Off She Goes!

My sister left for Hawaii today...

Finally a Word From Ethiopia

Another exhausting day... I spent the day in a court room with my sister. She has been trying to have her son's father's visitation supervised in Hawaii. That's where they are moving tomorrow. At the temporary hearing a few months ago, the judge granted supervised visitation, but in Tennessee where he lives and by his mother. (This lady has tried to committ suicide 3 times and is also bi-polar!) Today, however, we actually thought that things would be different, but my sister had a crappy lawyer!!! He was so disorganized. He had a court-ordered medical release for this guy since November, but he waited to try and get any medical records until March. So, needless to say, there was only one record gotten and his lawyer tried to argue it because it hadn't been diclosed 2 weeks prior to court. The record showed a positive cocaine test... Well, not sooner that I had gotten home, the phone rang, I learned that my best friend from junior high died. I am extremely saddened by this news...

But I have a silver-lining amist all this saddness. I finally saw a picture of Abeti with his scrapbook. I have no idea if he looked at it, or how he felt. His picture looks like he is scared. I can't wait to hug him and let him know he will be safe. God sent me this news at just the right time! Blessed be Your name!!!

Ethiopian Dinner

Ethiopian cooking is very spicy. In addition to flavoring the food, the spices also help to preserve meat in a country where refrigeration is rare. Berbere is an essential ingredient in Ethiopian cooking. It is a red paste made of spices and herbs. Flavored butter called niter kebbeh is also important. Niter kebbeh is flavored with onions, garlic, ginger and spices. Wat, or stew is an important traditional Ethiopian food. It can be made with chicken, beef, fish, or be vegetarian. It contains paprika and is very spicy. Wat is eaten with injera, an Ethiopian flatbread made from teff. Coffee is also important in Ethiopia.

So, I ordered Ethiopian spices from www.ethiopianspices.com , and Kenneth and I prepared food for my parents, sister, and brother-in-law. It took both of us to prepare all the food. It wasn't easy... We cooked Gomen which are collard greens, Sega Wot which is a red beef stew, Kit Wot which is a red lentil stew, and Shiro which is powdered chick peas that end up with the consistancy of refried beans. I can't believe everyone ate! I'm not always that brave to try new things. I think I will definitely become a vegetarian in Ethiopia. I'm extremely picky with my meats...

Weekends at the Wilgers'

Saturday exhausted me! First, I drove to my daughter's soccer game. After we got stomped 5-0, I made it just in time to see my son's baseball game. They also got whipped 14-0. Ouch!!! After a quick hours rest at home where I caught up on email, our family watched Mark Chesnutt, Tracy Byrd, and Zona Jones on Crockett Street in Beaumont. You'd think that it would all be over then, but no, my children got to ride to a crawfish boil on Mark Chesnutt's bus with his boys. They are cute! (That is per my girls!) The funny thing is that Curran got clostraphobic, and refused to ride on the bus, so we stopped at Sonic because her and I don't eat those nasty creatures! Well, we were wondering if our kids would ever make it to the party, but we soon learned when they showed up that the driver took a wrong turn and ended up in a not-so-great- area!!! One of Mark's boys said that Curran was lucky because she got to go to Sonic... LOL!

Finally an Answer

I finally got the answer I've been searching for. I don't know why I kept asking, since I felt like I knew all along. Abeti speaks Oromo. I just thought I had one language hurdle to jump over, but now it's two. I guess for my little man it's even worse because it will be three for him. I hope someone at Hope's place can communicate with him. My heart aches wondering how scared he must be. Well, the good thing I guess is that in his scrapbook that I sent, I had attempted to write some words in Amharic so he'd know who the people in the pictures were, but it's so hard that I was unsure what I had really written. So, if he can't read it anyway, then I've done no harm!




So, this is what my eyes have looked like for the last 5 days. It seems I have had some sinus problems, and the drainage is coming out of my tear ducts, but I'm feeling better each day.


This cartoon was made about mine and my husband's relationship...


But I have to get well... Tomorrow is a big day! I'm taking my daughter to Houston for a soccer game. We are in the middle of the President's Cup tournament. In our age division, the top two teams go to the finals bracket to play the Western Disctrict of Texas. Right now we are in 2nd place, and the big game for us is tomorrow. Then I get to rush back home to make my son's baseball game. After that, the family is going to Crockett Street to watch Zona Jones, Tracy Byrd, and Mark Chesnutt. No, I'm not done yet! Then we are going to a crawfish boil with Mark's family. My girl's think they are so cool for getting to hang out with someone famous, and they each get to bring a friend. Gosh, I think I'd hate that aspect of fame. How do you know when people are your "real" friends? ...

Still Waiting...

I haven't been keeping up with posting because I've just been waiting for some kind of news. I did learn yesterday from our International Coordinator Grace that all the waiting children's paper work would be sent back with one of our travelers. Ethiopia is getting hit pretty hard right now. They've been experiencing a drought, and their electrical power is run by hydropower, so the scoop is that there is no electricity on Mondays and Thurdays! Yikes! We have three families in Ethiopia right now! I bet that adds to the shock value. One of our travelers hasn't received her I-171-H yet which furthers any anxiety. I keep praying for her because I know how frustrated she must be with the system. She's tried everything, but it looks like it has only pissed USCIS off. I wish they'd realize that it's a child they're hurting, and most of us adoptive parents do not have unlimited funds!

Many of my fellow Hope families received snipets of info on their children from our travelers. I had to say I cried yesterday because I hadn't heard anything yet. Heck, I am crying while writing this post! You see,I had sent a photo book for Abeti, and I so wanted to hear how he reacted to seeing his new family for the first time. I do know that I'll probably hear something when the families return. They are probably overwhelmed with an unfamiliar country and new children, and we did have some good news with Hope yesterday. Four familes passed court the first time! Our next two travel families leave this weekend. I sent a package to Abeti. I sent an A&M hat and shirt, as well as some jean shorts. I also threw in a toy truck and some of my kid's favorite candy. My soccer girl Curran was thrilled with the hat! She attends A&M soccer camp in July again. Hey, whatever will keep her focused on her education!

Reasons Why

When people ask, "Why Ethiopia?", I don't usually have a very concrete answer about what led me to this country. I can't really say God has ever spoken to me, and I sure hope He is humerous. I can see Him stating the many times He has spoken to me, and I never knew... I do want to share a video I watched on a fellow Texan's blog. (You have to stop the Ipod on the right fromplaying in order to watch the video.) Our family loves American Idol, and I actually watched this video when it aired last year which was before we started this process. Maybe that was a way God helped me to choose Ethiopia, and I was just now reminded of it when I read Emily's blog... Thanks Emily even though we don't know each other....

Another language

It just hit me! My new son probably doesn't even speak Amharic. Since he was born in Sheshemene, he probably speaks Oromo. Help! How scary is that for him because he is now in Addis Ababa at Hope's temporary home, and they speak Amharic! What a life this child has experienced! I only hope the love we have in our family can overcome the difficulties.

Odyssey of the Mind

Today my son competed in the State Odyssey of the Mind competition. Odyssey of the Mind, often called OM is a creative problem-solving competition involving students from kindergarten through college. Team members work together at length to solve a predefined problem (the Long Term problem); and present their solution to the problem at a competition. They must also generate spontaneous answers to a problem they have not seen before; this is the spontaneous part of the competition. The Odyssey of the Mind program was started in 1978 by Dr. C. Samuel Micklus, a professor at Rowan University in New Jersey. That first competition, known as "Olympics of the Mind", involved teams from 28 New Jersey schools. The program is now international, with teams from Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Siberia, Singapore, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and West Africa regularly competing in addition to teams from the United States. Odyssey of the Mind teams are divided into four divisions. My son is in Division I which is for students in grades K-5 for the U.S. teams and members less than 12 years of age for international teams.
Skylar's team worked hard....Go Sky!

Scrapbooking

I decided to scrapbook a photo album for Abeti of our family and our house so he will have something to look at in the months ahead. I spent the past couple of nights waking up at 2 AM stressing about how to put it together. I am SO not creative! But today I decided to just do it! I even tried my hand at writing Amharic. I thought that it would help him know what those pictures represent. Amharic is not an easy language! It looks like Hebrew. I sure hope I didn't write something offensive! It took me all day, but I finally finished it and sent it to Rebecca Brutto who is leaving soon to pick up her daughter. It's such a nice thing that other parents that travel before you take pictures and video of your kids, and take gifts too! What a blessing our "Hope" family is!

It's a Boy!

Today Kenneth and I prayerfully decided to accept the referral for Abeti. So, here's the story. Warning!!! It might sound corny! Kenneth saw Abeti's shirt, and it said, "Discount Tire". So, Kenneth says that God is telling him that this is his son. (My husband is a major car fanatic!)
He's a four-year-old boy on paper, but I think that he looks 5-6. He's the exact same size as my six-year-old nephew, and 10 pounds less! He's from Shashemene in Ethiopia which is about 3 hours south of the capital, Addis Ababa. He was relinquished, so I don't have to wait the 3 month waiting period before a court date can be filed. That's about all I know about him. Kenneth and I want to visit Sheshemene to find out as much as we can about Abeti and his family. Sorry I can't post photos of him per Ethiopian law until we've made it through court. We are still waiting on a referral for a girl too. Hopefully that will be soon. We really can't afford to take two trips, but God will provide.

VYBL Pinto Sweetheart

Sheridan won the title of "Vidor Youth Baseball League Pinto Sweetheart" at the Family Day Tournament. They wanted to crown her during the playoff game which was after 9pm... What were they thinking? She's two!

My son also had two RBIs in his first game of coach pitch baseball.

Curran also played in her last soccer game before she starts the President's Cup tournament.

The Easter Bunny didn't leave me a referral, but I got the next best thing...Dove chocolate! Not to mention a great sermon in church and 864 people!



Remember that because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, there is hope!

Easter Picnic

My new church, Turning Point Church, had an Easter picnic today at Claiborne Park. It was so much fun! The kids hunted Easter eggs and played softball with the adults. I bet there were 400 people there! I also bet the Julie Rogers Theater will wreak of Ben Gay tomorrow.

Coppelia

If yesterday wasn't long enough, today was another ballet. Today was excerpts from Coppelia. Coppelia is an adaptation of "The Sandman," a story written by the German Romanticist, E.T.A. Hoffman, almost 200 years ago. This humorous story takes place in the storybook village of Olympia in Southern Poland. It's about a clever young girl named Swanilda, her silly boyfriend (Franz), a beautiful mechanical doll (Coppelia), and a funny old toymaker (Dr. Coppelius), who dreams of making a doll who would come to life.
But don't feel sorry for me being kooked up in a theater all day while the weather outside is fabulous because I received my golden ticket....my I171-H in the mail!

Peter and the Wolf

So, my daughter has to perform in Peter and the Wolf today for area schools, but her own school disctrict doesn't ever support the arts which is sad because there are big companies that will pay these poor schools to attend these events. I'll revise this post later and add pics from the performance after I've gone throught the 500+ pics I took. Just incase anyone was wondering, my dossier is in Frankfurt...

USCIS Call

I received the strangest call today. The phone number on call id came up with some long distance number, and I have decided that I need to answer those calls in case Grace calls me for a referral. Usually it's someone wanting to sell me something or wanting money-like I will have any left after the adoption!-, but it turned out to be a lady from the USCIS office that asked me if I had received the letter in the mail requesting mine and Kenneth's driver's licenses. I said that I had and had sent them out. She said that was good because she has been waiting on that to send out the I171H approval letter! I need that letter to travel to Ethiopia and bring our adopted children into the U.S.! ...Also, I'm tracking my dossier, and it is in Belgium!

Dossier is on it's way!

I just got word a few minutes ago from Laura at Assistant Stork that my Dossier is on it's way to Ethiopia! That's another step forward!

The Four Food Groups

I thought there were only four food groups: Fast, Frozen, Instant, and Chocolate! Well I learned a little about Ethiopian food today. Kenneth and I went to a sub-station of the USCIS for fingerprinting. It took all of 10 minutes! We already drove 2 hours, so we decided to try an Ethiopian restaurant. We went to Addisaba, and here was my first thought...


So, my husband says, "I thought you were trying to stay in shape, and spicy food revs up your metabolism." I told him that I was trying to get in shape, but my shape was a triangle!

USCIS Letter

I opened the mail today and had a letter from USCIS. At first I'm jumping up and down because I could tell by the size that my documents weren't sent back again, but upon opening it, I found a letter saying that my application wasn't complete because I had not included a copy of our driver's licenses. The crazy thing is that it is not in the list of needed items per the directions? I think they are just testing my patience. No, as adoptive parents will soon learn, each state is different, as well as the sub-offices in each state.