's a reality check on how truly blessed we are here.  It's really an interesting and eye opening (and yes, short) film that I'd highly recommend everyone see.  It's on PBS occasionally, but we got it from the library. 

Though the hospital has over a 90% success rate, there are some cases that require long-term care.  These women are invited to live at Desta Mender (Village of Joy), a gorgeous 60-acre farm village at the foot of a mountain.  There they are given not only treatment, but trained in a variety of income producing trades...from nurses aides, to gardening, to sewing, etc.

Recently Desta Mender created Juniper Cafe, an outdoor restaurant, where the women who were trained in cooking/catering serve lunch to convention meetings and visitors.  Some other adoptive parents have said it's an amazing place and we definitely have it on our (growing) list of "must-dos"!

Young Again!

What day is it today?  Funny you should ask, because it so happens that in Ethiopia it's December 19, 2002!  Which would make me 27 again!!  As if I needed another reason to travel to Ethiopia!  (You can stop doing the math in your head, I'm 35.)

Ethiopians follow the Coptic calendar (which is also still used in Egypt) and as a result are about 7 years 8 months behind our Gregorian calendar.  The Coptic calendar has 12 months that are 30 days long and a "13th month" for the extra 5-6 days.  Makes things interesting when conducting business there...and when trying to figure out birthdays for those born during the 13th month!

In other news, we're now at #50!  Chugging right along!!

Date Night!

Well, we've had some movement this week and we're now #56.  Slowly but surely making our way up the list!  I'm sure over the next 12-18 months there won't be much to update besides our current number, but I'm going to try to post something incredibly interesting at least once each month.

It was announced recently that Habesha, one of the local Ethiopian restaurants, is hosting a night for all the adoptive parents at our agency...which, of course, we aren't able to attend. {Boo!} So, we decided to go on our own last night instead (in celebration of making it on the list and for our 7 year anniversary)...and we'll definitely be back!

Outside, you likely wouldn't look twice at the place...it's in a strip mall in the Park Hill area of Colfax, with a lovely tattoo store called Freaky on one side and a Middle Eastern restaurant, complete with belly dancers, on the other.  (Side note: we need to try that place sometime as well.)  Inside, however, feels like you've been transported straight to Ethiopia.  (Well, from what I imagine at least.)  It's a small place and there were only a couple other tables seated while we were there...but they have a dj come in later in the night, so I think it gets busier then.  The waitresses were all super friendly and the owner/chef came to our table a couple times during our meal.  (We made sure to let him know how much we appreciate him hosting the adoptive parents, even though we wouldn't be able to make it that night...)

We both got some Ethiopian beer called Bedele "special" that was really good...smooth with a slight honey aftertaste.  I had hoped to try some Ethiopian wine, but they were out and I wasn't a huge fan of the honey wine they gave me a sample of.  Oh well, I'm sure there will be many more opportunities to try the wines!

For food, we ordered a meat and veggie variety.  It had a chicken, beef, lentils, cabbage, housemade cheese, spinach, etc.  Everything was super yummy...and soon the only thing left on the platter was the cabbage. 

It was our first time trying the bread, injera, since we didn't have any when Steve made sik sik wat at home.  Alone, it's a little too sour tasting, but with the food it's perfect!  We finished the whole basket and dug into some of the platter piece as well.  (We aren't ones to shy away from starch!)

The best part is we were completely stuffed, had 2 beers and the tab was only about $25!  So far Habesha is our favorite Ethiopian restaurant in town...but there's a bunch of them and we're planning to try them all before picking our go-to spot!  So, if any locals are interested in joining us sometime...just let me know!

A BIG step towards little feet!

Today we got the news we've been waiting for...we are officially on the wait list for our baby girl!  Our homestudy was approved by the state and our Dossier is complete since we finally received the letter from our bank! (It's amazing how cooperative they were after threatening to close all our accounts!)

We are officially number 61 on our agency's baby girl list!  Considering the number was in the 20s earlier in the year....that's a really high number!  They are still saying it'll only be a year wait for a referral, but I'm doubtful it'll be that quick...we shall see.  All in God's time though, not mine.

Our agency is growing very quickly, but there are a few things that make the number not quite as high as it seems.  First, most families are on more than one list...for example, you can be on the baby girl list and the toddler girl list and get a referral for either.  Since the toddler list is much shorter, chances are pretty good that's what their referral will be.  So, there won't really need to be 60 baby girl referrals before we get ours!  Also, there was a big election in Ethiopia that put everything on hold for a couple months...no referrals for that long results in a much longer list.  Finally, since our agency is growing, they have recently contracted with 2 more orphanages in Ethiopia...so they are now receiving referrals from 3 different orphanages, which should help the list get a move on.

Anyway, we're soooo excited to be done paper chasing and start watching the numbers tick down!  We pray everyday for our daughter (and for her birth family) and can't wait until she's here with us!

And so we wait...to get on the wait list.

We just got back from a very much needed vacation to beautiful Tennessee (pics on the family blog soon).  We had been hoping that while we were gone everything we're waiting on would come in, but of course no such luck!  So, for those wondering...here's where we stand.

The homestudy has been complete for a few weeks now...but we're waiting on our fingerprint clearances to come back in order for it to be submitted for state approval.

Our dossier is complete (though not been through final agency review) except for the dreaded bank letter.  We received one letter, but they of course added a bunch of unnecessary verbage.  So, we submitted a request for a new letter over 2 weeks ago.  Yup, they are S-L-O-W!  Just hoping they actually use my sample letter this time...I wrote it for a reason people.  ;)

So, once those couple things come in we'll finally be on the waitlist!  I think my previous post is working...because I'm really not stressed at all about waiting.  God knows where we need to be on the list!

That's it...hopefully my next post will reveal our number on the wait list!

Doro What??

So, yesterday being Mother's Day and me having the best husband in the world and all...not only did I get creme brulee french toast for breakfast, an endless supply of hugs and kisses from my 3 favorite guys, and an afternoon alone to do some of the gardening I've been futilely attempting to do in 20 minute increments all week...I also got surprised with a super secret* homemade Ethiopian meal!

The "*" is because Steve is the worst secret keeper in the world (a quality I adore in a husband!) and spilled the beans a couple weeks ago.  I still appreciate the sentiment and the inclusion of our future daughter in my day none-the-less!

So...unless you're a very cultured eater, you might be wondering what exactly is Ethiopian food? 

The national dish of Ethiopia is called wat.  It's a very spicy stew that can be made with a variety of meats, grains or vegetables.  Doro wat is the chicken version and probably the most popular.  The stew is cooked with berbere, a red pepper sauce with a ton of  yummy spices.  You can use more or less berbere, depending on how spicy you want it.  (Or in our case...use a little bit to get a nice medium spice and then serve more on the side for the member(s) of our family that lost all their taste buds to habanero dares in college.)

The best part of eating Ethiopian though, is there are no utensils!  A crepe-like sour bread called injera is used as your "fork".  Since we eat alot of meals like that anyway, it's right up our alley.  ;)  Below is a picture of a lady making traditional injera.

So, back to my wonderful Mother's Day meal!  Steve made Sik Sik Wat (beef) and it was delicious!  We've yet to try one of the many local Ethiopian restaurants here, so I don't know what it's supposed to taste like...but it was so good.  Next time we'll have to use less berbere though so Colby can try some too.  (Don't worry, the recipe will be in our cookbook so you can try some for yourself!)

Don't tell any traditionalists, but we Americanized it and served it over rice.  We also used store-bought Naan for the bread since Steve was out of town and didn't have a chance to get to the International Market or have 4 days to make the Injera from scratch.  He also made a lentil dish that was okay, but we both thought it wasn't quite right. 

I'm so excited now to reach some kind of milestone with our adoption process so we'll have an excuse to go check out the real deal at one of the restaurants!  Then we can sample all the dishes and figure out which ones we want to start making at home.  There's also a place here that does cooking lessons, which I think would be so fun!

The one thing we learned is that Ethiopian cooking requires LOTS of dishes!  You know I would have loved to have helped out...but it was Mother's Day afterall.  ;)

It's (not) all about the numbers.

As we've been running around these last few weeks trying to get our number on the wait list as quickly as we can...I find myself having to daily (or hourly) remind myself that the number really doesn't matter at all. 

We might be 45, we might be 70...but no matter what number we are and how long we have to wait, it'll be the perfect number and the perfect amout of time that is needed for the little girl that God has planned to come home with us. 

I don't want to bring home a baby as soon as we possibly can.  I want our daughter and no matter how long it takes or how many bumps we hit along the way...it's all meant to happen so the timing is perfect to get that referral whom God knows will be the perfect addition to our family.

Sorry, this post is really just for myself...so I can come back and read it over and over and over again during the next year or so!