2009 Heritage and Culture Camp

This weekend we attended the Ethiopian Heritage and Culture Camp at Massanetta Springs Camp in Virginia. We had a ball, and learned so much. The organizers will be doing it again next year, so if you didn't get a chance to come out this year, make sure to come out next year. 

It was primarily organized by a wonderful woman named Mekdes Bekele, with the help of 4 adoptive parents. Mekdes met one of the parents at a water park in Virginia, and from that simple meeting, they came up with this grand idea!  The camp was dedicated to bringing together all families who are raising Ethiopian-American children.  

There were workshops on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We arrived Friday night after a 2 and a half hour drive. My favorite sessions were "How We Define Family" and the traditional Ethiopian Banquet and Party. The first session highlighted an adoptive mom and her daughter. They shared their families story, and let me tell you, this mom was awesome! She has really figured this whole thing out. She appeared to be s supportive and loving to her kids ( all 4 were adopted), and you could just see the love and admiration in her daughter's eyes. She shared the story of how she helped her daughter to re-unite with her birth family in Ethiopia just last year. The family actually adopted twin girls from Ethiopia in 1994. One of the girls was interested in re-uniting with her birth family. The other was not. The mother supported both of their decisions wholeheartedly. It was truly a remarkable story.

 I also finally had the chance to wear my "Ethiopian Gear" acquired during my travels to Ethiopia over 10 years ago. There was good food, live music and dancing, as well as great company. I met some wonderful families as well; one being my blog buddy Brenda and her beautiful daughter! 

We had a great time! Hopefully we will see you all there next year, and hopefully our daughter will be there as well. Here are some photos of the weekend!

Our home away from home for the weekend and the Welcome sign! BTW, the weather was wonderful!

During the outdoor coffee ceremony! There were moon bounces for the kids, popcorn, cotton candy and ice cream! Oh, and coffee for the adults. There were also a few vendors selling items at the Gebeya (or market)!

The geese and ducks near the lake on site. We had the chance to do some canoeing on the lake, but I didn't get to take any photos. I was afraid I'd drop my camera in the water.

Mr. B and I on arrival! My DH was on travel this past weekend so he missed it all, but we filled him in.
Mr. B being silly!

Dance lessons were also given for those who wanted to learn. There were also cooking and language classes.

Ducks swarming us on the lake as well as a swan! There was also fishing available. There were huge fish in that lake! But you had to catch and release.

Mr. B was so excited by the animals (skunks, deer and ducks) as well as the swimming pool.
Me in my traditional dress for the PARTAY!! Who hoo!!
Brenda and I!  It was so nice to meet her. She was great, and her daughter was so beautiful. I have some photos of other families, but I didn't want to post close up pics of kids without their parents permission. 
Traditional Musician. This one man band played like 2-3 hours straight. He was awesome. I love live music!
Mr. B and I after dinner.
Let the dancing begin!  There was a professional dancer, and she taught us so many traditional dances.  She was like Beyonce, (lots of dress changes and boody shaking..LOL) I loved it! It was so much fun. It was really a work-out, and we all broke a sweat. 
Mekdes, the awesome woman who planned this camp!

A final picture of all the kids! There were more than this, but this was the best picture I could get. In addition, we all took a professional group photo, and boy was it a hard to organize all those folks, but we did it. 

It's been a loong time!!

I know, I know! It's been a looong time. I'm still here! Just enjoying the fun that is summer...my absolute favorite time of year! The summer has been filled with family (about 8 folks in my house all at once for 2 weeks..what a fun time we had, but boy was it loud). I'm still recovering as they all just left on Sunday. My baby boy turned 9, and had a sleepover with 15 other 8 and 9 year old boys (whew..what was I thinking?!) Let me tell you, I will NEVER do that again. At least not that big. They had a ball, but those jokers stayed up the ENTIRE night (OMG). I mean they didn't sleep!! I felt like I was being hazed!!! We took them to play laser tag, and then to the movies. We didn't get home til after midnight, but they refused to sleep. We had 5 adults supervising, but they all turned in (around 2am) and left me alone with all those boys! Nonetheless, Mr. B had a ball, and I guess that's all that counts. The next day, most of them were NOT trying to leave, but the party had to end!! I'll have to post pictures as soon as I get back into blogging, and have a chance to upload all the photos I've taken.

I've been sick too...boo hoo. Asthma, bronchitis, and acute sinusitis! I really need to take a week off and get it together, but it's just been way too busy! I know I'm wearing myself out, but I'll count down until my California vacation in August (I can't wait!!) Maybe God will just force me to slow down and take care of myself, since I'm always taking care of others!

On the adoption front, we have been officially waiting for 6 months! I can hardly believe time has flown so quickly. I want to get excited really I do, but I don't want to jinx anything! I'm one of those wait til the baby is born to decorate the room type of folks! It's not that I don't want to go out and go crazy; it's just that I never want to count my eggs before they hatch. Maybe I'll wait for our referral, then I'll allow myself to do one of my favorite things..shop!!

I have had the chance to declutter an extra room in our house. In preparation for family and the sleepover, I literally cleaned the entire junk room in 3 days (with the help of DH and my baby boy of course). It's clean now, and I 'm trying to figure out which room I should start for the baby. One is big and pink, the other is smaller, and blue. Hmm...I don't know yet, but I'll post some pics when we decide and decorate!

As we get closer to referral, I find myself getting a little nervous. I'm excited, but I'm like hey am I ready to start all over? Will she like us? Will it be love at first sight? Will we be a perfect match? Will she keep me up all night? Man, this means I need a diaper bag, stroller, car seat..oh my!! I have a 9 year old, what was I thinking? I am so far removed from baby/toddlerdom. How will I remember what to do? This thing is becoming real! Hey! Wait! (Anybody else feeling this way?) I looked at our agency's unofficial list, and we are like #10. Almost in the single digits! (Lions and Tigers and Bears..Oh My!!) I guess these feelings are all normal, and despite them I am totally EXCITED!! That is a bit schizophrenic right? (LOL)

Anyhoo, it's great to be back. I'll try not to stay away so long next time..besides I really missed you guys! And congrats to everyone who has made waitlist, received a referral, got a court date, passed a court date, or brought their babies home!! (Did I leave anyone out?..LOL)

Until we meet again....

18 weeks

May 18th marks 18 weeks on the waitlist! I said I wouldn't count, but as more time passess I can't help myself. It's hard to believe it's been that long..boy is time flying! It seems we were just celebrating New Year's, and now we are almost half way through the year. As I see referrals coming in (BTW, Congrats to Catrina, and the Early's on their recent referrals. Yeah!!) , and court dates being given, I can't help but get a little excited. It hasn't really felt real until recently.

I've been thinking about our impending new babe and think to myself..hey, am I ready to start all over again? What if I can't remember what to do? What about the sleep deprivation (but I suppose that is really not a big deal for me because I am so used to being up all night on call. I have learned to function just a tad bit sleep deprived over the years.) What is one to do with an infant/toddler? My son is almost 9, so I feel like a fish out of water. I can't really remember what having a baby is like, and having a semi-independent kid around is kind of nice! He can feed himself, poop on his own, and even entertain himself for long periods. While this is great, it's moments like this when I recollect and begin to miss the baby that he was. Then I start to get excited as we wait for the latest addition to our family.

Kids seem to breathe life into a family. I can't wait to add to the joy we already have. Mr. B is getting really excited as well. He's keeping track of our waiting months, and has told his ENTIRE class, as well as his teachers, that his baby sister is coming home from Ethiopia in August. (How funny. I wish. I've had to clarify things just a bit). He picked Ethiopia to write about in his social studies class, and has been telling me all about the history, land, people, and animals. It is quite remarkable how excited he is.

I am sure the remaining months will fly, but I'm in no hurry because summer is my FAVORITE time of year. I have so many plans, I can recite my schedule until September. (Fun in the Sun..Whoo Hoo!!) I've also restarted weight watchers. It's only been 2 days, but so far so good. If I can get 25 lbs off before traveling to Ethiopia, I'd be a happy camper. That gives me a goal before the baby comes home. (I must admit, this is one of the many advantages of adoption...you can keep your figure or at least improve it during the paper pregnancy!) Over the next few months, I plan to start clearing out baby's room, and I hope to start considering baby names. I definitely love Ethiopian names, so we may use one as the babies first name. I'm not quite sure yet. My cousin's name is T'sega, so I guess that's out even though I like the name.

Lately, I have been trying to curb my appettite for the internet, so I have drastically decreased my on-line time. But hopefully I'll be able to post some photos soon. I hope all is well for each of you!

Jamaica Mon!!

I just wanted to give a special shout out to Robin on her referral!! Congratulations, I am so happy for you!! Here is wishing you a speedy and successful court date and travel!  Sweet Patience instruced me on linking other folks blogs to my post, but it's not working on my MAC. Thanks anyways; I'm sure I'll figure it out in the end. 

As for me, we are on the way to Jamaica Mon!!! I can't wait. I'm still a little sick, but not as bad as I was last week. I'm hoping the warm sun, and early spring thaw will do me some good. Hopefully it will help me to get rid of this cough once and for all. Now, I know I should be completely packed by now considering we leave out bright and early. But of course, I'm not. Traveling just doesn't seem right if I don't stay up all night packing all the stuff I should have packed yesterday. (But, I have an excuse. I worked last night and I attended Good Friday mass at 7pm) Oh well. I'm trying to get it together.

I wish all you Christians out there a very Happy Easter!!! (With lots of chocolate of course!) Until my next post...toodles.

 

Spring Cold

I really dislike being sick! But every year I always seem to catch a horrible cold in the spring! I'm happy to report that I am recovering, but not fast enough. I'm a get up and go type of girl, so this sick thing is really putting a damper of my plans.  Oh well. 

Other than trying to make myself well, I've been giddy reading the Gladney adopt board! There is so much positive movement for families within the agency. Congrats to Ellen and Cocoa Princess! They recently received their referrals, and I am so happy or them!   I wish I knew how to link their blogs to this page, but I haven't figured that out yet.  Let's all pray for their new babies, and for speedy and successful court dates!

Congrats to all the other Gladney families as well. Hopefully there will be more happy days inGladney land!

Happy Birthday Shawn!!!

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me...I'm 25 years old (ahem), 25 years old...may God bless me...Happy Birthday to me!!! Now I guess the 25 is stretching it, but hey, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

I was surprised with cake from my son and husband this morning, so as you can imagine, my tummy is a rumblin. I shouldn't have had such concentrated sugar this early in the morning. But hey, it's my birthday, and I can do what I want! 

Now, I'm headed out to the spa at the Mandarin Oriental hotel. I can't wait! I convinced my hubby to get me a very nice designer bag, not sure which one yet, but purses are my fetish. For the most part, I'm just going to enjoy the day, and be thankful that God has blessed me with yet another year! Oh, happy day!!

Ethiopian Dinner

This weekend, we had fun at an outing sponsored by families in the Mid-Atlantic Ethiopian Adoption yahoo group. There were abut 50 people there. We were all either in process, paperchasing, or home with kids. Some drove from as far as New Jersey to participate. We met for good food at Dukem Restaurant in Baltimore. It was a nice experience to meet other families, and enjoy Ethiopian food. I met the cutest little 1 year old named Elijah; he's been home since September. I wish I'd remembered to take pictures (Oh well). There were also 2 older girls present, 13 and 10 or 11, I believe. It's fascinating how well they have learned English.  Kids definitely pick things up quickly. They didn't remember much Amharic, but I'm sure it's hard to maintain the language when you don't speak it everyday. I really hope we can learn Amharic, and help our baby to learn Amharic when we bring her home.

The meal looked just like the one above, but the Injera (spongy bread) tasted alot different than the one I remember eating during the time that I lived in Ethiopia. The Injera in Ethiopia taste sour, and has a flat appearance and moist texture. The Injera here in the states is not as tart, and rather fluffy, like a different type of flour was used instead of the teff flour. It didn't have that distinct taste I remember, but I guess American taste buds would probably prefer the version we had yesterday. BTW, my 8 year old son loved it. I didn't think he would because he is a picky eater, but he did. 

Next Sunday, our agency will be sponsoring a lunch get-together for local families at an Ethiopian restaurant nearby. That should be exciting because the in-country representative will be there, and it should be nice meet other Gladney Ethiopia families. The local Gladney group, had a get together last Summer, which was very nice, but not specific to Ethiopian adoption. I'll be sure to post pictures if I remember to take any. 

The next outing I hope to attend, would be the Ethiopian cultural camp in Virginia this summer. It seems like it will be great event to take my son to as we anticipate the arrival of his sister. He was already excited, but yesterday made him even more anxious to travel. I'l post the link to the camp if anyone else is interested.

Catching Up Part 2

This is part two of my pictorial on life since being placed on the waitlist. It's a little counterintuitive, but I guess I'm just backwards tonight. Part 1 is below this post (go figure)

My mom (all black) and her friend visited the area 2 weeks ago. They were in town for our sorority's annual congressional visit to capitol hill. It was great hanging out with them. They were in town from the west coast, and this night we ate $85 meals. (Yikes, we didn't quite expect that, but it sure was good).
Mr. B played Basketball, and he was the star of the team. He's so tall he played center, andhe  scored 51 points this season. The season just ended on Sunday.

We attended the Inauguration of President Obama! Cold, but wonderful!

But nothing compared to meeting President Obama in person when he surprisingly showed up to a Washington Wizards game, and sat in our section!! I couldn't believe it. I knew our season tickets would pay off some day. Heck we deserved it after the horrible season the Wizards have had. (I'm a Laker fan, but my son loves his home team).
So cool. And so close.
He shook hands on the way out.
B and I were all smiles!

Catching Up

Here is a small pictorial of our activities since making waitlist; but first I will start with a few pictures from our Happy Holidays in Louisiana!Audubon Insectarium is a new activity in New Orleans. It's a great place, especially if you like learning about creepy, crawling things. The kids loved it! These are some shots from the butterfly garden at the end of the tour. If you look closely, you will see a butterfly in there somewhere. I love butterfly gardens. They are great places to think.



No trip to New Orleans is complete without a visit to Cafe Du Monde for some beignets. As you can see we ate them all! There went all my WW points!
The "Audubon Zoo" in New Orleans. If you have never been, you should go. I must say, it is one of the best zoos in the country! This is a rare leopard (I can't remember the name), but there are only about 30 left in the world.  Audubon is attempting to stop this trend; they were successful in breeding 1 baby last fall.

I love white tigers! Audubon does a really great job keeping their animals healthy, and happy. You never get the feeling that their animals are mistreated. 
B and I at the zoo in front of the elephants. B's favorites since he was 2 months old.
My cousin Tsega, and little N (he's 2). He was all over me this Christmas, and I loved it. Lots of hugs and kisses. This is probably one of the few times he wasn't right next to me. He is such a sweet boy.
Your eyes are not deceiving you. There are 5 boys in this picture. As you can imagine, my family can't wait for a little estrogen to balance things out a bit.
Baby M, my nephew, wondering why his mom put that monkey on his back! He was only 14 months in December, and I must admit, that little monkey kept him from running away the entire time we were out. 

B and his cousins C and M at "City Park" in New Orleans. These photos were taken in Storyland. 

2 months down!!

Well it's been over a month, and I have posted absolutely NOTHING on my blog. (Shawn you are a BAD girl). It hasn't been intentional, but I guess life sometimes gets in the way. I've been so busy doing other things that I haven't had too much time to post anything that would be interesting to read. The one advantage is that it has definitely taken my mind off the wait! We are now 2 months down as of 3/12!  Hoot Hoot!!

I have been keeping up with fellow bloggers, especially those from my agency, who have been waiting about 8 months or so for a referral. (Times quoted to them were between 4-6 months; clearly this means absolutely nothing in international adoption. All it does is gives you a rough estimate, but don't bet your last dollar on receiving a referral by the end of the time frame.) I feel anxious for them, but I know their referrals are on the way! 

This adoption waiting game is kinda like watching paint dry. The more you pay attention to the wait, the longer it seems to become. So I'm trying so desperately not to fall into that trap, but it's so hard. I want to start preparing the baby's room, and buying everything in sight, but I'm really not one to count my eggs before they hatch. I'm trying to remain realistic, and to understand that I may not (or should I say will not) get a referral in the 4-6 month window quoted. I really don't expect a referral until 9-11 months out given the extension on the current wait times. Who knows, it may even extend out 12 months. (That would equal referral anywhere between Oct and Jan, and travel sometimes next year.)  Only God knows at this point, but at least I won't get my hopes up too high, and end up disappointed in the long run.

As for those at the end of the road waiting for their referrals, I'll be praying for you. I have a gut feeling they will be coming very soon!! I'll also be thinking and praying for those of you waiting for court dates, waiting for court judgements, and those preparing to travel. 

I promise to keep this thing updated more frequently, I just don't want to bore you all with my relatively uneventful life. (I need to change this Valentine theme!! But not tonight, I'm headed to bed!) Until the next time...