Interesting Factoids

The capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, is located at the foot of the Entoto Mountains, and surprising to most, sits at an altitude of about 8,000 feet above sea level. Addis Ababa is the 3rd highest capital in the world. Yes, it’s higher than the mile-high city of Denver!

This means the climate is quite mild. The average high temperatures Jan-Dec range from 65 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit, and the average low temps range from 51 to 58 degrees. The warmest months are March, April, and May, and the rainy season is July through September. We'll be taking our sweaters to Ethiopia!

The city rambles across wooded hillsides, gullies, and fast flowing streams, especially during the rainy season.

The population of Addis Ababa is 2.3 million. In comparison, the Denver metro area population is 2.4 million.

Regarding religion, 82% of the population is Orthodox Christian, 12.7% Muslim, 3.9% Protestant, 0.8% Catholic, and 0.6% followers of other religions.

So then...we are at 10 official weeks of waiting on the wait list. Whoo Hoo...time flies when you're busy with life! Had our State Health Department inspection at work last week (thus the lack of entries the last few days - I'm finally rested up and recovered!). Based on the average number of deficiencies cited in Colorado nursing homes, our results say we're better than average, with work to do still. It's been three months - I'm working on it and loving our residents!

NEW VOTING POLL QUESTION TO THE RIGHT! The answer to the average number of diapers a baby goes through in a year is allegedly 7,500 and, you guessed it, a baby is born in the world every 3 seconds.

Onward with the wait! -SMJ

The liquor store

So, I was in a local mom n' pop liquor store yesterday. No, we don't frequent those routinely, but we were looking for a couple good bottles of wine to sip....Anyway, as I was leaving, I was interested to see if my suspicions would be confirmed, so I asked the store owners where they were from (a husband and wife). I, of course, wasn't surprised when they told me - Ethiopia! So I told them we were adopting from Ethiopia and they told me all about how wonderful Ethiopia is. They told me about how Ethiopia has always been independent, and that it's history goes all the way back to the days of Jesus. They said the country has never been colonized, no slavery, and that the people there are very shy, but respectful of foreigners. The people are gentle and kind and I parted with them saying to me, "bless you". I was instantly drawn to them, hard to explain. So...I am now committed to start sharing with you great information about the land where our future daughter will come from.

We'll start with the map of where exactly Ethiopia is.

Bring on week ten!

SMJ

More than education

This morning we completed our final adoption education class with our educator, Laura. It's more than education, though. It's hearing first hand stories of real adopted kids and families helping to make our process more real than ever - Laura and her husband have five adopted kiddos. We appreciate her insight, compassion, and understanding of the entire adoption process. It was a wonderful two and a half hours well spent this morning, a true blessing. Thank you, Laura! She told us about this video that we thought we'd share with you all. ~Peace.

So much love...

So much love from the residents at the nursing home where I work! Today, Mary, our activities director, helped the residents lovingly make the most adorable baby blanket for us. It is so soft, cuddly and was made with so much love! I love our residents!
Well, we have completed two full months on the wait list, finishing up week 9 in a couple days. My how time flies! Tomorrow we're off to our last adoption education class. We've been reading our books - tons of great information. We'll share some tidbits with you when we're finished.

Onward,
SMJ

Havin' Fun!

Don't send a lame eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

We're working on week 9 so we thought we'd join in the fun and dance the weeks away!

As an added bonus we will finish our last adoption education class this weekend.

Onward.