Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Why blog?

Well, besides the fact that all of the cool cats are doing it, why blog and why now? Having been on the adoption journey for eight months now and having spent many, many nights benefitting from the blogging of others, I wanted to contribute in my own small way. While adoption is just one of our passions and interests, it is the only thing that has brought me to the computer night after night searching for answers, timelines, stories and shared experiences of those who are also apart of this journey.

So, let me introduce us! (My husband is still not so sure about the blogging world, and will thus be the fairly silent partner in this venture!). We are R and N residing in the great city of Chicago. N is originally from Eastern Canada where the tides are high and lobster is plentiful. I am from a small town in Arkansas, but always loved to travel and knew that a big city was for me. We both made the move to Chicago in 98, and the rest is history!

N is a high school history teacher and I am a social worker with refugee children and youth. We both passionatly love our work, and have been at it for awhile. Our shared love and passion is Ethiopia; a place we have lived, worked, volunteered and now look forward to continuing our lasting connection through adoption of a child that we know and love.

We love living in Chicago, although anticipate that we will work internationally at some point (first choice ETHIOPIA) should the right opportunity come along! N enjoys biking, running, reading, education for social justice, and coffee roasting and gardening. R enjoys running, Bikram yoga, cute kids, cooking complicated things, having people come over for dinner and figuring out ways to get out of housework.

Our families are spread out all over the world. N's parents are retired and living in Canada. N's sister presently resides in London, but is crazily (ok, I'm just jealous) accepting a post with a NGO in Afghanistan. R's parents live in Indiana, nieces and nephews in New Mexico, brother in Afghanistan and sister finishing law school in Atlanta. We are lucky to have families that are supportive and excited about our upcoming adoption!

Other than trying to find ways to visit Ethiopia all of the time, we spend our days attempting to avoid swine flu (or Mexican influenza, depending on your geographical location), and enjoy the seasons as they come!

Ok. I did it. I made a blog!

10 comments:

Tanya said...

Welcome to the blogging world! (I was hesitant myself, but like you, it has "drawn me in" more than any of my other interests--and sometimes to a fault!) We are just a few days behind you on the "FBI" wait list! Look forward to traveling this journey along with you in cyberspace (and maybe even in person--who knows??).

Amy said...

Welcome! Blogging and reading blogs has consumed many hours of my time and I know where you are coming from. Sometimes, it's my only source of settling my active mind. I jumped into the blogging world when we were in the process of adopting our daughter from China and haven't looked back. I cannot say thank you enough for the two pics of our precious little girl and for delivering her package to her. Can't wait to follow along on your journey also!

Cassandra Britt said...

Congrats on making the wait list! Best wishes!
Cassandra

Farmboy and Buttercup said...

Hey, I bet you will enjoy getting your thoughts out on paper....er....computer screen. It certainly helps feeling connected with others on this same journey.

Oh, and THANKS AGAIN for the pictures of our little girl, and thanks for talking with the caregivers that, YES, we do know her status, and we will embrace her.

Congrats on the new blog!

Anonymous said...

The sister finishing up law school in Atlanta says, "welcome."

los cazadores said...

Welcome! :)

bekah said...

Hello! You commented on my blog about JBU. Who is your brother? I few people stayed with me during my time there. What year did you visit? I'm sorry my memory is so poor! With a few more details I'm sure I'll remember. :) (My maiden name is Kotter.)

Tam said...

Hi! Welcome to the blogging world! And welcome to the waitlist. And oh yeah, we also live in Chicago. So that's pretty exciting :-)

Amy said...

hi! I just saw you on the Gladney list of waiting fams! We are waiting for our 2nd one from Ethiopia as of yesterday! :)
Just sayin hello..

Oh and regarding Bekah's comment above.. I went to JBU too! :) GOLDEN EAGLES!

Stacy Peterson said...

YEAH for N & R and their new blog!!