One of the requirements of adopting from Ethiopia is that families write a letter to the Ethiopian government once a year giving a report on the adopted child. Complying with this requirement is a very important part of helping the Ethiopian government continue to feel positive about international adoption. Don't forget to do it!

Here is one of my letters this year. I'll share the other one tomorrow. Along with the letters, I'll be sending half a dozen pictures of each child, including this great one I got of all our kids the other day.



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Attn.:MOLSA December 4th, 2006
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Hello!

We write to give you an update on our precious Bizunesh, whom we brought home from Kidane Mehret in June of 2005 at the age of 6 months. She just turned two years old and we are enjoying her so much! She is talking lots, and has a vocabulary of at least a hundred words. She can sing most of the ABC song. She is starting to learn her colors and asks us over and over to name colors for her. So far she knows blue, but calls every other color orange- very cute!

Bizunesh is growing well. When she arrived home she weighed around 15 lbs and was not sitting up, rolling over or crawling. She now weighs 26 lbs and is 34 inches tall. She runs and jumps and climbs stairs. She speaks many short sentences, including “I love it!” and “I love you, Mommy!” She uses both these sentences several times a day. She is such an enthusiastic, loving and happy child. She loves to play with her dollies and enjoys brushing their hair.

She loves to play with her 7 older siblings, especially her four year old sister Tsion, who came home from Ethiopia in February of 2004. She continues to love to cuddle with her mommy, and greets her daddy joyfully when he comes home from work. Recently she has gotten confident enough to start to enjoy both of her grandmothers, and climbs in their laps for cuddles when they visit.

We are very pleased to report that soon she will have an Ethiopian cousin; her aunt and uncle are currently in the process of adopting a little girl from Ethiopia. This year she also gained an uncle from Nigeria, when her aunt got married! We are pleased that our family is becoming more diverse.

Thank you for the opportunity to bring this precious little girl into our family, and for everything you do to get children to families. These children are priceless blessings in our lives.

Sincerely,


John and Mary