Extending family

As many of you already know, my family will grow by three next year. My sister and her husband are adopting three Ethiopian children, Adisu, Martha, and Esrael. Adisu, the oldest, is a boy of 14 or 15. Martha is about 10 or 11. Esrael is the youngest; he is about 6 years old. This will be in addition to the three kids they have right now, all 6 or younger. So they'll be like the Brady Bunch, but much more multicultural.

They found out about these three kids shortly after my sister began discussing adoption in earnest. I knew they had always wanted to adopt, and when it came up in conversations more and more, it seemed it was inevitable that it would happen soon. About a week later, someone from her church emailed to tell her about three children who were in need of a home. They were originally going to be adopted by another family in the U.S., but the woman was diagnosed with cancer and I believe is undergoing chemotherapy at the moment. So Brooke and Ben took the reins, so to speak, and are eagerly awaiting the day when they can go pick up their new children. Adisu, Martha, and Esreal are in a transition home right now, waiting to be picked up. Their mother is still alive, but has AIDS and is unable to care for them. It was she who took them to the adoption agency to give her children a chance to leave Ethiopia. The kids have all been tested for AIDS and will be tested again; to the best of my knowledge, all tests have thankfully come back negative.

So far, this seems to be a story of tragedies stacked upon tragedies, but I'm confident that Brooke and Ben will be able to turn that around. While I don't share their desire to have as many kids as possible, I think this is going to be a neat adventure, and I can't wait to meet my new nephews and niece. Of course, there are some difficult times ahead, but there are difficult times behind, too. I expect that the net result will be less hardship overall, and I think that's wonderful.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that this is also an expensive adventure. There is information on my sister's website detailing what costs they will incur and how you can make a tax deductible donation. I believe if you donate through Kingdom Kids and specify their name, 95-97% of the donation will go directly to their specific adoption.

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