Happy Family Anniversary to US!

Three years ago, on July 26, 2008, we landed in Ethiopia and held Nigel for the very first time. If you're not super familiar with our adoption journey, here's some background and info on our referral. (Long story short, although we began talking about adoption when we first met in 2000, the process started in November 2006 with our first batch of paperwork. We were added to the official waiting list on March 14, 2007. It was estimated at that time that we'd be "matched" with a child 10-12 months from that date. 14 months later, we were referred for an almost 2-month-old baby boy on May 14, 2008. On July 14, 2008, we received notice that we'd be traveling to Ethiopia on May 25, 2008. We were in country for just a bit over a week.*)

Most adoptive families celebrate this special day, and we're no different. Throughout the year we read adoption-related books (Mother for Choco and Happy Adoption Day are two of our favorites) and talk to Nigel about adoption, but we step it up around this time. We show Nigel pictures of our trip, share stories, etc. Nigel's recently noticed differences in skin color, so we've been talking about that a lot and getting relevant books from the library, including The Colors of Us.

We also do something special to mark the day. The past two years, we've traveled to Washington, D.C. (home to the highest concentration of Ethiopians outside of the country) to tour the zoo, eat Ethiopian food and stock up on Ethiopian ingredients. Since that once 2-hour trek has now turned into an expensive plane ride, we changed things up this year. On Saturday, we met Uncle Dan and Aunt Nancy at the Dallas Arboretum early in the day to beat the heat. The gardens here are so beautiful. They currently have a super cute exhibit for kids with castles and Peter Rabbit-themed cottages. We printed off a scavenger hunt sheet from their website so Nigel count find things like a hidden toad, Peter's jacket and a fox. He had a really good time. Next, we headed to Desta, an Ethiopian restaurant that Tim and I had once been to. Nigel, who always eats Ethiopian food at home, wasn't too into it (I think he got restless waiting for the food to come out), but it was super yummy. Afterward we went to Dan and Nancy's for swimming and dinner. We also opened Family Anniversary presents. Tim and I gave Nigel a blanket, T-shirt and traditional outfit we bought in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, the outfit, which seemed way too big to give Nigel last year, now looks so small it could fit a doll. Dan and Nancy gave Nigel a really sweet DVD and CD. It was so nice to share this special day with them!

Tim and I cannot imagine our lives without Nigel. Traveling to Ethiopia and becoming parents was a life-changing experience. People often comment that Nigel is "lucky." While I understand the sentiment, I don't think this is the correct word to describe a child who is unable to be raised by their biological parents. Therefore, we honor Nigel and Ethiopia with our Family Anniversary Project, which is simply a donation to a special organization each year. Our first year, we donated to Charity: Water; last year was Nothing But Nets. This year's charity is ... drum roll, please ... Hope's Chest. As you've probably read, there's a dire need for food in the Horn of Africa due to a severe drought. Money donated to the Hearts 4 Hope project will put food into the mouths of those in Eastern Africa, including Ethiopia.

*What you won't find here, is a play-by-play of our trip or details about Nigel's birth family; we strongly believe that his story is his and his alone to share when and if he chooses. We get that people are curious, and we're often asked about it, but it's not our place to tell you. Don't take it personally; even our family and closest friends don't know every detail. And unless you're a doctor who wants to gather some medical info, what greater purpose does the inquiry serve other than curiosity?