Hope

Yesterday was a huge step for America. Our Country's original Constitution did not give African Americans ANY rights, to a Country that just elected their first African American President. It does not matter if you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, we should all be proud that our Country has come so far. I hope this is a sign that our daughter's future in America will be that much better.

Fuzzy Wuzzy Wuz a Bear

I have been tagged

Two soon to be Ethiopia adoption mamas, Erin and Chistina, tagged me.
1)I have been a vegetarian since middle school.
2)I went to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.
3)I prefer a landscape of Sky scrapers to Mountains. My favorite is NYC, of course.
4)My husband's nickname for me is Pumpkin.
5)I adopted my first dog from the CCAA in NYC and she was half bald, but I loved her anyway, my Madison.
6)Currently I only watch CNN.
7)My red hair is real!

I tag.........
Lisa
Lory
Shawn
Kelly
Steph
Chantelle
Mindy

Our Journey to Ethiopia

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Fun in Denver

Gabre and I went to Denver a few weekends ago. Gabre got to meet her cousin Maci for the first time and see some of her Ethiopian buddies. The pictures say it all.


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Party Girl!!!!

Saturday was Gabre's Birthday party. Who knew a 1 year old's Birthday party could be so much work. It took my mom and I three days to pull off this party. We had catered Ethiopian food, PB&J for the kids, a candy buffet, elephant and giraffe cupcakes. I will say we had a few laughs Friday night trying to make the cupcakes actually look like elephants and giraffes. It took us all night with a late night run to the grocery store by Scott.
I also made a Happy Birthday sign in Amharic. It was so windy at the park that the sign lasted about 5 minutes. As you will see it took Scott getting on top of the car to hang the sign for that 5 minutes.
We had a petting zoo come for the last hour. Gabre and all the kids loved the baby animals.....so cute. It was a Birthday to remember.

Our 1 Year Old!

Wow, we had quite a week. Tuesday was Gabre's Birthday and we had lots of fun. First we picked up Gabre's Noni at the airport. Then headed to Ester's for some good Ethiopian food and on to the Austin zoo, which is really a sanctuary for rescued animals. It's not a big traditional zoo, but perfect for small children. We got to feed goats and sheep, while chickens and peacocks followed us around. Gabre really loves animals!
The top picture on this post is the REAL Gabre. We somehow captured her personality it that one shot!

MeleKame Lidete Gabre!!!!!

Happy Birthday Gabre!

I cannot believe our baby is 1 today. She is truly a little miracle to us. Today we honor her, her birth mother and her birth country.

Gabre,

Today is your First Birthday and 142 days since you have been in our arms. You are our greatest joy. We love the sound of your giggle. We love the way you pose for pictures. We love the way you fake cough. We love that you greet us with a big smile every morning. We love that your first word was "Dog" or really "Daw". We love how you reach your hand out to greet all new people. We love that you have a loud voice and us it, a lot. We love that you like a good meal or really any meal. We love the sad look on your face when we have to tell you "No No". We love that you perfectly fit in our arms from the moment you were handed to us. We love your tiny feet. We love your curls. We love your beautiful eyes. We love You!

Daddy and Mommy

Got Ethiopian Food?

We had an early dinner at our local Ethiopia restaurant yesterday to celebrate the Ethiopian New Year. This was Gabre's first taste of her homeland food. She LOVED it. As you can see from the below pictures she went to town. We are so lucky to have an Ethiopian restaurant and the owners are so kind to us. They hold and play with Gabre while we eat. We feel right at home.

Here are some cute pictures.