My 2 Ethiopian Girls: The First Class

Sunday, January 13, 2008

The First Class

Yesterday's first adoption class was really fantastic. The first portion was taught by a very informative clinician and the last hour by our own lovely (and surprisingly funny) social worker that WE'VE been working with for our Home Study. There were about 22 people attending who were adopting from different countries. Four other couples were adopting from Ethiopia. We met all of them and went to lunch with 1 couple from Boulder. Our lunch with them was filled with really great conversation and I'm sure we're going to keep in touch with all 4 of the couples. The meeting showed a video documentary called "Outside Looking In" which was about a black child adopted by white parents in the 1970s and raised in a predominantly white suburb. It was a very honest account of his life from the perspective of himself (who produced it) as an adult male. I highly recommend every one of you to watch this! It will open your eyes to how important it is to never deny the race of your adoptive child and how you MUST stay connected to their culture and keep their heritage alive. Really fantastic film.

All the topics covered were helpful and I can see how much research findings have changed since I had a baby 11 years ago. I really look forward to the remaining 4 classes. Another couple we met is in the same place as we are and blew me away with how much "on top of" the paperwork she is. I thought I was good about being organized and getting paperwork pushed...but this gal sent in one of her forms with baked cookies in hopes of expediting the process, which I believe she accomplished. (Can you imagine doing such a thing? I am so sure. Note to self: pick up more chocolate chips and flour!) We're using the same Home Study rep and now I believe she and I are in competition to see who can bake the best and fastest, most amazing cookies to get our rep, Susie, to complete our Home Study first. All I know is that Susie likes me best (sorry Laurie) and I'm sure that she will put our Home Study report above Lauries no matter what she bakes!!!! ;)

All of the couples were so precious and loving. It is nice to see how people have such wonderful and open hearts for these children in 3rd world countries. It is such a wonderful thing to do!

I'm off to bake......

2 comments:

Amber said...: It's very exciting that you have taken yet another step closer to getting your girls. Your in our prayers.

Amber & Rick; January 14, 2008 at 7:33 PM
Lisa said...: Amber,
Yes, it is very exciting. EVERY step is good, isn't it? You have come so far yourself from your first thoughts to doing it now. Did I get your blogsite address yet? I'm so forgetful, forgive me.
Lisa ;); January 15, 2008 at 8:33 AM

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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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Sunday, January 13, 2008

The First Class

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