Way too slowwwwww...........

Got to be honest. When we were in the process getting Mr. Miles, well, it seemed like a plethora of paperwork that wasn't getting done fast enough. Now with the changes in Ethiopia and time difference from then to now, I have to say I can't believe how long it's taking us to get some of our paperwork in. The wait time has doubled. And now there are two trips involved in bringing home a child.

Not much to post. Pretty slow....I hope I have more fun and exciting things to tell later on.

Starting the process again? Yes....:)

Phil and I are so happy to announce that we are in the works of adding Mastrella #4!!!!
Once I started looking over all the paperwork (multiple applications, contracts, and other stuff, well the emotions started all over again!!! The excitement, being overwhelmed, nervous, anxious, you name it, I felt it! And one of the first things I started doing was looking at blogs and oh has the process changed!
To be honest, I haven’t been on our blog in such a long time. It felt like a different time of my life that needed to be left alone. Now that we are starting the adoption process again, it seems like it’s time to dust off the blog and get things started again.
This time we have decided to go with a new agency Gladney. We have heard many wonderful things about them Phil and I are excited to meet some new families in the Gladney community! So I will start stalking some new families and please! Feel free to stalk our blog!
So wish us luck! And Cheers!

Awesome video!

This video is amazing! My eyes swell when I see this. I can easily see my son there and the same eyes the other kids have.

Ok, not to blogger savvey.......;Clik on Awesome video!, give it a moment, then watch..

Still our beautiful boy....

Okay-It's been way to long....

Hi everyone! If anyone is out there, I think the last time we posted anything was in 2008. (In the summer) So if anyone is out there, I made it a resoultion to start writing more, and send more updates. To stop being lazy, blah, and tired because of a little kid less then 3 feet tall! I will not let him exhaust me anymore! I am going to start living with the rest of the world. Just give me good luck!

Miles turns 2 Sunday. He is such an awesome, beautiful, smart, fun and silly guy! I don't know where I would be without him, but I do know I would look 10 younger. He's worth it though.

He's starting a bigger boy school Monday. I'm very nervous, but Phil has brought him there twice to check out the school and so far Miles doen't want to leave when it's time to go. That's always a positive note.

Anyways, I hope to keep in better touch with everone and I hope you all are doing well.

Love, Amanda

Miles Rocks!!!!(pics)

Miles Rocks!!!!

So it has been a little bit since the last post. We really have to find a groove when it comes to entering blog entry's. Now that we have a child EVERYTHING is different and time needs to be managed accordingly. It is definately the most magical and rewarding expierence of our lives. Haveing Miles in our life feels so natural and meant to be. We both feel like we have had him since birth. He is the most charismatic, smiley child I've ever seen. Every day is a new adventure. And Amanda and I do love us some adventure. Miles is now at the point where he is sitting up by himself, grabbing objects with his hands and being able to manage those objects. Its awesome to see him complete little tasks that before were frustrating for him. He is still aggressively trying to crawl with a little bit of success. All in due time. He does love to stand up and bounce. He is super energetic and loves to stay active and stimulated. He is also a huge music fan. We have been playing all kinds of music for him and he loves to dance and groove to the beat. We sing to him at breakfast and nighttime. He really knows what each song seems to mean. For example, the Cleanup song. He helps us wipe up his food tray when he hears that song. Its great to see him learn and change so quickly . He is truly the best kid in the galaxy.

Some Pics to wet the pallet

Like mother like son

Like father like son

The Cutest Child biography pics

Finally a New Post!!!!

Soooo its been a bit since we last put up a post. What that means is that we have been taking some serious time bonding
with our little guy. He is the coolest kid ever.... We have seen him grow longer, grow chunkier, and just plain grow. His
smile is contagious and we love it sooo much. Today is a Wednesday and we are in the midst of our first touch of dealing with
an infant cold. He caught a little flu and has been coughing and sneezein for the last few days. He is definately not sleeping as good as he had been. His little cough wakes him up. We also are now in the beginning stages of Daycare. What a crazy crazy expierence. Leaving him at daycare for the 1st time for just 5 hours was heart wrenching. I sat in the car out front for 15 minutes wondering what was going through his little mind and if I should go in and rescue him. I didnt and when I went to get him I drove fast and couldnt wait to see him. He was fine , and was soo happy to see me. I think he will do fine in daycare but it is still a hard transition to face.
So in addition to these things happening we are also starting to have our family come out and meet there amazing grandson. My mom was out last week and was a blessing to have her.Amanda's mom will be out this month and then her dad and stepmom will be here in august. It was sooo great to have my mom here and another set of hands and someone we could completely trust. It was a great time but it went to fast. One of the nights she was here Amanda and I went out to see a movie(Indiana Jones). We were probably gone for a total of 3 hours but it felt like days. We are so attached to our son that it felt very unnatural to leave his side, especially without a diaperbag and formula. We felt naked and exposed. We had a great time at the movies but were happy to return and see our son sleeping peacefully.
So Im sure you are all wanting to see new pictures. Well ok. I will start to post pics today and see how many I can put up. I will also try and put up some short videos.
I know that there is alot more things to tell you about but my brain is mush today. Plus i have limited time to write. Its almost feedin time......

I'm so in love!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have been home for a week and Miles is doing an awesome job fitting in and He has successfully stolen my heart! With these smiles, who wouldn't be in love!

Many friends have been asking, "So are you getting sleep?" The answer is ".....ah, no." He sleeps for about 5 hours straight starting at 7 or 8 p.m. and then he gets up every other hour after that. I can't tell you how many times I have prayed to God to get more sleep. The prayer line must be busy because it hasn't happened yet.

We went to the doctors to get his first check up with an international specialist. Other then the fact he's only 5% in his height range and 25% in his weight, he has motor skills of a 6 month old!!!

So....... he's a feather weight! Who cares! We shook it off.

Any ways, We will write more later on! Hope everyone is doing fine!

Starter Pics of Miles Yohanes Mastrella

Our Journey slideshow

We're Back!!!! and there is such thing as love at first sight.

Wow, What to say!!!! Our amazing adventure has only just begun. We have fallen in loveeeee with Ethiopia!!! Never have we met a culture that is sooo affectionate and loving. The heart of any Ethiopian trumps that of soo many others. We are truly blessed to have been put on this path. We met soo many people that we now call friends. I wish it was this easy to meet people everywhere.

Our trip was full of emotional moments as well as moments of pure joy. The kids at the orphange (Hannahs Hope) were the coolest kids ever. We were able to play and get to know these little peeps every day. It was walking distance of our hotel and we were not shy at stopping by and playing. After 3PM was when the older kids classes were done and they were let play.. We played futbol(soccer) quite a bit. I must say that playing soccer at 8k feet above sea level is not the same as it is in Cali. The kids constantly smiled and had the most amazing manners. One day when it started to rain , i didnt realize that I had left my pullover jacket out on a chair, but 10 minutes later one of the little girls had gone over grabbed my jacket and brought it over to me. She proceded to fold it and put it in my backpack, then zipped it up. She then gave me a huge smile... Wow. How did she remember it was mine? What cool kids.

Now the kids were'nt the only amazing people. The staff of Hannah's hope was incredible and touched me deeply. Their smiles, laughs, and genuine love for the children was selfless and pure. I will never put into words what we felt for them. Our son had a very special woman who took care of him and who truly loved him. She had been with him since he was 6 days old. She was very happy that he was now in our care , but I know that she will miss him. That makes me feel soo good that he was loved soo much while he was there. I could never thank the staff enough. Now the fearless leader of Hannah's Hope is Almaz. She is an angel walking the earth. She not only is the hardest worker I ever met, but she has the memory and heart of a superhero. Her smile say's it all. We owe her alot.

Our Ethiopian journey was not only a crash course in parenting it was a crash course in compassion. Although Ethiopia has obvious poverty it has more obvious love amongst it's people. Smiles, handholding, arm crossing, were everyday sights. It was not rare to see a group of school kids all arm in arm walking from class. It was just as normal to see adults hand in hand walking to get coffee. This is something that was genuine.

Along with our daily parenting and trip's to Hannah's Hope we also got to go to the government run orphange to pass out donations to the kids. It was a fantastic expierence to see the excitement in these children's eyes. We passed out stickers, balls, toy cars, candy, etc. These kids truly enjoyed us being there and played with everything we gave them. They also to the stickers to a whole new level by putting them all over there faces. Too cute. We got to see the infants who were bundled up in there cribs, as well as the older kids who sang to us in there class room. It was a great trip and soo cool to spend time with them.

Now we also got to tour the Fistula Hospital which was an amazing property and a medical miracle. There was soo many people dedicated to getting rid of this condition in the next 10 years. They are diligently training doctors, midwives, etc, to prevent this from happening not only in Addis, but in the villages all over Ethiopia. This hospital has been seen on Oprah and is a place to behold.

Now, on a different level was the Mother Teresa Hospital. I dont know what to specificly write about this trip. It was the hardest day of my life. To have my eyes and heart opened by these patients here was something I cant explain. This hospital had patients of both sexes and all ages(newborn to elderly). I believe there was 2000 people here. There was numerous conditons from A-Z here. The people who work there, and volunteer are beyond angels on earth. It takes special people to be able to work there and to be honest Im going to stop writing about this until a later date. It is still very tough.....

And onto our little man.

Our little Man is now ours and is in our arms and our heart forever. Miles Yohanes Mastrella is now a part of our family. He is a beautiful, studdly little guy who is 15 weeks old. His smile lights up a room. He was truly chosen for us. He has my ears and his mom's smile. How weird and beautiful. hehe.

Our transition home has been great!!! He was an angel on our 25 hours of flying home. He slept, played, and ate, but not a peep while on the plane. He did pull an impressive move though at Immigration. We were in the back of probably 50 Ethiopian families waiting to get to front when, out of nowhere came a huge series of cries from Miles. All of the people in line generously said "Bebe, Bebe, go to front" and they let us go right to the head of the line. We were done in minutes. When we got to the immigration officer, Miles was silent and sweet as ever. hehehe. Wow what a smart kid. He amazed us both. We feel great that now we can begin to post pictures of our son. I know that both of us will be taking tons of picutres. We are right now in the process of getting all our pictures from our trip downloaded and gone through. We will be posting pictures slowly but surely.

AWAY WE GO!!!!!!!

And we are off..... We are on our way to the beautiful land of Ethiopia. We have been waiting for this moment for soo long and now it is here. Although the last few days have been crazy with last minute preparations it was all done with a smile and tons of excitement. I cant believe we are getting on a plane, flying to Africa, and comeing back with our beautiful baby boy. What a miracle.... The next blog entry that we do will be full of pictures, post trip reports, and funny stories. I cant wait. Wish us luck on our adventure............

Donations!!!!

So we are ready to go and sooo excited. We findly have our donations together and are packin em up to go. We want to bring soo
much to the orphanage but are semi limited by number of bags we can bring on the plane. I think we have a variety of stuff and stuff that is crucial.

Ok, hurry up....no wait.....ok, speed it up! HUH?

(Amanda) Well, as you all know, we got our dates!!!!!!! We will be heading to Ethiopia on Thursday the 8th of May. EEEEEKKKSSSSS! (Truthfully, I'm soooo excited, I want to throw up!)

It's so funny, this is happening so fast! And yet, not fast enough!

This weekend I'm having my babyshower. The following weekend I will be taking a last girls weekend, and after that, well I'll be gone! (whooo! butterflies in my stomach wont stop)

I keep trying to avoid the thought of how fast this is going to happen, I have so much to do! I have to paint the babyroom, put up a crib, purchase plane tickets, and so much more!

I wish this crazy proccess would hurry up!!!! Just not to fast!

(Phil) So as you might have read. Im in NYC working and our news of our sudden departure to Africa came as quite the suprise. It looked like things were leaning towards late May and maybe even into June. We were bummed that the wait continued but we knew that it was coming and coming quick. So my NYC job with my friends and favorite director has been cut short but for the best reason possible. Amanda and I have watched our son growing quickly and we just want to have him growing in our arms and in our care. We are soooo eager to get there and this sudden shock of our travel date being so sudden is a blessing. We have soo many emotions going through us right now that its hard to know how to act.

Im sooo happy for all the awesome support we have both had from our work colleagues to our friends and family. Without these people this process would have been much harder.

We Got Our DATE!!!!!!!!

MOTHERS DAY!!!!!! is the day. We are soooooooo Excited and cant wait to pick up our boy. We are booking our flights today.More posts to come.

What a mess!

So Phil left a few days ago to work in NYC for 4 weeks. But before he left, he cleaned out our office so I can take over! (what a guy!) I didn't get a good photo of all the stuff we had in the room previously but, let's put it this way, all the junk behind Phil is a good 10th of what we had in there. There was a futon,I think 2 broken fax machines (we found those under the futon)gutairs, computer desk, several bookshelves ect. So soon with the help of my mother and stepmother, we will be painting and moving all things around. I'm hoping to have a nice nursery before Phil comes home! Wish us luck.

What I want to say

Well, tonight is a bittersweet night. Phil is in New York to work for 4 weeks. (He's a camera operator for television.) While I'm glad he's going to work with a group that he really likes, in a city he loves, it still would be nice to have him home to talk too. He's my best friend and the best guy ever! So until then, it's just me, the cat, the turtle and the fish.I talk to them eveyday and frankly,sometimes I feel like our one sided conversations are the most intellectual conversations I have had in a weeks. LuLu (the cat) snuggles nicely.She's a good gal, but I feel like she just uses me to get fed. Anyhoo, it's just the 4 of us.

We still don't have our date for travel yet. That bothers me not only because I don't have a date,but I don't know what else is going on there. Has he gained weight? How many inches has he grown? Is he lactose intolerant? And I want to get things packed, and ready. I think of Miles all the time. And there is nothing I can do. I'm starting to get a little moody about this.

So I was thinking, if I was to talk to Miles over the phone, what would I say. Really, what kind of conversations would you have with a son in another country, on another continent that you haven't met? So if anyone is going to Ethiopia soon, could you hand him this note?

"Hi honey, it's Mom. I'm sorry I'm not there yet, and I can't explain why I'm not able to hold you into my arms, but please forgive me for that. Just know that I'm holding you in my heart.

I know you don't know this yet, but your dad and I think of you 1000 times a day. I don't think it's fair that I can't come and take you away into our homes, but God has a perfect plan.We must trust in him every moment we breath.
Are you getting enough food? Are you sleeping enough? Are you getting enough kisses each day? Fair warning kiddo, when I get you, you will get enough kisses to last a life time. Plan on us counting your fingers and toes 1082 times and more.

Your father and I have many plans for you. We can't wait to take you to the beach, go hiking, dance with you in the living room and laughing till we cant catch our breaths.
I have cute outfits for your to wear. When your older, you may roll your eyes at the silly outfits I dressed you in. But I swear, they were fashionable and you looked like a stud! Just like your daddy! but when you have enough of letting me pick out your clothes and you want to dress yourself.......well, I'll still purchase some dorky out fits for you.
Are you staying warm? I hope your not to hot, if you get uncomfortable, just scream and cry. It's okay. I give you permission.
Did you get the blanket that I sent to you? When the blanket is on you, know that the blanket came with love. Many daydreams, hopes and love have been smooshed into that blanket. Don't ask me how,(mommies and daddies have a special tool that only parents have.)but it was hard, but it's filled with love, and excitement from the both of us.
I hope you got the photo album too. How do you like my new hair cut? It was too short at first, but it's growing out nicely. A few of the pictures are black and white. I read that you can't focus yet on all the colors, but can recognize the shades of grey. Anyway we are in color. Ask you mother at the orphanage to turn the page. The fuzzy grey and white stripe one is the cat. Not me...

I can't wait to get you my son. I know that it's a little scary there and your not sure what's going on, but your doing great. I'm really proud of you for being so brave. Soon, you will come to your new home, and I'm not sure it will be less scary when you get her. But we are going to do everything we can to make you feel at home.
It's 11:06 p.m. here. It's should be around 10:00a.m. there. I'm sure your up, wide awake, bight eyed and bushy tailed! I hope you have a wonderful day. I miss you so much. I'm sending you my love and kisses!

Mom

We have our referral for our little man!!!!

I am proud to announce that we are the proud parents of a little boy! His name is "Y"(cant put his full name yet). But his name will be Miles (Y) Mastrella! (we can't put up any personal information on him until a court date goes through declaring him a mini Mastrella). He is a beautiful baby and we are soooooo ecstatic..... We would have posted this earlier but we wanted to make sure that everything was right. We got all the medical records checked by our good friend Dr. Laurie Kayaleh who has been an awesome resource and a great friend... We owe her big time. Now we are gearing up for our baby.... Our list of things to do is getting long, but we are sooooo excited. We cant wait to post pictures of our little man on our blog. We unfortuately cant post any till we get back. But trust me we will have tons of pictures. We made our announcement to our parents in grand fashion by sending them all flowers and ballons that said "Its a Boy".. Everyone was sooo excited and confused. They had just talked to us the day before and we didnt give even the slightest hint that we had gotten our referral. "Suprise" we have a baby boy..Now that we are glowing everyday we are just sooo eager to go to Ethiopia and absorb this beautiful country and culture. Every day will feel like a week until we get our baby.WooooHooooo

Vaccinations-check it off the list

Today was the day for our shots.... and lots of em. Amanda and I woke up early today and trekked down to the Travel Health clinic to get our vaccinations for East Africa. Luckily I only needed 4 but unluckily Amanda needed 6. And she needs to go back to get her second dose of Hep A/Hep B. But we now are protected against alot of things that could come our way during this journey. I know that Amanda had put up a post regarding the cost of vaccinations when she called her primary care physician. Well it seems that where ever you go its pretty darn expensive. We both had our mouths hanging open when we saw the total cost. Whoa.... But we both know that this is just part of the process. Its money well spent and pokes that will heal. The Nurse was amazing and we will go back there anytime we  are  traveling...

Wow-Things are movin now

So its been awhile since our last post... There are many reasons for that........ One being that we have been super busy... with all kinds of things related to getting ready for a little tike to run around in our house and be safe and sound. Our nursery(former office, storage, place to put all kinds of things) is finally coming along. When I say coming along I by no means mean that it is close to being done. We are a long way off but the work is getting there. 

We are going through soo many emotions right now that are extremely new. To name just a few.... Joy, Love, Fear, Sadness, Insecurity, Utter Happiness, Fragile, etc, etc, etc... It really is such an expierence.It has been quite a trip to be an adult and to now feel some emotions that you have never felt in your entire life. What a new expierence. I can only imagine what we will feel when we arrive in Ethiopia and walk to the orphange. Well everything is swirling around right now and time is approaching. We will have more news very very very soon.

Coincedences? or more?

Today was one of those days that was interesting in alot of ways. I had woke up not feeling to great and feeling like my head was in a cloud and my throat was in the gutter. Its been awhile since Ive been sick but this one is nothing to mess with. It came on strong and fast , but even in my sick cloud I was alert enough to hear the word Ethiopia come out of my director's mouth from a distance. I asked him what he was referring to and he told me that he was in route this saturday to Addis Abba to document his in-laws adoption journey. I was excited.... real excited to hear that he was going to Ethiopia.....The place that I have dreamed about for almost a year. I was also excited to hear about his in-laws amazing adoption stories. They seem like amazing people and are really following a path that is being laid for them. On top of that , having the whole thing documented is awesome!!! Mark , the director I have been working with definitely has a big heart and is following it. Its nice to see him taking time out of his busy schedule to be with his in-laws and to spend time shooting them on one of the most important trips they will ever take. Its was great to talk to him about Ethiopia and how great his trip was going to be. I could see the excitement in his eyes and I know that he is going to be forever touched by this trip. Hes following his instincts and heart not money or fame.That' s an admirable thing and something we all have to remember to do. He is putting together a documentary encompassing all of there adoptions and the heart and love that it takes to pursue these amazing children. I cant wait to see it and cant wait to hear how his trip goes. Its just another coincidence that has popped up recently in regards to our adoption. I was very thankful for having these conversations with Mark.  

Funny Pic

This is a hilarious picture of the proper kid toss. We cant wait to do this. I kind of think though that I will probably do something in between these two positions. Safety first....

News?

Well, I have not heard anything about moving on the list. However, through the agency threads I know of 2 refferals that have happened last month. So I believe that we are 5th on the overall list and 2nd on the boy list. I know 1 family is ahead of us that is waiting for a boy refferal, and 3 families waiting for a boy or a girl infant. Then Stud Muffin (hubbie) and I are getting close!

I am getting more excited every week. I think March or April (more March) will be when I get the "magic" call. Fingers crossed!

$400 !!!!! Are you kidding!!!

So I called to make my appointment for my travel shots just to keep things moving along. The lovely receptionist at my doctors office said "Insurance doesn't cover this the doctors fee is $120 for the consultant fee alone."

Okay, fine.... no biggie, it's a lot of money. But the shots are probably cheap. 20 bucks or so? I asked the lady "Well, how much are the shots?" "It depends, " she said non-chalontly, "You need to talk to the doctor about what you need."

I tossed out Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A and B, typhoid, malaria, tetanus......blah, blah, blah.

And she tossed back, "Well the Yellow Fever shot is about $125, Hep A and B will be around $85 and ..............." I stopped listing to her after that. I went into my own little whirling world of...

A. How am I going to pay all that at once.
B. Over $400 to get prodded and poked like a tomato pin cushion.
C. That's a lot of diapers.
D.Thats alot of dough!

Of course I don't want to come back with a disease or a funky parasite, but, doesn't that sound just a tad bit much?!?! How long have these shots been dispersed. Don't you think they would have a generic form of these shots?

Any-whoo that is a tad bit of moaning for the moment. We both know that it is all worth it though in the end!!!!

Music and a Movie

So we went to UCLA's Royce hall for another fantastic show. This time it was for a movie and concert. We got the pleasure of watching the Documentary "Sierra Leone's Refugee Allstars" and seeing the band perform live afterwards. It was an incredible and moving expierence to watch the intimate live of these people who have been throuh war and conflict in West Africa. It felt like we almost knew them after watching the movie. And then to have them come out and perform took our breath away. What an amazing story and journey that this group is on. I highly recommend checking them out.

Baby Registry

WE REGISTERED!!!!! Hubbie and I actually got 2 days off together and so we decided to go register at Babies R Us, Target and Amazon.com. Amazon is really cool to go check out, but not as "fun" as running around a store with a lazer gun shooting away at little white tags like we were scoring points! I do have to say after 3 hours, my brain went numb. Maybe we should have taken both days to register. Oh well.... it was great.

My 5 day challenge!!!

Please look at my post 2 down. The title is something like "We're #9!" Please read it and pay close attention to the "weight being lifted off my back" and blah, blah, blah.

Now, all I have to say is "WHAT A CROCK OF DOODY!!!! What was I thinking?!?!?! What was I drinking! What phase was the moon in that day! I'm not patient! I'm not just, "oh so easy going..." I'm going crazy! It's been 7 weeks and I'm looking at my agencies yahoo group like an addicted yahoo!

This is how the day starts off to my group habit. I get to work and I pull up my group. Look for anything new the night before. Scan and nothing....(1)I minimize the screen so I can check it later in the day. I grab a cup of joe, check my e-mail, say "hello" to everyone starting off their day at work and check the group one more time in case (2). Then I proceed with the day, (The screen is still minimized). About 11:30 a.m. I'm ready for a snack. I grab a granola bar and pull the screen up just to "see" (3). I usually go to lunch at 1:00p.m., look again (4) and then head out of the office. I grab food get back to my desk an hour later and........(5) Towards 3:00 things in my office slow down. I take a quick peek (6) and look for things to catch up on. About 6:00p.m. I'm closing up of the office shutting down the computer after I look to see if I had missed any thing (7) and go to the gym. Home from the gym and turn on the computer to look at all the stuff I've seen before (8) I have dinner with Mr Stud (my hubbie!) watch a little tv, read my book and of course I check one more time. (9) I'm sick!

I'm addicted to that group! Like it's crack or cocaine or both mixed together! Well to tell the truth I've never had a drug addiction before, but if I did, it would be like that! I can't get enough of it! It's like I keep logging in expecting to read, "Hello Amanda, Your kid is here!" or like whoo-wee...6 referrals for boys went out today and I'm next in line. Or I'm going to miss my own referral!

So I'm giving my self a 5 day challenge! I'm going cold turkey! I'm not looking at that group till Sunday evening! I'm going to become a free woman! Enjoy the element of surprise by casually surfing on Sunday. Not like a mother bear looking for her child in the yahoo.group. Plus, I truly believe a watched pot never boils.

So, I'll let you know how my 12 steps go. And maybe there will be an awesome surprise for me on Sunday. Night.

We are #7

Whoaaaa. We are now #7 on the list. We are excited. Its all becomeing a reality so fast. The Holidays are past and now time is cruisin by. Its amazing how more open and observant we are of anything related to Africa. We are truly feeling like this is a journey we were meant to take for soo many reasons.

Images of Ethiopia

"Ethiopian Quotes"

These are some traditional Ethiopian quotes.......


A blade won't cut another blade; a cheat won't cheat another cheat.

A cat may go to a monastery, but she still remains a cat.

A fool and water will go the way they are diverted.

A fool at forty is a fool indeed.

A fool is thirsty in the midst of water.

A single stick may smoke, but it will not burn.

Advise and counsel him; if he does not listen, let adversity teach him.

Evil enters like a needle and spreads like an oak tree.

Give advice; if people don't listen, let adversity teach them.

He who conceals his disease cannot expect to be cured.

Move your neck according to the music.

She who does not yet know how to walk cannot climb a ladder.

Sitting is being crippled.

The cattle is as good as the pasture in which it grazes.

The coward sweats in water.

The frog wanted to be as big as the elephant, and burst.

The witness of a rat is another rat.

What one hopes for is always better than what one has.

When one is in love, a cliff becomes a meadow.

When one is prepared, difficulties do not come.

When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.

You cannot build a house for last year's summer.

Youssou N' Dour

So Ive decided to thoroughly engulf myself in music that is related to africa. I am listening alot of Ethiopian musicians as well as bands from throughout Africa. It is amazing what I have been missing. I absolutely love MUSIC. Its a passion of mine. Amanda enjoys music and I breathe it. So In my researches I found a guy name Youssou N' Dour. Im not even exactly sure how I found him, but Im sooooo glad I did. I found out he is the amazing backing voice in Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" which was a favorite song of mine back in the day. So hours after discovering Youssou I also discovered that he was coming to perform in Royce Hall at UCLA. I had never been but always heard what a great venue it was. So I bought tickets and here I am. Seeing Youssou Perform live in front of a full house.. When the first song started I got a little nervous about the crowd. It seemed like a good mix but kind of a stuffy atmosphere. I wanted to stand up and move a little but no one else was so I didnt. Luckily when the 2nd song began a few woman ran to the front of the stage and began to dance using traditional african styles. Once they did it everybody stood up and did it. It was amazing and moving!!!! Ive been to alot of shows in my life, but this one will never be forgotten. Youssou commands your attention and his voice seeps into your soul. I feel sooo lucky to have been at this show!!!! check out the video at the bottom of our blog..

We're #9!!!

So is it wrong to be jealous of family #8, #7, #6,#5, #4, #3 and #2? LOL We're not ready to be #1 yet! We have so much to do, such as start looking for storage for all the things we own that are in the spare bedroom. Register for baby stuff, and many, many other things.

I am so happy that we are finally given a number. It feels more real to me, like we will be bringing our baby home soon the it was when we copied our 2 years of taxes.

No more check list, no more appointments, and I feel like I'm one of the only people who say, "Finally! All I have to do is wait!"

I have heard that the wait is one of the hardest part of the process. The part that drives many people nuts! Not having a daily task to get closer to finishing the paper work. For me it feels like a weight has been lifted off my back! All I have to do is wait. And decorate the other room! ;O)

USCIS APPROVAL!!!

I could hardly believe my ears when my hubby called to say that we received our USCIS approval in the mail today. We have just sent the homestudy approval 3 weeks ago! How lucky are we! I felt like I have just won the golden ticket to the Willie Wanka Chocolate Factory.

It seems so strange that it took forever to get the dossier and the homestudy together. And now we get to go on the list! THE LIST!!!!

Some Tidbits about Ethiopia

--At slightly less than twice the size of the U.S. state of Texas, Ethiopia is the 10th largest country in Africa. Landlocked Ethiopia sits in the part of northeastern Africa known as the Horn of Africa. It shares frontiers with the Sudan to the north and west, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the southeast, Kenya to the south, and since 1993, with Eritrea to the north.

--The vast highland plateau of Ethiopia forms the heart of the country and is divided by the Great Rift Valley, which runs from north to south. The highlands, with sometimes erratic rainfall, have been the home of settled agriculture for many centuries. In the lower areas, tropical cereals, oil seeds, coffee and cotton are the dominant crops, while at the higher altitudes, temperate cereals, fruits and beans are produced.

--More than 80 percent of the population is engaged in agricultural activities which are largely dependent on timely and sufficient rains. Irrigated crops account for only a very small portion of the total agricultural production.

--Thirty-five percent of Ethiopia's total population over the age of 15 can read and write.

--Only 25 percent of Ethiopia's population have access to safe drinking water.

--Ethiopia is one of the world's poorest developing countries, with an annual per capita income of $100.

--With a population of more than 60 million people, Ethiopia has among the highest infant and maternal mortality rates and among the lowest life expectancy in the world (43 years).

--Sixteen percent of the population lives in urban areas.

--About 80 languages are spoken in Ethiopia. The official language is Amharic, but English, Arabic and Italian are used in commerce.

--Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world -- at least 2,000 years.

Thanksgiving Time!!!!

We finally volunteered. We've talked and talked about it, but as you know when it comes to volunteering , talk doesnt do much. So we went downtown to the Jordan Mission on 6th St and Towne, and gave our Thanksgiving morning to people who needed some help. It was awesome!!!! We went with friends Jessica and Eric and slapped on some nametags and away we went. We kinda hopped around starting at the juice station. We passed out punch to tables that wanted some with there gorgeous turkey dinners. Amanda and I then moved on to apple pie. After the food we passed out fruit and veggies and school supplies for the kids.Gotta love seein a bunch of smiling faces..Volunteering definately feeds the soul.

Papers dropped at FED EX!!!!!!!

WHOA...... What a wierd feeling to drop all of our hard work off at Fed Ex. We have our whole life in documents sitting in a big mail tub waiting to be mailed off. The feeling of handing over our homestudy, our dossier, our pile of notarized documents, original birth certificates, marriage certificates, reference letters, police reports, etc is a heavy expierence. It was very strange seeing my wonderful wife hand this packet to the Fedex guy. Her grip on the package was super tight. You could tell that both of us wanted to stay with it and stand guard. What if someone steas it??? or what if the place gets robbed?? or even worse burns to the ground from the crazy CA wild fires??(which are probably 20 miles away). Anything could happen. We just want to make sure all of our work over the summer doesnt hit any road bumps. Is that soo wrong?

Fun Facts about Amanda.....

1. What time did you get up this morning? 5:45 a.m. Gym first, and work later.

2. Diamonds or pearls? I love my diamond engagement ring.

3. What was the last film you saw at the movies? The one with Jack Black (not that great of a movie)

4. What is your favorite TV show? Too many! Grey's Anatomy and The Tudors.....

5. What did you have for breakfast? Oatmeal

6. What is your middle name? Burns!

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Italian, and Mexican!

8. What foods do you dislike? Fish and Tomatoes

9. Your favorite chips? Ruffles and dip, or maybe corn chips.

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Books on CD.

11. What kind of car do you drive? Toyota Sienna! Yes, it's a mommy mobile and I don't even have children.

12. If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would it be? Either A. Italy or Bora Bora.

13. Where were you born? Toledo, Ohio

14. Where have you lived? Kentucky, Florida, Mass. , Rhode Island, and California!

15. What is your favorite sport to watch? Horse racing

16. Pepsi or Coke? Coke

17. Piercing? Yes

18. Been in a car accident? yes

19. Favorite day of the week? Saturday!

20. Favorite flower? Ginger

21. Favorite Color? Dark Red

22. Favorite Animal? Whale

Can anyone else think of other questions?

Our 2 African Fertiity Statues

So little did we know but two statues..that Amanda got from her grandparents were actually Zulu Fertility statues. They have been staring at us throughout our babymaking journey. And look they seem to have worked. Really worked....Crazy huh.

Contacts signed and fingerprints taken!

Earlier in the week Phil and I made an appointment to have our contracts signed by our adoption agency. Well, I got home Friday and in the mail was all the documents we needed for our homestudy! Flipping thru the pages we realized that we can get started on the fingerprinting as well.
So Saturday morning we flew out of bed, brushed our teeth, ran to Kinko's and had the contracts signed. Then Phil, (my galent hero) raced to the post office and sent out the contracts to our adoption agency, with checks and a family photo of him and I.
Hopefully by the end of this week, we will be able to get the dossier packet and start filling out all of that information!

This is the home of our future son....

This is Ethiopia. This is where our journey becomes an adventure.

Who we are and what were doing:The Beginning of an Incredible Journey

So who are we?? We are a happy couple in the process of doing something we both have dreamed about for a long time. We are on an amazing journey to become superparents. Follow our Blog with us as we go over some of the moments that have been memorable for us as we go through the awesome process of adopting!!!!! We are sooo ready for this.

This Blog is created by my husband Phil and myself Amanda.
We are a crazy, kookie couple who enjoys life, jokes, wine and kids. (not necessarily in that order!) Phil and I have been together for 6 awesome years and have been married for 2 incredibly awesome years!

Together we are writing on this blog for friends, family, co-workers and strangers all curious about this journey of adoption we are on.

We have chosen Ethiopia for several reasons. #1 We love the care and love that their culture give to the children on a daily basis.Smiles and Hugs are daily routine #2 All of the governmental requirements set by the country we meet and Ethiopia had all plus's for us. All of the variables that come in to play were leaning toward Ethiopia #3 we are simply drawn to Africa and the people of Ethiopia.

Please leave any comments, questions you may have. Adoption has become our favorite topic to talk about!