Julie took the words right out of my mouth

Please read this touching and important post from Julie. I'm lucky enough to call her a friend. Thank you for this post Julie and my heart goes out to all the single moms. I was lucky enough to be the next to last of the list (9) to proceed as usual through this current court season but my heart absolutely aches for those who fell behind me.


http://theeyesofmyeyesareopened.blogspot.com/2008/11/friday-friend-or-family-feature-day.html

To/For the children of Ethiopia

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate,my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

--ee cummings--


As we approach the Holidays, I feel like there is a needed energetic shift taking place. A good shift. Between the economy slowing down and the nation coming together to promote change, I believe this is a time where we all are reevaluating our value system and how we can contribute to the world. I encourage this reflection and hope we will collectively change the Holiday mindset from me to WE and place priority on giving in real ways through time, energy and resources for those who truly need.

In the spirit of Operation Spread Holiday Love, I'm offering a very worthy organization for consideration:

AHOPE for Children is a non-profit organization whose mission is to serve the children of Ethiopia, with a primary emphasis on caring for orphans infected with HIV. In Addis Ababa, AHOPE's two pleasant, well-staffed Children's Homes care exclusively for orphans who are HIV+ and have no extended family to care for them. Many of these children are now finding their forever families through adoption. AHOPE's Community Outreach Program enables orphaned children to remain within their extended families and culture, while receiving medical care, education, food, and other services.

www.ahopeforchildren.org

DONATIONS TO AHOPE ARE THE PERFECT GIFT FOR THE HOLIDAYS AND FOR OTHER SPECIAL EVENTS

Are you looking for just the right gift that isn’t just “stuff” for a person who has everything and needs nothing, whose heart would be touched by reaching out to a child who has nothing and needs everything? Make a donation or sponsor a child in a friend's name. A gift that keeps on giving.

Artist Spotlight

Born in Ethiopia, Yadesa Boja, also known as Yaddi, immigrated to the United States in 1995. Yaddi showed an interest in art since his early childhood. Even though he does not remember when he started painting, as a sixth grader his school commissioned him to paint a mural.
Yaddi’s first exposure and memories of art was as a child gazing at murals often found in Ethiopian Orthodox churches. These murals used line drawings filled with bold, vibrant colors.
Yaddi believes his work is a byproduct of the cultural diversity he enjoyed while living in Addis Ababa and Seattle. In his work he tries to capture the life of those who are ‘invisible’ to the mainstream, and he hopes that his work will become a tool for social change.

From top to bottom the respective names of the paintings are: Prisoners of Heaven, Worshippers & Dreamer.

5

High five for today - 5 months on the waiting list and 5 months closer to Liv. Technically this means that any day I could be receiving a call as my adoption agency gave me a 3-5 month window to get a match. I do know however that it may several more weeks as there are still a group of families ahead of me. Nonetheless, exciting times. Also very happy that my parents are coming today to help me - once again (painting the house, chores, moral support). And it's a gorgeous day did I say that yet :)

Inspired Times

I'm a huge fan of Seth's work check it out:
http://www.papertocanvas.com/

Another site that is truly inspired is Art of Obama website:
http://www.artofobama.com/

And Finally, although I could go on and on with all the art that has been created as a result Obama, This site is just fascinating - spend some time browsing through....
http://www.spellingchange.com/


Spelling Change was developed by a group of creative professionals to spread awareness and passion about the Obama campaign. Its goal is to encourage one-to-one communication by creating tools that help people get out the word on issues that are important to them.

Artists and designers were asked to create a letter of the alphabet inspired by the Obama campaign. These letters were then printed on t-shirts and distributed to photographers, who shot Obama supporters from all walks of life wearing them. The result is a living alphabet that shows the incredible breadth of Obama’s appeal and a widespread desire for real change in Washington.

Now, you can use this living alphabet to create emails, t-shirts, posters, bumper stickers, and postcards personalized with your own messages of hope and change. You can also design and upload your own letter, becoming part of a creative community fueled by a shared passion to change America from within.

How do you spell change?

Amen

OMG

Another graphic which describes exactly how I feel today (courtesy of my dear friend Kobie). I also want to point you to this link of amazing photos (since a picture says a thousand words): http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/11/the_next_president_of_the_unit.html

What a week! First celebrating Mimi, then celebrating Obama, tonight a rejuvenating evening with soul sista Lexi and so much anticipation in the air for the days to come. Here's what I love about life -just when you think everything will unfold in a predictable way, in a way that you've helped orchestrate via your own preparation and predictions -- it reveals itself in an even bigger way than you can imagine.

Simply Powerful

I am so proud to bring Liv home to a country where leadership is not dead where dreams can come true and where people unite when change is necessary and where one man can touch the spirit of of a nation.

Yes WE Can.

Obama will be the first African-American president
Barack Obama told supporters that "change has come to America," as he addressed the country for the first time as the president-elect. "The American people have spoken."

(updated) Fingers Crossed - WORKED

To see this amazing child go to www.2b3soon.blogspot.com
I am so thrilled I can't stand it. It feels so good to be an auntie!

Music that's making me happy