My 2 Ethiopian Girls: Happy New Year ... 2008!

Monday, December 31, 2007

Happy New Year ... 2008!

We feel that 2007 has been good to us and we are expecting great things for the new year. Here are just a few random photos of Christmas...

I just love the way the snow lays perfectly on everything. And when you look at it at night when a light shines on it, it sparkles everywhere...as if it's not real or part of a movie set.

This Aspen tree is barren now, but in the Spring it will quickly start it's foliage of it's stunning leaves. I'm so glad that the previous owners planted lots of trees early on. Our family is benefiting from their efforts.

Our friends, Deron & Monica from Los Angeles were so thoughtful in planning part of their Christmas Vacation with us. It was hard letting them go, but I know we will see each other often. Their baby boy was so much fun to have in the house...and so adorable!

For those of you cat owners, you know that whatever is going on in the house that is new, that is where the cat will be. She loves the sound of paper and ribbon and stood guard next to the wrapped presents for me so that the boys didn't see. She's a very loyal friend.

Again, Sadie was the loyal guard of the presents. Check out her night vision!

The boys on Christmas morning...

Brandon's new hobby...sculpting

Not bad for his very first bust sculpting. No, this is not me. Well, maybe in the mornings.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: Hi Lisa, your house looks so beautiful! It looks like you had a fab Christmas.
Happy New Year!
Shere'; January 4, 2008 at 9:11 AM
Terry Gallina said...: Hi Lisa
I love the pictures. What a beautiful tree and Deron and Monica look so happy. God bless all of you as we begin a new year. There's a lot to look forward to and I'm excited to hear the details.
Love to David, Brandon, Evan and you, keep making it happen, Terry; January 4, 2008 at 9:29 AM
Lisa said...: Shere'
Happy New Year to you too. We did have a wonderful Christmas. We miss family for sure, but we focus on each other and just being together. hapy New Year to you and yours too!
Lisa; January 4, 2008 at 7:43 PM
Lisa said...: Hi Terry,
I love that you're reading the blog. Hey, maybe we could get you to start one so you can share your new life with all of your out of state friends and family?? Something to think about...I can help you get it up and running..it is so SO easy. Think about it. Yes, Deron and Monica are a gorgeous couple. Her baby is due I think in July. You'll see them in Aug. if you come to our celebration..and hopefully (fingers crossed and prayers answered) the girls may be home too!!
Oh boy! Keep the comments coming, I love 'em.
Lisa; January 4, 2008 at 7:48 PM

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Welcome to our Site ... This is our Journey of our Adoption from Africa and our Life in Denver.

This journal (blog) is about adoption, our change of life from California to Denver and our little girl who we have adopted from Ethiopia. Our daughter came home to us after 9 months of tons of paperwork and she has come home to us on August 18th, 2008.

I highly encourage you to post comments at the end of any post if you'd like. I update every few days, so sign up to be emailed each time I post something new. It's a great way to keep updated.

So far, this has been an amazing journey. The adoption process is more "stuff" than you can imagine leading to what has been an incredible change in our lives. This journal is from my heart to you the reader and to our daughter whom we just recently met. It is also dedicated to the biological parents of our adopted girl who may or may not be alive. I do know that Tigist was placed in a safe place to be found by police, who then took her to an orphanage. In doing so, they saved her life! I applaud her Mother and/or Father's courage in the decision to offer their child a life full of opportunity. They decided to put her up for adoption by relinquishing her in such a way. This is such a touchy subject, yet very personal to both the biological parents and us. We will always honor them in the lives of our daughter...they will never be forgotten! That....I can promise.

Where we are in the adoption process....

We picked Tigist up in Addis Ababa August 9th, 2008. She is home, healthy and very happy!

We passed court on June 23rd 2008, traveled on July 31st, met Tigist on August 9th, and arrived home on August 18th.

What has changed is that we are not adopting two girls, which is what we started out attempting to do, but ended up with one amazing little 2 yr. old. Just another reminder how this process can be so unpredictable.

Why does our blog title says 2 girls...well, we sponsor a very sweet 12 year old girl in Ethiopia and have adopted another. So even though we weren't referred 2 girls as was the plan, the title coincidentally still applies to Our 2 Ethiopian Girls! One here, one there! We eagerly await the letters and pictures Fatuma sends us and we send letters and photos too.

The meaning of the Ethiopian flag

(adapted from a Yahoo group web posting and Unicef-Ethiopia)

Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in the world, and the only African country that has no history of colonization. Upon their independence, many African countries adopted the colors of the Ethiopian flag - green, yellow and red - that became known as the Pan-African colors.

The official flag of Ethiopia consists of three equal and horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three bands.

The significance of the colors on the Ethiopian flag are interpreted to have a connection to the Holy Trinity, as well as the three main provinces of Ethiopia. The red stripe stands for power, faith and blood. The yellow strip symbolizes peace, natural wealth and love. The green stripe represents the land and hope.

The yellow pentagram on the blue disk, also known as the National Coat of Arms, is a symbol of the current government; it is intended to reflect the desire of the nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia, as well as of its religious communities, to live together in unity and equality. The star represents unity of the people and the races that make up Ethiopia. The five rays on the outside of the star represent prosperity, and the blue disk represents peace.

My 2 Ethiopian Girls

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Monday, December 31, 2007

Happy New Year ... 2008!

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