My Family, My Journey: A Year of Knowing Their Faces

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

A Year of Knowing Their Faces

One year ago today, sitting in an airport two minutes from boarding a plane, I saw these faces for the very first time.

They were then, and still are, the most beautiful faces I have ever seen.

13 comments:

The H Family said...: Love this. Happy referral anniversary.; Tuesday, January 04, 2011
The Mrs. said...: I remember crying tears of joy for you that day! And today I'm crying them again just looking at this beautifully tough journey- so grateful that our boys are home with us!
Renae; Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Sara said...: Happy One Year!!!; Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Jennifer said...: Wow. I hadn't heard of "adoption blogs" back then and hadn't even applied to adopt, but I remember reading your post about your referral. You hit jackpot.

I especially love the top photo. :-) Actually I think they look more alike now than they did then.; Tuesday, January 04, 2011
The Busters said...: Wow, I can't believe it has already been a year. I remember that day well!! So many happy tears were shed. Congrats!! I love those faces too!; Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Brenda said...: Love it!!!; Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Gayla said...: Fantastic!!!! Congrats again to you ALL.

And... were those your referral pix??? I'm just amazed. They look so happy!!! Still so funny that all we saw were sad faces and tears. Never mind... ALL of them are full of happiness now!; Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Heidi said...: Thanks to all of you for your support these past two years!!

Gayla, yes, those were 3 of our referral photos. They were smiling in every single picture we got last year. I felt so badly for both of you but the important thing is how much she is smiling now!! Boy is she smiling now!!; Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Rebecca said...: oh my goodness. i will never forget waiting with you. seriously, one of the most wonderful days of my life. it was almost a year ago that i held them in my arms. so surreal and crazy!
your beautiful, beautiful boys.; Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Kathleen said...: Happy referral anniversary! They are some of the most beautiful faces I have ever seen too!; Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Sue said...: Happy Referralversary! Pure happiness all around.; Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Engendo said...: they are indeed gorgeous!; Wednesday, January 05, 2011
scooping it up said...: those have to be some of the best referral pictures of all time!

BTW, thank you for recommending Cetaphil. It has changed my life. I still use other stuff but this Boston winter has officially met it's magic bullet for my little Habesha.

You rock.; Wednesday, January 05, 2011

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.