An Army of Thousands

We have been home from Ethiopia for almost 10 months and I am still unable to completely digest what that experience taught me. People say a baby changes everything and they are right, but what if your baby comes from a part of the world that feels forgotten. This will also change everything. I look at my daughter's face and realize she could have been one of the forgotten. Now I understand the huge efforts of the many Charities working in all parts of Africa, yet the suffering continues. I tell people about what I saw and about what I have since learned through books and research, but it doesn't seem to impact them in the same way it has me. Is this because I have an invisible and forever tie to Africa through my daughter? Maybe so.
I am unsure how to process all of this, what do I do next? how can I help? how can I be a good example to my daughter that we cannot sit back and let this continue?
Why is it that mothers in Ethiopia are dying after child birth because of lack of food and water. Yes, we can adopt these now motherless children, but the problem will just persist. I have to believe there is another way!
I have to believe that we ALL, all of us families adopting from Africa, are adopting for a bigger reason. I know the saying, "I may not be able to change the world, but I can change the world for one child", but why can't we also try and change the world? We are now An Army of Thousands, thousands of families who have or are adopting from Africa. One may not be able to change the world, but what about THOUSANDS????????

No!!!!!

Thanks everyone who gave their thoughts on the, "name thing". We have decided to keep her birth name Banchigize. Someone commented that her name was all her birth mother could give her and that is how we feel. If her birth mother gave her the name Banchigize, we should give it the honor it deserves.
Nothing too exciting going on here. We have been going to lots of play groups, the library for music class and of course still working with my IAN families.
Gabre is getting some molars and we had one rough week of sleeping issues and just plain bad mood issues. It only lasted one week and then we seem to have turned a corner. What we are still dealing with is lots of hitting. Gabre will hit us, the dogs, my computer and even herself, whatever is closest. We started time out and she has no problem serving her time. If Scott or I tell her she needs to go to time out, she just walks herself to the dinning room corner and sits down. It is really funny!
As good as she is about going to time out it has not helped with the hitting. As soon as Gabre hears the word NO the hands start going, not hard but still not good. I guess this is the terrible 16 months????

Here are a few more cute picture from the last few weeks.