Ethiopia has a "rainy season" between August and October. During this time, most activity shuts down, as the roads become dangerous for travel. For the past few weeks, I have been eagerly watching our agency's UNOFFICIAL waiting list for any sign of activity. Finally, last week about 10 court dates were given or confirmed, and several referrals were given out. When we sent our dossier to Ethiopia in September, we were number 29 on the "waiting list", and now we have already moved up to 27! Of course, there is still a long way to go, but it's so cool to see movement!
In the meantime, I've been reading some great books. One particularly important book for families adopting from Ethiopia is
There is No Me Without You by Melissa Faye Green. It is wonderfully written, and it balances history with personal stories about Ethiopian orphans and caregivers. A great book on the theology of adoption is
Adopted for Life, by Russel Moore. It reveals God's heart for us and shows how adoption is part of God's design for mankind. I am now reading
Radical by David Platt, which has nothing to do with adoption, but ironically has EVERYTHING to do with adoption at the same time. Its about American Christians futile pursuit of the American Dream, and the REAL life that is found in abandoning everything for the sake of the gospel; not the gospel as it applies to me, but the true gospel of Jesus Christ, our Savior. It's about living for the glory of God and making Him known throughout the world. And what it costs to do that. I think David Platt is really on to something with this book...it's definitely something I will be thinking about for a while. My next reads will be...
The Connected Child by Karen Purvis (awesome child development specialist from TCU),
Parenting By the Book by John Rosemond,
Thriving As An Adoptive Family by David and Renee' Sanford,
Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson,
I'm Chocolate, Your Vanilla by Marguerite A. Wright,
Castaway Kid by R.B. Mitchell,
The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp, M.D.,
Ethiopia by Phillip Briggs,
Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child by Patty Cogen, M.A.
Please give me feedback under comments if you've read any of these. I need help prioritizing them. If you have any to add, I have lots of time I need to fill will reading! It keeps me from obsessing over the waiting list!
While we wait, we are also getting some ideas for a nursery. It is very difficult for me to choose a nursery theme or even colors.
On one hand, I love the calm, cool colors of a Restoration Hardware nursery like this one...
OR...
On the other hand, I love whimsical, modern looks such as this zebra-modern look:
Or maybe this oriental-modern look:
Even this fun, colorful whimsical look:
I'm not so fond of the boyish theme styled bedding, unless it's subtle:
SUBTLE...
NOT SO SUBTLE:
Let me know what your favorite look is in the comment section!
THANKS FOR THE HELP!
