An experience with Ethiopian cuisine

Getting ready to enjoy our meal at The Blue Nile
Digging in with no utensils. My kids were in heaven! An excuse to eat with their hands like they like to do !

I have been wanting to take the family to an Ethiopian restaurant for awhile now. I thought it would be a great way to kick off the New Year since 2011 will be the year (God willing) that we bring our new daughter home. The morning of January 2nd was an interesting one. As Matt and I woke up we were pleasantly surprised to look out the window and see the most beautiful pink and orange sky out our window. We have been in this house six months now and I don't ever recall seeing effects from a sunrise from our bedroom window. Our bedroom window is just not positioned for us to enjoy them. But for whatever reason this morning, the view was beautiful. My first thought after enjoying the color and thanking God for the day was of our daughter in Ethiopia. 2010 was quite an interesting one and I had to rely more on God for patience and to surrender to His timing than ever before. And with God's help I think I did an OK job. Which is, perhaps, why that morning I felt especially impatient, eager, and a little anxious. We have been in this adoption process for almost a year now and I am ready to embrace our daughter and love her. I know that we still have a long way to go in this journey, just as I know that on the morning of January 2nd it was no coincidence that God allowed us to see his beautiful artistry in the sky as a reminder to trust Him and delight in His magnificent ways in 2011 just as we did in 2010. Feeling renewed from that promise, I told everyone that we were going to eat at The Blue Nile that night to experience some Ethiopian food.

I thought the kids would grumble but they were willing and even eager. We ended up ordering a combination plate that included Doro Alicha, Key fit fit, fasolia bekarot, and cabbage. This was pretty much seasoned chicken, lamb, and beef with berbere sauce and onions and other seasonings topped with a hard boiled egg. I also ordered a vegetarian dish that was fresh carrots, potatoes, string beans, and peppers cooked with tumeric, seasoned and spiced. The whole meal is served on a big tray of injera which is a flat, tangy, crepe like bread made out of teff, wheat and corn flours. They also gave us extra injera that you tear off and scoop up the food with. So there are no utensils. I really enjoyed all of it. At one pint Matt had to ask the waiter for a fork so Brooke could eat the egg. You could tell he was disappointed because he thought we were cheating, but when Matt told him she just wanted it for the egg he was fine with that. When he came back and saw how well we were doing without utensils he smiled and gave us the thumbs up. Matt was very impressed that I ate at this restaurant. It wasn't quite in a strip mall, but it wasn't someplace I would ever suggest to go into. Matt knows I do not eat ethnic food located in a strip mall. It was all of those years of living in Houston listening to Marvin Zindler on the nightly news telling us what is "NOT on the Menu." It was always SLIME IN THE ICEBOX and it was almost always at a restaurant at a strip mall. Since then, I don't do strip mall restaurants. Yes, I am weird! Anyway, I have found myself craving the flavors of the food and want to go back. Better yet, maybe I need to try to cook some of it myself. It was a great way to top off a day filled with promise and hope.

The quote in my devotion book today reads - God's guidance in the past gives us courage for the future. Yes, it does.

What is on my bedside table

Here is just a small sampling of the books I have been reading over the past year. Matt and I have been trying to educate ourselves as much as possible on all aspects of adoption, as well as Ethiopia and its culture. Some books I have already passed on to others, while some have been returned to the library. These are the ones that remain for now. One has nothing to do with adoption, but is about confronting your fears. That one has been invaluable to us. One is a novel that takes place in Ethiopia, while another is about a couple opening a women's hospital in Addis Ababa. That one is titled The Hospital by the River by Dr. Catherine Hamlin and the stories are still so fresh in my mind. This beautiful couple dedicated their lives to women suffering the catastrophic effects of obstructed labor. The degradation that these women experience tears at my heart and I can't stop thinking of them. One story that is told is of a young woman who arrived at their hospital with a sign around her neck which read, 'Dear Doctor Hamlin, Princess Tsehai Hospital.' They discovered that it had taken her 7 years to get to the hospital because that is how long it took her to beg for bus fare.

This week as I get frustrated when my computer isn't fast enough, the red light is too long, the Christmas shopping lines are too long, I think of that girl who waited all of those years at the chance to be healed from her suffering. I would love to be able to visit that hospital. Even though I have zero medical training, I would just love the chance to hold the hands of those young girls and women, and comfort them as they are waiting to be healed.

Reading about the waiting these women experience puts our difficulties of waiting for our future daughter into perspective. We long for the day when we meet her, but I know that all of this waiting is for a purpose. I am reminded of a verse that has always comforted me. I first heard it my senior year of high school when my gymnastics coach presented of us with plaques with this verse engraved on them, Isaiah 40:31 'but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings with eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.' We certainly draw strength from that hope.

As of December 9th we are currently 66th on the girls list.

Collecting donations for Hannah's Hope

Brooke in front of the Hannah's Hope donations collected at her party.

The home where our new daughter will come from is named Hannah's Hope. I am not sure how many children are currently living in Hannah's Hope, but in the past I think there have been around 60 kids. They range in ages from infants to school age children. It looks like such a loving home that also serves as a church and school, and I am so thankful that our daughter will be able to transition there before we bring her home. I have really wanted to do something for Hannah's Hope for awhile, but couldn't decide what. Then, as I was planning Brooke's birthday party it hit me. I suggested to Brooke that instead of gifts this year for her party why don't we ask her guests to bring a donation that would benefit the children at Hannah's Hope. Brooke, being the giving hearted girl that she is, loved the idea and didn't hesitate one bit in saying yes. I contacted our agency and they told me the biggest need is diapers, formula, clothes, and shoes. It was so exciting the day of her party as her guests brought in the donation items. I can't wait to ship it off and more than that I can't wait to someday soon meet the children in Hannah's Hope.

Also, we found out this week that we are 71st on the waiting list! We are excited to see we are moving up! I am starting to have adoption dreams which are sometimes pleasant, but one I had this week was scary. In my dream while I was feeling scared, God was speaking to me telling me to have faith and pray to him for peace. I love that He comforts me even in my dreams!

On a Waiting List!

This is a picture of all of the receipts I collected from mailing important papers and documents over the last few months.

On September 9th we were placed on a waiting list! Hooray! As of Sept. 9th we were 91st on the girls list and as of today, Oct. 7 we are 81st! It was a very happy day to get that call last month after so many months of preparation. The kids and I were curled up on the couch watching Little House on the Prairie when we got the call (yes go ahead and make fun- I make them watch my favorite childhood show - luckily for me they like it!). The kids could tell by my words and reaction that we were finally on a waiting list. They started silently jumping up and down so I could finish my conversation. It was very exciting! Matt had to work late that night and when he got home and saw our smiling faces he knew something was up. The kids had fun telling him the good news. Two days later though we experienced a dark cloud over our happy mood as we were told that because of changes regarding Ethiopian adoptions that the wait times for a referral had significantly increased. This was very difficult for us to hear and we had to let it soak in. As I have said through this whole process God's timing is amazing because just a few days later our family had the opportunity to go see Steven Curtis Chapman and family in concert. The Chapman family are big encouragers of adoption having adopted three girls from China (one was tragically killed in 2007) and they shared a lot about adoption and their story. We loved listening to his music and their story and immediately felt encouraged knowing that even though the wait could be long, it will all be worth it. Another highlight of the night was hearing Steven Curtis Chapman sing "I Will be Here" which was the song Matt and I had sung at our wedding.



So I have been hit with a barrage of encouraging verses in the last two days and just have to share them. Matt and I are huge Glee fans and look forward to watching it every Tuesday night. We couldn't wait to watch it this week as we knew Finn found faith in grilled cheesus! The episode's focus was really on Kurt though, a non believer who was searching for something to believe in. He finally found something and sang a tribute to his dad with The Beatles song, "I Want to Hold Your Hand.'" This is one of my favorite Beatles songs and I immediately put Kurt's version on my ipod. Interestingly, the title of my devotion this morning was Hold My Hand. It talked about when Joshua took over the leadership of Israel, Moses reminded him of God's help in tough times. Deut. 31:8 Moses said, "The Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not be dismayed." Then Isaiah 41:13 encourages us with these words from God: "I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.'" This encourages me because I know during these uncertain times and days ahead as we wait, we can hold God's strong hand. Then the verse on my daily devotion calendar reads, "I have set the Lord before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure." Psalm 16:8-9

How thankful we are to have God's hand to hold as we wait!

Almost on a Waiting List!

Yes, I took the whole summer off of blogging but things are still moving forward with our adoption process. Our move delayed the process by a bit since we had to be somewhat settled in our new home before our social worker could come here for her 4th and final visit with us. She came out on July 13th and then after she submitted her write up, our home study was approved on August 7th! Hooray! There were several things we had to redo when we moved, such as updated police reports, another home fire safety inspection, update our house pictures, and get a couple of last documents notarized. I couldn't wait to mail off our dossier! I actually wanted all of the paperwork out of the house. I kept having these visions of orange juice spilling on them or some other catastrophe occurring that would wipe out several months of hard work and physical, emotional, and mental investment. On the first day of school I took our dossier to Fed Ex, copied it three times as I was supposed to, and mailed it off. That sounds simple, right? Well, I thought was going to hyperventilate at the Fed Ex office! I was so nervous about these documents making it to Oregon safely that I had the Fed Ex guy go over the whole process of how these documents would reach their destination. He was laughing at me promising that it would get there just fine. When he asked me how much the contents were worth, "Over $100 or under$100?" I just stared at him with my mouth open. "Priceless," I told him. He laughed again while he selected under $100. I still haven't told Matt how much I paid to have them shipped overnight, but it was worth my piece of mind. They did arrive the very next day and my agency was so gracious to call me as soon as it arrived. There are a couple of minor changes we need to make to a couple of the documents and hopefully we will be on a waiting list in a week!

A few weeks ago I was reading the book, Simple Acts of Faith, to the boys. It is a beautiful book with the artwork of one of our favorite artists, Norman Rockwell. In the book there was a quote that we all liked in the book which is, "Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of doing." Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Andrew was asking me questions about this author and I said I didn't know much about him. It turns out he was a German Philosopher. Well, the next day I came across another passage of his which I felt has summed up how we have felt during this adoption process.

Where Commitment Leads, Providence Follows

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meeting and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.

Since we have begun this process we certainly feel that God has affirmed us along the way with the way events have fallen into place.

What a Whirlwind!!

I took a picture of this workbook I spent hours filling out. I mailed it UPS and insured it, etc because if I would have died if I had gotten lost somehow. Lots of labor in that one!

So I have obviously done a horrible job of keeping our adoption blog updated. The last few months have been a whirlwind and it was all I could do to keep afloat each day, but I am ready to get back on track!! The timing of everything the past three months has been completely amazing. We listed our house the same week we received our adoption binders full of paperwork. As I was working on all of our paperwork and Matt and I were filling out our life histories, I was also working at keeping the house continuously spotless to show it on any given day, and working on finding a new house in Columbus. Since I have had all of our paperwork sprawled all over the dining room table, before each house showing I would have to gather it all up, stash it in the basement, then lug it back out again. It was getting old. Throughout all of the stress I kept praying that we would yield to God's timing in all of this and know that His timing is perfect. That is honestly the only way we got through it. I know many people think we are crazy to be adopting at the same time we are moving but the whole experience has actually been a blessing. After countless hours of paperwork, 10 hours of adoption training, reading through a 20 chapter workbook and answering questions, getting countless papers notarized, going to the social security office three times, getting in an argument with the man at the social security office, then having to apologize to the man at the social security office, going to the post office and bank countless times, praying for strength to get it all completed...... it finally happened! We got it all accomplished in seven weeks.

The amazing thing is that even though it was completely overwhelming at times, it was never a burden! We just kept thinking of our daughter halfway around the world and how hard we were working to bring her home someday. That and strength from God is what kept us going. On April 28th I mailed in my completed workbook. That was the last piece of what was needed before we could begin our home visits with our social worker. The next day I left for Austin to go visit my sister and new niece. At the airport I get a call from Matt saying we got an offer on our house. Once again I was amazed at how the two big events in our lives continues to come together simultaneously. When I returned a few days later we ended up selling our house the day that our social worker called to set up our home interviews. What relief and joy all at once!

When our social worker showed up for the first time, I wanted to hug her when I met her!! I was so glad to be past the first part of the paperwork phase (I know more will come) that I wasn't even one bit nervous, just very happy. We have had three interviews so far and they have been wonderful. It makes it real being able to sit and talk with someone about our future daughter. Since our social worker will have to come see us in our new home, we decided it would be best to finish the last interview in Columbus in our new home. This will delay us a few weeks but we thought it made sense. Our last interview will be on July 7th. I can't wait!!!!

Another step closer....

On March 8th I received two big three ring binders. One was our adoption planner and one was our home study binder. Now I had been sooo excited to receive everything and couldn't wait to get started on it. However, when I opened up the contents and saw all I had to do I will have to say overwhelmed is an understatement for how I felt. In addition to the adoption paperwork, we listed our house that week, and received several pieces of disheartening news regarding the health of some of our family members. How many times that week did I say 1st Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxieties upon the Lord because he loves and cares for you. !!

In addition to all of that we found out that we will now have to travel to Ethiopia twice!! We told ourselves going into this to prepare to expect the unexpected and this was our first taste of that. Luckily we are in the beginning stages and have time to process that additional cost and experience. I feel for the families who are much further along in the process. Fortunately, two days after I received my planners I had a phone conference with our case manager and she walked me through everything regarding the paperwork process. I felt worlds better after talking to her and now 2 weeks later I can't believe how much I have gotten done! Let me say that although I was completely overwhelmed, never ONCE have I felt burdened. We have never ONCE questioned whether or not we are doing the right thing. So far the whole process has gotten me even more excited and we just keep focusing on the day we will bring our daughter home.

I am thrilled with our agency so far and they have been very helpful to me. In the meantime, as we fill out form after form and prepare our hearts and home, I will cling to Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.