This afternoon we were at the grocery store, cruising through the dairy aisle. My 12 year old (home 6 weeks) said something in Amharic that I didn't understand. And then my two year old (home 2 years) said something back to her that I also didn't understand.

My 12 year old burst out laughing and explained. "I say 'I'm cold' in Amharic. She say 'really?'-- in Amharic!"

Keep in mind that until the big girls arrived home 6 weeks ago, the two year old's only exposure to Amharic has been the half dozen or so words I know. I do NOT know how to say 'really?' in Amharic. In fact, I can't even remember it long enough to blog the actual word. (It is something like 'ah-nut', I... more

My new 11 year old daughter is teaching me to make injera. But today as I watched her, I realized she is bringing much more to her new family than just a formula for producing proper injera.

Each time as my daughter has finished cooking the injera, when she has only a little batter left to cook she calls her 9 year old sister. Her sister comes running to make one last smaller piece of injera for herself. The younger girl them claims that piece of injera for herself, to eat with... more

We live in a fairly 'white' area of the United States, and I am always on the lookout for experiences in our area that will skew the local demographic a little, at least in our daughters' eyes.

A few days ago I found out that the African Children's Choir would be performing in a nearby town. I was disappointed to realize that both of the performances were happening on days that we planned to be out of town. But after a little thought and discussion, my husband and I decided to come back from half a day early just so that we... more

This Sunday afternoon, we're packing the family into the van and heading over to the home of a perfect stranger. Well, maybe not entirely a stranger-- two of my sisters have met her, and I have heard from several other people that she is a very nice person.

I am incredibly eager to meet this gal, because she is only the second Ethiopian adult I have the privilege to know in our area. The first one has since moved away. There are other Ethiopians in our area, I'm told -- well, three or four dozen at minimum, and probably more. But I must not be living in the right part of this valley, because I haven't run into them. And so I am delighted that this woman would like to meet our... more

Much talk is devoted to the experience of a child being adopted into a family of another ethnicity. What about the biological children in a transracial adoptive family? Howe does it feel to field questions about your brother or sister on a regular basis? How does it feel to be part of a conspicuous family?

Recently I read a series of essays written by young adults who'd grown up with adopted siblings of another race. One young person was filling out a college... more

I was sent a copy of this rhyming alphabet book to review. I enjoyed paging through the lovely pictures, and my little girls enjoyed looking at this book with me too. Each picture was taken in Ethiopia and highlights an aspect of Ethiopian culture. It is a perfect introduction for someone learning about Ethiopia for the first time, and features food, clothing, and historical sites among other things.

The book was written by Lori Prodan and Keith Holmes. The authors of this book lived in Awassa, Ethiopia for two years as part of a Voluntary... more

A group of Ethiopian parents in North Texas have joined together to create a unique educational program for their children. It is called Kidmia. In Amharic, Kidmia means “priority.” It is also an acronym for “Kids are the most important asset.”

Kidmia was formed to give first-generation American children in-depth knowledge of Ethiopian language and culture. Through Kidmia, parents provide schooling and cultural training to youngsters in weekly classes held at a local church.

The families put together this program to encourage... more

The other day I blogged about the book God Grew Tired of Us, a story written by one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. Soon after that I was pleased to get an e-mail from an adoptive dad I know through my adoption agency, and who happens to work with John Dau. He said that John would be glad to talk with me if I was interested. I jumped on the chance.

We had a nice chat on the phone the other day, and now I have a two part interview to share with you. In the first portion of the interview, John talks about some of the challenges that new immigrants from Africa face. In the second part (coming tomorrow)... more

(In case my last post led you to believe that all Somalis and Ethiopians are at war.)

A couple weeks ago we had the privilege of greeting my sister at the airport as she brought home her baby boy from Ethiopia. We've been waiting for this day since early 2006 when Rachel and her husband decided to adopt.

Anxious to not miss a minute, we ended up arriving about half an hour ahead of time. In following little ones around and killing time in front of the arrivals gate, John and I ended up wandering into the nearby gift shop with our 4 year old.

John struck up a conversation with... more

One of the things I want to do with each of our adopted children is to take them on a homeland visit to see the country where they were born. We are hoping that we'll be able to do this when our kids are between the ages of 10 and 13 or so. Our Korean boys both turn nine this spring, and I've been thinking that maybe 2008 or 2009 would work for a trip back to see Korea.

How Old Should Kids Be?

Adoptive Families magazine had an excellent article on homeland visits recently and here is what... more