One Happy Little Girl

Last night, Melat, our littlest daughter, spoke to her grandfather (Jess' dad) for the first time on the phone. He lives far away and the kids haven't met him yet. Now that Melat has been home almost a year and is almost four years old, her English was good enough to have a talk with Grandpa.

He asked her how she's doing. She said "I'm good, I have a mom and a dad and my Destiny now" (Destiny is her big sister's name--our other daughter).

That sentence says so much, doesn't it? We're coming up on one year home for Melat in September. What an amazing year it's been.

If you're interested in helping African Orphans find their forever families--and their "destinies" as the case may be--see http://www.projecthopeful.org or www.ahopeforchildren.org

Seattle's Child

If you arrived here by way of the Seattle's Child article, thanks for visiting, I'm glad you came.

If you're looking for more resources about adopting a child with HIV/AIDS or adopting from Ethiopia, we haven't written much on that recently, so use the search bar at the top left of the screen for your search terms, or leave me a comment, and I'll reply by post or email. I'm happy to be a resource for any family.

I cannot say enough good things about the care that our daughter recieved in Ethiopia. Ethiopians truly care for children and treat the children very, very well. It's a wonderful, respectful culture that matches our family's values well, so we are happy to embrace and teach our kids about this wonderful country.

We participate in local Ethiopian cultural activities including dance, and cooking classes. Also, our little girl who is Orthodox (we are Lutheran) likes to watch Orthodox masses on YouTube. (How cool is that?)

Thanks again for visiting, jump in the discussion or send me an email anytime.

Here are a few posts you might like to see to get the "whirlwind tour" of our family.


2nd Child
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/12/first-thanksgiving.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/11/update-on-life-at-our-house.html
Big sister trying to get out of a little sister

HIV/AIDS
TV Show: Facing Life Head On
The Plight of Aids Orphans

Ethiopia Travel Saga (3 weeks of posts)
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/from-jessica-recd-9608-330-am.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/from-jessica-2-recd-9608-330-am.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/from-jess-recd-91008-10pm-us8am.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/from-jess-recd-912-10am-our-time.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/monday-915.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/melat.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/t-in-pink-shirt-and-melat-at-meat-shack.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/sept-15-t-and-melat-at-fruit-stands.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/tuesday-916.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/ahhhh-sept-18th-2008.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/from-jess-91908-friday.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/yeah.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/today-was-12-working-days-after-we.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/10/video-playing-with-toys.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/hello-all-mom-ok-to-post-were-on-our.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/ato-teklu-director-from-agency-is.html
http://jessc098.blogspot.com/2008/09/were-home.html

Got Our AHOPE Gear

World AIDS Orphans Day is May 7th. Interesting that it should occur on the Friday before Mother's day. I can't help but wonder if that's no conincidence?

We ordered AHOPE shirts to honor those who've lost their parents, and to support this wonderful cause.

I'm sharing this info because the quality of these shirts is really great! I wasn't expecting this from a fundraiser item, especially considering their low price. They look wonderful and we get compliments everywhere we go with them on. I'm actually going to order another one. (I didn't order one for Rob and he's told me he'll be stealing mine).

Hugs and prayers for all the children who are waiting for their second parents.