Oh what a night

We had a great dinner at Habesha, a local Ethiopian restaurant, last night. This has been in the works for maybe 2 months now and our group actually grew so big that the restaurant could no longer accommodate all of us. We ended up splitting into two groups and meeting at Habesha and the Nile. Each place had about 50 people turn out. I never ever would have imagined having a support group that big here in Colorado. It was pretty cool. Everyone was so friendly, the food was delicious and the kids all ran around and had a great time.

The restaurant had a giant projection screen on which they showed Ethiopian music videos. The kids (and some adults) danced and played. The staff was so nice and put up with the craziness well. I think the owner was secretly in heaven. I kept seeing him pick up kids, hug and kiss them, then put them back down to play. Too sweet. And at one point he mentioned to our organizer that one day he'd like to host a party for us, at his expense, as a way of saying thank you for taking care of all of these Ethiopian children. I think that was just amazing. Although I don't think a single person there would say that they were taking care of a child or rescuing or saving them....more likely the other way around. But sweet of him nonetheless.

In talking to so many people last night we found that our agency seems to work very differently than a lot of others. Marc and I kept hearing people say that they had gotten their referrals and were just getting all their paperwork to Ethiopia at this point. With Bethany, you basically don't exist until your dossier is complete and sent over there. So it seems as if our wait is going to be quite a bit longer than a lot of people we met. There were some other differences that escape me right now, naturally. One was the CPR & 1st Aid certifications, which are not required by other agencies. Oh, yes, and other agencies evidently allow you to adopt non related children at the same time. We are only allowed to adopt siblings who have the same father.

We picked Bethany because they are a well-established agency. As a kid, my mom had a friend who worked there, and we know others who are currently using them, so it seemed to me like a good, reputable company. And I know they are. I'm just trying to not let this get in my head...trying not to think we made the wrong decision. We picked them, they are a good company, our social worker is wonderful, I don't have to worry about them closing or going out of business and I know that there are reasons behind all of the requirements they set.

Do I sound convinced yet?