Woot Woot - Successful Court Date!

In adoption land, it's a BIG DEAL to get through court. This is truly an event; EZ's papework got through court and that means that I am officially EZ's mommy!!!! Happy dance! This means we wait 3-4 weeks for his birth certificate to get printed and delivered to our agency and another 3-4 weeks to travel to Ethiopia to pick up our boy. Seriously, this is awesome! T minus 7 weeks and counting.....I think it is TIME TO SET UP HIS ROOM!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

This guy is gonna be a rockin' Daddy! "EZ" is going to adore his Daddy, as I do!

Hunger in Ethiopia - Exercise Good Citizenship and Write Your Representatives!

There is frightening news from the Horn of Africa. Drought and rising food prices are threatening massive populations of people, including Ethiopia. Do something now, please. Copy and paste the letter below and send it to your public servants. Please, practice good citizenship and make a difference.

My special thanks to ML for helping to draft this letter for our forum of PAPs and APs adopting from Ethiopia. I sent copies to Senator Feingold, Senator Kohl, and my Congress WOMAN, Tammy Baldwin.

Find your Representative in the House:
http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml
Find your Senators here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Dear Senator,

I am writing to request your immediate, strong action in securing emergency food aid from the U.S. government for the people of Ethiopia. With the failure of seasonal rains and rising food prices, Ethiopia is facing one of the most serious food crises in recent history. This crisis will continue months without immediate and large scale aid. Doctors Without Borders and other trusted agencies are reporting dramatic increases in lack of food, malnutrition, and starvation.

In a recent news report by the Associated Press, “the U.N. children's agency characterized this year's food shortage — in which an estimated 4.5 million people are in need of emergency food aid — as the worst since 2003, when droughts led 13.2 million people to seek such aid. In 2000, more than 10 million needed emergency food.” Studies by the International Medical Corps in southern Ethiopia — the epicenter of the crisis — show that up to one in four young mothers is showing signs of moderate malnutrition.

UNICEF reports that an estimated 126,000 children are in need of urgent treatment for severe malnutrition. Among children under five years of age, six million face the risk of acute malnutrition.This crisis is generating suffering that calls for intervention now.

In a population where more than 80% of the people live off the land, food is the essential resource that ensures life for Ethiopians. In the mid 80’s the world moved too late to avert starvation in Ethiopia. Conditions are worsening in Ethiopia. Please help and insist that our government increase food aid and essential non food aid to Ethiopia immediately.

The United States and Ethiopia benefit from a high degree of mutual cooperation on several important fronts. Addressing critical levels of hunger and malnutrition in Ethiopia must be a top priority in our alliance with the Ethiopian people and our nation’s global efforts to end the food crisis in the world.

Thank you for your attention to this crisis. I am counting on your action.

Sincerely,

For the news report referred to above, please read the following articles:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080609/ap_on_re_af/ethiopia_hunger
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=78443

Special Delivery

Today we sent off our itty bitty care package to "ZL." We put just a few items in the one gallon bag, as suggested (and requested) by our agency. There was 1) a baby blanket that T said MUST have a silky side 2)family pictures that are colorful and simple to hang next to our boy's crib. It was fun, intense, humbling, and precious, all in the same moment.

Why the silk edge you ask? When T was a babe his grandma (my wonderful mom) gave him a little baby blanket with silk trim. T loved this blanket and .... well, you know the deal with 15 year old boys - what's good for the goose is good for the gander. "ZL" is the gander, in this case, and he's getting silk trim, I tell you! And, how would you feel looking at this pic all day? Wait! Don't answer!

"ZL" for PRESIDENT!

....said my friend...and she's right! Here is the good news - Barack Obama, our nation's only black senator, and our nation's fifth EVER black senator, has won the Democratic Nomination for President!!! Little "ZL" might have the experience of having a black president of the United States. My friend is right, now we can tell our kids they have a fighting chance. It's no small event - this is AWESOME.

As for the initials, ZL, that's how we will be referring to our little guy. "L" is his given name in Ethiopia and "Z" is the name we'll be adding when we welcome him home. So for now, he'll be referred to as "ZL."

We're for Obama!

Our Boy!

I accepted our referral for a little boy! We received the news last week and are elated to share this with the special and supportive people in our lives. Of course, there are more steps to take, and the referral does not makethis boy our son - but it seems likely that all of this will proceed overthe next few months in accordance with the rules of International Adoption.

We are elated - all of us. T did a major victory pump upon hearing about this little boy. We knew he had a HUGE hope for a little brother. A and D smiled hugely and cheered along with T, who made plans to find size 1 soccer balls pronto.

Little "L" is a few months old He has big brown eyes, long spidery legs, luscious lips just ready for our millions of kisses, and his image is completed with little lavendar slippers covering his toes. Our whole family is deeply humbled by the experience of receiving his referral. There is no way to express the complex emotions that accompany the news of "L".

One thing that is abundantly clear to me is in this moment each of us in this family feels the very best parts of our humanity have been called upon with the referral of "L". We are prepared to answer the call. There is a shared pledge among all of us is to be better people, to exercise the deepest awareness of the privilege it is to be entrusted little "L", and to commit our lives more fully to global justice. When I said 'yes' to "L's" referral, I said "yes" to so much more.