Gobena Coffee Has Arrived!

Today was the day - the day our Gobena Coffee arrived!  We've been meaning to order from this amazing coffee company for months, and we finally followed through a couple of weeks ago, putting our order in for one bag of Ethiopian (for Sean) and one bag of decaf (for me, since I can no longer have the "leaded" or "good stuff" :).

First off, if you're wondering about Gobena Coffee Co., you should follow the link on the right-hand side of my blog here to read their story in their own words.  It's truly an amazing and inspirational story, and I hope it will inspire many others to order their product as well.

Second, this is some delicious coffee!  No joke!  The decaf (which is decaffeinated using the Swiss water method) is full-bodied and extremely flavorful!  I can't wait to have a sip of the Ethiopian; which is supposedly the best!  Here's a pic of me enjoying my first sip of Gobena deliciousness!

The best part of ordering this yummy java is the fact that each bag feeds an orphan for a month!  Now, that's a cup of legal stimulant that you can really get behind! :)  So, go order yourself some Gobena and enjoy!!!!

(A bag of Gobena coffee and some extra goodies they gave us!)

 

Good coffee and a great cause - sounds delish to me!
*mandie*

Merry (Ethiopian) Christmas!

Well, I missed it yesterday; but I didn't want to end these past couple of busy days without mentioning that January 7th is Ethiopian Christmas (known as "Ganna")!

Spending the holidays with my family this year, I found myself wondering over and over again what it would be like to celebrate with Baby C one day.  I'm excited.  I realize that my dreams won't be fulfilled any time soon, and that makes me a little sad.  But, I look forward to the Christmas season that I will spend with Baby C - that will be a good time.

So, I leave you with a wish for a Merry (Ethiopian) Christmas and amazingly blessed new year!

Ethiopian art depicting the "reason for the season", Jesus' birth to the Blessed Virgin Mary!

Happy 2010!
*mandie*

Irish, American, AND Ethiopian???

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season in 2009!  More than that, though, I've been thinking about this next year/decade and all of the wonderful blessings and gifts I hope and believe are on the way for my family and all families.

One exciting thing that is finally happening for my family is that my sisters and I will be joining my mother in getting our Irish dual-citizenship.  My mother and her biological brother have Irish citizenship, because their mother never gave up her Irish citizenship when she came to America in her early 20's.

We're all super excited to be able to be able to celebrate our cultural heritage by getting our dual-citizenship!  It will also make our family journey to Ireland (which we are going to take as soon as our new Irish passports come in) that much more meaningful and fun!

Something I've been wrestling with lately is the fact that my children will be able to be registered with the Irish Foreign Birth Registrar - making them dual-citizens with Ireland and America.  But what do I do for my future adopted children?  I can only imagine what it will be like for an Ethiopian child living in an all-white family in America; but how do I make three cultures have their place in our family life?  Would my child be an Ethiopian Irish-American then?  Or if I don't register them with the birth registrar because they're African and I do register our biological children, what would that be saying?  That some of us are part of a "club", but others aren't?  Or maybe none of this will matter to our children, biological or adopted?  Perhaps I'm making the bigger deal out of it all, and it will merely be second nature to them - not a problem or source of contention in any way?

I have not worked through this entirely in my head yet; so, I don't know what the answer(s) will be (if there are any).  All I know is that this new year and decade are surely going to be full of surprises; and I am so excited to see what God has in store for my family and friends!

Blessings and Much Love,
*mandie*

The Princess and the Frog

After months of anticipation, I finally got to see Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" on opening day!  This, of course, was a monumental moment for Disney princess-kind since this movie was the first to feature black royalty (both Prince Naveen and the destined-to-become Princess Tiana). 

As soon as I heard about the movie, I thought about how fun it would be to take Baby C to go see it.  Of course, depending on her age, she may not be fully cognizant of why the movie is so socially important; but it was so cute, she certainly enjoy it nonetheless!

In spite of the historic implications of the characters in regards to race, what I appreciated most about the movie was the fact that race didn't really come up at all, in the sense that it was not overtly mushed in one's face.  True, the young Tiana does befriend the spoiled, rich white Southern-belle-in-making, Charlotte, who  constantly demands gifts and favors from the willingly manipulated "Big Daddy" (her fabulously wealthy father); however, the film does not really explore the often dark and horribly unbalanced nature of such relationships historically.  Instead, Tiana and Charlotte (Lottie) seem to be able to forge a true friendship as they grow older even though their socio-economic statuses should have separated them long ago. 

The more serious undertones aside, the main message of the film centers on Tiana's dream of opening her own restaurant, just like her beloved, deceased father always wanted.  She works several jobs and long hours to save up the money for a down-payment on the building she and her father always wanted to refurbish.  The only problem is that all of Tiana's hard work is keeping her from the most important thing life has to offer: love.

I won't spoil the ending for those of you who haven't seen it, but suffice it to say that in the end, Tiana learns that with love and determination, you truly can have all that your heart desires.  It was a wonderful lesson for viewers of all ages - never give up on your dreams, but also never lose sight of what is truly important while you chase those dreams (friends, family, love, happiness).

While it was fun for me to watch my first Disney movie in over a decade, it would have been amazing to watch the movie with a child.  In fact, all of the little kids in the theatre with us seemed to be reveling in the story and especially the music.  It was fun to hear them squeal in delight and laugh at the jokes.

Later, I found a chart of sorts of all of the Disney princesses; it was so cool to see nearly every hair and eye color combination represented (something I really love about the fabulous "American Girl" doll and book collection).  My hope is that in the future, race will be a fully transparent issue; that have an African American or Asian or redhead or Native American, etc. lead character won't be of any importance whatsoever; because we will not think of one another in the color spectrum to begin with.  This is only the beginning!

So, to any and all considering watching this movie; I give you a whole-hearted "Go for it!"  And check out the "princess chart" below - very cool!

Blessings and Love,

*mandie*

Making the Right Decision

With 2010 fast approaching, many adoption advocates have been encouraging those of us who are contemplating adoption, as well as those who have already adopted, to contact our state's representatives and Senators to encourage them to vote in favor of keeping the current tax credit for adoptive parents that is set to expire on January 1st in only a couple short months.

I have been doing my part to spread the word to those around me; and I also contacted Missouri's politicians, including Senator Claire McCaskill.  Surprisingly, she e-mailed me back with some really kind words about adoption; however, something she said really bothered me, "1,800 kids" in Missouri are awaiting adoption while "over 9,600" are in foster care.

Wow.

This is Missouri alone!  Multiply that times 50 states (many of which probably have even more children awaiting adoption/in foster care) and suddenly you are looking at a staggering amount of American children who have no homes, no families.  I instantly started thinking, "Are we making the right decision?"  When we chose international adoption to start our family, we did so under the advice of many couples who had suffered through botched adoptions right here in our own country - children taken back by their (often inadequate or abusive) biological families, pregnant mothers who "changed their minds", courts siding again and again with a verdict of "biological is best".


It was all too much to hear let alone contemplate enduring.  I couldn't imagine bringing a child into our home and caring for them and loving them only to have them yanked away from me.  It would just be too painful to even imagine.


With international adoption, the adoptive parents can have much more confidence in the process of bringing their child home.  Most of this is due to the fact that adoptions abroad are finalized.  The biological parents are often not even known, let alone involved in the process of their child being adopted.  In many cases, especially in Ethiopia, the child is a true orphan, often due to diseases such as AIDS taking their parents' lives.  This is different than in countries like China where many "orphans" are not truly orphaned (as in their parents are deceased), but rather that they were abandoned by parents who could not afford to care for them or that they were not the desired gender (ie: they are female).


Overall, when adopting from overseas, parents don't have to worry about their children being taken from them or the biological parents (if alive) even being able to find them  let alone trying to contact their child.  This is good and bad, in my opinion (after all, I have a mother who was adopted who searched her whole life to find her biological mother and father, only to discover that her mother was foreign and had passed away before she had a chance to meet her, and to get absolutely no information on her father).


All things considered, I looked at international adoption as a way to ensure that our child would truly be ours, no strings attached.  Even though there are health and travel and safety concerns connected with Ethiopian adoption, somehow they paled in comparison to the possibility of having our child taken away from us.


So, why did the news of the children waiting in my own state bother me so much?  Why was I suddenly questioning our decision to adopt from abroad?


To make matters even more confusing, my mother was visiting us when she received a phone call from her best friend in Iowa (I'll call her "Aunt D").  Aunt D works in childcare both out of her home and at the church that she has attended with my parents for almost 30 years.  My youngest sister had recently accompanied my mother to Iowa to help with the churches' vacation Bible study, working with the toddlers.


They had come back with lots of photos of the adorable little kids doing their projects, learning Bible verses, and making and eating sloppy snacks - precious.  One little girl, they called their "little bird".  "Bird" was notably small for her age of nearly two, she hardly spoke, and was always poorly dressed and in need of a clean diaper.  Needless to say, she was adorable, and everyone involved thought she was so cute.


Which was why my mom was so disturbed when Aunt D called while she was visiting us here in Missouri.  It turns out that "Bird's" mom is a junkie.  Not only that, but she recently dropped Bird off at one of Aunt D's friends who lives in the same town as her who also works in childcare and had not come back - it had been three days.


Even worse, when Bird showed up at this lady's house, her diaper had not been changed in probably three days; and it was suspected that she had not been fed in as many days as well.  I was instantly heartbroken.  Aunt D went on to say that Bird had been passed on to local authorities to be put up for adoption, but that her young mother (I have no idea where her father is in all of this) had suddenly reappeared and was demanding an open adoption.


This was just one more thing making me feel guilty about my decision to adopt from Ethiopia, when right here in front of me, not but 600 miles away was a child in desperate need of a safe and loving home.  Bird was not a statistic or photo in a pamphlet or on an infomercial, she is a real-life child that was close enough for me to drive to, to take home with me.


My mind was racing...should we go get her?  Is this a sign from God?  Is Bird supposed to be our daughter?  What's the right answer?  Oh, how I wished God would just audibly speak to me and tell me what to do!


After talking to Dear Husband about the situation, I just couldn't help but burst into tears.  I felt as though everything I'd been thinking and planning was wrong.  I felt so guilty.  How could I possibly abandon all of these children in America by choosing to go elsewhere to adopt?  I felt extreme guilt.  I felt selfish.


Dear Husband kept telling me that there is not "right" and "wrong", only what is right for us and our family at the time that we are making the decision.  While I know he's right, I still feel guilty.  I still question whether or not we're making the right decision.  I've actually started looking into domestic adoption more to become better educated on the process.  I have no idea if we're making the right decision, I don't even know if there is a "right decision"; I only know what seems to be "right" for us at this moment.  I truly wonder what God has in store for our future...

Wondering and Praying,
*mandie*