¡Qué será, será!

I shouldn't do this, I'm sure... it's not good for my head... but, I will: My guess is that we'll be home with Baby E. in July. Based on the new trend in waiting times, etc., this is just what I think... for whatever it's worth... which is not much, I know.

God's will is best and may it be done!

Tapas again

So, we've just finished our December traveling between families. (A deep breath.) This year was notably different in that I felt that our families were more aware of our adoption... that it's real and going to happen. This was nice. Baby E. even scored some Christmas presents... for him/herself and his/her orphanage.



Today at work, a dear colleague gave me this newspaper article. Rob and I haven't been to this restaurant yet, but we are looking forward to it.

Then, today, after work, I caught the very end of a program about a couple travelling through Ethiopia. It turns out that they have made a journey, on foot, all across Africa. How fitting that I caught a portion of their time in our baby's homeland. Here is the link, if you're interested.

So, a little bit of this and a tiny bit of that for today. Hopefully soon we'll have a lot of this and tons of that to share!

More referrals!

I knew of one referral yesterday when I typed out that folktale. I now know of five! (And there may be one or two more that I haven't heard about yet.) Wahoo! Now, this doesn't mean that we're almost to the top of the list, because a few families from below us were matched with older sibling groups. So they jumped up; but, that doesn't bother me a bit. It's so good that those older groups of brothers and sisters will get to stay together. Thank God! I'm so excited!

An adoption story?

The Lion's Whiskers
an Ethiopian folktale, as written by Brent Ashabranner and Russell Davis

Bizunesh, a woman of the Ethiopian highlands, married Gudina, a man of the lowlands. Gudina's first wife had died of a fever, and he had an eight-year-old son whose name was Segab. When Bizunesh went to the house of Gudina, she quickly saw that Segab was a very sad boy because he missed his mother so much.

In only a short time Bizunesh grew to love Segab as if he were her own son, and she tried to be a good mother. She mended all of Segab's clothes and bought him new shoes. She asked him what foods he liked best, and she always saved the choicest pieces of meat from the wat for Segab. But Segab did not thank her. He would not even look at her or talk to her.

Bizunesh and Segab were often alone together because Gudina was a merchant who traveled with mule caravans to distant places. Bizunesh worried that Segab would be lonely and tried especially hard to please him when his father was away. "I have always wanted a son," Bizunesh told Segab. "Now God has given me one. I love you very much." Often she tried to kiss him.

But always Segab would turn away from her, and once he shouted, "You are not my mother. I do not love you."

One day Segab ran away from the house and hid in the town market until his father came and found him. When Segab returned home, Bizunesh tried to take him in her arms, but he pulled away from her. He would not touch the bowl of delicous soup she had saved for him. Bizunesh cried all that night.

In the morning Bizunesh went to the hut of a famous wise man. She told the wise man about her new stepson who refused to love her, no matter how hard she tried to please him.

"You must make me a magic love powder," Bizunesh told the old man. "I will put it in Segab's food, and then he will love me."

The wise man was silent for several minutes. "I can do what you ask," he said at last. "But to make such a powder, I must have three whiskers from the ferocious lion who lives in the black-rock desert across the river. Bring the whiskers to me, and I will make the powder for you."

Bizunesh could hardly believe her ears. "How can I get the lion's whiskers?" she asked. "He will surely kill me."

"I cannot tell you how to get the whiskers," the wise man said to Bizunesh. "That is for you to decide. But I must have them before I can make the love powder."

Bizunesh walked sadly from the wise man's hut. She did not sleep a wink that night, but in the morning her mind was made up. Nothing was as important to her as winning Segab's love. She had to try to get three whiskers from the lion even if he ate her. Only then would the wise man make the magic love powder for her.

That very day Bizunesh carried a large piece of raw meat to the black-rock desert. At last she saw the lion standing on a large rock, watching her from a great distance. When the lion jumped from the rock and loped toward her, Bizunesh was terrified. She threw the meat on the ground and ran. Only when she reached the river did she stop and look back. She saw the lion standing over the meat she had dropped. She heard him roar before he began to eat.

Two days later Bizunesh went again to the black-rock desert with a big piece of meat. She saw the lion watching her from the same rock. This time she walked closer to him before the lion jumped down and started toward her. Bizunesh stood still for a moment and watched the lion approach. Then her fear overcame her, and she threw the meat down and ran. When she looked back, she saw the lion eating.

On the following day Bizunesh walked even closer to the lion. This time she placed the meat on the ground and walked slowly away. Before she had gone far she stopped and watched as the lion came and ate the meat.

Day after day Bizunesh came closer. Finally, she left the meat only a hundred feet from the lion. The great best growled, but Bizunesh did not think it sounded like an angry growl. She moved only a few steps away before she stopped and watched the lion eat. The next day Bizunesh left the meat fifty feet form the lion and stayed while he came and ate.

Then a few days later Bizunesh walked right up to the lion and handed him the meat. Her heart pounded with fear, but her love for Segab was so great that she did not run.

She watched the lion's great jaws fly open! Crash shut! She heard the sound of his teeth tearing through the meat. After a moment she reached out with a very sharp knife and cut three whiskers from the lion's muzzle. The lion was so busy eating that he did not even notice.

Bizunesh ran all the way to the wise man's hut. She was out of breath, but she was still able to shout, "I have the lion's whiskers!" She waved them in front of the old wise man. "Now make me the love powder, and Segab will surely love me."

The wise man took the lion's whiskers. He looked at them and then handed them back to Bizunesh. "You do not need a love powder," he told her. "You learned how to approach the lion - slowly. Do the same with Segab, and he will learn to love you.

--

Oh, and by the way, another family from our agency received a referral for their children today. Such good news!

Ink and spices on my fingers

Well, today we were re-fingerprinted. "Re-fingerprinted?" you ask. Yes. Did you know that one's fingerprints can expire with the U.S. Government? Well, they do. So, this morning, Rob and I trudged out into the snowy city to be re-inked. (That's adoption-speak for "re-fingerprinted.")

On the way home, we stopped at the Ethiopian Cottage Restaurant to see about some tej, honey wine. We walked into the empty joint and were welcomed by whom I assumed to be the owner. "Um. Uh. I am wondering if you could tell me where I could buy some tej or if I could buy a bottle from you. Um." I don't know why I was so nervous. "Of course." And we came to learn that he is from Gonder, on Lake Tana, which is a very important area for Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia. So much history! I am so glad that we stopped and made a connection with that man. On the way home we decided that we need to go back there more frequently.

And then we came home to prepare an Ethiopian dinner for some friends. I made mesir wat (lentil stew), doro wat (chicken stew), and even injera (bread, of the teff and wheat varieties). In so doing, I scented my fingers roasting, grinding, and mixing spices for berbere and garam masala. So tasty!

Here are some photos of the spice mixes and of grinding the teff into flour.

Ugh.

I have just watched over an hour of programs about orphans... from all over the world. I want to go. I want to help. But, I am here... for now.

So, I think to the future. Someday, Rob and I will go to Ethiopia, to an orphanage, and be able to bring what we can to help.

This made me think of the list of items we might want to bring with us as a donation to our child's orphanage. I'm going to put the list here in case anyone has any good ideas of how to get donations. In the end, Rob and I will just go shopping; but in the mean time, maybe we can figure out how to encourage others (businesses, individuals, whomever) to donate. Please share your ideas.

Here is the short list:

-infant and child vitamins
-infant iron drops
-pjs
-clothes
-shoes
-blankets
-crib sheets
-school/craft supplies
-plastic bottles
-sippy cups
-first aid kits
-diapers
-formula

Salt and a blanket

Recently we've received some very thoughtful things: a salt bowl and a super-cuddly blanket... the former for us and the latter to take to our child's orphanage as a donation.



This salt bowl is from one of my very thoughtful co-workers. She found it at a fair-trade shop and thought of us because it's made from reclaimed olive tree wood from eastern Africa.



And this blanket is from my talented friend, JR. It is so soft and I can't wait to get it to the orphanage so that they can swaddle a sweet baby in it. Thanks, JR!

Ethiopian Recipes

Are you ready to clink? Ha! That's click and link.



In the current issue of (my favorite) Cooking Light, Ethiopia is highlighted. How timely, no? The first time that I saw Marcus Samuelsson, I just knew that he was Ethiopian... and after turning some pages, I learned that he indeed is. If you click here, you will go to the website. For ease, some of the Ethiopian recipes are: Fresh Cheese with Herbs, Teff Injera Bread with... Chutney, Lentil Edamame Stew, Red Whole Wheat Penne, Curry-spiced Samosas, Corn Mashed Potatoes, Cucumber Mango Salad, and Harissa.

World AIDS Day

A family from our agency that recently adopted their daughter from Ethiopia had this paragraph of facts about HIV/AIDS on its blog. I thought it important to copy it here. Ethiopia has been affected by HIV/AIDS and so our family will be affected by HIV/AIDS. This now becomes part of our story as well.

In addition, over Thanksgiving, I had a conversation with a friend and this topic arose. So many people don't know enough, so... for your information:

HIV can be contracted vertically from mother to child in utero, during child birth, or by nursing. HIV can be contracted horizonally through blood (sharing needles or razors or other blood to blood contact) or body fluids (sex). HIV canNOT be contracted through saliva. You can NOT get HIV from hugging, kissing, or sharing a toilet seat or a drink, or engaging in typical day-to-day activities. HIV is an extremely fragile virus that begins to die as soon as it leaves the body. Though theoretically possible, HIV has never been spread by a skinned knee or a bloody nose. HIV is a chronic but manageable condition.

With medicines now available, people can live indefinitely with HIV, without ever developing AIDS. Women with HIV can give birth to HIV- babies. Children with HIV are expected to live to old age... a normal life span. HIV is actually MUCH easier managed than Type I Diabetes. Woah!

Thanks for reading and learning.

A Thanksgiving Song?

Following is my post from last Christmas Eve. I thought of it yesterday, on Thanksgiving, because we had Christmas music playing as we helped our friends put up their tree before and after dinner. As soon as I heard the first line of this song, I thought of our adoption. You should click on the link.

So, it's Christmas Eve. Ever since we went to the Third Day Christmas Offerings concert several days ago, I've had a song running through my head. It isn't our situation exactly, but the sentiments are the same. Click here to listen. Hopefully by next Christmas we'll have Toddler Albania Stensberg. It will all be so different then. God, prepare us. You know what we need, even now. Please, prepare us. Please protect our child today. Put angels all around him/her. Thank you.

And, the sentiments are still the same... maybe even more so. It's another Christmas and Baby E. is still not home. Sigh.

Thinking

Writing about Tom's shoes made me think of good causes in general, and I remembered about Bethany's child sponsorship programs. Here is the information about sponsoring a child in Ethiopia. We are all so connected.

A good cause

My sister is a big fan of Tom's shoes and their cause: This year they are concentrating on Ethiopia. To find out more, click on this link, as the one on the picture won't work.

Uncle Matty

Uncle Matty has come to visit for a few days and he brought a gift for our child: the fire fighting book that you see above. Very thoughtful. He is ready to school our kid in fire safety as soon as (s)he arrives... and can understand us. :) Baby E., Uncle Matty already loves you!

Nothing much

It's been some time since I've last posted, mostly because nothing much is happening regarding our adoption... at least that we know of. I mean, our child could be born today, which is huge! But we wouldn't know about it.

Some little things: We have gone to our agency's International Travel workshop. (Our last! We have gone to all of them now, and even some extras. I always liked extra credit as a student, but not so much as a teacher. Anyways...) I read a book called Acres of Hope, which all people should read, in my opinion. And now I'm in the middle of a book about the Ark of the Covenant, which most Ethiopians believe is in their country. Regardless of its whereabouts, it's a good general history. Oh yes, and Rob went to a slideshow presentation on Ethiopia. Our agency had a few visionaries go over for several days and one of them put together a presentation. Rob said that he enjoyed it, making his desire to go over there as soon as possible grow.

So, that is all for now. Waiting for a miracle...

It's even better!

Actually, there were two referrals! (Not just the one from the last entry.) AND, one family had a successful court date this week! Wahoo! Two more families have court dates next week. Such good news!

Referral!

Another family recently received their referral for their son. Such good news!

News.

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away..." (Rev. 21:1).

"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3).

These are just a couple of the verses that came to mind when I read this article.

By the way, it has come to my attention that some don't realize that if you scroll over the differently colored word(s), you can click, and be led to another site... here, the site of the article which made me think of the above verses.

Gateway to Africa

Each month, our church holds a Global Gateway luncheon in honor of a certain part of the world. Today it was Africa. There were people from our church from Ghana, Zimbabwe, a large group from Nigeria, Congo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and of course Ethiopia. And then anyone of us not from Africa, but with some connection or interest, was also invited.

Although soon I'll be an honorary Ethiopian, today I was brought into the Nigerian family. While the parents were busy serving food and singing, the kids and I worked on our outline maps of Africa. Really, between the kids and me, we did well... except for the islands. I actually don't believe that most of the islands were even drawn onto the map. That's the competitive student/teacher in me talking!

I am so thankful for our church and the diversity of its body. I can't wait to introduce Baby Ethiopia into its mix!

Cultural perspectives

I've started reading Ethiopia: The Bradt Travel Guide. It's a bit outdated, but quite worthwhile. I've just read and re-read (and read again) the section called Cultural Perspectives, and I've been challenged. I have half a mind to type out all 9 paragraphs for you, but I think that the last will suffice.

"My expierience is that it is practically impossible to understand another culture. You can learn about Ethiopians, you can learn from Ethiopians, but this knowledge will all be assimilated within the framework of your own cultural background. In fact, what you really learn from immersing yourself in another culture is to place the parochial concerns of your own culture in perspective. It is for this reason that travel is so mentally liberating and refreshing. Cultural gaps are not an obstacle to individual communication or enjoyment, but they will taint your perceptions of a country... It is our most deeply seated cultural assumptions that we are most blind to and least able to overcome; that is why we should always be wary of making unconsidered judgements (The writer is South African, thus the spelling.) about... "foreign" situations" (p.110).

A big sigh and lots of thought.

2 slings, so 2 quilts

For everything that I make for our child, I want there to be a second to leave at the orphanage/transition house for other children. Tonight I finished the second quilt, which you see here. I did this one on my own, so it looks a bit more homemade, but it was made with love. Rob and I are going to start sleeping with the quilts, so that they smell like us... all garlicky. Mmmm.

Pray

Please pray.

More comrades

Last evening, Rob and I went to a delicious vegetarian dinner at the house of a family from church. They adopted one of their sons from Ethiopia a couple of years ago, and thus the connection. It was emotional and so encouraging to hear their stories and see their photos... not to mention their son. Our time with them made our adoption more real to us... especially when their son responded, "a girl," to his mother's question about which we'd have. Very sweet. Thank God for these people and for our soon-to-be people! God is good.

The diaper bag

My sweet and very talented friend, JR, made me the coolest diaper bag any Mutti has ever had. I got it this morning and I've been carrying it around all day. Considering that we don't know if we'll have a boy or girl, how old he/she will be, or how big, there is not much that we can do to prepare physically for the child. This, however, doesn't depend on any of those factors. So cute! Thank you, JR. And with some of the extra fabric, she even made the changing pad that you see.

Moving on up

So, from the Bethany blog, I now know that there were actually 4 referrals, not only 2! The other two families must not participate on the forum, and so that's why I didn't know earlier and why I know nothing about their stories. But this is good... for those children, for those families, and, selfishly, for us. Also, I guess that there were 5 referrals last month, when I only thought that there were 4. Wahoo! This is all so exciting.

Jump, jump, jump!

(The more you type "jump," the crazier it looks. Try it.)

Yesterday, there were two referrals: a little boy (just over 3 months) and a little girl (just under a year)! This means that there are 5 families in front of us... that we know of. Wahoo! It makes me think of the long-jump. As a jumper, you wait and wait, and then JUMP! And then you wait and wait, and then a long, exciting JUMP!

For a nanny

Here is the sling that I just made and plan to give to the orphanage/transition house where our child is now living/will live before coming home to us. I figure that the nannies would appreciate having free hands once in a while. As for sizing... well, I hope that there is a nanny about my size!

Here and now vs. there and then

"Never commit your virtue or your happiness to the future. Happy work is best done by the man/woman who takes his/her long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment “as to the Lord.” It is only our Daily Bread that we are encouraged to ask for. The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received." Lewis (The Weight of Glory)

This was recently posted on our friends' blogsite and... shoo! I needed to hear this again. Pastor Elie told me this, our Bible study friend told me this, and now here it is again. I do accept this to be true, but it's difficult to keep my mind in check. I am a dreamer. I have big plans.

Our child is not here right now and I need to be. My mind should not be in the future in Ethiopia. I need to be here right now. This is not easy.

Not a pack'n'play, but a playpen

So stubborn. For me, there is no Adventure Outpost. It's Teepee Village. There are no In-pursuiters. They are Interns. And there are no pack'n'plays, but there are playpens. And now, Rob and I have one... a playpen. Our cousin forwarded on the information about a lightly used playpen from a woman in her Twins Club, and we jumped. It took us (Who am I kidding? It took Rob...) a bit (Which he wants me to quantify as two minutes.) to figure it out, but now it's set up in the living room. Now what? We have no kid yet. Are we going to pack this plastic and nylon beast up or leave it in the middle of our highest traffic area just to stare at for a couple of dreaming days? Probably the latter.

We are waiting, which means that we think of each little step as a huge one. A playpen! We are well on our way to becoming parents now, right?

Comrades

Yesterday, Rob and I spent the day with some comrades, a family of four that is also adopting from Ethiopia. It was nice to be around people that are in a similar boat as us. (Ours is an old rowboat, with faded and chipped light blue paint. I think that there's a red stripe on it somewhere as well. Anyways... ) We are able to talk about a lot of the same ideas, fears, dreams that Rob and I have regarding our child. Our time was a blessing and we are thankful for these people.

News

We have none.

Link

Our agency just posted this link, which I'll also put in the links' section off to the right. Have fun exploring a part of the world that Rob and I are about to enter!

At 2 months: tapas

So, as of today, we've waited two months for our child from Ethiopia. Depending on how you consider it, two months has been a short and a long time. Sigh. A family, that was matched recently with its son, waited just over two months: This sounds good. But when you consider when we submitted our first dossier to Albania, we've now waited a year. God knows.

In other news, my very thoughtful cousin recently sent me a surprise package which included a book... my new favorite, which is perfect for our situation. It's called A Mother for Choco, by Keiko Kasza. Read it!

And yesterday, some friends of ours gave me a list of Bible verses having to do with children and our hopes for them as Christians. I have been wanting a relatively short list, all put together in one place. (Yes, the Bible itself is one such place, I know! Just not so 'relatively short.') Now we have one.

And, ay! I almost forgot: Yesterday was New Year's Day in Ethiopia. 10 September. It's now the year 2001 over there. Hm... is there anything that I'd like to redo from the year 2001 that I can take care of while I'm over there? I'll be thinking about that!

So, a little bit of everything for today.

Please pray. Please pray that our child and his/her birthparents have food and a place to stay and someone to love them. Please pray that the birthparents have peace about the decisions that they're making. Please pray for the birthparents' and our child's salvation. Please pray that the adoption is all said and done by the end of December of this year, so that we don't have to redo all of our immigration work, which expires in January. Gracias.

Referrals!

No, not ours, but still very exciting! Four baby boys were matched with their families today. (The families waited 3, 4, and 5 months. I know nothing about the fourth family.) Another family got its call to travel (next week) to pick up their 3-month old daughter and two families will return home with their children tomorrow. God willing, we will be matched with our child soon. And, thank God for those families already being united.

Rob took one (or four) for Team Stensberg today

As you can see, Roberto got his shots to go to Africa today... complete with kid-friendly bandages and a WHO card to prove it. He wasn't expecting to get them all, but the travel nurse was ready with the "cocktails." Mm, yummy. He'll only have to go back for the seconds and third of the Hep-series.

Thanks to my time in Peace Corps, I'll only have to get the Yellow Fever... which I'll wait till the last day to get, no doubts about that. Shoo.

Sling run 3

Well, the sling officially works, in all of its positions. My dear friend, C., was over today with her children, including her newborn. After watching a video on how to "load" the child, we were able to slip Baby right in. I wore her all around, even through the back "yardin." How fun! Now my goal is to make a sling for C. so she too can be hands-free.

Olympics

Ethiopians finished first and second in the 10,000 meter race. Go Ethiopia! Here is the article.

Ikea gifts

This weekend we stopped at Ikea. We went for one item, which of course we didn't end up getting, but left with a few other fun things. Rob chose the bowls and I picked out the finger-puppets.

Amharic

Well... I used to think that I learned languages easily. Then I went to Ukraine and struggled to learn passable Russian. Now, I am baffled. Rob just brought home a book to learn colloquial Amharic and I've had to force myself to begin copying the syllabary. (Amharic doesn't have an alphabet, but a syllabary. This means that there are different symbols for, for example: kä, ku, ki, ka, ke, kï, and ko.) That's all that I can do right now: copy. There is a system, for sure, but... yikes! How complex. I'm just amazed at language. In desperation, I have written to a person that works with international students at our church, asking him to keep an eye out for any Ethiopian students with whom I could become language partners. Until then, I'll be busy copying!

There Is No Me without You

I just finished the book with the title's title, and I suggest that everyone read it. It doesn't only have to do with adoption or Ethiopia, but with "the West" and our responsibilities. It is so well written that you barely even know that you're getting a history lesson. Two thumbs up.

Sling run 2: success

I was a bit worried after the first sling run's failure; however, I tried it again, this time with second-cousin-in-law (?) Big Little E. And, as you can see, it worked. He slipped right in and actually seemed to like it. I walked all around the house and didn't have to hold onto him at all. I am happy that it works and can't wait to wear our little one around.

Ethiopia in the Olympics

Last night, watching the opening ceremony, Rob and I waited patiently (Thank you, Chinese writing system.) for Ethiopia to walk in the parade of nations. How fun. We were excited to see our child's country of origin proudly march behind the same flag that flies on our house. Here is a bit of information on a probable gold medal for Ethiopia, plus some more overall information on Ethiopia in the Games.

Ethiopia in the news

An article on the famine situation in Ethiopia ran in the Chicago Tribune today.

God, please...

Sling run 1: fail

We just had a lovely evening with our friends and their relatively new-to-the-world baby. We had a nice dinner (Thanks, Roberto.) and then watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics (Thanks, NBC.), with baby-holding mixed in here and there. So warm... and pukey. Anyways, I wanted to try out this new, French-seamed sling that I made yesterday for our child, with the help of the same friend (We'll just call her JR, or Junior. Do you like your nickname?) that taught me to make the quilt. So, our dinner guest tried to get her baby into the sling, but Baby was not having it: It was new to her, but I also don't think I know exactly how a child is supposed to be situated. So, the sling experiment failed tonight. Take 2 to follow, I'm sure.

Mushy-mash

Today I visited my cousin and her two baby boys. I even got to feed one of them his three-course meal! On the topic of food, my cousin is also starting to make some of her own baby food. I was able to learn from her what she's already read and then watch her make a batch of sweet potato mushy-mash. This is a photo of her making single serving cubes, which will get frozen, and then be stored until needed. How fun!

Others' good news

So, one family is in Ethiopia right now, with an Embassy date today, picking up their child. Unfortunately, they don't participate on the forum, so we'll learn nothing from their experience.

However, two "forum" families are leaving on the 15th to pick up their babies, and another two will follow shortly afterwards. This is such good news for these families, and I'm so excited to learn from them.

In fact, Rob is going to try to get the travel packet from Bethany today. I think that they didn't widely distribute it yet so that they could amend it after learning from the first family's experience, but I'll take a rough version.

Fizzy

Ethiopia is one of five countries Coca-cola is featuring on this year's Olympic can series.

Ethiopia in the news

Here is a recent news article about Ethiopia.

Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate and vanilla!

I just finished a book entitled I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla (Raising Healthy Black and Biracial Children in a Race-Conscious World). It made me think a lot, and I believe that this thinking has really just begun again. I dealt with a lot of these ideas and problems while studying to be a teacher, but now the situation is different: I'm more personally involved in the race talk now. My biggest issue right now is culture. What parts of white culture and black culture are good to promote and how am I not a racist if I reject parts of another race's culture? But then, can an entire race have a single culture? I think not. And then there is Christian culture to consider. But what is that? And I can't say that I accept all or even most of what the United States would define as Christian culture. Shoo.

Hair and skin

On Saturday morning, Rob and I were brought into another world... the world of caring for black skin and hair. We are so blessed that Bethany, our agency, gives workshops on this sort of information. We were given two packed hours on what kinds of products to use, when to use them, and how to do make them work for our child's physical and emotional benefit. Of course, during the workshop I couldn't think of any questions; however, not all of the new information had sunk in. Thankfully, we saw our cousins, who have two sons adopted from Africa, and the boys' mother was able to review for me. (Thanks Auntie Kelly!) For our son's/daughter's arrival home, we will want the following products on hand: Dove body-wash, baby oil gel, Motions shampoo, and Pink oil. We were so excited after the seminar that we went out and bought a bottle of Pink oil already. We also got some pomade for future hair sculpting, which Rob will use for now.

I love learning. I love finding out how to make people more comfortable... most of the time. With our child, this process will be life-long, and it's fun to have already begun.

Ethiopian home food

Well, the wat was delicious! So spicy and so tasty. However, the injera was a flop. (You see me here making flour out of the teff grain that we found at Outpost.) I believe that I'm just going to order it from the Ethiopian Cottage Restaurant in the future. I think that we're going to make wat a Sunday dinner tradition, so we'll just pick up the injera on the way home from church each Sunday. While we ate, we had Ethiopian music beating through the house. I just love learning about other cultures and trying to experience them.

A baby's toy

During the process of compiling the dossier, Rob and I left off our "buy one gift a month" plan; but today, without work schedules to occupy us, we made a visit to a wonderland... the educational toy store in our barrio. Legos. Lincoln Logs. Wooden blocks. I was mesmerized. We had to keep reminding ourselves that our son or daughter will most likely be a baby, and so we ended up with...



(And no, it's not just a toy. It's a teether, as well.)

Tickers

Our hearts are fine, bar(u?) Hashem. (Don Santi, ¿sabes cómo se dice "Thank God" en hebreo?) I'm talking about the little icon to the right. I had put one up to count the days since we turned in our dossier to the Waukesha branch, not because it was so momentous, but because I was starving for news. Today, however, I got an e-mail from our social worker saying that our dossier is already in Ethiopia. Wahoo! Yeehaw! Woot, woot! Hyperbolic expression of your choice! This means that the next time that our social worker calls us, it will be because she knows who our son/daughter is and has his/her information on the desk in front of her. Wahoo! Yeehaw! Woot, woot! Hyperbolic expression of your choice!

Ethiopian Cottage Restaurant - 2

We curiously walked into the austere room. No music. No booths. Two people finishing dinner. We obviously didn't need the reservation that Rob had made earlier in the day, and somehow the young lady that was running the floor knew that it was us... that we were the unnecessary reservation-makers.



Smiling warmly, she gave us our choice of tables, either at a mesob (above, minus the kid) or at a traditional American table. We chose the table, only because it came up higher. (Read: Less of a distance for food to fall.) The young lady, wearing an Ethiopian, loose-fitting, white shirt and white head-scarf, both embroidered, brought us water and the menus.

Wat is your only choice, but what a selection of different wats there was! (Hello Ato Seuss!) All sorts of meat and vegetarian options. All served on one injera per table, with a basket of more injera for the initial scooping up of the delicious, spicy stews. (Right hand only.)



Rob and I dug in to our respective wats. Mine was based on savory red lentils, spicy enough to enhance the taste, but not enough to be uncomfortable. It was the perfect flavor against the slightly sour injera. Rob had a beef wat, which he said was, "Delicious." We were also given smaller portions of the split pea and collard green wats. I'm not a fan of split peas, but I'm not against them either. The collard greens were a bit sour. Odd.

The menu suggested ending the meal with either Ethiopian honey wine or coffee, which is roasted, ground, and brewed right there, after you order (or so they say). It reminded me of Turkish coffee, thicker and tastier than your regular brew. It was served in the clay pot that you see with a miniature cup.



We will go back, and we will bring our friends. And if you come to our house in the near future, know that I'll be ordering injera from this restaurant to support the numerous wats I'll be trying to make. Rob will love this! There will be only one dish to wash. No individual plates and no silverware. I think that this makes Ethiopian food Rob's new favorite!

Ethiopian Cottage Restaurant

Tonight, Rob and I are going to try our first Ethiopian food. I've learned of two restaurants in town, and we're going to start with the one for which I have found reviews... albeit only two. The Ethiopian Cottage Restaurant. I'll be sure to take notes so that I can describe the food à la Garlic and Sapphires.

On a lighter note

How cool is this?!

Frustrated

From the forum, I know that there are now 31 dossiers (total... not just of those that participate in the forum) in Ethiopia. We still do not know where ours is. I can only pray (And would you too?) that ours was sent on Friday, as I know that one family's dossier did leave for Ethiopia on that day. Maybe our papers are travelling together.

God does know what He's doing. I have to recognize that He knows best. I just know that there are a lot of people along the way that affect our situation who may not be doing their best. I'm starting to contradict myself, aren't I?

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." I know this verse, and I read it thinking of us and of our child and his/her birthparents; however, I know that there is so much more involved... AND that I'm taking this verse out of context to try to calm myself. If you continue reading, you get: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you." "The plans" are those of salvation, no? "... and will bring you back from captivity" (in Babylon, who is the one who entices us even through the book of Revelation).

Dependence. Connections. Ay.

Ethiopians!

Today I taught a gardening class at an adult day care center. When I walked in, I saw two women whom I would have guessed to be Ethiopian. But I didn't say anything, because I wasn't sure. During the course of my talk, I mentioned how I had planted one of the plants (stachys) that I had brought to show because I thought that it was kid-friendly, and then I mentioned the adoption. When I was asked from where and told, one of the facilitators said, "We have two women that work here that are from Ethiopia. I'll go get them." We were introduced and made very brief small talk. That was it.

Then, an hour later, the phone rang. It was the facilitator from the center calling to say that she had talked more with one of the ladies and she wanted to invite us to an Ethiopian picnic this coming weekend. They have one once a year in a park near our house and we are quite welcome, even without an Ethiopian in our family yet. She's also offered to show us the coffee ceremony.

So, we have an in and I'm excited. More to follow, I'm sure.

Talent

Baby E.,

You are coming into a very talented family. Gramps throws city-style pizza dough, Awe-nty (head tilt) KK freestyles on the banjo and sings, I can play one song on the accordian and jig, Auntie Laca flies discs through the air, and your dad rides a roadster over very uneven terrain. The unrepresented family members are also very talented. What will you bring to our table?

Kid-approved.

We had a good feeling about this t-shirt, but now it's official: It's kid-approved. It's also educational. Rob practiced numbers and colors with his little second cousin.

Caring Hands

Thanks to the notification by a third party, Caring Hands, who hand-carried our dossier to and around D.C., we know that our papers have been authenticated and will soon be on their way to Ethiopia. Once they land, we are officially waiting. I can't wait to wait! God willing it won't be for long.

Story time

Rob is set to read bed-time stories now... well, almost. We need our kid.

Interesting links

I've recently been introduced to two sites that may be helpful in the near future. One is for teff, which is the main grain in Ethiopia and which is used to make injera, the staple bread. It is made and placed straight on the table. Different stews are served directly onto this tablecloth bread and then scooped up with more of the same bread. The other link is for dolls of all different colors. (Know that I disagree with the comment on the site about "ethnic" dolls, though. I, as a white person, am just as ethnic as the next person. Regardless, the dolls could be a good idea.)

Tool time

Ethiopia now flies... on the front of our house. I feel good about representing.

Pues...

No, I won't write this one in Spanish. The last entry was fun, this post is too serious. I have been hearing and reading about the drought situation in Ethiopia for some time now. Everyone is waiting for the rainy season... including the adopting parents over here.

Well, I just erased what I was fumbling to type. Too selfish.

God is still in control... of everything, including the weather, food supplies, everything.

Technology

¡Ay! He encontrado mi canción favorita, hasta ahora, en cuanto a ser mamá, pero no sé ponerla en este sitio. Sugiero que busques la canción "Tu guardián" por Juanes y que la escuches. Y si no la entiendes, debes encontrar a alguien que sí la entienda. ¡Si sólo supiera cantar yo!

Action

Today, for those listed on the forum, there was another referral (They've been waiting since mid-April.) and another court date granted in July for a previous referral. Good news!

Is no news really good news?

We have nothing new to report on our adoption front. We turned in our papers a couple of weeks ago and haven't heard anything. We do know that two of the families that received referrals have also been given court dates in July, which means that if all goes well, they'll be able to travel for their children soon afterwards. This is good news, although it is not our own at the moment.

More complex than Awe-nty (head tilt) KK's hair

I found this newspaper article on the Bethany forum today and it has driven me to pensive-land. Memories. Hopes. More of those previously mentioned issues. At the end of July we'll be going to another workshop, sponsored by Bethany, that will teach us about this very topic of hair. A beautician, or whatever they are called these days, will present products to us and hopefully share some techniques.

Dads' day

Will we begin our fathers' day traditions in one year? I practiced with a blueberry pancake for Rob's breakfast today. We'll see what we can come up with in the next year to add to that. Fun.

Some girls have black shoes, some girls have brown shoes...

Now that we are adopting from Ethiopia, we have a new host of issues about which we need education. Malnutrition is one of them, and this link and this link explain exactly what that is. Malnutrition can cause or encourage many other issues, including rickets. We really need to study!

... but all girls have issues. (A quote from an old friend.) Of course, I think that it should read, "Some people have black shoes, some people have brown shoes, but all people have issues." As you can see, I have some of my own. What? No!

Family

So far we have:

Uncle Cookie/Matty,
Auntie (pronounced ant-y) Laca (for Los Angeles, California), and
Auntie (pronounced awe-nty, and with a head tilt) KK

Who else is in the house?

Numbers and will

The information that I've posted in the past two entries has come from a web forum that Bethany makes available to anyone directly involved in adopting through them. The people that participate in these forums, however, only make up a portion of all of those involved. So, for example, on the Ethiopia forum, not all families adopting from there participate. According to that forum's list, there are 6 families in front of us and there have been 2 referrals. According to the information that forum users have heard from other sources, there are actually 18 dossiers currently in Ethiopia and there have been 6 referrals. This situation is frustrating and encouraging. In the end, it comes down to the fact that Rob and I are completely out of control of our adoption now. We have done our part and now we wait on God. May His will be done.

Otro

There has been another referral! A baby boy has been referred to a family that waited for 5 months. Instead of "après moi, c'est le déluge," I hope it's, "dans le déluge, c'est moi... nous..." well, not a literal "déluge," considering the weather of late.

News!

So, today Rob dropped off our dossier. Wahoo! Now, we just wait. Well, I mean, we continue living, working, eating, reading and such, but we're waiting.

The second piece of super-excellent (Yes, I, Amy, wrote "super-excellent.) news is that the first Bethany family adopting from Ethiopia has received their referral... for a baby, just days old. They have waited 6 months. Finally, we have an idea of what will happen with us. Of course, everything could change, but we have a piece of history now.

History is so important. Will our child come with any known history that we can learn while we're in Ethiopia, or will his/her known history be created once we arrive?

FedEx 3: The dossier

I saw the truck even before our doorbell rang, but I waited... so as not to freak out the FedEx guy. He asked me how I was doing, and I said, "I'm so happy to see you!" He replied, "It's one of those, huh?" "Yes." As I was signing, we banally talked of the weird weather; but in my mind, I was already upstairs, ripping open the package.

We have the dossier, all state-sealed up, and to my eyes, it's all correct... Though I'm sure that I'll check it over a few more times today even. Tomorrow, Rob will make 3 copies of the entire thing and then he and I will drop off 2 of those copies and the original, along with the fee so it can be hand-carried to D.C. for another round of approval. So as of tomorrow, our dossier will be considered "submitted."

And then, we'll wait.

FedEx 2

Thanks to sweet technology, I know that our dossier arrived in Madison on the 4th, yesterday. I also know that they did the state seals (Correctly?) and have sent the package back to us already! As soon as it comes to our doorstep, we'll be able to copy it and then turn it in. Wahoo!

Hill-dog

I guess that Hillary will be able to devote more time to her modeling career now. Check her out on the Ethiopian Clothes link.

FedEx

Rob and I just sent our dossier with all of the state seal requests to Madison. Today, around 6'45p. Last time we got them back very quickly, which of course we hope will happen again. Then, we'll be able to submit the packet. And then... we begin the real wait... for that blessed phone call. Ba-rrrrrrrrrrrrrring!

---

I am impatient today. I am tired of all of the papers. Yes, we are almost done. Tonight Rob and I will send all of our documents away for the state seals. Once we get those back (Last time, it took less than a week.), we can officially submit them to Bethany. And then we begin waiting. I think that my problem is that I'm reading about too many families that have gotten refferals recently (although from another agency). I know that the process could be so fast, but it's not been for us. Yes, we did get through making this dossier much more quickly than the Albanian one, but... I'm just impatient today.

USCIS

Another hallelu Yah! Today, in the mail, we got our pre-approval for our child's immigration! We now have the last paper that we need in order to send away for the state seals. This means that very soon we will submit our dossier. Once it's been submitted, then we start to wait... again. Rob and I will concentrate on reading more about Ethiopia and adoption and on buying a gift a month again. How fun!

More Ethiopian Faces

A few entries ago, I told you about a link to the right about Ethiopian books. If you go to that site, click on Photo Albums off to the left. You'll be presented with a few collections of photos. If you click on the top one, and then go through the pictures, you'll see some more faces of Ethiopia. Precious.

Do you know what "hallelu Yah" means?

Hallelu Yah! Hallelu Yah! Hallelu Yah! Hallelu, hallelu, u, u, Yah! Yes, it's as if Jason Castro were singing it... that's why I've added the extra "u"s. Anyways...

Hallelu Yah! Ever since Rob and I switched our adoption from Albania to Ethiopia, we thought that the $4,500 that we had paid into our Albanian country fee was gone. We quickly got over it, looking at it as though it were a humanitarian contribution. But, the fact was that we needed to pay more than that amount again, but this time to Ethiopia. I began praying for $4,000. It was a lot, but I prayed. God is the God of so many miracles. Why not this one?

Today Rob spoke with our social worker. It turns out that the $4,500 from Albania was just transferred to our Ethiopian account! All of it! We had not expected any of it. God gave us $500 more than I had even dared to ask for! Hallelu Yah!

"But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord..." (James 1:6-7).

An adoption story

Our cousin just sent us a link to the adoption stories of another family, who seems to share our heart. Enjoy the read!

Ethiopian Books

Off to the right, you'll find a new link to a site that features Ethiopian children's books. Check it out.

We need.

We need our immigration paper. Please pray that we get it tomorrow.

Ticket to Ethiopia!

Well... actually, just a game of Ticket to Ride, using red, yellow, and green (Ethiopian flag colors) trains. You can Ethiopianize just about anything. Auntie KK finally won a game, and by a lot. Props. Uncle Matty, you better practice up. And Auntie LACA, girl, do you have a ticket to Little Ethiopia?

On Wisconsin!

My sister's graduation from UW-Madison was this past Sunday. The family drove in from the north, east, and west and flew in from the Cali-coast... and all met up at the Kohl center for the ceremony. As Rob and I walked down the stadium stairs to meet up with the rest of the family, we saw K down on the floor, so we continued down to her. Then I saw the sweet surprise and of course started to cry. K had ordered an Ethiopian stole to wear over her gown in honor of our future child. A lot of the kids with African heritage do this, proudly wearing the colors of their past. My sister, instead, wore the colors of our future. The rest of the family knew that she had prepared this and had all kept it for a surprise for Rob and me. After the festivities, K gave the satin stole to us for our child's room... as a reminder of his/her home country and as a reminder of a future goal. Will I be a Badger parent? On Wisconsin!

Line up

We are waiting for one more paper. Once we have the immigration pre-approval, we can then send all of our papers to the state for ITS seal "of approval." We then make 4 copies of our dossier and hand three of them in to our Bethany office. They will send the master to the head office in Michigan, who will in turn send that packet to D.C. for our country's approval. Once it's approved on that level, they will send it back to Michigan. Then, and only then, will our papers be sent to Ethiopia, where they will be translated, scrutinized, and God-willing approved. How long will all of this take? I have no idea. My hopeful brother reminded me yesterday that by next Mothers' Day I should be able to celebrate. "God willing!" as the Jews say so often.

Beautiful

There is a link over to the right entitled "Another Ethiopian Adoption Agency." When you have a few minutes, click on it. Then, on the new page, there is a link off to the right called "Family Photo Album." Check out those precious kids! Of course, our child will be unique, but those photos give an idea of what our child may look like. So adorable!

Books!

I just spent the morning with a dear friend who is in the know about children's books. We took some time to go through Half Price Books and found some great reads to begin the Stensberg kid-library. A few are a bit too advanced for a little one, but either I couldn't resist or I was strongly encouraged to buy them by my friend.

We now have: Pancakes, Pancakes! (Which I like because it teaches about from where food comes. No, not the grocery store.), The Tiny Seed (for gardening), The Cheerios Play Book (Which may encourage playing with food, but it works on fine motor skills. Really!), The Velveteen Rabbit, Harry the Dirty Dog (Bathing is important!), Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little (I know, a bit advanced, but too important to pass up at $1 each.), and The Happy Hocky Family (Which made me cry from laughter.).

How fun. Thank you, friend!

For Uncle Cookie

:)

Another

Rob and I spent yesterday evening, over cheese and fruit, with a family with whom we were acquainted, but did not know well. They too are adopting from Ethiopia and so we wanted to get to know them better. We had a fabulous time and are hopeful that our families will be friends in the future... all initiated because of the children we don't even have yet. Isn't that funny? God, thank you for being the Maestro.

I've added a link off to the right for their adoption agency, which has a lot of nice information about Ethiopian adoptions.

A piece of Ethiopia

Some dear friends, with whom we dined this past week, gave me a beautiful wrap from Ethiopia. Their mother (in-law) brought it back recently, and they made it a present to me. I need to learn how to wear it properly, Ethiopian-style. I can make it look like a lot of different places, but not like Addis Ababa yet. I'll learn.

A miracle

So, Rob and I needed the reference letter from our friends in Chicago notarized... in Wisconsin. First, this meant that our friends had to come and sign their letter in Wisconsin, which meant that they had to sacrifice time and gas. Second, this meant that we needed to find a notary in Kenosha, on a Saturday, before noon.

Rob dropped me off at Starbucks, in order to wait for our friends, while he went around checking at banks for a notary. He was not having any luck, as every bank said that we "had to be members" in order for their notary to take 1 minute to sign and stamp our papers. Once our friends arrived at Starbucks, I began telling them the dilemma, and then... out of nowhere, the employee greeting customers at the door said, "My wife is a notary. Do you want me to call her?" I started to cry instantly, and our friend took over, making the introductions and asking him please to call his wife.

This wonderfully kind woman took time out of her Saturday to come over and sign and stamp our paper. Thank you to her! Thank you to her eavesdropping husband! And, thank you to God for orchestrating the entire affair.

Another one bites the dust... or, carpet.

Yes, that refers to me. I went to the doctor for an updated physical for the new adoption, and shortly after being jabbed for the TB test, I bit it. Hot, dizzy, cold, shaking, sweaty... then the buzzing comes. Once the buzzing starts, I know fainting is next. Black. Blue carpet in my face. Ugh.

Old Caesar and Pale Irish-Norwegian

Ato and Weizero Readers,

Did you know that most everyone in Ethiopia still uses the Julian calendar, which is around 8 years behind the Gregorian? At least this is what the book I'm reading is telling me. So, when we get a referral with a birthyear of 2000, we must remember not to freak. (I may need reminding.)

And, did you know that the name 'Ethiopia' comes from the Greek for "land of the people with the sunburned faces?" I should fit right in.

Weizero Amy

Interesting Ethiopia

I can't get over how beautiful the nature of Ethiopia is. Unfortunately, Rob and I most likely won't get to see it, but we should get a good taste of the city.

Help going out.

Here is an interesting link to what a well-known aid organization has done/is doing in Ethiopia.

Hillary?

Check out the clothing link I have over to the right, and tell me if that is not Hillary Rodham Clinton modeling the first outfit!

Pre-approved

We've had to begin the entire process over, starting with the Bethany pre-application. So far, we've been approved there and given the go-ahead to move on to the next step, which is the formal Bethany application. Fortunately, because we've done this before, we know that we can and should combine some of the elements of the formal application with the dossier to save time. Our first step on that is tomorrow with Rob's doctor's visit. We're quite pleased with how all of this is going so far, so thank God. Please pray that it all continues to go smoothly and quickly... that my head can arrange everything, that my eyes catch any mistakes, that no mistakes are made (That's better!), and that Rob and I continue to prepare ourselves for this change. Thank God!

The Quilt

I have finished it. Wahoo! Thanks to my friend, again, who helped me every step of the way. I am so pleased with the finished product, which you see here. I can't wait to wrap Baby E. up in it now!