Done!

We had our fingerprinting appointment on Friday. It was not quite what we expected -- let's just say that there was a parade happening right in front of the building and we passed the time watching That Darn Cat starring Christina Ricci and Doug E. Doug. Don't worry, you aren't missing anything.

Luckily, the actual fingerprinting went great, and it was really fun to be able to spend the morning with Jesse and Joy. It is so fun to have friends to laugh with and share experiences with! We are excited to be on the journey with them. How cool would it be if we traveled to Ethiopia together?

Thankfulness

Lori and Joy both tagged me -- here are 1o things that I am thankful for.

1. I am thankful for the friends and family who acknowledge that I am an expectant mother and treat me as such. It means so much to me. The other day, a girlfriend brought me a couple of pairs of shoes that her son had outgrown (thanks Jess!). She gave them to me for my son. I almost cried. Seriously -- to be acknowledged as a parent-to-be is something I am very grateful for.

2. I am thankful for my husband and the beautiful things he creates. He is so creative and talented. Our home is full of beautiful paintings and photos and wonderful things he has made for me. He is a gifted man, and he puts up with all my idiosyncrasies and lack of artistic talent!

3. I am thankful for life-long friends. I've known my sister since, well, conception. We shared a womb for 9 months, shared a room for many years, and shared a friendship forever. And my other BFF, Karen, whom I have known since our parents met in Lamaze class. I am so thankful that we are both on our way to motherhood at the same time!

4. I am thankful for the friends I have made so far on this journey of adoption. All of you bloggy friends have been my saving grace -- thank you for letting me vent, encouraging me, and supporting us. How appropriate that I get to spend time with some of you this Thanksgiving week!

5. I am thankful for PG Tips, with a little bit of milk in it. This tea has gotten me through thick and thin.

6. I am thankful for books. They have opened my eyes to new ideas, people, and places. My current reads -- because you can't read just one at a time -- Letter to My Daughter, The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small, and Pontoon (always need a little Garrison Keillor!). I am also grateful to our library for its *fabulous* reading room and great selection of books!

7. I am thankful for my child. I don't know him yet, but I love him already. I think about him every day and am anxiously anticipating the day we meet.

8. I am thankful for my parents. They have always supported me and encouraged me to do whatever I dream of. They have taken me all over the world and shown me so many things. They introduced me to Africa.

9. I am thankful for our families. We have really great families! We lucked out. Mark, Jo, Sarah, Chris, Ben (and Christine!), David, Nikki, Hannah, Ma, Pa, Alison, Brandon, Jackson, Lewis, Ruby, TK....you guys are the coolest.

10. I am thankful for where we live -- this town, the people, our community, our house. We've moved a lot in our married life, and I am so happy that we have landed here. I have wonderful girlfriends, a great church, a great job, and the best tater tots!

Who wants to tell us what they are thankful for? How about we start with Alison, Jo, Sarah, Ruby, Jenn...

The perfect appointment and open wounds

I was so excited yesterday about our fingerprinting appointment that I neglected to put in an important tidbit.

Our appointment is first thing in the morning on Friday November 28th. This is the perfect day for us to have this done. It is the day after Thanksgiving, which means there is no school. No school means that Jake doesn't have to work that day. And while I normally work on Fridays, I get a paid holiday day for Thanksgiving (I don't normally work on Thursdays but am full time so I get paid holidays). This means that I won't have to work on Friday, but will still be paid for a normal work week!

The appointment is about 2 hours from our house, which means that we would have had to take the day off of work to go (which we would have gladly done!). But, instead, we were given a day and time that not only works for us, but is perfect. Thank you, Jesus!

And, just to sweeten the deal, Joy and Jesse got their appointment too....and it is the exact same time and date as ours! What are the odds?!

As I was reading over the fingerprinting (biometrics) info, I thought that this was pretty funny:

"If you have open wounds or bandages/casts when you appear, the USCIS may reschedule your appointment if it is determined your injuries will interfere with taking your biometrics."

Here's to hoping we stay free of open wounds!

-b

Fingerprints!!

We got our fingerprinting appointment today in the mail: Friday November 28th at 9 a.m.!

It feels like Christmas! I am so excited!

I never thought I would know a day when I got excited about being fingerprinted. Adoption changes you, eh?

-b

Exciting stuff

We are really excited about the opportunities for being involved in Ethiopia on a long term basis. Children's Hopechest is starting up a sponsorship program for several orphanages in ET that are currently lacking support. Ever since we first heard about the Kolfe orphanage, my heart has been aching for the children in these orphanages. A few weeks ago, when the online community (with the great leadership of the fantastic Amy) decided to take on the sponsorship of an entire orphanage, we jumped right in! Here's a little video on the different orphanages that are looking for sponsorship. Ours will be one of them!

Tutus for Baby D

We are anticipating bringing home a little boy (or two!) from Ethiopia. I'm auntie to sweet little Jackson, who is, obviously, also a boy. Boys like things like trucks and dirt. Most boys don't wear tutus. Well, that hasn't stopped my sister from making tutus to help with our adoption! This weekend we are selling tutus at a holiday bazaar. Here are some samples of the ones she has made -- aren't they the cutest?!

I'm hoping that all her hard work pays off! She has put a lot of time and effort into this, and I am really grateful to her for doing this.

If you are interested in buying one of these beauties (for $17/$22, which includes shipping!), let me know (jakeandbeka at gmail dot com). They would make great Christmas gifts and come in many different colors!

Gladney approved!

We have our final approval from our agency! Yeah!

We are just waiting on one more piece of paper from CIS. They have our home study, and we will (hopefully) soon get a fingerprinting appointment from them. After the fingerprints, they will finish checking us out and send us our I-171H -- then we will be officially on the wait list!

How come it feels like we've already been waiting for so long? We are ready for you, Baby D!

T-shirts for the whole family!

Ethiopia has been popping up lately in our wardrobe.

Jake has been finishing setting up his little screen printing operation, messing around with inks, and making lots of interesting shirts....here's a fun one:

A few weeks ago, I ordered me one of these shirts from Compassion. I love it! It is so comfy...I probably wear it more often than I should, but I really love it! It says please in Amharic, and the proceeds go towards the global food crisis.

On my parent's latest trip to Africa, they picked up this little shirt for Baby D. I can't wait till there is a little boy to put it on!

Coffee

I don't drink coffee. I just can't make myself like it. I try it every now then, thinking to myself "You are a grown-up. Grown-ups drink coffee!," but so far it hasn't worked. I will keep working on it.

Coffee has its origins in Ethiopia, and is still very important to Ethiopia. It is their biggest export, and coffee plays a central role in Ethiopian culture. I am very much looking forward to participating in a coffee ceremony when we go to Ethiopia.

Tonight, on public television, there is a three part serious starting about coffee, entitlted Black Coffee. Tonight is the first part, and the episode is going to explore the origins of coffee and the role coffee has played in history. This is the episode that mosts interests me, as well as the last one which will look at the recent rise in popularity and the roles that Fair Trade practices play. If you can, I would encourage you to watch this series!

If you can't, or if you are looking for more information about coffee (especially Fair Trade coffee), I would highly recommend the movie Black Gold. Jake and I saw this movie several months ago at a local Ethiopian event here in town. It is a great resource to expand your thoughts about the coffee trade and also how you fit into the big picture. Seriously, watch it. You will learn some valuable lessons.

There is a lot to be said about Fair Trade coffee. A simple internet search will bring up more than enough to help you learn more about it. Fair Trade coffee is (thankfully!) very widespread these days. Did you know that Wal*Mart's Sam's Choice line even has Fair Trade coffee (certified organic and certified Fair Trade by TransFair USA)? And they have an Ethiopian blend to boot! Now, I realize that Wal*Mart doesn't exactly scream "Fair Trade," but the point is that Fair Trade coffee is easily accessible to the masses.

Starbucks just annonced plans to double their purchases of Fair Trade coffee in 2009. Maybe you could double yours too?