Our Adoption Fund Raising

We are raising funds for our adoption through an awesome company called ORDINARY HERO.  It reminds me a little bit of the TOMS company.  They sell items to raise money for the less fortunate in our country and abroad.  They are giving us 40% of  each item sold in our name to help us raise money for our adoption.  PLUS!  Now until Sunday they are having a contest.  Top sellers in 1 week can get a bonus $500.  It is a great opportunity for us.  Check out the website.  They have a lot of info about who they are and what they do.  If you decide to purchase anything please look for my name in the Affiliate drop down list. Deena Maley.  www.ordinaryherostore.org

August 18, 2011

Back to school!

Back to the daily routine.  We may have been a week or so shy of feeling totally bored and ready to go back, but everyone has jumped in head first anyway.  JAM is doing great in his first days of middle school.  He has had no major catastrophes, which I consider a success.  He comes home very overwhelmed, tired, and crabby.  Just what I would expect!  MVM started missing his big brother at school today.  He was supposed to get on the bus for the first time by himself this morning, but as luck would have it, he needed one more supply that we had to run out for this morning, so I took him in.  The look of relief said it all.  MBM and AMM have had a great start.  They actually have classes together this year which they were very excited about.

No news on the adoption front.  We have been on the waiting list for 5 weeks and 4 days.  I am coming around with my patience.  It is something I really have to work hard at.  It really helps to be back in the routine of school because my mind is occupied with everyday stuff.  I have let go of my worries about  the inability to plan for our trip to Ethiopia when we are called.  I am not very good at asking for help to begin with but then having to tell my mom that she may or may not need to save vacation time for us this year is really difficult.  We have to be flexible enough to handle that a major life-changing event could happen in a few weeks or many months.  I go back and forth from getting totally immersed in learning the culture, language, and adoption issues that we will need to be familiar with to trying not to think too much about it so that the time will go faster.  It is definitely a head game.  I am trying to see if I can find a middle ground.  I will let you know when I get there!

Thanks for checkin' in!
DMM 

Official Court Closing August 8th

The Ethiopian Courts close during the rainy season.  It is a date that changes every year within a few days. This year they will officially close Monday August 8th.    The courts will reopen sometime between the end of September and the first week of October.  No official business can occur during this time.  Referrals can still happen and hopefully they will.  Also, approval letters from MOWCYA can still be written during this time.  We were also given an update from our agency that the slow down in referrals has occurred because the orphanages themselves are taking more time to check into the child's background information.  They want to ensure that there are no living relatives that would want to take care of the children.  So they are waiting a bit before they send referrals to the agency.  All of the changes being made in the program are  needed improvements to the system to ensure the best possible outcome for the children.

All in good time!
DMM

August 5, 2011

We had our first Ethiopian (Eritrean) meal last night.  We went to Emanu in Pleasant Ridge.  The owners are actually from Eritrea, but the food is the same.  We had a wonderful waitress who answered as many questions as we could fire at her.  She asked me if I was Greek and I told her that I was Italian.  She explained to us about the Italian occupation in Ethiopia and Eritrea.  She actually speaks Italian and said there are many Italian restaurants in Ethiopia and Eritrea.  We tried to use our Amharic phrases that we have learned and she would smile and repeat back the correct pronunciation.  She said that we may be better off learning Italian.  LOL!
The food is eaten "family style".  One large platter with various dishes to try.  No forks and knives needed. You take a piece of Injera (bread),  pinch a bite of food, then pop it in your mouth.  We all loved the Doro Wat (spicy chicken) the best.  No dessert served traditionally, so we ended the meal with some excellent Buna (coffee).  It is very strong but really delicious.  They roast the beans on the spot!
Talking to someone from Ethiopia(Eritrea) was really settling for me.  I felt like it was almost a right of passage or something.  She said that she had considered adopting when she was raising her children because she had seen all of the orphans first hand.  She also offered to let me record her speaking Amharic phrases so we could practice our pronunciation.  I guess we no longer feel like outsiders to the Ethiopian culture and community.  Thank you Emanu staff!

Dehenahunu! Ciao!
DMM

Horn of Africa Drought: Climate change and future impacts on food security

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  Horn of Africa Drought: Climate change and future impacts on food security

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Published: 3 August 2011

East Africa is facing the worst food crisis of the 21st Century. Across Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya, 12 million people are in dire need of food, clean water, and basic sanitation. Loss of life on a massive scale is a very real risk, and the crisis is set to worsen over the coming months, particularly for pastoralist communities.

The impact of this crisis will be devastating for these people whose livelihood is dependent on grazing livestock.  Even more devastating will be the eventual lack of drinking water and diseases from contaminated drinking water.

August 3, 2011

Selam!

Minor update!

MTM and I decided yesterday to expand our age range from 3-4 years to 3-5years.   

That's all for now!

DMM

July 26, 2011

Ordinary Hero (button to the right) is a company whose goal is to provide a way for every person to make a difference in the life of a child in need, through adoption, missions, or local outreach.  They also strive to bring public awareness to the orphan crisis.  They sell clothing, jewelry, coffee mugs, etc to raise funds to support their goals. 

We have become an affiliate with the company.  They are allowing us to raise funds for our adoption by giving us 40% of the sale of any item that is purchased in our name.  They will send a check to our adoption agency to put towards our adoption.  We feel very grateful that there is such a company to help us meet our goal.
Check out the site and if you decide to purchase anything, please click on Deena Maley under the affiliate drop down list.

Thanks for checkin' in!
DMM

July 25, 2011

When?  That is the hardest question to answer.  I have asked it many times myself, but the truth is, nobody knows until it happens.  A child has to be placed in an orphanage and found "adoptable" before the orphanage can notify our agency.  The agency is given a list of children who are available for adoption, in the form of a referral, and then the agency goes down their waiting parent list.  There is no predictable timeline that any of these steps happen.  So we wait!  We are currently number 53.  That number doesn't mean much though because different families are waiting for different ages, sex, special needs, etc.


We are trying to make the best use of our wait time by reading lots of books about Ethiopia and parenting adopted children.  MTM and I also went to get our immunizations last Friday.  3 in each arm!  Charged us $450 each for them.  That is like an extra shot in the arm.  Just doesn't seem right, does it?    Good news is we are armed against all diseases known to mankind.  JK!  
I hope it won't be long before I have exciting things to tell! 
Until then,
DMM

07/10/2011

What Dad thinks:

Wow!  After all the past several months of document gathering & submission, this is really starting to seem real!  Good Stuff!   It's been great to have the boys stay engaged over the past several months and we are now feeling like our new addition is almost here!

July 7, 2011 Big Day!

July 7th this year will be a big day for a couple of reasons,  I turned 40, but more importantly we became an official "waiting family".   What a great birthday present.  I really didn't expect this part of the process to be completed so quickly.  I can't believe I am saying that.  We were told to expect it to take a couple of weeks.  What this means is that at any time now we could get a "referral" from our adoption agency.  A referral is medical and historical information and a picture of a child that matches with our family profile.  If we accept the referral then we will prepare for the trip to Ethiopia to adopt that child. YEAH!

Thanks for checkin' in!
DMM