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Amharic prints- for sale

In case you're interested...

After having the boys' names transcribed into Amharic script, I was inspired to find some beautiful Amharic words to use as framed prints around our home. We have a friend who lived and worked for many years in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and she recently assisted in some translations for me. You can purchase your very own print here.

Two Years

Two years together as a family!

"...but fatherhood isn't the product of biology. It is born from love. Love is a declaration, a banner held high in battle. It is relentless pursuit. It doesn't always feel right. Don't fall for the fickle love of this world; it is no love at all."

January 4, 2010

January 4, 2011

January 4, 2012

~Praise God from whom all blessings flow~

Three

Happy 3rd birthday!

ps. When did I become the mother of boys?

Bring the Rain

"But this isn't just another annual drought -- this is the worst crisis the region has seen in 60 years. To put that in historical perspective, the situation is looking more grim than the massive drought in Ethiopia in the mid-1980s that prompted the Live Aid concert, and the drought in Somalia in early 1990s that led to the well-known United Nations peacekeeping mission."

-CNN

Coming changes

If you take a step back and follow the trend of almost any country's international adoptions you'll likely see them quickly speed up and then quickly, sometimes drastically, slow down.

This week, the Ethiopian Ministry Of Women's Affairs (MOWA) proposed changes in the number of adoptions to be processed from 50 per day to 5. "Given MOWCYA's curent caseload, the US Embassy anticipates that this change could result in an overall decline in case processing of some 90%." adoption.state.gov

I just read that in sub-Saharan Africa (which constitutes most of Africa) 1 out of every 8 children is an orphan.

"Of the 143 million orphans worldwide, more live in Ethiopia than in any other country in the world."

Family for a Year!

One year ago...

we packed a half dozen bags, boarded an enormous plane, got picked up at a foreign airport by a man we'd never met, and first held the 15 month old boys that have become our sons.

I've recently gone back and read through my husband's amazing writings from our week in Ethiopia. Written after our first day with the boys:

"This is the consequence of a world fractured by sin. The fight to rebuild it is beautiful but ugly. It's hard because it's redemptive, and redemption comes with great cost."

This first year has been exactly that.

January 4th, 2010

January 4th, 2011

It's ridiculous how much we love these kids! I'm so thankful for my husband and now my boys!

~Praise God from whom all blessings flow~