My Family, My Journey: Wordless Wednesday

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Wordless Wednesday

19 comments:

Evelyn said...: Smile!; Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Evelyn said...: But you know they will be in your bed, right? :); Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Lisa said...: Oh, how fun :) Love the dog checking things out!; Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Eryn said...: Love those ikea beds! We spet several hundred dollars on a new mattress for ourselves, adn bought one of those ikea mattresses for our kids bunk beds...it's way more comfy than our spendy mattress! Sometimes, when thekids end up in our bed, My hubby sneeks back into that bed for a decent nights sleep. :); Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The Mrs. said...: Love it:); Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Claudia said...: what joy :); Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Katie Morris said...: This is very exciting. I can’t wait to see more pictures!; Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Heather said...: That just made me smile! I love that your dog is seconds away from jumping up too!; Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The Busters said...: This makes my heart happy! And of course love the dog checking it out. :); Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sara said...: hooray! what fun!; Wednesday, January 27, 2010
kn said...: Yay! How wonderful!; Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Anonymous said...: Ahhhhhh! It's really happeneing for you! Can't wait til your little guys are all tucked in!!!

Blessings.....; Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tam and Kai - NYC said...: Oh yeah, your dog knows things are about to change around there - really soon!!!
I am so happy for you guys! xoxo; Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Gayla said...: Oh, my gosh!!! This totally made me start CRYING!!! I'm serious...

Beautiful, Heidi. Really beautiful.; Wednesday, January 27, 2010
the Melodious Mama said...: yay!! what a fun place to play...(I'm loving Evelyns comment, lol, Noah has a bed that he loves to play on, sleep, not so much♥) I can't wait to watch this rooms evolution...tossed teddy's mussed up comforters, happy round cheeks!
xo; Thursday, January 28, 2010
Lisa said...: Thank you Heidi. This is so hard! I just want to go hold her.; Thursday, January 28, 2010
Lori said...: Those beds look like they were made to jump on! I agree with the post above, they'll be sleeping in your bed (hope you guys have a king size!!!) Lots of fun ahead.; Thursday, January 28, 2010
Laura Ferry-Jimenez said...: wordless, indeed! :); Saturday, January 30, 2010
Lori said...: Fantastic.; Saturday, January 30, 2010

Timeline

*PAPER CHASE/5.5 MNTHS*
6-27-08: Register for orientation with local agency
7-16-08: Attend orientation with local agency
8-19-08: Decide to adopt from Ethiopia through Gladney. Best decisions ever!
8-28-08: Attend orientation with Gladney
8-28-08: 1st Home Study interview
9-25-08: Home study interviews completed & all Gladney paper work submitted
9-30-08: CIS fingerprints
10-2-08: FBI clearance
11-12-08: Home Study report completed
11-25-08: Gladney approval
12-4-08: CIS approval
*WAIT FOR REFERRAL/13 MNTHS*
12-11-08: Wait list!!!!!!!
4-21-09: Increased our age preference hoping to speed things up (HA!)
8-29-09: Heidi's medicals updated
9-15-09: Mark's medicals updated
9-20-09: Travel Immunizatons
11-10-09: Sent in request for CIS fingerprint updates
11-11-09: Gladney calls to review our age preference
11-17-09: Gladney calls again and tells us about twin boys who *might* become available. We agree to increasing our age preference in order to pursue these boys.
11-21-09: Receive CIS fingerprint appointment
12-16-09: Have CIS fingerprints taken
1-4-10: Referral!!!!!!! 28 month old twin boys!!!!!
*WAIT TO PASS COURT/4 MNTHS*
1-19-10: Start home study update
2-18-10: CIS fingerprints cleared
3-4-10: Home study update completed/sent CIS extension request
3-30-10: File submitted to courts!
3-31-10: Received court date!
4-22-10: Received CIS approval extension
4-23-10: 1st court date
4-28-10: 2nd court date
5-05-10: 3rd court date
05-06-10: 4th and final court date! We're a family!
5-12-10: Receive travel dates!
5-18-10: Travel!
6-1-10: Home as a family of SEVEN (four humans, three puppy dogs!)

Fun Facts About Ethiopia

•Ethiopia has been around for a very long time. The country's Rift Valley is known as the cradle of humanity - fossils of the oldest known upright hominid (4-million years old) were found here in 2005, surpassing the famous 3.5-million-year-old 'Lucy', which was discovered in the same region back in 1974.

•A thousand years before Christ, the Queen of Sheba, we are told, traveled to Jerusalem where she met King Solomon, married him, and had a son, Menelik. When Menelik reached maturity, it is said he left Jerusalem and took with him the Ark of the Covenant, containing the original 10 commandments, back to Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Christian Orthodox Church says it still has the ark in its possession. No one else makes such a claim...

•Ethiopia's official religion is the 1700 year old Ethiopian Christian Orthodox Church. The Jews of Ethiopia, Beta Israel, are said to have been there for 3000 years. And its Muslim adherents have practiced Islam for 1300 years. Ethiopia is split religiously, with official statistics of 35% to 40% Ethiopian Orthodox primarily in the north, and 45% to 50% Muslim, primarily in the South.

•Ethiopia is the only country in Africa never to be under colonial rule, other than a brief occupation by Italy during WWII. You can visit many restaurants in Ethiopia today due to the influence of Italy during the occupation.

•Traditional Ethiopian food consists of various vegetable or meat dishes, usually a wat or thick stew, served atop injera, which is a large crepe-like sourdough flatbread made from fermented teff flour. One does not eat with utensils, but instead uses a piece of the injera (always with the right hand) to scoop up the sauces.

•The Ethiopian calendar is very similar to the Egyptian Coptic calendar – each have 13 months, 12 with 30 days each and the 13th month at the end of the year with 5 or 6 days, depending on whether it is a leap year. The year starts on September 11th (12th in a leap year). The Ethiopian calendar is 7 years behind the Gregorian calendar, so Ethiopia recently celebrated their millennium on September 12, 2007.

•Coffee can be traced back to the 9th Century where it is believed a shepherd discovered coffee beans in the highlands of Ethiopia, namely the Kaffa region. The Ethiopian people are very proud of their coffee and they show this in their well known coffee ceremonies. The Coffee Ceremony is a very important part of socializing in Ethiopia and to be invited to a coffee ceremony is always considered a sign of respect and friendship.

•There are multiple tribes with different subcultures and over 80 languages in Ethiopia. The Amharic language is a Semitic language spoken in North Central Ethiopia and is the official working language for Ethiopia.

•Family in Ethiopia includes immediate and extended relatives, neighbors, and friends. Faith and family are the foundation of the Ethiopian culture. Ethiopians are very respectful and loving. The elderly are considered very knowledgeable and as a very important part of the family structure. Children are usually raised in a large community that includes extended family and neighbors, and siblings are expected to help take care of each other.